I used to be in my little world, focused only on things I was interested in. But the recent outbreak of the coronavirus in our country brought me back to a bleak reality. All over my Chinese social media, I've been inundated with news of coronavirus patients. The death toll is reported every day, not as a statistic but as part of a family. Even in a few short weeks, someone‘s whole families have passed away.And that's largely because of the government's cover-ups and indecisiveness.

It was like a trigger that forced me to face the harsh reality and made me a huge difference. I used to think that art had nothing to do with politics. It is an aesthetic activity that does not involve in the political field. It is a free expression of individuality. Influenced by adorno's aesthetic theory, I have always advocated the development of individuality.But now I can't wait to get involved in politics, to be part of society, to criticize them, to do something for the collective rather than the individual.I can't stop thinking, as a designer, what can I do for people at this moment?

I used to think we artists and designers should pay attention to art and design, but now I think we should also talk about politics, history, morality and everything we have to do with each other, which is to know the social structure clearly, not to be vague. Then we can get a new level of cognition out of these things that would otherwise we are just doing superficial art and design on a vague base.

So my future position in design is not to focus on myself but to talk about the connection between the ego(individual) and the world(collective) based on the era and society.

knowledge/skills/experience do you bring to this project：

• make better use of  critical reflection writing and time management in this project. After two projects last semester, I have gained some valuable experience in these aspects, and I will apply them to the following projects.
• communicate more with the audience, creating conversations, getting feedback, ruminating and evolving.
• show some of my photography skills in this project.

hoping to learn：

• learn deeper about critical design
• explain clearly my position as a designer at this stage
• add social authenticity on the basis of individuality
• critically illustrate the relationship between art and politics by discussing the relationship between individuals and collectives
• communicate with audience more clearly and effectively

Today we begin our discussion of the new project.
This is a self-initiated project. This will be a synthesis of our personal development during the course. We should use it to focus your professional and postgraduate aspirations.

I think this project needs to fully understand ourself and do what you love and are most interested in. It also involves thinking about your future career as a designer. 

Among various categories of graphic design, I love book design and album cover design most. This comes from my love for publications and music. I have done most of my previous work on this.

In addition to graphic design, I like to focus on subcultures, often focusing on underground artists, musicians and dancers with strong personalities. I like to see these kinds of exhibitions and performance art performances. These activities usually take place in underground places and stimulate the audience through the senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. Performers often wear makeup that doesn't exist in reality, such as drawing pelvic bones and flowers on their faces. These people often have more than one identity, like Jessie Kanda, who is both a musician and an artist.