POSI-TIONING

CHAO-CHI LAU

Finishing university, I can begin to reflect on a process, which w

as enriched w

ith transition and self-actualisation.

Many lessons w

ere learnt.

The outcomes of the w

ork I produce and my practice focuses on the concept,

theory, metaphor, narrative, sem

iotics and context behind a project. These them

es become im

portant in worthw

hile, universal and humanistic design.

My atti

tude towards design and the things that influence m

y references come

from outside of the conventional design field. This is because, at the core of

those disciplines and genres are people and innovators with processes that if

relevant, I relate to my practice and developm

ent.

One particular genre of influence is that of M

oving Image and Film

, disciplines that I am

beginning to envelop into my practice as a designer.

The first two projects, The Good Journey (M

ajor Project) and The 4th Stoke N

ewington Scout Group (Self Initiated Project) ran sim

ilar to each other in term

s of their design focus. The design solutions sought to create a framew

ork of constancy that allow

ed for the diversity of the intended audiences to inform

elements of the outcom

e. They also intended to invite the themes of ow

ner-ship, com

munity and co-design.

The two projects taught m

e the value of putting an idea to test. As soon an idea

is tested, the details that can or cannot be achieved are self-evident and allow

for the idea to become refined.

Spearheaded by my dissertation w

hich analysed the sand metaphors in the

film, W

oman of the Dunes” (1964), I began a period of risk taking and sincere

process. The Design Factory (M

ajor Project) led to consider a new w

ay of practice: start-ing a project w

ithout having a vision of the end result.

The project explored and challenged the perceptions of sand. The project was

able to take direction through the influence of Yayoi Kusama’s introspective

work; she considers the sym

bolism of a polka-dot:

“...a polka-dot has the form of the sun, w

hich is a symbol of the energy of the

whole w

orld and our living life, and also the form of the m

oon, which is calm

. Round, soft, colourful, senseless and unknow

ing. Polka-dots become m

ove-m

ent... Polka dots are a way to infinity.”

The final project was Docum

enting Dominic (Self Initiated Project), a docum

en-tary project initiated through sim

ply moving w

ith an opportunity. Taking on every role in the m

aking of the documentary,

I saw m

y strengths in my ability to em

pathise and adapted from m

y design experience, to construct narratives w

ith the physically intangible.

To conclude, I will take the next steps in finding w

ork experience with a Design

Innovation company and to continue to cultivate the skill of constructing narra-

tives with M

oving Image and Film

.