Major Final Portfolio Part One - Research

Introduction Rationale Target Audience Concept Factual Research Charity Research Visual Research Conclusion

References

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Welcome to part one in the research and development of my final major portfolio, a project concerned with addressing the existential crisis of loneliness.

Part one focuses on the research side of the project, presenting both the factual and visual research conducted throughout the entire length of the project.

Due to the huge scale of the project, all of the research presented throughout this document represents only the most significant of my findings, the majority of which had a direct influence on the design and development of my project.

However, a list of other, unused links can be found in the Further Reading section of the References, whilst various projects that also helped to inspire the design of my project can be accessed through the FMP Inspiration Collection available on my Behance page. (See references)

Thanks to an ever-growing amount of articles, studies, reports and attention in the media, loneliness is now finally starting to become recognised as the epidemic, yet, the effects of loneliness are still not as known as they should be.

Much of what is being done is focused almost exclusively on the elderly too, in which Age UK and John Lewis have only produced high-profile advertisements concerned with addressing the affects of loneliness on the elderly population.

This is where my project comes in.

The main target audience of the project are young people aged 14 – 32 , however the project will also looks to engage with any and everybody on loneliness, due to the importance of the subject, and the need for discussion around it.

As there is a consistent ode to creativity in the book, creatives are a potentially key audience for the project.

The concept behind the project was to address loneliness in a way that would be highly visual and compelling.

The project sets out to raise further understanding about loneliness and raise awareness regarding the dangers of suffering from it.

As someone who has suffered from loneliness for the past 3 years, I feel it is vitally important to take the stigma away from the subject of loneliness, as well as the shame felt by those suffering from the experience of.

The project also aims to explore and highlight the positives of channelling loneliness through creativity, hobbies, and self-reflection, whilst considering and questioning what could be done to prevent a continuing rise of loneliness.

Factual research has been conducted throughout the entirety of the project to ensure that the outcomes of the project have been fully informed by up to date evidence and opinion.

The factual research conducted during this process has been sourced from a wide range of articles, books, interviews and consist of facts, studies and opinion.

Due to the wide range of research done, this chapter focuses on both the initial and major findings of the research.

All of the visual work produced during the project has been done as a result of the research done in this major part of the process, which is especially true for the illustrations, the majority of which have been produce as a direct result of the findings of this research.

As a result of my research I also made contact with Kate Leaver, who loved my idea because of the target audience and its originality. Unfortunately though, we unable to talk about the project in more detail due to her travelling schedule.

Ian Sample’s article entitled Loneliness twice as unhealthy as obesity for older people, serves as a harrowing insight to the effects that loneliness can have on our health.

Sample’s article focuses on the effects of loneliness on the elderly, something of a recurrence during my research.

Sample’s article points towards two studies, the first dating back to 2012, finds that “more than a fifth” of older Brits feel “lonely all the time”, with “half of those taking part” saying that “their loneliness was worse at weekends, and three-quarters suffered more at night”.

The article links loneliness to a range of health problems, which is focus of the second survey.

The second of the two studies (referred to in the articles’ title), saw scientists track “more than 2,000 people aged 50 and over and found that the loneliest were nearly twice as likely to die during the six-year study than the least lonely”.

The result of the study finds that “those who reported being lonely had a 14% greater risk of dying”, compared to the average person, meaning that “loneliness has around twice the impact on an early death as obesity”.

The figures of these two studies not only serve to show the dangers of loneliness but also reaffirm the results of studies linking loneliness to “high blood pressure and a weakened immune system to a greater risk of depression, heart attack and strokes”.

The increased likelihood of heart attacks and strokes as a result of loneliness is reaffirmed by Ben Quinn’s own article for The Guardian, in 2016, entitled Loneliness linked to 30% increase in heart disease and stroke risk.

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George Monbiot’s article entitled The age of Loneliness is killing us highlights the effects of loneliness on an ever aging population, in which emphasis is placed on the effects of modern life.

Monbiot’s article is very much an opinion piece meaning that areas of the content must be taken with a pinch of salt, yet, there are many aspects of the article which serve to determine the direction of my further research.

Monbiot takes a deep look at the human psychology of loneliness, considering how the evolution of society to modern day effects our feelings of loneliness.

Out of the many aspects of modern day life that could be looked towards as a contributing factor, Monbiot states that “people travel by car instead of buses, use YouTube rather than the cinema”.

Monbiot presents a very cynical view on the role of technology for its effect on society, neglecting the overwhelmingly positive effect it has had on life, not to mention the opportunities it enables for older people to stay more connected to their families.

However, Monbiot’s views also raise some very significant points, of which there are the beginnings for interesting avenues of investigation.

Monbiot’s views are enforced by the fact that at the time of writing Britain had been named as the “loneliness capital of Europe”.

Monbiot’s bold claim that we are in “the age of loneliness” are further enforced by the Campaign to End Loneliness, who find that “Social isolation is as potent a cause of early death as smoking 15 cigarettes a day”.

Monbiot even goes as far as to state that “Ebola is unlikely ever to kill as many people as this disease strikes down”, serving to further emphasis the scale and danger of loneliness on our health.

Whilst Monbiot is entirely focused on the older generation and often cynical on the role of the current, he does at least go as far as to highlight that the problem “has become an epidemic among young adults�, a statement that will become more prominent.

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Rebecca Harris’ 2015 article entitled, The Loneliness Epidemic: We’re more connected then ever - but are we more alone? reaffirms Monbiot’s article.

Harris likewise states that “modern life is making us lonelier”, pointing towards number of recent studies that show “loneliness increases mortality risk by 26%”, strongly suggesting that loneliness may be the “next biggest public health issue on par with obesity”.

Harris notes “one survey by the Mental Health Foundation found that in the UK one in ten of us feels lonely often and 48 per cent of people think we are getting lonelier in general”.

Harris also states that a “growing reliance on social technology rather than face to face interaction is thought to be making us feel more isolated”, suggesting that “our relationships are becoming more superficial and less rewarding”.

Harris’ informed views serve to influence the direction of the project outcomes, in which I feel the need to move away from more digital forms in favour of a more traditional printed outcome, in the form of a book.

However, the most interesting of points raised in the article is the “myth” that surrounding the belief that “loneliness particularly affects the elderly”.

Harris unequivocally states that “it is not often acknowledged that loneliness also effects people at all ages, including children, and is particularly prevalent in the teenage years”.

Harris’ does not just present her personal views, but backs up the statements made through research into specific studies on the subject.

One such study highlights that between “20 and 80 percent of adolescents report feeling lonely often” in comparison “to 40 to 50 per cent in an elderly population”.

Harris’ article plays a defining part of my early research and in starting to inform the direction of the project.

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The full nature of the harrowing effects of loneliness are made perfectly clear in the following extract; Kate Leaver’s article How do I stop being lonely? for The Guardian is one of the more recent articles of those included in my initial factual research, dating back as recently as January 24th 2018.

Leaver’s article reaffirms the view of Monbiot that loneliness effects us all, “as much as we may like to think it is a symptom of old age”.

Leaver considers loneliness to be “so prolific” that it is an “inevitable quirk of human existence”, and points towards a Red Cross study, which “revealed that 9 million people in the UK are always or often lonely”.

Further figures used to support Leaver’s article include a study by “researchers at Brigham Young University, in Utah, US”, who found that “loneliness can increase the risk of death by at least 30%”, drawing comparisons to the effects of smoking, “obesity and lack of exercise”.

“Loneliness ravages our immune system, leaves us more vulnerable to cancer, affects our heart health, lowers our pain threshold, raises our blood pressure, tightens our arteries and puts us at greater risk of dementia. It is, as I said, a real bastard”.

Leaver importantly goes on to state that the first action to stop feeling lonely “is to identify it” and “saying the words “I’m lonely” out loud.”

The second, Leaver affirms is to “truly understand it”, recognising that it is not just a case of social isolation, and “can exist in the company of others”, which she considers “the cruellest thing about loneliness”.

The open attitude that Leaver alludes to as a vital component to defeating or at least dealing with feelings of loneliness, is reflected in examples of her previous work, the book The Friendship Cure.

Referring her book, Leaver mentions the generosity of those who shared their stories, revealing her favourite description of loneliness, one which is remarkably similar to an idea I have generated.

The description, given by a women named Amy, states that loneliness;

Amy’s description perfectly sums up an idea the form that a potential exhibition could take, in which the audience would enter through a VR headset, allowing them to be physically present in a room surrounded by others, yet cut off and isolated by technology.

“is like being at a silent disco – a party where guests dance to music they’re listening to through headphones – but she’s the only person in the seething, sweaty crowd who can’t hear it”.

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Olivia Laing’s book The Lonely City was the first read as part of the research into loneliness for the project.

Laing’s book draws from her own raw and ‘shameful’ experience of loneliness that she suffered after moving to New York, in which Laing covers loneliness in the city, the shame around it, the impact that art has on allowing us to better understand and discuss it, and much more.

Yet, in the purpose of my research, I was most interested in focusing on the three aspects above, with the book providing a great amount of insight and detail into each of these subjects.

Laing’s book had some wonderful quotes that could go into the eventual design of my book, especially about the loneliness of living in the city. In the consideration of art, Laing offers an intimate and in-depth look into the lives and creative process of the world’s most renowned artists, one of which was Edward Hopper.

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all, especially in the modern world, and at the very least on a personal experience, the need to be attractive to others.

Following up Laing’s book The Lonely City, Laing’s interview with Elisabeth Donnelly for Elle magazine tells of some of the key points from the experiences of loneliness she talks about in the book as well as the shame around the subject.

In the first discussion to take place, Laing re-emphasises that “loneliness is political, it is city”, stating a need to recognise the “forces that isolate us and to resist them.”

Addressing the next question, Laing turns attention to the psychological and physical affects of loneliness, in which she talks about how lonely people become “more negative and paranoid”, whilst remaining unaware of what is happening to them as it “happens unconsciously.”

Laing talks about the “unique pressures on women” that she believes contributes to loneliness, “the relentless pressure to be attractive, to be appealing, to behave in certain ways”, however, I believe that these pressures are ones that affect us

Laing also discusses the internet’s impact on loneliness too, comparing the city to the internet, expressing the “remarkable opportunities for connection”, something Laing doesn’t “want to underestimate”.

However, Laing also expressing a more cynical view of the internet, describing it as “an arena of self-presentation, where it can be hard to be heard, and where there is an increasing tendency towards judgment, shaming, witch-hunts and abuse”, which make it frightening too.

Interestingly, Laing talks about the need to be honest online, but concedes that it “isn’t always safe to be honest online”.

This leads to the focal point of the article, the shame surrounding loneliness, which she as the title acknowledges, thinks “is really toxic and damaging”. Laing states that “there’s nothing to be ashamed of as we are all vulnerable and share similar experiences in life”.

Laing’s views are similarly expressed in an interview with Psychologies.

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One of the most important articles that I looked at as part of the factual research was Stefanie Marsh’s article Teenagers on loneliness, which included interviews with a number of teenagers who shared their thoughts and experiences on loneliness.

The article was an important one to read for my project as teenagers would make up a significant number of the audience that the project targeted.

Throughout the multiple interviews with the teenagers in the articles there are a number of interesting points that emerge, two of which were particularly significant and influential in informing the book.

The first of these points is made by Maelo Manning, who feels that there is ‘an air of hatred of teenagers”, which is an attitude that is perhaps made evident in another article claiming that it was not surprising that young people are lonely, as they can not hold a conversion longer than a text.

As such, Manning’s view became a good reference to a piece that I would write in the book about the need for a change in attitude towards young people as well as loneliness too, yet it would not be used as a direct quote within that.

The second of these points comes from Keiran Lacey, who describes meeting his best friend “on a computer game internet forum”, leading to the start of a joint blog and live stream on the back of discovering a common interest in mental health.

Lacey’s interview was a very interesting one for a number of reasons, yet it is the positivity that gaming has had on his life, especially at such a difficult time, that is the most fascinating discovery from the story he shares.

Like Manning’s views, Lacey’s experience was one that heavily influenced a piece that would be written about the effect of gaming on loneliness, yet in this instance Lacey’s story would be quoted directly.

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It Starts With Hello is a report by Action For Children, looking into the impact of loneliness in children, young people and families, which includes a number of very significant findings that were influential when writing the articles in my book.

The first of these findings was that “levels of loneliness peak during adolescence, with up to four-out-of-five young people reporting feelings of loneliness at some time, and almost a third describing these feelings as persistent and painful.” This was a particularly important finding for my book, providing both a sense of how lonely young people and highlighting the theme of the book.

Delving deeper into the reasons behind the statistic, the report further describes how “social relationships shift” through puberty, which at the same time causes “major physical and emotional changes”, “increased self-consciousness” and the pressure to conform.” These findings are very interesting, if not expected, in which they provoke thought when considering the potential causes of loneliness.

