FINAL PRODUCT

Here is a video of how the ZINE looks like when flipped, and the following are a closer look on how the digital form looked like per page.

Outside Front Cover

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Page 6

Outside Back Cover

To see the previous project on Project 2 Part 1, click:

2D II Assignment 2 PART 1: “Zine: Neighborhood Explorer” FINAL

 


Concept

Guide around Telok Blangah with an elderly.

“Day in Telok Blangah guided by Uncle Tan. Readers get to go on an expedition with Uncle Tan, and he will show you around the places in Telok Blangah he like to visit, where he thinks you might like and what to do there.”

The story will go around the primary information and personal recounts I have gathered from the interviews I conducted, as well as secondary research such as location names.

Art direction

Heading in the direction of more whimsical illustrations that are more kid friendly.
I really like the vibrant colors and how organic the shapes are! I also really liked the path which guided the viewers as to where they should look at! Hence I thought that paths can help me in my Zine. 🙂

Change(s) in idea/execution (if any):
Wanted to use a more calligraphic font, but instead chose a font that has more of a personal handwritten feeling to it since the drawings are very hand drawn. So I chose to use the font: A little Sunshine.

Challenges

  1. Incorporating the feedbacks that I have gotten from my Part 1 infographics on Telok Blangah, one of the key issues was that the illustrations used were not uniquely Singaporean. Hence, I wanted to address that issue by illustrating the locations as they are instead of making it look like any regular place in Singapore.
  2. Throughout the making of the Zine, I was rather concerned with the layouts, how to use the grid format and how to maximize space without the spreads being too empty and lack of information.

Enjoyable moments

  1. I really enjoyed doing up the illustration process! It was rather therapeutic to doodle my fictional characters according to how I picture them to be, as well as filling in the colors! It is like seeing them come to life! 😀
  2. In addition, saddle stitching A4 paper was something nostalgic that I did with a friend in Primary School! We created weekly girly comic books/ magazines for kids our age and wrote stories about how we would have super fairy powers and  banish our enemies in school and get all the good looking boys etc. We were 10…I have no idea what were we thinking ahaha. It was quite a hit as we had over 30 issues and went on to Season 2, and our classmates wanted weekly updates on our magazine. Ah… my youthful days…

Classmates’ Feedbacks and Comments! <3

This critique session was a little more different from the previous ones we had as Joy got us to shift to the left every 2 minutes, and giving a quick anonymous critique towards the Zine.
Oh my goodness… It was arms day that day. I have never felt my arm burn so much since the last time I did ‘A’ levels HAHAHA!!! So we were given an envelope to place all the 18 notes in the respective envelopes and also when we were presenting, some classmates gave their comments on post it notes as well! ^-^

Majority of the comments in the 18 notes I have received is that my font is too thin to be read against a dark background and readability was an issue! 🙁 And that the second spreadsheet was rather bare and empty as compared to the first spread. Really thankful for the feedback because these factors never really came to me since I’ve been looking at my Zine so many times I knew what I was writing and where I wanted to place it. Hence, through this, I have learnt that when a publication is made, it is very important that you see your publication in the eyes of the readers and not purely my own. I ought to see my ZINE like how I would if I were a total new stranger. 😀

Joy’s Comments and Feedbacks <3

  • Can tell that you are pushing yourself digitally as well, despite using the traditional method of drawing and scanning in. So good job with the mixed medium attempt!
  • Readability issues with the texts. Especially with the middle spread. Texts on dark solid background will always have readability issue, especially when your fonts are already so thin. 🙁 Many of your classmates have readability issues with your Zine as they also squinted and placed their faces really close to the texts to read it. Be mindful about that. Do test print every time to see next time.
  • Guide for young and old came to be more cohesive when the text is added.
  • The path way really helps to guide the viewers. However 2nd spread too much negative space, hence look sparse. Spread 1 is okay as paths provides breathing space as lots of details.
  • Moving forward, you can look for animation boards to draw inspiration as you browse them. You have this style where is different form your other classmates. It is your own distinctive style, don’t be afraid to keep it. Within your own style, branch out and see what other animation styles you can appropriate in your future projects

With that, I conclude the end of Year 1 Semester 2 of FDN 2D II !!

To be honest I am rather sad as much as I am glad that the holidays are approaching 🙂 Really thankful to have such a nice bunch of classmates in this semester’s class who were so willing to help each other out and give kind and constructive feedbacks 🙂 As well as Joy, thank you for being my 2D teacher for the whole of YEAR 1 ! 2 SEMESTERS ! I have learnt a lot from you and it was an ultimate pleasure and JOY to be your student! Hope to see you guys again in my following years here in ADM!! 😀

Cheers,
Seng Yi Ling.
To be updated in Year 2 Sem 1~

HELLO fellow reader!! This post will be on the research process behind the creation of my Zine for PART 2 of the assignment!! 🙂

To view Project 2 Part 1 on the Research and Final, click on these two links below! 🙂

2D II Assignment 2 PART 1: “Zine: Neighborhood Explorer” RESEARCH

2D II Assignment 2 PART 1: “Zine: Neighborhood Explorer” FINAL

So! I went to do up some research on what Zines are though the net, as well as Pinterest; and get some hands on Zine examples around Singapore, which I found that are quite readily available around us! I also looked for several aspects of the Zines that I can draw inspiration from!

Got these Zines from the National Library and I really liked how the front covers were designed 🙂

Was really looking into the contents of how the ZINE was created for and how they displayed them using layouts.


