NOVEMB ER 2013
LAUNCH I SS UE
P ERCEP T IO N
COMMUNI CUT DESIGNED IN BIRMINGHAM
NO 1
No.1/GBP2/2013
WELCOME
NO 1 COMMUNI / CUT MAGAZINE
IMPRESSUM
HELLO & WELCOME
G RAPH I C DE SIG N
D ear R ead e r s , t h i s i s t h e f ir st issu e o f COM M UNI/CUT , a Bir mi ngham-based magazi ne ai mi ng to bri ng to light ma t e r i a l t h a t m a t t e rs to u s – with a n e m p h a sis o n d e si gn as a w ay of communi cati ng i t to you. S ince eac h o f o u r t e a m m e m b e r s c o n tr ib u te d in th e ir o wn d ifferent w ay, thi s edi ti on bri ngs together a
Emily Goater Jon Ellis Lesley Imgart Conor Evans
variet y of w o r k . We hope th a t y o u w i l l b e i n sp ir e d b y a t le a st o n e o f th e p a g es you are about to l ook at.
WRIT ERS
F rom t he te a m h a p p y r e a d in g .
Emily Goater Jon Ellis Lesley Imgart Conor Evans
[ L.I ]
LE S LE Y I MG AR T, IL L U S TRAT O R
PHO T O G RAPH Y
German girl who came here to figure out where her life should be going. Illustrations and writing are what I love doing; working on the magazine with people with different ideas has influenced that in new ways. The work I did for this magazine is focused on how to connect to information and producing a possible perspective on the future. I'm passionate about people, useless facts, and red pandas.
Emily Goater Conor Evans James Watson
PR O O F READ I NG Emily Goater Lesley Imgart
www.imgart.tumblr.com l.imgart@freenet.de
BRAN DIN G Conor Evans Emily Goater
F U N DI N G
E MILY GOAT E R , G R A P H I C D ES I G N E R
Thank you! Birmingham City University Our own pockets Kick Starter Asa Slatford Public
[ E.G ]
Born and bred in Birmingham, I have always been into design. I believe strongly in ‘less is more’, it speaks volumes. I have been in the industry for a while now, working for myself and working for a few studios in Birmingham. It was good to collaborate with these other designers to produce something truly based in Birmingham.
PUBLI S HI N G Emily Goater
PUBLI S HED W I T H
lifeofemilygoater.tumblr.com emilygoater@me.com
Issue Behance Tumblr Pinterset
PRI N T ER Gold Design Print
[ C.E ]
C O N O R E VAN S, P HO T O G RAPH Y My name is Conor, I like to capture the grit and grime of my surroundings through creative expression. Living in Birmingham all my life I have learnt that this city is not what it seems and have used that as an almost personal mantra. I enjoy illustration and have an obsession with cartoons, graffiti of all kinds, music and hope to put out a lot of new and exciting work soon. conorjohnevans5@gmail.com
LAUNCH ISSUE - PERCEPTION
J O N E LL IS, G RAP HIC DE SIG N E R I’m from a small town just within the M25 called Epsom. I enjoy using a wide number of disciplines to convey my ideas. I think that if your idea is strong enough the medium used to convey it become almost irrelevant. I would say I am inspired by innovative techniques and ideas. I am aspiring to do Graphic Communication but also interested in the other specialities jelli.ellis@googlemail,com .
[ J.E ]
This is t h e l o c a t i o n t h a t ha s b e e n a n in sp ir a tio n to o u r magaz in e , t h e a r c h i t e c t ur e o f th e b u ild in g is ve r y wh ite , nat ural a n d m i n i m a l i s t i c . We h a ve c r e a te d th e m a g a zin e around t h e s t y l e o f t h i s b u ild in g . “An in sp ir a tio n a l str u c tu re� - Emily G o a t e r
HELLO & WELCOME
Birmingham City University(Parkside Campus)- Our home for the next three year.
