jenestaa

[jenestaa]

Artistic Vision Statement

My design strengths are imagery using photography, abstraction in illustration, and also typography. I want to become either a photographer, a social media designer or an exhibition designer. I want to try to improve on my camera skills by attending more photography workshops. Also, I want to explore more about how content creators on social media design their own brands. Lastly, going to more seminars for various exhibitions.

All these statements above were what I wrote for my artistic vision statement. I think that it is still not quite well thought out yet. This is because I feel that my statements above are not concise, and not really thought out in a more in-depth manner. Hence, I do think that it does need some revising.

My new artistic statement is “To be an experimental and receptive designer”.

KCRW is an NPR affiliate radio station and work x work is a creative agency. Previously in 2019, work x work and KCRW had joined forces for On Air Fest. They had an organic partnership. Therefore, developing conversations about doing more collaborations. They also had similar thought processes when it comes to audio.

“It’s about audio, but it’s kind of not about audio- it’s about culture, it’s about community, it’s about engagement.” (Beach) I think this implies that their focus is not only on producing soundtracks, but also, trying to be more engaged with the public.

I like how they used simple typography for their branding. By doing an outline of the four letters KCRW, it creates a graphical framing shape. Keeping a consistent typeface while also using the graphical shape to design their brand identity. The usage of vibrant colour schemes does attract the public, especially in large-scale printing. Where it can be seen even from afar. Lastly, photographs used as the background were captured by photographer Daniel Topete. Using perspectives to capture portraits of people and also LA’s city surroundings. Images being used as backdrop while illustrations and typefaces on top, portrays an over-layering effect.

Snarkitecture is a New York design studio. Created by American musician Pharrell Williams and Japanese graphic designer Nigo, they designed a flagship store for Billionaire Boys Club (BBC). “It’s going to be a place where people can come in to get inspired by the mix of fashion, culture, art and design.” (Dreith) I think this sentence implies that the creators designed this space to attract the public to be immersed in fashion trends, minimalist culture, as well as art and design practices. Many materials were environmentally-friendly which includes recycled plastics, cages, glass and wood panels. Hence, showing sustainability.

In comparison with both design case studies, and relating to my new artistic vision statement, I think that I will choose the second project. It is because I want to try out something new. Reusable materials are a good way to put recyclables to good use. Through design and marketing, experiencing how I should try to complement the collaborators point-of-view.

(492 words)

References:

Beach, Charlotte. “KCRW Got a Groovy Rebrand from the Audio-Space Experts at work x work.” PRINT Magazine, 22 June 2022, https://www.printmag.com/branding-identity-design/kcrw-rebrand/.

Dreith, Ben. “Snarkitecture uses recycled materials for Pharrell Williams' store in Miami.” Dezeen, 24 October 2022, https://www.dezeen.com/2022/10/24/snarkitecture-pharrell-williams-bbc-miami/.

#photography  #abstraction  #illustration  #typography  #social media  #exhibition  #artistic  #vision  #experimental  #receptive  #rebrand #design  #sustainability  #marketing    

[jenestaa]

CTS B Manifesto

Based on the seven CTS B topics that we have learnt, we came up with seven different statements. Each statement focuses on one topic.

First, “To be expansive and connective”. This statement portrays that we can broaden our knowledge by gaining a deeper understanding of our creative practice. While interlinking critical thinking into creative practice.

Second, “Understanding the context of other viewpoints as well as my own “. It is to convey that we can take note of other people’s theories and also our own. Relating them to real-life practice.

Third, “You can’t design in a vacuum”. Through this statement, it is to portray that we as designers, whenever we see good references, we will get influenced by their projects or artworks. We should also try to be socially-engaged with society.

Fourth, “Understanding where you come from, gives you perspective”. Different people have different viewpoints. It kind of depends on our family’s historical traditions and lineages.

Fifth, “Be critical and self reflective to understand your audience”. Whenever possible, we can try to think critically about our processes while reflecting on ourselves. This methodology helps us to know better about ourselves or our audiences.

Sixth, “Analyse your creative practice”. Everyone has our own creative practices. There are reasons as to why we design our artworks in a certain way. Moreover, we should study carefully into our passions, so that we can achieve our own unique creative practices.

Seventh, “You don’t have to have an endgame, but you have to have a sense of direction”. This implies that it isn’t necessary to know exactly what our artistic vision statements are. However, we should have an idea of which route we are leaning towards through interests.

Currently, I do not have an alternative manifesto personally. However, if we were given more time, I will try to do more research on the various interpretations of manifestos. I may also try my best to come up with my own manifesto.

Maybe if we were given the opportunity to design it digitally, I will suggest to my group mates to do a digital collage. By using imagery, we can collate relevant images that we took on our own. Provided that everyone doesn’t mind sharing them. Thereafter, combining the images that we have into a collage. This is so that it can be a photographic visual representation of our group’s manifesto.

One aspect of CTS B that was particularly significant to me is on the topic of connecting theory with practice. Where there is a discussion on the concept of identity. In relation to the Design Skills and Application module, for my video editing project. I use the concept of reflections and also other point-of-views to portray my own self-identity.

