#mid-sem break

01 Piano

My journey with the piano began at age 7, leading me to an antique green-patterned upright piano that holds sentimental value. This versatile instrument spans a wide sound range, just as I aspire to be a versatile designer skilled in various creative disciplines, from graphic to UX design.

02 Viola

The viola, a unique member of the string family, has a warm sound and serves as the alto voice between violin and cello. The viola’s rarity is what makes it special. Similarly, as a designer, I wish to find and embrace my unique perspectives, skills, and styles that set me apart.

03 Music Stand

My trusty music stand, a symbol of commitment to my viola practice, provides a stable platform for sheet music. It parallels the teamwork in music, where musicians collaborate, often sharing a stand, mirroring the cooperation in design, where designers work together to achieve harmonious outcomes with writers, developers, and business partners.

04 Music Folder

My cherished yellow music folder was a gift from my first teacher. It represents the musical language's intricate symbols, creating beautiful melodies. As designers, we wield a visual language, using colours, shapes, and typography to convey messages, emotions, and perceptions, much like musicians interpreting scores to evoke emotions and connect with an audience.

05 Metronome

A metronome aids musicians in maintaining rhythm, and I rely on it during practice. It also serves as a tuner for my viola. Similarly, design principles like colour, typography, and spacing ensure visual cohesion. Just as a metronome enforces consistent timing in music, design rules provide structure for designers' creative work.

06 Concert Programme Collection

My collection of concert brochures, pamphlets, and booklets preserves cherished memories and stories from various performances, including the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, NZ Opera and more. These keepsakes provide valuable information about composers, musicians, and event details, reminding me of my musical journey's rich tapestry.

07 Concert Attire

This is a dress that I currently wear when performing on stage. Just as musicians' attire shapes their audience's perception, my design portfolio influences my professional identity. It should showcase my unique style, professionalism, and passion, much like concert attire establishes an artist's presence and identity.

08 Crucifix

For years, I’ve had this crucifix sit on the top of my cupboard or shelf in my bedroom. It has served as a reminder of my faith. Its imagery of sacrifice, love, and salvation can enrich my designs, infusing reverence and contemplation. Incorporating it into my work reminds viewers of Christianity's profound significance, adding depth and emotion to my creations.

09 Bible

This childhood Bible book, resurfaced as a gateway to reconnect with my faith. Eager to delve into its stories and contexts, I seek to deepen my understanding of Christianity. This exploration marks a crucial step towards my aspiration of engaging in church-related design work, bridging faith and design.

10 Bandages

My pneumonia ICU stay in September 2023 became a crucial life experience, akin to a bandage shielding wounds. It heightened awareness of physical and mental wellbeing and sparked an interest in healthcare and social-good design. I am excited about my upcoming internship at Good Health Design, a transdisciplinary studio at AUT's School of Art and Design.

11 Headphones

These gifted Bluetooth headphones from my mum is a creative companion, enhancing my focus with music. Music's power to uplift the mind fuels my imagination during work. During commutes, I switch to pop genres for a contrasting experience, recognizing how different music genres influence moods and activities, enriching my daily journey.

12 Blue-Light Glasses

A pair of blue-light glasses were another gift from my mum. As designers, we spend a substantial amount of time looking at our screens. This prolonged exposure can cause damage and strain to our eyes so blue-light glasses are essential to safeguarding out eyes and optimizing our design workflow.

13 Quilted Blanket

A cherished quilted blanket, a gift from my grandmother's friend in 2016, symbolizes love and craftsmanship. Its intricate patterns, colours, and stitching techniques reflect artistry beyond digital screens, reminding us that design thrives in the tangible, tactile world, honouring the time, effort, and creativity poured into its creation.

14 Gifted Cards Collection

These are all the handwritten notes and cards, I’ve received all the way back to my old friends from primary school which I keep them in a cookie tin container. Collections represent a bank of inspiration of designers, their work, and the creative community. In a way, they are like Pinterest or Behance moodboards.

15 Peacocks

Free-roaming peafowls in my neighbourhood, remnants of a pre-development era, evoke nature's beauty. Their presence inspires my design work, coinciding with my upcoming internship at Waiheke Resources Trust, a non-profit promoting sustainability and environmental responsibility. These majestic birds symbolize the importance of preserving and honouring Mother Nature's wonders.

