Creative Thinking Review | Week 11

This marks the last post of Creative Thinking module. Honestly speaking, this Arts & Foundation programme went passed like a flash of lightning. First days may seemed like a billion years ago to some but seriously, the memory of it are still fresh as ever in my mind. Creative Thinking, I'd say, the  most enjoyable module to attend. Not for the sake of what's been taught or what we learn, but also the lecturer. I think it not for Mr Ezzam, I would not have take as much interest into Creative Thinking. 

I've said something about him on my social media and I'm gonna say it here again. Mr Ezzam is just..

He's always so greatly unconventional.

I really am lucky and deeply grateful that he was my lecturer. He knows it too well that we don't have to be "babied?". He's always so casual and funny which I think is a good thing. Life is never always about seriousness and being systematic. How he puts Creative Thinking is not just merely showing us slides every week and throw us a bunch of assignments to our faces and expects us to think for ourselves. No. He goes beyond. He challenges us with his own interactive ideas.  He teaches us creativity beyond them closed doors. What the world has to offer, that Creative Thinking is another platform for us to prepare. He always mentioned that,

 "between these 4 walls, it's really where we can make mistakes".

On some levels, the topics are straight-forward (e.g. Brainstorming) but that does not mean that it's an irrelevant general knowledge. Creative Thinking, to me, is like a break from reality. As compared to other modules, where it's always about the hustlin' and bustlin. The setting is really different. Two hours of Tuesdays with Mr Ezzam feels like a moment where timing could actually slow down.

You feel me? It brings me back to my own thoughts before I get caught up with the world. & Especially in the design industry, we have to have the need to re-evaluate ideas and thoughts and improvise. Creative Thinking taught us to loosen up with our intentions. Our sensitivity. So not only we can organize and create well but also create awareness. With great passion and determination, we ought to achieve anything and everything we want. Patience is a virtue. Especially in design, it does not happen overnight. We have to keep it consistent and take that extra step. Be creative and do you. 

- 

Force Connection | Week 9

Force Connection. Hm...

What is Force Connection? 

An impact? A bond?  

Well, force connection is basically to link two or more disparate items and solve/create anew out of it. A new product. A new function. Which they could also be called as 

Cross Fertilisation. Normally this kinds of product design are formed/created so to be also labeled as multi-functional. Which I think is great for marketing, especially majoring Graphic Communication, we ought to have this skill/ability to think broader and wider in perspective in order to get ones' idea across. I'd think this is definitely a great tool to imply when brainstorming in product design. Be it in furniture, utensils, electrical appliance etc. Lets say you are in the woods hiking and the sun is already setting, but.... you didn't bring a tent. What would you do? A great example shown in class during that case study was, yes the JAKPAK.  Mr Ezzam all about his non-stop hits humor, decided to tease me with it throughout. It was probably like the joke of the day. 

Anyways, its all good you're forgiven Mr Ezzam hm!

JakPak. When is a jacket not a jacket right? When its a sleeping bag and a tent as well?! Thats right. Its made waterproof of rain jacket, sleeping bag, and tent into a single piece of clothing. I mean.. is this not smart! It's well thought and well functional. Your traditional hiking bagpaack stores the essentials into one, for space and convenience sake. This is cool, I have to admit. 

Another example would be this coffee scoop. Relating traditional and something modern into something simpler. This unique design doubles as a coffee scooper AND a bag sealer having to also keep our coffees fresh for a long time

Practical enough, isn't it!

Then again, this hybrid inventions are definitely ways that allow us to break away from traditions and norms I'd say. Sometimes even mixing the most random objects visually or not, might also be the best triggers for product design and problem solving. 

Analogical Thinking Pt.2 | Week 8

Today's topic was all about tension. The thing that comes to my mind first :

Weight? Force? Pressure? Its like the saying, "when tension builds up".

 It can interpreted in different ways, be it physically or emotionally.

Practically speaking, when we say tension, we normally refer it between two parties.
Are we creating it? Or is it that people are creating for us?

(Unless you're consistently thinking like Einstein then yeah, it's literal. Haha!)

So as a class/group activity, we were to discuss on this particular article about an anonymous Hong Kong designers' illustration that brutally portrayed how Hong Kong is nothing like China. 

"How Hong Kong is nothing like China"

 

 

 

http://nextshark.com/hong-kong-china-differences-designs/

In total there are about 22 illustrations, this is just part of the total,

 not the whole thing just yet. 

But honestly though, to me, it just screams BIASNESS!