Action For Children’s wide ranging report also includes findings on higher education and how starting university in particular is a major cause of loneliness amongst young people.

The report finds that “University students often say they feel lonely because of moving away from family and friends and the environment and community they have known.” This is further reinforced by a study which finds that “the fifth most important out of ten ‘grand challenges’ faced by university students in the UK”, highlighting the alarming prevalence of loneliness that is affecting students.

From the findings, the theme of change is the one that emerges as the main cause of the loneliness affecting young people.

The theme of change is one that Catriona Harvey-Jenner, directly talks about in her article for Cosmopolitan, stating that “with university comes change; and with change can come feelings of vulnerability, loneliness and insecurity”, whilst adding to this is the idea that university should be a wonderful and exciting experience.

It starts with

hello

A report looking into the impact of loneliness in children, young people and families.

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is driving them to feel socially isolated”, which makes for particularly startling and worrying reading considering the amount of young people who use social media.

This research article on the Mental Health Foundation website highlights their self initiated work which looked at the impact of loneliness on young people in Scotland.

The charity’s article starts off with a bold statement that the charity had “warned that loneliness is creating mental health problems among tens of thousands of young people across Scotland”, before addressing the findings of their research.

The first of the findings from the charity’s research is that “more than half of 18-24 year olds experience depression when they feel lonely, with 42% saying it leads to anxiety”, whilst “67% say their mental health worsens as a result”.

These figures again go to show how big a threat loneliness is to young people, yet it was another of the charity’s findings that was the most significant to my book.

The significant finding in question is that “30% of 18-24 year olds say social media

Such is the high number of young people reporting that social media causes them to feel socially isolated, that I felt ratified in my decision to explore the impact of technology on loneliness in my book, with a particular focus on social media.

As well as social media, the research by the charity also highlights the stigma of loneliness as the “greatest barrier to seeking help”, in which “46% say they would be too embarrassed to talk about it and 52% feel they ought to cope with the problem themselves.” A further “30% wouldn’t speak to their GP” either.

Finally, the article also provided me with one of the most significant quotes of the project, which comes from the mouth of director, Isabella Goldie.

Goldie states "loneliness among younger people is hugely underreported” despite clear evidence to show it affects them more than any other age group, showing the importance of my project.

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In the article, Biali suggests avoiding been drawn towards scrolling through social media when having “a few moments to kill”, as well as and logging out when you catch yourself drifting into the malaise.

On the theme of researching how social medaia could impact our loneliness, one of the most enlightening articles is written

by Mark Molloy for The Telegraph.

Molloy’s article was written as a result of a study carried out by psychologists at the University of Pittsburgh, which found that “more time a young person spends on social media, the more likely they are to feel socially isolated”.

This, they say, is a result of spending too much time on social media, which “may elicit feelings of envy and the distorted belief that others lead happier and more successful lives”, which are highly likely to increase a drop in self-esteem.

On the subject of the envy caused by our use of social media, Susan Biali’s article Envy and Your Facebook Feed reinforces Molloy’s article, whilst offering advice on how to avoid such feelings.

Yet, the most fascinating advice that Biali gives is to consider how we can be more aware of the content we put up online, questioning whether we could be more considerate of how we present our own lives to others.

The advice that Biali gives is also heavily informed by a very substantial amount of research, in which the article becomes a truly significant piece in the context that it will be presented in, in my book.

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Krznaric gives his opinion that “clicking a button as an act of empathy represents the worst kind of digital slacktivism”, yet within the strong views presented in the article came an idea that I had to try and create an empathy button, but without replacing the emotional act of empathy.

Roman Krznaric’s article was written in response to Mark Zuckerberg announcing plans to introduce an empathy button, dating back to 2015, in which Zuckerberg it as “a quick way to emote”, enabling people to respond to posts, news and events when the use of the ‘like’ button is deemed inappropriate.

Yet as Krznaric states in the article, the idea that empathy can be shown through the click of a button dehumanises such a feeling, making the action meaningless.

Krznaric says that “empathy must matter if it’s got Facebook’s attention”, but also questions the company’s attitude to how empathy works, stating “if Zuckerberg thinks this is going to create a global upsurge of empathy, he’s mistaken.”

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Pells’ article also includes a statement made by Facebook, which states “that claims made about targeting site users were “misleading””, yet still apologies for their actions.

Keeping the consideration of Facebook at the focal point of the research, Rachael Pells’ article for The Independent looks at scandal surrounding leaked documents from Facebook in 2017.

Pells’ article finds that the company had “allegedly been found to exploit the moods of “vulnerable” teenagers at the benefit of advertisers”, in which much of the article is informed by confidential documents The Australian obtained.

The findings of these leaked documents strongly suggests that “the company is gathering information on young people needing “a confidence boost” to facilitate predatory advertising.” The Australian’s conclusion from the documents stated Facebook could determine how users as young as 14 were feeling, in what the company calls “sentiment analysis”.

Facebook states that “the analysis done by an Australian researcher was intended help marketers understand how people express themselves on Facebook.” The statement also claims “it was never used to target ads and was based on data that was anonymous and aggregated”.

The final part of Facebook’s statement explained the company had established a “process to review the research we perform”, but that on this occasion “the research did not follow that process”.

The findings of the article are also further substantiated by recent evidence, as well older evidence dating back to 2012.

Overall, the article would be the perfect accompaniment to a illustrated piece that I would potentially produce for the book.

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David Ludden article Does Using Social Media Make You Lonely for Psychology Today, is another to consider the affects of social media on loneliness.

Like Biali in her article, Ludden points to results finding that “people feel lonelier— and experience drops in self-esteem— after using Facebook”, yet, his research highlights that it depends what you do on social media, as to how lonely you feel.

Ludden’s article finds that “people use social media as a substitute for in-person social exchanges”, in particular those who “suffer from social anxiety”. As a result Ludden suggests that a potential lack of social skills may leave people unable to “navigate interpersonal exchanges”, with fragile networks and a failure to “support their need for connectedness.”

Ludden also points to psychologist Jenna Clark and her Duke University colleagues’ article warning of “two pitfalls in social media use”, the first of which is so called “social snacking”. Clark article states that this “involves activities such as browsing through other people’s profiles or reading other people’s comments without making any of your own”, in which people feel they like they are socially engaged.

Luden likens social snacking to junk food, as the latter “makes you feel both bloated and empty afterward”, whilst the former “only leaves you with much time wasted and more loneliness than before.”

Clark’s findings also highlights the danger of self-comparison resulting from social media, however, in consideration of the ideas for my project, it was the finding of “social snacking” in particular that was of most interest to me.

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Royal Society For Public Health’s (RSPH), report #StatusOf Mind was conducted in partnership with public awareness group the Young Health Movement, “examining the the positive and negative effects of social media on young people’s health.”

Amongst the many things covered in the report, is “a league table of social media platforms according to their impact on young people’s mental health”, helping to inform the social media platforms that I would focus on it the project.

Yet, the most interesting finding of the report for my project was the calling for the introduction of a pop-up heavy usage warning on all social media platforms when users “breach a set level of usage deemed potentially harmful.”

The report outlines the idea, stating that users would then be given the option to carry on or stop using the platform, with the measure being supported by 70% of young people.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the RSHP calling for introduction of such measures is that 30% of young people want to take these steps even further, in which users are automatically logged out after extensive usage.

Due to the findings and focus on young people and social media, the report was one of the most influential that I looked at as part of my research, as well as being one of the most informative too.

#StatusOfMind Social media and young people's mental health and wellbeing

9:41

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Whitley does consider that casual hookups can be rewarding for some people, and considers how women have fought for autonomy in this regard, however, as Whitley goes on to state this isn’t the real issue of such apps like Tinder.

Whilst social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have affected the way we engage, interact, and present ourselves to the world, the rise of ’dating’ apps such as Tinder have dramatically changed our relationships too, but what affect does it have on our loneliness.

Robert Whitley, an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at McGill University, explores what the links are between Tinder and mental health, in an article for Huffpost.

Whitley quickly points out a potentially dangerous shortcoming of Tinder in that “little space for users to list hobbies, interests or desirable characteristics in a partner”, leading psychologist Dr Jessica Strubel to state that Tinder has “a hyper focus on physical appearance and casual hookups”, an alarmingly superficial way for those hoping to find true love to do so.

Whitley acknowledges that “not everyone on Tinder is looking for casual sex” and that Tinder can be “powerful tool to meet people”, however, he also states that the cost of rejection is a big problem.

Whitley points towards a study by Queen Mary, University of London, which found “a very low rate of matching (especially for men”, whilst “only around 50 per cent of matches actually message back”, the majority of which are “often crude and combative” too.

These all-to-common occurrences have in Whitley’s view, led some Tinder users to “question their physical appearance, their online conversational skills, and the general integrity of the opposite sex”, which can lead to undue self-monitoring for perceived flaws and defects”, all of which are big flashing warning signs that can lead to loneliness.

Another potential issue that Whitley picks up on is the “throwaway society” that the app helps to promote, something that is all too common in our relationships with objects already, without making people feel like one.

Whilst knowing that another opportunity for romance is just one swipe away “can create intense anxiety, reducing mutual trust and respect”, it is exploitation that Whitley discusses that is most unnerving about the whole Tinder experience.

Experiences such as being “ghosted” are common, which for some may make the “whole experience dehumanizing and damaging”, whilst also impeding “the development of a monogamous romantic relationship, which research suggests is a top reason for Tinder use”.

Whilst research states that most users are hoping to find true love, many more may only be looking for a casual hook-up, yet, “cloaking their intentions in order to achieve their goal with more ease”.

As Whitley states, this “can leave users feeling exploited and used”.

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The first theme to emerge is that one of the reasons for using Tinder is down to the busy lives we lead, in which dating and potential romantic relationships are seen to get in the way of a strive to have a successful career and make money.

The affects of Tinder on our relationships, our mental health and on our loneliness have been explored by many journalists, researchers and physiologists, in which studies and articles include The Guardian and Time Magazine.

Yet, perhaps the most interesting in terms of my project and addressing loneliness in young people comes from Vanity Fair, which features in-depth interviews with a number of “twentysomethings”.

The interviews conducted offer a variety of opinions on Tinder as well as offering insight into the purpose for using it and the motivations behind using it.

Whilst there are many opinions provided in the article stemming from the various interviews, there are a number of themes which also emerge from the article.

Another, rather sad theme is that Tinder is a numbers game, in which the men in particular describe the amount of women they have ’hooked-up’ with in a certain space of time, whilst setting up multiple ’dates’ at once.

The third theme to emerge is anonymity, with majority of those interviewed knew nothing about their ’date’ except for the name that appears on their profile. This is a particularly worrying theme in the context of Whitely’s article for Huffpost when considering that such ’dates’ are based entirely around looks, as well as, location as it also transpires.

The fourth theme to emerge in the article is another which is present in Whitley’s article, that of crude messages, in which those interviewed describe the sort of typical messages they receive, including explicit images, which have become an accepted consequence of using the app.

The final theme to emerge is the one that was the most unnerving of all those discussed in Whitley’s article, exploitation.

Throughout the article, the worrying case of exploitation emerges, with one of the men interviewed even admitting to using the possibility of a relationship in order to seal the opportunity for casual sex.

Whilst all of these themes are obvious causes for alarm, there is an underlying pattern that emerges through all of them, human psychology, which is perhaps the most damning of all the results found.

As with the use of the internet and other social platforms, it is down to how the app is used (or abused) by those who use it that determines how positive or negative the experience of using it is. However, with that said the company also needs to take more responsibility for how the app is used, something which has been a very noticeable downfall of Facebook in recent years. This leads to the most fascinating finding from the article, that the people using Tinder aren’t necessarily fulfilled by their experience but continue to do so none the less.

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Goodin’s book Off. Your Digital Detox For A Better Life, was one that I looked at as part of my research into technology, and the impact it has on loneliness.

The book is specifically concerned with the need to sometimes disconnect from technology, sharing a wide array of ideas and advice on how we could potentially disconnect, in way that is most effective to us personally.

Goodin’s advice is well thought out and well influenced by her research, which is particularly evident in the section “draw a selfie”, a suggestion bases on the result of her “staggering” findings.

In the section, Goodin points to a report stating “an average 20-something will take up 25,700 selfies in their lifetime and around 93 million selfies are taken worldwide every day”.

As a result, Goodin questions whether we are really seeing ourselves when we snap selfies, suggesting that we must be “too busy calculating the right pose, and the right filter”, failing to “appreciate the unique contours and particular geometry of our faces”, which surely take us out of experiencing the moment.

