About the Author - Initial Research

Ursula Le Guin! I also had her in mind. I've read her short story "The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas" several times and fell in love with her writing. I've also read The Left Hand of Darkness, which I thought was interesting as it explained quite a lot on what 'science fiction' and 'speculative fiction' was. 

Other books: The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), The Lathe of Heaven (1971)

About herself: 

- She is apparently one of the 2 living authors to have their books published by the Library of America (apparently it is a nonprofit publisher of American classic lit.)

- She has quite a well off family, childhood though grew up during the World War II. It was most likely utter solitude, if at that time she seemed to be living quite well, away from the war zones. Though perhaps this isolation and 'safety' bred her imagination and interest in writing? I may be wrong. 

Her writing:

- she often writes science fiction books. Though I would say that her imagination and story telling is very alluring. In a sense that it is surreal and unimaginable, though it stimulates me to visualize things and think of what ifs and hows. 

- she also covers topics: feminism, environmentalism and anarchy.

Initially, I am not exactly a science fiction person, however when I read The Left Hand of Darkness, it changed my perspective on that genre. Such as her short story, the utopian world of Omelas. Though this eternal happiness is only caused by a single miserable soul. Though it discusses the human mind and how they would get out of the problem, either destroy their own happiness, save that one human or run away? 

Le Guin is more of a speculative fiction writer. She writes a lot about the 'what if's' rather than the future. Which I thought is very interesting as it brings out a lot of discussions. 

However, her concepts are rather abstract and unconventional that made me think twice if I would choose her. I thought that I might be stuck when it comes to visually communicating her work. Though the question is whether I am willing to challenge myself and take the risk?

About the Author - Initial Research

• Ursula Le Guin (Pen name!)

• Lin Yu Tang

• Haruki Murakami  

Tough decision...I knew two of these authors before this brief and have read some of their books. Though I am quite conflicted between choosing an author I am familiar with or take a risk and try someone new? In this case it was Lin Yu Tang.

About himself: 

- Well educated, travels (went to France, Germany and Harvard University) 

- He doesn't simply write books but also make crits and essays. He is also a translator and an inventor!

Known books:

- Moment in Pecking 1938

- The Importance of Living 1937

The Importance of Living (1973)

• I personally never have read any of his books, though as I skimmed through reviews and summaries, I quite like how his work revolves around a few political issues, education, language, art, socio-cultural and the way of living. They are quite heavy topics as well as socially conscious discussions. 

• This book particularly reflects on human happiness and the meaning of life. I personally think that it is quite a difficult concept to grasp in general, much less visualizing it.

• Though what I quite like about his writings is that he somewhat bring together the culture gap between the East and the West! 

End of Module Student Evaluation

Learning Outcome	Evidenced where? Blog, Sketchbook, Roughs Final Illustrations, development sheets etc.  (No more than 75 words)	Your grade Using words: > poor, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent
4A7 Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between visual language, visual communication and problem solving in the development of appropriate solutions to defined problems.	Sketchbook, roughs, development sheets	Good
4B6 Demonstrate a critical awareness of individual intentions in the production and contextualisation of work related to appropriate creative practices in illustration.	Sketchbook, blog	Good
4C8 Identify, evaluate and select appropriate practical and conceptual approaches to the development of visual solutions to set problems.	Sketchbook, roughs, blog	Good
4C9 Demonstrate the ability to incorporate visual skills and sensitivity to appropriate media in the development of a body of individually identified responses to set briefs.	Sketchbook, final illustrations	Good
4D6 Effectively manage time and resources in order to document, present and evaluate a self-determined body of work in response to set briefs.	Blog	Good

This particular module taught me beyond just creating images or illustrations. I would say that effectively visually communicating a concept or a message was the ultimate challenge. There was so much thought, planning and process involved for each set briefs. I suppose solving a design problem is something that I learnt and it is a skill that I hope to further develop on. I personally think that I had invested most of my time and attention in this module in comparison to the previous ones. Perhaps it was due to my interest towards the briefs and actually being able to show my own practice through my work. I would say that I was most satisfied with the Persons of Note brief, from the process to the final outcome. I thought that the experiments and test pieces helped a lot in terms of trying to communicate my intentions through visual means. Usually it took me a while to get my head around briefs, though it made more sense when I actually started doing practical work. I was glad to have spent time and energy developing as I get to find out both successes and faults with ideas or methods, working my way from those trial and errors.  Throughout the module, there often cases where I change my mind or certain designs after speaking with peers or coming across new things from research. Though I would say that research was an effective way of working, not only through online sources or books but also from doing field research. For instance, with the Persons of Note, I spent some time outside creating sound maps. I realised that there is a difference between doing secondary research and actually observing as well as experiencing something first hand. Personally I feel that by observing things, I subconsciously try to make sense of it and reflect upon how it could help with my practice; there is just more thought put into it. But also, I found feedbacks really helpful and even simple conversations with friends. Usually the comments and things stated made me look at my own work at a different angle and ways in which I never thought of. I suppose it is that constant self-reflection and questioning that helped me develop my work. Contextual research had been helpful throughout the module. Generally, I look at elements such as use of colour, composition and how they express tone, mood as well as communicating through imagery. For instance with the Act of Kindess brief, I was generally inspired by an exhibition I visited, which talked about social and cultural issues. Though despite the various ways of communicating that subject matter, these practitioners had used universal symbols and imageries. I thought that it was clever and effective as they used elements recognisable to the audience. As I have come to realise that I like to work with shapes and colours, I had been thinking a lot about how I could communicate messages effectively through visual means. I am generally satisfied with the things I had done and learnt from this module. Even though I explored different approaches, I feel that I am still working within my comfort zone. For the last brief, I tried going bigger, work looser and less constricted to focusing on details. It wasn’t something I am used to, but surprisingly I enjoyed the space to simply explore. I thought that it was useful trying things out first and then extract certain elements or method of working to further develop them into final pieces.

Persons of note - Final designs

• I think that this project and the previous ones had been very graphic design-like, with lots of shapes and solid colours. Though looking back at it, I would like to try to work with different ways of making images (media-wise). I feel that I have been working with the basic paper collage lately.

•  But I really like the organic/handcrafted feeling, though perhaps combining digital media with analog work would actually look nice? Then again, it would also depend on the aesthetic I am going for. 

• I would say that I am most satisfied with this brief, in terms of the research, process and the thought put into it. I honestly wouldn't change much about the final outcome. Though I feel that I could have tried mono print or digital media (it is also possible approach). I feel that this project reflected my interests and practice the most.

Persons of note - feedback + trying things out

• Looking back at the things people said about my work, I was seeing words such as 'noise', 'zing', 'tactile', 'interactive', harmonious', 'strum of an off key guitar the summer heat' (very specific), 'bouncy'. I was glad that the idea of sounds and movement communicated successfully!
• I am quite surprised at the 'time & love in craft' note. I did think a lot about the crafting, though I feel that I could have put a tiny bit more time and attention into some parts. Such as creating the pattern/textures of the paper and the sewing (I am honestly mediocre in sewing)

GIF 1. Just playing around with digitally drawn elements and
analog media.

#2. Wanted it to actually move. Looks cool! Putting my gif making
and Photoshop skills to use!

#3. Seeing it move makes it look more like a clapping hand
(with the quick/blinking, 1-2 beat)

• Someone mentioned about trying to digitally refine them. I would, but that would eliminate the organic/tactile aesthetic of it all. Either way, I played around with my designs on photoshop. I was curious.