Is design an effective way to promote hope in a battered world or is it a waste of money? We are shown in the 21st century that design is one of the most popular ways to create a sense of hope in a battered world, this could be through posters and other various designs for certain events. In a world where there will forever be ongoing issues, design is one way of creating a sense of hope within a community. It is a fact that our planet is plagued with problems, for example the civil war in Syria and the famine issues within the countries of Africa. However sending a message across to the people within the country is a bigger task than some would imagine, as it is seen that not a lot of the population of the UK are aware of these issues. Design is one way of really captivating an audience as it raises awareness for the issues occurring round the world, bringing a lot of the problems on the planet to people’s attention. Creating hope however is a challenge given the current climate and there has to be something unique about a design to create an atmosphere which will lift the spirits of the world’s people. Throughout this essay I will be discussing how design is used in some popular charity events to raise awareness for it, and create that sense of hope that a lot of us all long for. It is seen that a majority of designers on this topic attempt to create something positive on what is regarded as a negative situation. Design has developed through the years and we are shown in various events how it has been brought forward into the 21st century. A positive design can bring the slightest bit of hope into some of the worst situations and a couple of examples of this are Live Aid (a music event organized to raise money for Ethiopian famine) and Comic Relief (an event organized to help feed starving children in Africa). Throughout the course of this essay I am going to be searching for evidence to back up my points. One of the most successful events that were used to generate money for charity was Live Aid. Obviously in the modern day we are seen an awful lot of repetition when raising money for charity, however Live Aid was different, it used a musical event as an attraction with all the proceeds going to help feeding starving children in Africa. What made this event unique was that they used something a lot of people enjoy to raise funds to help a good cause. It was not just the cause and the event that drew people in though; linking back to the title we are shown that they used a specific design which linked to the event itself as well as the cause it was relating to, this way the audience were given a specific understanding of what the event was there to do. Below is an image of the poster Live Aid used to advertise their event:
As you can see from this poster the viewer is given a clear representation of the musical involvement as well as the cause that it stands for. The thing that really captivates this piece is having the continent of Africa as the base of the guitar as it gives the audience a very clear understanding of what the event is for, as well as this in the bottom right we are shown an underweight African child standing next to the guitar which is a pretty clear indication that the proceeds of the event will go towards cases of famine within Africa. And the thing that really caps off this piece is the little symbol in the top left describing the event as being ‘the day music changed the world’. This piece shows how something negative can be transformed into something positive; therefore giving all those involved in the event some form of hope. As well as that music is something that appeals to a very wide audience so
this way they can draw more people in and generate more money. The website worldandmedia.com describes the event as follows: ‘28 years after Live Aid, the aid sector is perhaps under more scrutiny and criticism than ever before. Yet, surveys do not find widespread cynicism. Instead, despite austerity, support for aid is nearly as strong as ever.’ Quotes such as this really make an individual feel positive regarding the whole situation and linking back to the title this quote simply shuns away the negativity regarding the matter at hand and instead displaces it with the recognition of hope. Despite aiding charity being seen as one of the most modest and generous things to do, I believe we have to ask ourselves in the year 2013, are we seeing any real progression regarding these issues? As well as this more problems are developing and current ones are becoming far more significant. Of course it is only right to help but are we seeing any noticeable progression and at this point it is where I see it could be, not a waste of money, but I feel the money generated could be used more economically. By saying this I mean that we bare witness to millions of pounds being generated at events such as Comic Relief, however over the past decade I believe that we are continuously raising for the same issue repetitively without seeing any noticeable progression. As well as this it’s quite arguable that the money raised could be used to benefit our own country, especially when we are supposedly dealing with a recession. On the other hand issues such as famine and homelessness are far worse in continents such as Africa than they are over here, but regardless of that it is my way of thinking that we should solve our own problems and then look into helping other countries. This is due to the fact that every-day I see problems within society such as children without parents, people working long hours to support their families and still medical conditions such as cancer continue to ruin lives. I feel that if more events such as Comic Relief were used to raise money within our country, then we had a specific set of events to help those in need within other countries the whole system would be more economical as not only our problems were being resolved, but we’d still be helping out other countries in a more severe state, however the sad reality is we won’t live in a world that isn’t plagued by problems. An event that I’ve mentioned fairly frequently throughout this essay is Comic Relief. Comic Relief is most notably one of the most popular fundraising events within the UK and is know for having a vast majority of media coverage. What I think is beneficial about Comic Relief is that the money raised goes towards helping various issues, rather than just one specific problem, personally I believe this is a very positive way of attempting to resolve a lot of the world’s issues at the same time. This is because it shows that more than one issue is being thought of and in a sense it resembles that there is always going to be some form of support. Of course I do still feel that there isn’t enough significant or noticeable improvement apart from the occasional school being built in the suburbs of Uganda and they have been widely criticized for this very thing. It’s a fact that a majority of the money is placed into high yield investments and they then use the profits to fund the charity itself, hence why no major changes happen. In this link to their official website: http://www.comicrelief.com/about-us/our-organisation/our-accounts it states that the money is spread out over the course of years and can’t all be spent in one go, however I believe it is the people of Britain’s understanding that the money they
donate is to be put to use now so that there is some noticeable improvement in the lesser continents of the world. In another article published by the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25273024 it explains how Comic Relief invested in tobacco organizations as well as alcohol and fire arms. This seems as if they are fuelling what they are trying to stop in order to run this event and if it’s to continue there will be no improvement in this world. Relating back to the title, however there are aspects of Comic Relief which keep making people donate, and one of these aspects is through design, the most popular feature being the ever so famous ‘red nose’.
