Today was my first day on the course, I really enjoyed the experience of meeting so many exciting people with such varied interests and from different backgrounds. 

For our first research project, my group of four people were given the 3 words- polytheism, neoprene and package.Initially, It was quite hard for us to to see any connections between these word directly, so we decided to do a mind map see where it would take us. We started off with the word 'polytheism', However we were unaware of what it was or what it means, after a brief group research and mind mapping, we are still not going any where. I suggested that we should research one word each and share our ideas together tomorrow.

The words I was assigned to is neoprene. Glad this word was given to me as I'm have worked a lot with this material before, for sports purposes especially. Neoprene is the fabric used to make wetsuits, this allows swimmer remain normal body temperature even in cold water, it works by trapping a layer of water in between the wetsuit and body, as the heat from the body slowly warm up the water, this helps the wearer to stay warm under abnormal temperature range. 

After finding out roots of neoprene, I discovered a paradoxical link between what neoprene is made from and what is used for. This fabric categorised as a type of synthetic rubber, Neoprene creation causes a lot of pollution because it is made from petrol as are most plastics and synthetics materials adding to that the fact that plastics needs hundreds of years to disapear. As I have mentioned above, neoprene is most commonly worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports, providing thermal insulation. These activities are all been carried out in the natural environment, where as the production of this material is destroying the nature.

In our morning library session, we were searching and selecting material and books put in our research for resources and references. I really enjoyed using the library as I think that it will give us a wealth of ideas and new information as well as a calm working environment. I think that using books and journals is such an integral part of research as it broadens the mind and opens up access to new information that cannot be found online. 

As a group we went through our workflow research pages together to go over the ideas we had come up with already, and were able to share ideas as to what channels of thought each of us were following. I thought this was useful and meant that we could pull ideas to enrich our collective research. on the other hand, the discussion did not go very well, the main reason was language barriers, as English is our second language, it was hard for everyone in the group to express our ideas clearly for others to understand or sometimes even been misunderstood. Furthermore, the discussion is not going so well because the idea we chose was very complicated and we cannot go forward with because we don't understand each other idea. This clearly affected the pace of our process, We waste a huge amount of time explaining to the member in the group and communicating our ideas over and over again. 

 Another problem with working in a team is conflict in making decision. all members cannot reach to a final decision, because everyone has different approach and opinions, one cannot compromise with another and everyone wanted their idea to be included in the final outcome. In the end, we were able to come with an agreement in deciding the final project be an installation showing different form of video art all linking towards the same message.

what we could improve on next time working team is that speak out with confident if there is a problem or something you disagree with, so we could come to a more comprehensive conclusion quickly rather than wasting time.

We started our day quickly sketching out the interesting structures from archititures and buildings around us. I were to do this again I think I would have ensured that I had drawn a wider variety of styles of architecture, as I found that by drawing industrial forms I had a collection of reasonably similar shapes. 

Following our drawings we isolated and joined abstract shapes together with an outline around them,  then cut out and assembled all these shapes together into a 3d sculptural piece. I was surprised by the random, interesting shapes I found from my sketches. Those shapes are original and unique to me in a sense that I selected them along with my emotions.  This activity taught me a new way of exploring inspiration from my own work. Taking these shapes from the drawing would not only be beneficial for generating print and textiles ideas, it also allowed me to find these unusual shapes for garment silhouettes. 

When connecting the three cut-outs, all my pieces had curves and little details on the edges, it was really hard to join all these together seamlessly, which formed these interesting hollow areas, overall balance out the complexity of the final structure. The process of taking an abstract flat shape and using it to create a sculptural silhouette I found allowed me to broaden my mind as to what kind of shapes can create a garment. This caused me to think of garments in a much looser, freer, and more sculptural way without thinking of the practical pattern-making implications.

When building shapes on human body, it was mostly based on intuition and sometimes the human body structure. I was trying to create shapes by connecting the edges of two pieces. The connected edges then become rather strong and stiff, forming larger three-dimensional silhouette. 