Based on the weekly groups’ presentation in relation to ZINES, I annotated some very useful notes to take note for this project:

Experimental Formats Zines

  • What are Zines? Zine derived from Magazine, self published book. Print and bound by any manner.
  • Decide what is it for. What is your Objective, Main concept and Visual approaches through your Zine.
  • Pick the right title to your Zine that links to your theme.
  • Decide layout and order. Plan your structure allowing information to be organized.
  • Fonts: Don’t make it too small. Don’t use dark background, and upper case for main body. Titles headlines are chances for more elaborate and fancy designs.
  • Create a master copy to test the copy you have created before you do the final one to see if you got right color, texture of paper etc.

Publication book format and grids

  • Format is the area in which your design and texts sits.
  • Grid – A system which divides 2D planes to smaller fields. design made into visual math. Types of grid: Manuscript (Story books), Column grid (Newspaper), Modular grid , Hierarchal grid etc.
  • Typeface–  Font family. Each typeface has specific weight, style , ornamentation etc. Diff typeface alphabet will result in different effect for your viewer.
  • Column – Vertical division of a page of text is 7-10 words per line.
  • Leading – The amount of blank space between lines of print. Good leading carries the eye from line to line. It cannot be too tight or too spacious for the reader.
  • Margin – 1 to 5mm of margin space is recommended so you wont mutilate your text.
  • Page numbers – Be distinctive from your body text. Can use different font family.
  • Body and Display typeface –  Display space to stand out. Use similar typeface. But do not mix characters from the same style. Good to have contrast using different font size.

I then pondered the several points that I had to take note of, and came up with these initial planning stages as to how my Zine can go about.

Main Concept: Guide around Telok Blangah with an elderly.

“Day in Telok Blangah guided by Uncle Tan. Readers get to go on an expedition with Uncle Tan, and he will show you around the places in Telok Blangah he like to visit, where he thinks you might like and what to do there.”

The story will go around the primary information and personal recounts I have gathered from the interviews I conducted, as well as secondary research such as location names.

My objective:
To educate the readers that Telok Blangah can also be for young people, and not mainly for the old; Showing them places that the young and old can do, and what the older generations did then and now to pass time.

Visual Approaches? Art Direction?:
I had some dilemma with this because the Zines I see out there are so organized and minimalistic. I for one am not a minimalist and I find it really difficult to make my thoughts abstract visually, when there are so much expression and colors in my thoughts. Hence, Pinterest really helped me to see that not all Zines out there are minimalist and expression and colors can be incorporated!

I really like the vibrant colors and how organic the shapes are! I also really liked the path which guided the viewers as to where they should look at! Hence I would really think paths can help me in my Zine 🙂

Execution:
Cut outs? Interactivity by flipping?
I wanted to have this interactivity in my Zine by having cut out pages and flip tabs.

Initial sketching on how I want to incorporate the interactivity into the Zine.

The shaded area is where I want to cut the hole, and the rock at the bottom right can be flipped over to see insects.
However, after consultation with Joy, the cutting and flipping does not address the brief of the Zine project and sadly I have to scrap that idea. 🙁

Layouts:
I didn’t want the very organized approach as I feel rather restricted by such layouts, as much as they are really aesthetically pleasing to look at like this:

Hence I wanted to go for something where the fonts conform around the illustration like this:

Typography font to use:
Probably a serif font cause its more readable.

Choice of medium? :
Perhaps Watercolor and pen,scan in and enhance colors by photo editing software? Vectoring in Adobe Illustrator to create the clean edges?

All these are just the planning stages! The final confirmation post will be next!! 😀 Stay tuned!

Cheers,
Seng Yi Ling.

 

GOOD AFTERNOON! This post concludes the FINAL of Part 1 Project 2 of Zine: Neighborhood Explorer presentation!

This is the infographics on Telok Blangah that I have finalized 🙂


The data I have placed in my infographics are mainly from the Qualitative data (Personal Recounts)that I have gotten from interviews and secondary sources of the exact location names or address online that they have recommend me to visit.

Concept : Present it as a schedule like guide as to how an elderly in Telok Blangah gets by in a day.

Tone: Light Hearted.

Methodology

  1. I used Haettenschweiler Font as the header and the body text .
  2. Colors used are neutral palletes of scenic blue and green, as well as monochromatic blue for the walking stick.
  3. Attempted to use different shades of the same hue to create depth.
  4. Main illustrations are created using vectors and exporting images into vector online.
  5. Icons are used as bullet points for each category of activity.
  6. Joy mentioned that a my initial idea of using a cane may be misinterpreted as ‘Immobility’ instead of ‘Elderly’. Hence I changed the type of walking stick to the one with legs that elderlies, as I really required vertical semiotic that represents elderlies.

I was inspired to use time stamp and used this two infographics obtained from Pinterest. I extracted the range thing } from the chili infographic to mark out the time line.

Classmates’ Comments and Feedback

Joy’s Comments and Feedback 🙂

  • Joy said that this is her first time seeing my illustrations digitally, good job!.
  • Liked that I staggered the information according to timeline. And that giving it a range does give us a guide to when they can execute their activity. However looking at it as a whole it can be seen that it is a day in the life of any elderly and not specifically unique to Telok Blangah elderly.
  • Site specific icons can be created instead of using a generic bird to represent “Recreational Activity”. Something recognizable for instance the location of the bird watching location or certain food from Telok Blangah acting as marker would be better.
  • Colors for “work” reminds her of Watsons logo. Joy worries for potential misinterpretation in my infographics.
  • Text is still cramped even though got drop shadow, hence readability of text is still difficult :(. Typeface that you used is used is better for display type for headers instead of body text. Generally texts on infographics still need to be readable. When you can’t see your text well due to the background colour, it is a cue that text is required to be changed.
  • Location names are long as “Telok Blangah” is repeating in many of the bullet points, hence re-emphasising the crampness. Putting a main header : “Telok Blangah”, in general and just list down may reduce the crampness.
  • Style is quite unique and there is still space that can be explored.
  • Shaf liked the concept of day in the life cause she don’t know  what old people do in genera But font though, it is still hard to read :(.