16 Milo the Cavapoochon

My family’s first pet, Milo, a Cavapoochon puppy, brought us a lot of joy. Though we couldn't provide the care he needed, his brief stay reminded me of the importance of understanding audiences, users, and stakeholders in design. Empathy yields more impactful and resonant creations that meet their goals and needs.

17 Notebook/Visual Diary

My collection of unused notebooks beckons, their pristine pages intimidating yet inviting. Overcoming the fear of imperfection, I yearn to freely write, draw, and capture ideas. In a digital age, paper and pen offer a screen-free, creative sanctuary, ready to capture spontaneous inspirations and ensure no brilliant idea goes unnoticed or forgotten.

18 ADP and ADE Folio Boards

Portfolio boards from my high school years, 11ADP and 12ADE, mark the start of my artistic journey. Year 11 ignited my passion for art and design, and year 12 solidified my career choice. These boards capture the early stages of my creative evolution, signifying the pivotal years of my artistic awakening.

19 School Yearbooks

Skipping a school year, a proud achievement, marked the transition from one chapter to another, symbolizing liberation. Yearbooks now preserve memories from primary, intermediate, and high school. Similarly, the design world, with boundless creativity and innovative potential, offers opportunities to impact lives, much like my journey of skipping a year unlocked new horizons.

20 Threaded Magazine

11 Headphones

These wireless Bluetooth headphones were a gift from my mum. I listen to music to inspire me while doing creative work, usually instrumental compositions as I find songs with lyrics to be distracting when I’m trying to concentrate. Music has the power to uplift the brain, elevating my imagination.

I also carry these headphones with me and listen to music on the bus on the way to uni and back home. In these occasions, I listen to pop genres which provide a contrast to the other types of music I listen to. Different genres have distinct effects on the mind, each complementing various moods and activities.

12 Blue-Light Glasses

A pair of blue-light glasses were another gift from my mum. As designers, we spend a substantial amount of time looking at our screens. This prolonged exposure can cause damage and strain to our eyes so blue-light glasses are essential to safeguarding out eyes and optimizing our design workflow.

13 Quilted Blanket

This quilted blanket was a heartfelt creation from a friend of my grandmother, and was gifted to me in 2016. I very much appreciate and respect the immense time, effort and love put into making this.

The patterns, colours, and stitching techniques used into it showcase the artistry and craftsmanship of the person who made it. Its unique aesthetic can be a reminder that design doesn’t only exist on digital screens but can be found in the tangible and tactile world that surrounds us.

14 Gifted Cards Collection

These are all the handwritten notes and cards, I’ve received all the way back to my old friends from primary school which I keep them in a cookie tin container. Collections represent a bank of inspiration of designers, their work, and the creative community. In a way, they are like Pinterest or Behance moodboards.

15 Peacocks

In my neighbourhood, there are peafowls that wander freely and not owned by anyone. Apparently, they lived here before the houses were built, and while most of them got transferred to a farm, some remained. In the picture, the majestic creatures are walking on the roof of my house. Peacocks are part of the natural world and remind us of the beauty and wonder of Mother Nature.

This relates to a theme that will begin to appear more in my design work as in the upcoming Summer, I am set to do an internship at Waiheke Resources Trust, a professional non-profit organisation the promotes sustainability and environmental responsibility on Waiheke Island.

16 Milo the Cavapoochon

Earlier this year, my family got our first pet. Milo is a mixed breed dog of half King Charles Cavalier, a quarter poodle and a quarter Bichon Frise – a CavaPooChon. In this photo, he was still a puppy – just 3 months old. Unfortunately, after several days, we realised we were unable to care for a pet due to the amount of time and energy required, so we found him a new forever home with a loving family. Despite only having him for a very short time, I miss him a lot and often look back at the photos and videos we took.

Dog’s innate ability to form emotional connections with their owners can be a reminder of the importance of designing with empathy towards audiences, users, and stakeholders. Having understanding of their perspectives, desires, and challenges can lead to more impactful and resonant creations that meet their goals, needs, and wants.

