Task 6 - Theory Into Practice

Below is the post from Gary Barker's blog which I will use to analyse the animation I produced for the OUGD202 module.

http://graphicdesigncontextualstudies.blogspot.com/2010/11/reflections-on-first-lecture.html




Gary Barker mentions in his post that from one of the key texts this year, Malcolm Barnard argues that all graphic design is centred on communication. And it's hard to disagree since the ability of a piece of work to speak to the desired audience is imperative as this will define the success of what is being promoted for example.
In the capitalist western culture we live in, we are perpetually deluged with companies vying for our attention; whether it be when we walk down the street or sat at home watching the television. In order to communicate what is needed in the little time we often have, this situation can lead to a simplification of social and cultural identities so that they become easier to for people to digest in a short blast.
In my animation above, I have relied heavily upon highly recognisable and stereotypical imagery, typography and sound in order to communicate a recognisable image of Japan. A delicate colour palette and gentle oriental music set the overall design direction which is then applied consistently across typefaces and illustrations which make up the main content of the piece. The typeface that 'TOKYO' appears in at the start and end is a vectorised version of hand drawn letterforms. I chose this method as I didn't want to use a grossly stereotyped Japanese style font, falsely scrawled in an imaginary ink brush pen. Instead I wanted to use something more simplistic but incorporated hints of recognisable oriental elements so as not to look out of place in the context of the video. Imagery of well known Japanese icons are also included such as Mt.Fuji, the Bullet Train, Cherry Blossoms and the modern Tokyo skyline that should mean the overall subject is easier to convey to a fleeting glance of the animation on a television screen

Task 5 - Sustainability and Capitalism

Sustainability is essentially defined as a response to an environmental crisis. Balser says that it is an
"inter and intra-generational equity on the social, environmental, economic, moral and political spheres of society."(Balser, E (2008) 'Capital Accumulation, Sustainability & Hamilton Ontario')
Thus, it is a subject that crosses many boundaries as it can potentially impact upon all aspects of our lives. So then, it should be something that everybody takes an interest in as we have a duty to act in a responsible way to ensure that ourselves and future generations are able to meet our own and their needs respectively. Sustainability is also explained as, ideologically, 'a communal concept'. However, in the modern age it has become centred around the conscious decision of the individual  along with their ability to access the supposedly appropriate environmental technology.
Capitalism has moved to cover the recent ethical hysteria ever since sustainability became an environmental buzzword. The capitalist culture is a perpetually expanding, capital absorbing cycle that obsessively searches for new things to commodify for the masses.
"It's a diverse web that is continuously expanding and trapping things . These crises can vary in size, expression and materialisation."(Balser, E (2008) 'Capital Accumulation, Sustainability & Hamilton Ontario')
Crises present themselves - regardless of scale or subject - as opportunities for capitalism to offer people temporary escape routes from the problems they are informed about. Every crisis is a chance for capitalism to reinvent itself and thrust upon the consumer a new product or service that will enable them to buy their way out of distress. A crisis of capitalism occurs with change, since when a production route is first invested in, it then develops through different stages and into financial expansion which requires further commodities to sell and thus, starts the cycle all over again. This is how capitalism continuously supplies itself.
One example of an attempted solution discussed within the text is one of the BIOX bio diesel production plant in Ontario, Canada. Another one is that of the Toyota Prius; one of the world's best-selling hybrid cars. Perhaps due to the Prius being one of the first of it's kind to enter the mainstream market, it has now earned a reputation through nostalgia as being one of the most environmentally friendly cars. When advertising a car, one of the consistently promoted features is the vehicles' fuel consumption rate - if it is attractive! But actually it's one one the last factors to be considered when measuring the environmental impact of the car.

"It's actually the production of the car that matters. The raw materials' sources, the manufacturing effort, and the shipping costs all have an impact on the environment. And apparently, those of the Toyota Prius are not having a positive impact."(http://hubpages.com/hub/Prius)

Components of the Prius that are mined, refined, manufactured and transported end up swelling the overall environmental costs of the car. However, a low gas consumption per mile gives an attractive headline whilst it is something more tangible for the audience to digest. The example of the Prius sits comfortably within the description of sustainability being driven by the individual and technology. Toyota are essentially offering a solution of peace of mind to the consumer that can be bought in the form of this particular vehicle and continues to feed the capitalism cycle. This sentiment is well defined by Victor Papanek - "most things are not designed for the people, but for the needs of the manufacturers to sell to the people" (1983, pg.46)
Theoretically, almost anything could be skewed in a manner to become compatible with capitalism, as that is the way it manages to commodify things, accumulate capital and ultimately supply itself.  In truth, commodities promoted under the sustainable concept  banner are fundamentally flawed since, as soon as new technologies or different crises emerge, a new product or service will float onto the market that is designed to attract the gaze of the consumer making decisions with too little information and too much emotion.

Task 4 - Communication Theory

For the purpose of this communication theory exercise I will be analysing a front cover of IdN (International Designers Network) magazine, a graphic design periodical that is designed and published in Hong Kong.

