Uni Student Magazine #2 by UniMagazine

Illustration by Qi Yaxin

Interview

25th June

artin Baeyens is from Belgium and is a master of multi-colour serigraphy (screen printing) and computer generated design. His style can be described as jazzy and abstract.

ART RT

DESIGN ESIGN An Interview with Martin Baeyens Active Painter Graphic Artist Designer

Martin is an active painter, graphic artist and designer. He has had a long list of sole exhibitions in Belgium and other countries, and participated in 909 group exhibitions worldwide and was awarded for 113 international exhibitions. He made his first bookplate in 1976. In the bookplate world he takes an important and special place. Since 1965, he has created over 600 bookplates in his 45+ year career and has won no less than fifty awards internationally. Nature is at the centre of his artwork. He seeks for a balance between technology and nature. We can find lots of natural elements added in his works. Meanwhile, he is good at combining electronic circuits with different things. Today, it is our great honor to invite Martin to give us some thoughts about his design career.

Page Design

Xie Peixuan

Interview

25th June

How do you usually get your inspiration? What kind of methods do you usually use to get inspiration? According to Mr. Baeyens, his design ideas come from what is in his mind. He is thinking all the time, and his ideas arrive when he needs them. That’s the same way most artists work, artists are thinking all the time, which makes them know what and how to create.

Who is your favourite designer?

Sometimes, art is not art and design is not design.

Mr. Baeyens said that there are many design works that he likes and that “every period has good artists and good designers”, so he can’t name just one. He likes an artist’s work if it gives him “a good feeling”.

What do you think the difference between art and design is? Baeyens believes that there is no difference between art and design. Sometimes, the boundary between art and design is very fuzzy and blurred: “Sometimes, art is not art and design is not design”. He gave us some examples, like creating furniture: as far as he’s concerned, creating a piece of furniture may be another way to present ideas from designers.

What is your creative process? Mr. Baeyens claims that the beginning of his creative process is making sketches. He generally just makes several sketches first and then uses them as the starting point. Once he is sure where to start, the following work would be processed successfully. During the process, he will judge whether the design will work or not. The design which he is satisfied with will be the final design.

Page Design

Xie Peixuan

Could you please tell us more about your own design works, the blookplates design? Before you read Martin’s answer to this question, let me first give you a definition of what ‘bookplates’ are. “Bookplates are small size graphic works that book lovers place inside the cover of their books and includes images about different topics and the name of the owner. It is like the card or the deed of a book. A bookplate, also known as “Ex-libris” introduces its owner, glorifies it and warns the person who borrowed the book to return it. Besides being a sign of property, an indicator of ownership, it has a function of preventing the book from being stolen. Its lexical meaning is …’s book, belongs to … library or from …’s library” (Rubendiaz, 2014)

Mr. Baeyens said that a bookplate in a book is usually made by artists. One day your book might be given to your children, and maybe they will ask other designers to design a new plate. Sometimes, there are three or four plates in a book. So, you can follow the history of a book through the plates in it.

Do you have some words of advice to the students? First, you need to work hard. I am a graphic designer. One day, my teacher asked all the students “Please make ex libris”. They didn’t want to do that, because it looked very old – something old-fashioned that was only for old people. He asked, and asked and asked, and I was the only one who made one for him. He was really happy and promised to take me to a meeting with exlibris collectors. I was so proud and showed my works to others. Unfortunately, no one was interested in them. Things like that happened several times, I was upset but also obsessed. Then step by step, I made more than 800 exlibris. Therefore, for a designer, it is always difficult in the beginning. The only thing I can say to design students is to work hard and don’t give up.

The only thing I can say to designers is to work hard and don’t give up.

Personal Reflection Bookplate (ex libris) played a key role in one of my favourite books, Le Comte de MonteCristo written by Alexander Dumas, where it became the clue to finding the treasure: the map was drawn on a bookplate in invisible ink. However, a bookplate itself is very valuable. It is a witness of the history of the book. It also reflects the design ideas of the artist. Nowadays, there are less and less people reading paper books. It is so great that such an artist and designer like Martin is still doing this traditional craft of creating bookplates. For us, design students, this spirit of pursuing pure art and never giving up is really worth learning from.

Pictures provided by Martin Baeyens and taken from http://www.bookplate.org/gallery/ martin-baeyens The email address of Mr. Baeyens: martin. baeyens@telenet.be

Bibliography: Rubendiaz, 2014. “What is Ex Libris?” Available from: http://www.emresengun.com/ what-is-exlibris/ [Accessed: 9th June 2017].

Interview

25th June

云

Her robe is a cloud, her face a flower; Her balcony, glimmering with the bright spring dew; Is either the tip of earth’s Jade Mountain; Or a moon-edged roof of paradise. -- A Song of Pure Happiness Li Bai, Tang Dynasty

“C

Interviewee: Xu Zhixuan Pictures provided by Xu Zhixuan. Illustration provided by Qi Yaxin. 7

hinese culture has a long history and has gone through hundreds of dynasties. When I talk to my foreign teachers, I often get asked a question ‘What is Chinese culture?’ In my opinion, Chinese culture is not just about red colour, dragons and dumplings. It’s about ideas like moderation, harmony and light. These thoughts are embodied in traditional Chinese clothes and in fact, constitute the entire clothing history of China. The Tang Dynasty was the most prosperous period in Chinese history, and the clothing developed in that era seems the most representative” - Toya.

容 Toya is a senior year graduate who is dedicated to designing Chinese-style clothes. In National Graduate Fashion Week 2017 in Beijing, his collection opened the show on behalf of our school. The inspiration for his graduation project came from a poem by Li Bai “A Song of Pure Happiness”. The main purpose for this interview is to learn more about his graduation project which is the result of the skills that he learned in the four years of university. We also discussed his plans for the future.

Page Design

Xie Peixuan

QA Interview

25th June

H/ Hercules (Li Tianyu) T/ Toya (Xu Zhixuan)

Hercules: Hi, Toya, first of all, can you tell me more about the theme of your graduation project? Toya: Yes, the theme of my project is ‘Rouge’, which in French means ‘Red’ or ‘Scarlet’. The international color code of it is 484C. I think this color can represent the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.

