#designreflection

week 4-5

Week 4 and Week 5 felt very connected to me. In Week 4, my group tried to categorise objects using the spectrum Function and Identity, and Organic and Artificial. At first it seemed simple, but once we started discussing, I realised that most objects do not fully belong to only one side.

Some objects that look purely functional actually reflect identity and personal taste. For example, something as simple as a cap or a bag can communicate lifestyle and individuality, not just use. The same goes for materials. Something that looks artificial can still feel organic because of its texture, imperfections, or the way it was produced. This made me understand that categorising is not about being correct, but about how we interpret meaning and relationships between objects.

During Week 5, I applied this way of thinking during the field trip. I paid closer attention to medium, process, and craftsmanship. Two installations stood out to me. The first was the hanging textile piece. You could clearly see the knitting and weaving process, which made the work feel very handmade and time consuming. The texture, colour variation, and visible stitching showed the presence of the maker. It looked like an everyday object but enlarged and suspended in space, which changed its original function completely. Instead of being something wearable or practical, it became something spatial and sculptural. For me, this connects to the idea of transformation, where textile shifts from functional material into expressive installation.

The second was the woven light installation. The material felt natural and organic, almost like a cocoon, but it was placed within an industrial metal structure. The contrast between the soft woven form and the rigid artificial frame made the work more powerful. When the light turned on, the woven surface became warmer and more transparent, creating a different atmosphere in the space. It was not only about the object itself, but also about how it interacted with the surrounding structure and environment. . Through these two weeks, I started to slow down and think more deeply about why certain materials are chosen, how process affects meaning, and how context changes the way we experience design

WORD COUNT : 419

For week 2, we were asked to choose a logo around school and imagine it as a person in real life. I chose the “Nightshift Bar” logo because it looks strong and visually striking compared to other logos. The owl symbol and dark color palette create a mysterious and powerful feeling, which immediately caught my attention.

If this logo became a person, I imagine she would be someone who feels more alive at night than during the day. She is confident, bold, and does not really care about what others think of her. She probably wears dark clothing and dramatic makeup, and enjoys city lights, music, and crowded places, but at the same time, she also likes to stay quiet and observe people. This shows how a visual identity can communicate personality and emotion.

It also reminds me of a nightlife aesthetic that I often see on social media and in real life, where people dress in dark outfits, go to bars, and take photos in low lighting. This aesthetic is not only about appearance, but also about a certain lifestyle and mood, such as confidence, independence, and a sense of mystery. This shows how design connects to real-life experiences and how people express their identity through visuals.

The owl symbol also suggests intelligence and awareness, since owls are known to be observant and active at night. This connects to the idea of interpretation, where people create meaning based on visual elements. The contrast between luxury and danger in the moodboard creates a sense of dissonance, making the character feel more complex and interesting.

From this exercise, I learned that design is not only about form and appearance, but also about communication and meaning. A logo can represent a lifestyle, personality, and emotions. As a design student, this helps me understand that my work should not only look good, but also express ideas clearly and connect with how people interpret visuals.

WORD COUNT :  258 words

As late September signaled the approach of formative feedback, an internal reckoning began: how well did our theoretical knowledge translate into practice? Week 6 utilized the Double Diamond design process (Figs. 1-4) to test this consolidation, using a confusing sign redesign to map internal critical thinking onto external design structure.

The difficult part of collaboration is managing one’s emotional input, particularly transitioning from Discover to Define (Figs. 1 & 2). I felt the powerful impulse to seize control - the tyrant’s hand ready to impose a singular solution - yet I practiced self-regulation. This conscious restraint to validate group perspectives was crucial, ensuring Define was framed by empathy, not ego. This aligns directly with Daniel Goleman’s assertion that Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is a key predictor of collaborative success (Emotional Intelligence, 35), underscoring that effective collaboration hinges on mutual commitment (Katzenbach & Smith, 45).

However, the outcome revealed a profound failure of convergence. We delivered three distinct signs, succeeding in initial diagnosis but failing the crucial social fusion required to move cohesively through Develop and Deliver (Figs. 3 & 4). This inability to commit to one path is a critical warning for my Design Interactions team project, Temasek Playground (Figs. 5-7), which demands a seamless, cohesive narrative built from a unified vision.

For future practice, the best feedback loop won't be internal reflection alone, but the shock of external critique. As Tasha Eurich argues, true self-awareness requires both perspectives (Insight, 48). I wish to be a convergent designer, whose skills serve collective intelligence. Design maturity begins with this unflinching self-critique: the price of the unmanaged ego is always a fractured effort during the Deliver stage, the ultimate test of maturity.

