Exploring Interests, Values, and Practice

Right now, it feels way too early to choose a narrative for this project. At the moment, I’m not trying to define a final outcome or argument, I’m just trying to get a feel for the kind of work I actually want to make. Especially as this is my last assignment before the final project. Because of that, I think more exploratory research makes sense at this stage.

The brief talks a lot about motivation and interest, and that’s something I keep coming back to. Interest feels important to me, it’s usually the thing that tells me when I’m onto something meaningful. So instead of forcing a direction, I want to spend some time understanding what I’m drawn to and why.

From a design point of view, I’m really interested in illustration and how text can be used alongside it. I like work where image and words work together rather than separately. I’ve also been doing some book illistration on the side, and that’s been influencing how I think about sequencing, pacing, and how ideas can unfold across pages rather than in a single image.

On a more personal level, travel is a big part of my life right now. I’m constantly moving between places, noticing different visual cultures, signage, and ways that places communicate with people. Even writing this, I’m travelling from Thailand to Laos, sitting in an airport lounge, which feels quite representative of my current situation. Being in transit has made me more observant and more aware of how design functions in real, everyday environments.

So at the moment, my main interests sit around illustration, typography, book design, and travel. That feels like a good place to start, without needing to pin anything down yet. To pull this back into who I am as a designer, I’m trying to reconnect with my brand values. Inclusivity, adaptability, transparency, collaboration, and abstract thinking are all important to how I approach design. My vision statement “Spotting the gaps. Designing the solutions.” feels like a useful anchor while I explore. For now, the aim is to follow what interests me and see what starts to take shape.

Collecting Works

I think collecting work i like for inspiration is always good at the start of any preject. Illistrators, designers, small publications, works that convey travel or something entirly different. Researching ways of working more than artwork i like. It’s also always good at this stage to just do some simple google searches to see what is already out there related to my interests.

Visual Research: Illustration, Texture, and Place

I’ve noticed that I’m consistently drawn to a pencil-style illustration approach, particularly the kind often used in advertising formats such as postcards. This is something I already collect when travelling, and I think that’s part of why it feels familiar and appealing to me. There’s something about the hand-drawn quality that feels authentic and human, especially compared to more polished or digital styles.

What attracts me to this style is its sense of imperfection. The visible line work and texture make the illustration feel made rather than produced, which gives it character and warmth. I’m often instinctively drawn to these images before consciously analysing them, which suggests that this aesthetic is doing something emotionally rather than just visually.

I also think this pencil-based style would pair naturally with typography. It feels flexible enough to support text without overpowering it, and it could work well across formats such as posters, postcards, or small publications. Visually, it also feels suited to where I am in the world at the moment. In Southeast Asia, where signage and visual culture often feel layered, tactile, and expressive, this kind of illustration doesn’t feel out of place.

All of the examples collected here were sourced from Pinterest and are being used as visual references for style and ways of working rather than final outcomes. At this stage, I’m not interested in copying these approaches, but in understanding why they appeal to me and how they might inform my own practice as the project develops.