H. : In my opinion red is one of the trademark colours of Chinese culture. I mean, if you want to show a Chinese design to the world, red is the best choice. T. : No! I don’t agree. Besides, making a traditional Chinese design is not all I wanted to achieve. What I wanted to do was to use western techniques to showcase traditional Chinese style.

H. : This is the first time I’ve heard about this idea. Can you give some more details about this? T. : Absolutely! I said already that my inspiration for this collection comes from Li Bai’s poem “A Song of Pure Happiness” from Tang Dynasty period. In this poem he talks about clouds, flowers, and spring color. The poem is a description of the love between Tang Minghuang and Yang Guifei. These are all things that have a very traditional Chinese character. But, I used a western approach in my final design and used draping to show all this. This is what I mean by using western techniques to show Chinese culture.

Page Design

Xie Peixuan

H. : I noticed that almost every piece of your design has embroidery. Can you tell me more about your embroidery?

T. : Oh, that’s a good question. The pattern of embroidery I used is very particular. It’s a Tang Dynasty design of composite flowers. This pattern originated from Buddhist Patterns and a fusion of Central Plains culture. For my collection this pattern was made using pure hand embroidery techniques and it took me thousands of hours from December to April.

H. : That is really fascinating! Can you give more details about your design for the National Graduate Fashion Week in Beijing this May?

H. : Wow, amazing! I think using west- H. : Do you have anything to ern techniques to show Chinese style say to junior students ? is a really good way to promote ChiT. : University students should do more than nese culture to the world and it can just school study. They need to go to other places and learn more. For example, I went to be more easily accepted by modern Nanjing to learn Vegetable Dyeing, and I went people. to Shanghai to learn Gu Embroidery. So, going

T. : Sure. There were four garments that were shown on stage in the fashion week. The first garment had a Tang Dynasty round neck design: the front is short and the back is long. The second garment is my favorite, it was made in neutral style. The collar is very special: it combines Chinese cross collar and western style folding collar. Another unique aspect is the waist where I used ‘hu’-type fold. The third garment is a cloak and high split pants. The final garment’s inspiration came from Tang Dynasty music and dance. It has full-garment embroidery.

T. : Yes, nowadays, many young people like Chinese style, but a lot of them don’t really know what true Chinese traditional culture is. What I want to do is to make people see and understand Chinese culture through my design.

out of school study limits is very important for real professional development

H. : Thank you, Toya, very much! I learned a lot through this interview. T. : My pleasure.

Conclusion: By doing this interview, I learnt that Toya is focused on traditional Chinese culture and can use flexible means and tools to show it. I think the work of contemporary designers should not be just on the surface, it should sometimes go deeper into the cultural heritage. In our future works we should enrich our knowledge and learn more skills to be able to show deeper designs and express a certain meaning to the world.

Interview

25th June

Page Design

What did you learn in the company? Responsibility and time is money. When your boss gives you some work, it means you must be responsible for this project. The smart way is to always have a plan B, and pay attention to detail. The company is different from school. When you don’t finish homework, you

Qi Yaxin

can probably talk to your teacher and ask if you can hand it in later, but in the company the customers don’t care about excuses – they just want you to finish on time. So, before you start doing work, you’d better have a schedule.

And, it was interesting too, because there are many cool and new things in Beijing. Such as, design exhibitions, designer forums and cool buildings. You always have things to see and you never feel bored in Beijing.

How was your life in Beijing? Where did you live? Was it hard to find somewhere to live?

I lived in my friend’s home for a long time, but I was very allergic to her cat, so I had to move away from there. Then I found a youth hostel. There were eight people in a room, and it cost 2,000 yuan a month. It was 5 minutes away from my company.

Pretty hard and pretty interesting! I'd say it was hard, because the living expenses are so high in Beijing. The major problem is where you live. And, there are too many people in Beijing. The subway in Beijing is so crowded in the morning and evening. During the busy time, you need to wait for the subway 3 times and when the doors open, sometimes you don’t even need to move, because the crowd will push you into the train. Just imagine that.

Will you go to Beijing to work in the future? Probably I will go back to Beijing or go to Shanghai. A lot of good product companies are in the south of China. But, I don’t know, so I will just go and try. Why not, we are still young!

Interview

25th June

Do you have some interesting stories to share with us? Oh, there was one joke. When I first started at the company, I sent a message to my company’s group, and instead of “message”, I wrote “massage”. My text said “Hey, guys, when I arrive, I will give you a massage.” Then, my colleague replied, “Hey, Hailey, I have a girlfriend, so I don’t need your special massage”. That was so awkward, but the good thing was the foreign designers don’t have a strict hierarchy. You can have fun with them all the time.

Picture s provid e Illustra tion pro d by Cui Yun ru vided b y Qi Ya . xin.

Sometimes we would have dinner together after work.

Did you have a nice experience in the company? How was it? ‘ Yes. First, I got great design experience. It was really cool to work with foreign designers, because you can learn a new way of thinking about ideas when you start to design something. Another good thing was the social experience. You will

see different customers. If you make a mistake, it is not easy like it is in school. At school, if you make mistakes, your teachers and classmates will help you and care about you, but at work, you may not have many chances, but don’t be afraid! Learn and experience something from mistakes, and make sure you won’t make the same mistake again. I thought the internship was pretty intensive. I always volunteered to work overtime because design is a fun job, and when you have ideas, you can’t stop creating things.

Page Design

Qi Yaxin

Did you take English lessons before you started your internship? Did your English improve while working in the company? Yes, I had a lesson called 51 talk. The teachers taught me online and it helped me improve my speaking. When I got off work, I could have lessons with my teacher. Yes, I have improved a lot because I spoke English every day.

So could you give some advice to the students who are at school now? Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hurry and don't be hurried. When I was a freshman and sophomore, I always thought, what should I learn now? What is the plan? What plan do I need? What kind of job should I do? I thought too much and I asked many people. I wanted to find answers from them, but everyone has their own way to succeed. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dream it, do it! And, follow the teacher, step by step. School work is very useful, and it will teach you how to think and how to find the solution by yourself.