With that I conclude the completion of ZINE part 1 here and I’ll see you again in PART 2 😀

Hello! So this is our group presentation on Image and Transformation! Done by Yu Qing, Jia Qi and myself.

In this presentation, we aimed to cover:

  1. What is Image?
  2. What is Transformation?
  3. What is Image + Transformation?
  4. Why are Images transformed?
  5. How does the use of Images transform it’s meaning? (Isomorphic correspondence)
  6. Use of image transformation in real life
  7. Artists that uses Image and Transformation in their works?
  8. Use of infographics since it is relevant to our ZINE project

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The world understands image at a glance. People don't necessarily relish learning a new language every time they open magazine, read an advertisement or see a billboard. Yet they do not want to be bored by reading what they see. A cliche stock or clipart used could fill a space or add visual image to a page, However, a cliche is an overused word,metaphor or image. Visual cliches are mnemonic (a system such as a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations which assists in remembering something).

The world understands image at a glance. People don’t necessarily relish learning a new language every time they open magazine, read an advertisement or see a billboard. Yet they do not want to be bored by reading what they see.
A cliche stock or clipart used could fill a space or add visual image to a page, However, a cliche is an overused word,metaphor or image.
Visual cliches are mnemonic (a system such as a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations which assists in remembering something).

An example of visual cliches are iconic logos. We see them almost everyday on a daily basis and so much so we often forget its presence. The Pepsi Cola logo is considered one of the world's most recognizable corporate trademarks. The transformation of the Pepsi Cola logo has changed drastically as seen in 1898 and today. As you can see, the most distinctive changes is the typography of the font, and eventually minimizing the details and capturing the essence of the logo: the red white and blue sphere. It doesn't take more than a second for someone who drinks Pepsi to know that that logo is from Pepsi.

An example of visual cliches are iconic logos. We see them almost everyday on a daily basis and so much so we often forget its presence.
The Pepsi Cola logo is considered one of the world’s most recognizable corporate trademarks.
The transformation of the Pepsi Cola logo has changed drastically as seen in 1898 and today.
As you can see, the most distinctive changes is the typography of the font, and eventually minimizing the details and capturing the essence of the logo: the red white and blue sphere. It doesn’t take more than a second for someone who drinks Pepsi to know that that logo is from Pepsi.

 Similar case for Macdonalds where the iconic golden arches which forms ‘M’ is the essence of the mcdonald's logo. The job of contemporary designers is to somehow manipulate cliches by recasting their archetypal meaning. And this is where transformation of an image is required as clever designers would use invest timeworn veneers with new levels of meaning. It's like giving a new packaging to an object, while the object’s essence is still everlasting and present. Transform cliches from the expected to the unexpected. As new thoughts after all rise from worn-out ones.


Similar case for Macdonalds where the iconic golden arches which forms ‘M’ is the essence of the mcdonald’s logo.
The job of contemporary designers is to somehow manipulate cliches by recasting their archetypal meaning. And this is where transformation of an image is required as clever designers would use invest timeworn veneers with new levels of meaning. It’s like giving a new packaging to an object, while the object’s essence is still everlasting and present.
Transform cliches from the expected to the unexpected. As new thoughts after all rise from worn-out ones.

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Upon looking at this photo of donuts, what is your first memory or mental image that comes to your mind? Some would think of Policemen, or their first memory of eating donuts. Isomorphic Correspondence simply means that we respond to meaning. When we see an image such as a painting or a photo, we interpret its meaning based upon our previous experiences and memories. Designers use these images to evoke a unanimous memory in all of us , transforming the object they intend to advertise for into something we find familiarity in.

Upon looking at this photo of donuts, what is your first memory or mental image that comes to your mind?
Some would think of Policemen, or their first memory of eating donuts.
Isomorphic Correspondence simply means that we respond to meaning. When we see an image such as a painting or a photo, we interpret its meaning based upon our previous experiences and memories.
Designers use these images to evoke a unanimous memory in all of us , transforming the object they intend to advertise for into something we find familiarity in.

For this rather literal advertisement for slurpee, they make use of the icicles in this advertisement demonstrate isomorphic correspondence because they show a cold temperature based on their shape, color, and surface treatment.

For this rather literal advertisement for slurpee, they make use of the icicles in this advertisement demonstrate isomorphic correspondence because they show a cold temperature based on their shape, color, and surface treatment.

This image represents figure ground when the viewer differentiates between the skull and the tree. Similarity and proximity are shown in the lines over the eyes in the skull. Closure is shown where the viewer finishes the bottom of the tree trunk and the mouth of the skull. Isomorphic correspondence is displayed through the tree, which is clutching the air with it’s branches as if it were a human hand.

This image represents figure ground when the viewer differentiates between the skull and the tree. Similarity and proximity are shown in the lines over the eyes in the skull. Closure is shown where the viewer finishes the bottom of the tree trunk and the mouth of the skull. Isomorphic correspondence is displayed through the tree, which is clutching the air with it’s branches as if it were a human hand.

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 Take a look at this image for instance. In 5 seconds come up with a caption for this. I believe in everyone’s mind would be a different caption. See how the text changes the way on WHERE our eyes are directed to the image, and how we interpret the image differently in an instantly.