Due to these findings, Goodin suggests drawing a selfie, especially as creativity can “help put us in touch with our inner selves”, as well as being “an exercise in understanding ourselves better”.

Goodin’s final thoughts on the subject of drawing a selfie are that “if we are more in touch with ourselves then we can become more in touch with other people – the very opposite of our self-obsessed, selfie, culture.” It is these views which inspired an idea for adding an interactive element to the book and degree show exhibition.

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Sherry Turkle’s book Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology And Less From Each Other, was another that I looked at concerned with the impact of technology on loneliness.

Due to the late point in the project that I discovered Turkle’s book, I was unable to spend much time reading it, and as such I skimmed much of the book, focusing on finding main points that would help me to inform certain sections of the book.

Of the significant points found in Turkle’s book, the first likens technology to a drug, with Turkle explaining that it “is seductive when what it offers meets our human vulnerabilities”.

Turkle explores the affects of technology further, also stating that “insecure in our relationships and anxious about intimacy, we look to technology for ways to be in a relationship and protect ourselves from them at the same time.”

However, the most interesting point that Turkle makes is concerned with exploring the relationship that adults and children have to the technology they use, in which Turkle’s summation is as surprising, as it very important to acknowledge.

Turkin’s statement that “as adults, we can develop and change our opinions”, whilst in “childhood, we establish the truth in our hearts”, is contrasted by her finding that is “often it is the children who tell their parents to put away the cell phone at dinner. It is this finding of Turkin’s that is one of the most significant throughout the entirety of my project.

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BBC Radio 4’s survey The Loneliness Experiment, is a nationwide study which is being conducted in collaboration with The University of Manchester, University of Exeter and Brunel University London.

The Loneliness Experiment is available to everybody over the age of 16 to take part in what is expected to be a huge and critical survey.

The survey was is of big interest on two counts, the first being from a personal perspective, and the second being as a potentially an insightful and informative to the direction of the project.

From the point of view of the project, the survey was particularly interesting as I had initially considered conducting a survey of my own, however, this survey served to reaffirm my decision not to, as the scale and reach of what I could have achieved would bare in comparison to that of a BBC initiated one.

The survey is very in-depth, and whilst some of the questions were difficult to answer in the options provided, yet the results make for intriguing reading.

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Thank you for taking part in The BBC Loneliness Experiment.

We appreciate you taking the time to complete the experiment. Your responses will help us form a better understanding of friendships, social connectedness, and social belonging. Please rest assured that all of your responses will be stored securely and anonymously. If you have any further questions, or you would like a little more information, please contact: thelonelinessexperiment@manchester.ac.uk You will be able to hear the results on BBC Radio 4 in a special series later in 2018 called Anatomy of Loneliness and on the BBC World Service in Health Check, both presented by Claudia Hammond.

The page below gives you a sneak peek at a few of the results so far. It displays the results to some of the main questions, including what friendship qualities are important to you and what loneliness means to you. The results below are the combined results from everyone who has taken part in the experiment so far. If the graphics fail to load please reload the page.

(1) Would you like more friends?

44% Yes

15% No

(2) Friendship characteristics Below, are the characteristics that are most commonly sought after in a friend.

Close

Loyal

41%

Empathic Open

Calming

Maybe

Fun Makes me feel good Entertaining

(3) In general, do you feel isolated from others?

Funny Reliable Generous

30% Yes

43%

Sometimes

28% No

Sincere

Trustworthy

Supportive

Understanding Helpful Affectionate

(3) What does loneliness mean to you?

To the right, is a set of the most commonly used words to describe loneliness. The larger the word, the more commonly it was used.

isolation

because

friend

support

able

(4) What’s next?

Once again, thank you very much for completing the experiment. We will be working hard over the next couple of months to analyse all the data collected from everyone.

Listen out for the results later in the year in a special All in the Mind and series Anatomy of Loneliness on BBC Radio 4 in the autumn and in Health Check on the BBC World Service.

really

isolate connect

someone

loneliness lonely alone anyone sometimes

understand

feel people

love

work

time

contact

something

close

life

turn

day

care

good

live

make

find

very

no-one

share

spend

feeling thought

connection

world

company

social

person

talk lack

unable

family home

nobody

thing experience

If you found answering any of the questions upsetting or distressing in any way and wish to seek support, please go to the BBC Action Line:http://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline/a-z/

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• a persistent low mood

Winter is recognised as one of the biggest causes of loneliness as well as being one of the most dangerous times for anybody who is suffering from it.

Delving into the effects of the weather on our emotions and feelings of loneliness, the NHS provides important information on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Interestingly often referred to as ’winter depression’, Seasonal Affective Disorder “is a type of depression that comes and goes in a seasonal pattern”, the symptoms of which are said to be “more apparent and tend to be more severe during the winter”, beginning in the autumn before ending around February.

The NHS states that SAD “often improves and disappears in the spring and summer, although it may return each autumn and winter in a repetitive pattern.”

The NHS website also highlights a list of the recognised symptoms of SAD;

• a loss of pleasure or interest in normal everyday activities • irritability • feelings of despair, guilt and worthlessness • feeling lethargic and sleepy during the day • sleeping for longer than normal finding it hard to get up in the morning • gaining weight The NHS concludes that the “symptoms can be severe” and can have a “significant impact” on day-to-day activities.

The NHS’ informative study of SAD is an important one in questioning the impact of the weather on loneliness, in which a number of correlations between the two can be found, however, I was still very interested in discovering more about how the weather effects loneliness.

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When looking further into the effects of the weather on loneliness, Physiologist Stanley Loewen’s Health Guidance article, Effects of Weather on Human Emotions provides an in-depth exploration of how the various weather conditions effect our emotions and indeed loneliness.

Like the NHS, Loewen’s starts his analysis by also considering SAD, describing it as “a specifier for major depression”, which comes from a “lack of light” and therefore a lack of vitamin D. What is particularly interesting is Loewen’s concluding that it is not only winter that can cause SAD, but “rather any weather event such as cloud cover that could result in darkness”.

Loewen’s consideration of the effects of winter (temperature) and sleep are very much similar to that of the NHS findings, however, Loewen’s insight into the effect of rain is one of particular interest.

Firstly, Loewen’s points out something that we know too well, that “rain makes everything more difficult”, but states that it “can’t directly affect your hormones or energy”, unless you happen to be in it.

Loewen’s concludes with the expected outcomes as to the effect of rain on our emotions, that it causes us to stay inside, reducing our ability to socialise, as well as the increased risk of illness further preventing us from socialising.

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Physcologist Dr. John Grohol’s article Can Weather Affect Your Mood? has yet more similarities to both the findings of the NHS and the views of Stanley Loewen.

However, Dr. Grohol’s article goes a step further into investigating how weather can affect mood, through intensive research and a well informed use of references.

When looking at heat and rain, Dr. Grohol presents an alternative perspective, in which he, through his research, finds that there is a “link between human aggression and higher temperatures” and as a result “intergroup conflicts also tended to jump — by 14 percent”, whilst “interpersonal violence rose by 4 percent.”

Dr. Grohol finds that the same is true of rain (or extreme rain), with life satisfaction also being affected, yet, it is not known exactly what the correlation is.

Whilst the correlation between heat and extreme rain with increased aggression and decreased life satisfaction is a very interesting angle to explore, perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the article is the surprising correlation with suicide.

Through his research, Dr. Grohol finds strong evidence that suicide also has a seasonal pattern, yet shockingly that it is in fact during the spring and summer that suicide peaks, which is a “constant, if not a universal behavior that affects both the Northern and Southern hemisphere.”

There are a number of questions to be raised by these shocking statistics, which put in to question the affects of SAD. Overall, the article is one that leads to asking a number of questions in the book, ones which are, though, too ambitious to resolve but which will provoke thought.

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By far the most alarming figure to emerge from my research into loneliness was the statistic that “every week, 84 men in the UK take their own live”, which was found by the charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably).

Whilst this figure concerning suicide may not directly link to loneliness, there is no doubt that loneliness is a major cause of suicide, or that one is often a result of the other as CALM alongside other charities and studies make all too clear.

Indeed, the link between loneliness and suicide is referred within the page on the CALM website, stating that many people who are thinking of taking their own life “feel like they have no friends and are isolated”, i.e. the feeling of loneliness.

Whilst the statistics on suicide are by far the most shocking and powerful findings of the research into suicide, every aspect of CALM’s web page massively informed how I would write on the subject and its link to loneliness in the book.

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Another big risk to health that could both be a cause or result of loneliness is that of eating disorders.

Whilst I found in my earlier research that loneliness has around twice the impact on early death as obesity, Jennifer Rollin’s article for Huffpost looks at link between the two, and how one affects the other.

Rollin states that when people feel lonely, they often turn to food to numb their pain, stating that this may provide “temporary feelings of comfort”, but that it often leads to “higher anxiety and increased isolation in the long-term.” Rollin also states that the comfort felt by an eating binge, is quickly replaced by “shame and guilt”, which can further add to feeling lonely and more isolated.

Rollin states that anorexia on the other hand, allows people to feel more “calm through depriving themselves of food”, in which their is a greater sense of having control of their life.

Despite being at the opposite end of the scale, Rollin’s article strongly informs that both anorexia and obesity, can have an equally devastating effect on feelings of loneliness and isolation, with the deeper “someone gets into their eating disorder, the more that it starts to become their primary relationship.”

According to Rollin’s findings this will also isolate people from the people they “care about most”, whilst keeping them from “forming more meaningful connections.”

Overall, Rollin’s article was fascinating to read as part of my research, highlighting a very important potential risk and cause of loneliness that is not often discussed in the same sentence, and one which is most likely increased by growing up as well as by social media too.

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As well as conducting factual research, I also conducted research into charities in order to further inform my project.

The charity research was done in order to add authenticity to my book through finding out how the charities identify and tackle loneliness through their advice.

As well as this, I also contacted each of the charities that I looked at, in which I received backing for my project, whilst also being informed that they would be unable to support my project directly.

One such charity is Mind, the leading mental health charity offering support and advice to those effected by mental health issues, which also extends to those suffering from loneliness.

The charity offers support and advice for all mental health conditions, with a dedicated page for each on their site, allowing visitors to the site quick access to help, whilst they also provide much needed support to people supporting those suffering, a consideration often overlooked, but equally important.

Yet, it was Mind’s correlation between mental health and loneliness that really caught my eye.

A look at Mind’s website also highlights the impact that they are continually and increasingly making to positively effect people’s lives, as well as sharing the charities long-list of achievements.

Amongst the many achievements, two which really stood out to me were Mind’s contribution to the passing of the Equality

Act, 2010 as well as the Mental Health (Discrimination) Act, 2013, both of which have had a huge impact on improving lives and equality.

Overall, Mind’s impact and status really made it stand out as a charity who could bring a great deal to my project, due most notably to their standing, which I believe could potentially have massive benefits to the scale of the projects aims and access to sources.

Another charity of interest to me was The Jo Cox Foundation set up in the memory of the MP existing “to channel the energy and determination generated by Jo’s life and untimely death into practical efforts to advance the causes she championed”.

One such cause is loneliness, in which the foundation has continued the work of the Loneliness Commission which had been first established by Jo to “bring about a step change in the public policy response to the UK’s loneliness crisis”.

The result of the Loneliness Commission was delivered as recently as December, led by Rachel Reeves MP and Seema Kennedy MP, the response to which has already seen a government commitment adopt a strategy to tackle the issue.

As well as the foundation’s incredible achievements and influence in such a short space of time, I was also drawn to them in particular by what they have to say and Jo’s attitude towards loneliness.

The quote (bottom left) is taken from an extended speech in which Jo shares my beliefs in regards to loneliness, whilst the foundation’s echoes the very heart-warming attitude of both Jo and Brendan Cox. The foundation’s strong belief in working together as well as their commitment to amplifying “the voices of all those who believe that compassion, understanding and optimism are signs of strength and not weakness”.

The continued efforts and subsequent success of the Loneliness Commission serve to highlight the scale of the issue faced, as well as showing the affection for Jo and the impact of her life, the most fitting and inspiring of tributes.

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The third charity of interest was the British Red Cross, who like Mind and The Jo Cox Foundation acknowledge that loneliness effects many different groups in society.

Much of the British Red Cross’s views on loneliness reflect those of the previous two charities, yet one thing setting them apart is their in depth research study, commissioned in partnership with Co-op.

The study, which is available to anyone as a PDF on the charity’s website (see link in the References) pools together an extensive range of literature on the subject of loneliness, analysing and comparing the findings in order to help to determine the right course of action.

The study highlights that certain social groups are vulnerable to loneliness, in which the wider demographic of young people is unfortunately not one of those represented. However, the charity does acknowledge that research into that area is limited as most studies carried out have commonly focuses solely on the older population.