Personal reflection After interviewing Hailey, I learned many things from her experience, her attitude, even her life. As graphic design students, I think we need to try different things like visiting exhibitions and taking part in competitions, as well as doing internships. No matter how much we will be paid, I think we can gain some design, customer service, and social skills. These are experiences which we can't learn in our school. We can also learn some life attitudes - as Hailey said, if we want to reach a goal, we must do it, not just think about it.

Illustration Poster by L O R E N A G

Moving Arts

25th June

Pink Macaron in the Dark

Wes Anderson is an American director whose films are known for their distinctive visual and narrative style. When he was a child, he made a silent movie with his father’s camera starring his family and friends. However, his first

CO LO UR S

ambition was to be a writer so he majored in

If you google the director himself, you can find

philosophy in the University of Texas in Austin,

that the clothes he wears are very ordinary

where he met his future frequent collaborator,

but very harmonious in colour-matching. He

ust like a strawberry macaron with cream

Owen Wilson. As a director, Anderson was

is often dressed in Harris Tweed or corduroy

topping gently melts in the breeze of

nominated for the Academy Award for Best

suits matched with bright colour vintage striped

summer midnight, Wes Anderson created his

Original Screenplay for The Royal

ties. He shows the same strong obsession

own colorful, absurd world in his last movie,

Tenenbaums in 2001, Moonrise Kingdom in

with colours in his movies. The colour pink

The Grand Budapest Hotel, which is an

2012 and The Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014.

appears in every detail of the movie, The

extremely visual feast. In fact, I must admit

He was also nominated for the Academy

Grand Budapest Hotel, - the building, in the

that it’s really my selfishness to write about

Award for Best Animated Feature for Fantastic

pastry used in the kitchen, even in the flags

this movie, because I’m a loyal Wes Anderson

Mr. Fox in 2009. He received his first Academy

of the imaginary fascist party. Anderson used

fan. The first time I heard this name is when a

Award nomination for Best Director and won

bright and warm colours in the earlier part of

lovely café in my hometown played Anderson’

the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion

the movie, such as pink and white, red and

stop-motion animation, Fantastic Mr. Fox, when

Picture – Musical or Comedy in 2014. The

purple, because this part is relaxing, funny and

I was in middle school. I was so fond of the

more films Wes Anderson directed, the

joyous. However, when the movie moves on

colours, composition and props in it. After that,

stronger his style was becoming. So,The

to the later part of violence and war, the colour

I watched all of his movies, and became a fan.

Grand Budapest Hotel is the movie I am going

scheme becomes pale and cold, with grey and

to talk about here.

white, black and brown. The colours are used

LEFT:

The Grand Budapest Hotel 1h 39min Adventure, Comedy 7 March 2014 (UK) Director: Wes Anderson Writers: Stefan Zweig, Wes Anderson Starring: Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric Awards: Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Director for Anderson. Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Production Design, Best Original Score.

ABOVE:

Mendl's pastry and its packaging were designed especially for the movie. It's a kind of tower-shaped pastry with colourful decorations.

Page Design

to express emotion, like painters do in their

most basic composition in art history. The

paintings. One interesting thing you can easily

aboriginal artists put the most important

discover is that there are vivid colours only in

objects in the middle of their works. As art

the hotel, while other places are all grey and

developed, compositions took many different

colourless, which helps us to focus on the main

forms, the golden ratio being the most popular

place of the movie. The pink used as the main

one in movies and photography. Therefore,

theme colour of the movie, also leads a trend in

Anderson’s centred style is a kind of homage

many areas, like in modern art, fashion, graphic

to old art and movies, and it’s also a revival.

design. It is called Millennial Pink.

Wang Meng

GRAPHIC DESIGN

C OM P OSI TI O N

Besides colours and composition, graphics

Do you have a habit to place everything in

is the very thing that makes this movie so

order and arrange it in lines? If you do, you will

complex and exquisite. As the graphic designer

for the director and actors,” Annie said.

get a huge satisfaction in Anderson’s movies.

for this film, Annie Atkins’ role involved planning

Another fascinating thing is the newspapers

His movies show a strong feeling of form.

and creating every single item that would be

in The Grand Budapest Hotel, including The

There are many shots of looking down at a

designed in real life; so those are the obvious

Trans Alpine Yodel, The Daily Fact and The

table with many things laid in order. The props

things like packaging or newspapers, and

Continental Drift. For each paper, Wes

show Anderson’s personal tastes: a book, a

the not so obvious things, like the pattern of

Anderson wrote every single story and the

bottle of perfume, or a camera. You can just

a carpet or a map. Even props that are only

graphic designers designed a new kind of font

pause the movie at any time, and you will find

seen for seconds: the stamps designed by

and layout for each newspaper, whether or

that almost every arrangement is symmetrical.

an illustrator especially for the film are barely

not they were directly in view. Annie insisted,

The actors always stay in the centre of the

visible. So why did they spend so much time

everything in the film was newly designed.

screen. Symmetry is a signature aspect of Wes

on the graphics? "We’re not always designing

She even studied Hitler’s actual calling card to

Anderson’s movies. But in fact, symmetry is the

for the cinema audience, sometimes it’s purely

design a fascist character’s business card.

LEFT:

Some of the shots show the talented use of colours and symmetried compositions.

RIGHT:

The whole movie is divided into several parts with chapters. These shots present many kinds of typefaces using different media.

ABOVE:

Everything in the movie has its own fictional stuff, including money, letters, newspapers and even a masterpiece oil painting.

Moving Arts

25th June

The Cultural Connotations of

Page Design

s design students, we all know design is very interesting. We use different ways to create many excellent works. We find the most wonderful visual effect with different materials. In addition, we also use culture to enrich the connotations of our works, and we can learn lots of things from it. There are many excellent design works in our life that have meaningful cultural connotations, including animated movies. Kubo and the Two Strings is one example of an animated movie. This movie is based on Japanese culture and tells the story of the little boy Kubo who lives at the seaside. Kubo is chased by his evil Grandpa, and in order to find his father's magic armour, he embarks on an exciting adventure.

Link to a video about the process of making the movie. https://v.qq.com/iframe/preview. html?vid=f0323mq5zoa&

Ni Jiajia

Although this movie doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use high technology, it is very attractive. This movie uses stop-motion animation. The process of making a stop-motion animated movie is very hard, especially this one (there is a link that connects to a video about the process of making this movie at the end of this article ). The scenes of this animated movie are shocking, and they have intriguing cultural connotations. The rich Japanese culture was used just right in this movie. Ok now, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s find out more about this original stop-motion animation together.

