Homan Cheung
LCC Graphic and Media Design During the quarantine, I have been thinking about how things might change in the aftermath of the pandemic, wondering how the changes might affect me as a fresh graduate. For sure many people wish to have it settled down as soon as possible and move on as if it never happened. Yet, I suspect this global crisis will eventually and inevitably, to some extend, reshape the economy and our value. With my final year approaching in October (which the pandemic is likely to be still ongoing), I need to adapt to a new learning and working habit as the creative industry environment is changing. Even tho the changes seem to be temporary, but it does not harm to think about how the pandemic will do any harm or good to me future planning. I would love to first talk about my current practice regarding the situation. Everyone is in quarantine, having less social interaction, and simply wait for further notice from the government. My offers from studios are on hold (likely to be canceled in the future), many plannings such as traveling and studying have been postponed or became uncertain. Spending the upcoming weeks indoor is expected. With my Mac as my only resource for work and entertainment, many things have moved to the internet including my studying and working. In the previous weeks, I have been working remotely for my placement provider. My duty and workload were pretty much the same but my efficiency was hugely affected due to the unstable network, causing issues such as unpleasant loading time and constant disconnections during online meetings. Having a poor network is out of my control as I live in a student hall, thus to me working remotely does not sound appealing as the unreliable internet connection does get on my nerves sometimes, therefore working alone is preferred. The pandemic also makes me rethink how designers can play their roles in society, as a communicator what and how can we offer to others with our skills. SSSS Foundation is one of my responses, uploading posters for free downloads aiming to encourage the community throughout the uncertainty. Moreover, when drafting a new personal project, I started to think from the perspective of the community as a whole, aiming to be innovative and practical. All in the purpose of setting a reference to my future self and others with my outcome, not merely just for personal interests. As anticipated, by the time I write this blog post the British Government has announced to extend the quarantine for 3 more weeks, with the expectation of it lasting until June. With no intention in repeating the same route every day (even tho it is comfortable), I did plan to apply for a remote internship or keeping myself busy with design competitions. AUFI, an organization that connects brands and design agencies, has recently announced a new platform allowing design agencies to offer free advice to brands that are having difficulties. I am planning to get involved and see if I could gain a few new insights, as most of the studios are top professionals and well known in the industry. Besides, many agencies begin to adapt to the new system and recruiting new interns to work remotely, thus offering me an extra option to keep in touch with the industry while having limited resources. My plans for my future or after graduation are inevitably disturbed as well. With years living in London and my previous internship experiences, London is one of my favourite cities and I sincerely would love to work and travel around Europe if I have the opportunity. Yet, due to my identity as Asian, the increase of hate crimes in London and all across Europe makes me worry about my safety. I worry about how when the crisis is over people will start the express their hatreds on us, resulting in both verbal abuse and even physical attack. I understand London has long been a melting pot of different cultures and people, I am glad to experience how well developed and sophisticated the industry is. But knowing how some areas remain conservative and narrow-minded, it makes me scared to travel and be alone outside the cities, eventually losing interest in working here. As the creative industry built on top of the economy, the depression for sure hurts the creatives as well. According to a survey, more than half of the designers are experiencing having less than a quarter of business, even with finical support from the government, it is no doubt many agencies will bear a significant loss which might take time to recover. Unfortunately, by the time I graduate in 2021, I fear that many agencies are still in recovery thus have little intention for new recruitments. Along with Brexit, it will be challenging for me to apply for a working VISA considering how less qualified job opportunities will be. Concerning such a situation, I am starting to draft an alternative plan which is aiming to southeast Asia. Throughout the period, many countries in Asia appears to be having the pandemic under control with their thoughtful and well-prepared strategy, I expect their economy will recover faster than others, thus providing more open doors for me at the right moment. Places like Tokyo and Taipei both embrace a high reputation for art and design. I do see those places as a great potential for my future career, the plan will remain flexible while London being my first choice. With no doubt the explosion of COVID-19 has put the world into upheaval, countless businesses are affected followed by a high unemployment rate. But at the same time, we have been seeing a lot of new opportunities and industries adapting to the situation and operate in a new behavior. The same thing to the creative industry, our work does allow the majority of designers to work from home, but the impact of decreasing income is undeniable. Luckily many professions have adopted the circumstance and figure out different ways of working. The crisis will eventually end and we will go back to live and work as we did before, but we should always remember how this historical event in 2020 has made us rethink the way we work and knowing how nothing is guaranteed. Thus it is important for me to always be adaptive and think wisely for my upcoming future knowing how things never go as planned.
