for the past two days, my legs had been suffering. both my feet had blisters on Saturday because of my shoes and i fell down this morning when i went jogging with my dad.

kind of sprained my left ankle. it was swollen a little but still managed to brisk walk for 2.5km with dad at the park. but abrasions on my right leg hurt a lot (hee..i dread showering actually). oh well, this wasnt the first time. i had sprained my left ankle and abrasions on my right knee caused by falling on the gravel about last Nov/Dec. it's the old wound that didnt heal completely the last time (yah, again!)

the first time i sprained my left ankle was during exam period. to be exact, it happened 15 minutes before my first paper. it was really humiliating to fall and limp to examination hall. it was even more embarrassing to keep hitting the side of the knee cap and "fan-ning" the abrasions to divert the pain so that i could do my paper.

i wish my abrasions will heal real fast and that it will not leave scar. =(

i had a mixture of feelings for the past few days. i dont know how to describe. felt kind of lost, unhappy but at the same time, i also felt hope, positive. i think it's because of some ambigous statements and actions. furthermore, the departure. that's why the uncertainty that makes me uneasy.

hope all will be cleared up soon.

i'm sooo... AGAINST the evolution of STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE.

Then Now:

i was reading the ST last week and it was said that America Greetings was planning to change the image of Strawberry to become more tech-savvy by making her carry mobile phone!

i'm just so upset that the evolution doesnt make Strawberry cute and sweet. just look at the pictures above, the 90's Strawberry is much cuter, sweeter; and definitely more innocent. i'm not saying that the current Strawberry is foxy, it's just that Strawberry Shortcake is such a classic cartoon since the 80's. Strawberry's innocently sweet character will definitely be lost somehow during the "evolution".

i guess i'll die of high blood pressure the next time i watch Strawberry Shortcake. Instead of teaching viewers (kids) to be friendly and nice to one another, the current Strawberry will be busy answering her phone in a bimbotic manner. the evolution just simply pissed me off! must get the CUTER, SWEETER 90's Strawberry merchandise (that is a STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE BOTTLE) before she is gone for good.

finally something decent for myself. made the rainbow and bubbles. the quote is what i found online. i thought it applies to me.

sometimes we just magnify, or rather, i used to magnify problems or mistakes. it makes me unhappy and dwell on it all the time. i feel that there is too many "WHAT IF" but life doesn't allow that. so i think it's time for me to change my perspective of looking at problems and mistakes; learn from them and do it right the next time.

i torn my cardigan yesterday just before i stepped out of the house. it's a HOT PINK cardigan! i was plannin to cut just the little label at the shoulder. how i know i would cut the thread too! uh-huh, now i've to mend it back of cos, else it'll never wear it out ever again.

finally, something up for myself. though i like the color; the shadow and the sun, i think it's quite badly done.

it's so recycled manz! the sky, the grass patch and the person jumping. these stuff were used previously lah. haiz..spend lots of time brainstorming. guess it's because it's for myself, that's why expectations are higher. also because know myself well, so not sure what is it that i really want to bring it out.

and guess what, i actually missed out on putting my name in..hummp! never mind, will coming up with a new one pretty soon.


oh well..keep working, kexi!

just finished jogging with dad. as i'm waiting for hair to dry, decide to blog.

so, i went to zoo with KK and Hendry yesterday. though there were lots of people because of the World Blood Donor Day, still, i had lots of fun (since it was with them).

in the midst of laughters, saying hi to the animals, we missed Qi.

and yes, a picture paints a thousand words of 'WE MISS HUANG QI' (that's why the yellow flag)..hee..and btw, this is my favourite picture though Hendry took many nice ones. but this is just so symbolic (hee).

we saw the asian-ised polar bear. and guess what, their skin is actually black. it is their white fur that makes them white..erm, not-so-white after all in the picture.

question: zebra-crossing and zebra, which comes first?

wohoo, the crocodile. so cool, right. Hendry rocks manz!