To what I'm seeing off of it, its his/her preconceived idea against foreigners. Well, in this case, against China. I think it is just too exaggerated. Personally, I have never been to China or Hong Kong so my opinion is considered quite neutral and limited. Although, I do feel that the designers went a tad too insensitive which made it seemed as though his intentions were actually made to sound offensive as it should've. But then again, how could I be so sure about it?  For example, he made a contrast on their hygiene as a contributing factor to his defence. Honestly, I find it rather irrelevant. To what extent does this prove how the Chinese carry themselves as a whole? What about personal hygiene?

 Is this just based on his/her own perspective and not majority?

Is there not other HongKongers that does the same? 

I could be right. I could be wrong. 

Another example would be their use of social media. My friend, Adilah did brought up an interesting point, saying that here.. the Chinese are contradicting. Hm, say whaaat??

It seemed like the Chinese insistently chose to be so non-exposed to the outside world whereby they restrict all communications via various apps (WeChat) as compared to the HongKongers who are likely to be more interactive (Facebook & Twitter etc). And so when we discussing, Mr Ezzam questioned us back instead saying, how is it not us who just take that initiative and try to learn and understand them. Why not we learn Chinese instead? Me and Adilah got quite angry with that, because to us, it's not that we are discriminating language or any sort. However, to us, English is a universal language. That's just how the world works. To us, it's just selfish. Is it not that there are other countries as well that revolve around this? 

It's a matter of compromise and practicality. 

However, I could be saying so much with little knowledge but be wrong about this, or even right. Who knows.. What I'm trying to say is that, sometimes things don't make sense the way you ought to. It's like a rumour. Rumours are made up because at some point, it did start somewhere. Like in every lie, there is a truth right? Maybe that's how tension builds up.

Misconception, misunderstanding. 

Pic of the Week | Week 7

 "Go, go, go, go, go, go shawty 

It's your birthday 

We gone' party like its yo birthday 

We gone sip Bacardi like it's your birthday 

And you know we don't give a f*ck

It's not your birthday!" 

Thats right..You know where I'm going with this...  Can we please take a moment and try to live that hit by 50 Cents' again. But seriously though, it was really my birthday on the 7th of September, weeheew! Which makes me 19 this year. 

Oh god, before I even know/realise it, I'll be stepping into adulthood sooner than I thought. Well, honestly, as I get older I've come to realise that it's more of the years I would want to take back instead. Time flies, trust me. Now I know its said, time is free but time is also priceless. All them times I remembered wishing wanting to "grow up" faster than I should. 

Heck yeah, I take that back! You'll know it then that everything before you just turns into memories. 

And so, this year, I spent my 19th birthday with a very special friend of mine. That was it. 

Simple. Simple as I ever wished life to be :) 

The 'surprise' picnic celebration was more than I could've asked for. I mean who would give a pass on  such a food spread,presents and endless convos with the greatest company, right?!

Yep, exactly what I thought. At the end of the day, be it you're 9 or19 or even 51, it's all about cherishing them moments you have, even in moments where you're doing something so mundane you won't even realise you're in the moment, its one-time life offer, we ought to use it well, before it's just too late. 

Battle Royale | Movie Review

First off, let me just say how much I actually enjoyed watching this movie!? To be honest, I went to watch it twice. Normally, anything gore and violence themed? Not my thing. But I guess that I am glad that I still gave it a try! Battle Royale would probably be the first for me to see heads & knives  flying everywhere like the cannons that bursts on Fourth of July. Literally. 

It kinda seem like as if it's the same plot from Hunger Games? Where a random class of people are being packed off to an island where they'll be given weapons to eliminate each other. & only one survivor remaining. But I'd think it is a possible inspiration for it instead. I did felt uncomfortable by that mix of humour and horror all at once, the movie just seemed too epic! Even for the matter that the "villain" here is not the teacher, Kitano-sensei. Which I would say.. kind of a plot-twist. 

But seriously though, what would I have done? (Personal Analogy) 

If there was a way, I would want to be killed before the game even started. I would not risk killing anyone if I could. I know I would not survive long. Haha, I sound like a total scared-y cat! But then again I think thats what most would wish for, I guess? So if say I did have the guts to survive, I would want to be with the group of guys hiding out tryna make the explosives. At least I would know that I tried hard and smart. But still get killed in the end. I would think there are many of my classmates that can possibly turn unconsciously & psychotically strategic in killing anyone and everyone. For example, I think someone unexpected like Lynn? Or maybe Keisha? Someone really unexpected and unpredictable! Who knows who could survive till the end.. 

All in all, I think constantly discovering new themes/genres of movie, can help us in building up creativity. Especially with things that we are not fond of, or use to most of the time.

Analogical Thinking | Week 7

Apart from being absent for this weeks' topic, still gonna give a shot understanding & talk about what Analogical Thinking is anyways! Hm.. analogical thinking..