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Zen Quek
Illustration and Visual Media The coronavirus outbreak has forced the world into a standstill, yet despite such uncertain times, creativity continues to thrive within the design community. For most designers, especially freelancers, working remotely is not far from the norm. Still, it is interesting to observe how creatives are coping with shifts in their professional environments. When sharing their creative routines with the It’s Nice That team, illustrators Saehan Parc and Kate Isobel Scott spoke about how they kept themselves motivated and creatively-engaged while the rest of the world was on pause. Both illustrators admitted to feeling the obligation of staying productive more so than usual while in quarantine, but also found their own ways of fulfilling their creative needs while ensuring that they were not consumed by the anxiety to churn out something. Parc commented on how she would dress up as if she were going to work, sort of as a mental manipulation to ease herself into her work, while Scott adopted a more slow-paced approach, seizing this downtime to return to simpler crafts like embroidery and wood carving (Bourton, 2020). It was immensely comforting to read about the frustrations of these artists indoors, as I could relate to the pressure of feeling like I had to produce a masterpiece while stuck in quarantine. While my productivity has dwindled, I am still engaging myself creatively by participating in online challenges and initiatives. Interestingly, recent ‘pandemic art’ has resulted in a surge of poster designs as a go-to format, whether these posters are shared digitally or outdoors (Steven, 2020). Global campaigns like Stay Sane, Stay Safe have popularised the use of uplifting posters to boost morale, forging solidarity between design communities across the world. When released into real spaces, these posters become reminders of humanity and fighting spirit amidst dark times. In Singapore, where I am currently residing, design studio Kinetic Singapore has organised a community project titled #ThankYouDeliveryHeroes, cheering on the unsung heroes that help move society along while in lockdown. The studio released downloadable posters that could be printed and pasted on the front doors of local residents, showing appreciation for delivery workers. The designs all adopt a clean and simple illustrative style, allowing people to replicate these posters even without a printer. References: 1. Bourton, L. (2020) Does a creative routine matter when the world is turned upside down? Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/features/dropbox-creative-routines-kate-isobel-scott-saehan-parc-alexander-coggin-partnership-230420 2. Steven, R. (2020) HOW COVID-19 PROMPTED A RETURN OF THE POSTER. Available at: https://www.creativereview.co.uk/posters-covid-19/ ![]() Gaby Kozlowska Graphics Branding & Identity Besides spending a large chunk of time while on the DPS for self-discovery; professional growth; and building an online presence for myself, I also had an amazing time working with fantastic creatives and taking on briefs and projects, some having real outcomes. At the very beginning, I was set on taking on as many internships as possible (as it turns out, it’s harder than it looks) because they would give me a structure and set activity. However, more time went by, and I didn’t feel the need to apply for so many. Around January/February of 2020, I was not able to apply for anything, my schedule was too jam-packed. I was extremely lucky to be one of the branding students responsible for creating an identity for the 2020 degree show pop-up shop, which would have launched during the degree show. The pop-up’s main function was to sell and promote the work done by that graduates of that year. Alongside myself, working on this project were two other amazing illustration students, who were also on DPS. We joined forces and started to create different creative outputs. Our idea was to colour coordinate the courses using the UAL colours and branding and use them [the colours] to navigate the viewers around the show. Sadly, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the degree show was suspended and we not sure when it will be taking place. This was definitely discouraging, but we are still in touch and will definitely create this branding for the future show if possible. The project, even though not fully successful, gave me the opportunity to work on a live project and collaborate with other students. It was a great experience and hopefully we will be able to execute our ideas in the future. One of the more successful opportunities was the D&AD New Blood Awards, which I have always wanted to participate. This year’s briefs were very diverse, but the one that stood out to me was from LEGO. I decided to work alone, and it definitely allowed me to take more risks and stick to my ideas. My focus was on young people aged 13 to 18, those who’s initial interest in the brand would have decreased over the years. The famous LEGO tagline: “Rebuild the World”, was crucial to my work. This project went through a long drafting phase before I reached its final outcome, but once it did, it was stronger than expected. My take on this project was to create a LEGO teaching tool under a sub brand name LEGO: Release. I wanted it to allow students to actively show and talk about their feelings through the use of colour. Additionally, I wanted it to encourage a conversation regarding mental health in a classroom environment. From personal experience, I know it is not always easy to talk about our mental wellbeing, especially during puberty, but colours can be a great first step. I’ve used colour theory to represent the emotions accordingly and I believe a tool like this will help young people eek help. In the end, I also submitted this project for the Creative Conscience Awards 2020 under the mental health brief, because I truly think it has the potential to make a difference. In Han
