RESEARCH PROPOSAL ZHU NINGLI 1ST MAGD, AKV/ST.JOOST
02 Research Proposal 01 Design Statement
03 Practice & Self-evaluation 04 Planning & Conclusions
01. Design statement As a designer with an attitude of the visual journalist, I try to apply the narrative mapping as a method in my design process. I start with a broad view of maps and to understand “mapping� which includes a systematic and analyzing thinking. Since the technology, like AI, turns the (modern data) mapping more universal and invisible. Also, the digital interface changes our perception of maps as well as social connections, which in some way against our humanity. I want to discover more about the narrative strategies and humanity in that field.
What is a map and the process of mapping? >> 2 How to understand it and use it in the proj3 ects? >>> What is the power and politics of 4 mapping? >>> How to practice the narrative mapping to tell stories? 1
02.
Research Proposal Understand map and mapping 01. The maps, the subjective reflection Maps are projections, abstraction, means of representing a “world”. This “world” could be any place, system or issues. 02. Mapping, the process for future: I consider “mapping” mostly as a step, which helps to expand the content. As the Chinese artist, Qiu zhijie said: “To map is to know, and to direct future action.” The process of mapping is to analyze and structure a system, while the narrative ways or visual representations are unlimited and multiple.
research collecting info mapping system sketch mind map concept form design prototype testing
map and mapping as a structure. map and mapping related. map and mapping as a narrative form.
not a map form book
media/plateform/ interaction/...
video app..
developing
......
NARRATIVE ATLAS
-Dennis Wood
multi-disciplinary, visual-literary hybrid collection of maps that have poetic resonance and narrative suggestion, an atlas that investigates the nature of place and our experience of it. <EVERYTHING SINGS: MAPS FOR A NARRATIVE ATLAS>, by DENIS WOOD
Zoom in, Zoom out The authors also launch the innovative online portal of Under Pressure, which allows users to explore the content of the book via an interactive world map, following different types of storylines.
Case study:
<UNDER PRESSURE: THE WATER AND THE CITY> In Under Pressure: Water and the City AMS Instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Research Fellow Laurence Henriquez and Scientific Director prof. dr. Arjan van Timmeren, map the relationship between H2O and civilization, past, present, and future. From waterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fundamental importance to life and the means by which it has been metabolized by cities throughout history, to its intimate connection to the ongoing crises of our age (economic inequality, climate change, Middle East Wars, unregulated global finance) and the (sometimes ancient) solutions that are used as positive drivers of change. And, perhaps most importantly of all, they try to address the oftentimes ignored link between water and the asymmetries in social and political power that exist in the Global North and South.
03.
Practice & Self-evaluation Practice: I. <Dear Mrs. Foe yong, how are you?> II. <â&#x20AC;&#x153;dot.linkâ&#x20AC;?- mapping sensitive info> III.<The 25 photos of Athens> IV. <Map poem> V. other practice
Self-evaluation: VI. Features VII. To improve
IDEOLOGY & METHOD /
IDEOLODY:
fiction vs realism fictiocracy2 METHOD:
anthropomorphism3 personification4
09/10
Human are more self-centered and emotional beings. We love to listen stories of characters. In this way, to find more connections. So, I want to humanize this dish and imagine if it was a real person how she will talk about her background, her experience, her friends...
<2> Fic-ctio-cra-cy /ˈfɪkʃ(ə)krəsi/ n. pl. – cies. 1. Political regime that, implicitly or explicitly, considers the distinction between fact and fiction irrelevant. 2. A political or social unit that has such regime. 3. The principles of word-building and transmedia storytelling applied to politics and journalism. 4. The title of this longform. [French fictiocracie, from Late Latin fictiocratia]
<3> Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. <4> Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to abstract concepts such as nations, emotions, and natural forces, such as seasons and weather.
<Dear Mrs. Foe yong, how are you?>
“what matters is not the objective, real truth, bu how a fictional story i pitched.”5
So, instead of some tra ditional documentary, want to humanize dish “foe yong hai” as wel as experimenting with arranging irrelevant col lages to evoke audience association through tone and rhythm.
