​​The current pandemic leads to billions of citizens to encounter a distinct lifestyle, and the more I have been doing self quarantine the more I sense how my life, even the design I am doing is highly ralated, or to say depends on technologies.

It exert its best capacity that it prove their importance to human being and it is also presumed the COVID-19 could be a portal for human beings to get into a post-internet life. 

The other day when I was reading Peart's article  ‘Automation Threatens to Make Graphic Designers Obsolete’ . He mentioned that artificial intelligence is tending to bring the multiple creative opportunities that eliminate the digital design process, which leads to the duty of a designer shift to, in his word ‘directing, selecting, and fine-tuning, rather than making.’ When some computational procedures are starting to be capable to develop as a designer, what left to the human designer is that to be a ‘conductor’, a ‘manager’ rather than a ‘musician’, an ‘executor’. 

This makes me ponder, what is the position of a graphic designer in 10 years? People have been saying it's crucial to train oursleves to be a T shape person, but in lights of designer's position might shifted from executor to conductor, should all the creatives be generalist in the future?

Can data and algorithm replaced designer, to fulfil the whole process of the design, from coming up with idea and brief, to deliver results, without any external assistance? There is already existing automation called generative design is born that it releases designers from making from scratch. Generative design, by quoting chief technology officer of Autodesk Jeff Kowalski’ word, it is ‘a method of achieving results by 
sharing your goals, objectives and constraints with the computer, and partnering with it to explore the solution space before you commit to just one and take it through to manufacturing and delivery.’ This indicates the generative design is authorizing the ‘maker’ position to the computer, aiming at discovering the best design by algorithm showing designers the complete solution and enabling creators to navigate and explore what some of the trade-offs are before they pick one prematurely. 

Those facts make me realise the importance of mindset value, and the way of seeing the world. At my first year in LCC, I am quite frustrated that uni doesn't teach me enough 'skills' such as c4d, typeface design, and so on. But the more I think about it, the more I value the effort of making students to knowing what the society's need is and being more minded.
​Yuan.

Technology plays a large role in today’s society and increasingly so since the pandemic. We have seen the importance of technology when it comes to social issues and how social media is used to connect communities but today I will be exploring how technology has impacted the graphic design industry. In a time where there is a seamless flow of information as well as a constant need for personalization, the design industry is in a possible state of human replacement. Is there a need for bespoke pieces of communication? I am fascinated in how designers have manifested these antithetical ways of working into their design processes resulting in work that is mechanical, and hand driven, systematic and humane. How do systematic processes and templates manifest themselves in brand identities which revolve around emotion and the visual connection? In the electronic focused environment, we live in today there is a constant search for new graphic languages that bridge art and technology. Paul Mcneil and Hamish Muir also known as MuirMcNeil are graphic designers who push the boundaries in creating typefaces from original forms and patterns. Generated from mathematical systems their distinctive modular style exists in the brand identities of Typecon and London College of Communication as well as collaborating with Eye magazine to produce a set of 8,000 unique covers. Graphic Designer and typographer Phillipe Apeloig states ‘If you want to bring an emotional dimension into the work it’s interesting not throw yourself into technology but to really do something that you can do with your hands this suggests web-sites such as Brandmark that generate logos lack the emotional connection of that brand. Therefore, it is questionable that the templates used on these sites are incapable to contextualize designs that are perceived as humane, this is significantly important in the world of branding where brands are almost conceived to be ‘living’. Investigating the symbolic value of visual thinking in relationship to the need of bespoke communication. Muriel Cooper states ‘progress in designing intelligent interfaces for graphic design applications, such as electronic publishing and lustration, will depend on the application of symbolic programming techniques from artificial intelligence’ this could suggest that the developments in technology will result in human replacement of visual problem-solving activities such as book design. However one cannot ignore the essence and craftsmanship behind the thinking process of book design to which in this day is still highly demanded indicating its irreplaceability by machine. In the introduction of notes on book design by internationally renowned graphic designer Derek Birdsall, he states ‘Book design is the process of discovery, guided by reading the contents of the page, studying the illustrations and captions and simply putting oneself in the position of the reader’ therefore proposes the idea that there is no such thing as generalisation in terms of layout. After reading Derek’s notes you understand very clearly how each book design derives from its content to where he constantly asks himself ‘Why this? Why that?’ The kind of visual thinking that one would believe could never be programmed into a computer.