IVM Wow, time for the final WOW blog. It’s been a long year, but the number of experiences and memories to look back on are countless. My latest experience has been carrying out my SIP. I have been taking a film making workshop and it has given me insight about film and its industry. This new disciplinary learning has helped my practice be agile in adapting to new creative environments. Firstly, my individual practice became a group practice. I had used my illustrative practice in creating a well planned storyboard. Storyboard is vital, the quality of filmed outcome could depend on how closely planned the storyboard is. Copies of the storyboard are distributed to all members of the group, and everyone carries out their duties (camera, boom mike, producing, directing, etc…) according to the storyboard. It helps them check they are on track and prepare to work on upcoming scenes. Most of all, pointing out things around the storyboard clarifies communication of most everything between group members. The storyboard I drew in my illustrative style was shared among other members. They then took it to their homes and workplaces to study it and carry out their roles as planned. As our input comes together, our practices mix in too. We get familiar with each other’s practice as we share and look after each other’s doings - one’s practice became the other’s practice, everyone’s practice became everyone’s practice. Another adaptation is the form of the process and the outcome of my practice. With my usual practice of hand drawn illustration, I was worried how to adapt this into the process of creating film. The scale of my practice got bigger by engaging with many people, and it turned more three dimensional as our team and actors followed out my 2D drawings. In this process I learnt how to refine the visual narrative of my illustration to better communicate the messages and contexts I try to demonstrate. Much like the transition from my 2D drawings to capturing of 3D people, my practice has adapted stronger initiative and confidence in attitude and a more active practice. Like social shift and adaptation of individual practices, I see adaptation of film culture has been taking place too. Since the outbreak of COVID19, the global economy has been having hardships including the film industry. Cinemas and theatres have been having hard times with social distancing, people are keeping away from closed spaces to reduce the chances of spreading the virus. On the contrary, Netflix and such online entertainment platforms saw its advantage as it can be enjoyed indoors at anytime the user finds convenient. The debate on whether online movie platforms count as actual film/movie watching is never ending, as people debate on the original definition of cinema between the styles of Thomas Edison and Lumière brothers (the first being watching alone in a personal booth, the latter being watching together in a public space). Through this pandemic crisis, I think it is likely the film industry have been pushed to adapt to the lone entertainment culture. I see the adaptation of my practice also in my response to feedbacks. Before DPS year, I did not usually do group works that required much feedbacks from exterior parties, I could just interview and ask for feedbacks from close friends and usual people around me that I feel comfortable sharing my work with. However during my placements, I had no choice but to constantly share with the people I work with. Throughout the year, I met new network of creatives and individuals of non-creative disciplines to talk to. This means that I have gained new audience to share my work to and get a whole new perspectives of feedbacks from, which consequently develops how I respond to the various feedbacks. Feedbacks mostly included those that came from sharing my initiative ideas and practice. However, some feedbacks were not much related to my creative practice but more relevant to my individual approach to things in life. And those feedbacks too were just as resourceful and eye opening. I could compare the experiences I had at the hospital and live brief works. During the latter experience, I could only make virtual research to inform myself of the brief contexts and the scope of feedbacks I could get were narrow, they were solely based on the things demonstrated in my work outcome. In Kkottongnae, it definitely had more advantage to be able to physically place myself in the environment, I had staffs and volunteers and supervisors whom I got to know individually and build friendship with. But there was a pressure of initiating a new activity within this history-long environment. There was also pressure of how to approach my ideas with good communication, so that my idea does not startle the community. But with the networks of staffs and volunteers whose I can talk to about the situation of the community there, it allowed me to grow a better awareness of ethical design perspectives. Overall, this year has been truly eventful and unpredictable. I feel I had dashed into each placement quite unguarded, but thankfully as always, it all turned out fine. Regarding the pandemic, it has brought to us some good among the bad. For instance the nature, was able to recover during the time people were halted in their usual actions and kept things unharmed. An open letter has been recently shared online, initially said to have been written by Bill Gates. Though soon after it turned out it was in fact, not written by Gates, the letter still shares good evaluation of how COVID19 has impacted us and gave us important reminders : 1. We are all equal 2. We are all connected. I was reminded the preciousness of our everyday routine and the importance of new hope we wake up to each day. To find positive in all discouraging, difficult situations is another tactic of adapting to new creative environments, I would say. |
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February 2023
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