Tuesday, November 13, 2012

On creativity, disappointments and staying true to yourself




No, that heading is not a title for a self-help book. I just wanted to write about my experience as a first year design student and all the wonderful things I learnt this year. As you may have noticed I've basically abandoned this blog because I have had no spare time during semesters. 

Studying design is surprisingly demanding and time consuming and asks so much of you emotionally (meltdowns, being on the verge of crying during a panel criticism), mentally (continuous, rigorous thinking), physically (lack of sleep) and creatively.

I just finished my final assessment for this year and my work which I've obsessed over for weeks was ceremoniously ripped apart by a panel of architects, designers and artists. They exposed everything that was wrong with the project. They were all correct. I couldn't argue against anything they said.

There was also so much exquisite work produced by other students I was just embarrassed to present even in the same room with them.

Coming home I got to thinking about why my work failed miserably and then looking at all my models and drawings it eventually hit me. The work had absolutely no reflection of who I was a designer. It didn't encapsulate my beliefs or had any of my metaphorical fingerprints on it. It was so devoid of personality I can just yawn from its banality.

My best work was the very first project and comparing the two it was obvious how I went from designing for myself to designing for someone who I thought was myself. I think I looked over my shoulders a bit too much during this semester and subconsciously absorbed too much of other people's work to the point that it diluted my own and I lost my own personality and beliefs as a designer. In short, I wanted to be something I was not and consequently, I went through a design process that did not work for my skill sets.

People always tell you to stay true to yourself and that's the way to produce incredible work but I never realised how easy it was to lose yourself along the way.

So everybody say it with me. STCIK TO YOUR GUNS.








Friday, July 27, 2012

Second attempt at a YouTube channel


A while back I started a YouTube channel to accompany this blog but I felt that I needed to have a very specific topic to cover instead of just a mix of my various interests (like this blog).

I've been spending a lot of time lately watching book review videos and even book hauls (these are strangely addictive) and so I thought I would contribute to the Booktuber community and start my very own channel.

So here's my first video. Enjoy!



Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Voyage to Mars (via the moon) // South America Photo Diary // Day 5




San Pedro De Atacama



















































One of the joys of travel is discovering a place you have never even heard about and completely surprising you with its awe-inspiring beauty. San Pedro De Atacama I would describe as the Solar System on Earth.

Never have I encountered landscapes that were so otherworldly (literally!) that it felt like I just landed on Mars or on the Moon (one of the valleys we visited was actually names the Moon Valley).

We sandboarded at 'Mars', caught the sunset at the 'moon' and went to an incredible star gazing session at night.

All under a million dollars. Who said space travel was expensive?








ALL IMAGES ARE OWNED BY ME AND CANNOT BE REUSED WITHOUT PERMISSION 




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