Kamal's Design Diary

25/5/17 - Week 8 DST60103, Yip Jinchi Design Studies I: Communication Theory Topic 4 and 5 notes Topic 4 Typography and Print Media The history of printed media and communication follows the progress of civilization and technology. The first recorded method of written communication was long ago as 25,000-3000 years B.C. when humans painted on walls, communicating their beliefs, fears and everyday life. The writing system began with the transition of hunter-gatherer societies to more permanent encampments when it became necessary to count property.  One of the earliest examples was found in Mesopotamia in 3500 B.C., where the Sumerians developed cuneiform to write on clay tablets. The Egyptians later developed hieroglyphic writing; they were used by scribes and priests for taxation. The Chinese developed their own style in 1900 B.C, preserving their writing on bone. The first alphabet script appeared in Palestine in 160 B.C, which influenced early Phoenician and H...

23/5/17 - Week 8 DST60103, Yip Jinchi Design Studies I: Communication Theory Research Articulation Video Game Addiction and Wayang Kulit Instructions Assignment 2 Introduction Research a social/economic/environmental/animal issue in Malaysia. Create a visual design to help solve the issue utilising Malaysian cultural art forms and styles. Write a rational to accompany the final design. The assignment lasts from week 6 to week 11. Submission is through TIMeS and a class presentation. Research and Work Processes A short history of video games in Malaysia In Malaysia, the early history of video gaming in Malaysia is quite vague and unknown, as during that time video games were still a new and somewhat niche fact of the entertainment industry. The gaming industry in places like Japan and America were still in their infancy, and as such didn’t really garner a wide interest from the general public until later years. Especially in a developing country like Malaysia. ...

3/5/17 - Week 7 DST60103, Yip Jinchi Design Studies I: Communication Theory Assignment 2 Introduction and Brickfields trip discussion Assignment 2 Introduction We are to choose one issue in Malaysia and create a visual design to help combat or spread awareness about it. At the same time we are to incorporate traditional malaysian motifs and art styles into the final design. Brickfields trip discussion We went over the pictures we took on the Brickfields trip previously and discussed the different styles restaurants, clothing outlets and other shops used in their typography.

26/4/17 - Week 5 DST60103, Yip Jinchi Design Studies I: Communication Theory Brickfields Trip We went to Nu Sentral, Brickfields and took pictures of all the types of typography used by the shops there.

19/4/17 - Week 4 DST60103, Yip Jinchi Design Studies I: Communication Theory Packaging design presentation Lecture 4 Today I presented my personal packaging design to the class. No lecture. Figure 1. My finished personal packaging design. Feedback My presentation was too long.  I prepared a proper 15-minute presentation while I was suppose to do a quick one for 3 minutes. Despite that Ms. Jinchi said she liked the look of the final product and said it was very professional. I think that while the final product itself was quite good, the presentation was a bit of a let down.

12/4/17 - Week 3 DST60103, Yip Jinchi Design Studies I: Communication Theory Packaging design Lecture & Exercise Brief In this exercise, we are tasked with creating a packaging design for the favorite food of our partner. The design would have to include elements that reflected the personality of the partner, as well as look attractive enough to actually be used for commercial purposes. Initial conception Because my partner's favorite food was mutton flavored biryani, my packaging design would be centered around biryani. I decided to go for a microwaveable pot packaging design, since I thought that would be the most obvious way to sell processed biryani as a commercial product. I had an interview with my partner before I began drawing up concepts to get a general feel of her personality and character, which I can then communicate in the packaging design.  My partner is a cheerful person, she's also a gamer and plays mainly League of Legends , her fav...

11/4/17 - Week 3 DST60103, Yip Jinchi Design Studies I: Communication Theory Topic 1, 2 and 3 Notes Topic 1 Communication Communication is the sharing of ideas, messages and information through media, allowing individuals and groups to gain, seek or express emotion. Body language plays a major role in communication, allowing us to send ideas, opinions and express emotion through non-verbal cues and actions. The study of body movements is known as kinesis . Body language in communication consists of 6 features: Posture - slouched or stiff Head position - nods and shakes Facial expression - grimaces and grins Eye Contact - eye-to-eye contact or avoidance Gestures - t humbs up or fists Different cultures might perceive different body gestures differently. Certain unconscious gestures like scratching, excessive blinking and fidgeting may reveal the mental state of the speaker. Paralanguage in the forms of "ha", "uh-huh" or "hmm" can he...

6/4/17 - Week 2 DST60103, Yip Jinchi Design Studies I: Communication Theory Assignment 1 Conception Concept work, research and development During Week 1 and Week 2, me and my group proceeded to develop our idea for Assignment 1. Having interpreted the song as a linear story, and drawing from its heavy emphasis on visual narrative and imagery we decided it would be best to frame the message of the song into an interactive graphic novel. The visual novel is different from traditional novels, because it requires the user's interaction to proceed along the story. Each panel is showed one after the other, and is only triggered when the user advances the scene. Our inspiration was the comics of Team Fortress 2. We delved deeper into the undertones of the song, and concluded that it was primarily a socio-political commentary. Thus we decided to communicate Bob Dylan's message through the use of visual narrative in the form of a graphic novel. The environment would play...

29/3/17 - Week 1 DST60103, Yip Jinchi Design Studies I: Communication Theory Communication presentation notes Our task was to watch a short video on communication and create a presentation on the subject that includes our own personal experiences. The goal of communication is shared meaning. Ensuring the message sent is the same one recieved. There is always a sender ( encodes ), a message and a reciever ( decodes ), a channel ( visuals , auditory , technology ), feedback and an environment ( physical setting, time of day, culture ). External interference from the environment and internal interference from the sender and reciever can also affect the effectivness of communication. Emphasis can profoundly affect the meaning of a message. The channels through which these messages are sent also alter the interpration of said messages. The messsage sent may not be the one recieved. Therefore it is important to know the various factors and elements of communication to ensure a shared...

29/3/17 - Week 1 DST60103, Yip Jinchi Design Studies I: Communication Theory Assignment 1 Analysis Initial Analysis of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" by Bob Dylan Written and sung by Bob Dylan. Released 1963. An acoustic rock song that's sung quite casually and in a relaxed manner, a big contrast to the song's visceral and intense imagery found within the lyrics. The idea of a coming storm is the centerpiece of the song. " It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall " is repeated at the end of each stanza. It hints to a coming destruction or storm that would destroy everything mankind had built. The theme of war, destruction and social disarray is prevalent throughout the entire song. "Dead oceans", "Black branch with blood", "Guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children" are examples of this. A spiritual and religious tone can also be seen from the type of vocabulary Bob Dylan uses. " Misty mountains...

29/3/17 - Week 1 DST60103, Yip Jinchi Design Studies I: Communication Theory Introduction Lecture 1 Ms Jinchi kicked off the lesson by starting a discussion about the general idea of communication and how the visual arts help us deliver messages and motifs. She then separated us into groups and we were given a line of text to which we were to act out in a game of charades with the whole class. We were however constrained; we weren't allowed to mouth words, write, draw or do anything besides making bodily movements. It demonstrated to us that without access to all these different channels of communication, it would be more difficult and much more time-consuming for us to deliver a concise message to a target audience. She then went over the general module outline and gave us our first assignment. We were given a song, told to analyse it, and come up with a piece of work that delivered the same message as the original song did. The work could be any type of visual medi...