Humiraa Firdaws BA IVM

“The difference between technology and slavery is that slaves are fully aware that they are not free.” —Nassim Nicholas Taleb
 
Social media is ubiquitous. It’s in our pockets, under our pillows and constantly on our minds. In an age where it seems like every designer, artist, poet, dancer etc. has an online presence acting as a portfolio, it begs the question what happens if you don’t use social media?
 
In her book, F*ck Being Humble: Why self-promotion isn't a dirty word, Stefanie Sword Williams describes social media as an online vetting process through which people form their initial opinions of you. A digital validation process that is here to stay. One post of yours could be the make or break of your career, but if you are not online how can people discover you? (Williams, 2020) Williams argues that your assumption that employers will just find you is more arrogant than just going ahead and sharing your work.
 
“From not regularly updating your platforms to shying away from asking for referrals or sharing personal work, there is still a significant disconnect between the lives we want to lead and our ability to build and maintain them. We expect the pay rises, the recognition and the belief from others, but we don’t give people enough reason to provide them … and then we complain when all our stars don’t perfectly align.” - Stefanie Sword Williams
 
In the 1950s Leon Festinger identified what he called ‘social comparison theory when people are unable to evaluating their own opinions, they incline towards comparing themselves with others. This is one of the major issues with social media because it induces feelings of anxiety and depression, especially amongst members of Gen-Z.
 
In his book Digital Minimalism: On Living Better with Less Technology, Cal Newport states ‘Outsourcing your autonomy to an attention economy conglomerate—as you do when you mindlessly sign up for whatever new hot service emerges from the Silicon Valley venture capitalist class—is the opposite of freedom, and will likely degrade your individuality.’ Newport explains how we are now able to completely expel solitude from our lives. This in turn affects our levels of creativity, happiness and general life satisfaction. Newport discovered that tech companies encourage behavioral addiction via intermittent positive reinforcement and the drive for social approval.
 
Newport argues that you do not need social media; as a creative you can spend the time you would do scrolling through feeds on actually upskilling and improving your practise. As someone with a shaky track record of posting work to Instagram this sounds appealing but then I also agree with Williams who says ‘You could spend your entire life waiting to perfect a skill – and in doing so, miss out on the chance to discover how good you really are.’ The dilemma seems to be to post or not to post?
 
In her book How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life, Catherine Price explains the effects on technology (specifically mobile phones) on creativity and the ability to come up with ideas. Our brains contain networks of memories called schemas that allow us to form ideas.
‘The more nuanced and detailed your schemas are, the greater your capacity for complex thought.’ (Price, 2018) However if our brains are overloaded and cluttered with likes, shares and retweets is significantly reduces our ability to reflect and produce meaningful and new insights.
 
After reading these books and watching many Ted talks, it seems the answer is: balance. As Newport says ‘It’s about cultivating a life worth living in our current age of alluring devices’. I want to have a personal brand and an online presence because there are many benefits to social media but I don’t want to be sucked into the rabbit hole of social comparison and anxiety over likes and shares. Price explains that ‘our goal isn’t abstinence; it’s consciousness’. I have learnt that it is possible to be on social media and also be mindful about it and not lose your sanity in the process. Whether is setting up time limits or scheduling posts automatically, there are ways in which we can fit the ever-growing presence of technology and social media into our lives as creatives. One of the ways in which I have started doing this is to give my phone a makeover, making it less like being a kid in a candy shop and more about making intentional and mindful choices.