Analogical Thinking 

consists of:

-similes

-metaphors

-analogies

Analogy draws a comparison between objects in order to show similarity in some respect, basically in the term of examining/comparing resemblances between objects.
These descriptions are really just 

based on our personal perspective and how we look at things, interpreting them in a creative way rather than the meh, basic to-the-point and too simple, that its just boring!

They are kind of like English idioms I would say? 

Or if this was a Malay lesson, it would be called 'Bahasa Berbunga', I'm sure.

It was like our gateway to heaven when writing descriptive composition back then.

Well, for me that is, haha! 

Anyways, in analogical thinking, similes is a figure of speech that compares two things which are not similar to each other and it is to create a new meaning. It normally begins with "as" or "like". Examples are, "as easy as ABC" or the famous saying, "like a box full of chocolates". Metaphors are somewhat similar to similes but it consists of only one thing to mean another and compare. It is more direct. Simile is kind of like a type of metaphor. Examples are, "life is like a roller coaster" or maybe "the clouds are balls of cotton". 

Types of Analogies - personal, direct, symbolic and fantasy 

Personal analogies allows people to feel like a different person or object. Exactly like putting ones mind into ones shoe. It can be through space/object/person. It involves more on emotions.

Direct and symbolic analogies are somewhat similar . They compare or pretty much describe objects/concepts directly. [e.g shampoo that smells like tea]

Fantasy analogies make use of own imagination. Imagine options that are even to the most extreme. Image that ideal situation/position. It is like taking our best shot as the solution.
 [e.g the humidity and heat wave feels like there's a giant fire-breathing dragon toasting the earth!] 

I really think that with analogical thinking, it helps portray a situation/object/someone with a twist. Its not really cutting-edge where everything sounds and seems predictable as it is. With it, it adds life when we describe things then.

Pic of the Week | Week 6

Coming into 6th week in NAFA, & I can honestly say that it has been filled with such a whirlwind of events. Despite, the workload, deadlines and them frequent sleepless nights (Y'all know what I'm talking bout right?) Anyways, I did met a bunch of great friends along the way. Honestly, even if it sounds cliché, they are kinda like the happy pills everybody's been talking about. It is sorta impossible/to good to be true over such a short time that we've been together. Adilah and Dinah were the first friends that I made since Day 1 and right off the bat, we just clicked! We have the same sense of humour, life-experiences, interests.. the list is just, endless I'd say. Travel, Music, Fashion, Makeup, Family, Relationships.. You name it. We could go on and on. & It's like each of us are some sort of a motivation source for each of us? Yeah, it's hard describing friendships that are treasurable because its like theres not a word thats enough for them. (In a good way, of course!) 

 Somehow you could say we're familiar but different at the same time. 

Haha! Does that make sense? 

It has been a hella ride but I would think that if it weren't for these two,my current life in NAFA would just be meh, a big blur. They truly are gems of life.

Lateral Thinking | Edward De Bono

Edward de Bono made known that lateral thinking is a type of thinking. He knew that there are others that questions creativity if it just so happens that an individual can inherit such skill or even some kind of talent, although he believed as much that creativity and the ability to imagine is something that anyone can learn from with proper training. No doubt, some may be better than others. But hey, that is how some things operate. I can be good at cleaning but not at cooking? Like I can paint well but I can't draw well? Of some sort like that. 

It so happens that one idea can be a tad more usable or creative than the other also because of our own effort. There are tools accessible for anyone to go beyond and develop this skill in workshops and such. No kidding! He really believes, which I agree, that in order for us to constantly think outside of the box, in any creative thinking session, we got to refrain ourselves from this habitual mode of traditional steps - he's got a great point though. We generate new ideas also to stock the mind with potential concepts that may not be at such use now but in near future. This theory on lateral thinking shows that he has good explanatory value with the need of creativity. 

Lateral Thinking | Week 6

Lateral thinking - ability to think "outside of the box" or creatively.

It involves us to discard away the obvious & get rid of our own traditional mode of thoughts so we can make use of inspirations and imaginations to look at problems and solving it in a different/unexpected perspective.As coined by Edward de Bono, it is basically changing concepts and perceptions. Not only playing around with the pieces but changing the pieces as well.

 Connect the dots without having to lift the pencil off the paper. 

Trace the lines in one continious movement without crossing a line on the way.

We were to get into groups of three to figure out on a few examples like about the neighbours chicken causing the hole in my fence. 
What would I do to solve it without having to offend him/her? 

Hm.. And so here are our top picks that may seem a tad crazy but possible, maybe? Haha!