Pictures from http://m.sohu.com/ n/478741786/

Moving Arts

25th June

In this movie, the inspiration for the opening scene of a small boat floating on the huge sea waves is the very famous woodblock print from Japan — Miura Kanagawa（かながわおきなみう ). The painter Katsushika Hokusai used the surprising composition for the moment the waves rolled up to the highest point to show us a famous giant wave scene. His painting conveyed the great and unyielding spirit of personal struggle with nature. However, the movie used Hokusai’s magnificent painting to show the power of great maternal love. The director Travis Knight said most inspiration in this movie is from the famous printmaker called Kiyoshi Saito. He was famous for his paintings of architecture. The buildings in his paintings are well suited for habitation, and they are sturdy and have a flavour of life. The beautiful and traditional buildings used in the film are based on Kiyoshi Saito’s excellent paintings.

Pictures taken from www.googlco.ul/#q=Kubo+skeleton+monster.

Page Design

Ni Jiajia

In the film there is a section that features Kubo’s magical origami show. In this show Kubo used paper folding to create some amusing and vivid paper monsters. The archetypes of these monsters are some ancient Japanese legends, for example the legend of the big black spider. The prototype of this spider is a monster called Tu Yun. The monster spider has a ghost face and a tiger body and it can be transformed into beauty and youth to tempt people. In Kubo’s show it was also an evil monster. In addition to the spider, the big yellow chicken monster in Kubo’s show also has its own story. The monster’s name is Bo Shan. According to the legend, Bo Shan is a fire breathing chicken. When it was born, it looked like a snake, and it would drill into the house floor. Then, it would hide in the dark and slowly change its

The skeleton monster in this movie was also

In addition to this, the big whale carcass is

appearance into a normal chicken. The process

inspired by a very famous Japanese woodblock

also created based on a monster of Japanese

never would be seen. When it grew up into a

— 相馬の古内裏 . This painting is a very

legend. The monster’s name is Bone whale ( ほ

popular and decorative painting. The painter

the blood of sleeping people bit by bit and then

ねくじら ). In this movie it appears as a big

who created this painting is called Utagawa

whale body, and Kubo and his monkey partner

those people would die. The lucky thing is the

Kuniyoshi. He is a famous Ukiyo-e painter. The

hide in its belly to avoid a storm. In the legend

hens that laid the monster’s eggs would sing

composition of this painting is very bold and

it is a monster that only appears in the ocean,

like roosters, and then people could use the

special, and those characters are very vivid. It

and it looks like a whale skeleton. It is said that

song to find and kill the hens and those eggs. It

is one of Kuniyoshi’s masterpieces.

anyone who sees it will face a terrible fate.

normal chicken, it began to move. It would suck

is cruel, but it is a legend. Who knows whether

Finally, the most important point is the origami.

it's true or not?

It is Kubo’s special skill, and it is also one of the key traditional cultures of Japan. Japan is the best country for origami. There are many famous origami artists. Kubo also is an origami artist. In this movie, the editor used many scenes to show the great workmanship of paper-folding. For example, in the movie, Kubo used his magical origami skills to build a big red boat. In fact, in the process of this movie the boats are really made of paper. Some designers may think it is unnecessary to spend time on meaningless things such as cultural connotations in their work. Actually, sometimes these connotations make the movies more enjoyable and charming. If you know these hidden stories, you will enjoy these movies much more. For design students and even for some designers, learning to care about culture, social and art history is very important and necessary. After all, we are not just designing beautiful things, we are also creating meaningful things. All rights reserved by Uni Magazine Team

Moving Arts

25th June

THE LANGUAGE OF MOVIES

Page Design

“One thing I do when I have an idea of a film is I go through my record collections, and just start playing songs.” —Quentin Tarantino.

s far as I known, people in creative industry prefer to listen to music while working. At least I do, two months ago, I was looking for my interpretation of our new brief—monsters. Meanwhile, a song named Bang Bang was playing, then some images started to emerge in my mind. That’s when I decided to make an interview film to illustrate my idea of monster as a designer. I’m not interested in those imaginary monsters with sharp long claws hiding beneath children’s beds, but the abstract monster inside us—human beings. Does everyone have a monster within? It depends on how you define the word “monster”. One of the explanations in the Collins Dictionary defines ‘monster’ as somebody who is “cruel, frightening, or evil”.

Cai Jiangge

Do you believe in heaven and hell? It’s a question I’ve asked my interviewees. Religious people surely said ‘yes’. However, the interesting part is, other people would like to believe in karma or afterlife, and that eventually evil will be punished. I guess, people have to believe in something. Another idea I got during the interviews is that our fear of violence was not inherited, but cultivated to preserve our psychological health from going bad. So, do we, so-called “homo sapiens”, turn into monstrous predators when not guided by social education or moral code?

Moving Arts

25th June

Do we, so-called â&#x20AC;&#x153;homo sapiensâ&#x20AC;?, turn into monstrous predators when not guided by social education or moral code?

Page Design

Cai Jiangge

There is no explanation about the connection between evil and human nature in my documentary. I won’t tell you whether everyone has a monster within or not. The documentary can’t prove that to you, because, if I tried to do that, the whole film would be like: -“Do you have a monster in you?” -“No.” The end. Instead, I designed a series of questions to let the interviewees talk about their childhood experiences and hidden feelings. In some places, I added some scenes from other documentaries and from my own footage. I wanted to encourage the audience to think about and link those pieces and pictures together for themselves. For example, in the film, a girl described a toad as a parasite, so she didn’t feel pity for toads killed by other boys when she was very young. In the video, you can also see a quick cut of Joseph Goebbels’s speech. At that time, Goebbels was the inspirational leader of Nazi Germany, and his racist speech provoked German soldiers to massacre Jews. One of the interviewees was talking about how much he hated his mathematics teacher when he was young

and he wanted to take revenge on the teacher some day (but he never did). He also talked about the Great Cultural Revolution, at that time, students murdered their teachers. History goes in cycles, and there’re plenty of examples of similar violent conflicts. So, I’d like to quote one of my interviewees: “Can we just be nice to each other”? I studied many books on human psychology and history and documentaries to support and present my idea better. Among them are The Lucifer Effects, Milgram Experiment, The Killing of America, and Predators: Killing for a Living. These thought-provoking books and films helped me to develop and visualize my concept. Also, I want my audience to think, while watching the documentary, about whether they have a monster within, because what I’m trying to do is to call for people to forgive those they hated and be tolerant to each other, and, most of all, to keep fighting their “monster” inside. You can watch my documentary here: https://vimeo.com/222403546