17 Notebook/Visual Diary

This assortment comprises a collection of unused notebooks I’ve collected. While I’m drawn to the tactile allure of these notebooks, I’m intimidated by their clean and empty pages. The prospect of creating marks on these immaculate pages is daunting and I want to overcome this fear of ruining things. I want to be able to freely write, draw, scribble, jot down ideas, concepts without worrying of imperfections.

Using physical paper and pen is a valuable tool in a world full of digital distractions. It gives us the opportunity to disconnect from screens and allows for a level of freedom and creativity that digital tools sometimes lack. Inspiration can strike at any moment and I want to be able to capture whatever’s on my mind quickly and spontaneously so that no brilliant idea goes unnoticed or forgotten.

18 ADP and ADE Folio Boards

These are my portfolio boards from year 11 art, design and photography (11ADP), and year 12 art design (12ADE) in high school. My year 11 brief was based on Waitawa Regional Park, located in Kawakawa Bay, Auckland. I aimed to represent the natural beauty of Waitawa Regional Park in various aspects such as the moana (sea), whenua (land) and living things. My year 12 brief was based on InfiniteX [Explore the Beyond], a new amusement on a planet in outer space.

Year 11 was when I discovered my passion for art and design and year 12 was when I decided it was what I wanted to pursue a future. I applied to study this course here at AUT, got accepted, and left school early, which I am so grateful for and it is one of my proudest achievements.

These folio boards are significant because they were made during the pivotal years of my artistic awakening. Crafted during the first two years of my design journey, they encapsulate the beginning of my creative evolution.

19 School Yearbooks

Skipping a year of school is something I am very grateful for and one of my proudest achievements. It signified the ending of a chapter of my life and the dawning of new one, a profound transition in which I felt a great sense of liberation. Now these yearbooks hold the memories that occurred over my final year of primary, 2 years of intermediate and 4 years of high school.

The design world offers an expansive canvas where your ideas and innovations have the potential to innovate, inspire, and offer solutions that will impact lives. Just as my experience of skipping a year unlocked new horizons, the world of design opens its doors to endless opportunities for and boundless creativity.

20 Threaded Magazine

I got this Threaded magazine last year for free when it was launched.

Threaded is run by Fiona Grieve, the Head of Department for Communication/Interaction Design and is an award-winning design studio established in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Their studio has a focus on client-based projects, as well as their ongoing international design project, Threaded magazine.

01 Piano

The piano, also called the pianoforte is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when pressed on the keys and wire strings strike the hammers (Wikipedia Contributors, 2018). The standard modern piano has a row of 88 black and white keys with 52 of them being white keys and 36 short black keys spanning a range of seven full octaves plus a few extra keys. The two main types of piano are upright and grand (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018).

My personal journey with piano started at the age of 7 when I took keyboard group lessons at a local music school. My rapid progress didn’t go unnoticed and my teacher recognised my talent among other students, and at the end of the year, she suggested I move onto learning the piano.

Most pianos are plain black or brown but my first one I bought is an antique and a rare green patterned upright one. At the time, my teacher was helping me find a piano and she found this one. We got it second-hand from someone who used to play. Even though I upgraded my piano, I decided to keep this one because it holds special meaning. Now, it gracefully occupies a corner of my home music studio.

The piano is known for its versatility with a sound range the widest of any standard instrument, reaching higher than a piccolo and lower than the bass guitar. It can weave intricate melodies, harmonies simultaneously, crafting compositions rich in texture and depth. The brilliance of this instrument shines, whether it is played solo, part of an ensemble, or accompanying other instruments. It accommodates the full spectrum of musical styles from Bach or Beethoven to modern adaptations (findyoursounds, 2022).

Similar to the piano’s suitable use for a wide array of musical settings, I aspire to be a versatile designer who possesses the ability to switch between several specialities, whether illustration or typography in graphic design, research, planning or prototyping in UX design. My ambition is to fluidly transition between creative approaches to suite the requirements of the projects I undertake.

02 Viola

The viola is an instrument part of the string family. It is bowed, plucked, and played with various techniques. It is a perfect 5th lower and slightly larger than a violin, giving it a richer and warmer sound. Since the 18thcentury, it has been the middle or alto voice between the violin and the cello.