EDITORIAL
WELCOME TO OUR PERCEPTION I S S U E - N o .1 In this lau nc h iss ue, we appr oach “ per cept ion ” - y e s , you rea d th at rig ht . As Bir m ingham is a v ibr an t c i t y with man y differe nt f aces , t her e ar e m any way s f o r you to lo se yo urs elf am ongs t t hem . You will no t f i n d a ma p in ou r magaz ine, but we t ook our t im e a n d th inking to c rea t e s om et hing f or y ou t o dis cov e r th ings th at ma y hav e been hidden bef or e. This ‘Atla s’ h as gr own in a v ar iet y of way s , f r o m t h e smalle r bu sin ess gr oups of f er ing s elect bes po k e ma nu fac turin g, l ar ger wor ld wide indus t r ial gia n t s and ma jor in fras t r uct ur e planner s , builder s . T h e wh ee ls tu rn a nd ar e s er v ed f r om f ood, t r ans po r t , commun ica tion , s chooling, hous ing and m edia . P eo ple work, res t and play , v is it f or pleas ur e, w o r k and study fo rm ALL ov er t he wor ld. The gr av i t a t i o n a l p ull th at Birmin gham has now is deeply r oot ed a n d will c on tinu e to be as t he wor ld opens it s doo r s , b ec ome s smalle r and eas ier t o r each. S inc e e ac h o f ou r t eam m em ber s cont r ibut ed i n t h e i r own differe nt wa y , t his edit ion br ings t oget her a varie ty o f work.
Y o u w i l l b e i n s p i r e d b y a t l e a s t o n e o f t h e p a g es yo u a r e a b o u t t o l o o k a t . We a r e f o u r d e s i g n s t u d e nts f r o m t h e c i t y i n B i r m i n g h a m , E n g l a n d . We h a v e b e e n w o r k i n g o n t h i s m a g a z i n e t o g e t h e r . I t i s abo u t Birmingham and features beautifully designed a r t i c l e s , p h o t o g r a p h s a n d d e s i g n s b a s e d a r o u nd p e o p l e a n d s t o r i e s f r o m t h e c i t y . I t w i l l b e a n i n si gh t o n h o w B i r m i n g h a m i s s e e n n o t o n l y b y t h e p e opl e t h a t l i v e o r g r e w u p h e r e b u t p e o p l e w h o h a v e co m e to live here and are new to the city. O u r m a g a z i n e i s b a s e d a r o u n d a e s t h e t i c a l l y b ea u ti fu l design and is cultured by our team, consisting of f o u r d i f f e r e n t s p e c i a l i s t s o f d e s i g n . Wi t h e l e m e n ts of photography, graphic design, branding and i l l u s t r a t i o n c o m i n g t o g e t h e r , t h e l a y o u t w e d e v e l o pe d is unique.
ATLAS
IN TEN YEARS’ TIME Birmingham’s reputation of a “multicultural city” comes with a backlash against the population changes. An evaluation of numbers, and a plea for change.
Maybe, for factual accuracy, this article should b e titled “In eleven years' time”. In 2024, according to a study by the University of Manchester from 2007, Birmingham will become the UK's second plural city. A plural city is a city where there is no ethnic majority greater than all other minorities combined. The first city to reach this status is predicted to be Leicester in 2019. 24 out of 32 of London's boroughs already have p lural status, and it is not just cities that have a d windling white population, as smaller towns and whole regions' pop ulation shifts towards white minorities.
Indeed, white school children now make up 43% in Birmingham's schools (according to research by the Department of Education in 2010). The “because of immigration” label on the statement gives the headline a negative sound. Is it that simple? And is it really something we should be scared of? Population forecasts for Birmingham illustrate that while immigration is slowing down, the fertility rates – which are higher in non-white ethnic groups than in white people - account for many of the numbers that are being promoted as so dramatic.
“ I M M I G R AT I ON NEED S TO BE STO PPE D NOW” - A DAILY MAIL REA DE R The Manchester study includes detailed numbers for the year 2026 that predict the total white p opulation to fall to 48% from the 61% esti mated in the 2011 census. Over the last few years, discussion over this d evelopment has b een fuelled by provocative headlines, the misunderstanding and misquoting of data, and the underlying controversy of the issue. The need of people and press to carefully catalogue anything and everything into black and white is simply not compatible with the complexity of the issue. Informing the publi c of research concerning p opulation predictions over the next decades has never been an issue, but what happens when numbers get published by sensationalist media? In 2007, false rumours about Leicester b ecoming a white minority city by 2011 made the round. Media loves to cover the topic, because everyone is interested in it in some way. Whether it is fascists appalled by the shrinking numbers of white Britons, people welcoming the div ersity for the sake of culture, or just a Birmingham citizen interested in the future of their city: There is an audience, and numbers can be misused in the most manipulating ways.
The Manchester study also explicitly points out that “reduction due to movement out of Birmingham” and the balanced birth- to-death ratio in white ethnic groups is to blame for those numbers rather than a grand influx of immigrants. And finally, whites are still, and will stay, the largest ethnic group of all in Birmingham. The previous example of the Daily Mail serves quite well as a metaphor for the overall forecast and how it is being perceived. Now, Birmingham's population may very likely be made up of less than 50% white people in 2024. The important question to ask here is: what difference is there between 51% white residents and 49% white residents?
