final project (competition) propaganda poster

2009.12.7 - final competition project: modern propaganda poster

so this project is pretty much straight-forward. we choose a propaganda subject from the 1900-1950s and recreate a modern like poster about it. the hardest thing about this project was choosing the subject since different issues happened during WWII. I had no idea what my subject was going to be until the very last minute. I chose the atomic bombings in Japan (Nagasaki and Hiroshima). I looked up poster examples online but were only able to find posters of the map of Japan and two "x" marks on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. I took that exact idea and decided to add the United States above it and had the atomic bombs kind of "shoot" down on Japan. I'm satisfied with the end result, although the background on the poster I printed out yesterday night turned into a "mauve" color (supposed to be dark grey).

some of the problems that happened during the process of designing/printing:

* i designed the poster on illustrator but i wasn't able to export it into a jpeg because of an error (out of range?)

* once i hit that problem, i figured i'd transfer what i had on illustrator to photoshop so i could export it into a jpeg/pdf. because this poster is large format, the layers i were trying to transfer to photoshop took a long time and ended up freezing my laptop.

but the good thing was..

* i was lucky enough to get that problem fixed and went to millrace lab to use their computers and got the AI file on to PSD and exported that into a pdf.

dimensions: 24x36

this was a fun project!

lack table competition documentation

here is the final documentation of the lack table from the competition project! the table's not sitting in my room yet because i haven't had the time to clean and make enough room. but i can't wait to place the table in my room!

aesthetics/beautification project

Thursday, November 5

It was mostly a brainstorming day for us in class today. 5 different groups were created and I was debating whether or not to go into the Competition group or Tools group. I have an interest for Vinyl so I felt I could’ve gone either way, but I decided to be in the Competition group. Our group decided we were going to tackle down 2 projects within the next 4 weeks. Project 1 will be focusing on aesthetics. Our assignment is to beautify the object chosen by our Professor. Project 2 is still in discussion.

Tuesday, November 10
John Park has ordered lack tables from Ikea. We can be additive and change it in any way we like. Our group has decided to still have the object FUNCTION AS A TABLE. Our group was also discussing on how the class was going to decide which person out of our group won. We are still in discussion about the scoring system/feedback/comments.

Thursday, November 12
Today is a work day. I’m still a bit unsure as far as my ideas on what I want to do with the table. But Vinyl was the first thing that came to mind. I love retro-type photographs and vintage-like wallpapers. I might want to have vinyl covering the top of the table and legs. I did some web surfing on a few different sites to get inspiration.
* I want to use the table for my room to match
* I plan to paint the table either black or white
* Vinyl color choices: white (if black table), black (if white table), teal, orange, yellow
* I might want to shorten the table feet (not absolutely sure)

Friday, November 13 and Saturday, November 14
I decided to take an old wallpaper saved on my computer and pictures of wallpaper designs I took at a hotel and take the pieces out and re-arrange them so it would look a bit more interesting. I’ll be using Adobe Illustrator.

Monday, November 16
I went to Benjamin Frankin’s craft store to find spray paint for the table. Since I would still like the table to match my room, I bought dark chocolate. Vinyl choices are white, teal, or yellow.

Wednesday, November 18
I started to re-work the wallpaper I chose. I hope to go to studio this weekend and have the vinyl cut so that I can put them together over the weekend.

Saturday, November 21

I made a trip to Milrace to get the design cut. I ran through some minor errors and had to re-print the vinyl. I got the contact sheets on. I plan to spray paint the table tomorrow.

Sunday, November 22
I spray-painted the table dark chocolate. The paint did stick well on the table, but I think I just got it so wet from all the layers that in the end it left some holes.

Monday, November 23
The vinyl is on the table. I realized I got the calculation wrong while I was at studio and I ended up having to leave out a lot of pieces and so it ended up messing the original design. There were a few spots I had to re-spray paint over because the vinyl just got stuck on the table while I was trying to measure where I’ll be putting it. I took a picture every time I placed the vinyl on the table, but here are just a few to show! :)

Tuesday, November 24
This is the finished product! I still haven't been able to take pictures of the table in a nice setting, but once I do I'll be sure to upload them! This was a fun project!

final project posting~

2009.11.3- FINAL PROJECT POSTING~

My project is focusing on sleeping. Sleeping has been a really big issue. I find this project to be self-experimental and the goal was to observe the behavioral changes and stress levels, and if the attempted “forced schedule” to get more sleep failed or succeeded.

