1/29 Creative Process

In Concept Development class yesterday, we discussed about the creative process. We watched Paula Scher and Elizabeth Gilbert's creative process. I found it funny when Elizabeth talked about how her creative process came from a divine wind or being that would bring ideas with it. I wish there really was this divine being because it would help me finish my projects much faster. Anyways, at the end of class, our professor wanted us to blog about four questions talking about our own creative process. So this is how inside Sunny Cheng's creative process looks like:

Have you experienced your own or other people's fear-based reactions to your creative education and career choices?
-Fear based reactions, no I have not. surprised was what I got because everyone in my family assumed I was copying my sister's major. What they didn't know is that I was her idea generator for majority of her projects. 
How have you successfully overcome these reactions?
-My effort and projects speak for themselves. Although the projects I helped out have my sister's name on them, my own projects I generate have shocked some of my relatives to realize I can match my sister's creative mind...or even surpass her.
What is your concept of your creative process?
-"Keeping it stylish" is the quote that always goes through my head because it is from my favorite video game character's quote. When I think of a concept, I try to put a stylistic quality into all my work.
How do you approach creating, making?
-Whenever I get a new project to work on, I scout the internet for a basic idea on some concepts, like the "bread and butter." After I get an understanding on how to start approaching the topic, I mass manufacture sketches on a large drawing pad . From my old Letterform class, the best ideas come to me when i literally start running out. There is never a time which you run out of ideas. 

1/23 THE DOOR!!!

The state quarter of Missouri started an off topic discussion of who designs quarters. In this discussion, our professor went over the difference between designing for a client and designing for an audience or user. Much like the quarters, the coins are designed for the audience and user rather than the client to spend, use, or even collect. Whoever designed the state quarters did a very fine quality designing every quarter for each state.

The next assignment was a visual representation. We had to draw what we saw in our minds when our professor told everyone the same story. In my head, I saw myself entering the door with my name on it, but inside the door was a really dark room. Inside were many discarded and destroyed dolls and puppets everywhere. Some were tangled in strings and hanging from the ceiling while others were shattered and scattered on the floor. Creepy, I know...

Everyone would see something different through the door. Nobody knows what lies behind "The Door."

1/16 What does a picture mean?

  Last Wednesday in Concept Development class, we watched a video of TEDtalk featuring Stefan Sagmeister. I found his idea of a sabbatical (taking off 5 years from retirement and taking 1 year off every 7th year) to be a unique and genius idea because during the one year off, he can generate ideas without the stress of a time limit and work on personal projects during this one year break. Not only does this replenish the mind, but also makes working less of a chore and more of a career.

  After the video, we had to create slogans from 2 images selected from the class, which were a paintbrush and half a coconut. We discussed about how these slogans could derive from ideas linked to the images like a slogan of a helmet coming from a half broken coconut. With this in mind, many of the ideas in class changed the tone in some of the slogans from a neutral tone to depressing or funny tone. When each individual had to create a slogan on the spot, the class each came up with very interesting ideas for these slogans.

1/14 Working Together! A Group Decision?

Monday in Concept Development class we had 3 group assignments that needed to be completed. The first was to organize ourselves in order of our birthday in chronological order. This activity involved exchanging information throughout the whole class and cooperation to make sure that we were sitting in the right order. With such a large class, this assignment was hard because it was hard giving information to everyone in the class. Despite the chaos while sorting the order of the seating, the class managed to succeed on the first try without any mistakes.

Afterwards, the class had to create a set of criteria to judge our previous comic strip. The class came up with a critique and had to order the comics in order of best to worst in 20 minutes. The creation of the criteria was a simple task that was created within minutes of the assignment. However, the method failed as the class simply graded each comic based only on aesthetic appeal. I felt that the class felt rushed by the 20 minute time limit. If the class had spent 10 minutes on reading the actual comics and then organized based on content, creativity, and ideas, the order the comics were in would be a lot different.

The last group activity that was assigned was creating a story from objects that each group had on them. We had to create a story that had a plot, setting, and characters. The group I was grouped up with had gloves, rubber bands, ear muffs, and a bottle of water. Our story turned out to be a western love story mixed with a comedy.

With all these group involved activities, I learned a lot of being involved and generating ideas as a group rather than an individual. Through my other classes, the ideas for projects were from my own creative mind, but not as a group. These challenges sparked my mind with many ideas that can be developed with the other designers one may have never met before.

1/9 comic day! road to CSULA

  On Wednesday in Concept development class,  the class learned about visual literacy. Visual literacy is being able to read an image that tells a story or has a meaning behind it. The most recognizable image was an image of president Barack Obama with his face painted white, dark eye liner, and a bloody looking mouth with the edges sewn together. At first, I recognized this as the Joker from the series "Batman," and then realized who was underneath the make-up. The image i thought was really cruel and felt bad that i did not realize who was defiled on the image.
 Afterwards, we had an assignment titled"My life as a Graphic Novel: How I Made it to College." This assignment was to take the most important events that had led up to why each person chose CSULA as their college. This assignment was challenging, but really fun at the same time. after class, Jimmy assigned another  version of this assignment, but in color. This means I have more time to put detail and thought compared to in class. I can't wait to turn in my new version of this project on next week Monday.

1/8 First day of class! Which one was the lie?

  Yesterday was the first day in my Concept development class. It was an interesting first day though. The class first started with a game to introduce ourselves. We had to tell two things real about ourselves and one that was fake. It was really fun to try and piece together which was fake. Some people really sold themselves when they delivered their three descriptions. I couldn't even guess which one was fake. This exercise's hidden meaning was to sell something to others, even if it was not real. I have played that game in classes when I was younger, but never saw that kind of meaning in a game like that.

  The class was also assigned to create a blog! This is a really fun idea that i have never got to do in other classes. Summarizing what we did and showing the world what we do every class meeting is such a thrill. The most interesting part was when our professor, Jimmy Moss*, gave us apples. The class was instructed to render the apple every day in a different way. I just hope within this time period the apple doesn't rot. That sounds really disgusting!

More to come soon! This class is gonna be a blast! Until next time.

*note : (The index finger and the thumb of your right hand forms a "J." J is for Jimmy, and Jimmy Moss is always right. There is never a time he is wrong.)