NONWHITE POPULATION OF BIRMINGHAM
“White children in Birmingham 'a minority' this year because of immigration”, the Daily Mail announced triumphantly (2011), causing negative, heated reactions. Some highlights from their online comments section: “OMG, I had no idea it had become THAT bad in our country”, “recipe for disaster”, “Immigration needs to be stopped NOW”.
2 0 1 1
2 0 2 6
“Unfortunate In an anonymous online survey, we asked more than 100 people for their thoughts and opinions on Birmingham.
“Bit scummy, but it’s home”
2.
The age and race factor
white The biggest age group that answered were 16-25 year olds at 60%, followed by 23% 25-35 year olds. Just a bit less than 90% of answers came from white people we are not sure why exactly.
“ F u n , cu l t u r a l a n d i n t e r e s t i n g”
1.
oRIGIN OF rESPONSES
93% of our responses came from the UK. More than 75% said they were either born and raised in Birmingham and live nearby, the rest of answers being from people who are new to the city.
“Underestimated”
“Multicultural, artistic, student-based population, industrial”
3.
88% not from Birmingham said t hey have heard of its multiculturalism
“Beautiful, now it's been improved”
“Mixed, multicultural, anti-racist and PROud”
“ Vi b r a n t , “ VIBRANT, young. YOUNG. I MISS I m i sIT!” s it!”
a Ac Rl eDaIREC r d iTIO r e cNt”i o N E“ENDeSeAd sCLE
on”
Reputation” “Decent 4. city, “Busy, unique, varied”
“A city on t he up”
guesswork
When asked to guess the percentage of white residents of Birmingham, only 40% guessed correctly (60-70%). Almost 20% thought the answer was 30-40%, and 15% thought it was between 79 and 80%.
decent people”. “good for shops, good transport”
“never had any trouble wit h crime over t here”
“ S m e l l y , e v e r y o n e i s g r u m p y. ”
5.
rate me!
We presented the participants with the actual numbers for Birmingham’s population prediction and asked them to rate their thoughts on a scale of 1-10
B i r m i n g h a m s c o r e d 8 .3 w h e n asked how “multicultural” it actually is. When asked to rate the ethnic development in the city, the average answer was 5. However, the average reply for how much they cared about these predictions was 4.
“Don't segregate yourselves, please.” The quotes on this page are all taken from the last section of our survey that asked people to share thoughts on Birmingham or summarise their experience in a few words. They repesent various aspects about Birmingham, some are critical, many are spot on, and most of them are positive.
Because the issue lies not within the numbers. No, the problem is how people choose to perceive what they hear on the news, it is how the the press informs the people, and it is what actions Birmingham takes or does not take. It is as if the city has two faces – there is a Birmingham that fills the news headlines with stories about high immigrant rates, a city that people think of as dangerous, of having high crime rates, a city with a negative reputation that people call segregated. And in sharp contrast to that there is a Birmingham that is viewed as multicultural and welcoming to everyone, a city that has seen rapid changes in the past few years to be attractive, with a stunningly young population, a growing art scene, a city proud of what they are. The shocking disparity between these two images may become a conflict in the years to come. The fact that Birmingham is a city of many ethnicities cannot be fought by anyone. It is about what we make of it. If everyone accepts that there are both problems and possibilities, we can focus on shaping a positive future. A visitor passing through the city in ten years is going to find a Birmingham that is the result of our choices.
Birmingham has a thriving music scene - from the pioneering heavy metal music with bands such as Black Sabbath, the modern, almost grime step productions of Preditah, to the next best thing. Birmingham’s music scene is always coming up with something new and different. In a city perceived between diversity and segregation, what is up and coming? I travelled to a lock up in Hockley just on the outskirts of Birmingham’s city centre to see what new vibes are being cooked up in this two faced city.
