Semester Review — Aesthetic.
Overview
To conclude the things I have learned in this semester, I would use the word, aesthetic. Building up aesthetic, keeping questions design and keeping critical thinking is the most important lesson for me this semester.
There’s many new approaches to me this semester beside just making designs. I realized that I have been doing more researches than before for our studio and also for my other classes. I got time to really look at master design pieces, designs that exist in the real world, and designer interviews that talk about design in real life, and design for client or for people. As a group of designers, we are able to learn form them, as well as criticize them. Also, I appreciated the collaborate projects this semester, that allowed other designers to criticize my works, and allowed me to hear opinion from others on the same subject.
Since we are still mostly learning remotely, I kept considering where design exists nowadays, when people having lesser chance to see physical design pieces. Design though different media is also the subject I am working with through this semester. I have been working with video, motion graphic pieces, website, and also designs for social media use for our studio and my visual system class. I enjoyed a lot with the process of exploring design in many forms, any exploring the possibilities that each form has.
The word “aesthetic” is for me to discribe the process of learning from others, criticizing designs, and exploring creative possibilities through different media. Aesthetic is a subject term for each individual. For me, aesthetic helps me to filter things that benefit me as a designer and helps me to stay creative, and it is the subject that I would like to study more in the future.
Project 1: Impact and Empathy
From the studying of cases by Hyperakt, Irina and I are both interested in one of their project, “I Have PSD”. We were interested by how the stop motion in this project is convincing the idea of digital vs. analog by using photoshop tools in reality. In the beginning, we researched the evolution of Photoshop, tools in photoshop, and how those tools are comparing with tool in real life.
Through the researches, the creation of the RGB color wheel by Adobe attracted me a lot. It is interesting to even looking at every possible color that I can choose on my computer in a small circle. I started my iterations on the experiments on RGB colors, applying it to different small designs. Then, focusing down on the idea of color wheel, I decided to make an accordion book, that allows the beginning of the book connect together with the end, which representing the idea of a wheel, or a cycle. I started my design with a simple circle, and make small changes to it repeatedly. The form gradually changing from an abstract circle, to more analog subject, and gradually go back to an abstract shape. Also, I applied gradient color through pages, to create a gradient color through the whole book. Also, I added songs that have color in their lyrics through the pages, to add another layer of meaning to it.
Working with graphic but less typography is a new experience to me, but I am happy the out come a lot. It allows people to view the accordion book as a whole subject, instead of reading into it. Also, I enjoyed the process of making changes to a simple image, and exploring every tools in photoshop that I could.
Project 2: Researching and Case Study
I appreciated the process of doing the research posts a lot during this 8 weeks. I always prefer arts that are either minimal or overwhelming. Therefore, I researched a lot with artists like Yayoi Kusama, Sakamoto Ryuuichi, Mathieu Lehanneur, and James Turrell.
The ideologies by James Turrell interested me the most. For example, in many of his architecture designs, he frames the sky as part of decoration for his architecture, and at the same time uses natural light as the light source during the day. I loved the calm and romantic feeling in his works, and the idea of light as ornaments as well.
James Turrell also uses artificial lights a lot, sometimes along with the natural light. Therefore, I created my video based on the the interaction between the space, the natural light, and the artificial light. Relating to my own works, how Turrell talks about “experience” really reminded me the work I have done for a video art class.
In the project I did, I was trying to visualize the feeling of touching a piece of silk using three “panels” in my video. The middle is the visualization, and the sides are for enhance the “feelings” for my audience. For the case study video, I also decide to use my strategy to explain the “experiences” of James Turrell’s works. The middle panel is for changing natural light souce, and the two sides are more for artificial designs.
Project 3: Interrogation — Question Design and Design Education
After reading the article, Education and professionalism, or what’s wrong with graphic design education? and What is this thing called graphic design criticism?, our group came up with 100 questions on professionalism of graphic design, design education and design criticism together and our interpretations toward those questions.
