Before enrolling at Concordia for design, I mainly worked within the analog arts, experimenting with painting, drawing, collaging and photography. In many ways my work was based very heavily on imagery and symbolism. Although I believe I now feel more confident within the context of form, object design and typography, my relationship with imagery  had become convoluted and unclear since I've started at Concordia especially within graphic design. Speculating on it now, my issue was as I identified myself more as a designer I felt increasingly alienated by my identity as a visual artist and hence have barely produced any meaningful image based projects in the past two years.

 

This class has not only reconnected my artistic expressions to my current identity as a designer but it has also given me the vocabulary to express my ideas concisely and the tools to create powerful imagery through the use and knowledge of semiotics and critical design. I truly believe, especially after this class, that what differentiates us from tools or being replaced in the future by AI robots is that we, as graphic designers, have opinions and have the power to communicate ideas and therefore are obligated to act on them. Like I said in a previous response, form without content is great aesthetics at best and without the basis of ideas that marks graphic designers as artists, I believe the profession becomes the equivalent of a monkey pulling a handle. My role within society in the future remains uncertain but what is certain is through the reading and lectures on appropriation, representation etc combined with my own explorations during the responses and projects, what I do now faced with these issues must be approached critically in terms of “design”, “art” and social responsibility.

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Overall this has been one of my favourite courses, thanks again!