The study also acknowledges loneliness as a “subjective feeling or mood” to which its association with “actual or perceived isolation” means that there is not a linear method that can solve peoples problems.

The study serves to highlight a number of possible ‘interventions’ which can be effective to the various groups discusses, as well as also serving to highlight those that are ineffective too.

Intervention methods include community and activity-based interventions, latter of which was one of interest to me, yet it was the technology-based intervention which I found most fascinating in this particular instance. The intervention highlights the benefits of technology, contrary to my prior research, although the literature only focuses on the elderly.

The charity’s study has been of particular value to my research, allowing me quick access to important data as well as some useful advice which are very informative to the direction of the project.

The final charity that I could looked at was the Campaign To End Loneliness, who focus on ending loneliness, as made obvious by the name.

The charity’s exclusive concern of ending loneliness suggested that they are the perfect charity to include in my research, however, a look at the charity’s website highlights some problems.

The charity’s research into loneliness is concerned exclusively with the elderly population, ignoring the impact that it has on all ages, as alluded to by the articles, studies, and figures obtained.

Whilst the charity’s focus on the elderly doesn’t consider the wider picture, the one dimensional approach to loneliness prevention does raise some very exciting potential opportunities to the project too.

As a result, I determined that the project would be aimed at combating the effects of loneliness on the younger population, generations X through Z. One which individuals and organisations have the opportunities to; learn “from the very latest research”, campaign for change in there “local community and on a national scale” and connect “with like-minded people to share ideas and work through challenges together”, the last of which is an intriguing prospect.

Whilst the blight of the loneliness on the older population is apparent, as has been made abundantly clear by high-profile adverts from the likes of Age UK and John Lewis in recent years, this does not consider the manifestation of the issue of loneliness could have on the future older population.

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Similarly to the process of conducting the factual research, the visual research presented in this section is just a small sample taken from a much wider pool of inspirational sources looked at.

As a result, this section focuses on the most significant projects that I looked at during the early stages of the project which informed how I started to develop my ideas, as well as the further research I would later conduct.

The research in this section covers all elements of my initial thinking for how I would develop the project, including book design, photography, illustration, logo design and exhibitions.

John Lewis’ #ManOnTheMoon Christmas advert was produced with the intention of raising awareness about the number of elderly people who would be spending Christmas alone, whilst also seeking to raise awareness for the brand itself.

The advert was produced with the help of Age UK, with the advert focuses on a young girl, her telescope and love of the sky and space.

As the girl explores the moon through her telescope, a flicker of light catches her eye, drawing her further and further in, until she sees the solitary figure of an old man, also staring up into space.

The following sequences follow the girl innocently attempt to send a message to the man, leading up to Christmas day in which she (with the help of mum) finally manages to send a parcel, coming face to face or eye to eye.

Whilst the ’man on the moon’ is obviously the focal point of the advert from the view point of loneliness, I was more interested in analysing how the girl was portrayed within the advert.

The advert initially finds the girl sat in her living room, looking for engagement with her brother who is sat consumed by technology, before turning to the sky.

This suggests that she too is perhaps lonely, in which she like many channels that feeling to engage with the world around her through other means.

The girl’s fascination with space and most notably the moon of course links to the old man, yet the telescopes presence in the room, suggests that she has been searching the sky long before this.

Whilst there isn’t conclusive evidence to the girl’s sense of loneliness, the advert does highlight the relationships we hold with inanimate objects and the freedom that they give us.

The advert could also be seen to show the importance of creativity, collaboration and never giving up, each of which are particular important to my project, and without which the girl would have never being able to deliver the present.

The use of sound, in this case a cover of Oasis’ 1994 song Half the World Away, is also vital to the success of the advert, in which the beautifully soft delivery of the lyrics and a sense of poignancy and hope.

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Like John Lewis’s Christmas advert, Age UK’s 2017 Christmas advert also seeks to engage TV audiences with the issue and impact of loneliness and social isolation on the elderly population.

Age UK’s advert focuses entirely on the figure of an old, lonely gentleman, living alone, whose only contact with the outside world comes from his visits to the shops.

The ad depicts his routine throughout the months leading up to Christmas, which comprises of 3 major recurring scenes, in which he is seen sitting in his living room, looking out of the window and going out to the shops.

Throughout these 3 scenes the man is also seen to be looking or watching the world go by around him, with a great sense of desperation to engage with the people he encounters, most notably the checkout assistant at the supermarket.

Each recurring, albeit transforming scene builds upon the last, as does the empathy felt by the audience, becoming a real tear-jerker when thinking about the “1.2 million people in England who live with ‘crushing, chronic’ loneliness according to Age UK”.

Whilst the shots in which the man’s face is seen help to draw instant compassion from the audience, it is the shots in which he is seen peering out of the window or that I found most interesting.

The darkness in which he is contained suggests his isolation, while each passing time he is seen, he is more consumed by the looming darkness of the impending festive season. Within this darkness, the window both literally and figuratively offers some light, yet any light offered quickly dissolves into darkness.

Whilst such sensitive visuals powerfully articulate those most vulnerable at this time it is the use of the answer machine recording that packs the biggest punch, through the man’s crackling voice and the answering machine’s brutally delivered message of “you have no messages”.

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The Loneliness Project by Toronto-based graphic designer Marissa Korda, was of huge interest as it was the only project I have come across which deals directly with the subject of loneliness.

One aspect of the project that I found to be the most captivating and inspiring to was the use of everyday sounds, such as wind and traffic which is vital to creating a fully immersive experience.

Korda’s very poignant project consists of a series of very minimal and thoughtfully produced illustration, each consisting of a very personal entry that builds upon the previous to create a apartment block design, which feels particularly fitting in the context of the subject.

Whilst the design and approach of the project serves as a great inspiration in which to begin to inform my project, it is when hearing Korda’s thoughts on the project that proved most fascinating to me.

Each illustration builds a visual narrative, whilst the beautifully stylish aesthetic of the illustration also enables a high level of anonymity, serving to support those most personal entries of those who show bravery to share their stories.

Whilst the figures are anonymous, Korda is cleverly able to hint at the identity of the storyteller through the illustrations, in which the diverse range of people are highlighted, as made evident by two of the three examples given in particular.

Korda states that the project was derived from living in a world where “there’s an epidemic of loneliness that has many people suffering in silence”, despite being seemingly “more connected than ever”.

Korda also discusses how she had being inundated with “submissions from people of all ages and walks of life, in which the project opens a dialogue for people.

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Perhaps the most poignant and inspiring project I discovered in my research is the Calm Photography Movement.

The movement was co-founded by Scott Shillum and Steve Wallington was set up as a response to the death of Shillum’s identical twin-brother, and the discovery of CALM, who Shillum was very eager to support through fundraising via his own creative outlet.

Through the contacts of both Shillum and Wallington, the two were able to create a collaborative photographic campaign/ exhibition, encouraging professional and amateur photographers to submit images to be included in the exhibition.

Shillum’s belief that photography can be a powerful outlet for communicating such complex and often stigmatised subjects, has been further reinforced by research which finds that “photography can really help people who are struggling mentally.”

This is encapsulated by the photographs that are on show in the exhibition itself, each of which is distinctive and deeply personal to the submitter, an example of which can be seen above, combining simple yet very clever traditional and digital techniques to create a powerful image, that provokes instant emotion.

The Calm Photography Movement serves as a vital part of my research, starting out as merely visual research, the project has become an important reference point for the project going forward.

The success of the project is affirmed by the breadth and diversity of submissions with Shillum being “overwhelmed by the interest in this inaugural event with over 2000 entries from 40 countries”, which he considers a “testament to the power of photography”.

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MullenLowe London’s We Listen campaign for charity, Samaritans, extends across digital, posters and railway media.

Mullenlowe’s campaign is an excellent example of how a clever idea, thoughtful approach and the balance and simplicity of design elements lead to a successful piece of visual communication.

The main attraction of the Samaritans posters is the portrait photography of Nadav Kandar, which very cleverly and rather fittingly reveal only the back of the posters’ subjects, communicating the assurance of anonymity for those who contact the charity, as well as the shame and denial felt by those suffering.

The portraits are set against coloured backdrops that contrast the off-white colour of the surrounding area of the poster, a continuous theme throughout the collection of the posters.

The background colours to the portraits is applied to the message of the poster in which each subject is in denial, trying to assure that they are “able to cope” or “will be alright”, cleverly containing hidden messages which reveal “that they’re not OK at all”.

The brilliance of these messages are in capturing the very real reactions people have to their own problems, yet perhaps more impressive is the use of colour in doing so, in which the highlighted coloured text seems to be taken from the subject too, adding a more personal and powerful context to the message.

The combination of the two colours also transcends into the statement of the campaign “We don’t just hear you, we listen”, a constant reminder that affirms Samaritans as the place to go for those who are in need of someone to talk to.

MullenLowe’s We Listen campaign is able to combine a beautifully thought out and sensitively delivered message, in a very contemporary style, a sad exception for many charity projects, and ones which I hope to capture in my project.

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The book contains 30 “highly researched” writing exercises, in which Alpin sought input from “academics, psychologists and user-testers”.

MindJournal’s This Book Will Make You Stronger is a book/journal hybrid created and inspired by Brighton-based freelance graphic designer, Ollie Alpin, and derives from his “personal experience of anxiety, panic attacks and mental breakdown”.

The journal offers an interestingly, fresh, alternative approach to tackling mental health, in this case being aimed at men, “who are less likely to feel comfortable talking about their problems”.

The journal is described as a “workbook”, consisting of “three core chapters and thirty writing exercises”, each serving to encourage “writing as a way to navigate the challenges of life”.

The journal consists of three chapters, “Warm Up, Hurdles and Strength”, which act as a “personal trainer for your mind”, encouraging openness from the owner and something they “can do everyday”.

Alpin’s extensive research process for creating the journal is one that served as an inspiration to the process I would need to undertake for the research of my book.

The journal also contains photographic spreads, which explore the relationship between imagery and typography, both vital elements of my book.

One aspect of the book which I feel is less successful though, is the cover. The book is described as being designed to be “a discrete and stylish hard-bound journal”, yet the cover design itself consists of a bold, typographic arrangement and use of limited colour, which I imagine to be somewhat conspicuous to carry around during day-to-day activities.

I feel the cover would work better in a single, block colour such as the black, perhaps using a spot gloss or embossing technique, in which the title is only easily visible to the book’s possessor.

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Steinmetz’s photography book New York Air: The View from Above, 2015, offers immediate inspiration having determined that photography would be a focal point of my project, and in its format of a book.

Steinmetz’s book is characterised by his distinctive aerial style, offering a unique perspective on the world’s most famous, densely populated and diverse city and its 5 boroughs. Steinmetz’s work captures everyday life in the city, the way in which it connects its inhabitants and how their lives are defined and navigated by it.

Steinmetz’s perspective of the city feels withdrawn and is physically distant from his subjects, which really resonates with the subject of loneliness.

Steinmetz uses this perspective to draw further meaning and emphasis to what are at times powerful and raw emotions, encapsulated by his image looking down at the ’Ground Zero’ site in particular.

Steinmetz’s shot of ‘Ground Zero’ shows the void left by the footprint of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre site as well as the vast surrounding area of the site, in which the scale and solace of his image photograph embodies the feeling of sorrow and loss that is still so raw today.

Steinmetz’s unique perspective shot of a graveyard captures the same feeling of loss yet in a much more straight-forward way due to the subject of the image.

The image itself has a Rodchenko-esque quality, embodied by the strong shadows that emerge from the perspective taken, an immediate reminder of Rodchenko’s Lestnitsa or Steps, one of many the works I became interested in last year.

The sombre images of Steinmetz’s book are amongst the most insightful to the direction of my project, highlighting how rich tone and colour can be used to evoke such emotion, with the book also becoming of interest from an editorial point of view.

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The book is produced in a large 274 x 314 mm format creating a platform for which the photographs are as expected the main focal point, in which the finest of details can be seen in all their glory.

The book adopts a 4 column grid with the main paragraphs being split into the two columns spanning the four, whilst smaller paragraphs that support the images are condensed to a 1 column text box driven by the content shown.

The layout of the written content in the book is somewhat of more interest to the development of this journal, rather than that of the book, which is expected to be a more artistic piece of communication.

However, the editorial design of the book, and the photography within, can not be undervalued as an influential element in informing the direction of my project.

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Aaron Draplin’s Pretty Much Everything, 2016, is another book of interest from an editorial and photographic perspective whilst informing how bold graphics can be applied to an editorial layout.

Draplin’s mid-career retrospective sees Draplin share some of his best work and advice amongst other things, all of which make the book a source of inspiration.

Draplin’s book is the most experimental amongst the books in my collection, in which Draplin presents an exploration of his work in his own distinctive, bold style, including inventive colour combinations.