Take a look at this image for instance. In 5 seconds come up with a caption for this.
I believe in everyone’s mind would be a different caption.
See how the text changes the way on WHERE our eyes are directed to the image, and how we interpret the image differently in an instantly.

When I say “Image and Transformation”, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?

When I say “Image and Transformation”, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?

Immensely photoshopped models?

Immensely photoshopped models?

Double exposed photos?

Double exposed photos?

Or even our sem. 1 drawing assignment, to draw fragmented image of ourselves.

Or even our sem. 1 drawing assignment, to draw fragmented image of ourselves.

These are all correct. However, in current times, lots of images/artwork exist. People often scan through images that are similar to what they have seen before. What draws the attention of the audience is either something unique or having a meaning behind the artwork.

For example, Hannah Hoch’s “Heads of State”. Then German president Friedrich Ebert and his Minister of Defense, Gustav Noske, were newspaper cut outs and placed against the background pattern of flowers and butterflies surrounding a woman. The subjects are presented frolicking in a whimsical fantasy land, as if they are unaware of the political and financial hardships being faced by Germany and its citizens during this period. Through the rearrangement of image on a new background, a new meaning is given to the original image.

For example, Hannah Hoch’s “Heads of State”. Then German president Friedrich Ebert and his Minister of Defense, Gustav Noske, were newspaper cut outs and placed against the background pattern of flowers and butterflies surrounding a woman. The subjects are presented frolicking in a whimsical fantasy land, as if they are unaware of the political and financial hardships being faced by Germany and its citizens during this period.
Through the rearrangement of image on a new background, a new meaning is given to the original image.

Another example, award winning short film, Logorama. It uses logos that we often see to depict the absurdity amount of logotypes we are faced in our daily lives.

Another example, award winning short film, Logorama. It uses logos that we often see to depict the absurdity amount of logotypes we are faced in our daily lives.

Image transformation can also exist in a simplification of an original image but still convey it’s visual message. For example, Caricature drawing. Using the personification of the character, we still can recognize who they are, but in a different context.

Image transformation can also exist in a simplification of an original image but still conveying it’s visual message. For example, Caricature drawing. Using the personification of the character, we still can recognize who they are, but in a different context. For example this image “Good Morning America”. It humorously used a one night stand between Donald Trump and the statue of liberty, to describe the incident of Trump being the President of America. And the shocking expression of the Statue of Liberty shows that she is not expecting Donald Trump to be beside her. Just like how America is not expecting Trump to be the next president.

Another example is WWF campaign. Just by using the cause of global warming, being engulfed by the sea, to convey the message of stopping global warming.

Another example is WWF campaign. They use the cause of global warming, being engulfed by the sea, to convey the message of stopping global warming, if not the nature. The realistic approach of the image, makes people feel the realism of the situation happening.

 Another similar project by Nemesis Pictures. They did this advertisement for Lifebuoy. I find that the molding of animals into the form of food really works well with the quote. Instilling awareness in people.

Another similar project by Nemesis Pictures. They did this advertisement for Lifebuoy. I find that the moulding of animals into the form of food really works well with the quote. Instilling awareness in people, to always be cautious of their hand cleanliness.

This is a work by local artist, Eugene Soh. He is also a former ADM student. This work was done during his first year in uni, as he was approached by Campus magazine for a feature. As you see, this is a reproduced work of The Last Supper. The people in this photo were captured individually. And Eugene photoshopped them into a single image. This transformation adds a local touch and humor to the famous artwork.

This is a work by local artist, Eugene Soh. He was also a former ADM student. This work was done during his first year in university, as he was approached by Campus magazine for a feature. As you see, this is a reproduced work of The Last Supper. The people in this photo were captured individually. And Eugene photoshopped them into a single image. This transformation adds a local touch and humour to the famous artwork, which we can all relate to.

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During Singapore Night Festival 2014, Clement Briend introduced 3D projection of Divine images. He used foliage as a canvas, and using his self-made projectors to cast the images on trees. Through combining photographs and projection, he creates a link between reality and imagination.

For our current project, we studied on Infographics. Infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly. By combining data and images, we transform a plain image to something informative. Infographics exist as early as 1626. This is an illustration by Christoph Scheiner, for his book, where he illustrated the Sun’s rotation patterns. Over the years infographics have evolved, where aesthetics are merged with information. An example from London Transport Museum, they did an infographic poster on how many passengers they have carried and the number of roads they have covered. They used graphics to make information easier to relate and understand. In our current century, where softwares emerge, graphical infographics are more commonly seen.

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An additional example, which is not that 2D. During Singapore Night Festival 2014, Clement Briend introduced 3D projection of Divine images. He used foliage as a canvas, and using his self-made projectors to cast the images on trees. Through combining photographs and projection, he creates a link between reality and imagination.

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In this entire presentation, we have shared what images and transformation are. Why images are transformed and the multiple approach images can be transformed. Through having a purpose, artworks are viewed differently. We hope that through this presentation you had some takeaway points, and got exposed to more possibilities for your future references.

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HELLO! So this is the second project for Year 1 Semester 2, which is actually 1 part of the entire project!

Part I( 2 Weeks) : Research, Sketches, Collection of Data and Presenting found data (soft copy) in a visually engaging manner.

Part II : Creation of Zine.

The area that I have gotten from drawing lots in class as to which neighborhood I had to embark an exploration to is…

TELOK BLANGAH

And what do I know about this place? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. ZILTCH.

When I got the slip of paper that determines the choice of location for the rest of the semester, I even asked Joy,” Is this place even in Singapore??”

