Reflection Blog #5- The Creative Culmination

This is the second subject I took which is the same as to my undergraduate subject called "HUMAART" or Human Art Appreciation. Pretty similar but Creativity's more advanced than the previous one.

I never thought that this is too fun-filled because of being a frosh in the M.A ranks, I thought it was kind of a serious seminar, but it isnt.

Having a "bagets" professor at the same time "wacky" classmates, it was so fun that half of the section became part of my perks.

The subject was gradual and didn't rush a single topic. It let us nourish and chew every information that is given. No matter how many suspension we had, it didn't stop a single person from learning the different various creative processes.

What I like most about this subject is that, it let me do what I wanted to do. For example this blog account, I never had in my entire life a single blog, I never wanted to, I never appreciated it, til it became a requirement. But the thing is, the appreciation's still there, and it sinks in to my heart that as a Masters student I really have to have this, of course because of the advanced and the never-ending trend of new media.

Secondly's that, it let me do what I wanted to do, like my style in doing such works. This subject respected my habit in solving problems. My traditional working ethic was retained hence it was improved through the additional ad-ons of the theories introduced in class.

Because of all of that my mind expanded, as a product, I had my self entitled album plus the creative pitch idea of having a five star Philippine Airport. First, during the presentation, this was the project that I've been thinking of, for 2 years, and finally through this subject I had the opportunity and luxury to produce my own album, which is quite funny. Secondly, in choosing the right groupmates, it will enable you to think and participate properly, for you to produce an infinite number of ideas while of course the quality's retained. The group thing was done during the final meeting, where we're the only group who had costumes. :)

In the end, I will forever feel grateful of having a cool professor and as well as to my awesome "CREATIVE" wiz classmates.

Reflection Blog #4- Algebraic Human Mind (Re-Posted)

(Due to error, I posted this last October 4, 2012- sadly it hadn't been published, maybe because of internet errors in the Library). Luckily it was saved in the drafts.

Here's the blog - ENJOY! :)

After a long road of discussions about creativity, the culmination from the long road to being a creative individual has just started.


As previously discussed in class, the last two concepts are the most important topic in doing problem solving as to the Course title of COM 207.3 "Creativity and Problem Solving".

Back to basics of how a problem is treated; each and every individual should work hand in hand to follow each steps of problem solving correctly. Based from my own experiences, mind maps and outlining in making a solution to a problem's the first thing a person should do. As taught in Algebra back in highschool the teacher always say "Let X = ?" which symbolizes that for every problem there's a solution. The only exception's if you're an extremist, like you're swimming in a world of infinity pools. But as time goes by the answer's always at the end, unless you use transposition of polarity and vice versa, you'll still lead to a single individual answer.



In doing this since high school which I encountered a lot of problem solving not only in my Math homeworks but also in life and in various aspects of life. What attracted me the most was there's a discussion about mind mapping. At first I thought it was just an instinct of every human being but then there's more than that. Actually I was amazed when some experts study this kinds of stuffs, in which the instinct turns into an academic topic.

A lot of people use mind mapping, but as far as I could recall only gradeschool students use it. Back in college when being asked to think of a problem, particularly during thesis writing, it is always been from specific to general which is right, but then it is endless and it consumes a lot of time. Thus introduced the other way around or the concept of general to specific which makes a task easier than ever. It's just crazy when you think of it, but I agree in the contrary that mind mapping is a helpful tool in solving a problem or maybe prior to that.

Another topic which struck me was the idea generation, of course for me brainstorming's important, but giving a more serious thought of it makes it a little kinda weird and maybe you could call it as a career. There's this points which is a criteria of how many things you could contribute to a given problem, but here in M.A it means a lot. Back to the times where in doing home-works  I used to go with my friends, play before thinking, and maybe party before working, and seriously it works for me!

Lastly, for me it really depends to the person if he or she does their preferred idea generation, well there's no rule for it but then, if you apply the stuffs discussed and which I tackled, it could be more organized and convenient but everybody has their own style.

Reflection Blog #3- The Creative State of Mind

After the never ceasing monsoon wind that made suspension of classes plus some events in school, finally we finally got to continue our lecture about creativity.

