First of all, doing a blog, was little bit hard for me. Because, I was not running any personal blog or facebook on the online, so I was not used on it. So I was keep getting behind in it. Honestly, I didn’t want to do it. But as same as the other projects, after few months later, I realized why I had to do these all things.
Back to before coming to London, I was studying at New York. And actually, I just studied only for two years so, I learned very basic things like painting, drawing, etc, on first year and just got into my major, graphic design at second year. But it was all like, studying with tutors. Out time table was vey busy, so it was like the tutors were always with us from start to the end of the project and teach us how to use the programs. Before when I decided to come to London, I heard that here has more free time to do our projects and the curriculum is for help the students to make their own style. But I didn’t think that the course style would be different like this. It was more than I expected. And also for the foreigners like me, not speaking English only on holidays, it makes me to forget how to speak English. But before coming to London, I was back in Korea for a year, and when I came here and went to the orientation, I rarely understood what tutors were talking about. And this also made my uni life more harder.
First, the timetable made me hard. It was very different and I was confusing from the start part. Usually, every time, I got a whole term timetable at once and then there were a chance to change some classes, but at here, we’d got only for few weeks at once. And before at NY, there were few classes that we had to listen in each term. For example, in illustration class, we did illustration, and in drawing class, we did drawing. LIke that, the class had a specific subject, so I did several projects at once, which is related to on each classes. But here, we did one or two projects for few weeks and all of the classes was about those projects. So when I first went to the class, I didn’t know what we were doing this for. At the first few weeks, we did something about the basic of making ideas and developing them. So as I was used to do In NY, I was keep thinking ‘ Is this about our project?‘ and didn’t really understand the brief.
The very hard part for me was that we had to brain storm in a second. Almost all of the workshop needed us to talk and discuss in a group about our ideas on a few minutes. But as I’m not good in English, it was really hard to do it. If there were something I want to say, then already somebody said that or said some similar thing. And I missed the chance to say something every time. So I was in hurry to understand the brief and what the workshop’s purpose was and what to say in the group works. Actually, it was like a challenge for me.
So clearly, almost the whole first term, I was confusing and had a hard time.
But attending to more classes and spent more time at uni, I got to understand why those classes was important and why I should attend. At the end, all of the classes was very helpful for the projects. Like this, running a blog let me know the importance about it few months later. It was a very good way to know what I’m interested in and what I’m thinking. I usually upload the artworks, which I think it’s interest. Few months later, this finding some attractive things, let me know what kind of design and what kind of feeling that I like. And thought ‘Oh, this is so good. I have to keep continuing this thing!‘ Now, I want to know about me more and see where I want to go.
Having a tutorial was really new thing for me. In here, I realized if I don’t do anything, I can’t get anything from the course. Of course, in every courses, I can learn when I study hard. But the tutorial was very unfamiliar with me, so I had to watching what other students are preparing, doing and saying on that time. And learned how to use the time with tutors. But still, I’m not a good student.
Looking back my first year, I was so in confuse and didn’t do anything on focus. But right now, almost the end of the last term, I realize that I learned many things.
I learned how to develop my idea step by step, and also learn how to research. This researching thing was really hard for me. Usually, I didn’t create many sketchbooks. I almost just think in my head and find something that inspired me. It was almost that I saw, heard, or ate before. But I didn’t really scrap those things. So it wasn’t clear and hard to find it again. But doing a blog, it made me to know how important to get all of things in one place that inspires me.
And the way of showing my research was also a big learning for me. As showing my research, people can know how I was thinking about the project. But the way to show it could be on many different ways, like showing video, turning on a music, show some sketches, collage, etc. I didn’t use many kinds of these ways, but now I think that researching could be more than just looking up some books, articles or searching on the internet. It could be all of the things that inspires me, and I thought it could make me having fun with the process of the project.
I think I learned a basic step of how to be a designer. It is all basic things, but very important things that we should do it all the time.