Oh well. One thing about this project is that the more foreign you are to the location, the better it is because you’ll be seeing things from fresh eyes and discover new things! 😀

SO LETS GET STARTED WITH THE RESEARCH PROCESS WOOHOO!!


SECONDARY RESEARCH ON TELOK BLANGAH

What is ‘Secondary Research’ Secondary research is accessing information already gathered from the originator or a distributor of a primary research. For instance, like obtaining information from third party sources, magazine article’s or my friend’s grandfather’s sister who lives in Telok Blangah (just an example).

So I made some quick online research about Telok Blangah and to my surprise, I did find some interesting facts already!

  1. Telok Blangah is a subzone region and housing estate located in Bukit Merah, Singapore.
  2. Founder of Singapore,Sang Nila Utama , landed at Telok Blangah and went inland to hunt wild animals, where he spotted a majestic Lion afar and decided to name our homeland, Singapura (Lion City).
  3. The area regained prominence during 1823, the British period, when Sir Stamford Raffles assigned Temenggong Abdul Rahman and his followers, 0.81 km2 of land for their residence and a cemetery. The area flourished under Temenggong Abdul Rahman because of his monopoly over the gutta percha (Some tree sap) trade.
  4.  Kampong Bahru replaced the old kampong along the Singapore River. And this first resettlement could be called the first urban renewal project in Singapore. The Hill maintained the old name of Telok Blangah Hill until July 1845 when it was renamed Mount Faber after Captain Faber of the Madras Engineers.
  5. Telok Blangah Road was officially named in 1907.
  6. The shrine of Puteri Radin Mas Ayu, a sixteenth-century Javanese princess, is located at Mount Faber Road, near the junction with Telok Blangah Road.

SECONDARY RESEARCH ON

WHAT IS TELOK BLANGAH KNOWN FOR?

Nature. Telok Blangah at first glance online screams ‘NATURE’.

Population Estimate as of 30 June 2016 : 10,500

Telok Blangah Hill Park (10 Telok Blangah Green, 109178)

Terrace Garden Mostly used as just a walkway between Hort Park and Mount Faber. There is an undisturbed, idyllic ambience with a solitary gazebo sits atop the hill along with classical European white railings. Despite what a sight the garden is, the real spectacle to behold here is the panoramic view of the cityscape from a bird’s eye view.

Henderson Wave Bridge (Henderson Road, Southern Ridges, Bukit Merah, Singapore 159557)

Singapore’s highest pedestrian bridge, at 36m above ground. Surrounded by greenery and bird’s eye view of the southern part of Singapore, the shell-like crevices doubles as shelters and is a great place for family and friends to relax there. The bridge is illuminated from 7pm to 7am daily.

Alkaff Mansion Ristorante (10 Telok Blangah Green)

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Built in 1918 as a weekend retreat for the illustrious Yemeni Alkaff family of spice traders. The Alkaffs ancestors arrived in Singapore from Yemen in 1852, and Alkaff Mansion was not only their family home, but also the venue for luxurious high society parties in the 1930’s – imagine Great Gatsby, Singapore style.

For an unknown reason, the mansion was abandoned after WW2, and went into a state of disrepair. With a large outdoor terrace, fountains, and a gorgeous interior, Alkaff is thought of as one of the most magnificent colonial houses still standing in Singapore. And now, it is an Italian Ristorante.

Old Habits Boutique Café (#01-315, 38 Telok Blangah Rise, 090038)

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Nostagia is in. Old Habits is part vintage boutique and part café, a place to appreciate the lifestyle of the old eras and immerse in the memories of the past. The interior of the boutique café is docked with many vintage items from the past which the owner of the café, Donovan Goh collects.

This section concludes the secondary research I had done BEFORE I went on my field trip as of 15 Feb 2017. 🙂 The following segment will be on my documentation of my field trip!


FIELD TRIP DAY 19 Feb 2017

And so, I went to Telok Blangah with my trusty partner in crime ( Dad cool) for the field trip and thanks to him, I was able to cover more area on this foreign ground in Singapore!

What is ‘Primary Research’? – Primary research is any type of research that you go out and collect yourself. Examples include surveys, interviews, observations, and ethnographic research. 

So when I was on my way to Telok Blangah, I was not certain what I was looking for. Its either food or shops and I didn’t want to touch on the nature parks aspect as it is the most prominent aspect in Telok Blangah and I didn’t want to do something that can be easily found on the net.

So I went to look for Food first since we were hungry anyway.

FOOD in Telok Blangah

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The place my dad and I went to eat at was 82 Telok Blangah Drive Market, I chose that specific location as it was within the Telok Blangah Mall area which I wanted to visit as well. Within the market, there was already a couple of lines queuing up for some local food which I also joined in to partake in the ‘Participant Observation’ aspect.

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The noodles I queued for took 30 mins and I was pondering what was taking so long. I observed and saw that the owner and his wife were perhaps in their mid 60’s and the cooking process was rather unique. The Uncle cooking the noodles had a system where his wife is the one taking the order and frying up the fishcakes (which I believe is handmade), and he was the one preparing for the noodles. He was swift in his actions and he bounced on the balls of his feet. And was the noodles worth the 30 min wait? Well, lets say I have tasted better. But the fishcakes were good though.

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And I also tried Shun Ji Dumpling Noodles as the queue died down after lunch hours. The dumplings were smaller than the ones I’ve eaten , but they are packed with fresh shrimps and pepper! It was really good.

QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION

What is ethnography and participant-observation? What are some ways collecting data?

The aim of ethnography and participant-observation is to gain a close and intimate familiarity with a given group of individuals and their practices through an intensive involvement with people in their cultural environment.

