On Friday, March 15th we went to the British Museum and saw a postcard show called, “The World Exists to Be Put on a Postcard” and there was postcards from 1960 to Now. They were all very interesting and I like how they were set up in different sections. My favorite section was the one titled ‘Graphic Postcards’ because it had simple designs on the postcards, and many of them included type in there designs. My favorite one was titled, ‘Italian Lesson’ and it was by Erica Van Horn the postcard just says ‘In Italy One is Only Allowed Eleven Words Per Post Card’ in a green sans serif. I really liked this postcard because it used type in a clean way but it also use the amount of words and the context of the words in a really cool way. The postcards in Italy are only allowed 11 words and her postcard only uses 11 words while explaining that rule too. The show overall was really interesting because I collect postcard wherever I go so seeing all these artists use postcards a quick and easy medium was really cool and inspiring to see.
On Thursday, March 14th we had our free day! I used it traveling all over London to see all the things I’ve wanted to. The tube is so easy to use that it was really quick to get to all the places. I started my day walking to the Tower of London, which is right next to our hotel. The battlements and tower were amazing to see because we have nothing like this in the United States. Everything reminded me of Game of Thrones because the show is based off English Casltes and history. Then we travelled to Abbey Road to see where The Beatles recorded there first album. It was amazing to see this because I’ve been raised as a Beatles fan ever since I was born, my family loves them and so do I! 
Then we went to see platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross station where Harry Potter starts into the wizarding world. My brother loves the books so I had to see it for him. Then we made our way to Buckingham Palace, which I was really looking forward to seeing because I love the Royal Family, it was so neat to see the gate and the changing of the guard. The guards were wearing grey which is there winter clothes which is much different then there bright red summer outfits. After this we walked to Westminister Abbey and it was so amazing, it’s such a pretty feat of architecture. I love the flying buttresses and all the windows, it was so pretty. My free day was filled with history and my favorite things, London is just as great as I thought it’d be!
On Monday, March 11th, We went to Kew Gardens and it was a beautiful garden full of many many plants and beautiful galleries but the only way finding that was good was the layout of the map and the few signs around the area but my main issue of finding my way around was that there was so many paths and walkways that I didn’t know which to take. If they were labeled by specific names or numbers or letters it would help. If the map had the label on the pathway and then the road or path could have a sign every couple feet or even painted nicely on the pathway it would help immensely to aid people figuring out where to go. That’s just one way finding issue i’ve had so far in London. The tube is a great way finding system and one of the easiest public transportation methods I’ve ever used. So it’s easy to compare that to everything else because it’s so good.
On Wednesday, March 13th, We went to the Tate Modern, The National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery. The Tate Modern was really cool to see in real life after learning about all the installations. I really liked the Jenny Holzer’s piece about provoking strong responses. It had a lot of interesting quotes that really made me think. At the National Portrait Gallery I really liked the portraits of Henry VIII and Anne Boelyn and Queen Elizabeth I. My ancestry goes back to them so it was cool to see. In the National Gallery I really liked seeing Leonardo Da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks and some of his sketches next to it. His way of painting is like no other painter it’s really amazing. Overall these past few days have been really interesting with seeing all this really thought provoking art.
On Tuesday, March 12th we visited The Design Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum, and The Natural History Museum. My favorite part of the Design Museum was the section on Design And Business and how a brand is what makes these companies so great and famous. It talked about Braun, Sony, and Apple which have all changed immensely over the years. These companies use Design as the foundation of their businesses. Sony discusses how they had to change not only there technology but how things are used for different purposes now like phone and computers. Braun has Ofocused from the start that they are near perfect and there items will always work which is. A great thing to hear for house hold items. Apple talks about how they spanned the gap between what technology can do and what people wanted it to. All of these companies have really strong brands that are super interesting because it really does effect the success of there company.
love the story of Judith and how she killed Holofernes and all of the paintings of it but this sculpture was very interesting because I’ve never seen Judith standing over Holofernes and dressed in armour, which is a pretty cool image. The sculpture also is to represent Italy, and Florence overcoming tyranny. Which is a badass way to show that. I also noticed some other sculptures by Alfred Stevens which were representing Valor taking over Cowardice and Truth silencing Falsehood, but both Valor and Truth were women slaying the men. This made me think of how all of these sculptures show women as traits that everyone should have, even Judith becoming the overthrowing of tyranny is a great message. I like how these women are shown so powerful.
On Sunday, March 10th we went to the Transportation Museum and there happened to be a poster show of artists portraying a story that revolves around London, fiction or reality. It was very interesting to read all the stories of London and random legends that came with the posters. One poster was of a lone woman at a tube stop and when you read more into the poster you found out she was a ghost, and that there was a legend about a blonde ghost at the tube stop. Another poster was just a simple image of a couple sharing a moment on the London Eye and I thought that was an interesting way to see a story, such a small one but meaningful to that couple. My favorite poster was called, ‘Old Father Thames’ by Alex Hovey and it shows Old Father Thames and his daughters in London. I really liked this poster because it’s all one color in different shades. It looks like a very intricate pencil drawing and that really brought me closer to the piece. I also liked the historical and mythology side of it too. In the caption it says the poster is based off a poem called ‘The River’s Tale’ and the song ‘Old Father Thames’. In the song it says “Kingdoms my come, kingdoms may go Whatever the end may be Old Father Thames keeps rolling along Down to the mighty sea” which seems to match the poster because he is definitely rolling down the Thames. The poem is also about the hearty people of London and how many people have taken over and how they have always been around just like the Thames. I just really liked this poster because of the historical and whimsical design and the mythological aspect just made it that much more interesting. So far my time in London has been amazing and I look forward to exploring more museums and way finding systems in the future week.