Picture by Song Mingdong

In and Outside Campus

25th June

Learning Through Imitation and Doing Research

Imitation is an efficient way for students to study

s an art student, when we are at high school preparing for the higher education entrance examination we need to do loads of imitations of good sketches and paintings, because we need to improve our painting skills. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do research. It is usually just a teacher giving us nice painting examples to imitate. However, once we get into university, research and imitation are quite different. We are now graphic design students who are given briefs and need to do research and imitation ourselves. I think it is a totally different experience, but we can learn a lot from both, the research and imitation, no matter if we are at high school or college.

Page Design

Ni Jiajia

Imitation When we first learn to paint and draw things, we are given high quality pictures and asked to imitate them so that we could practise and improve our drawing skills. Later, after we get some basic skills in drawing, we are given more difficult pictures to imitate. Here you can see the paintings that we were given to imitate when I was in Year three. Usually our art teachers would ask us to draw some little sketches based on some photos.

They would also give us some drawing examples to show us how to draw, for example, a student standing in front of the door. On these pages you can see the photos of the imitations I did when we were imitating some real people photos.

Now, at university, I still do imitations. When I see an interesting picture or interesting ideas I would imitate them to learn some styles or techniques. On the next page you can see the photos I once did. They are not special but helpful to learn. When it comes to imitation, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really when everyone can improve their skills and get a deeper understanding of what they imitate. I would do imitation practice when I find nice pictures during the research period or when I want to learn a new skill of sketching or CAD tools or a new style of design. It helps me to get familiar with the tools or the style of the sketching or the design.

In and Outside Campus

25th June

Doing Research In doing research there are two parts. One is carried out before brainstorming and the other one is done after we have brainstormed some ideas. During a design course, firstly, we would receive different and interesting briefs from our teachers. We analyze the topic of the brief and make sure we know what we are expected to do.

After that we start doing research. This is the first part of the research, which includes going around the library and searching on the Internet for any ideas and images about our design topic.

Usually I would go to the library and look through a lot of books, magazines and photo albums. I would scan photos that give me inspiration and note down the ideas that I liked. Then it is time to do brainstorming and gather more ideas.

Page Design

Ni Jiajia

As soon as I get ideas, I would do research again. This is the second part of research. It takes more time because you need to focus carefully on the brief. I would look for key words that I got in the brainstorming and gather a lot of images and pictures about the key words and main ideas from the Internet and library.

I would stick them into my sketchbook and then cut them into different shapes and add some drawings or sketches. Or I would pick out elements from them and develop them from time to time in different drawing styles and materials. I would also try to make collages with them.

After doing this series of work I usually get loads of new images and pictures and new ideas, which I develop through more various sketches, digital processes and use of special materials. It would result in more images and pictures. Then I would repeat the process to get a different development. During the development process I would select the idea or images that I like most and focus on them. If it is needed, I would also do more research on those selected ideas. That is all I have to say about my research in the design process. I can really get loads of ideas from it and get my own unique design work in the end. I can always learn a lot during this research period.

Pictures provided by Ni Jiajia

In and Outside Campus

25th June

Screen Printing

made the poster called “Protect Mother Nature”. The slogan shows that the theme is being eco-friendly, and I used green colour to make the theme stronger. Green colour can always remind people of nature. This poster is for our school art project with Bram this semester. But what I really would like to mention here is that I made this poster using screen printing!

Compared to digital printing, screen printing is a better option for designers if they require a high level of colour vibrancy - in screen printing, the paint is applied thicker than in digital printing, which results in brighter colours. In my opinion, digital printing makes images that all look the same, but the effects of screen printing are all unique - even if you are printing the same image! The proportion of glue and pigment, how you pull the squeegee tool (in the image above), the time of washing the printed work - all of these factors can influence the result. It`s easy to make images have a blocky effect or to make the color rich and thick if you use screen printing. So, if you want a special printing effect, I think screen printing can help you achieve this.

Unlike in digital printing, where you print an image automatically, in screen printing, you print images by hand. In one of the images you can see one step of the process. So, if you want to print a small quantity of clothes or posters, you can use screen printing. Some factories choose screen printing to cut costs, as screen printing doesn’t need to run a huge machine, and so it`s a cheap way to produce garments. All rights reserved by Uni Magazine Team 33

Pictures provided by Chen Xinyuan. Pictures of Andy Warhol's screen printed works taken from http://m.bj.bendibao.com/tour/241431.html

Page Design

Song Mingdong

In and Outside Campus

25th June

How to Make a ShirtDress Step by Step

Hi, I am a year one student in fashion design. And today, I will share my experience about my Year one final project. This semester I mastered how to make a shirt-dress step by step. It is exciting to introduce this process to you – can you imagine what a special experience it is for a beginner to make a garment?

In addition, I think choosing the right material is also crucial for the process. We can touch and fold the material to know its characteristics better. For my shirt-dress design I chose a man-made material because it is easy to colour. Natural materials like cotton or linen can’t print patterns very well. For example, a pattern on cotton may look unclear and dull.

I drew my draft on my sketchbook. I was so excited at first, but then I met a big problem – I found that many ideas on the paper cannot be turned into a real garment. It made me feel frustrated that ideas I thought about were beyond my ability. I altered my silhouettes many times and many times I failed. As you can understand, lack of sewing skills and practice will make your very creative ideas pointless, because you don’t know how to

make them come true. So what can I do? Gaining daily basis experience is important for me, like learning and practising more sewing techniques. In the summer holiday, I might attend a sewing course. Pictures provided by Kong Qianyang

I am interested in designing a silhouette and a pattern because it’s a way to express myself. Also, bright colours and uneven silhouettes always catch my eye.