From my point of view, I got more questions toward myself after answered my interpretations for those questions. Design is a subject that contains so many details. Even criticism is a broad word, that so many details can be explained in criticism. Therefore, I designed my interpretations and questions as small designs, and put them into a grid.
After discussion with our group, we melded our ideas together as “interrogation”. We decided to keep the idea of grid, add to that, we wrapped around a chair with our designs, and another chair facing it that allowed people to sit on for our installation. The seat demonstrated the relationship between designers and critics, teachers and students.
The biggest challenge for us would be the relatively new technique, RISO printing, and to plan out an installation in space. However, I believe our collaboration were successful, and the result we got defiantly matched what we planned.
Project 4: Thoughts on Thesis — Aesthetic Fatigue
Aesthetic Fatigue is the feeling I got long time ago, and through the researches this semester, it constantly pops to my mind. The first time I got the feel of aesthetic fatigue was one time when I was browsing Behance about branding projects, I got tired looking at the diagonally placed business card or website mockups. Then, I learned the word, aesthetic fatigue.
I would like to start my research on the psychology of aesthetic fatigue, using myself and friend interviews as a starting point, and then create small designs that similar to each other, like the first project I did this semester. Recording the time that I lose inspirations, and the time I feel tired looking at designs. I want to create a database, or timeline for this experience/experiment, and find the final solution based on that.
Similar designs that exist in real life can easily be found, even as a designer, I would get tired of my own work after revises and revises. Taking this personal and subjective topic for my thesis is challenging myself to keeping critical thinking and design thinking, as well as staying creative. I is also the key message I am trying express through the explanation on aesthetic fatigue.
Inspirations
From my previous experience, I always struggle with little details when designing, which makes me do really little changes again and again, like type placement, letter spacing, color choice… until I got aesthetic fatigue. Exaggerating those decisions could be an interesting approach. Also, I am looking at installations done by other people, like “Sea the Light” by Joy Cho and “Origami and Structure” by Mudita Agarwal.
Books and Readings
1. Aesthetic Fatigue: Modernity and the Language of Waste
2. Designing Design
3. Ex-formation
4. センスは知識からはじまる
5. Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made
6. What is a Designer
Current Thesis Statement
Aesthetic Fatigue is a term directly translated from the language in my culture. To me, it first appeared in a movie by Xiaogang Feng, talking about family relationships. The husband said that he has been with his wife for so long, and has seen her day by day. He is so used to his wife, that his “aesthetic” is getting tired to think that his wife is beautiful anymore. It has become a topic in China since 2004, and the word “aesthetic fatigue” is widely used as an art term. Expanding the idea, sometimes I feel that I got tired of many designs, or aesthetics in general that people have, that exist nowadays.
For example, since the ideology of one-home-button phones was promoted by Apple, the design of phones have become more and more similar to each other, even the interior of phones, UI and interfaces, are more or less familiar to something. Sometimes I would get tired of fashion, when all the dresses create similar feelings to me; I would get tired on the street looking at similar cars passing by; Or even thinking about typefaces like how Helvetica is so popular. However, the idea made me think more of creativity. Creativity is a huge component for designers, and for humans, and it constantly helps us to get away from the situation of aesthetic fatigue.
I would like to first study the psychology of aesthetic fatigue, using myself and friend interviews as a starting point. Why do we get tired of looking at certain things, how the deja vu is created, what leads to the mainstream aesthetic. In terms of “mainstream aesthetic”, I want to criticize the most common designs that exist in the world, and think about what made me get tired looking at them. Also, with the study of graphic design history, I am interested in the historical reasons, and the social reasons behind how our aesthetic is built up.
For the design aspect, I would like to start with making fragments of designs that are similar to each other, also recording when I got the sense of aesthetic fatigue, and why. I would make a timeline of what I have done for the project, and develop a visual system based on what I will be making. Through the thesis, I would like to express my idea of staying creative and keeping critical thinking or design thinking, and also raise the awareness of the existence of aesthetic fatigue.
