Research & Publish: On Process, Reflection, and Finding My Own Rhythm

This Research & Publish project turned into a space where I could pause, document, and understand what kind of designer I am becoming. I didn’t start with a clear structure. At first, everything felt messy. I had blog posts here, sketches there, and too many thoughts floating in my head. But when I decided to make three separate books, something clicked. Each volume had its own logic, its own mood, and its own language. Putting them side by side helped me see how different parts of my practice speak to each other — and how reflection is just as important as making.

Vol. 01 — Source / Gather is where everything began. I collected articles, wrote reflections, and let the readings shape my thinking. Most of the articles I found somewhat relates to the projects I am doing. By writing back to them in my own way, I could slowly feel my design values starting to form.

Vol. 02 — Noise / Form was probably the most personal and chaotic to make. It’s full of raw process: sketches, Figma screenshots, failed ideas, blog entries, and emotional notes. I added pink smaller pages to hold my blog reflections, because they felt like soft interruptions — like internal voices that spoke during the chaos of making. This volume taught me that process isn’t something to hide. It’s something to celebrate.

Vol. 03 — Output / Echo holds the final forms. It’s clean, simple, full of photographs and scans. But even here, I didn’t want it to be only about the results. So I added a short “echo” after each project — just a few lines to remember what stayed with me, what I learned, or what I still wonder about. These echoes also worked as a little break in between projects.

Design is often seen as a series of outcomes, but this semester reminded me that documentation is also a kind of design. Writing, organizing, archiving — all of these are choices. And the way I chose to document myself this semester says as much about me as the projects I made.

Finally, I used a transparent acrylic box to hold all three volumes together. I have also created labels on both the box and each of the books to give an idea of them being a whole archive — a container for a time in my life where I was figuring things out, making things, breaking things, and writing through all of it. It says: I was here. This is what it looked like. And now, I move forward — with more questions, but also more clarity.

Projects Featured in the Reserch & Publish Archive Box (Top Left)