1. Put a mirror as reflection for confusion

2. Turn the fence upside down 

3. Dig a whole as a trap for them chickens

All in all, lateral thinking is as important us to imply to the external world, especially in the world of designers. Sticking to the same ole same ole, would not expand creativity for us to illustrate it then.  Who would be there to do so? If not ourselves? Who? 

Effort plays a huge part in change. With change, there comes evolution. There comes, growth. 

Ending off with a thinker given from our lecturer,

"What would you do if.. you are not in NAFA now?"

  Realistically

1. Proceed with the course offered in RP (Diploma in Health Services)

2. Continue working retail / kids art teacher / babysitter

3. Start a Youtube channel - personal or travel vlogs/ beauty & wellness 

4. Take up on a design workshop and build up on portfolio 

5. Finish up my movie/series to watch list!

6. Stay unemployed and decide to just revamp my whole room 

7. Re-retake O' Level

Unrealistically & Crazy

1. Make a sex tape, get discovered in hopes to become like Kim Kardashian 

2. Go on a hunt for a rich husband 

3. Join a circus  

Amy Tan: Where does creativity hide? | TED

In Amy's TED talk, I can see how she projected and forsee her ingenious ways of what creativity is for her. Right off the bat, it is obvious that she loves uncertainty, how it was unclear when she comprehended life. As quoted by her,"There is no absolute truth." 

"The value of nothing; out of nothing comes something."

Her presentation manage to give a glimpse of her muses, be it by accident or was it serendipity? It helped her either way a lot in understanding the specifics, the about-ness or the discovery of that happening at that point. She questions theories of life likewise when she doesn't understand quantum mechanics but still uses it as a reference. Consciously or sub-consciously in her mind, she discover new things over her doubts/questions constantly running through a regime of her life experiences be it good or bad. There are quite a number of theories about how one can be creative. Simply with all these factors of having different life experiences/traumas/world views/backgrounds that any of us could have gone through, we ought to make that connection to vary these factors and make something new out of them. 

Seth Godin: How to get your ideas to spread | TED

I have to admit, I had to re-watch Seth Godin's TED talk on sliced breads, multiple times well because.. I could barely understand what he was saying! Although generally, it was quite an informative presentation, I did get the gist of it all. Basically, Seth talks about basic marketing in the now overstimulated advertising world. There is no escape that sponsored banners, TV & radio commercials, billboards are our permanent friend. Them catchphrases, exclamations all of which are fighting for attention. All these messages, they have one goal and that is to make sure it embeds in our memory. This not only applies to commercial products but to all kinds of ideas. Seth encourages us to stretch the margins, innovate further and to not play safe. 

"Be remarkable" 

To constantly make notice of ideas that can help spread the word, ideas and products should break from tradition and turn it more contemporary. Give the audience what they can't/won't expect. Something that is not the already-known. Something that causes curiousity because it's "new". That marketing tool will draw that needed undivided attention and make people really look and wonder. An example he gave was the cow. 

Would you rather stop halfway driving for a regular b&w cow or a cow with  both black and pink.

Exactly. 

Also he made a point especially for marketeers to focus on the audience, for those who actually may spread the word out of passion. The thing is, this all seemed pretty straight forward & common sensed but it's the approach, it is just not commonly done. 

Mind Mapping | Week 5

This week, we started off with an introduction of mind mapping. 
It was 9am, & of course everything else just sounded like "blablabla" 
As we got into it, we came across a personal mind map, some sort like a biography. 
Which led Mr Ezzam asking us,
"If you could be someone for a day, who would it be?"
To be honest, I was thinking hard about this.. It was the golden opportunity I could take advantage of! To think of the moment being able to be somebody you've been admiring or idolising for the longest time. I could be Charmaine Olivia, Lana Del Rey, Louis Cole, all these people with all I can but unfortunately, I was so blank I could not think of anyone but...
Heck yeah, the Queen B herself,Beyoncé.

Why? She was the first that popped up outta my head. To my defence, I would not even mind being Beyoncé any day. EVER. She just has it all together! And for her, she does everything discreetly but insistenly and wholeheartedly, which is a good thing. Usually what Beyoncé Knowles wants, Beyoncé Knowles gets. She got em voice, smokin' body & not to mention ass as well, favourably confident and dominant, a rappers' wife etc.. I mean I would trade any day to be her. Who in the right mind not?! 
C'mon, lets be real here.

   Hmm.. personally, I find mind mapping a complete waste of time & sometimes unnecessary simply because I do not put in effort to do it... However after much thought put into it, knowing myself, I am a visual learner. Mind mapping saves more time actually. I tend to be more interested anything associated with images, colours or maps. I mean it just adds more personality and liveliness to it or everything would've been extra EW! dull & boring. Would've you not agree with me, haha! 