Some forms of collecting data are conducting informal interviews, direct observation, and analyzing personal documents produced within an age group etc. It involves the characterization of Qualitative Research and can include Quantitative Dimensions.

What is qualitative and quantitative data?

After which I toured around the market and was astounded to see that the wet market was extremely clean and spacious. There wasn’t a hint of poultry odor as the area was very well ventilated.

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Turning into a corner, I saw an elderly lady tending to her Incense Paper shop and I plucked my courage to conduct a Qualitative Data collection with my 1st interviewee.

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What I have gotten out from the interview:

Incense paper auntie has been selling incense paper for 10 over years, living here for 40 over years. She said that the difference between Telok Blangah then and now is that the markets aren’t as lively. She mentioned that there was a drastic decrease in the number of people living here. Don’t know where all the people go. Old residents die and the younger people don’t really want to move to Telok Blangah. Telok Blangah has more elderly people than youngsters. Houses here are all new now, not as before. She didn’t play a lot as a teen in this area, she was a housewife.

Shortly after, I was spurred to interview more people as I wanted to have multiple perspective of things and personal recounts of the resident’s perception of their own neighborhood. I walked around Telok Blangah Mall.

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A little boy caught my attention as he was drinking Ice Blended Milo from my childhood cheap bubble tea shops and I asked him where did he get it. He brought me to the shop and I spoke to him. (grabbing my opportunities right here~)

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What I have gotten out from the interview:

The milo ice blended he has gotten is from the ‘old store’, not the ‘new store’ that was closed today. New one is called Mei Li Shop. He always buy at the Old store. HE IS BORN HERE. HE IS SINGAPOREAN ( he emphasized on that, I was not kidding with the caps lock). He questions my nationality haha. He is walking around here as his parents are shopping for things. He goes to his friends’ house to play after school. Play computer games and Ipad. Telok Blangah is very boring. His parents work at Tanjong Pagar and Raffles Place. He can go home on his own.

My dad is a vey good paparazzi. I didn't even know he was secretly helping me document my explorations haha!

My dad is a vey good paparazzi. I didn’t even know he was secretly helping me document my explorations haha!

I saw an elderly sitting on his own and I guess that he lived here as he was sitting rather comfortably on the benches. Hence I approached him and asked him about his personal recount of his past in Telok Blangah.

What I have gotten out from the interview:

Uncle stays in the vicinity. Here is nice. Stayed here since 1980. No play. Now retired. Last time work at PSA Container Port. He is happy with his CPF. After eating at the market, he go home. Occasionally goes to the nearby shopping centre.

I was on a roll. It was a heat of a moment spur of courage and I went round searching for people who looked like they lived here and I was determined to collect as many personal recounts as possible. Which led me to this group of uncles who sat at the fruits stall discussing about their lifestyle.

What I have gotten out from the interview:

(In this group I’m interviewing consist of 4 uncles) 3 of them have been staying here for 10 over years, whereas the other has been staying here for 40 over years. Constantly asking me why am I asking them questions (they seem wary. I don’t know why). Here has no place for their leisure. Only form of leisure they can frequent is Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Casino or here at the fruits stall to talk to friends. Here is full of old people nothing else, its so dead here. Its a dead end. Eat and go home that’s it. Houses here 30 years ago used to be short and tiny, now is all high rise. The uncle (71 Years Old) whom I spoke to has been living here the longest came to Singapore in 31 August 1983, selling fruits since then. He was 30 plus when he started selling fruits. He was an immigrant, he ran from Russia to Singapore. He did not go for dates in Singapore because he was busy working. Work and go home. People who used to live here has passed on. Or if they are alive they eat their lunch, go home or sit with friends and talk. 

One of the uncles told me that I should visit the 2 old temples behind to interview the elderlies as they have lived there far longer than any of them. So my dad and I went to look for the temples they’ve mentioned.

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Sad to say, it seems like the elderlies has gone home at that timing we went, but the temple was really beautiful and intimate as it was rather small, and the devotees are the residents within the neighborhood.

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While walking back to our car, my dad and I chanced upon this very vintage looking Mama shop (A mama shop or mamak shop is a convenience store or sundry shop in Singapore that is often located under a high-rise apartment block ) . Most Mama shops I recall as a kid are usually ran by Indians, but this was a Chinese Mama shop. The interior looked extremely different as well so I decided to speak to the owner.

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What I have gotten out from the interview:

Stayed here all his life. The company he worked for is 50 over years old. (the mama shop now used to be a part of a company, explains the grand shop sign) . Used to be in a office in Henderson Crescent ( location is at the back of a SGD$10 note), but got chased out by government to Tampines. Uncle started doing business when he was 23 years old, now he is 73 years old. Telok Blanagh here is a hill. Used to be a hill right here *Gesture area which has carparks and HDB flats* , government bombed the area to pave way for making roads and houses. Hill was as tall as Mount Faber. Used to have a very big temple on the hill, and a reservoir. Temple is so large you can see it from the distance, that was over 30 years ago. When he was younger, his childhood was playing in a natural cave in Mount Faber which has been sealed off by the government now. He went there often since he was 6 years old with his friends and his class teacher, playing with mud and clay to make dolls in the natural cave. Not like now, so many things to play with. Last time don’t have so many things to play with. In the past after playing he would go to the waterfall and hydrate himself, waterfall is contaminated now or even gone. Used to eat bird food (鸟饭)as a kid, the ones mother bird brings to their chicks . Venus flytraps are poisonous, they are inedible.

After speaking to the kind owner of the Mama shop, I wanted to visit Old Habits Boutique Café which I saw on my secondary research just to see if I would chance upon any younger age group of interviewees.