The red nose is one of the most popular pieces of charity franchising and most notably one of the more successful. Sales go up every year and buying merchandise is one of the best ways to donate money as it gives something back to those donating and the items are made at a relatively low cost. They’re also advertised by well-known British celebrities such as Lenny Henry in order to boost sales. The design changes every year and this has been a reoccurring theme during the course of Comic Relief. As well as this the material used to make them is becoming cheaper and cheaper, so more can be produced and hence forth more money is raised for the charity. Although this marketing technique may seem to be worn out in this day and age, British citizens will continue to buy a red nose and therefore be contributing to some sort of donation, and as the red noses become cheaper to manufacture, you can only assume that more money will be raised for charity. Regarding whether design is a waste of money I believe that this topic depends on what purpose the design in question will hold. By this I mean that if a design is being created for a charity event, such as those that I’ve already stated, then in my opinion it can’t be regarded as a waste of money, as the finished design will be going towards a good cause in order to help others. However in the modern world a
majority of professional designers can find that their work can crash and burn and Graphic design is one of the most challenging career choices, as an awful lot of it hinges on personal taste. Relating back to the title, a design is something that an audience will normally see when it coincides with a particular topic, so it’s crucial that it captivates the audience, and makes them want to look in further to the design in question. When failing to do this it could be seen that the particular design created could be regarded as a waste of money. This could be seen even more so when designs are created for big companies, but fail to draw in an audience, or aren’t taken seriously. One design that has come under heavy scrutiny is the London 2012 Olympics logo. Throughout the summer of the Olympics this design was seen as very off putting and as it was created by a rather big name designer in Wolff Olins so naturally a lot of people were disappointed that the logo didn’t live up to the occasion. This is a prime example of where hope was intended to be generated throughout the sporting world, but was let down with the logo, it also didn’t coincide too well with the motto of the Olympics, which was ‘Inspire a Generation’. It was even seen that the logo was mildly racist with Iran’s National Olympic Committee stating that they believed they could see the word ‘Zion’ in the abstract design. It was also described by Feargus O’Sullivan of the Atlantic Cities as a ‘garnish dog’s dinner of a logo’. Wolff Olins intended to use bright and vibrant colours to convey an energetic and youthful tone. Below I have included the logo from the 2012 Olympics:
I believe that for a majority of this essay I have spoken about how design is used in charity events and how it is used to help fund lesser continents, however there are plenty of ways in which design is used for organizations that don’t base their company around charity.. There is one thing that everybody uses daily which is always changing and developing and this thing is clothing. There are huge manufactures out there always striving to create the most popular name on the market, a few of these being Ralph Lauren, Lacoste and the list goes on, but my point is that these are incredibly successful brands who make fortunes everyday with the concept of design always having to be the key factor in what they do.
Relating back to the title I believe the way we interpret clothes and big name brands is always going to be different dependent on the individual, but I believe it’s relatively easy to create a sense of hope in this sense, simply because I think that a majority of people always aim to get the best things, and wearing the best clothes resembles their personal status in a way. In my opinion companies such as the ones I’ve previously stated can create any design they want on their clothing because it will sell due to the name of the company, I don’t think this creates any form of hope in the world but at the same time it’s hard to say whether it’s a waste of money. I believe it’s a waste of money on the consumer but then again it’s down to acquired clothing taste, as for the company in question it’s a huge money making business. There’s no doubt whatsoever that fashion design is one of the biggest markets in the world and although I’ve previously stated that I’m unsure it creates a sense of hope, I think that in a way it just might. We’re seeing in this generation that more schools and colleges have a fashion based course for their students, this way students in the UK as in many other countries are allowed to strive towards a strong passion of theirs if it is fashion. The fashion industry as a whole is one that relies on mass market sales, this allows for a wider range of consumers and inevitably a cheaper end product. Fashion will always be something that is considered by every individual in their everyday lives and the more it develops as an industry then the more hope will be created. Throughout this essay I have been discussing how design is used to create a sense of hope in what is seen as a battered world, and after researching some notable charity events etc. I have been given a much clearer insight as to how hope is generated in an environment where it appears fairly difficult to achieve it. I have analyzed both the positives and negatives of methods in which design is used to create hope and also how charitable events aren’t always a positive thing. All in all I feel as if I’ve been enlightened as to how I can create some form of hope myself and it makes me appreciate the people that don’t get all that much recognition who do major charity events and always put other people before themselves. I’m really pleased I chose this as a question as throughout the Graphics course I will now have a better way of thinking after what I’ve discovered when making this essay and I will consider my designs more carefully and take everything into account.