This week's one day projects completely broadened my understanding of a design process, especially with timed observational drawings I realised how much can be done in one day. The time frame given with a lot of the work was challenging in that it forces you out of your comfort zone of precious aesthetic choices.Through observational drawing and mark making, we absorb the existing elements from the environment through personal selections and interpretations. It is original and unique, which feeds back into a innovative design process. Drawings can be used to create shapes, textures, prints, patterns and fabric manipulations, with transformations between 2D and 3D.

My favourite part was the blind drawings, it could be inaccurate in the actual proportions yet it captures the flow of the silhouette very well. The lines go smoother when I relaxed myself and let my vision guide my hand instead of focusing so much on the minor details.

I know that it really works for me in terms of trusting it as a process to find fun shapes and compositions.  It really lends itself to design and doesn't make it feel contrived.  Now the fast paced choices and composition post drawing was what I found really worked for me - this is something I want to practice more.  I would like to dive in head first with choices.  I also want to experiment more - really expand my approach to drawing and composition.  Being able to see other peoples process was also really great

In conclusion, I learnt that I need to loosen up from all the boundaries and not overthink my creative process by focusing on the end result. I need to stop being so fussy and put down what I see as quickly as I can so I can get down more information.

First day of the jacket project, we started off the day Working collaboratively, positioning and draping  all of our jackets together a team, Working with new people is great as they bring ideas and opinions I find incredibly useful when I get stuck with things. I also find that when we have to do a group task the end result is always better when we talk, discuss and consider all of our ideas first rather than just doing what one person wants. I find it harder to do task when one person is insistent on their idea being the best and the one we should do. I hope I will never force my idea onto people if we haven't all developed it together.

We used a selective process to identify areas we found particularly inspiring. By zooming in and selecting certain textures we found interesting in our experiments with our supplementary fabric and the sculptures we created. Observing and drawing exactly what was there I could record exactly what inspired me so I could remember it for later. I found this very useful and used a lot of the texture and information I recorded in my reconstructed jacket. I would have usually found this a little bit tedious but I now see the benefit.

Drawing the jacket from different perspectives and using different media especially helped me to analyse its construction and shapes. Working drawings made me more of aware of the construction details, stitch lines and pocket shapes found across the jackets front and back views. 

Finally - beginning to unseam the jackets lining gave a whole new look at its 'soul' and introduced me to new textures and fabrics around the shoulder area and seams. I begun with unpicking the stitch lines along the sleeves to discover amazing construction details. Textures I found particularly interesting are the ones found around the shoulder area because there was a range of texture coming from the shoulder pad foam, interlining and the main woven fabric. 

As I inverted the deconstructed areas from inside out I made a couple quick observational drawings to get a better understanding of the shapes and texture. I then proceeded to play with the patterned, colourful, polyester lining by folding it and deconstructing it almost completely from the main woven fabric to explore the front pockets from the inside. 

overall I think that I am very pleased with my project. I think  that I was able to use the different elements of my jacket in a new way, from both the interior and exterior, I also worked with different textures and fabrics to create new designs and garments. I chose to use a traditional draping method to develop the structure of the garment, and exploring ways of applying surface design techniques using unusual materials such as shopping bags, packing tape and straws order to develop it. This has helped me to work in a more creative and lateral way with garment construction, for example turning a sleeve into a collar. These experiences have enriched the breadth of my creative knowledge and have supported me in adapting different types of materials and inspirations into fashion design.

The process of putting up all our garments and samples in a mini exhibition was extremely interesting as by looking at all the garments hanging together all the different interpretations of the project and of the jackets became clear and illustrated the contrasts between the pieces. These included many pieces which involved weaving or knitted elements, which I thought were very effective at adding texture to the garment and also colour, whereas others had mainly concentrated on different draping techniques. From looking at the techniques my classmates used I think it would be interesting to perhaps try knitting techniques in the future, as this is something I haven't used in my work before, and I would also like to improve my sketchbook over the weekend to incorporate others advice and I think this is something I need to develop in order to tell a story of my project's development.  

