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# Project Description When He Was Here Ruiyi Zhou Summary Final work College School of Pre-Degree Studies Course Pre-degree: Online Graduation year 2025 This project about “Utopia” was a very personal journey for me. At first, I thought utopia was just a perfect world—no pain, no arguments, only happiness. But during my process, I realized that utopia can also be something small and fragile, something from our real life and memories. My inspiration came from my childhood memories of my grandparents. In my eyes, their relationship was so good, and at that time, it felt rare and special. My grandma didn’t need to do any housework. Her life looked like a utopia. But when I was very young, my grandpa passed away. After that, my grandma had to take care of everything. It felt like the utopia was broken. I interviewed my grandma and took photos of meaningful objects in her home. I also read her diaries—she has written them since my grandpa died. I spent three hours reading them. It was the first time I really understood her emotions. She never said she was lonely or sad, but her words had a quiet kind of pain and strength. In my design, I used fabric, hand-stitching, and embroidery. These materials are soft and delicate, just like memories. I chose organza fabric because it looks beautiful but is easy to tear. This helped me show how fragile utopia can be. I also made visual experiments using the two keywords I found in my research: “fragile” and “memory.” I created collages and paintings to test fabric effects. In the end, I made a book using my grandma’s name on the cover. I designed it with photos and short texts, in time order. I translated the important parts into English. I used thread binding, and chose thick organza for the final print. I also embroidered her name by hand. Through this project, I learned that design is not only about looking good—it can also express feelings. For me, utopia is not something perfect forever. It’s those moments we want to protect, remember, and treasure, even if they are small and temporary. Final work When He Was Here cover Share this project This project about “Utopia” was a very personal journey for me. At first, I thought utopia was just a perfect world—no pain, no arguments, only happiness. But during my process, I realized that utopia can also be something small and fragile, something from our real life and me... A link to this page has been added to your clipboard Browse related work Realities GraphicDesign BookBinding
# Links ## Official page - https://ualshowcase.arts.ac.uk/project/621376/cover ## External - https://www.instagram.com/Evelyn RY - mailto:r.zhou0220241@arts.ac.uk - https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fualshowcase.arts.ac.uk%2Fproject%2F621376%2Fcover&text=When+He+Was+Here - https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fualshowcase.arts.ac.uk%2Fproject%2F621376%2Fcover&media=https%3A%2F%2Fportfolio-tools.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F05%2F12161002%2FIMG_0427.jpg&description=When+He+Was+Here