Another aspect will be on the topic of connecting practice with society. For Studio, we are working on a visual identity system for our chosen festivals. This relates to the topic as we get to integrate it into real-life context.

(492 words)

References:

“Collages | A visual manifesto on Behance.” Behance, 11 March 2020, https://www.behance.net/gallery/93637703/Collages-A-visual-manifesto.

#manifesto  #collage  #digital  #imagery  #reflections #identity

[jenestaa]

Week 3: Connecting Practice with Society

I have discovered that I can be a social agent too, if I am an artist or a designer. I think the context behind socially-engaged practice is where we have to be conscious of other people’s ideas. Collaboration and conversation also allows us to interact more while working with one another. Proper care and concern for ourselves and others helps in creating a better community.

Based on the collaboration project above, it engages “MINI” car brand, fans and drivers to participate in this event. In line with the pandemic, this project aims to portray the gift of togetherness by spreading cheer and hope. (Kinetic)

We decided to film at the nearby mall called “Sim Lim Square”. We wanted to showcase the different electronics and food stalls around some areas. Most of us are videographers, while the rest are either scriptors or narrators. In my opinion, I actually consider this as a local issue. Even though there is a great variety of food and electronics stores, the competitiveness rate is very high. It is due to the fact that similar stalls were being arranged around the same areas.

I would like to re-enact a film, people being too engrossed on their phones, and forgetting to move towards the front.

After watching the whole cohort film videos, I realised that we all have different perspectives and also use a range of approaches while filming the documentary. Each of the films main components is by using simple acting to convey their chosen local issues.

(250 words)

References:

Kinetic. “Giving The Angbao A Unique Spin For A Unique Year (CNY 2021) - Kinetic.” Kinetic Singapore, https://kinetic.com.sg/mini-thaumatrope-angbao/.

 

#series  #brand identity  #videography  #collaboration  #practice  #society

[jenestaa]

Week 2: Connecting Theory and Practice

Based on today’s tutorial, I have learned that factors such as cultural characteristics, power, and less power affect our own personal and social identity. (Lecturio Medical) Personally, I think that personal identity refers to having a deeper understanding of oneself. Whereas, I think that social identity is more towards a sense of belonging outside of our own comfort zone.

For the first collage, if I had more time, I would have tried out different blending options and also created different effects using Adobe applications. While for my second collage, I would have to find out more about my classmate, search up on more images, so as to create a maximalist collage. Regarding my last artwork, I would have added a variety of colours to my illustrations to make it look more lively.

Identity can be broken down into our sense of self, or the global understanding a person has of themselves. (Linkedin) Thus, implying that it can either be specific or general in the definitions. I think that it is notion defined, as there are many people who define identity similarly. I feel that it can either be ourselves or others, who define our own personal or social identities. It changes when we do more collaborative work, due to communicating and interacting with more people. It also changes when we improve on our growth mindset. This is so as to be more open-minded in the things we do. Creating new definitions of identity by thinking out of the box with our utmost creativity.

(250 words)

References:

Lecturio Medical. “Self-Concept, Self-Identity & Social Identity – Psychology & Sociology | Lecturio.” YouTube, 17 January 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBaTbiWKB0w.

Linkedin. “The Identity Element | A Definition of Identity.” LinkedIn, 15 August 2018, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/identity-element-definition-bianca-lopes.

#collages  #illustrations  #line works  #personal identity  #social identity

[jenestaa]

Week 1: Creative Practice and Critical Thinking

I have discovered that nowadays, more and more employers are looking out for not just our qualifications but also our soft skills. (Morgan) Critical thinking does relate to our creative practice. I have learned that when we are designing our work, we often ask ourselves what is the reason we designed it that way. The similarities between creative practice and critical thinking is that there are processes involved in both. The differences will be that critical thinking is more structured, while creative practice is quite unstructured. Critical thinking is more generative and problem solving due to asking questions in various situations. Analytical and symbiotic are also factors for creative practice.

High and low social status. Some countries are more well-developed while others are less-developed. As many years have passed, technology has also been improving rapidly. The more well-developed countries have more advanced technology compared to the less-developed countries. Examples will be such as AI being introduced into the world recently and in the near future. Even though technology has been improving rapidly, I do think that there were also some cases where the more well-developed countries helped or collaborated with the less-developed countries. They would bring their inventions to help the less fortunate people. Example of High social status country: China ; Low social status country: Philippines.

(Evidence Action)

I think critical thinking can be creative by thinking out of the box when we ask questions. On the other hand, creativity can also be critical while approaching our lecturers, friends, or peers for advice.

(250 words)

References:

Morgan, Kate. “'Soft skills': The intangible qualities companies crave.” BBC, 28 July 2022, https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220727-soft-skills-the-intangible-qualities-companies-crave.

Evidence Action. “Safe Water Now.” Evidence Action, https://www.evidenceaction.org/programs/safe-water-now#the-problem.

 

#creative practice  #critical thinking  #social status