On a side note, mind mapping is more than just note-taking. A mind map links information to the central subject and branches out to subtopics, key points or any related ideas. That's the thing about mind mapping - once you start, the possibilities seems endless. It's very intuitive and helps organise our thoughts, in a fun way I would say. There's no limit a7 s to how and where we can apply this graphical tool of mind mapping. It can be used when we are planning our career, studying a subject or language. Pretty much anything! 

Later in class that day, we were told to actually do a mind map of ourselves as part of our activities, and so here is mine:

You can pretty much know the kind of person I am straight off the bat. Anyways, this just came to mind as I was summing up my "About Myself", oh well. 

Thats right, that's what I would have written on my very own tombstone [shown above]! Honestly, I went completely blank (yet again) and came up with the shortest descriptions ever.... 
Though this would most probably be outta three I'd have to choose from for myself,haha!
 Speaking of tombstones and death, we were told to think of a scenario or ways how we would want to face and taste death all at once, if given a choice. I'd have to say, 
"committing suicide by jumping off a building backwards."
 Well, this was what happened to my cousin way back when. I have never met her not even once which is an unfortunate because my family always have talked about her, her life, her daughter etc. I would definitely want to feel for that exact position, and finally knowing and understanding what she was really thinking and why what she did, was done. Till now, no one could respond for her with that solid answer. & no one ever will. It does not have to have the limit to only her, but also for those that face death knowingly, consciously and sometimes even decisively. When you'd think situations and people are really that fine and normal, you'd surprise yourself with these depressing unpredictable wonders of life that has yet to happen.

Pic of the Week | Week 4

My parents giving their blessings and word of advice before she departed, haha!

This day.. I was dreading for this particular day. Why? Its the day where I had to send my sister off to pursue one of her many dreams in life; flying. [Well, equivocally speaking of course!] I think I was actually finding for ways to distract myself having to accept the fact that she'll be leaving. Of course being me.. I did not express much to her when she left. I kept questioning, "Oh no.. who am I always going to report to now!? Who am I going to have those late night talks with if not her? & even when I get annoyed sometimes, when she squeezes next to me just so she could sleep alongside me [Well, she's scared of the dark honestly], I am definitely going to miss that most.Gosh.. Anyways to start off, we are have that sisterly love/hate relationship going on. We fight all the time [No kidding!] even for the littlest things, sometimes even out of nothing! But of course, they're just those silly and random fights that we have occasionally. No matter, we'll always forgive each other within the minute and still look out for the good & bad too. Be it about guys, friends, parents etc.

 I like to think that we're each others reminder, to root for the greatest goods of life & to always stay grounded especially with family. I am not going to lie, she is like a copy of me.. like a twin. We talk alike, walk alike, look alike most would say.. I wasn't ready to not have her around as much as we use to. Although, I didn't want her to know how sad yet incredibly happy I am for her journey. I would not want her to worry or hold her back from anything ever, though I know she knows that I'll always wish her every happiness & blessings in life. This is definitely not the end of us sister sisters!

Brainstorming Pt.2

This weeks topic was a continuation on "Brainstorming". However, we begin the first half of the lesson doing presentation of the group assignment given. Each groups were given a topic that started as "101 ways to.." per say. Well, my team was assigned with 101 ways to cross roads. Well, we kept it simple for which each of us had to brainstorm for the least of 25 ideas and write/draw it then on paper. Mr Ezzam expected us to think outside of the box, most impractical yet still creative.

I realised there were many of us had really interesting topics, I'm not going to lie. I really liked the group that had to come up with ways to use an umbrella and also kill a cockroach! They had really funny yet crazily possible ideas that I would like to see it happen in real life,haha! I think with the help of brainstorming,  this activity really taught us how to expand our thinking and come out of familiarity.Afterwards, our lecturer gave us another topic to brainstorm on as a group. We had to give more than just a general answer. 

What is actually our role as a designer/artist?
Besides the fact that I went blank for most of the given time.. This was definitely a tough one! Not many knew what was the answer, or they just thought otherwise. Well, as a group, it was interesting to experience how my teammates view their future as.. Especially knowing what matters to them when it comes to their passion for art. 