This experiment was documented for 2 weeks. One week was to A. document my normal daily schedule, and the other was to B. make an attempt to so “change my habits” and put myself in a forced schedule by trying out activities and/or others I normally wouldn’t do (and by this meaning activities that will bore me to fall asleep faster).

A. I documented my normal daily schedule and habits from October 15 to 22. This was just for me to observe how I’ve managed my time in doing things that week and to collect the total amount of hours I slept. (My schedule would’ve been more hectic if this project had started closer towards the end of the quarter. I would’ve slept after 3AM and get less hours of sleep a night.) Here are some of the things I’ve noticed on my habits after the 1-week documentation of my normal schedule was over.

1. Slept before 3AM on all 8 nights.
2. Spent my hours on useless activities on 4 of the 8 days.
3. Homework assignments not touched before 8PM.

I got more sleep than what I had expected. If I hadn’t put off any reading, drawing or studio assignments till the evening time or pushed it over for the following day, I would’ve been able to sleep earlier and not have to worry about catching up on any schoolwork.

B. I documented my forced schedule from October 23 to 30. This part of the experiment could’ve been approached in many ways. My goal was to sleep by 12AM. That week was to observe if my time was better well managed and (if) sleeping earlier affected me in any way. Here are some of the things I’ve noticed on the 1-week documentation of my forced schedule was over.

1. Slept by 1AM on all 8 nights.
2. Slept by 12:30AM on 4 of the 8 nights (activities and/or other attempted: watched the discovery channel, read a book, drank warm milk, and took Benadryl 2 of the 4 days an hour before I forced myself to sleep)
3. Homework assignments touched before 12PM on 3 of the 8 days.
4. Homework assignments touched after 9PM on 4 of the 8 days.

I got less sleep and I was surprised to see the results after totaling the amount of hours of sleep. I attempted to touch my assignments early during the day so that it would’ve given me more free time. Some of the problems encountered were:

1. Knowing my attempted goal to sleep by 12AM pressured me to complete everything on my “to-do list”.
2. Happen to have documented at the wrong week (Midterms week).
3. (Midterms week) = more stress = less sleep.

(Below) shows two graphs of the stress levels. Stress based on the thoughts, complaints, etc I’ve written in my journal daily.

A. This graph represents my stress level over the normal daily schedule. This week shows how my stress level is highest mid week and slowly decreases towards the end of the week.

B. This graph represents my stress level over the forced schedule. This week shows how my stress level slowly increases from day 1 to day 7. My stress level is highest towards the end of the week.

After comparing these two graphs, I was surprised that my stress levels resulted that way in the two weeks. I expected that my stress level each day on my normal daily schedule would be the opposite (stress level slowly increasing each day) because I tend to procrastinate and put things off till the very last minute, and that my stress level each day on my forced schedule would also be reversed (stress level high and slowly decreasing). Because I was on a forced schedule and pressured to get things done, I assumed I would be most stressed in the beginning of the week. My stress level went up day 5 (dark red area), which was the day I finally realized “I AM STRESSED.” I found that I experienced constant mood swings throughout the day, I was easily offended what people might’ve said to me and that my body was telling me to slow down on the loads of work I’ve been putting each day and rest. If this was a longer experiment, I would attempt to create a more structured schedule and try to follow that. Changing one owns habit isn’t that easy, especially if you only “attempted” to change your schedule for a week. My body couldn’t easily adjust to those changes and that's what had probably caused me to stress out early that week. But I definitely had fun with this project!

The red mark indicates my normal schedule. I got 62.5 total of hours of sleep. The purple mark indicates my forced schedule. I got 59.5 total hours of sleep.

and here is the poster!

