What part of today's task did you find difficult and why?

I don't think today has been a good day for me. It was very difficult to try and link the tasks we did to my initial thoughts and ideas and I found some resistance in trying to 'go with the flow' and take pictures of white space in a different way that I expected. I am trying to keep an open mind about this project but so far I do not like it. I do not think the work I made today reflects my strength in photography which makes me scared that I might not be able to show my full potential. I think I am going to refine my ideas and outcomes more and make the work more personal for me this week. Maybe also trying to use different materials than just paper to create shapes and forms would be more interesting.

What lesson did you learn from following the process we set out?

 I have learnt to observe my surroundings much more - for example, when the task of taking photographs around the building of white spaces we noticed, I found that I was observing the classroom much more and that helped me develop an eye for certain things. 

I think the process helped me in a way, although I ended up not carrying the initial idea that I had forward the process of day 1 gave me the space to explore new ideas and abstract concepts that I haven't thought about before this day. 

What effect might formulating a manifesto, or statement of intent with rules, have you as a designer?

 I think creating a manifesto that may contain rules would enable me to work more creatively within the boundaries that I set myself. I think a manifesto would encourage me to completely explore the subject and the different outcomes I could create. Just like today's tasks and exercises, by having some type of restrictions I was able to come up with more ideas for this week and ways I can explore the idea of white space.

How has peer feedback helped you evaluate your project?

I think peer feedback massively helped me evaluate my project. After explaining my ideas and process the people in my group suggested that I explore the concept of white space as an object more: they suggested that I could perhaps move away from the white space being a literal space but perhaps it being a physical object (the sculpture I created) that people can carry around wherever they please. It was also suggested that I explore different materials such as fabric and plastic and perhaps do the photoshoot outdoors instead of in an indoor place. This feedback will help me refine my idea and outcome tomorrow and by the end of this week because now I know what I can improve on.

Looking back at the week. what were your expectations and were they fulfilled?

My expectations were to create an outcome that I already planned on the Sunday before beginning the project. I think I had too many ideas that I wanted and expected to create and because they all related to gender and sexuality I wanted to make it very personal. I think my expectations were not fulfilled at the end of the week because I did not carry on the outcomes I thought of doing but I instead chose to focus on something more abstract yet very intimate as well. So in a way, although my initial expectations were not fulfilled, I still think this project was a positive learning curve for me. 

What have you learnt from this project?

From this project I learnt that I should've chosen fashion communication rather than graphic communication..I think my initial ideas about creating something about gender and sexuality would have resonated more if I would have done the fashion communication project. However, I do think that this project REALLY pushed me to my limits and encouraged me to think and use photography in a different and more abstract way. Because of this I learnt that, although I did not create the outcome that I set in my mind before the start of this week, I still created something new that I never did before. This project also helped me understand how I could use photography to create something much more abstract than my usual work which was very interesting for me.