Honestly, most of our "guestamation" were not in depth. It was to the point and simple.
 For example, conveying a message. This takes effect to most graphic designers. Normally it is seen as to how we can raise/promote awareness or spread news through our visual work. Be it, in posters, advertisements etc. Also in a sense to create trend with use of fashion design, or even beautify nature through interior design. Undeniably, there are many roles of a designer. ANY designer. Yes, we still do earn money, we still try to live life in a different perspective and enjoy the world but that does not limit only to designers having to experience all of that. The real question here is, with whatever we ought to do in life as part of a career, especially in the design industry,
 How can we affect such change to the world?
How do we conserve what we have left and still be able to succeed? 
How do we make the good out of it without having to waste it all in the end? 
Now, THAT'S a thinker. Am I right? 
Damn... and I am still in search for my answer and purpose to it. I think most of us are. 

Later then, we were told to meet outside Lim Hai Tak Gallery onto our next class activity.

Are we gonna visit the museum? Explore the corners of the school? 

What could it be this time? 

Remembering the times we played TAG as an assignment, this definitely got to be huge as well.
I just got a hunch about it! And so, we were instructed to lie down on the floor in front of the gallery. [Pic shown above. Exactly!]
 Lie down. Be quiet. Write down our thoughts and basically just do nothing.

Okay, so I thought well, this is no biggie.. I got this!
There I was lying down sideways, flat on the ground. All these thoughts starts to come to mind.
"OH GOSH ANTS!" "My butt! I know its irrelevant but..  ugh!"
"ROCKS. I see tiny rocks!" "My hair! There is an ant in my hair! I can feel it!"
At that point, I just took a deep breath and just laughed to myself. I was too focused. I was zooming to details in such a rush, which led me feeling flustered, uneasy & uncomfortable. Exactly the feelings I was trying to avoid. But nooo... it happened anyways.
I continued to write though, as I settled down.. I got pretty calm and felt weirdly at ease. Despite being on the rocky ground, the silence made me reminisce a time when I was traveling. I looked into the blue sky and could just hear the wind and feel such weather, as though I was somewhere on a holiday. I could hear little echoes of passerby's chatting & laughing away. I felt small and tiny that my presence was pretty much insignificant to anyone surrounding me. Maybe this is what it feels like, sometimes when we draft away from chaos. As I turned and face upwards to the ceiling, it felt like everything was so opposite and out of perspective. In a good way though, haha! It is not everyday that I just lie down staring blankly and talk to myself.  As simple as it may seem, this is a perfect example of ways we could imply when we design in future. We have to constantly be sensitive. Look at all perspective, even those out of the norm, good or bad. It can take effect for us either way where we will evolve.

Isaac Mizrahi: Fashion and Creativity | Ted

Ah! I loved the energy in this talk by Isaac Mizrahi on Ted! Finally, something that was far less "boring and draggy" than the previous one. Isaac had a more uplifting and energetic spirit. On a serious note, I like how he emphasised that creative thinking is not usually linear or point-blank. Not direct.  Even when he is a fashion designer, he books everything and showed us how and where we can get inspiration from & even at times, randomly. He mentioned that, it's not those moments where he just glare into space and.. BAM! Sparked an idea into mind immediately.. We got to work for it instead sometimes. What he projected felt like an insight into his mind when he's designing. He is both unorthodox and interesting at the same time. He goes out and around, observes neighbourhood, and pursues inspiration. Once he even took the liberty to stalk someone because his shoes were nice. And this is coming from a designer! I loved it when he proved a point that he knew at times that he can be not good enough at everything and that was perfectly fine because he knew at least he was not bored with his capability to explore. He taught a very important lesson to never hold back on past mistakes & not let fear of failure hold us back in things which we find interesting.. that, inspiration can come from anything and anywhere.

Tom Faddell : The first secret of designing is.. noticing | TED

This weeks' talk by Tony Fadell on Ted, personally I found it rather draggy; partly there were too many pauses throughout the video. However, I still thought that some points were pretty enlightening and inspiring. Tony generally talked about how us designers especially, approach invisible problems be it through product design or in everyday things. How we sometimes do or not take full notice of these littlest details of the problem and actually take that advantage to our own surroundings as a solution. Which he then referred this as, "Habituation". 

Normally as humans, we depend on how things are or happen because of this habitual thinking that we innate in our mindset. We are so used to doing things as to how it is, how it should be.. that we kind of neglect opportunities! I'd like to think habituation has to has its limit sometimes. I think this has to  depend on our own will power and control. When our brain habituate certain things, sometimes a little too much of noticing everything.. things can look not on perspective. Its like we're too close focusing into problem-fixing, that we end up not resolving anything.

 In his years working at Apple, he sees and tries to fix things and mistakes that can be potentially at stake or obvious to most customers [e.g charging batteries]. Personally, I think it's all about evolution and what growth is. We ought to think for the past, the future & the present.. but, we can't predict for whats to come. What we're preparing for now as designers, may not solve anything then..