Draplin does, however, employ a strict 3 column grid for the text as well as a two typeface limit, adding a much needed sense of continuity across what is a very diverse and quirky range of content.

Upon opening up the book, the striking boldness of the book is evident through the spread of the contents page, which greets the reader with an image of Draplin alongside a bold, tightly-leaded slab serif contents list, printed on a strong orange colour that is associated with Draplin.

Draplin’s unconventional use of colour in the book feels fresh, although such is the experimental nature of his book that I cannot help but feel that some spreads work more successfully than others .

However, what can not be argued is that the book succeeds in engaging with the reader, the most important characteristic of a book, whilst such methods capture Draplin at his best.

One particular element of the book I was particularly drawn to is the combination of photography with the slab serif text, a useful reference to my own decisions of combining the two elements.

Beyond the editorial aspect of the work, Draplin, a renowned logo designer, offers some very useful advice and insights to the process of designing a logo, which will be invaluable to my process.

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However, the lack of colour in Bierut’s work does not transmit into a lack of invention or experimentation when it comes to the layout of the content.

Michael Bierut’s How To, 2016 also takes a retrospective look at his work over more than three decades of his career, featuring a similar amount of projects throughout the book too.

Again like Draplin’s book, I was initially interested in looking at Bierut’s work in from an editorial perspective, yet whilst proving to be a useful resource in its own right, the book offered so much more.

From an editorial perspective of the book, Bierut’s book reverts to a monochromatic format, a direct contrast to the vibrancy of Draplin’s book.

The monochromatic style of Bierut’s work is one that I have constantly employed for my editorial work, throughout the last two and a half years, to which I am eager to produce something that much more daring and experimental.

Bierut’s employs an unusual 12 column grid, in which the text can span anywhere between 1 and 6 columns of the grid, something that could be considered as daring in the face of usually expected and accepted editorial layouts.

Beruit’s book approaches the layout of images in similar way, whilst conforming to the grid, in which these two elements take what can sometimes be considered a restrictive element, and to turn it into a framework for creative licence.

Beyond looking at the book in a editorial capacity, Bierut offers advice and insights from his career, the best of which comes from images of his old notebooks.

Whilst Bierut almost admittedly reveals himself as someone who is not visual when it comes to sketching ideas, he does affirm the importance of his sketches at times for the final outcomes of his work, something, that I found very interesting as I too do not really sketch out my ideas.

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The book Public Art (Now): Out Of Time, Out Of Place was one that was looked at from a purely editorial perspective, which provided a great deal of inspiration to the design of my book.

The book was designed by British design studio Why Not Associates, in which the book contains interesting and bold uses of cropped imagery, large scale titles and bright vibrant colours, whilst contrasting these elements with a simple layout and more understated treatment of body text.

There is as much a wonderful amount of clarity to the presentation of the book, as there is an immersive and exciting visual quality that emerges from the striking use of the elements within it.

Why Not Associates beautifully creative, yet refined design became on of the most influential books that I looked at as part of my visual research, with references to the design the book evident in the final design of my book.

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Exhibitionism–The Rolling Stones

The stand-out aspect of these elements is the typography of the titles and more specifically the quotes which continually appear throughout the book.

Exhibitionism – The Rolling Stones was a book designed and produced by design agency Pentagram, which became one of the most significant that I looked at.

The quotes run vertically down the page, whilst the size they are set in makes the quotes clearly visible, really standing-out and highlighting their importance within the book, yet without overwhelming the design of the page itself.

Pentagram’s work was hugely influential in a number of ways, from the very bold but simple design of the book’s cover, the layout and relationship of elements on the page, and finally the typography used throughout for the titles and quotes.

The cover’s distinctive aesthetic gives an immediate indication as to the contents of the book, without giving away any of the content inside the book itself, whilst the cover really pops, allowing it to stand out on a crowded book shelf.

In contrast to the very colourful cover is the inside pages of the book, which use a combination of large scale imagery, three columned body copy and very distinctive condensed titles, all of which are printed on to white and black backgrounds.

It was the treatment of the typography for the quotes that was really informed the way I would treat the typography in the process of designing my book, whilst Pentagram’s overall design of the book itself was one that inspired my work.

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Allan Sekula’s book Ship Of Fools was one that I looked at strictly for the layout and arrangement of images, which includes both photography and illustration.

The photography presented throughout the book is often cropped in a variety of ways, in which the placing of the images is diverse, creating a sense of consistency within the flexibility of the design.

The more creative and diverse layout of the photography is contrasted beautifully by the much more minimal and reserved presentation of the illustrations.

Again there were a number of influential references that I found through looking at the book which I applied to the design of my own book.

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The Persuasion section is concerned with the dangers of smoking, in which each of the projects presented employ a unique and creative solution, in order to influence “behaviour change”.

Can Graphic Design Save Your Life?, 2017, produced by GraphicDesign&, is the most versatile and perhaps the most important book I have looked at.

The book is a direct result of an exhibition curated by GraphicDesign&, investigating “the significant role of graphic design in health”, which had being held at London’s Wellcome Collection.

Following the structure of the exhibition, the book is broken down into 6 sections – Persuasion, Education, Hospitalisation, Medication, Contagion, Provocation, which continue GraphicDesign&’s research, with all the focus on contemporary designers and agencies.

The 3 sections of most interest were – Persuasion, Contagion and Provocation, in which both the former and the latter provided a number of very informative and inspiring projects in particular.

The Provocation section introduces an array of diverse projects, each employing very different graphic design methods in order to communicate on various health related issues, including organ donation, eating disorders, and breast cancer.

Each section also serves to highlight the various methods that can be employed when communicating on health related issues and the importance of choosing the right format for the context and aims of the message.

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The first designs shown in the Persuasion section of the book are a series of antismoking postage stamps, an intriguing way in raise awareness, the popularity of which I had previously been unaware of.

As many as “65 countries have issued anti-smoking stamps”, as a result of them being “relatively cheap to produce and widely distributed”, which make them an effective tool in which to raise awareness.

The stamps shown serve to highlight the various disciplines that can be employed when communicating on a single subject in which simplicity is the most common and effective form of communication, due to the small window of space.

Yet as the book alludes to, achieving such simplicity and impactful design “is complex” due to the stamp needing to be “eloquent and effective in a very small space”, requiring a strong concept, which will be vital to the success of my ideas.

The level of consideration required when designing something that is as common and seemingly mundane as stamps, is an important thing to acknowledge, and one which will serve me well when designing the potential promotional materials.

The design of the stamps range from flat graphics, illustration and 3D illustration, showing the variety in which addressing the issue is interpreted by an individual or team.

Such ‘subjectiveness’ links to loneliness, in which I will need to derive an aesthetic style that can be used to convey such a subjective subject, serving to highlight the importance of the stamps.

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The memorable and emotional impact of such imagery is apparent in the packets shown, each leaving an uncomfortable, perhaps even scaring visual in the mind.

One campaign of interest and relevance to the project was the Australian Plain Cigarette Packaging, having generated a vague idea of using cigarette packaging to communicate the dangers of loneliness on health, which as my factual research alludes to, can be compared to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

The campaign is the result of Australia becoming the first country around the world to “pass a law requiring cigarettes to be sold in ‘unbranded’ packets”, with “graphic warnings to cover 75% of the front and 90% of the back”, above the World Health Organisation’s requirement “of only 30–50%” coverage.

With the removal of the branding from the packets, warning labels alongside supporting pictures were used, which has “been shown to be more noticeable and memorable, and to have greater emotional impact”, as the result of the government report in 2015 upholds.

Whilst 4 of the 6 packets use shockingly graphic images, that make for unpleasant viewing, it is the 2 remaining packets that are perhaps the most harrowing.

The packet showing the effects of lung cancer caused by smoking not only uses the image of Bryan immediately after his death, but most shockingly an image of him prior to his battle with the disease.

The contrast between the two adds a much stronger emphasis to highlight the devastating effects of smoking, which show how a simple idea can have such a dramatic impact on a design.

However, the packet that I found to have the biggest impact on my emotions was the one showing the harmful effects of smoking on unborn babies. The power of this image derives from the vulnerability and innocence of the baby who has had no bearing in the effects that smoking has had on, which is the most damning indictment on the effects of smoking.

The impact of the imagery used in the designs of these packets illustrate how effective photography can be in order to convey emotion, in a way that is damning and unavoidable to the audience that its message is aimed at.

However, the big question that surrounds the use of similarly provocative imagery in my project is whether it would be too provocative or whether it is necessary in order to show the dangers of loneliness.

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Completely contrasting the provocative designs of the Australian Plain Cigarette Packaging are a collection of Speculative Cigarette Packaging.

The top two packets were designed by Leeds based agency Build, as an indirect response to the UK government’s decision to consider the introduction of unbranded cigarette packaging.

Build’s designs were prompted by design magazine ICON, producing designs with a self-proclaimed approach of “no gloss, just information”, in which the agency treats “all data equally”.

Build’s designs use data very cleverly, the first informing smokers of how much of their life expectancy (11 minutes) is being reduced with each cigarette and pack smoked, whilst the second uses repetition of the message “Smoking Kills” over and over again.

Both designs employ the font, OCR-B in which the corporate feel of the letters convey a complete lack of personality, with the information becoming even more mundane to look at.

Whilst the chosen font and information provided undoubtedly deter enticement through their passiveness, Build’s designs still have a certain level of appeal, notably the use of colour, shape, and the dynamic arrangement of these elements.

These measures are the result of ICON’s brief asking if cigarettes “could still look good while warning smokers?”. This led graphic artist Ricky Trickartt to respond with his own unbranded design, having suggested that ICON missed the point and Build “haven’t de-branded cigarettes -they’ve just re-branded them”.

Trickartt’s designs remove any trace of the perceived embellishments of Build’s designs, such as colour, stating that it “fails at both parts of their reasoning”, and instead employs a more typographic design, using “50% of major surfaces for health warnings” whilst printing on to an “unbleached, recycled paper”.

Whilst Trickartt considers his designs to truly de-brand cigarette packaging, he too adopts detail which could be deemed unnecessary, as the layout and hierarchy of the type itself is perhaps too clean, making the branding more easy to identify than Build’s more suffocating design.

Whist Build is for me the more effective of the two designs, both highlight how effective the use of typography can be opposed to bold graphics or provocative imagery, helping inform my ideas.

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Studio Dumbar’s identity for Alzheimer Nederland was the stand-out project in the Provocation section of the book, due to use of custom typography to beautifully interpret the effects of the disease.

The solar-like eclipse burning a whole through the entire typeface, most notably the signature ‘a’ of the logo, “reflects the vanishing worlds of people with dementia, but also suggest light and hope”, a truly wonderful concept, which not only creates a sombre tone, but also positively shines a light on the very important work that Alzheimer Nederland do.

The ability to convey such complexity in emotion and themes is testament to the studio, whilst exploring typography as a sole entity in communication, something that could be key to the development of the branding for my project.

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One project that surprisingly became of great interest was Katie Green’s graphic novel Lighter Than My Shadow.

Whilst Green’s novel appears (upon first viewing) to be unrelated to my project, her work shares a number of similarities as well as elements that serve to inspire potential possibilities for my work.

It is “an autobiographical account of a young life affected by eating disorders and sexual abuse”, in which Green is able to channel her inner creativity to express her story in a way that informs, engages and most importantly helps others.

Green’s ability to channel such personal pain into something that can help other in a similar position or even just create more understanding, is similar to that of Scott Shillum, the importance of which recently being affirmed by It’s Nice That’s article How embracing vulnerability can power innovation, creativity and change.

Green’s novel is perhaps more similar to a project I produced during my second year rather than the one I am currently undertaking, however, it is this sense of using one’s own ‘vulnerability’ that could be a powerful tool to utilise in order to create the change in attitude towards loneliness that I am aiming to achieve.

Green’s novel also introduces illustration to my research and to my thinking, with Green employing “delicate line drawing, handwritten type and a restrained and subtle use of colour”, which consists of just grayscale tonal range.

Green’s illustration and use of grayscale are of real interest as main elements of my earliest idea for the direction of the project, but one that I had since moved far away from, yet the effectiveness in which Green uses the medium alongside her handwritten text to add personality, sincerity and sensitivity to her story, lead me to reconsider the use of illustration.

The final element of Green’s novel and the one which inspired me most was that she started producing the novel as her final degree project, taking a further five years to complete.

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One of the most fascinating and daring book that I have come across during my research is Giorgio Di Noto’s The Iceberg.

Di Noto’s book explores the dark side of the internet, which Di Noto likens to an iceberg, the tip being the “surface web” that we interact with on a daily basis.

