Unravel by Ally Frame

Ally Frame

U N • R AV • E L [ Ən’ravƏl] VERB 1. undo (twisted, knitted, or woven threads) 2. investigate and solve or explain

Preface

Introduction

Watchfulness in the Citizen

Social Cause Posters

Social Justice Symposium

Screen Printing Workshop

Passport of Human Rights

Thank You Notes

All Hands on Deck

Type and the Underground

Build a Box to Think Out of

Conclusion

Foreword by Stacy Asher Assistant Professor of Art

In the Fall of 2015, the Advanced Graphic Design course at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln engaged in research about the role of design in creating social change. This course was an investigation of graphic design driven by research. Projects were socially and civically engaged, and focused on the production of communication systems, investigating history and theory of graphic design for social change, and the publishing of self authored work. Collaborative exercises and activities created an understanding of identity systems, social values and how to promote â&#x20AC;&#x153;justice for allâ&#x20AC;? through visual communications. Deliverables for the course consisted of designed artifacts that documented, reflected, analyzed, and synthesized design research. The first half of the course integrated the series of exhibitions, lectures and presentations relating to the topic of art/ design for social justice that occurred on campus through October. The second half centered around publication and experiential design, and the development of identity systems. The course outcomes provided opportunity for students to be innovative, culturally critical and potentially create social change. â&#x20AC;˘

Themes for Exploration Graphic Design + Social Responsibility / Message + System + Identity / Striving for Viability / Designer as Preser vationist + Conser vationist / Designer as Witness, Ethnographer and Journalist

Preface Unravel was created for my final project in Advanced Graphic Design at the University of Nebraska. It is meant to show my process for creating and how I ended on the solutions I did. You might say I am unraveling my process for all to see. It includes documentation from each project and assignment I completed as well as some experiences I had getting involved with social change. I would like to thank Stacy Asher for her support and guidance throughout the course of this class. I would also like to thank her for pushing me to care more about social issues and to design in a way that can better the world.

Introduction While the main purpose of Unravel is to document my creative process, I am using this book to explore typography, book publication, and overall design. I have a love of hands on activities including working with textiles. In one project for this course I tried hand stitching type to combine my love of design with working with my hands. The combination clicked for me and want to further explore the idea in this book and how it can be used in new ways. Another one of my loves are books. There are hardly any feelings better than the feeling of a book in your hands and the weight of the paper. Although this publication is solely online, it is still an opportunity to design one of my favorite things. I hope that when looking through Unravel you imagine holding it in your hands and imagine turning each page with your fingers. Although I am using this book as a means to explore my own design abilities, I also hope that you will find the content inspiring. All of the work encompases different aspects of social issues, some large, some small. All of which can be changed for the better however. I hope this encourages you to do what you can to make the world a better place.

WATCHFULNESS IN THE CITIZEN

To beign this assignment the class took a trip to the Nebraska State Capitol to observe the designed world while hunting for visual communications that express equality, freedom, and justice. I then used found imagery from the field trip and walking tour to design a visual communication that is in response to the quotation at the entrance of the capitol.

“ The Salvation of the State is the Watchfulness in the Citizen.” -H.B. Alexander

Dear lovers K E E P LO V I N G

Dear lovers, KEEP LOVING

Salvation of the state, to me, means we need to build a community and work together as one body. Communities can only be strong if everyone is welcome and considered. At the capitol I found busts of important men in Nebraskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history. I began to imagine what they would think of gay rights if they were alive today. I decided to put two of the men together in support of gay rights. The gaphic image of two men in an embrace is meant to be confrontational and depict an act of love that should be welcome. I turned it into a shirt because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like a moving poster. Only art students wold comment on my shirt positively. I think an older man stared at me, but I could have just been paranoid.

SOCIAL CAUSE POSTERS with Justin Kemerling

My class had the pleasure of participating in a poster design and installation workshop with artist Justin Kemerling. With the posters I aimed to make someone else care about an issue that is important to me. The workshop began by writing down issues on post it notes. I chose to focus on animal endangerment. Animals need a voice too and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m passionate aout giving them one. After researching why animals are going extinct, I found some reasons behind it like deforestation, rising CO2 levels, and poaching.

