Sketchbook Vol.8

Brand & Branding

For me, a brand means more than the sum of various products/services under the same label. Every time we mention a brand, we will immediately have something to expect: the loge, the design, the quality, and so on. Besides, a brand can spiritually connect with its customers.

Nike is a good example. You can relate it to the swoosh and famous athletes.

What else? You can always portray “Nike” as exciting and heart-stirring. These ads always boost your adrenalin and encourage you. Sometimes they will make you cry as well.

“You Can’t Stop Us”
“Dream Crazy”
“Find Your Greatness”

When people talk about Nike, we can also think of a brand that always stands on the front line and spreads love.

“#BETRUE”

That is the power of branding. Brands can actually put personalities inside their ad campaigns and their social media. When people think of the brand, they will immediately relate the brand to those key traits. It is definitely helpful for the brand to improve their reputations.

But sometimes people don’t like it. The messages and the personality behind the brand sometimes will contradict to some of the customers. Suppose an individual is pursuing a slow, relaxed, and chill lifestyle. In that case, he/she might not buy the personality behind Nike since it conflicts with her/his lifestyle.

Another example is when Nike premiered its Colin Kaepernick ad. The brand received boycotts from the customers who have different opinions on Kaepernick’s issue. But in the end, Nike still profits from it because it supports Kaepernick and the African American community behind him (and also because this action of promoting racial equality and social justice is 100% CORRECT in my opinion).

Sketchbook Vol.9

Teamwork

I always love teamwork. I believe it is the best way for me to make friends in a class and learn from other classmates. We are not perfect human beings, and thus we all have and advantages and weaknesses. When we work alone, we might expose them. But when we work together as a team, we can exploit what we good at and learn from other teammates at the same time. That’s why I quite enjoy the process of collaboration every single time.

I know we will all encounter different sorts of disagreement or even conflicts at some point during the teamwork. I am the person who cares about everyone’s opinion on my team. If a conflict happens, I will try to find a balance among various perspectives and find a solution that everyone agrees with.

In the teamwork process, I also tend to ask my teammates first: when we come up with a solution/outcome/option, I will first ask “what do you guys think?” instead of directly sharing my thoughts. I have learned that understanding my teammates’ thoughts and feelings will make my working process better. Sharing opinions will also help us improve the project that we are working on.

Besides, I always try to be active. I know a team needs an enthusiastic person to connect the entire team and make sure everyone is involved in the teamwork process. I always try to be that person to make the working process in my team better. If we have a leader in our team, I will try my best to be that person.

Learn to compromise

At the end of the day, this project is not my individual project. I have teammates. Everyone needs to be on the same boat. So in the process, we might have something that we cannot find any agreements (we all view things differently). Under this circumstance, I will be the one who takes a step back and compromises. As a teammate, I should make sure that personal preference will not stop us working together. In other words: I should try to be as selfless as I can, although in my life I am the most stubborn one.

Sketchbook Vol.10

Design Makes the World Better

Although the world is “getting smaller and smaller” thanks to the development of technology, I still believe that challenges will occur as people from all around the world communicate with each other. We come from different continents, and we have different languages, histories, and cultures. These differences will make the communication process harder. But after taking this class, I believe that we can overcome those challenges by using “design”.

Even though we have different culture background, we tend to agree what a good piece of design is. Our aesthetic on design works is not as different as our nationalities. This is definitely helpful for the communication process.

Lots people around the world love Apple products because of their tight and simple design.

“Design” is also a useful approach to learn cultures of other countries. We don’t have that many chances (money and time) to understand a culture by traveling and living in that area. Books seem too boring and too long for a lot of people. At this situation, design works become a good resource that can help people learn a culture. A poster, a sculpture, an artwork… I believe that they are better than textbooks.

This poster reflects both traditional Chinese style painting and Chinese tea culture.

Sketchbook Vol.11

Design & Me

Before taking this class, I consider “design” as the creative process that follows all kinds of rules. A design does not need to have its “soul” and the designer does not need to put his/her personality on the design work. If it looks nice and follows aesthetic rules, it is a completed piece of design.

As a person who has a bit of interest in design, I have my own thoughts and ideas. But that is all I have understood about design. I know what looks good and what doesn’t.

After taking this class, I start making “design” as an outlet of myself. I am putting my own personality on my design works. I consider “design” as an approach to expressing myself. I don’t talk much. So I try my best to let my design works speak for me. What do I like? Favorite colors and patterns? Lifestyles? You can find all these answers in my design works.

Learn from Classmates

In my learning process, “classmate” is also an important part. I will try to learn something from my classmates. I want to use this method to strengthen my advantages and improve my weaknesses. In this class, my classmates help me a lot. Even though I don’t have many conversations with them, I can learn a lot from every critique activity. I take suggestions from them, and I also learn from what they have done. I am a stubborn person on the aspect of aesthetic. But my classmates help me to broaden my visions.

A piece of knowledge I take from this class:

Taking risks. In this class, every time I take a risk, I receive something good. I am conservative before taking this class: I don’t like things to become risky. But after this class, things have changed. Some risks I have taken on finishing my projects end up provide me good feedbacks and useful knowledge. I might sometimes choose to take a risk. Even if I fail eventually, I can still learn from it.