PBL A

• Pick one project from the first seven weeks and discuss how it could be improved. 

I would like to make changes to improve the sdg collage since I believe that there is much room for improvement. Firstly, I would choose a color theme for the collage, our collage had so many colors to the point where it felt messy, so if I would fix that mess by following a consistent color pallet. The second thing that I would like to change is that I would spend more time on collecting images. We were on a hurry when we collected the images so the process was very rushed. And I found that the images we chose to use in the end could be deemed offensive or racist from a certain perspective. Therefore, I would spend more time sorting out the magazines and finding non offensive images that are relevant to our topic. Lastly, I would make the 3d book more neat, the undefined spine on the book really bothered me so if I had more time I would definitely make the book again with more detail.

• Talk about specific feedback you received on one of the projects from the first seven weeks and how it changed your work (Project Pitch!) 

The piece of feedback that completely steered our project for the better was that many thought that our marginalized group wasn’t fully connected to our topic and let alone our sdg. Because of this piece of feedback, we completely changed our topic from food security to ableism. And I believe that the change was necessary since the correlation between the marginalized group and the issue is now strong.

• Connect one project from the first seven weeks to work in another class or a previous PBL project.

The project pitch is incredibly similar to a presentation we did last semester in PBL and the business pitch I did in business class. In those projects we pitched our game idea to the class, the teachers, and some PBL plus seniors. They then gave us feedback and recommendations regarding the feasibility of the game idea. These projects are similar since we had to pitch an idea, listen to feedback, and improve that idea. So I believe that doing those pitches first helped me warm up for the project pitch. And it also has a connection to the map project we did in geography since we had to present our project, gather feedback, and improvise.

• Comparing one of your projects from the past seven weeks to work you've done in the past—How have you grown?

Comparing the project pitch to the game pitch lists semester, my presentation skills  definitely improved as well as my ability to follow the rubric.

• What's something you need to improve on in PBL? Describe it and discuss a plan for improving.

The most important thing that I need to improve in PBL is my time managing skills, I find that I always end up completing my project last minute, which then affects my sleep schedule, and then affects my productivity in class. I’m trapped in this endless cycle of unproductively, so I would like the change that. First, I will do my best to stay productive during class to maximize the work I can finish in class. Then, I would do my work immediately after I get home to avoid procrastination. And lastly, I would ask for help in school so that I won’t have to figure everything out at home.

• Define the social justice issue your group is focusing on for your project. Who is affected and how is it local to you?

We are focusing on the use of casual ableism in conversations and jokes. The people who are being made fun of are affected by this since their condition is being used as a joke and it is local because there is this new slang that has been widely used regardless of age in Taiwan. So we are promoting positivity and hopefully stopping these words from slipping out of people‘s mouths. 

• Reflect on your feelings about graphic design as the semester began. How has your opinion on this subject changed over the past seven weeks? What's the most important thing you've learned about graphic design and how has it helped your project so far?

When the semester began, I didn’t know much about graphic design, let alone the principles, I just thought that graphic design was about printing t shirts. But ever since I started learning about the principles of design, I began seeing art in a whole new perspective. The seven principles of art is the foundation of graphic design, it’s the guideline to make visually appealing compositions. It has helped my project design by guiding me to follow some principles in order to create a special design.

• Pick one part of the magazine that you worked on. What was your contribution?

My main contribution to the magazine is the design and the layout, I listened to a lecture regarding the basics of layout design and drew sketches of all the pages in the magazine using simplified boxes. 

• What specific feedback did you receive, and how did it change your work?

When we first started doing this project, we chose to use food security as our topic. But after our first project pitch, we got a piece of feedback that completely steered the direction of our project. One of our classmates pointed out that our topic isn't directly connected to a marginalized group, making the topic weak. This led us to brainstorm a completely new topic that is both strongly connected to Taiwan and directly related to a marginalized group, casual ableism.

• How does part of your PBL project connect to work you completed in another class or a previous PBL project?