(IdN Volume 15 Number 6 2008/2009, the visual identity issue: retail desire)

The simplest way to start analysing the communication theory behind IdN magazine is probably by first looking at Laswell's maxim - "Who says what in what channel to whom with what effect?" - IdN magazine presents certain topics and areas of interest within the graphic design field through it's bi-monthly publication to it's readers, with the effect of informing them of news and trends within the industry.

IdN magazine covers traditionally vary wildly issue to issue due to the design of each one being constructed from content of that particular edition which decreases it's predictability. At the same time however, this signifies that they are in a certain way always identifiable through being packed with overflowing type and image that appears to stretch beyond the boundaries of the page with just the IdN logo being the sole element to occur in the same location every time. The edition above is no different and encapsulates what the magazine is all about.

In attempting to break down the levels of communication within this example, I feel it could be said that the IdN cover has indications of both redundancy and entropy that actually work together cohesively. It speaks in a manner perfectly suited to the intended audience, as, in amongst the abundance of visual elements, all the necessary information and semantic language is not too difficult to pick out but it is presented in a beautifully creative way. On the contrary, it's unconventional layout, organisation and production means the publication becomes more entropic. For example, information that leaks out in the form of written text printed in clear varnish or metallic ink may be lost on an eye that is unfamiliar to the magazine compared to those who know how and where to look for it. The sheer volume of predominantly visual but also written information could be defined as noise but yet at the same time they are essential components that are needed to communicate with the graphic design community it aims at. These components are in-fact redundant in the sense that they explicitly show actual content from the issue, albeit in a more abstract fashion than how it appears within a spread inside the magazine. 

Essentially, the covers of IdN are quite contradictory and unusual to analyse from a communication theory sense as they present several layers of readability depending on your knowledge and understanding of graphic design.

Task 3 - Essay Ideas

I'd like to base my essay around themes from the second lecture : Critical positions on the media and pop culture as this is the one I enjoyed the most and felt passionate about. In particular, I really liked the message concerning how we are 'limited by the society we are born into'.

When thinking about how this theme could be linked more directly to specific areas of design I could look at government campaigns, mass media organisations and also advertising, as these are just a few examples of huge influences on a modern society that have the ability to control and limit us.

Need to research into these areas to see which interests me the most.

Task 2 - Popular Music

Theodor Adorno's judgement on popular music was centred around what he claimed was
"the fundamental characteristic of popular music: standardisation" (Adorno, T, 1941, 'On popular music', Studies in Philosophy and Social Science :73)
Lady Gaga has established herself on the global music stage at an unprecedented rate over the last couple of years. She is identified through being distinctly unique, particularly in terms of her dress and performance styles. You could think therefore that Lady Gaga's individuality would have been applauded by somebody of Adorno's viewpoint. However, once you strip away the outlandish characteristics of her personality, her music is not vastly different to that of other pop stars; in terms of its structure, its sounds and also its subject - romance. These are all elements Adorno identified as necessary to fulfilling what the listener is led to believe they want to hear.
"The composition hears for the listener" (Adorno, T, 1941, 'On popular music', Studies in Philosophy and Social Science :77)
So then it could be said that Lady Gaga has built a bridge perfectly between being highly individual and appealing to the mainstream. All of this has subsequently led to her 'Bad Romance' video receiving over 314 million views on Youtube and her becoming one of the most famous people in the world. She also holds the claim of having the most Facebook fans and Twitter followers and so it could be argued that popular music fans are conforming behind her pseudo-individuality.

Task 1 - Panopticism in modern society

Panopticism is a social theory developed by French philosopher Michel Foucault and is based around the relationship between power, knowledge and the body. One element of how this theory could be applied to today’s society is through the subject of security in public places.

“The plague that gave rise to disciplinary projects” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 62)

The high profile terrorist activities of recent times have captured global attention upon their occurrence due to their high impact and explicitly visual nature. These terrible acts have doubled as a plague that has rapidly escalated security measures, providing governments with all the reason they need to implement such procedures.

“Two ways of exercising power over men, of controlling their relations, of separating out their dangerous mixtures” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 62)

Introducing such procedures allows governments to analyse each and every docile body, with a possibility to build a profile detailing a vast amount of personal information. What information is or isn’t collected is not known. We are not supposed to know. But we are told for our own safety that this is the way things have to be done.

“He is seen, but he does not see; he is the object of information, never a subject in communication” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 65)

Increased security and hi-tech surveillance are sold to us as appropriate steps to take in order to navigate any future threat to our society. Many of these security measures are now becoming so ingrained in everyday life that we it could be said we are oblivious to them and we do not question their existence. Infact it is probably quite the opposite, particularly at airports where the security is much more visible and noticeable. We tend to be very aware of our surroundings and subsequently are self-regulatory to how we feel we should act in this situation

“This surveillance is based upon a system of permanent registration” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 61)

Through a variety of measures such as closed circuit television, body scanners and numerous methods of identification we could be easily located and detected if the need was there. The government promotes theses processes as to be of benefit to us and for the sole purpose of maintaining our personal security, which could well be truthful, but at what stage will there be a cut-off point? When do these panoptic ways start to become an invasion of our privacy?

“It does not matter what motive animates him” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 66)

A strange and uncomfortable factor of this situation is that essentially we are all treated the same. Almost as if we are guilty until proven innocent. An everyday commuter or holidaymaker subjected to the same regulations as a would-be-terrorist.