 Although, what we can do is to constantly look broader. 
Take that extra step back before anything else, tweak or change the steps before the problem. Maybe even remove everything and stitch them back together differently.

Secondly, is to constantly look closer.
Put focus into tiny details, now I know sometimes it may not seem as right but only to an extent. Yes, see the bigger picture but what about the ones that we don't see. Those details take effect on problem solving as well. Like how Tony mentioned, we ought to ask "Is it important? Or is that how it has always been done?" Maybe there's a way to get rid of those or improvise.

Lastly, to constantly think younger.
Take to heart having young people on our workspace or people with young minds. Their perspective on things are, in a good way, contagious. They cause everyone to think lighter, younger. Yes, it is very literal! Think way back like a kid. Before habits took over us, and blocked us out from thinking clearly. Feel and look for that frustration and see those details.. to always remain as beginners. For there's many more opportunities to potentially happen then when we fight habituation.

Pic of Week | Week 3

Picture above was taken on an island in Redang, Malaysia during the National Day break.

This picture just pretty much sums up my week in one take.. It's perfectly depicted at such timing and place.This week has been sort of like a roller-coaster ride & everything just did not seem to fall into place. There were assignments that already started to pile up, datelines to meet, I was not having it with the start of my sleepless nights and even with how disorganised I was with time.. Time for school, friends or family. I felt messy. I felt out of place. 

Having not to be in a school longer than I had, and having all that free time, did not prepare me with all that is to come once I came to NAFA. The pressure, the fear, the eagerness, the anxiousness of it all was getting to me overwhelmingly. Although, I keep reminding myself, that it sure is gonna be worthwhile. It will pay off if I stick to it. Prove to myself beyond that I could achieve . Even when it takes more than expected. Just like the picture, having the storm and clouds come over us and hide the sun away. Don't fear, we have to weather it out and know there's always calm after the rain is done.

Brainstorming Pt.1

This weeks' module is all about brainstorming. Now I know, I was not present for this class but it is still worth a shot giving my take on the weeks' topic. Plus, it is part of my assignment anyways!So what is brainstorming? Hm.. To me, brainstorming is like applied imagination. Generating new ideas that has no limits or rules.  We create these ideas with an informal approach on solving problems in ways that are different and can sometimes be crazy to some. Now, brainstorming can take place either individually or within a group. The thing with us, sometimes we question.. 
Is brainstorming really necessary? And to what extent do we apply this technique?
 Personally, I'd like to think that it is. Not only can we apply this 'technique' in creating a products, services, we can also apply them to develop our personal lives. It helps us to think of the problem at a different angle because one, they're more effortless than we think. Having to be in an art industry, its crucial that we adopt this habit of brainstorming when we work. Because then, we understand the need of fluency and flexibility, also collaboration.

Group assignment to brainstorm 101 ways to cross roads

Brainstorming gives us this free and open environment where it encourages everyone to participate because its when we highly avoid the need to judge ones idea, to criticise or even to reward them. Because having to analyse, limits our creativity. This way, we can open up possibilities we never thought of having and spark even more ideas and creative solutions. It benefits us a lot with team bonding providing it being a positive & rewarding environment. 
However, this does not mean as an individual, we cannot brainstorm. We still can. We could however create and explore on our own at our own pace and on simple problems instead of those that are complex. If we do, we would not be able to go in depth with idea thinking and have a wider experience for others to draw on. 

TED | Steven Johnson : Where do good ideas come from?

 Knowing that we had to do a video review this week, I already know I'm down for it!
Personally, I have always enjoyed TED videos and this was definitely a good one again for me.I went ahead watching the talk by Steven Johnson on video, basically giving historical recounts about idea sharing, how 'an idea is a network'.Given examples way back when some of us weren't even born yet. He started by showing a picture of a coffeehouse built in 1650 in Oxford named Grand Café. It was never about the spread of its coffee or the British culture but rather he emphasised on the coffeehouses architecture that was crucial to development and its space. To him, it meant more than that.  To him, it is not just some place where people chat over coffee. It was a space where people get together with different background, different fields of expertise and share. 

As he quoted, "where ideas could have sex." 
Many would start questioning hm, now, what did he meant by this?
The concept is similar.
 What these spaces hold for people was that its like a conjugal bed -- where ideas can get together.

For the longest time, he wondered where in the world good ideas come from. What is the kind of environmental -- what is the space for/of creativity? Like the coffeehouse, he went onto this quest looking at media environment, even to biological environments like coral reefs and rainforests, just to find a shared pattern within these spaces showing recurring behaviours that we can learn from and apply to our own lives/organisations/environments to make it more creative and innovative. No one can disagree that some metaphors steer us towards a certain concept of 'idea-creation' that have those "eureka!" moments, those lightbulb moments. But Steven preferred to think otherwise, that ideas and people are not only the kind that are notoriously unreliable and self-report. 