The reference to the iceberg derives from “the submerged part” of the internet, “the hidden 90%” made up of an “encrypted and constantly evolving network of total anonymity, beyond the reach of search engines” and authority.

The book uses photography taken from the “lawless no-man’s land”, consisting of stock and original images, exploring that which only exists “temporarily in this dark, secret space on the deep web”, through a very clever use of materials.

Di Noto presents the professional stock photographs using subtle grayscale tones, whilst the originals are brilliantly printed in invisible ink, only to be viewed under UV light, “the same light drug enforcers use to look for traces of narcotics”.

Di Noto’s wonderful use of invisible inks adds depth and brings an extra dynamic to the book, adding emphasis to the “drug representations” and advertisements in this “impossible archive” of things “that nobody wants to be archived or saved”.

It was this creative and ingenious use of the invisible ink that really captured my attention when discovering the book, in particular as it is a material that I have considered utilising in my project.

One question raised by the use of the ink in the book was to whether this had been achieved through a commercial printer, something that I would need to find out about, in order to determine how realistic this would be to achieve.

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100 For 10 is a project developed by Lars Harmsen and Florian Brugger, which had been inspired by a visit to an “exposition of photographer Robert Frank’s work at Munich’s Academy of Fine Arts”, in which Frank’s images “were ink-jetted on thin paper and glued to the walls”.

Compelled by the “cheap, quick and dirty” form of production, which favours a form of art “accessible to everyone”, Harmsen and Brugger started to curate “affordable, attainable books” presenting the “unique work from internationally renowned artists”, allowing each artist to reach a “broad audience”.

The title of 100 For 10 derives from the publications themselves, each consisting of 100 pages of which are available for $10.

Every artist, designer, photographer and illustrator participating is “invited to create whatever they want”, the only “stipulation being that it has to be 100-pages and restricted to black and white”.

The restriction of using black and white enables each publication to be printed and sold cheaply, allowing them to reach a much wider and more diverse audience.

The accessibility and affordability of such production methods produces positives that are informative to my process, yet having considered producing a second smaller, cheaper version of the book is one that I would not be able to realise.

The 100 For 10 project has enabled me to quickly access a wide range of unique works that I would not otherwise of seen, allowing me to expand my inspiration, in which I have become most interested in the work of illustrators, Jean Valencia and Joni Majer, whose work can been viewed on the following pages.

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Deep Sleep by Jean Valencia is the 28th edition of the 100 For 10 series, which showcases her minimalistic illustrations, made using “precise lines”.

Valencia’s illustrations are “very ironic”, which is said to stem from her positive personality, both of which are abundant in the playful series of illustrations shown.

Valencia’s witty illustrations appear very simple to produce due to their minimal aesthetic, yet the skill in Valencia’s use of precise and effective lines, show a very good hand drawing ability.

Most importantly though, Valencia’s hand drawn illustration highlight how effective the use of such processes can be in the production of print.

Valencia’s illustrations print beautifully on the black and white restrictions placed upon them, with areas of block shading give a great sense of depth. Valencia’s illustrations are a wonderful example of how effective and creative such a simple form of communication can be.

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Joni Majer’s illustration also use precise line work, with the same distinctive hand drawn style, perhaps even more so.

Whereas Valencia uses areas of black to give a sense of depth to her illustrations, Majer uses the dramatic blocked areas to add contrast to her subjects, a tool to give further emphasis to the meaning of her work.

Majer’s work also carries a certain witty satire, yet Majer’s drawings are described as “twisted thoughts in the most simple way”, something which is immediately apparent when looking at her publication, Making A Point.

Making A Point is the 53rd edition from the 100 For 10 series, in which Majer’s presents holes and limbs in a range of highly creative and provocative ways.

However, it was another series of Majer’s illustrations that I was most interested in exploring.

Majer’s commissioned work for Nomad magazine consist of 6 illustrations, which provide a satirical social commentary.

Each illustration is full of wit and cynicism for the state of modern society, which is perhaps most obvious in the image of the human head-shaped computer screen.

The style of Majer’s illustration combined with her the cynical yet deeply satirical expression are on full show in her work for Nomad, and provide real inspiration to my illustration based ideas.

Majer’s work perfectly encapsulates the manner in which I want to communicate on the influence and/or effects of social media on loneliness, making her Nomad series really is a great example to look at.

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The work of Keith Haring is visually in stark contrast to Majer’s illustrations, yet share the similarities of the use of lines and playful, abstract characters.

The cartoon-like figures and bright colour palette used throughout Haring’s drawings and murals are synonymous with the New York street culture and pop-art movement in which they emerged.

Like Majer, Haring’s work addressed the critical social and political issues of the time, most notable among which were homosexuality and AIDS, both of which were very personal to himself.

Haring’s work shows an ability to take a personal subject and communicate it from an objective point of view, yet one which embodies his personality and values.

Haring’s simple gesturing figures are limitless in their ability to communicate, whilst applying such bright colours serve to highlight that such serious issues can “be fun or at least lively” to look at.

It is the Haring’s use of these lively figures that is of most interest to me in particular. Haring’s figures are abstract and genderless yet are capable of creating an extraordinary sense of meaning.

These genderless, outlined figures are the perfect gesturing empty shell that I am looking to work into the storytelling illustrations in my project.

Haring’s work are a wonderful example of what can be achieved through such simple illustration, yet in some instances do also highlight the importance of a few well chosen words, in order to add context.

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The work of Noma Bar is in contrast to the visual language developed by Haring, yet Bar has also developed his own unique and distinctive style.

Bar’s very minimalistic illustrations make seemingly effortless use of association and negative space, in which Bar refines his initial ideas or inspiration down to “nothing more than necessary”.

Bar’s retrospective book Bittersweet is a wonderful exploration of Bar “deceptively simple” illustrations, in which inspiration is found on every page.

Bar’s chosen form of minimal detail and flat colours are apparent in every aspect of his work, whether in his drawings or his cut-out works.

Bar’s illustrations are clearly inspired, if not directly derived from iconography and pictograms, elements prevalent in technology, and as such they hold a real significance to my project.

Bar’s ability to transcend such meaning through the use of semiotics is constant throughout the book, yet several from the from the hundreds of illustrations stand out when looking from the perspective of my project.

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Like Bar, Paul Pateman’s illustrative style also embraces the use of semiotics, flat colours and simple shapes, yet Pateman’s application of these elements contrasts the aesthetic style of Bar’s work, despite the similarities in their approach.

I was originally drawn to Pateman’s work through his cover illustration for Creative Review, entitled How Twitter changed the way we LOL, in which Pateman combines two elements of interest to my project, the ‘emoji’ and the iconic Twitter bird logo.

Pateman’s illustration is a great example of how to combine instantly recognisable elements of iconography, twisting them and giving them new life and meaning.

Pateman’s consistent ability to story-tell through his icon infused illustrations are also evident in Trump On Mute, Fighting back against fake news for Positive News magazine, and his piece for the Financial Times’ article How quitting smartphones is the new quitting smoking.

The two pieces also highlight Pateman’s satirical edge, in which his illustrations are as scathing as they are joyful.

Both illustrations also show the strength and consistency of Pateman’s bold use of geometric shape, which is something of a trademark of Pateman’s illustrative style.

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Turning attention back to photography, the works of Paul Graham has become a major factor in inspiring the direction in which I will take my project, due to his documentary style.

Graham has produced a high number of publications and exhibitions, all of which could be considered as valuable to my project, from his first; A1—The Great North Road, his follow up Beyond Caring through to his latest publication Paris 11–15th November 2015, which presents an alternative perspective onto the terror attacks on the city.

However, for the purpose of my project there were the project that I was mostly interested in his most recent exhibition The Whiteness of the Whale, 2014, and the subsequent supporting book The Whiteness of the Whale exhibition brings together the “three bodies of work made in the United States” including that of A Shimmer of Possibility, a mini-series of 12 books, which were the source of my interest in Graham’s work.

Each of the projects embody Graham’s documentary style, and encapsulate his areas of real strength and interest, which appear firmly planted in capturing everyday life, from its sights and textures, to serious “underlying issues such as racial and social issues” which have sadly been an all to prevalent necessity in his many project.

Graham’s images manage to capture the complexity that surrounds the our world, often capturing his subjects performing the most menial and insignificant of tasks or even doing nothing of note at all.

Through these images, Graham manages to capture the melancholy of everyday life but with a certain disdainful beauty, that I found so captivating and powerful.

This is most apparent in the shots where Graham’s subject is an inanimate object or landscape in which there is an absence of obvious connection or meaning, which draw the viewer to find meaning.

Both the exhibition and the book offer differentiating experiences of Graham’s work, whilst notably making excellent use of white space, adding to the context.

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Adams is an award-winning American photographer whose work ranges from photography exhibitions, collections and publications, to books collating his own writing and essays on related subjects.

Adam’s is considered “a key figure in the New Topographics movement”, with his work documenting the ongoing transition towards “man-altered landscapes” as well as the increasing effect of industrialisation on the natural world.

Key to Adam’s photography is said to be “depicting the unwavering presence and beauty of nature in the face of human intervention”, as alluded to in his own introduction to the book The New West, 1974, and by Another’s article.

The New West takes the audience on a journey, with “the shadow of commercial opportunism” gradually whilst ominously building up throughout the first section, “rapidly growing” in the next section, a theme that continues to build up until the climax of the book.

Adam’s work captures the beauty in an increasingly imperfect, industrial world, attributed to an “inherent, inescapable allure” stemming from a sharp eye for “composition and ability to encapsulate the atmospheric quality of light”.

Light is the element that Adam’s himself attributes to his success too, stating that the subject of his images “are the source of all form, light”.

The use of light is particularly important given the monochrome aesthetic of his photographs, in which Adam’s uses light to create striking and subtle tones, adding an incredibly atmospheric quality.

Whilst the focus of Adam’s photography is on the ever changing landscapes that we inhabit or perhaps even encroach, his subjects undoubtedly serve to highlight the social implications of his work.

The social concerns married with Adam’s style and the subjects of his work, are key elements that I aim to achieve, whist his writing also offers interesting insights into his principles which serve to inspire.

An example of which can be drawn from his book, Art Can Help, 2017, in which Adams’ advocates art that “encourages us to gratitude and engagement, and is of both personal and civic consequence”, a perfect summation of the aims of my project, albeit through design.

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Niagara is the second publication by the American photographer Alec Soth, whose work spans Midwestern America.

Like Soth’s debut book Sleeping by the Mississippi, Niagara draws meaning from an “iconic body of water”, in which Soth declares the focus of Niagara to be all about “passion”, in which Soth derives metaphors from place, whilst focusing on the people he encounters throughout his journey and time spent in the area.

As much as Niagara and indeed the falls themselves are about love and passion, the true motivations of the falls in Soth’s work can be considered the antithesis of the romance from which they derive.

Soth’s images include motel parking lots, windows, pools, newly weds, families and naked lovers, to found objects, pawnshop wedding rings, and love letters, which are juxtaposed by the vast void of the falls.

Soths’ series culminates is a vivid sense of disappointment from those who go to visit the falls with a passion for love and hope, yet leave with a stronger sense of disillusionment, perfectly encapsulated by the love letters shown.

Soth himself declares “how this crashing waterfall is a metaphor for that crazed intensity of new love, and how it’s like this force that peters out” as the thing that fascinated him.

Soth’s ability to derive metaphor through an arrangement from the most mundane images that is so fascinating about this series, each building from the previous, without which it can not achieve its true power for storytelling.

Soth’s philosophy towards photography is equally fascinating stating that “anyone can take a great picture” but the true skill lies in being able to collate a series of images into one resonates.

Soth’s style and philosophy are a great source of information to my own, in which his use of metaphor matches that which I hope to derive from my own work.

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From the research conducted into both Robert Adams, and Alec Soth, I came across the book, Surface: Contemporary Photographic Practice, which features the work various photographers.

One name that stands out in the book is that of Hiroshi Sugimoto, whose body of work acts as “a method for preserving and modeling time”.

The subjects of Sugimoto’s work convey the calm and serenity of the environment that surrounds us, creating a still moment in time, in a world that continues to move forward and seemingly more quickly.

Sugimoto’s photographs are almost as eerie as they are serene, their sense of calm feels peaceful, yet unnerving, traits that I hope to embody in my work.

Of all of Sugimoto’s photographic works, it is his images taken inside the theatre of a cinema that really stood out most.

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Mark Broyer’s photography series What The Fog? captures the eerie calm and beauty of the environment.

Broyer’s series is a beautiful exploration of place, taking place on a foggy night in Hamburg, the place of Broyer’s residence.

Broyer’s photographs capture a modern city that appears unexpectedly isolated and abandoned due to the weather, in which there is a certain eeriness that comes from the calm, unsettling quiet.