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> ictiocracy: Media and Politics in the e of Storytelling>, by Davis Banis
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STORYLINE & SCRIPT /
Dialogue Script Writing 01 This is my first longest-distance leave from my familiar hometown and friends. During the last year, I was always searching for some authentic tastes of China, while the food what I usually get here are a bit unfamiliar to me. what is the taste of China? What builds the identity of the Chinese here? I become curious about this intercultural environment in the Netherlands. 02 One day, I encountered Mrs “Foe yong”, a charming and exotic woman, who has so many stories and experiences in her life which are attractive and reflect on me. We become special friends and talks about our life. 03 Dear, Mrs. Foe yong. Nice to meet you! I might never know you if we haven’t met in that cold windy night nearby Lidl. I remember your rolling long hair, red dress, the always-wearing warm smile, and the unknown accent. Then, your amazing sweet and sour surprised me in the first bite. This unfamiliar touch makes a bit sense of alienation, while also being attractive for me. Hope to see you next time. All the best. 04 Dear Mrs. Foe yong. Last time, I felt a bit unfamiliar but kindness (with some Asian temperament) from you. I am curious Where are you originally come from? Are you a Chinese? I am not a 100% Chinese. I am a third-culture kid like many others since my father is a Chinese, my mother is from Indonesia. I was born in Indonesia but moved and grew up in the Netherlands at a very young age. My ancestors and previous generations were Chinese Indonesians, who were Hakka descendants originally from the south of mainland China.
Here, I humanize the dish as a lady called “Foeyong dialogues between Mrs.Foeyong and me will be the and storyline of the video, which affects the visual
05 Dear Mrs. Foe yong. Why you leave your hometown to stay here? My parents’ generation experienced a lot of racial riots in Indonesia. Even they worked very hard, starting the small business for better life, in that time, the indigenous people were not friendly to them. They always excluded us. There were severe discrimination, even violence, on the ethnic Chinese for long time. So my memory of childhood is about moving to another place to stay, but finally, we came to the Netherlands by boat and settled down for living. When I was young, I felt so much isolated from this Western environment/surroundings.
07 Dear. Mrs. Foe yong, how are you? these winter days are so gloomy like a piece of canvas filled with heavy dark colors. I wonder how you could overcome these 40 years ago? It is just a training in life to learn from loneliness and helpless, which we need to be used to. I have gone through lots of difficulties as many immigrants when I was young. But I believe the life is about the experience than being successful, so I am happy to enjoy every moment even the tough ones. And actually, after every cold winter, there is a shining summer waiting for us.
06 Dear Mrs. Foe yong, I am sorry to hear that. Hope you all the best now. These days, I miss the scenery of Lake enhanced by pavilions, weeping willows and flowering trees. Do you also miss your motherland? Do you like Holland or prefer your motherland? Actually, I have an indescribable feeling of this country. Before I came here, I had some bad impressions since our ancestors are tortured in their bloody colonized time. But these were all the past going away. After I arrived here, I fall in love with the nice rural environment with windmills, dams and local customs. Now, I have a family with a local Dutch. We breed two children who have almost built their own families. However, It sounds wired that I never feel myself belong to this land, neither my motherland. I do not belong to anywhere, but this is who I am.
8 Dear. Mrs. Foe yong, thank you for your words. Haven’t seen you for weeks. Do you have many friends here? How are they? Well, despite my friends from Indonesia and Suriname, I have more Dutch friends than Chinese. My old Dutch friends visit me a lot, especially on a lazy weekend night. They love to invite me in their cozy self-zone. In the end, I always comfort their starving and make them super satisfied.
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<Dear Mrs. Foe yong, how are you?>
9 How about your Chinese friends then? Oh, they are all around my age. We knew each other for more than 30 years. Most of them are from Hong Kong, Malaysia, or mainland China, like Wenzhou, Fujian. However, one thing I found interesting is that even though, in recent years, there are more and more Chinese immigrants coming here, it is hard to make close friends with them.
10 Why? They seldom come here. Most do not know my exist. Sometimes, I feel more distance with those new arrivers on cultural value and habits. I know most of them are high skills immigrants with good education. Compared with us who still work with greasy dishes every day, they might kind of live a better life. Yes, I think they are luckier to come in this new era. 11 How about those new Chinese immigrants? They are really diverse and behave well in work. Since I have run restaurants for most of my life, In my opinion, there are always connections between food and people. So I would say those Chinese have indeed show multiple personality and features, like what is happing in the catering industry here now. 12 Are they happy there? I couldn’t tell. It is hard to say. However, Sometimes, several new faces come to visit me. They talked with me about their worries here. For example, the struggles and trails to make a balance between responsibility for parents in China and their new life in Western. I can imagine and understand. It takes some time to start a new life in an unfamiliar place.