De Coster Lola 
Design Management & Cultures 
@loldecos
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​Not every collaboration is deemed to be a success. Sometimes, even after the best first impressions and the promise of an amazing brief, it can still feel like you’re working against the current. I started working for David since I started my studies at UAL. I assisted him on several projects, helped him with his branding, pitches, and proposals. As I helped him for little to no fee, in return, I would benefit from his experience and network. The following blogpost discusses one of my personal experiences and gives some context on the nature complications in such collaborations.
A first determinant aspect is our generational differences: David is in his late 50s, trained in economics and business, and proceeded with design later in his career. His generation is known to be competitive, goal-oriented, and feels comfortable in hierarchal structures. The nature of his education, with his personality, puts him in natural leadership and a dominant position. I am currently training in design thinking and identifying as generation Z. Along with my generation’s trends I tend to value flexibility and ethical design. My studies make me more inclined to be interested in the process rather than the goals. These differences were never striking when we did small projects together, but they became clearer once we started to collaborate on bigger projects.
A factor that enforced these generational differences is the nature of our relationship: I always assisted and helped him complete his briefs. This of course resulted in a client-designer relationship and a natural hierarchical structure between us, he was the one calling the shots and deciding on the outcomes. After my internship I felt more secure in my skills and my role as a designer: I now take more ownership of my work and see myself more as a design thinker and design manager instead of a graphic designer or assistant. My role was still unclear in this project and I naturally broke out of my previous role which David probably did not expect. I hoped David would acknowledge this evolution, but I saw that this shift in how I positioned myself and my spontaneous increase in participation confused him. I was often met with a controlling attitude on his side while also blind spotting me on further developments. Even as I tried to discuss my points of view, I felt increasingly uncomfortable, blocked, and ultimately undervalued.
Lastly, our different views on design and the design process along with current debates. I am currently very involved in inclusivity, ethical and participatory design.  I believe in involving the user and a more transparent relationship with the client and a flexible design process that adapts to the evolving need of the client and the user. Contrarily, David follows a strict design process, he makes personas based on secondary research and assumptions, and the user has the right to give feedback after the product is made. This naturally puts the designer in a controlling and dominant position towards the user which I am actively trying to break out of.
While these three factors were never troubling our dynamics in the past, they started to become visible as a gained working experience. These gave me the chance to compare what I already experienced and understand my preferences in the workplace. As I am still navigating my purpose and goals as a designer, I know that this dynamic could have been solved with better communication and transparency on both sides.  I could have expressed my struggles with the design process and communicate my views on design in general. Ask him if these were aligned with his before agreeing on collaborating. It is not because a certain dynamic was installed at the beginning of the relationship that there is no room for self-actualization on both sides.

Since my last wow blog I’ve undergone a few different changes and had new experiences in the world of graphic design. It’s been a difficult time putting myself and my work out there, I have applied for different internships and been rejected with no understanding of why so the last few months have been a journey for me to accept rejection and focus on myself and the work I want to do. 

I am currently working on my photo manipulation and composition skills to further the quality of the work I wish to produce, this has included my understanding of lighting and perspective to a greater degree than I had before but I’ve noticed an improvement in my work because of this. I use a lot of stock photography and my own photography in my work which can make it difficult to get the resources I need especially with a restricted budget but I’ve managed to find alternative methods such as free stock photography websites. The main part I find interesting in creating composites is how using so many different components in a workspace can bring a still image to life but you can also achieve this through different effects and fully understanding the scene of which you wish to create. To further my work I’d like to learn 3D modelling and rendering so that I can create my own assets to be used in either static or motion design, through the university I can get access to lynda.com and this is likely where I will do some tutorials. 

Internships have been difficult to attain recently for me, I started the year strongly with working with Alan Kitching and working with MA students creating posters and visual work but the most recent positions I have applied for have not been as successful. An example of this was Atlantic studios a film and documentary company in London that I produced a live sample of work to prove my skills and this sadly did not get me the job, I would like to hear back from them some feedback from my work but have had no response. An upside to this is I’ve recently started working with Miguel Ramos Artime a filmmaker on the MA LCC course and he has appointed me quite a lot of work that surrounding the film he is to be producing in the up and coming year.

For my self initiated project I will be travelling home to the southeast coast to work with Paul Crawley in Margate. Paul is an old tutor of mine and worked at UCA (University of Creative Arts) he’s worked in the industry for many years and has access to some amazing facilities. Paul co-owns a letterpress and design studio in margate and has invited me to come and work alongside him helping to produce some work of his, I will also have access to the full facilities meaning I can produce my own letterpress prints. I am very keen to make some strong political posters in correlation with the recent black lives matter protests depicting the message of “All of the Power to All of the People” this to me is a very strong message in light of recent event from all around the globe and I’d love to show my support to the cause.

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