I do not have a favourite genre when it comes to films and I will watch pretty much everything if it catches my attention or I am in the mood for it (even if is something really cheesy and does not require much contemplation).

But, from time to time, I find films that stick with me. Films that impressed me in one way or another.

That is exactly what happened when one of my friends recommended me „Chungking Express”, a film by the famous filmmaker, Kar-Wai Wong.

From there, I started watching some other similar films such as „In the mood for love”, by the same Kar-Wai Wong and „Lost and found” by Chi-Ngai Lee and I can say they had something in common: simple and slow-paced stories with a lot of depth and, sometimes, angst.

Even if the subject vary from film to film, they all follow the lives of lonely people that find happiness when they expected it the least. Maybe one cannot relate with their situation but one can relate with how the characters feel.

The time period when those films were produced (late 1990-early 2000) helps mantain a certain atmosphere that otherwise might not create the same impact. It makes you feel nostalgic even if you were not even born back when they were filmed.

„Lavender” by Kam-Hung Yip is another such example but this time, involving supernatural elements.

As I stated above, those films had a positive impact on me and they are worth watching if you feel like you need something to fill the void in your soul.

Last term, when I was still trying to get used to how things work at university (especially the printers), I fell somehow behind with my work and when the deadlines were just around the corner, I rushed to finish my projects. Therefore, my submissions, even if they were not a complete failure, did not satisfy me.

This term, I managed, somehow, to keep up with the work I need to produce since I have a clear idea of what I want to do (and I discovered how to use the printers properly).

During my flight back to Romania I was, expectedly, bored. Therefore, I checked out their magazine after minutes and minutes of trying to fall asleep.

Apart from their destination tips and recommendations, one can find rather interesting articles about a certain culture, a person or, in my case, a product.

There is where I read about Tretyakov Gallery’s (the home to an impresive Russian fine art collection) collaboration with Demeter Library of Fragnance, an American perfume company.

This collaboration led to a series of eight perfumes that capture the idea of a possible scent that eight of the paintings’s sceneries might emate. Some examples are Valentin Serov’s ‘Girl with Peaches’, Mikhail Vrubel’s ‘Lilacs’ and Ivan Khrutsky’s ‘Flowers and Fruits’.

The prices vary between 1 700 and 2 200 rubles, and if I was to buy one of the perfumes based entirely on what fragrance I think it might have, I’ll probably go with ‘Lilacs’ by Mikhail Vrubel since I love these flowers.

Not only I discovered a really interesting concept, but I also found out about some other Russian paintings I did not know about.

Giving and receiving feedback is not only about criticizing and being criticized. It is about sharing ideas, seeing if they work and receive advice. It is your chance to talk about your approach and, at the same time, see what your peers are up to in terms of briefs.

I can say that, after two terms of giving and receiving feedback, I learned how to defend my work (when necessary), how to apply the feedback correspondingly and how to analyze other people’s work.

The assessement for my advantage module is due soon and I am struggeling the most -you’ll never guess it- with the referencing part.

If the Harvard Style was quite easy to follow, well, OSCOLA, for me, is next level. Expecially when I need to reference a case.

If I said previously that, hopefully, I’ll pass the module, now I am worried I’ll get expelled because I didn’t reference something properly or I forgot to reference it.

That’s overthinking for ya!

I’ve been asked to analyze an event that took place last week and I am here to share my misery.

Even if it has nothing to do with my course, it is something that I need in order to continue my studies.

Since I came here, I’ve been looking for a part-time job and I can say that I wasn’t lucky in finding one. I’ve been applying for different positions but my lack of work experience and my not-so-good answers to their questionnaires had their say.

So far I’ve been just to two interviews and the second one took place around last week. Suprisingly, I was really excited to go to this one because, from what I’ve read, it focuses more on the personality rather than the experience.

Because it was a recruitment day, so many people showed up.

After filling in a form and giving it to them, I waited to be called. The interview didn’t last more than 10 minutes and during that time I was mainly asked about myself in terms of interests and goals. I had to admit that I didn’t expect to get the job just because the interview was that chill.

And I didn’t.

All I can do now is keep trying even if I have no confidance left.

This term brought with it a new module that focuses on our personal development throught which we are required to monotorize our journey as Graphic Design students.

I am not keen to admit that this does not really work for me. I spend too much time thinking about what to write and how to write it that by the time I come to a conclusion, I drop the idea completely. Also, I have too many things I wish to address but I feel like they are inadequate and they are not really related to my course.

And planning is not really my thing. I do not usually plan something and if I do, unless it is not mandatory or it does not require immediate interfering, I will delay its accomplishment. In other words, I am guilty of leaving everything to the last minute but I can say I work better under pressure.

Even if that is the case, I try to get rid of this unhealthy behavour and hopefully, I will succeed.

Instead of polishing my English, I decided to learn a new language for the sake of doing something new. Just like I tried in the past to learn Swedish, Polish, French and so on, these days I felt like looking into the romantic Italian language since is easy for me to learn, as a Romanian fellow. Apart from the well-known apps such as Duolinguo and Memrise, I’ve borrowed some books from the library to expand my resources.

To be honest, I usually give up too easily when it comes to learning a new language and it’s usually just a phase, but maybe -just maybe- this time will be different.

In the meantime I am looking forward to using the phrases below in real life:

• 

• 

When I think of a studio I go way back in 2016 when I had the chance to take part in an Internship in Granada, Spain that aimed to develop my entrepreneurial skills. For three weeks, me and my classmates had the opportunity to experience the exciting but challenging world of „adulthood” and see how it is like to work in a company.

Teamwork was the keyword when it came to providing logos, posters and ideas for campaigns in a really short amount of time. 20 people working on the same thing was certainly not easy (and the little studio we were placed in was not helping our cause) but we managed to get everything done without too many divergences.

Last semester, as a part of the Visual Communication module, we had to design a book cover for Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. I was pretty excited about this task since I am familiar with Haruki Murakami’s work and I was confident that I will come up with something that will capture the vibe of the book. Norwegian Wood is highly sexual, with a slow pacing and student angst. The story is simple, easy to understand, as Murakami himself stated. Therefore, I wanted my book cover to highlight the mature content through a minimalist look. I came up with several designs, and even if none of them were satisfactory, I had to choose one since I was running out of time.The atrocity below is my submission

But this is not all. Because the brief was based on a Penguin Publishing contest, I could not resist and I entered the competition with another atrocity.

I have no idea what I was thinking when choosing to go with this typeface for the word „wood”.