After doing several studies I usually have a tendancy to a want to change my ideas last minute. In this case I almost changed my idea to a fancy tiger.

All dressed up with nowhere to go

stop

deforestation wwf.org

My final solution is poster encompasing all reasons for animal endangerment. It features six different animals that have gone extinct within the last 50 years. I hand drew each one. The animals disappear on the poster over time to symbolize their disappearance. A surprising statisitc is included to spur people to want to make a difference.

SOCIAL JUSTICE SYMPOSIUM

UNL played host to the Design and Social Justice Symposium in the fall of 2015 featuring art of the Black Panther Party as well as Underground Newspapers from the 60s and 70s. Social cause posters designed by Justin Kemerling were also displayed. During the symposium I was able to attend a lecture by Black Panther Party artist Emory Douglas. Listening to his lecture, one important thing I took away was that you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t walk on eggshells when creating. You need to create for you and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s okay if some are offended. Not everybody will accept your work and that is just fine.

SCREEN PRINTING WORKSHOP

During the Design and Social Justice Symposium, the art deparment hosted a screen priting workshop. Over 100 high school students came to print t-shirts and celebrate how design can change the world. During the workshop I learned about the process for creating a screen print and was able to print a shirt of my own. The event was a great way to unite different types of artists and collaborate between mediums.

PASSPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS a Philatelic Project

The philatelic project required me to design a system of postage stamps to communicate about human rights and civil liberties. I also needed to design a promotional poster and thank you note to accompany the stamp sheet. I chose to focus on article one from the Declaration of Human Rights because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so simple yet crucial to the well being of everyone. It states, â&#x20AC;&#x153;All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rigts... and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.â&#x20AC;? I wanted to show how this article is not being followed on a daily basis, especially towards the LGBTQ community. I decided to interview friends that are openly gay, bisexual, or transgender to make the project more personal. Their responses to the following question were what fueled my design.

is the most Q: What offensive or hurtful thing

you have been told because of your sexual orientation?

I’ve heard this a lot- “Oh well who’s the man in the relationship?” Well... I’m gay. The point is that there is no man. And it’s just them trying to impose heterosexual norms into a homosexual relationship. There doesn’t always need to be a “man” role and a “woman” role.

Being called queer and faggot

I was out with friends one night and a local guy kept telling me to “fuck off you fucking faggot”.

A guy I used to work with told me that gay people shouldn’t be allowed to adopt because God obviously doesn’t want them having kids or else they’d be able to naturally.

The one that annoys me more than anything is when people ask “who is the boy and who is the girl?”

PEEL AWAY PREJUDICE FOREVER 2015 USA

The ‘Peel Away Prejudice’ stamp series aims to show the lack of brotherhood still shown towards LGBTQ individuals. Each stamp includes direct quotes from someone who identifies themselves as part of the LGBTQ community. The quotes are based off of the question, “What is the most offensive or hurtful thing you’ve been told because of your sexual orientation?” The authors of the quotes found offense in others‘ ignorance and prejudices against what being gay or transgender means. Article one of the Declaration of Human Rights states that all are free and equal in dignity and rights. The words and phrases printed on these stamps are examples of terminology that harm instead of uplift. They aren’t in accordance with human rights. These stamps are proof that prejudices still guide interactions with people who lead lives different from the norm. Eliminating these words will lead to a more positive environment that supports the equal treatment of all.

PEEL AWAY PREJUDICE FOREVER 2015 USA

A COLLECTION OF QUOTES

FOREVER 2015 USA

PEEL AWAY PREJUDICE

PEEL AWAY PREJUDICE A COLLECTION OF QUOTES

hrc.org

Article one of the Declaration of Human Rights states that all are free and equal in dignity and rights. The words and phrases printed on these stamps are examples of terminology that go against article one and harm instead of promote equality. These stamps are proof that prejudices still guide interactions with people who lead lives different from the norm. Eliminating these words will lead to a more positive environment that supports the equal treatment of all. Hopefully each stamp used will peel away prejudice from someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vocabulary. The main aesthetics of the work are meant to be ironic. Pairing hurtful and ignorant words with beautiful hand lettering is odd and meant to make people stop and think. The ink splotches are meant to highlight both the messiness and carelessness of these words.

