Julia Qian Huang,

Designer, art educator, learner

Day 11th April

Colourful blacks, multicoloured whites, mysterious and noble;  these seemingly non-sensical descriptions have shaped my desire to produce artworks during my twelve years of graphic design education and professional practice. My practice based research reflects on the conventions of my education where I was taught to produce eye-catching and ‘trending’ work, on screen, using pre-existing fonts and at a certain scale.

In ‘Art as Experience’ (1937), John Dewey identified the issue of excessive veneration towards any single form of artistic expression. Dewey argued for the importance of experiential learning in shaping individuals, promoting new insights and making connections between art and life.

Following Dewey, I have worked outside of the usual boundaries of graphic design to embark on an exploration of the smallest unit of time - the second. Placing every mundane moment of my daily life under a microscope and transforming them into giant poetry I have developed my own font to highlight art in everyday experiences. Rising from bed, donning clothes, washing up, consuming breakfast, taking a nap... I am interested in exploring sameness and differences in day-to-day life, and working beyond disciplinary boundaries. Starting from this moment, you are invited to pay attention to the mundane in your own daily experience.