Page Design

Song Mingdong

For my shirt-dress design I chose a man-made material because it is easy to colour. Natural materials like cotton or linen canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t print patterns very well.

In and Outside Campus

25th June

What do most first year students do after just entering university? Most girls would worry about their skin colour going dark in endless military training, and boys would be concerned about making a conversation with a pretty girl. However, Saverio said that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s already starting to plan his life and career. And now he is an assistant to the Art Director in the famous magazine Harperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bazaar.

Interviewee: Li Yiran

Page Design

Zhang Ruwen

think most eighteen year old teenagers would agree that working in Harper’s Bazaar is a job to be envied. Saverio gave me a detailed description about his work: he needs to prepare next month’s fashion garments for the magazine cover and help with garment matching or makeup collections for the cover models. But, that’s not all. Also, he helps edit some articles for new media and he helps actors of a TV series with costumes.

Anyway, working in Harper's Bazaar is definitely a special work experience for Saverio. A few days ago I asked him about the impact of this work experience on his life, and he said that this experience has its good sides and bad sides, but mostly positive ones. According to Saverio, this interesting job keeps him very busy. For example, he must get up at 6 am and work till the morning of the next day if he’s working with the TV series shooting crew. However, this fast pace of life makes him highly efficient in everything now. Also, he’s got lots of opportunities and experience in fashion culture, and this is very helpful for his future career. Finally, he said that working in Harper's Bazaar changed the angle of how he reads fashion magazines now. However, as a university student, Saverio told me that it is so embarrassing for him to ask for leave to go to work every time, and that he lacks time to do his school homework.

Our conversation took place one peaceful night, and the whole process made me think Saverio is an interesting person with a good sense of humour. When I asked him about what is the most fun part of his job, he said that having a chat with actors after work. He said that it is a good way to communicate and share different experiences with each other.

When I asked him about the difference between Chinese Harper’s Bazaar and international edition, Saverio pointed out that the Chinese Harper’s Bazaar is more like an open platform that collects fashion ideas and design products from around the world. That means a worker in Chinese Harper’s Bazaar has more freedom. However, in China, this magazine is more commercialized. They always invite famous stars to promote fashion products and fashion ideas. Maybe for these reasons, Harper’s Bazaar has a large workforce in China and they have achieved great success across the country. Actually, I am very proud to see my schoolmate have this work experience and I know this experience will bring lots of great achievements for Saverio.

Towards the end of the interview, we talked about our understanding of fashion and we reached a consensus. Nowadays, young fashion designers should have a positive attitude towards fashion. Fashion design is more like a medium to show designers’ ideas - before you make your ideas come true, you should go outside and learn more knowledge to improve yourself. And, getting a good part-time job like Saverio is one of the ways. Have you ever been excited by this idea? Just do it and the next interview in this magazine may be with you.

Pictures provided by Li Yiran

In and Outside Campus

25th June

Bonjour! My name is Simon. My Chinese name is Shi Yaoyu. I’ve attended various speech contests, and each has its own features. I’ve won many awards too. I’m glad to share with you some tips about speech competitions, so perhaps I can give you some ideas and inspiration.

o start with, most types of speeches are divided into ‘assigned topic speech’ and ‘improvised speech’. ‘Assigned topic speech’ is usually when the speaker is required to make a speech on a given topic. ‘Improvised speech’ requires contestants to make a speech in a specific situation, and the contestants are not allowed to use any notes. The speaker will not have a chance to do any preparation until the topic or situation is announced. I think the easier one of the two is the assigned topic speech, because you can develop your own ideas about the topic you’ve been given, and you will have plenty of time to prepare. In my opinion, the improvised speech is the most difficult, because it requires contestants to have the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, as well as to show a wide vocabulary and relevant knowledge. It really tests contestants’ cool nerves, responsiveness and overall speaking ability. The preparation time may be a few seconds or a few hours. The contestants must have clear ideas in their minds, and their content should be good enough to convince the judges. However, no matter what type of speech you are giving, the other important factors are pronunciation, intonation, body language and eye-contact.

I used to be a very shy person. After my first performance in front of the audience, I gained a lot more self-confidence, it was my personal breakthrough. I became more and more fearless. You may have seen different kinds of competitions held in school. Have you ever wondered whether you should take part? As an experienced competitor, let me tell you: If you’re interested in some competitions, do not hesitate, never doubt yourself, just take part, and you may get unexpectedly high results. You should believe in yourself, you will defeat all other contestants! Get as much experience as you can in public speaking and it will bring you self-confidence, and self-confidence is the key to success in any speech competition.

1 3 Page Design

Zhang Ruwen

to y w o an r h m o ou on ts: n s ith y ake s e w m se tip ntes ve iliar may a l h m fu h co ay be fa , this e m fa ll us eec t o e, ou ase t we n Y e x le fro nc n. om in sp in udie , but tio ce. P he te i t s s t a e s pe c t i ou win tim the take om pra know y c y o s t i n ’t al er ma nce ur m ive and rm prop don e o o g o f t y u tis f e for ac leas out the ck o if yo r m p e t t , r a a t e in ld efo to l ause ou form ly po Le par b rly h c e s re du be e ea er t on l u o p r c , o m es Y ou no p n le y ca t”. se nc sib ll

