Review before moving on

Time flies and I am coming to the end of my studies at Newcastle University. My arrival in Newcastle was delayed by almost a month because of the epidemic. I still remember that the first semester was very rushed. I couldn’t understand some of the things the professors were saying because of the online classes, and I also had to analyze the site simply by using Google maps in the early stages. It was a very busy and anxious time, and I was always trying to catch up on the knowledge I had left behind. But writing the blog was relaxing. The school prepared very comprehensive lectures covering a wide range of topics, which greatly expanded my horizons and writing ideas. So I would say that this experience was much needed. And what made this term different was that we were free to choose our writing topics. I gained experience in blogging in the first semester, so this semester I have become more comfortable with choosing topics and how to express my intentions. I have to say a big thank you to everyone who has written comments to me, they have been very genuine and have given me more information to add to what I have missed on my blog.

We had the opportunity to go away twice this year. We visited Manchester, a city that is one of the more successful and prominent examples of urban regeneration. The main place we drew on was the residential area in the New Islington area. From the distribution of buildings and the layout of the city to the transport settings and public space construction, there is a lot to learn from it. I have also written about Manchester in this semester’s blog. It was also through this writing that I found that through blogging I was able to summarise the key points and reflections from my academic life more clearly, and the actual content of the documented research inspired me to actively look for similar information and gain more new design ideas.

For this semester’s blog, I wrote about design projects and investigated the background of the case in more depth. There was also my own selection of content about urban perception. This one was quite abstract and I often ran out of ideas as I wrote it myself. But by consulting a lot of literature, I managed to sort out the idea as best I could.

I increasingly feel that blogging is necessary for a designer to record our thoughts, but it can also stimulate new ideas and promote positive thinking. I think blogging is a good entry point to accomplish some of the things I’ve always wanted to try, whether I’m familiar or unfamiliar with the theory. I’ve also been exploring directions I might be able to investigate. I think blog writing has supported me in that the genre can accommodate my immature ideas and my raw writing, but it has been very helpful in helping me explore my subject matter further. This blog writing exercise has been like an outlet for me and it has helped me with my design solutions.

In conclusion, I really enjoy blogging as a way to expand our minds and knowledge. I have also gained a lot from my time at Newcastle University and I can feel the progress I have made!