THANK YOU NOTES with Custom Postage

To accompany my stamps and poster I designed a thank you card to be sent to individuals who helped or suppported me throughout the course of Advanced Graphic Design. I ordered custom postage stamps from zazzle.com to turn my designs into a usable artefact. Unfortunately they rejcted several of my original designs so I decided to use a symbol rom my stamp sheet instead.

I chose to send some notes to those who allowed me to interview them for the stamp series project. I wanted to let them know I appreciate their willingness to participate in my project and to thank them for not being afraid to be who they are. Each person I interviewed inspires me deeply and am glad they could be a part of my experience in Advanced Graphic Design. I also sent thank yous to Emory Douglas, Justin Kemerling, Matt Burkey, Pete Pinnell, Michaela Habe, and Dean Charles Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor. I appreciate everything each of these individuals have done to make the course a wonderful experience.

ALL HANDS ON DECK

Before beginning the philatelic project, I designed a presentation deck to pitch my concept and direction for. I then presented the slide deck to the class to gain real world experience in how to pitch concepts confidently and clearly. I incorporated some of the colors and typography in the slide deck that I used in my stamp sheet to explore how the elements could work together.

I’VE MADE A LOT OF THINGS

DESIGN... A SYSTEM OF POSTAGE STAMPS & CARRIER MUST ADDRESS HUMAN RIGHTS

W I’M S O N D AN AMP T S G N MAKI

OBJECTIVE

ANIMATIONS PAINTINGS PIG SCULPTURES MISTAKES TOFU SHAPED LIKE CATS BOOKS T SHIRTS POTTERY NEWSPAPER ILLUSTRATIONS MURALS PATTERNS STARRY NIGHT- GIRAFFES PICTURE FRAMES VIDEOS LADY GAGA SNAPBACKS POSTERS PLAY DOH SHELVES BROCHURES BLANKETS ICE CREAM RAYGUNS MUSIC . . . AND MUCH MORE

RELATE TO ARTICLE 1 “ALL HUMAN BEINGS ARE BORN FREE AND EQUAL IN DIGNITY AND RIGHTS... AND SHOULD ACT TOWARDS ONE ANOTHER IN A SPIRIT OF BROTHERHOOD.”

EACH STAMP USED WILL SPREAD AWARENESS OF INCORRECT STEREOTYPES

A TAGLINE WILL BE ADDED TO MAKE KNOWN NO OFFENSE IS MEANT

OBJECTIVE

LET’S PEEL AWAY PREJUDICE

BUDGET

LGBTQ PEOPLE ARE HEAVILY STEREOTYPED IN A WAY THAT AFFECTS THEIR DAILY LIVES. THIS GOES AGAINST TREATING EACHOTHER WITH DIGNITY AND BROTHERHOOD.