TIME TO SLEEP! YEAH!

things to do

2009.10.30- things to do over this weekend:

* finish documenting over behavior changes till the end of friday.

* compare the differences in the total amount of sleep in each week (based off regular & forced schedule)

* buy poster board

- create graphs (hours/sleep)

* write up summary (report) on the experimentation

more to update.

weekend: project 'building/making/framing'

2009.10.24- another project update.

okay, so i remembered on the first week of class that john park introduced us to the program xmind and briefly lectured us saying how it's a good way to brainstorm and list ideas off or making a schedule (basically to keep everything organized).

i'm thinking of creating two different xmind maps for my project (oct 15-22, oct 23-30). from that i will be able to compare the before and after changing schedules. but the main goal is to see how this experiment has affected me. (what worked and didn't work, etc)

i worked on a draft of the experimentation i did on myself from oct 15 to oct 22 (i documented my daily schedule such as what time i woke up and slept). this information is taken directly off my journal. i just didn't add in the descriptions/thoughts.

i also added up the total amount of hours of sleep from that week and created an xmind on it just so i can easily compare the changes.

highlight: i'm surprised to see the total amount of hours i got in 1 week! i tend to sleep less when i'm loaded with a lot of schoolwork or when my stress level is very high.

i have yet to document oct 23 to oct 30 ("attempt" to change my daily schedule/habits such as sleeping early). once i collect the total amount of hours of sleep after oct 30 ends, i will create another xmind on it.

experimental & journal update

2009.10.24- experimental & journal update.

experimental update. so after thursday ended, i "attempted" to try and change my habits starting friday. it's only been one day so i didn't really 'process' the change and it was as if i was only doing this experiment for one day trying to get more sleep by sleeping before 3AM (my goal) and waking up feeling refreshed. day 1 of changing habits worked. let's see if i can continue to get this going!

journal update. here are a few pictures i took of my journal. my daily schedule started from october 15. what's written in orange are the times and activity, and the green are my thoughts on how i was feeling (stress, fatigue, etc). i'm writing both in different colors so i wouldn't make myself get a headache.

one thing i thought was new to me was journal writing. i usually can express my thoughts and feelings better when i'm typing rather than writing by hand. i honestly prefer typing on a blog site rather than writing on paper. this is my first time ever to write in a book/journal. as much as my hands are cramping, i actually find it fun to write. (well, in this case i’m writing something about myself, so it’s not that boring at all.)

book.

2009.10.22- update! i went to kinkos to cut black 8 1/2 x 11" pieces of paper to 7 x11". i glued a thinner piece of design paper on hard paper material and that will be my cover. the cover is 8 x 11". i'm still on the hunt for pictures.

work day

2009.10.22- i'll be working on the book today as well walk around campus and take pictures.

I came across seeing socks hanging on a parking garage gate and a washcloth hanging on a trunk of a tree-- but I didn't have my camera with me! i came back the next day and it was removed. anyways, on the other hand, i will continue to document myself till the end of today and continue writing in my journal and start to create a schedule for me to follow for a week (setting times to do homework, etc. - including the times I should sleep) and then document my thoughts how i felt about the change after putting myself on a new schedule. more to update!

human behavior problem:: sleeping. update~

2009.10.20-

i started to document my daily habits everyday after last thursday's class.

Thursday, October 15, 2009
6:00PM, dinner.
8:20PM, gasoline station.

9:00-11:00PM, facebook, tv

11:00PM, shower.
11:30, drinking orange juice.
12:00AM, facebook.
12:15AM, sleep.

Friday, October 16, 2009
11:00AM, wake up.
11:30, laundry.
12:00PM, lunch – ramen.
1:00PM, tv.
2-3:00PM, nap.
5:00PM, packing clothes.
8:00PM, dinner.
10:00PM, movie.
12:00AM, shower.
1:00AM, sleep.

above are just 2 of the 5 days i've documented. but what i document is meant to be random. i didn't set myself a schedule to write what i do every hour.

here are some of the things i've noticed after documenting:

- sleeping earlier than 3AM.

- i'm not as productive as i should be.

