PS147 Reflection + Final Projects

1) How was the visit to PS147 for you? Did you enjoy the exchange with the fourth grade students, find it challenging etc.? Did meeting with the fourth grade students change your final project idea in any way? Any feedback on the experience or process that you would like to share?

I thought the trip was interesting, seeing kids who are so much younger reminds me of my own childhood. Working with them and helping them to find ‘overused items’ and ‘mis-used items’, I found it really inspiring and and the same time little funny in a good way. I didn’t really know what I want to do for my final projects, and after meeting the fourth grade kids, the process is inspiring but I think I am still in the process of exploring and deciding what i want to do.

1) What was the most interesting visual that you found (photograph, diagram etc.) and why was it so powerful to you? Include the image and the link in your post.

The title of the article I found was "E.P.A. to limit Science Used to Write Public Health Rules. The image on the cover was super powerful to me. 



https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/11/climate/epa-science-trump.html

the reason why this is so powerful is because of the huge color contrast in the picture. With the background being green and fresh and the focal point being so brown and dirty, the picture brings a unique vibe that really touched me. This image also reminds me of the synthetic dye in the fashion industry.

2) Given what you learned in this article, how different do you think the planet be 10 years from now?

Considering more and more people are realizing the environmental changes in the world, and are acting on it, I think we definitely have the ability to improve the circumstances. On the other hand, being a fashion student and learning about the ‘secret’ deep down within the industry, I know for sure it is going to be difficult for big brands to be real sustainable because they have been doing there systems for so long. A lot of products are based on the low-income and uneducated workers. If the brands are willing to make the step forward in terms of sustainability, they can’t make whatever they are making right now in terms of money, and the fashion industry has to have a crush in order to improve the situation, which is something I want to keep in mind for my final project.

3) In what ways do you think these realities will impact your work and life 10 years from now?

Recently, I’ve been reading a lot of articles about sustainability, and I think it is one of the hottest topic in today’s society. Like mentioned above, more and more people are realizing the problem, and are trying to fix the broken products instead of throwing them away. Fast fashion brands such as Forever 21 declared bankruptcy, and  a lot of the consumers nowadays are more focused on the material itself and the experience, so I think that 10 years from now, our situation in terms of the environment would be better, and people will have more awareness and idea to act on the issue.

4) How might your final project address, acknowledge and/or work with such climate related changes over the next 10 years?

I want my final project to be a reminder for the future generation of today’s society and situation in terms of the environmental issues. I am still in the process of exploring and deciding.

1) What is a practice/skill that you commit to enact, or an object you commit to take care of, for the next 10 years?

being a fashion student, I guess one thing that came up to me in this matter of second is to not throw away the clothing especially knowing how over 80 percent of the clothing goes into landfill. So practice I would commit is to keep reusing those materials, destroy them and change it to other forms, or as a future designer, using natural materials(environmental friendly)to do my design.

2) In what ways will this practice/skill or object provide joy and functionality in your daily life (on a regular basis) over ten years?

i love fashion, and the process of making clothing, so doing it itself can provide joy in my daily life.

3) How will you repair and/or make this object or process more resilient, enabling it last/be useful for at least 10 years?

it is hard to keep a garment for 10 years, but it is not impossible. The material itself is really important, and the quality of the piece is also a key. I guess in my future work and design, always keep those criteria in my mind.

4) Given what you have learned this semester, how will your actions over 10 years reduce systems impacts on air/climate, material, water and energy systems?

I think a lot of the actions on kind of driven by us, in another words, consumers. If we demanding more sustainable products, and willing only to buy those products, this action will reduce a lot of wastes in many field of industries.

5) How does this practice fulfill the Long Life Design criteria to the best of your ability? 

I am still deciding what practice I should do for my final, but I will decide as soon as possible, and definitely have those criteria include in my final.