13 Dear. worri yep, too fa keep peop date. resta authe includ uan s cuisin they are re obse is a m and p
14 Have ye. It sand And I some
g”. The writing of e main structure footage and sound.
r. Mrs. Foe yong, do you have any ies? of course. The world is changing ast. I am getting old and can not p up with the times, especially young ple might think I am a bit out-of. Have you seen those Chinese aurants around me? They offer local entic dishes with varied tastes, ding Cantonese cuisine, Sichspicy food, Jiangsu and Zhejiang ne, even Shandong food. Although have just started for years, they eally popular now. People are also essed with “Wereldrestaurant”, which mix of every cuisine like Asian food popular Italian dishes.
e you ever imagine the future? t sounds a bit sad to be a grain of d in the history, but it is the real life. I will be happy to be remembered by e people.
I. Mapping the content : storyline
In this project, I focus on how to structure all the materials (from content) to tell a story. Mapping and organizing with historical content, footages, images in a way of “dialogues” between this fictional person.
<â&#x20AC;&#x153;dot.linkâ&#x20AC;?- mapping sensitive info>
II. Mapping out : sensitive info
Because of strong Internet censorship in China, I design the platform â&#x20AC;&#x153;dot. linkâ&#x20AC;? with dot games to build a system for representing sensitive information. It aims to spread the information as well as making those political contents more understandable for others.
III.
<The 25 photos of Athens>
Mapping geodata: photos & memory
After the study trip to Athens, I design this digital booklet with 25 selected photos which construct my memory and formulte my understanding of the city. The booklet combines photos, poems, and cognitive maps together, offering an observation from different lays.
NATIONALITY FLYING FLAG
2 “I love to fly around every wall, showing my beauty and even more. Even if my surroundings become the ruin and worn, my life becomes decadent and poor. I’m still waving around the wall. I will hang on every wall. Show my last dignity and wish to you all.”
<The 25 photos of Athens>
CRISIS OLIVE BRANCH
“Come on! Take this olive branch, you will have a peaceful and successful life.”
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TOURIST
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YOUR NAME
“Leave your name on me to remember your trip and my pain.”
IV. Map poem:
For a conclusion after the research, I write and draw a map poem to sum up my idea about this big field. The aim of this poem is to show a bit of reflection. To some extent, the content of this poem is general and blurry, however, I think it is good to show diverse angles and subjects about the map (mapping), like geopolitics, mind map, data stack. It is also a kind of narrative way.
<Map poem>
[what is it] Map is about a space, fold, unfold. Map is about art, ... Map is about science, ... Map is about politics, ... The boundary between map and others are blurry. Map is about everything, seen and unseen. Map is actually about ourselves, from mind to heart. [function] Map could be not for navigation. Map would be a world of imagination. To map is to know, to direct future action. To map is the power, to control future situation.
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WHAT IS A MAP and THE PRACTICE of MAPPING?
V.
Other practice
poster
poster
Game- <I am your window>/cocoi workshop
poster
Drawbot
Open studio booklet
poster
Robofont workshop
Study trip website
Study trip website
Map poem
Web game
VI. Features When I am looking back at this semester, I find most of my projects and practice are focusing on narratives, the storytelling. In terms of representation, I like to use metaphors, abstract and conceptual ways to express the content. In my process, I always sketch the mind map and write some poems based on the content. Another feature from my work might be the subjectivity and emotional elements using in the narratives. For example, in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Foeyonghaiâ&#x20AC;? project, in the end, I humanize this dish as an old lady and transform all the information into dialogues between us.
VII. To improve 01. Sharp In my research and design process, because my thought is like an extensive map, the final design is not sharp enough. In a way, it was also a bit general which lost the main attraction and quality. 02. Deeper Sometimes, I find my work is a bit rough that still needs to improve a lot to be nicely presented. So, in the next semester, I will try to further and deeper in each step based on the early prototype, developing the work until it looks as a final product. 03. Work flow There is a feeling of discontinuity and unbalance in this semester, since the workshop, course, study trip and holidays are a bit messy together. Some individual project prolonged too much that is hard to follow or continue again every time.
04.
Planning & Conclusion For the next semester, I would like to devote more efforts to build up practical skills since it is important to really make things work and nice. The fields I will discover and learn more by myself are interaction design(coding language, UI/ UX) and media editing(video). For this plan, I would like to practice a bit on html/css, C4D and AE in the summer. Besides that, I will review my reading lists to strengthen the theoretical study and research part, which is good to prepare for the thesis next year.
webdesign display design interface
UI/UX
Interactive map data mapping visual experiement map tools
Reading /Research Writing reading list
Multimedia, which helps to zoom in and zoom out between the content and information, gives more interaction and experience to users when they read and play with a mapping system. So I want to get more skills of those techniques.