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Surprisingly, the patrons of Old Habits Boutique Café were middle aged and families were there too for Sunday brunch. The interior was really beautiful and intriguing as it was heavily decorated with toys, vinyl records, sign boards collected from the past.

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On my way back to the car, I was estatic to see a group of elderly men chatting at the Bird Shop along with their bird cages. I was even more estatic when I saw Parrots on the railings. I talked to the Parrot (What? Parrots can be a part of my Qualitative Data collection too okay? XD) .

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The owner of the parrots told me that he has lived here for many years already and part of his and his friend’s past time here is bringing their birds out to ‘Chat’ together as they drank their afternoon coffee.

Overall conclusion from Qualitative Data Collection:

  1. There is a drastic decrease in the number of people living here as compared to the past.
  2. Telok Blangah has more elderly people than youngsters.
  3. There used to be another hill as tall as Mount Faber here, but was removed to pave way for houses and roads.
  4. Here has no place for their leisure.
  5. Here is full of old people nothing else.
  6. Eat and go home that’s it.
  7. Houses here 30 years ago used to be short and tiny, now is all high rise. 
  8. Work and go home.
  9. People who used to live here has passed on. Or if they are alive they eat their lunch, go home or sit with friends and talk. 

How I would think of presenting my data for the infographics

Since, Telok Blangah is quite a hill infested area, I was thinking of presenting the infographics like this. Like a map.

Perhaps using real images to represent certain activities the residents do? Like eating, talking to friends etc.

What are infographics and how are they used to effectively communicate data? What other ways can we visually represent data?

Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly. They can improve cognition by utilizing graphics to enhance the human visual system’s ability to see patterns and trends.

After my field trip today, I am sad to say that I still don’t have a concrete methodology as to how I would want to carry my Infographics out. But what I am certain of is that I would like my infographics to be based on my interviewee’s personal recounts and where they would frequent in Telok Blangah. This is not a very concrete resolution, but I would like to brainstorm more on how I would want to convert that to infographics.

That’s all for today!

Hope that the next time I post would be more concrete!!

Cheers,

Seng Yi Ling.

Final Product!

Since the final product is rather hands on interactive, I made a short video to show how the paper engineering mechanism can be played with in my work. If you hadn’t seen the ‘Process Stage’ post, Click HERE!

Thank you Jia Qi for being my camera man 🙂


 

Feedback given on presentation day!

Classmates’ Feedback and comments:

slide3Joy’s Constructive Feedback 😀:

  • Choice of paper for this project is very important. It is rather flimsy and may break or tear when flipped multiple times. Paper shouldn’t fray at the edges.
  • Works can stand alone without instructions as it is rather distracting. Since the message of my project is ‘Self Discovery’, it may be better for the kids to explore the mechanism and how to play with this book instead of telling them how to.
  • Florist composition need not have ‘Left hand here’ and ‘Right Thumb here’, but instead a thumb and a hand outline is good enough, or even using a ‘flipping the page’ symbol is okay too.
  • Thickness of lines not constant (pots in florist is rather thin as compared to the rest). Suggested to change the setting, so when scaling up or down , can choose to scale proportionally.
  • Egyptianologist Colors were a little more jarring as it has the luminosity of highlighters, whereas everything else has richness.

Thank you lovely classmates and Joy for the comments and constructive feedback! 😀 I really appreciate it!! 😀

YAY~ Assignment 1 is DONE!! 😀

 See you next time for Assignment 2! 🙂

Cheers,

Seng Yi Ling.

For this assignment I have heavily depended on my Visual Journal for note taking and thought processing as compared to last semester where OSS was where I post most of my thought process. Regardless, I will still take you through this journey from the start to end of this ‘Que Sera’ assignment via OSS, so… LETS GO~~


Ideation

Because the name cards require the use of the conceptually driven solutions and letter forms, combined with literal or abstract image to express our future jobs in typographic portraits, I did a mind mapping process in my Visual Journal to help with coming up with the 4 Jobs for each of the name cards: Florist, Egyptianologist, Home maker and Food Science Technologist.

Joy emphasized that we ought to have these 3 factors before consulation in order to give a good framework and direction for our assignment.

Concept

My concept for this project is using the delivery method of my goal now, which is to create a interactive children’s book, to execute the name cards for all 4 jobs.

Message

Individual name cards have their own messages and an overall message as a whole.

Florist – Do not let small thinking cut your life down to size. Dream big! Work hard!

Egyptianologist – Do not let someone else’s opinion define you.

Homemaker – Be as awesome as a Domestic Goddess.

Food Science Technologist – Never stop asking ‘Why?’ until you get you answer.

Overall message – Your job does not define who you are in the future. YOU define who you are in the future.

Tone

The overall tone of the Children’s Book concept is positive and educational. While urging the readers to discover and learn new things.


Artist references

I did not limit myself to one specific artist to use as reference because I did not want their style to be seen in my work. Hence I went online and offline to expose myself to interactive books and illustrations for children to serve as inspiration; extracting the pros of each book and learning to avoid the flaws which I did not want to see in my work.

Expression of tonality: I used different shades of the same color on to express tonality in the designs. This creates slight depth and also has an old school children’s book feeling.

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Methodology

For all of the designs, I used hand drawn illustration, scanned the designs and used Adobe Photoshop to fill in colors and cleaned up the edges.

Florist (Age >5)

I used flip book animation to carry out the ‘Flip O’ Rama’ concept from the children’s comic: Captain Underpants. The following video below is how it would have looked like.