NOTE: there is no such exhibit in zoo.

so as i was saying zoo was packed yesterday because of the World Blood Donor Day. donors who received the postcards are able to exchange for two complimentary tickets to the zoo. probably because it's free, that's why lots of people turned up with their family and little ones. haha..yup, me too! else i've to pay $16+ for entrance fee which rather expensive for a Singaporean. i dont really understand why they didn't set prices for the locals only, instead of charging us prices that tourists are paying too. world class zoo, world class price.

anw, i guess if i were a tourist who went to zoo yesterday, i would be super mad because i can't see the animals (but the people..haha)..so sad!

another poster today..for my SISTER.

i was cracking my brain on how to incorporate her name in. initially, we thought of outlining the skirt with her name (oh yes, she contributed..hee) but it turned out to be pretty ugly (haha..oxymoronic habit is back!) i've asked her already. she likes it. but then she commented that if her friends going to see it, they will think..hahaha..i cant say here because it's between the Fang Sisters.

not sure why, i just dont feel like talking yesterday. i was quite restless in the late afternoon.

anyway, i think sometimes it is quite important to leave mobile phones with your neighbors in case of emergency. like a Chinese saying: neighbor is nearer to you than your relatives when you're in need of help.

yesterday, my neighbor got into an accident. it was pretty serious i'm sure, else the traffic police would have contacted his wife directly on mobile phone. instead, they came to their house and knocked on the door. of cos nobody answered since his wife was at work. luckily, the next-door neighbor came to know about the accident after seeing the traffic police. this neighbor came over to our house and asked my mom if she has the wife's mobile. thank goodness, my mom kept it somewhere.

so that's why i think it's important to exchange contact details with neighbor. but then my mom doesn't like to give our home no. to others.

anyway, just came back from TTSH after visiting this neighbor. so poor thing! his hands and body are tied to the bed. he was not suppose to move because the spine got affected. i wish he will get well soon. it's just so sad to see him being tied and the face is swollen.

to my neighbour: get well soon.
to all motorists : care for yours and others' safety
to all : take care when you're on the road

this is something i did for Qi. i thought kind of too pink-ish. wanted to give a princess-y, girly sweet feeling but i think it's not very well done. i felt it's more like the diva-kind cos' of the glit from the crown. nonetheless, i hope she likes it.

not sure who is reading this blog. hopefully, somebody will give me feedback. =)

with love, a hopeful blogger

yesterday was a suupppeeerr long day. woke up at 6.15am and got out of the house at 7am. reached home at 12.30am.

i went TTSH with dad because he had an examination (not written exam, btw). he had to go through three tests and he had to be injected each time (so poor thing). he must have felt uneasy and depressed. luckily i'm having holiday and able to accompany him. the result is only available in a month's time. hopefully, everything turns out really well.

seriously, i don't understand why the hospital needs such a long time. it really worries the patients and adds on to unnecessary stress. but then, i felt that the hospital service is good. the nurses are so much approachable and look friendlier.

before leaving the hospital, i saw Choon Han and he showed off his white coat to me (bleah!). after that, i went town to walk around. it's quite amazing that i still manage to walk and window-shop from Orchard to Douby Ghaut. finally, my legs gave in and i sat in Thai Express for couple of hours day-dreaming.

then, i went to watch 'Accuracy of Death' with my sister. the movie was really simple but enjoyable, partly because of takeshi kaneshiro. he is still so cute and handsome, especially when he is acting as informant. i was thinking if a Shinigami is to ask me "what do you think of death", i guess i won't be afraid because i have no regrets for now. but i bet i miss my family and friends.

after the movie, my sister actually wanted me to accompany her to her gathering at Holland V (can't believe it!) but then, it didnt turn out as horrible as i thought. the topic they were talking about was quite funny. but felt a bit bad because we stayed until NYDC literally going to close (the music was off already though..haha)

Done with KK's

For K.K.:

hope you like this poster i made for you. took some time to design because i really can't think of any idea. guess that's because we shared so much with each other and the mutual understanding kind of deepens. i hope this poster will inspire and motivate you to move on when times are harder for you. Thanks for sharing with me all your thoughts and feelings. It really means a lot to me. Jiayou ya, will always be there for you.

Something for my friends

For Charles:

"Welcome home! Time for all the 'bak-kut tehs', 'bak-kwas' and all the 'baks'. Thanks for allowing me to flood your msn even when you are offline. I designed this artwork to thank you for being there =) well, though this is not 100 per cent original, still i hope you like it"




For Hendry:

"School's in and it's time to go back to school. So good luck and all the best in SMU. Don't forget about us when school starts okie. We still need you to take pretty pictures of us with your antique camera (the one that needs "fee-lim")."

Up next are KK's and Qi's (but will take some time to do lah cos' tonight will be out to watch movie - Made of Honor)..

Class Assignments

this assignment is titled: Talking Forms.

it was group activity that was meant to complete during lecture. i did this exercise with two other friends. the lecturer gave our group two topics to work on: "ingenious" and "surprise".

below are the ideas that we came up with after consulting the tutors.

some basic requirements are to use basic elements (i.e. line and dot) to create 2 abstract / semi-abstract representative images conveying meaning of each word. Also, there are only two colors to be used (excluding paper color).