The viola’s rarity is what makes it special. Similarly, as a designer, I wish to find and embrace my unique perspectives, skills, and styles that set me apart.

03 Music Stand

This is a robust music stand I always use when practicing viola. It gives me a place to put my music sheets and books on it so I can read while playing. When I bought this, that’s when I knew I was starting to get serious with the viola.

A music stand can sometimes be folded up and carried around, embodying not only convenience but symbolises stability, strength, and perseverance to the path of artistry. The concept of teamwork applies in both fields. Just as musicians play with others whether in a chamber group, orchestra, choir, or band, designers collaborate with other designers, writers, developers, and business people. I play in orchestra a lot, and often, one stand is shared between two players, illustrating the symphonic harmony achieved through cooperation.

04 Music Folder

This yellow music folder was gifted to me by my first teacher. It is special because the sleeves are designed so that you can still write on the pages without having to take them out of the plastics. A music folder holds pages of notated music, a language of its own, a language to be learned. It is a language that contains a symphony of intricate symbols, and when played, reveals beautiful melodies and harmonies.

As designers, we too yield a language. Instead of communicating through notes on a staff, we do it through colours, shapes, typography, and layout. The power of visuals are harnessed to craft messages, stimulate emotions, and form perceptions, in a similar way that musicians interpret scores and perform to an audience. Designers tell stories, and create connections and emotions through our visual compositions.

05 Metronome

A metronome is a device that produces regular beats to help a musician keep in time with rhythms. Every practice session, I almost always use this handy little tool. It also comes with a tuner which I use for my viola.

Adhering to design elements such as colour palettes, typography, spacing ensures cohesion in visual communication. Just as a metronome ensures consistent timing in music, design rules provide a structured framework for designers.

06 Concert Programme Collection

I keep a collection of all the brochures, pamphlets, and booklets I’ve gotten from concerts and festivals I’ve participated in. Each one holds a unique memory, experience and story.

The contents of these booklets/pamphlets are notes about the pieces and composers being played, list of musicians performing, and other general information about the organisation, purchasing tickets, etc. 

Some of the ones included in this photo are from the Manukau Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, New Zealand Opera, Wairua Sinfonietta, Howick School of Music, KBB Music Festival and The Big Sing.

07 Concert Attire

This is a dress that I currently wear when performing on stage. Most of the time, my dress code is black so I have limited options. I don’t know where this dress is from as I found it in my house when scrambling through a pile of clothes.

Concert attire contributes to stage presence and the establishment of an artist's identity, much like how my presentation within the design community is paramount. A musician’s attire influences how they are perceived by their audience in the same way that a designer’s portfolio impacts whether they secure a client or employer. My portfolio, much like my concert attire, should reflect my unique style, professionalism, and passion.

08 Crucifix

For years, I’ve had this crucifix sit on the top of my cupboard or shelf in my bedroom. It has served as a reminder of my faith. However, recently, I’ve started to embrace it more. A crucifix distinguishes itself from a cross which is just two intersecting pieces of wood. It features the body of Christ affixed to it and is one of the foremost Christian symbols.

The image of the Crucifix can be incorporated in my designs to convey themes of sacrifice, love, and salvation. Its presence can add a sense of reverence and contemplation to my work, reminding viewers of the profound significance of the Christianity.

09 Bible

I received a children’s Bible book in year 6 from the Bibles in Schools program. I have never sat down and done Bible study on my own because I’ve always struggled to understand the contexts. It remained tucked away for many years before I found it in a box when I decided I wanted to start connecting with my faith.

I’m eager to immerse myself into these stories using it as a pathway to deepen my understanding of Christianity. This exploration is an important step in my aspiration to engage in church-related design work.

10 Bandages

Poster format is A2 Size - Both poster and Inventory to fit on one A2 page

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Mid-sem Break: REVERSE GARBAGE + CONSTRUCTION

I visited Reverse Garbage in Marrickville with the intent of finding a box, or materials i could create my own light box out of, but instead changed my plans upon finding a nifty plastic frame. I also bought a large piece of cloudy acrylic and a piece of card (grand total $5 for the lot, yay). 

One Kilogram of Personal Information, 2018

Laura Bull

Medical silicon ear impressions, kitchen scales.

Mid-sem break; Studio Workshop (Food Festival)