- i still start homework late.

- most of the thoughts written out: complaining how exhausted i am even when i know i didn't do much on that particular day.

what i got done today:

- went to the bookstore to buy supplies for bookbinding. i'm hoping to start making the book this weekend.

- bought a journal to document my habits. an idea that kady brought up was instead of writing down what i do everyday, maybe include photos of the things/activities, etc i would do later when i attempt to change my habits and include those in just to make it more fun.

what my plan is:

- to figure out how my documentation of my habits will be presented. again, as i've mentioned in my previous blog how this project is more of an experimentation of myself, i'm still quite unsure how i want this to be turned in. but as of right now, i'll be continuing to write everyday. another update will be posted shortly.

human behavior problem::

2009.10.16-

the problem i'll be focusing on is sleeping. sleeping has been a problem for me ever since the first year of high school. the main problem that affects my sleeping is stress. i'm a thinker. for example, when a term has just started and when i see all the assignments listed down for the next 10 weeks, i would already plan that all in my head and start to think about it overnight when i'm about to sleep. i tend to think what the end result should be when i should be focusing on the present. let me tell you a little more of myself. people who know me well knows i never sleep. i don't sleep before 3AM. i normally would get about 3-5 hours a sleep a night and the whole cycle repeats itself (this is during the week). on weekends is when i can catch up on more rest. i believe that time-management is part of a reason why i don't get any sleep. i like to go with the flow with things. i don't like putting myself on a schedule. i eat when i feel like it, i would start my homework (usually) after midnight. it's become a daily habit and i've tried to change that, but my body clock doesn't work that way. without sleep, i tend to act differently, i'm not myself around people, i'm always in a bad mood, i get really cranky, i like to break down.

i find this project to be more of an experimentation on myself. my plan is to document myself on the things i do normally on a daily basis. whenever i did a different activity, i would write it down on my journal (the times i sleep or nap, the times i do homework, write how i feel throughout the day, etc). i would then attempt to change my habit and see how the process went. some ideas my group members threw out were to try take nyquil/benadryl before i sleep, watch tv (documentaries), drink, read books. then later document the changes and how much of a difference does it make after getting more sleep. i'll be posting again shortly.

DIY*

2009.10.13- i love cooking and experimenting different things. egg flower soup is one of my favorite's to make for dinner on cold nights. this dish is quick and easy to make!

what you need to make egg flower soup (servings for 4-6):

1. 4(or+) eggs.

2. 2(or+) cans of corn.

3. chicken (boneless chicken saves you time!) quantity varies.

4. hotdogs (chopped).

5. mushrooms (chopped).

6. salt.

7. pepper.

8. fish sauce.

9. corn starch (to thicken the soup).

(10). optional- chopped green onions for garnish.

(11). optional- hot sauce if you like spicy!

Directions: First, add water to your pot. Let the water sit to a boil (10 mins.) then add in the chicken and let it cook. Next, add the corn, hotdogs, mushrooms, and eggs. Add in a pinch of salt, pepper, and fish sauce. The last step is adding in the corn starch. You can add as much corn starch needed to thicken the soup. Enjoy!

problems

2009.10.10-

problems that has made a great impact on me are:
* time management – Time management has been one of the bigger issues for me. Working a job during my senior year in school was still manageable. I started to work again my second year in college and I realized I had to work harder to balance work and school.
* procrastination - I usually tend to pull things off last minute because sometimes I can get things done faster knowing I’m reaching a deadline.
* habit(s): Sleeping- The workload is quite overwhelming. Once I got accepted into my major, my life just turned upside down. The maximum hours of sleep I’d get a night is 3-5 hours tops. My body clock has adjusted to those hours. It’s sure hard to go back to 8-10. Health- I’m easily stressed with school and everything else going on in my life and often would lose my appetite. I eat one meal a day (dinner).

** blog to be continues sometime later today **

mind mapping

2009.10.1- the main topics i had were energy, skills, addiction, personality, family, & hobbies/activities. this is a rough draft of my mind map and is subject to change.

blog

2009.09.29- hi, here's my blog :)