Assignment 6: Design Analysis

the eighth tutorial (01/04):

it's april's fool! anyway, this week's tutorial is rather relaxing because the subject that we are supposed to present is not design by us (aww..) so this assignment is to find a good and bad posters that allow us to apply theories on them. so below are the...

GOOD...


for the GOOD:
there is flow in looking at the picture. from the sun to the tagline, down to the stream and finally to the foreground. cool colors (blue and green) are used. the color scheme is analogous because there are different shades of green.

1. sun - principles of visual: expressive line -> jagged lines express energy or anger.
2. trees - principles of visual: similarity -> the trees are similar to one another.
3. windmill - gestalt principles: closure -> the triangles shape out the windmill.
4. small shrubs - complementary color -> the green is a cool color and red color is a warm color; both are opposite of each other in the color wheel.
5. ducks - principles of visual: contrast in size -> the ducks are of different sizes.
6. stream - gestalt principles: continuity -> the stream is as if flowing from the background to the foreground.
7. sheep - gestalt principles: proximity -> the sheep are closed to one another so it is depicted as a group.

as for the bad:
i guess you just have to read it. seriously, just try reading it and time yourself. i think the circles make it so hard for readers' to get the message. furthermore, the gradient makes the white color words "fade" into the background. i hope you have fun reading but don't torture your eyes when doing so (hee..)

..and the BAD...

Assignment 5: Greeting Card (theme: LOVE)

the seventh tutorial (25/03):

my greeting card was more or less 90 percent complete before this tutorial. there was one problem pointed out - the text.

as the heart needed wide spaces, the words should not stretch too much across. in addition, the spacing between the lines were rather compact. so i've made some modification to it by expanding space between the lines and shrinking the size of the words. below is my final work:

hope you like it. =)

Greeting Card (theme: LOVE): Draft

the sixth tutorial (19/03):

over the weekend, i was surfing the website for inspiration. looking out for quotes and all. finally, i decide to do on: CONFESSION and LOST LOVE.

i guess it will be interesting because love confession should be innocently sweet. so the color scheme used is pink (of course!). also, because of the innocence, i used white color to trace out the silhoutte of a man and a young lady. i want to do a silhoutte because it is rather easy (since i don't really need to worry about the facial expression) and that is SECRET love (so personally, i feel silhoutte give such feeling).

a confession i have to make: i traced the man and the young lady from online picture. but i did some modification like the rose was add on and the man's stomach was flatten (hee..). hope you like it..enjoy~



comments from the class:
1. the pink color made them tired. i guess it was too overwhelming (hee..) so i need to change the color. most probably make the pink lighter.

2. the quote is rather long. i will most probably make it smaller. another classmate also mentioned that the quotation didn't have any love meaning in it. i'm not too sure about it but i thought it is quite sweet. i guess i feel this way because i watched the movie.


as mentioned, this is my LOST LOVE card. it is kind of weird because i'm sure this card would not sell in the market. however, i designed it just for fun. to be honest, when i was working on the card, i was kind of sad. well, not that i've just lost my love, it's just some unknown causes.

the girl in the card was also traced and i've also made some modifications. in the original picture, the girl was sitting down. she was not crying and the butterfly was actually flying towards her.

since i am trying to express a lost love, it is rather ironic to have the butterfly flying towards her (well, i hope i successfully "make the butterfly = love"). thus, the butterfly is flying towards the window, away from her.



comments from the class:
1. nobody will buy this card (haha..) i kind of expected they will say that because i guess i won't buy it either.

2. one of my classmate mentioned that the butterfly did not look as if it was flying out. so he suggested i should place the edge of the butterfly to the back so as to make the connection.

3. the window should looke more like a window. i'm thinking of adding shadow so making the feeling as if the light source from outside is brighter than the interior.

4. the tear drop: it is quite redundant because the whole card already suggested it. it's either i should enlarge the tear drop or remove the tear drop.

that's about it.

Greeting Card (theme: LOVE): Draft II

after thinking for some time, i decide to take the CONFESSION design as my final. not because i've lost my love, it really makes me feel sad when designing it. though i really like the concept a lot, i don't really know how to do the effects (casting the shadow from the window, making the room a bit brighter).

well, actually the Confession design not too bad, just that the concept is simple and everyone is doing lovey-dovey card (so not very outstanding). but oh well, this card is too Swweeet.. =)

my second draft:


i've change the color of the circles and the arrangement of it. also, i've decreased the font size.