Also, I spent far too much time on workflow, and neglected my sketchbook, Therefore, for the next project, my aim is to balance my time between the two. 

I really enjoyed the red/yellow/blue palette exercise and transforming one element into three outcomes. I expanded my use of colour with the given instructions (palest, dark, flat), which reminded me of Josef Albers Interaction of Colour, "One and the same colour evokes innumerable readings." Everyone has its own way of defining colours based on one's preferences as well. For example, my "red" samples turned out to be consisting of pink, red and plum (various shades of red). The exercise challenged my perspective in applying colours, especially considering the different shades, tones and textures of the same colour as well as combining colours. I am also truly amazed by the coloured paper and the print designs we made using them today,  It is a new way that I learned could be used in collating. By creating your own textured paper, the collage you made from it would be purely original as well.

In this morning session, we study more on how to write reflection and get to understand more in depth what we should write. I understood more on the point of writing a reflection and know what direction I’m going when finishing this exercise and Pauline gave me loads of useful information.

After that, we were separated into group of 6 to discuss on the research images each of us brought to the class and explain what your project is about. Each member will give out feedback to each other on how they can develop their ideas, bringing out suggestion of improvement. I’m aiming to look back at my previous ‘the jacket’ project. After reading an article on WeChat, it reminded me that everyone acts differently when they are alone, tailored jackets can be seen as a way of disguising the true self, you can’t judge a book by its cover, so you also cant judge a person by their appearance. e.g Hannibal. I then looked into meats sold in the supermarket, as they are the result of dividing the whole body. Personally, I feel that my research isn’t clear enough and not going on the right direction yet, so I think I have to continue researching more in depth and think outside of the box.

After I received feedbacks from my peers, I felt that it helps guide me into the right direction and allow me to see my connection of ideas clearer. It helps to back up and support my project.

My progress tutorial went a lot better than I expected. The main feedback that I got was to get more research from the library and do more fashion related development such as drapping and design developments. In response to this feedback, I have spent this week living in the library. I have found that the photography aisle is my favourite. I have spent hours in the aisle, working on only a few shelves per day and looking at any book that catches my eye. All of the images have been scanned and referenced on my Macbook. The research I'm gathering is general, and has no relation to my previous work or current briefs, however, I am enjoying building up an archive of imagery for future reference.

How did you find the transition from a closed 3D shape to working on the body - with considerations needed for arms, hands, etc.?

When moving on to work on the body, I decided to stick to the same shapes I used to create my marquette. In hopes of introducing more excitement into the final product, I decided to vary the scale of each shape and see how that affected the piecing together of the shapes. I also wanted to allow the nature of each shape to inform which part of the body I was designing for. For instance, I started working with the shape with a hole in it, and associated the size of it to fit the head. I thus put it over the head, and worked from there. I think this method allows me to work more spontaneously, but also make informed decisions. I found it easier to have a starting point and work around the body from there.

Furthermore, because of the many wide and long curved lines in my shapes, the paper garment also possessed interesting curvature. I ended up creating a cape-like structure, which sat atop the shoulders and visually introduced some weight downwards. Here, I took inspiration from some of my research sources such as Issey Miyake, who works a lot with paper and whose garments I selected in my Research page also possessed a rather voluptuous, slightly geometric silhouette. There were dips and crevices throughout the form my final paper garment outcome, which I quite liked. I particularly enjoyed how the curves caught the light when I photographed the garment, as seen in the first image above.

I personally feel that this attempt was more successful than what I did during ‘Your’ project, as I found it more natural working with the shapes this time. While I enjoy the bulbous silhouette I created, however, I do feel like I could introduce more nuances to the form. Perhaps fitting the arm through, or creating a sleeve could introduce more visual insight.

Today's focus was on the development board and on fashion illustrations. My drawings are BORING. I think I'm starting to get too comfortable with the techniques that I've been using (marker, pen, pencil, oil pastel) and want to continue experimenting. I'm going out later to buy black tape and a fat permanent black marker. I noticed today when I took a step back from my development boards, that all of the line weights were TOO similar and that I need to be very careful where I'm shading, as darker lines and colour blocking draw the eye in. In my original drawings I was colour blocking the pants and details outside of the garment in development and it was incredibly distracting. I'm going to have another go at this at home later.