i c a s ti ch cut it rfe sure ey w d. e ac form s po e r e p p er p n e e h a oo es mak s. T u ne d s u ca uld g p well k n gt o a a e o , o n t n h i i y y o m s t a rt , a ls f ice ak u s in tice n. A omm ppo vo long pe ed o Y o appo draft . c s r o a o r r e rt su ou oo iti dis ech ssed sta d sp : “P pet ds or and o y t or t t e g y e n r r a g a sp st lp yin om n nin sho u u m rate . sa the c r frie e he e t o o yo a s n y t i is fore f you ith th d l is to as hear soo n , e r a ch o n o e w r e ow you ng to Th ror b front you ing pee d d , r i ri s w s o h m , in vide slo rvou finis rec if the y o o r a e t e , h s op s n ec t. try nd d au h, u are spe als ec s. A nten an e c b y e r g , o o h d e elf omin e c bo ract t sp . If y o you s r r n m i n u c t u e o tt a yo titio ead yo short dd s , m s to a som g e d l g n r p i a i rd m ay tis nin co our or ac e co ch m pe ening forwa Re w y ngly r o p i o th the e op r put sh ordi hile re in e, wh h. e c w r a of th s o ec nk ac n, u a reas e h o a i p i o e it ec nt e s s. Th dd en y ill inc pe poi e id h t a s e m y in In t wh g w t in ectiv ay. an ma p so n s n i e n a s k p u f nt he si ea co pers nt to tor h. T sum sp c h t a c n t fa ec an mu ffere ou w an spe ou c o t i r o r d t ty y o ve from wha mp you end, i a h e n n n’t stion r tha d hre d pla n the t d l an I e u l e e . h o u u s h t t e h o q w n, sh a nc , ra us vie n inio You udie yo g at hear p t ow y o ion. the a k. tha ookin e to ur r m c o s l e k f a y b I n clu li y n o db n em n, tr ould ort p m co entio l fee o p i w u : re ct att rsona os ng -refle ience i t ye h t e s f d l pe e re se au e on om activ ati mo do our t s o e r o y e u On arn t hat us g att ty. fq d o w n e n i L out a us riosi se h u c b . cu e se a te g pe cau and ria inkin s p t be ro ur h yo es, teres pp e’s t a r c c fo in n ut bo udien PT msta ce’s a P a a en cu ink on e cir audi T h voke s e e th pro slid on ct th e g nic din attra ew epen r to f d sie ea ak ges, it ea m r ou h e an ima ake y c c n g m g u ve ie Y o chin can ud n gi lthou a t a c ur ,a ca ges Yo look thes a . im g t o ilin smar al cl m u as p s nd ee od a ear c . k h d o an . A g not w peec e o nc ce fs ara le fa ion. D pe o e ty u s : ab pp on at yo ear r a iser pres the i t u i t l n o m m pe so th lp c o y ee a ive i ds o t m e it co rly s en lh on nti nt to p pos dep he rope it wil t e t t s re p r, y a wa ee he efo o it wate b P a sn’t e a d clot .D e f e ss do dienc ice o tre eyes som am s Te he our rink au cho t ne i z y a D se ag the ea close ition. iM n u t U yo nd pe by ed elp th a com v r h e e ea res an hts t c p br ng th g i a r th ee uri All ips a d tiff d t s ke me S o to ta l too e Try n’t fe oat. do r thr u yo

5 7 40

In and Outside Campus

25th June

Bram’s Summer art projects The Summer Art Projects 2017 started with a workshop “Create Your Own Comic Strip”. Students were asked to make a funny comic strip about their lives at university. They could choose if they wanted to use their own software, draw it by hand or use one of the special comic strip design websites. Year 1 students Li Bolang, Chen Zhihan and Li Tongyu came up with the following brilliant comic strip (see below).

I could go back to high school again!

Page Design

Song Mingdong

Illustration by Meng Nanxi

Final Projects

25th June

It was an early morning in February. Cold wind made me tremble. We finally found the place at the sea where lots of fishermen were already busy working.

Page Design

Cai Jiangge

From the Sea to the Market Photo Project about Fishermen at Work

am very happy to be writing for this magazine. And here I will tell you about my final work, which is a photography project.

I enjoy photography very much. The reason is that by taking photos, you can record interesting things in life at any time. For my final project I photographed many fishermen and I learned a lot of interesting things. Here are some tips for you:

Never plan your final design at first.

There are many interesting things you will encounter in the design process that may change your initial ideas. The design process is far more exciting than the result. So, don’t just go from A to Z. You should go through all the steps and do A, B, C, D, E……..before you reach Z.

Go to the library or study websites in your free time.

You can do research at any time. You don’t have to wait until you get a brief. If you read a book just for fun, you might find something unexpected and exciting for you.

Be yourself. Find your style.

You may find that if the teacher likes a certain style, there will be a lot of students who will do something similar. And not everyone will be right in their choices. I think you should do your own work and finding your special idea is an important thing. And, of course, enjoy the process. 46

Final Projects

25th June

Page Design

Cai Jiangge

Now, let me tell you about my final work: My final work’s title is “From the Sea to the Market”. Doing photography for this project, I learned interesting skills, such as using sunlight to show characters better, and that background can also be an important way to show what the photographer wants to say. For example, in one photo, I caught the moment when the sunlight lit half of the fisherman’s face. This contrast represents to me the hardships and pleasures of his life. In addition to using sunlight, different angles are also important.

For example, this picture was taken while I was standing on an old cart. I think this angle makes the fisherman and the horse look the same height. The two of them are standing together and they seem more like work partners. Layout is also very important when I put my photos into a photo book. I enlarged the photos to a whole page to make them look more prominent.

This method of doing layout has a strong visual impact. It can also be a series of pictures on a page. It looks more like telling a story, or like an essay in photos. So, do you want to know how I took all those pictures? You think it was easy? No, not at all. At first, everything wasn’t going very well. I thought I could find fishermen on any beach, but this wasn’t the case. Of course, I went to the sea first, but I couldn’t see any trace of fishermen there. It confused me. But I didn’t give up. I went to the market to ask local traders about the whereabouts of the fishermen. It turned out they didn’t know. One man said they would go to the local seafood market at three o’clock every morning, and that helpful salesman gave me the address of that place.

Final Projects

25th June

Page Design

Cai Jiangge

n early February, the weather was very cold in the morning, it made me tremble. My friend and I found the seafood market that the salesman suggested. There were a lot of fishermen here. I came up to one of them and asked ,”Did you get these shells from the sea?” he said “Yes.” Then I asked him where he usually fishes, and he wouldn’t tell me. Maybe it’s because there are so many retailers who come to buy seafood, so he had no time to pay attention to me. After that, I found another fisherman, and I bought some seafood from him to make him talk to me. I told him I was a student in graphic design, and I said I wanted to take a series of pictures about their work. I wanted to know where I could find them. He told me they all go to the sea in the south of the city. The reason is that there are very few tourists, which means less pollution, and they can get seafood there. He told me with great enthusiasm that if I needed him I could go there and see him. I was very happy. During my work with them the fishermen were glad to help. They enjoyed the process very much. They always felt that they were just ordinary workers, and for the first time they met a photographer who wanted to record their lives. They were happy and proud in front of the camera. And I promised that when I finish my work, I would give each of them a set of postcards with their pictures.