Total Word Count: 274 Words

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Works Cited

Eurich, Tasha. Insight: Why We’re Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed and Thrive. Currency, 2017. (Page 48)

Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Bantam Books, 1995. (Page 35)

Katzenbach, Jon R., and Douglas K. Smith. The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization. Harvard Business Review Press, 1993. (Page 45)

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Tania Bruguera (b.1968)

Tatlin’s Whisper #6 (Havana Version) (2009)

Surplus Value (2002-2003)

Design identity operates on a paradox: it demands deep internal authenticity, yet its professional success is judged entirely by external perception. Defining my "unapologetic self" (intuitive, silly) felt effortless (Fig. 1), aligning with Elizabeth Gilbert’s call to live creatively without fear (Big Magic, 87). But that feeling was pure internal bias.

The turning point was creating the external identity collage for a classmate (Fig. 3). Its unexpected accuracy proved my identity as a communicator is a social construct, shaped by how others see me. While my classmate’s perception of me (Fig. 2) was accurate but surface-level, this exercise confirmed that the designer must adopt the audience’s worldview and prioritize their reality. Don Norman argues great design requires discarding the designer's personal assumptions in favor of the user’s external mental models (Everyday Things, 13).

This tension is constant in my coursework. Developing the Food Hood app (Figs. 5-7) in Digital Skills -empowering home cooks displaced during the pandemic - was an immediate test of this external perspective. This required deep acting, adopting the role of a distressed cook seeking income or a user trying to order food. A practice Arlie Hochschild defines as essential for ethical social communication (The Managed Heart, 7). That is the ethical burden of design. My "creative whirlwind" self-portrait (Fig. 4) isn't just an inner vision; it's the processing space where my energy integrates those external realities. Ultimately, as Carl Jung noted, externalizing the unconscious self is necessary to integrate and understand profound societal connections (The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, 16). My designer identity is dynamic: a mix of inner world, social context, and the creative act that joins them.

Total Word Count: 271 Words

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Works Cited

Gilbert, Elizabeth. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. Riverhead Books, 2015. (Page 87)

Hochschild, Arlie Russell. The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. University of California Press, 1983. (Page 7)

Jung, Carl G. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Translated by R. F. C. Hull, Pantheon Books, 1959. (Page 16)

Norman, Don. The Design of Everyday Things. Basic Books, 2013. (Page 13)

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Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)

"The Two Fridas" (1939)

"Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair" (1940)

The primary struggle I face as a burgeoning designer is the ethical tension between the instinct to create for survival (i.e., making money) and the need to design for social impact. This week’s session (Fig. 1 - 3) provided the theoretical scaffolding to resolve this. My personal discovery is that the moment creativity channels an honest, critical insight - like the frustration of elitism in my short story - it transcends mere aesthetics. The realization that "To be creative is to be critical, consciously or not, creativity is man made, human bound" demands that I be intentional with every project.

This intentionality is vital for my current studio work (See Fig. 4 - 6 for reference), such as the Singapore Food Festival. Our concept addresses the political ambiguity of Singapore's identity, focusing on the country as a true melting pot where no single native culture can claim primacy. This is a critical move to empower underrepresented narratives. This ethical lens is aggressively enforced by Victor Papanek, who argued design must be a "conscious and responsible act," fundamentally rejecting the market-driven practice of styling (Papanek, Design for the Real World, 71). Papanek’s polemic pushes me to ensure my work is always a critical argument - a structured output born from inquiry. Furthermore, John Dewey's idea of art as an integrated process of understanding the world (Dewey, Art as Experience, 10) confirms this. Moving forward, my goal is to apply this by ensuring the visual form in every module serves an ethical or intellectual critique, leveraging creativity to resolve my personal dilemma between commerce and conscience.

Total Word Count: 256 Words

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Works Cited

Dewey, John. Art as Experience. Perigee, 1934. (Page 10)

Papanek, Victor. Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change. Pantheon Books, 1971. (Page 71)

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Ai Weiwei (b. 1957)

"Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn" (1995)

"Straight" (2008-2012)

Looking back at this module, I realise it has become one of the most important parts of my creative journey. World of Ideas and Imagination didn’t just offer theory — it shifted the way I think, observe, and design. It built the mental foundation that now supports everything I do in Studio, Craft, and even Digital Skills

To me, this course felt like climbing a staircase. Each week was a step — sometimes small, sometimes challenging — but each one brought me to a clearer way of seeing. I didn’t fully notice how much I had changed until I looked back and realised: I no longer design just for appearance. I design to express something — with purpose, intention, and meaning (IDEO, 2025).

As I reflected on the 12 weeks, I noticed a rhythm in how the course progressed. I visualised the module in three phases:

picture 1

This course helped me move away from designing for appearance, and toward designing for meaning (picture 1). It made me realise that every artistic or design choice is layered with intention, culture, and context — even when we don’t realise it. I began to see design not just as visual problem-solving, but as a way of thinking and communicating.