 What skills have you used to problem-solve, develop & communicate your ideas?

I have used much collaging. Collaging of drawing and painting as well as collaging of fabric and paper. I found that making abstract, emotive observational drawing collages gave me most inspiration to find shapes. I solved problems of finding the right shapes and materials by researching deeply about artists and Olympic games. I also draped shapes on the body and in smaller scale on bottles which made me realize in the end  that a shape from the beginning of the project was better than later ones and the best one for my final garment.

What technical skills did you use or develop your ideas this project? Which workshops did you attend and how did they help?

The techniques as mentioned were: drawing, painting, collaging and draping but also sewing, stitching and pattern cutting. I tried many different paper variations and created my final garment firstly completely out of paper and made considered decisions of how it should look like instead of spontaneously cutting fabric on the mannequin. A friend is a womenswear student and I asked her about interfacings and then bought a very strong interfacing as well as a softer one to create the shapes in the perfect way I wanted it to be done.

 We visited the Barbican Centre today, yet another building known for its brutalist architecture, and documented different shapes and textures with different mark-making materials. The first half of the day, where we swam in the midst of unkempt textures and marks was the preparation for such an interesting day.  

One thing I learnt from our previous print project was that often smaller collages can be more effective as they create a richer page and also allow you to experiment with more techniques. I started by trying collaging different shapes together using different mediums, which I think worked well and could perhaps be developed into a kind of a graphic print reference? in order to explore the different colour combinations I could use in my collages to test them out and then condense them down to make a tighter colours palette of just three shades. I think that this is important so I can really see which colours I am most drawn to and which ones will work before making my final decision.

Although I am pleased with the collages I have done so far, there are still some things that I want to try out that I haven’t been able to do yet, so I think I will make a list of them to see if I can integrate them into my work next week. I have found collaging to be a very enjoyable medium of expressing my ideas as I think it allows you to get a better range of contrasting textures instantaneouslyinstead of solely using drawing, and also the process of manually building up layers adds a good texture to the page.

Have you discovered particular strengths in your work?

Looking back at my work in this project thus far, particularly when I worked on my 10 textile sample developments, I think one of my strengths would be my work with colour. On a personal level, I do enjoy working with colour quite a lot, and experimenting with ways to make a design more visually interesting with the help of colour. In my 10 samples, I decided to pick out 4 main colours that would appear in each sample, altogether making the 10 appear as a cohesive collection. My choices are rather bright and vibrant, as I wanted to challenge the typical dullness of Brutalist architecture. When the works are photographed in-situ, I hope that they will stand out from their backgrounds - while they possess elements that are inspired and thus connected to the architecture, they also have elements that divert it in the form of colour. 

However, I will admit that I have not been able to decide on a particular colour palette that identifies me, my practice, and my work. I am aware that many designers have a small range of colours that they like to work with, and thus are identified by. I too, would like to find that area of identity someday, but have yet to arrive at that point. Currently, I enjoy experimenting with a broad range of colours - from solely sticking to blacks and whites, to incorporating neon pink colour blocks - and all of these interest me. This is since I feel like different colours help to communicate the different emotions that I was to portray in my work. I hope that with more practice, I'll be able to arrive at a more refined colour palette. 

What areas within your work can you identify as needing more practice?

I still feel like I am not being experimental and diverse enough with my work, especially when it comes to creating textile samples. I enjoy working more 3-dimensionally, and have been trying to incorporate more tactile and 3-dimensional aspects to my designs. However, I feel like I still always end up working with the same material but different compositions rather than using different materials for each sample which eventually will also look like a collection. For instance, I've seen some of my classmates initially work with the same colour palette, but eventually begin to use different different mediums for each samples. This makes the overall collection more interesting. I find myself too afraid to take greater creative risks, and hope to improve in this aspect in my future works.