Of course after the discussion ideas flew all over my head and thought of doing something creative. Many of us Filipinos consider a work creative through various considerations: first if you’re too young and you made an unexceptional work like drawing stupid lines of course your parents would be proud and will say like “Aww.. My child’s such a genius, maybe one day he’ll be an artist” and I’m “okay?? Second if you’re fond of painting abstract that only you could understand and pretenders would say “You’re so creative, I’d never thought of such beautiful painting as you do, blah blah I felt your emotion” and I’m like “seriously?”, the third is when some intelligent Filipinos see the real creativity and it matched the things discussed in class. There are three elements of creativity according to Robinson; first imaginativeness, originality, and making something relevant. And this is really the qualifications of creativity, not some kind of plastic expression to certain made things.

It’s just for me though, through the years coming from the college of liberal arts I’ve seen a lot of undoubtedly creative stuffs, and coming back to the elements of creative things should possess, things I’ve seen matches to what Robinson enumerated.

We also tackled certain disciplines tackling psychology; these are things that enable a person’s creativity or to where he or she gets maybe inherit his or her creativity. Like the Japanese their state of mind is absolutely unbelievable, but then there are certain extremes showed in class that makes them somewhat stupid alsoJ.  Our prof also made a comparison, while the Westerners conjoining the Americans and the Europeans with their fission system, the Japanese alone had their fusion. That’s why I’m wondering after class, how brilliant Japanese are. They didn’t invent a lot of things but then when it comes to market and sales they’re unbelievable. Japanese make things more useful than ever. Also having their hybrid technological idea makes their minds the empire state.

How come Filipinos don’t have this? Of course we do. Having such examples of the fluorescent lamps which the government did not support, LPG gas, water diesel, and a lot more. Maybe we are inventive but ain’t creative. We don’t know how to manage things that’s why our ideas are being stolen from us. Only scientists maybe are creative, but hands down to the Japanese in all aspects, yes they are the henyos, because of their Mandala, which is their process of gaining ideas.

Reflection Blog #2- Left and Right Brain

                           Miah's P.O.V: MY BRAIN'S QUADRANT
                                   by: Miah Lacap

Through my 19 years of existence, I've been wondering on which field I'm better, torn between Business course- which involves Mathematics or Liberal Arts- which tackles social sciences, communication, and leaning towards the spatial intelligence.

At first it appeared very unusual and at the same time I became excited, eager, and tantalized my brain to know of its use.

As we went through the discussions of the human brain and its work, for three weeks straight I'm reflecting on myself of to which side of the brain my attitude, character, study habit, and everything else I do belongs? Is it on the left or right?

The definitions were have been given through the sets of readings about the brain, one the "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards and a chapter entitled "The Four Quadrant Brain Model of Thinking Preferences", and one power point prepared by Sir Beaver Flores.

Honestly, I was amused by on how did scientists learned on which side to designate such kinds of thinking like if you're too old school or traditional- more on logic and the visual thinking, photographic memory, imagery and etc. However, if you look at it, it may appear too simple and might probably say "eeh of course two oppositely obviously different kinds of thinking, common sense", but no! It's not that easy, many scholars researched and studied at it and clearly had gone through different kinds of scientific experiments that would prove them right on the brain's function.

Our brain is counted as one when you look at the picture of the human organs, amazingly it is divided into two (but uhm there's more!) as we went through the discussions, it is actually divided into four, just like the Cartesian plain designed by Rene Descartes. So it's not only the halve of Logical and the Visual mind, which is also known as the Left and Right hemisphere of the brain or the,  but there came the equator-ish line that distinguished the cerebral (upper hemisphere of the brain) and the limbic (lower hemisphere) that comprised of the:

 Logical on quadrant I, Organized thinking on quadrant II, Interpersonal on quadrant III, and the Holistic thinking on quadrant IV; which is described by Ned Hermann on his brain model.