Pictures provided by Niu Jinghan.

All rignts reserved by Uni Magazine Team.

Final Projects

25th June

Page Design

Tian Ye

African Mystery and Wilderness M

y design theory is connected to the Kalahari desert in the south of Africa. My inspiration comes from the residents of that place. They use combinations of bright colors, mysterious totems and symbols, and various ornaments to decorate their skin, clothes, household objects, and buildings. I collected these ideas and used some elements to make minimalist-style formal suits for men and women. The reason why I chose this style for my suits is because my target group is business people. Formal suit is their daily wear, but they can show their sense of fashion in their clothes design. Besides, simple style of a business suit can be well combined with minimalist fabric pattern.

I know now how essential it is to broaden your horizons: notice things around you and get inspired by anything your eyes can see and heart can feel and experiment with applying those ideas to your design. 52

Final Projects

25th June

he best part about working on this project was choosing the fabric and designing the pattern to put on it. I chose tweed fabrics with the same thickness of various colours and patterns. The reason why I went for tweed was that, in my opinion, tweedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s small and repeating pattern and texture symbolize African wilderness and mystery.

After that, inspired by my tutor, I picked out red, yellow, orange, green and blue to represent African colours. I used insulation tapes of these colours, cut them into shapes, and put them on the fabric. After ironing under heat machine, the tape pieces were stuck well to the fabric. Afterwards, I used the same colours of knitted woolen yarn and made simple stitches on the fabric of the same colour, and in some places I decorated the fabric with shells. The combination of tape, wool and shells both enriched and simplified the fabrics.

Page Design

Tian Ye

Pictures provided by The most difficult part was the pattern design of the Liang Siqi. fabric. Before choosing the method I described above, I tried a lot of printing designs and fabric modifications. In the research and trial process, even though some All rights reserved by attempts were not successful, I found out more about Uni Magazine Team minimalism and different other patterns and styles, and also learnt how to do screen printing, laser engraving and other skills. More importantly, my way of thinking has changed - my images are no longer limited to the traditional styles and patterns. I know now how essential it is to broaden your horizons: notice things around you and get inspired by anything your eyes can see and heart can feel and experiment with applying those ideas to your design.

Final Projects

25th June

Page Design

Tian Ye

The Four Ways of

the

I am Wang Yuqi. I am graduating from our school this year. For all the four years I studied here, I want to thank my teachers who are always friendly with students, so that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m never afraid to meet them in the hall or face them in a study room. Besides that, I also want to say thanks to my friends who shared my interests in these years. There is so much information I want to share with my readers. But I will start with my graduation project design.

Final Projects

25th June

Trying things out, finding things you like, persistence and self-confidence are all about my brand FREEDMAN.

Page Design

Tian Ye

am a big fan of collecting socks. I am really into collecting different kinds of socks to match with clothes. And I want to devote myself to designing different kinds of socks. I even created an independent socks’ brand named FREEDMAN. Why did I choose ‘FREEDMAN’ to be my brand name? One of the reasons is that I have a free spirit, I look forward to having a poetic life, and I hope I can do a lot of traveling. I hope my design can make young people think. Before I started my designs I interviewed people from the following generations - 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. All of them are now in different stages of their life. I wanted to know their thoughts about freedom, attitude to life, their current life situation and how they see sock designs. I like the quotation from the philosopher, Kant, ‘Freedom is not arbitrary, but self mastery.’ That is to say we need to obey our life principles. Especially in China, there are so many different kinds of cultures. The variety of cultures bred various ideas of freedom, which can break the rules. I accept four main ways of breaking the rules. These four main points can demonstrate my way of thinking, describe my own brand and what I learnt at university.

First, I am going to talk about ‘trying things out’. It is the concept that my tutors taught me. Western education system taught me to ask myself ‘why not?’ The first design class I had was on the sixth floor when I was a freshman. I remember our first Teaching Assistant Katrina holding a small cardboard box. She came out and asked us: "Who would like to come and stand up on this box?" At that time no one dared. They all started saying: "This is impossible! If a person steps on the box, it will break!" I was also thinking the same. Katrina looked at us in disbelief, but then Katrina’s friend stepped on the box and the small box stayed intact. Katrina said to us angrily, "You have not tried, why did you already determine the outcome of this?" At that time I felt shocked and stupid and kept staring at the small box. From then on, I tried not to judge things - not to decide on ideas that I have not even tried. Trying things out is a wonderful thing to do.

Pictures provided by Wang Yuqi.

Final Projects

25th June

Page Design

Tian Ye

Next, I will talk about finding what you really like. I often told my classmates, "You should not feel discouraged, just find and do what you really like". So, I want to say that four years of university is a lot of time to identify and pursue our favorite things, even if others cannot understand them, but sometimes young people need to be a little stubborn. Although some people will say it is easy to find their own ideals, for others I should say that, when you find your favourite thing, it brings love and hope into your life. The third point is about being persistent. One of my classmates has always been crazy about planes. He often took a camera and went to the East mountain to watch the planes taking off and landing at the airport and he knew all the aircraft models. And his other hobby was playing with all kinds of remote controlled aircrafts, which he did in the dormitory every day. His family didn’t support him at first. But, through his persistence he eventually became a pilot.

Finally, I’ll say something about self-confidence. I received a lot of encouragement from most of the teachers in the four years of university. They always said, "You’re doing great, you have to believe in yourself!" This is my favourite part of education - foreign teachers encouraging students to make progress. In that moment you really want to believe that you can do well. I am very grateful to the university for these four years that made me a confident person. And, thank you everyone who smiled and said ‘hi’ when we met in the hallway at school during these 4 years. All the above mentioned – trying things out, finding things you like, persistence and self-confidence – are all about my brand FREEDMAN. I put these four characteristics into my sock pattern design and the whole brand visual identity. You can see it in the material, form, visual feeling, etc. – all different attempts to break the rules. NO RULES - MAKE IT ALL POSSIBLE! I do not just sell socks through their design, what I share is attitude.