With that Broyer is able to capture the wonder and spectacle of the uninhabited city, shining a light onto how it appears when no one is around to see it.

The results are stunning, the dispersion of the bright lights, often taken for granted during our everyday lives become a free show, an exhibition, formed by a perfect juxtaposition between nature and the man made environment.

There is an incredible harmony between two elements that are often considered incompatible, in which industrialisation is usually citied as the destructor of our once beautiful environments.

What most interested me about Broyer’s series was the way in which his images could be construed to convey feelings of isolation, loneliness or perhaps even the opposite or output of both.

Broyer’s photographs feature no signs of life with the exception of himself as the author of the images, with only his camera and the environment to interact with.

The serene beauty and brightness of the lights merging with the sky suggest that Broyer embraces that sense of solitude as a freedom, yet the eerie undertones of a place with no people creates a strong sense of isolation, with the series being entirely subject to the viewer.

Broyer’s ability to derive meaning from his images of place and empty of people that is so mesmerising, to which his work really informed the potential subjects and locations of my photography.

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Slava Semeniuta’s series Wet Neon also explores the ability of light to transform the most mundane and often unwanted occurrences, into something beautiful.

Semeniuta’s series derives “from seeing the splendor in things that other people call dull”, something that he describes as a “very controversial gift, but at the same time wonderful”.

Semeniuta showcases “the beauty of the defects of ordinary roads, in an ordinary city after the ordinary rain”, in which the light reflected from the puddles of water create stunning abstractions of the world that can interestingly only be seen when looking down.

Semeniuta’s shots seek to attract and encourage the audience to embrace the imperfections of the world around them, as well as to look down, something that is often seen to be a negative, and one in which we are encouraged against doing.

Semeniuta constantly shifts towards and away from his subjects, employing a wide of dynamic angles, whilst making strong use of the rules of thirds, with each of the photographs in the series feeling unique and highly engrossing.

Whilst Semeniuta’s use of composition offers much in the way of inspiration, it is again the way in which light is captured that most interested me.

The contrast between the bright neons and the darkness of the night, captured in the small areas of water create highly dramatic abstractions, whilst the diffusion between the two brings to light areas of stunning detail and colour, qualities that I hope to emulate.

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One of the most insightful and inspiring of all the photographic series’ I looked at was Alex Telfer’s Nocturn – The River Tyne at Night, the award-winning series in the Landscape Category, The Association of Photographers Awards, 2015.

The series also explores the surrounding underbelly of the city, places which have been left behind by the times, remaining as an unwanted constants in a city that is constantly redefining its landscape.

In this instance, it is the places that feel isolated and alone, feelings which could transmit to the audience, yet in isolation light draws a certain disdainful beauty to these eerily empty areas.

Telfer explores the streets of Newcastle Upon Tyne, his native home, during in the solitude of the night, also exploring the use of light and the atmospheric effect it has on transforming an environment.

An example of this is the old, dilapidated silhouette structure standing in the river Tyne, taken from the new, gentrified area of Dunston Staithes during a hazy sunrise.

Broyer’s wonderfully dramatic use of light, produces dramatic instances of shadow, particularly impressive in his image of the underside of the Tyne Bridge, reminiscent of the architectural structures and the shadows of Constructivist photography.

Telfer’s series is an inspirational example of what can be achieved photographing local landscapes, including areas that I had already earmarked as potential and accessible locations. Yet Telfer’s series also raises the challenge of deriving new meaning from these environments.

As well as capturing dramatic shadows, Telfer also manages to draw incredible amounts of detail from his photographs, particularly in his shot of the abandoned Brett Oil Refinery and is systematic of his photographic style.

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Logo Modernism contains inspiration on almost every page, as highlighted by the images shown, which are a sample of the logos that captured my imagination.

Helping inform and inspire the process of generating ideas for potential logos for the branding of my project, the books Logo, 2015 and Logo Modernism, 2015, both offered an extensive range of logos.

The array of images shown highlight the variety of logos that the book offers, such as the Area logo, serving as inspiration to an idea I had for an exclamation mark created by a letter ‘H’.

Each book consists of thousands of logos, which cover every possible conceivable design solution, including style such as single letter logos, illustrations, abstract shapes, full words and so much more.

There are a number of other logos, which range from letter combinations, to single letters, words, all using various creative methods such as cut out, combined, negative space and modular design.

The first of the two books, Logo, separates logos into various, distinctive sections, in which I was most interested in the ‘Handwritten’, ‘Modular’, ‘Connected’, ‘Just Type’ and ‘What’s in a word’ sections.

Overall, the two books act as an incredible source of inspiration to refer to during the process of developing the branding for my project, over the next few weeks.

Through looking at each of the sections, a number of logos really stand out and subsequently serve to inspire many of the possible solutions.

The logo for Olive, CNN, Folio Wine & Spirits, Feed, Root and DNKY were ones that I found very interesting and clever.

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One logo that I came across which was of particular interest to the branding of my project was that of Colossal, “one of the largest visual art, design, and culture blogs on the web�.

Colossal’s logo employs a rectangular, geometric typeface, in which the form of the logo is created through negative space.

The logo is created by duplicating the existing type, before setting the duplicate behind the original and setting it dropped down and to the right.

The two separate copy of the type have then been combined, either through the use of the pen tool or the blend tool, both of which have the capacity to produce the same effect.

The use of the negative space on the logo creates a very three-dimensional effect, in which the logo appears to extend from the background when set against its natural white habitat, a lovely effect which immediately draws attention.

Yet, the true brilliance of the logo is found when the negative space is used as a frame in which animated elements drift seamlessly through the space, whilst indirectly making wonderful use of cropping.

The three examples found below the original appear to show pieces of art, illustration and photography, each of which make up sections of the site, creatively and quite beautifully providing a visual hint as to what visitors to the site are likely to see.

It is this use of the negative space as a framing device for other elements that so captured my imagination, and one which really served to inform an idea I had conceived for a logo for the branding of my project.

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As well as looking at logotypes and logos in a broader sense, I was also interested in looking at the logos and branding of charities and non-profit organisations.

I was interested in looking at the logos for such organisations in order to gage the amount of creative aesthetically, pleasing designs that exist, in an area I have being cynical about from a design perspective.

From the large pool of logos I looked at, most of which I found disappointing, Free The Slaves’ logo was one that stood out for its creativity and originality, a sought after but all too lacking commodity in the branding of charities.

The attention to the use of the lock is also interesting, cleverly leaving the padlock unlocked, its openness acts once again as a call to action on the charity’s goals and the hope in which they offer.

The logo uses the same dimensions to apply the supporting type, giving further sense of balance and consistency to the full logo, yet the type is also the one area that I feel is weak link in the design.

The supporting type uses hierarchy very well to add emphasis to the words, yet the typeface is one that I feel would be better swapped for one more compressed and geometrically, structured.

The logo combines two elements that can be easily identified and related to slavery, the padlock and the fist.

Like Colossal’s logo, Free The Slaves’ logo can also be used as a framing device for images, in which the logo is commonly seen cropping the photograph of a rock, giving the logo a sense of texture, as well as again adding emphasis.

The fist is cleverly designed to perfectly fit the dimensions of a recognised padlock, with a bold, geometric style that adds emphasis to the strong resoluteness of the charity’s aims and of those suffering from the effects of slavery.

The Free The Slaves logo highlights the benefit of taking more conceptual risks to the approach to branding charities, in which the rewards for doing so far out weigh the concerns of its failure, which is especially in important for my branding.

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An important part of my research came in visiting local exhibitions, looking at the methods and setup of the space, as well the approach to communication on the subject explored, all of which would serve to inform the direction of my thinking.

The first part of my research looking at exhibitions was conducted through a visit to the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, having initially being drawn t Susan Philipsz’s exhibition A Single Voice.

Philipsz’s exhibition was one I’d already visited prior to taking on the project, but had only initially been able to spend little time taking in. As such I was interested in spending more time experiencing and analysing the exhibition for the project.

Philipsz’s exhibition is housed in a vast, open space, “composed of a large film projection, combined with the sculptural arrangement of 12 speakers”, creating an environment in which the audience is fully immersed with the projection.

The projection centres around a single violinist, in which Philipsz “deconstructs the violin’s music into its 12 separate tones”, each emulating from the various points of the room at different times.

Deconstructing the instrument heightens the audiences senses, initially catching me by surprise, becoming engrossed and immersed in the sound that reverberates around the room whilst looking at the single screen.

The exhibition has an almost cinematic feel to it, yet the abstraction of the score, combined with the cinematography feel much more intimate and personal, which had no doubt being assisted by being able to take in the exhibition alone.

I really enjoyed spending time taking in the exhibition, which shares many of the properties to that of my initial vision for my exhibition, however, that will depend on how I will execute the exhibition.

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Jasmina Cibic’s exhibition This Machine Builds Nations also encompasses the art of performance, film, installation as well as sculpture, which create a dynamic and multi-layered experience, which begins before entering the main exhibition space.

I approached Cibic’s exhibition in much the same way as I had Philipsz’s, in which my interest was principally in the setup of the exhibition and use of the space.

The first doorway is used to introduce the exhibition, from a staging area leading to the main event, in which the audience is greeted by a wall-size mural and two supporting sculptures, before proceeding down a pattern lit corridor.

The decorative and visual introduction to Cubic’s exhibition is in stark contrast to most modest of settings of Philipsz’s project, a theme which also continues somewhat inside the two main spaces.

Upon entering the first main room of the exhibition, the brightly lit corridors are juxtaposed by a dark, almost black space, if not for the exception of a large screen, which beams light on to the audience and on to another supporting sculpture placed in the midpoint of the space.

The final room was more reminiscent of the idea I had initially conceived for the setup of my exhibition, housing a large screen in a black room, with the exception for the colourful curtains which adorn the far wall, but are almost lost in the space.

Cibic uses sound to a similarly impressive effect as Phillpsz, yet transmits sound in a merely directional way, stemming from 4 visible speakers, with the light also been directed the same way.

However, it is Cibic’s cinematography and in particular her use of perspective that I found so engrossing and inspiring to my project. Cibic employs a range of dynamic angles which alongside the music create a piece transcends a certain beauty.

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Serena Korda’s Missing Time was the last exhibition I visited during my visit to the BALTIC, and perhaps the most surprising experience I had there.

Korda’s work is said to span all of sound, sculpture, and performance, the former two of which are evident in the exhibition, in which Korda uses her sculptures as a device to reverberate sound.

The exhibition was derived from Korda’s exploration into “planetary harmonics” of which Korda “has become fascinated by the sound of stars from the dark skies of Northumberland” during her two year residency at Newcastle University.

The work is inspired by the Renaissance period, and their beliefs that “particular frequencies derived from the planets” which were at the time believed “to have a direct effect on the human psyche”.

The combination of sculpture and sound echo Kordo’s interest into “the potential healing power of sounds and their use as a way of communicating”, also exploring the different ways of listening.

Each of the ceramic dishes adorning the wall draw the the eye deeper in, whilst the sound creates an almost conscious separation between the two senses, in which I found myself floating between the two, creating a strange but calming disconnect from the rest of my being.

Korda’s exhibition does not necessarily relate to the form that my exhibition will take, yet Korda’s execution of sound as a tool of communication is very influential.

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One exhibition that I became intrigued by during my research was Invisible by the System Gallery, located in the heart of Newcastle city-centre.

The exhibition which was produced by the gallery “in partnership with local charity The People’s Kitchen”, comprises entirely of “images taken by vulnerable people of Newcastle whose lives have been affected by homelessness”.

The exhibition consisted of “50 selected photographs” chosen from “nearly 1000 photographs” which were taken throughout the year leading to the exhibition.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the exhibition though is the formation of a “regular photography club” in this time, in which members were given “lessons on photography as well as the opportunity to connect and share their life stories”, finding their “own voice”.

The exhibition is an excellent example of the power of harnessing struggles and/or experiences through creativity, which in this instance is achieved through the art of photography.

This attitude towards channelling such experiences has been key to my ability to cope with my feelings of loneliness over the past few years, whilst also being proven as a coping-mechanism.

As a result, the exhibition is a wonderful example to the form and direction that my project will take.

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From reading the book The Lonely City, I looked at the paintings of Edward Hopper, whose work I had already been familiar with of course, but one whose work I had never really considered in this light.

When looking at Hopper’s paintings in a new light in regards to the project, it is quickly apparent that his work is quite clearly about the isolation of life in a modern city (New York), yet Laing’s book draws new insight, suggesting that the true subject of Hopper’s paintings run much deeper than first thought.

One of the most fascinating elements of Hopper’s work are the windows he paints, in which his figures are exposed to the audience, the perfect portrayal of city life, especially in New York City.

The most famous example in his powerful use of the window is in his most famous painting, Nighthawks, with Hopper eerily painting a seen of isolation that manages to capture such feeling both on the inside and outside of the diner.