Assignment 4: Save This/That

after looking through the last posters, i feel that the red colored words can't be seen. i guess i'll just stick to white colored wordings. and YES, THIS IS THE FINAL. (haha).



this is the most updated poster i've made because i find the previous copy quite "crappy". i'm seriously not sure what nice phrases can be used to link piracy and the fist together. so hopefully, somebody will be nice to help me out with this. thank you so much. =)


the final poster that i'm planning to submit:

there are a couple of changes from the last poster:

1. missing laptops: since i'm planning to focus on just pirated cds, i'll keep to my cds and "discard" the uploading/downloading idea.

2. the copy: as mentioned, i will change the heading and the body copy. i wanted to make the words simple and outstanding. i thought that by using slang may somehow catch attention and it is rather in a local context. it says: "you cheapo! stop piracy, stop starving your favorite idol, stop being such a cheapskate."

3. copy color: i've decided to make it red because it capture attention (again). i thought red goes well with black background. it stands out but not so much that it is "separated from the background"

as compared to the draft, it is much more simpler. there are lesser items in the poster and reduce messiness. there are lesser items to clutter the poster and have more spaces. hopefully, there will be more comments whether is it an improvement from the previous one.

Save This/That: Draft

the fifth tutorial (12/03):

oh, if you're sensitive to the dates, by now i guess you've realised that the date is on a Wednesday, instead of the usual Tuesday. due to some unforeseen circumstances, i can't make it for my usual tutorial slot so i went to a Wednesday morning class as a make-up.



this is what i'd presented to the class. basically, the idea was PIRACY (i hope you can see that..haha..). the message that i wanted to appeal to people was to stop (demonstrated by the fist) piracy and buy original; also stop sharing files. as for the heading, i was finding a word to link the whole idea of piracy and fist. to be honest, i could not find that one word and the body copy was just a rough idea.

comments from the class:
1. mixture of concepts because piracy is one issue and downloading is another issue. it is hard to portray both concepts out.
- actually, it is quite true. as in when i was designing, i was so much into thinking what to put in and neglect what does piracy really mean. thus, i'm planning to change to either anti-piracy or stop illegal downloading.

2. the words cannot be seen because of the background. i've to admit that i've tried using a contrasting color. However, it stood out so much that it seemed to me that it was two different entities.
- in my final changes, i'll take note of it and may be i'll try to play with other colors so that the words do not stand out but also on the other hand, not to the extent of blending into the background. of course, i'll change the words because it is really meaningless.

3. besides that, i think my motion blur was not very well done. i felt that it was more like the hand sprinkled some flakes rather than breaking the cds. so hopefully, someone will help me with the effects and answer to my call for help..

one thing that i should mention is that i want to give credits to my father for participating enthusiastically in this project. i really like the idea that the fist break the pirated cds..hee..and so glad that he is involved =)

Assignment 3: U C What I C

after two weeks, i finally finished this assignment.

oh yeah, the man in the picture is my father (*wink) cool huh, he didn't reject my request when i asked him to be my model. he was super sporting and cooperative when i asked him to do such action. though he was kind of camera shy initially, he still managed to hold his laughter and froze there till i snapped the picture. my mother and sister had a great laugh when my father was "modelling".

U C What I C: Draft

the fourth tutorial (04/03):

this is what i had presented in class.

oh well, the story goes like this:
"i was crying bitterly over something and i had the "intentions to commit suicide". thus, the stool and rope. instead of the rope, a fishing net was of better use. the story ends with the fact that i was actually trying to fish out my dead fish and i was sad because of the dead goldfish."

my classmates commented that:

1. the first two frames should be removed because the 3rd frame already depicted my sadness. they also mentioned that if i insisted on putting up the first two, i should use either the fish tank as a background instead of facing it.

i agreed to what they said because personally, i felt the first two frames were quite out of place. the initial idea was that i was so sad over something and i happened to cry in front of the fish tank and lean against it. however, i guess it was rather hard to portray that out.

i guess i will remove the first two frames to create more curiousity and re-take the 3rd frame from the top. as mentioned in class, this might portray a different feeling than just taking it at eye level.

2. i should not use 'cross' or 'tick' to convey the message that the fishing net was of better use than the rope.

i also have to agree to it. one of them suggested that i should ask my mother or sister to show me that the fishing net is better than the rope. again, the initial idea was that i wanted to capture a hand throwing the rope away. however, it was quite difficult to capture that moment. so i was thought of "crossing" the rope.

i plan to remove the two frames and change them to something like probably my sister taking the rope away and frowning at my silliness to fish out a dead fish with a rope. in the next frame, she will pass me a fishing net while i stand on the stool.

that's about it. the next post will be a final copy of this assignment.