(picture 2 )Rather than following fixed rules or styles, I now feel freer to think critically, challenge conventions, and embrace complexity. This shift is not limited to one module — it affects how I respond in Studio, how I reflect in Critical Thinking, how I observe in REAL LIFE, and how I approach aesthetics.(picture 2)

Now I feel more confident analyzing artworks, breaking down their composition, color choices, and underlying concepts. This course trained me to notice the subtle choices behind every design — a skill that Elliot Eisner describes as a key goal of arts education. He explains that art helps us notice what might otherwise go unseen, and interpret meaning in subtle forms (Eisner, 2002).

I’ve learned to ask why something was designed a certain way, and what kind of message or feeling it’s trying to communicate.

For example, during the Week 12 Art Ecosystem exhibition, I saw a project about a counseling app that caught my attention. The UX/UI layout was well done and the concept was meaningful—but the color choice felt off. The designer used an intense red to highlight the urgency of mental health support, especially the SOS button. While I understood the intention, I felt the blood-red tone was too aggressive and could unintentionally worsen emotional stress for users who are already in a vulnerable state. It made me realize that even meaningful designs can fail if they don’t fully consider the user’s mental state and emotional response.

(285 words)

Eisner, Elliot W. The Educational Imagination: On the Design and Evaluation of School Programs. 3rd ed., Merrill Prentice Hall, 2002, http://www.daneshnamehicsa.ir/userfiles/files/1/10-%20The%20educational%20imagination%20by%20Eisner,%20Elliot%20W.pdf.

Drawing the Unbuilt: A Reflection on Architectural Vision and Contemporary Relevance

In the late 1980s, I was a student in London, working at Skidmore Owings and Merrill, engaged in the design of open public spaces for the water courts of Canary Wharf. At the time, London was in the midst of an architectural transformation, one that would symbolize its global financial ambitions. The project was marked by collaboration with Gabriel Smith and Merritt Bucholz, and beneath the polished exterior of corporate architecture lay a deep undercurrent of political manoeuvrings, ambition, and creative tension.

The drawing I produced, now seen here, was never merely a technical document. It was a narrative, an expression of a vision that was as fluid and dynamic as the space it sought to represent—a market structure with opening roofs and sides, designed to create a flexible, permeable boundary between the interior and the city beyond. It was a conceptual structure, one whose design was as much about politics as it was about function, navigating the expectations of the Reimann brothers of Olympia & York, who sought a new, modern city within a city.

While the building itself was never constructed, the drawing lived on. Combining plan, section, and elevation into one composition, it became more than just a proposal—it was an argument for the role of architectural imagination in the public realm. The project manager, Jeff McCarthy, saw something in it worth displaying in his office. The piece transcended its utilitarian purpose and took on a life of its own, a visual essay that encapsulated a moment in London's architectural history.

Fast-forward to today, and the context in which architecture operates has shifted dramatically. The fluidity and openness imagined in that drawing now resonate in new ways. Contemporary architecture often finds itself caught between the demands of efficiency, sustainability, and rapid urbanization, with the creative process constrained by regulations, market forces, and an obsession with digital precision. The human hand, once the primary tool for interpreting space, has been partially replaced by algorithms and 3D modelling, distancing us from the tactile intimacy that pen and ink once afforded.

Yet, the drawing itself remains timeless—a reminder of architecture's potential to reimagine public space as a living entity, adaptable and responsive. In a world increasingly defined by smart cities and hyper-automation, the ethos behind that market structure—its flexibility, its engagement with the public, its openness—feels more relevant than ever.

Architectural discourse today is at a crossroads. We wrestle with the challenges of climate change, housing crises, and digital dominance. But perhaps the answer lies not just in future technology, but in revisiting the past, in recalling moments like this one, where the hand and the heart guided design. The market structure, though never built, stands as a symbol of architecture’s deeper responsibility: to imagine spaces that serve not just our functional needs, but our human aspirations.

We live in a time when the physical boundaries of architecture are blurring—when buildings are not just structures but platforms for interaction, collaboration, and exchange. That market, in its ideal form, was a precursor to this dialogue, and its spirit lives on in the designs we craft today. In reawakening this drawing, we are reminded that architecture’s greatest strength lies in its capacity to evoke, inspire, and ultimately, to adapt.

Some groupings of things I’ve accumulated. Reference photos coming later:

inanimate things that look like faces or people (possibly including car grilles? some of them seem pretty emoticon/animal-like)

ironic pairings of things

textures, surfaces, patterns- I’ll need flimsier paper than the ones in my sketchbook to get some of those rubbings