Laing draws comparisons and personal experience from the painting, epitomising the feeling of isolation and vulnerability, private feelings of distress that are on full view for others, strongly enhancing one’s sense of shameful exposure.

Yet, Laing’s words, supporting sources and further research suggest that Hopper is in fact painting the loneliness of self and much more poignantly or harrowing of all the loneliness and isolation that he placed upon his wife.

Hopper himself alludes to this stating “I am probably the lonely one”, a burden he most certainly put on his wife and put into his work, perhaps highlighting the power loneliness can have on the strive for creativity.

A lesser known painting of Hopper’s is his Chair Car, which was produced in 1965, yet remarkably feels more relevant now than it ever has done before, or at least highlights a deeper underlying issue in regards to social isolation and loneliness.

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Reflecting on the research process that has been carried out right throughout the project, both the factual and visual research that I conducted have being hugely influential informing the work to come in part two.

The references that have been used in my research are split into two sections, factual research and visual research, in the same way at they are presented in the document itself, allowing them to be more easily identified.

Mark Molloy, Too much social media ‘increases loneliness and envy’ - study <https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/03/06/ much-social-media-increases-loneliness-envy-study/> Ian Sample, Loneliness Twice As Unhealthy As Obesity For Older People <https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/feb/16/ loneliness-twice-as-unhealthy-as-obesity-older-people> George Monbiot, The Age Of Loneliness Is Killing Us

Susan Biali, Envy and Your Facebook Feed <https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/prescriptions-life/201712/envy-and-your-facebook-feed> Roman Krznaric, Facebook doesn’t understand that there’s no one-click shortcut to empathy

<https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/ oct/14/age-of-loneliness-killing-us>

<https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/ sep/16/facebook-one-click-empathy-mark-zuckerberg>

Rebecca Harris, The Loneliness Epidemic: We’re More Connected Than Ever - But Are We Feeling More Alone?

Rachael Pells, Facebook research targeted insecure youth, leaked documents show

<https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-andfamilies/features/the-loneliness-epidemic-more-connected-than-ever-but-feeling-more-alone-10143206.html> Kate Leaver, How do I stop being lonely? You asked Google – here’s the answer <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/ jan/24/how-do-i-stop-being-lonely-google-autocomplete>

<https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/facebook-leaked-documents-research-targeted-insecure-youth-teenagers-vulnerable-moods-advertising-a7711551.html> David Ludden, Does Using Social Media Make You Lonely?

Elisabeth Donnell, The Shame Around Loneliness Is Toxic

<https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/talking-apes/201801/does-using-social-media-make-youlonely>

<https://www.elle.com/culture/books/news/a34539/olivia-laing-the-lonely-city-interview/>

Robert Whitley, What Is The Link Between Tinder And Mental Health?

Why Do We Feel Shame About Loneliness

<https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/robertwhitley/tinder-mental-health_b_13981416.html>

<https://www.psychologies.co.uk/why-do-we-feelshame-about-loneliness> Stefanie Marsh, Teenagers on loneliness <https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/apr/08/ teenagers-loneliness-social-media-isolation-parents-attention> Mental Health Foundation <https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/news/research-reveals-overhalf-young-scots-who-feel-lonely-also-experience-depression>

Nancy Jo Sales, Tinder and the Dawn of the “Dating Apocalypse” <https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/08/tinderhookup-culture-end-of-dating> NHS, Seasonal Affective Disorder <https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder-sad/>

Stanley C Loewen, Effects of Weather on Human Emotions <http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15843/1/Effects-of-Weather-on-Human-Emotions.html> Dr. John Grohol, Can Weather Affect Your Mood

Action For Children, It Starts With Hello

<https://psychcentral.com/blog/can-weather-affect-your-

<https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/media/9724/action_for_children_it_starts_with_hello_report__november_2017_lowres.pdf>

mood/> CALM, Suicide <https://www.thecalmzone.net/help/get-help/suicide/> Jennifer Rollin, Eating Disorders and Loneliness

Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), #StatusOfMind <https://www.rsph.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/62be270a-a55f-4719-ad668c2ec7a74c2a.pdf>

<https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/eating-disordersand-loneliness_us_59d21f71e4b034ae778d4c29>

Mind <https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-foreveryday-living/loneliness/#.Wune0ogvxPY> The Jo Cox Foundation <https://www.jocoxfoundation.org/> British Heart Foundation <https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-magazine/ news/behind-the-headlines/loneliness-and-stroke-orheart-attack> Campaign To End Loneliness

Laing, O (2016) The Lonely City: Adventures In The Art Of Being Alone, Canongate Books Ltd, 14 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1TE Goodin, T (2017) Off. Your Digital Detox For A Better Life, Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London, EC4Y 0DZ Turkle, S (2011) Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology And Less From Each Other, Basic Books, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY Cuero, R (2014) Loneliness as a Source of Creativity: In the Modern Technological Era, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, North Charleston, South Carolina

<https://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org/about-loneliness/>

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Exhibitionism â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Rolling Stones <https://www.pentagram.com/work/exhibitionism-the-rolling-stones-1?rel=discipline&rel-id=6> The Iceberg By Giorgio Di Noto John Lewis Christmas Advert 2015 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW36ZfTvp3U> <https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/06/ john-lewis-christmas-advert-plight-old-people-ageuk> <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/ nov/06/john-lewis-advert-christmas-loneliness-ageing> Age UK Christmas Advert 2017 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inyaBPWdZIM> <http://www.redonline.co.uk/red-women/age-uk-released-heartbreaking-advert-to-raise-awareness-of-lonely-older-people-at-christmas> The Loneliness Project

<https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/giorgio-di-noto-publication-060218?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=intsocial> <https://www.editionpatrickfrey.com/en/books/iceberggiorgio-di-noto> 100 For 10 <https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/100for10-publication-140218> <http://100for10.com/> Jean Valencia <https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/100for10-publication-140218>

<https://www.creativeboom.com/inspiration/graphic-designertackles- issue-of-wide-spread-loneliness-inmoving-campaign/>

Joni Majer

<http://thelonelinessproject.org/>

Keith Haring

Calm Photography Movement

<http://www.theartstory.org/artist-haring-keith.htm>

<https://www.creativereview.co.uk/calm-photography-movement-show-seeks-open-debate-masculinity-mental-health/> <http://www.calm.photography/> Samaritans by MullenLowe London <https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/mullenlowe-londonlaunches-new-samaritans-campaign-with-portraits-byphotographer-nadav-kandar-240216> <http://www.mullenlowelondon.com/our-work/we-listen/> MindJournal By Ollie Alpin <https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/graphicdesign-andgraphic-design-world-mental-health-day-101017> <https://www.mindjournals.com/the-workbook>

<http://jonimajer.de/index.php/project/nomad/>

<http://foundationblog.haring.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Heritage_of_Pride_logo.jpg> <http://foundationblog.haring.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/9415c.jpg? <https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/over-100-postersby-keith-haring-go-on-show-in-hamburg-020617> Paul Pateman <https://www.behance.net/Pate_On_Toast> Paul Graham <https://www.salon94.com/exhibitions/detail/photographs-1981-2006> <https://www.garmentory.com/sale/mack-book/categories-lifestyle-lifestyle-stationery-books/199093-the-whiteness-of-thewhale-paul-graham>

Robert Adams

Edward Hopper

<https://chrisedenlandscape.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/ cropped-france_january_2015-28.jpg>

<https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ a8/Nighthawks_by_Edward_Hopper_1942.jpg>

<http://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/8618/ robert-adams-the-new-west >

<https://uploads7.wikiart.org/images/edward-hopper/ chaircar-1965.jpg>

<https://www.americansuburbx.com/2010/07/robert-adams-one-life-several.html> <https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Can-Help-Robert-Adams/dp/0300229240>

To find other projects that inspired my work throughout the project, please visit the FPM Inspiration collection on my Behance page.

What The Fog? By Mark Broyer

<https://www.behance.net/collection/169381701/ FMP-Inspiration>

<https://www.behance.net/gallery/56423743/Whatthe-Fog> Wet Neon By Slava Semeniuta <https://www.behance.net/gallery/60470817/WET-NEON> Colossal Logo <http://www.thisiscolossal.com/> Free The Slaves Logo <https://www.guidestar.org/profile/56-2189635> Hiroshi Sugimoto <https://www.artsy.net/artist/hiroshi-sugimoto> A Single Voice By Susan Philipsz <http://baltic.art/whats-on/exhibitions/susan-philipsz> Jasmina Cibic Exhibition <http://baltic.art/whats-on/jasmina-cibic> Serena Korda Exhibition <http://baltic.art/whats-on/serena-korda> Invisible By System Gallery <http://www.systemarts.co.uk/invisible/>

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Steinmetz, G. (2014) New York Air: The View From Above, Abrams, 115 West 18th Street, New York Draplin, A. (2015) Pretty Much Everything, Abrams, 115 West 18th Street, New York Bierut, M (2015) How To, Thames & Hudson, 181A High Holbon, London Doherty, C (2015) Public Art (Now): Out Of Time, Out Of Place, Arts Books Publishing Ltd and Situations, 77 Oriel Road, London, E9 55G Sekula, A & Van Gelder, H (ed.) (2015) Ship Of Foals/ The Dockers’ Museam, Leuven University Press, B-3000 Leuven (Belgium) Schrauwen, S (ed.), Roberts, L (ed.), Rebecca Wright (ed.) (2017) Can Graphic Design Save Your Life?, GraphicDesign&, 167 Foundling Court, Brunswick Centre, London, WC1N 1AN Bar, N (2017) Bittersweet, Thames & Hudson Ltd, 181A High Holborn, London, WC1V 7QX Perkins, S (ed.) & Mack, M (ed.) (1996) Surface: Contemporary Photography Practice, Booth Clibborn/Editions, London Atkinson, M (2015) 32nd AOP Photography Awards 2015 | Awards Book, The Association of Photographers Ltd, 49/60 Eagle Wharf Road, London, N17 7ED Evamy, M (2015) Logo: The reference guide to symbols and logotypes, Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 361–373 City Road, London, EC1V 1LR Müller, J & Wiedermann, J (ed.) (2015) Logo Modernism, Taschen, Cologne, Germany

Laura Alcock-Ferguson, Loneliness is finally being recognised as a risk to health. But this is just the start < h tt p s : //a m p.t h e g u a r d i a n .c o m / v o l u n t a r y - s e c tor-network/2018/feb/27/loneliness-finally-recognised-risk-to-health-tracey-crouch?> Ran Segall, The loneliness of the freelance designer <http://thenuschool.com/loneliness-freelance-designer/> Emily Gosling, The Links Between Creativity and Depression <https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/the-links-between-creativity-and-depression/> Kate Hollowood, How embracing vulnerability can power innovation, creativity and change <https://www.itsnicethat.com/features/creativity-vulnerability-brene-brown-marina-willer-advice-200218?utm_ source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=intsocial> BrenĂŠ Brown, The Power Of Vulnerability

Kendra Cherry, What You Should Know About Loneliness <https://www.verywellmind.com/loneliness-causes-effects-and-treatments-2795749> Christopher Shearer, Filters And Photo Manipulation On Social Media Sites Are Creating A Generation Of Deluded Adolescents <https://www.independent .co.uk /student /istudents/filters-and-photo-manipulation-on-social-med i a- s i te s- a r e - c r e a t i n g- a-ge n e r a t i o n - of- d e l u d ed-a6852736.html> Grace Dent, Social media is full of sad, lonely people pretending they're OK and perfectly fine attention-seekers pretending to be sad

<https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability#t-315195>

<https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/facebook-instagram-twitter-social-media-makes-sad-lonely-attention-seekers-a7614396.html>

Loneliness is a 'giant evil' of our time, says Jo Cox commission

Peter Walker, Facebook Makes You Unhappy And Makes Jealous People Particularly Sad, Study Finds

<https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/10/ loneliness-is-a-giant-evil-of-our-time-says-jo-cox-commission> Rachel Reeves <https://www.rachelreevesmp.co.uk/> Seema Kennedy <https://www.seemakennedy.co.uk/> Josh Halliday, Loneliness heightened by social media, Jo Cox's sister says <https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/dec/15/loneliness-heightened-by-social-media-jo-coxs-sister-says>

<https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgetsand-tech/facebook-social-media-make-unhappy-jealous-people-particularly-sad-copenhagen-university-study-a7490816.html> Rachel Obordo, 'Social media has poisoned us': young Britons on why they are unhappy <https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/apr/09/ social-media-has-poisoned-us-young-brits-on-whythey-are-unhappy> Sanctus, Social Media & Mental health <https://sanctus.io/social-media-mental-health-b1803b6b475f>

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