Moving on to the next semester!

Blogging was the most challenging thing and the most interesting experience at the same time. During the semester I needed to put in as much effort as I could since I was not really familiar with writing in public. However, ‘Urban Design Seminars’ and ‘Principles and Practice of Urban Design’ helped me gain useful academic knowledge as well as skills I’ve learned from the Design Studio. From the theories and approaches I’ve learned to the urban design techniques in England that I’ve encountered for the first time here was just so enjoyable enough to arouse my passion for Urban Design. Blogging itself was not a very heavy task nor pressing but gave me an opportunity to explore more in depth one of the lectures I took. Overall, I was definitely able to enjoy learning new things and was inspired by my colleagues. I am appreciative of having this opportunity.

Working with team
We took turns chairing meetings every two weeks. It led us to actively participate. Moreover, we were able to set overall design guidelines for the blog such as deciding on what we were going to write or even the colour scheme. Thanks to this system, we had a sincere affection for blogs with a sense of ownership, not just doing as a part of the course. I especially had a chance to make a logo with Luke. It was an interesting experience. because It is the chance to show what we were focusing on in this blog. I think practicing visually is the skill that we all need as an Urban designer since It is an important skill to show who we are.

Challenges
Writing blogs does not have to be too formal but still, academic knowledge and critical thinking based on what we learned are needed. Personally, I found myself hesitant to make my own thoughts towards existing studies. However, working with my colleagues, I could have learned how I think critically during the semester and could have developed my design and research skills that led me to improve myself. I have found blogging is a useful way to improve analysis as well as writing skills to show our thoughts and passion based on academic research.

Looking forward
One of the things I learned at the design studio workshop was that books have more useful information than can be obtained from the Internet. Although there seems to be a lot of temptation of organized prior materials. I was actually able to get useful materials this semester in the University library. It helped improve my research and writing skills compared to the past. Based on my academic passion and interest in blogs, I look forward to posting a more readable and interesting blog.