I wanted to show the growth of the plants from a boring seedling which looked like it may die any moment , into a blossoming plant. Hence, for the top image, I used the upper half of my initials : ‘SYL’ as the feeble seedlings in pots, and a full grown blossoming plant for the bottom image. So that when the user flips it repeatedly, it will look like the seedling is growing.

Joy also suggested for me to put out instructions on how the interactive-ness can be carried out by children, hence I pasted a ‘left hand here’ and ‘right thumb here’ instruction on the outside like how the Flip O’ Rama book did.

slide5Egyptianologist ( Age 10-15)

I used the pull tab mechanism in this name card as seen in many pop up books.

I used Golden Flint paper on the interior of the Mummy coffin to act as the bones, which forms my name. My idea for this name card is to show that a dull looking exterior of the Mummy gives one the impression of something less of value. However, upon uncovering the truth by pulling the tab, it reveals the bright and golden bones of the Mummy.

In a way it also has many interpretations that can be taught such as:

‘Do not judge a book by its cover ‘ 

‘Its more important to have a heart of gold than a fancy exterior.’

‘Do not let what others think of you define who you really are.’

slide7I also included a ‘Pull Here’ instructions with a red arrow to direct the child’s attention to it.

Homemaker ( Age >10)

For this name card, I used Velcro as the material to work with as I wanted to let the children organize and arrange where each of the item should go in the household chore. I was considering using felt to carry out this idea, but Shi Teng gave me a suggestion to draw out the illustrations and have them printed out instead, so that it is more consistent with the overall image of a sketchy hand drawn illustration. Thanks Shi Teng! 😀

slide8Food Science Technologist ( Age 16- 19)

For this name card, I was highly driven ‘Touch and Feel’ books for young children.

I used Sequins to simulate the texture of fish scales, Bubble wrap to simulate the texture of corn and duct tape to simulate the waxy surface of Chilli.

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Colors

Joy suggested I use a common color for the 4 compositions to express unity throughout. However, as much as I try to pick a common color, I don’t think it worked out very well to have  Blue in my Egyptianologist illustrations ( It would have looked like an Ice Tomb) and neither Orange/ Yellow for my Food Science Technologist illustrations ( I required Blue to express the sterility of the Science lab).

Hence I split my compositions into 2 sides: Blue and Yellow

Blue (Hex code: #A4DBFF) –  Florist (Complementary) and Food Science Technologist(Monochrome)

Yellow ( Hex Code: #E4C877)– Egyptianologist (Warm) and Homemaker (Analogous)

Instruction typography used

I used ‘Ravie’ Font and spaced out the individual letter because Children’s book has to be highly legible.

Font used I have chosen is Ravie because it has a rather whimsical feeling to it, but yet I chose to bold the fonts because it is still instructions and I didn’t want the children reading it to turn a blind eye to it.

Choice of color for font was something that was bugging me as well. As I felt Black was too strong as compared to the rest of the colorful compositions. But yet if I were to choose a color that suits individual composition, I felt that there was no unity to be seen as a whole in a book; and the instructions just blends in with the background where the children might turn a blind eye to it.

Hence my solution came about when I was researching for the way Children’s books present their instructions:

touch_and_feel_board_bookI really liked how…

  1. A muted dark color was used to give the instructions. There is a mild sense of authority which I felt that one’s eyes would be drawn to read.
  2. The key word ‘WALL‘ is in capital form.
  3. The color used for the key word allows children to draw a relation between the word and the object. There is a sign (the word ‘WALL‘) and the signified (the wall picture)

Thus, I applied this reference to my instructions for the children.

I capitalized and gave a color to the keyword which is seen in the object.

to-print


 

Things I could’ve done if I can turn back in time.

I am really shooting myself in the foot for saying this. But, I think admitting to my mistake and learning from it is better than to bury it under the carpet. So, for my future self, here I go.

  1. Explore different types of paper. I felt the struggle the most when I was carrying out the pull tab mechanism for the ‘I am an Egyptianologist’. I felt that if I explored the different type of GSM for paper before I executed the cutting, I would have achieved a better and smoother pull tab mechanism for this name card.

 The following post would be the FINAL one for Assignment 1 Que Sera!

Cheers,

Seng Yi Ling.

“HELLO MY NAME IS____”

Semester 2 of Year 1 has finally started! Woo Hoo~ assignments~ *nervous chuckle*

For this week 1 Assessment, Joy told us to create nametags for ourselves in our sketchbook during lesson time. We are told to describe three aspects of ourselves, while portraying the qualities of our personality! 😀

scan1) The first name card I did, I was intrigued by the meaning of each Chinese character my dad picked out for my name. And I decided to search for the meaning of individual characters, to create a new definition of my name when the literal meaning of my name is put together as a whole.

And what did I get? : ” An abundant chestnut who lives in leisure while escaping. (perhaps from reality)”.

2) I broke down the individual Chinese characters into recognizable signs in the Chinese word and place them together as well. In addition, when people ask me,

“How do you write your Chinese name?”

I would reply in Mandarin,

” A Rabbit sits on a Boat for ‘Yi’, and then a Grass on the top and Soil in the middle for ‘Ling’…”

And that is how people would have known how to write my Chinese name. But, typing it out here looks rather ridiculous as compared to verbalizing it during conversations I’ve realized…

3) I see myself as a child like youth who is still extremely naïve for my age. Hence, I used the template kids used to write on to learn to write their names to illustrate the child in me.

4) I am a rather timid and introverted person. Hence I wrote my name really small in the corner of the card. This is to show that I my personality is rather shy and don’t really want to stand out in the crowd because I feel more comfortable in the corner. 🙂