SHOW THAT LGBTQ AREN’T TREATED IN ACCORDANCE TO ARTICLE ONE

$22 FOR STAMPS

BOOK OF 20 ON ZAZZLE.COM

$10 FOR PROMOTIONAL POSTER 18” x 24” PRINTED IN UNL DIGITAL LAB

HAND LETTERING

ben johnston

sean mcCabe

10 / 14 PRINT ARTEFACTS

AUDIENCE

STAMP SHEET ROUGH LAYOUT CREATE LETTERING SCAN & FINALIZE ON COMPUTER POSTER STUDIES FINAL PROMOTIONAL POSTER

STYLE

01 - 03 03 - 07 07 - 09 09 - 11 11 - 14

sean mcCabe

OF PRODUCTION

SCHEDULE

STYLE

NOW 10 / 01 THEN 10 / 15

LGBTQ & ALLIES BUT SOPHISTICATED ENOUGH FOR GENERAL ADULT POPULATION

COLOR

TYPE AND THE UNDERGROUND

The class spent a day reading underground newspapers from the Social Justice Symposium. We were able to take the newspapers out of the casest to examine up close the typography and layout. I quickly became attached to one newspaper in particular, The Oracle. It was full of stories and illustrations based on nature and the earth. The Oracle was a unique underground paper in the fact that it didn’t adhere to standard rules of publication. The body content is essentially displayed in three columns but the columns have life and movement. They are organic and play off of the illustration. Everything on this layout works together to create one piece of art while still displaying information. The organic shapes become very important to the ideas of the article and the newspaper as a whole. The “Sunbear Speaks” article discusses Native Americans and their beliefs and spirituality. Their beliefs are strongly rooted in respecting the earth as well as eachother. The earth and nature are very organic so it calls for an organic layout. The whole publication speaks about the earth and more natural living by connecting with nature. Discussing ideas like these makes the Oracle Avant-Garde becasue it is providing an “alternative to the status quo” (Heller). Most of the Native American culture was against the status quo of the rest of society. They were punished for being different. Having people like the hippies and creators of the Oracle reintroduce these ideas into the world would have been very radical at the time.

The overall layout of “Sunbear Speaks” was Avant-Garde as well. It incorporated psychadelic imagery, organic text layout, bright colors, and hand lettering. While traditional papers were typsetting in columns, the Oracle was experimenting with typesetting in shapes or even no columns whatsoever. It was also radical to have the body copy text in color. The illustration accompanying the article amplifies the page and commands attention. It looks like a woodblock print which goes along with the natural earth based ideas of the newspaper. The typography of the headline melts beautifully into the illustration while still standing out.

BUILD A BOX TO THINK OUT OF

In this project I was tasked with building a box to think out of. It also had to communicate about the ideologies of Mr. Fred Rogers. Mr. Rogers was a television host for public childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programming. All of his shows, as well as his entire life, aimed to make the world better by letting everyone know they mattered. This is one of the most basic concepts behind social justice. Mr. Rogers is one of the best role models a person could have and I am fortunate to have grown up with his programs and beliefs.

Mr. Rogers is easily identified by his trademark sneakers and cardigans. When tasked to create a cube communicating the ideologies of Mr. Rogers, what came to mind, but his sweaters. The sweater itself doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say a whole lot about his beliefs in life but the ideas behind it do. Mr. Rogersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mom would knit him those sweaters and he loved them. I believe he loved them not because they looked nice but because of the time his mom took making them just for him. The idea of giving someone a handmade gift got me thinking. That is something I do often for my family and friends, but why? After some thought I realized a handmade gift is like giving the gift of time. It takes a lot of thought, energy, and work to create a handcrafted item. Time is a much more powerful and meaningful gift than a material object. You can always make more money or buy more things but you can never get time back. Giving someone time is like giving them part of your life. I wanted to mimic this idea by knitting a sweater for a box. Each stitch of the knitting is made out of time. Knitting also represents the connections between people that time can create. One stitch equals one moment of time together which creates a connection and a memory.

Conclusion After completing this course I have realized how much impact design can have on the world. Design is more than advertising and logos. Design is everywhere and it is powerful. It has the power to spark change and revolution. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pretty exciting when you think about. I will walk away from this course and these projects knowing that I can do something amazing with design and that one person can make a difference.

Bibliography Bestley, Russell, and Ian Noble. Visual Research: An Introduction to Research Methodologies in Graphic Design. 2nd ed. N.p.: Bloomsbury, n.d. Print. Heller, Steven. “Sex, Drugs, Rock N’ Roll, and Politics.” Merz to Emigre and Beyond: Avant-garde Magazine Design of the Twentieth Century. London: Phaidon, 2003. N. pag. Print. “Passport for Human Rights.” Issuu. Amnesty International, n.d. Web. 2015. Simmons, Christopher. Just Design: Socially Conscious Design for Critical Causes. Cincinnati, OH: How, 2011. Print. Stec, Carly. “20 Great Examples of PowerPoint Presentation Design.” Hubspot Blogs. N.p., 21 Aug. 2015. Web. 2015.

Created & Authored by Ally Frame Typeset with Century Schoolbook & Franklin Gothic Book December 2015 University of Nebraska - Lincoln