But rather, people and ideas are a network. 

We as artists especially,take ideas from others, others that we are inspired by, others that we happen to run into in coffeehouses and what not..and sum  these little random hunches up together into new forms and amazingly create something new. Looking at one idea more than it can be shown as how it is. A distinct example Steven gave was about the launch of Sputnik and how it affected the birth of GPS today. To add, this was all stitched up with unplanned emergents and hunches made by a bunch of curious colleagues that developed a side passion for. Gosh.. to analyse it all everything was technically unintentional! For that, it led to new directions that no creator would expect if it was build right and of course, in good space. We have to start filling good chaos in the workspace and not constrain ourselves with what we think we can only do than not. 

"Pic of Week"

Personally, I think this picture is the highlight of my week. Cliché as it's gonna sound, family is everything to me. My father works offshore, and so it is tad difficult for us to always see him around at home. Hari Raya is normally spent with loved ones traditionally asking for forgiveness, dining in the scrumptious treats together, wearing colour coordinating outfits as a family and catching up with other relatives. It has been awhile since we last celebrated as a whole family and thankfully this year, he was able to make it!

Of course! We took our chances and so went visiting during the weekends. We went all round house-hopping from east to west of Singapore. It may sound simple and quite uneventful for some but it really meant a lot for us especially not having to spend quality time as we can. I think sometimes as years passed, I get too caught up with life and tend to take advantage of time and people instead of reminding oneself to stay grounded because life is too damn short even when we don't feel like it is. Even in the happiest/saddest moments, everything could be too late and then there's regret. Probably the last feeling I would want to face before losing a loved one. That being said, family really is everything. 

Breaking the Rules | Break a Routine

Artistically speaking, to break the rule, theres a need to know the rule first. Am I right? 

Living in an open society, specifically in Singapore, rules and guidelines are not at all peculiar to us. This weeks’ module was all about “Breaking the Rules”. Breaking the Rules can relate in so many aspects of art but normally, it is about how one design can really be ground-breaking. To what extent though do we go about doing so? I think what most of us are rather confused with is the contrast between rules & instructions. They might have about just the same concept but, rules are meant to be followed. Rules are commands that are bind to that subject. A simple example would be “No smoking in public malls.” However, rules comes with a negative consequence if we don’t abide by it. Now, what are instructions? Instructions lean towards guidelines that are preferably recommended. In art, we are constantly expected for artists’ to break the rules. There’s always a purpose to it when we do so. Breaking the Rule automatically imposes a mantra on me,“ I need to be hungry! I need to achieve what I want!” However, there are ways going about breaking the rule.

 I think there is a difference when it come off as being rude & provocative versus being hungry wanting to break it. Firstly, we can’t just claim to be unique and different as we break the rules.. we gotta know exactly what we’re doing. Millions of people break the rules everyday, but just didn’t know it. 

Personally, I think it is all about self-growth. Great compositions don’t just happen by accident of course we have to note that without research, no proper content.. it’s just plain stupidity. It takes planning about going around the rule and bending it instead. There’s always a problem but what if I don't have a problem? Easy, create it. Ok, thats a little odd, but it makes sense right? Get rid of assumptions. With problem understanding, not only we have to restort the problem with our art but we get to define our works clearer.We would be more aware not only within ourselves and art but also of others. Other cultures,backgrounds, people and emotions. That way, even if I know it can still be risky, challenging.. instead, we can use them in a way that it enhances our design to be even more ground-breaking. 

Go all out or no one will doubt our intent.

Break a Routine

Fast Sketch of the Journey & Place

This was actually our first challenge/task that was given by our lecturer. Why? Well, he felt that we're all too used and familiar with our way of living and that we just don't bother to try do things differently. Especially being an art student, we are expected to discover more than we can. It didn't necessarily meant change the routine drastically but start small. Read the classic per say. Be lost and more observant, we never know where it might lead us. Good or bad, it is part of collecting experiences. I went ahead doing the task, actually on our way to have lunch. I am not really a person that knows much about the city street in Singapore, so of course to me, everything was somewhat new. We took a different route and ended up in a neighbourhood area in the middle of CBD [Central Business District] where I've never been to.They had temples in walking distance,floral shops along the street and mobile ice cream man all over. It was random yet the feeling was familiar. I think it is needed to break a routine, so we can break that familiarity with the surroundings. If not, we will not be willing to face change. Change affects creativity, therefore,which affects how we can evolve.