Research was a big portion in this assignment because we need to understand the issue first. So the extensive research I've done in Science and Research Writing class for my research paper helped me navigate the researching process way more efficiently. This PBL project is also connected to our Geography final project, because in both classes we are required to find an issue, come up with possible solutions, and make smaller projects to solve these issues, and our geography group made a shark tank pitch video. And finally, the game we made for PBL last time is connected to our magazine this time because they are both interactive elements that can deepen the audience's understanding of the issue.

• Compared to your past working habits, what do you do differently now?

When it came to making the PBL game last semester, I completely forgot about it until two weeks before exhibition. Making the game in a rush resulted in a game lacking detail. This time with the help of the weekly work tracker, we were able to keep on track of our work and we had plenty of time to discuss possible changes for our magazine. In the future, I would make these weekly work trackers for myself too because I found that I work best with deadlines.

• How have you grown as a learner or group member?

When we first started working together as a group, we faced many heated conflicts due to the lack of agreement among our members. But now after a semester of working together, I learned to listen to others opinions with an open mind and stay respectful regardless of the situation.

• Looking toward the future, what is one thing you still need to improve in PBL?

I believe that although I worked harder on this project than I did in previous ones, I still lacked enthusiasm and devotion to the project. So in future PBL projects I will work even harder by discussing with my teammates about their parts and helping them out so that I can get a full understanding of our whole project.

• What is your plan for improving?

I will make myself weekly work trackers and set small deadlines for my work so that I can remain on track or even get ahead. This plan allows me to have more time for critique and feedback, giving my project more opportunities to improve.

• What surprised you most during your research?

When researching about casual ableism, I found a website specifically talking about certain words or actions that are considered to be ableist, and as I read through them, I realized that I unknowingly do some of the actions they mentioned. I am not proud of that, but after I read the source I reflected on my actions and changed them. 

• What misconceptions or assumptions did you have before starting the project?

I used to think that casual ableism was just words that discriminate against people with disabilities, but after researching the topic I realized that ableism can also be actions. For example, helping someone even when they have told you that they don't need your help. This realization deepened my understanding of the issue and made me even more eager to spread awareness and reduce casual ableism in Taiwan.

• What do people still misunderstand or ignore about this issue?

Most of the people online know about what the slang word means, they just aren't aware or don't care about the consequences and effects of this issue. They are unaware about how serious this issue is. That is why we are making this project in the first place, the three of us cannot single handedly solve the issue of ableism. But by reminding everyone of this issue, we can change small acts in life. Getting us closer to our goal.

• How did this investigation change the way you think about social justice, responsibility, or community action?

After this project, I realized that even if we are not the marginalized group, that doesn't make the issue any less serious. In fact, it makes the issue more significant because by changing our small acts, we can get closer and closer to our goal of reducing casual ableism in Taiwan.

• How did your design skills, confidence, or understanding of design develop over time?

I used to think designs and layout were easy, but when I was actually given the opportunity to design the layout for the magazine. I realized that there are so many factors that go into design. Such as properly using colors to highlight certain words and pictures, and choosing appropriate fonts to use in the magazine to follow the theme of the magazine.

• What design principles, techniques, or creative processes helped you the most?

The main element of art we used was color because blue and yellow are close to contrasting colors so putting them together makes both of the colors stand out even more. And we also used balance as the main principle of design because when it comes to designing the layout of the magazine, it is important to balance out the page and make sure that one side isn't heavier than the other, so we applied that by balancing the pull quotes, body texts, photos. 

• How did graphic design help your group communicate your social justice message to your audience?

We used blue and yellow, which are the two colors recognized by the global down syndrome organization to represent down syndrome. And we chose those two colors because the slang word for down syndrome is what started all of this.

• What design decision are you most proud of, and why?

The clockwise spiral in the middle of the sunflower, because clockwise spirals represent growth, change, and transformation, and that is exactly what we are advocating for.