I was in a team of three with Oliver and Yuliia for the Blender Project.
Few skills I got to practice during the collaboration:
Communication: Working in a group requires all of us effective communication to share ideas, clarify tasks, and resolve conflicts. I’ve learned how to express myself clearly and listen actively to others.
Adaptability: I tried to make my schedule as flexible as I can for the group project. Through collaboration, I learnt to adapt to changing circumstances, revise strategies, and stay focused on the ultimate goal.
Time Management
Conflict Resolution: Conflicts are inevitable in group work, I think collaboration taught me how to address conflicts constructively, find common ground, and reach mutually beneficial solutions with other group members.
I made a poster for “Freedom to Express, Freedom to Explore, Freedom from Expectation”.
To me, “freedom to express” speaks to the fundamental right to articulate thoughts, emotions, and ideas without fear of repression or censorship. It’s about fostering an environment where diverse voices can be heard and valued.
“Freedom to explore” emphasizes the importance of curiosity and discovery. It’s about allowing oneself the opportunity to venture into the unknown, to seek new experiences, and to learn without constraints.
“Freedom from expectation” underscores the liberation from societal pressures and preconceived notions. It’s about embracing authenticity and forging one’s own path, unencumbered by the weight of external judgments or standards.
Together, these principles form a powerful framework for personal growth, creativity, and fulfillment. They remind us that true freedom is not just about the absence of constraints, but also about the presence of opportunity and possibility.
Ramen Danbo makes traditional Tonkotsu ramen crafted in the Kyushu Hakata style – one of the most popular types in Japan. They open the first shop out of Japan in Vancouver, Canada, and now they have shops in Seattle and New York.
My solution for the food truck of Ramen Danbo is using Sakura which is Cherry blossom’s colors that represents Japanese culture to be the base tone of the truck. I created an illustration of chopsticks grabbing noodles and put it on the window of both sides of the truck to show what types of food the truck is selling. I also made the pattern of the toppings in ramen and other sides they have to cover the truck. Besides including the name of the restaurant on the truck, I also included a slogan and locations of the cities that have this restaurant in. I made the menu as a attached panel outside of the truck, so it’s easier for the restaurant to edit the menu in the future.
This is a fun project, I like doing branding, and the final truck mockup looks cute!
If I have $25,000 of spare cash on hand, I will donate it to Artist Trust. I choose Artist Trust because I’ve heard about them back to many years ago when I was studying fine art. And I know some artists who have received funding from this organization to create significant artwork. Artist Trust is a nonprofit organization that supports working artists of all disciplines in Washington State. Artist Trust envisions a Washington State that values artists as leaders essential to creating healthy communities where they have the resources, knowledge, and support they need to thrive. I think this organization not just fostering the careers of individual artists, but nurturing a community that thrives on creativity and innovation. Artist Trust empowers artists with resources, grants, and professional development opportunities, enabling them to pursue their craft with passion and dedication. Supporting a creative group helps to sustain a diverse in Seattle, and inclusive artistic ecosystem, enriching the lives of countless individuals and contributing to the cultural richness of the region for generations to come. So I choose to donate to Artist Trust and hope this will invest in the vibrant and diverse creative community that enriches not only the cultural landscape of the Pacific Northwest but also the lives of individuals within it.
Design systems typically include components, patterns, guidelines, documentation and assets. Design systems serve as a centralized resource for design and development teams to maintain visual and functional consistency throughout their projects.
Design system will help companies/designers to deliver well-designed products and services to their customers faster. By implementing a design system, organizations can streamline their design and development workflows, reduce inconsistencies, improve collaboration between teams, and ultimately deliver better user experiences.
1.The Guardian digital design style guide
The color system of The Guardian is incredible and smart solution, it has color groups comprise of a dark, main, bright, pastel and faded color variant and represents different categories:
The consistency in the color use is crucial for the readers to navigate the information on their website.
The story cards are designed to be flexible, they can expand and contract depending on the number of stories added to them.
They have multiple story card sizes, they use them to create hierarchy and pace on the page, and allow the reader to quickly gauge a story’s importance.
2. Google Material Design
Google Material Design has three main parts: foundations, styles, and components. I explored the Style section, it includes color, elevation, icons, motion, shape and typography. It is life a library that you can access to all the design assets, and adjust them to fit into your design. Material also has a plugin in Figma which is pretty accessible.
3. Apple Human Interface Guidelines
Throughout all the years using Apple’s product and the ISO system, I finally get to know their design system! Apple’s interface guidelines has a section named “Foundations” which is very interesting to me, because a good foundation is the key! Apple design their products to be more human-centered, to improve the readability, they include pixel density and brightness on their screen which can influence the appropriate minimum font size. They also test the fonts they use base on weight, typeface, color. They design the icons in the principle which is graphic asset that expresses a single concept in ways people instantly understand. Recognizable, consistent and simplified icons make users more accessible to the icons.
This assignment ask us to use 4 flat black squares of the same dimension, to create a graphic image to express the meaning of the following six words: order, increase, bold, congested, tension and playful. Make six thumbnail sketches by hand for each word. Consider how these squares can be expanded into a more comprehensive solution.
