#IEW2019 with…Siyu Xue
International Education Week in the Faculty of Arts
Going Abroad with Siyu Xue
November 18–22 is International Education Week, which is celebrated in over 100 countries around the globe. During this week, we will be highlighting stories from students (and the Dean of Arts, Lesley Cormack!) who have gone abroad as part of their program in the Faculty of Arts.
Meet Siyu Xue, student in the BDes in Art & Design program.
During this past winter reading week, I went on the design studies Europe trip with my schoolmates and professor. We visited three different design cities: Amsterdam, Brussels and London. It was really a memorable and meaningful experience for me, both as a design student and as an individual.
We spent three days in our first city, Amsterdam. The day we arrived I felt the unique charm of this cycling city. On the roads, by the canals, in the central squares, you can find bicycles almost everywhere. We visited two design studios in Amsterdam. Droog is an interesting product design company and LTS has excellent print designs. We also visited Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Van Gogh museum. Seeing what used to live only in my art history books (like De Stiji chair, Malevich and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers) now appearing in front of me was amazing!
Brussels’ color is bright. The sun, the graffiti on buildings, and smiles on peoples’ faces, all the things in this city give you a sense of warmth. We visited three studios in this city. Base studio is a fun branding design company. I was really interested in their corporate culture. Studio Otamendi features on publication design. I think beautiful is the most suitable word for the books they designed. It was a precious chance for me as an graphic design student to see all these outstanding design works.
Last stop London. London has always been my favorite city but I never had a chance to go. This time I finally made it.
London is cold and windy. The city has a different cold feeling from Edmonton. Honestly I might say I love our weather more, at least we have sunshine.
But London is truly a moving feast with flourishing culture and diversified society. There are tons of museums and galleries all over the big city. We went to Tate Modern and the Design Museum to explore both art and design and the culture behind them. The two design studios we visited in London focus on branding and advertising. Compared with the studios we visited before, these two feel more modern and digital. London is such a vivid city with all these creative brains and cool designs.
I remember how in London it began to snow as we were leaving.
The three cities have different personalities, but all left us with some good or fun stories. Or rather, we created stories with these cities together.
During the days, we became friends with each other and went to explore the fun places together. It was really an eye-opening trip.
The nine-day field trip was fast, but I gained a lot, and at the same time, grew a lot. Thanks to meeting with designers and visiting all the cultural places, I feel more confident and ambitious about my current and future studies here at the U of A, and have more ideas for my future work and collaboration.
Check out our amazing Study Abroad programs here!
