trifurcate - mini thesis

This project presented me the perfect opportunity to not only think about how the materials and medium of my pieces could shape the execution and delivery of my pieces, but also to think about how my audience will experience this whole project as one whole piece. One of the aims that I was determined to incorporate into my project was representation. I wanted to showcase East Asian representation by manifesting shared experiences from our cultures not just by visual elements, but through creating a visual simulation of these experiences. I wanted the audience to be able to immerse themselves into the context of my research and thesis statement and almost live through that simulation of the shared cultural experience.

I challenged myself in a lot of different ways while doing this self-directed project, one of the biggest challenges was forcing myself to work more hands-on and create tangible pieces with new materials and methods. I have always wanted to experiment with creating designs with physical materials, especially after being in this highly digitized program for the last few years. For this project, not only did I explore new methods of working with print and paper, but I also experimented with fabric and other unconventional materials like safety pins, chains and beads. On top of that, I also had the opportunity to think creatively on the final presentation format and layout of my pieces.

Another thing I found especially challenging was how much creative freedom we had. I always thought having a lot of creative freedom would make things easier as there are no restrictions and endless possibilities. However, I have learnt that endless creative freedom may be a good starting point in the beginning stages of this project where I got to explore themes and topics, but eventually I would have to set out a defined scope and expectations for this project to be grounded and executed properly. There were many times where I felt like I had too many ideas and was also constantly searching for more information on everything and anything. It got to a point where I had to just force myself to stop researching and start making. The biggest takeaway from this part of the process is learning that we know more than we think. Research is important but at the end of the day, we need to learn to realize when it’s time to just close those tabs and start making.

All in all, this project was an amazing learning experience and opportunity for me where I felt like I have definitely grown a lot as a designer and learnt a lot about my own methods and process, especially in the supportive environment Paul, my peers and I have collectively fostered together in this course.

More on my research and design process documented in my tumblr blog here: https://rrrachellllll.tumblr.com/ !

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