After knowing all of these, to which do I really belong? We had this survey that is some kind of an activity to know unto which brain do we fall. Wherein there are a group of items that belong to each of the quadrants I've mentioned, and you have to score if it applies on yourself or if you see yourself on that description. Happily my result of that activity seemed to be equally distributed, but I got the highest score on quadrant II, but then the other quadrant were as close as to the highest (just a point or two difference). Because I believe I really fall under quadrant III or primarily on the right side wherein my Father always give a sermon about my time management, and as I learned from this topic about the brain, my brain's more of the right side of thinking because right BRAIN THINKERS aren't aware of the time MOST of the TIME. It may appear redundant but real-talk it's true and I admit it. :) 

I also believe that when I reflected on myself during our retreat before I graduated last month, I am more of an interpersonal person, emotional, and sports oriented. And... oh yeah, I graduated from the College of Liberal Arts from my former school De La Salle University which really proves that I'm destined to be a right brain thinker. :)

PS: Also add the fact that I'm in Ateneo taking up M.A in Communication Arts which falls under the field of Social Sciences. :)

Reflection Blog #1- Objectified COM 207.3

"Miah's P.O.V: The Global Design"
by: Miah Lacap



As time passes by, things around us change and evolve every second in a blink of an eye. It seems that the world revolves faster and faster that every generation is imprinted on film strips and is played 32x as the speed of pressing the forward key on a DVD remote control.

Going through the details of every object that exist of course we tend to look on to the general or what we call the outside view, hence every thing is consumed while we don't even understand why is it made like this and like that. As I watched the documentary film about objects entitled Objectified by Gary Hustwit, I would start with a conclusion that in the global society that wherein everything is standardized and on this moment of our life we're on the futuristic global culture.

Designs on a certain objects nowadays which I agree on to what Davin Stowell CEO and Founder of Smart Design, (this might not be the exact words but..) objects nowadays are designed for people's capability and for his or her own convenience.

 It is funny that for every small detail of an object, no matter how tiny it is, it makes a very large sense, just for example Andrew Blauvett a curator and a designer showed how a simple toothpick has its own usage and indications. First the newly designed toothpick is built of course for its natural use to pick up residues or dirt-ish substance that is stacked on our teeth gaps, second if you'll place it somewhere while you'll multitask you could break the end tip of it (as shown on the picture beside) and if you wanna use it and you want to retain is cleanliness, third breaking of the end tip is also an indication that it is used.

Designs nowadays is the message to the people saying that our world is innovating and embracing advancements. Of course for each and every person things that we use projects our own image in the society we're into. With the image it is equivalent to our identity, and it falls down to which social class we belong. Design is everything, everywhere, though it is obscure to a wider sense, without it we are just plain human beings who live on a plain world, and it is boring.


Different factors such as Technological Revolution that contributes to make our global society one in an image to make a difference that we could avoid separation from the others. And putting it on our country's context we tend to remain on our old style, well a few people or designers tried to re-innovate our own products such as barong and saya to a modern futuristic style, but it is a minority, while we settle on an old fashioned lifestyle and not going with the flow of this Digital Era (speaking in all aspects where design is applicable).

As we see Europe nowadays is united, also America, through different aspects such as sports, economic standpoints, architecture, and etc. While the other continents such as Asia's having this tiny or a little spots that binds each country including Philippines that we could probably say it is a worth of embracing innovation like mega structures, music, socialization, and etc.

With it, I also realized upon watching the film that at the most raw sense of having a design to distinguish a particular culture, society, or maybe even a country from another of its own counterpart is vastly growing and developing to which I said on my conclusion that we're like an image color adjustment wherein as you drag the cursor to the left it brings our different cultures together through this globalization bridge that connects us and bringing us to the future of unity. Such as according to Dieter Rams a Former Design Director said that Design in particular is an architecture, advertisement, innovative, aesthetic, long lived, and consistent. Design shapes our individuality and the way we show our character towards other people, and our uniqueness. And if everyone has lived with it every person would stand off and appear gorgeous, pretty, and unique as in the bird's eye view we're as one global society living together on a pedestal where through global change we agreed to take a leap of having an innovative style and culture.


Design is everywhere and it is to objectify all objects in an everyday basis as we go beyond the future of global society, which we may say or today that we're having this GLOBAL DESIGN on our lives.