When I arrived for my interview with the band HiGHR LVL, there wasn’t much conversation. The sheer volume of drum kicks, whaling guitars and raw grime/hip hop inspired lyrics made talking impossible for the first hour. Once HiGHR LVL had become a little worn out, they decided to take a break, which gave me the opportunity to get to know them and talk about their plans for the next year. When they had settled down, I started asking my questions. CONOR: How did the five of you come together to start this? HL: Well, we were all over the place a few months ago; we didn’t really see and speak to each other anymore. But suddenly in a matter of days we all kept meeting up, like when we were all back at school, the music thing just came along naturally in conversation. CONOR: So you all went to school together? HL: Yeah, four of us were all in the same year except Ti mm.D. He’s a year younger than us. CONOR: It’s good to see friends from school actually doing something with their interests instead of wasting them over time. Would you say you’re segregated from the stereotypical type of bands and music coming out of Birmingham at the moment? HL: I (BiG $MVSH) wouldn’t necessari ly say we are what people are used to, but then again, we’re not trying to be different. What we are doing is something we as a group have decided on. It’s still in the early stages of this project. We don’t make music that you hear in clubs and pubs around Birmingham, we want something new. So, all I’m saying is: keep an eye on us…
When you walk down the street to where you live, what do you pay attention to? Do you walk passively, on auto pilot, because your feet know the way? Do you look people in the eye? Do you smile and nod at them, or do you look at their their shoes, their ties, their trousers, the phone in their hand, their piercings and tattoos and make silent judgements in your head? You could invent a little story for each of them, say that the young bald man in the black suit and dress shoes is in a hurry to head to his banking job; he is late because he was listening to classical music and his fiancĂŠe wouldn't get off the phone with him, or are you too tired to do that? Maybe, if there is no one on your street, you keep your eyes glued to the ground, counting your steps, watching for cracks in the pavement, making note of the faded chocolate wrapper under the fence? Do you pick up every penny you find and put them in your pocket, with pride and excitement not unlike what you felt when you were a child and two pence were almost a fortune? Do you deserve finding this money? Are these questions irritating you, or are they not that different from the never tiring voices that you have inside your head anyway? When it starts to rain, do you curse yourself because you do not have a coat and your jumper, your favourite jumper, is useless against the cold water? Or do you return home smiling, taking the rain on your skin and the water in your shoes as a reminder that you are alive, as a promise of tea or coffee and some biscuits, the satisfaction of changing into dry clothes and getting into your warm bed? Can you find comfort in the sentence “it will get betterâ€?? When you lie in bed, does it feel like you are home? Is there a place that you would not hesitate to call your true home? Have you ever thought about that before? Does being where you are now make you feel sad, happy, indifferent, angry, depressed, excited, lost? Have you ever felt lost in a city? Do you feel unimportant amongst everyone else? Does it matter to think about things like that? Is everyone in a city just a stranger, and are buildings nothing more than buildings? When you walk down the street to where you live, what do you pay attention to?
PROFILES
BORN IN BIRMINGHM
people of birmingham and a far From many different places of Birmingham and different country. Birmingham holds many little gems. Within the people who have featured in this issue, we have had people from China, Germany, and London, of course Birmingham, both from little and big places around this city. Now we possibly haven’t got the time to ask all these amazing people there story of what they love about the city but one thing that pops up in the conversations we have had with them is the fact that they are all here and are not wanting to move. Why is that? Well, in some conversations during the photoshoot we caught them all off guard and the majorty said that the development and the quick pace life was the best thing about Birmingham. Antother thing that we agreed on was that, even with the pace everything changes at, how we can walk through the city and find quiet, quirky corners. One minute busy and one minute calm. One of our editors used to live in London and he explained to us how he loves the quirky shops. One key place he was told to visit being here was the ‘Custard Factory’. Espically being a designer, the arty cultered place of the ‘Custard Factory’ was the perfect place for him. Recently, it’s been said to become a very exciting new place for art. Visit the ‘Custard Factory’ to see what he means.
BORN IN BIRMINGHM
BORN IN GERMANY
MOVED TO BIRMINGHAM
BORN IN BIRMINGHM
BORN IN BIRMINGHM
BORN IN BIRMINGHM
BORN IN BIRMINGHM
BORN IN BIRMINGHM
BORN IN GERMANY MOVED TO BIRMINGHAM
BORN IN BIRMINGHM
BORN IN BIRMINGHM
THANK YOU FOR LEndING YOUR FACES.
BORN IN BIRMINGHM
PROFILES THANK YOU
HANNAH THANK YOU
NATAILE
THANK YOU
TRISTAN THANK YOU
IMMY & AMRIT
THE PEOPLE THANK YOU
THANK YOU
FRANCES THANK YOU
CHARLIE
JACK THANK YOU
RHYS
INTERVIEW
“may the country be kind” GUOLIANG ZHOU
Perception of
one
G u o l i a n g Z h o u
19 10 20 13
DATE OF INTERVIEW LOCATION SECRET
Guoliang Zhou business man now living in Birmingham's vibrant canal side generously spent time with Emily Goater, Graphic Designer, describing his journey from the equally happing place of Shanghai. Emily was keen to hear from guoliang how he had felt the first time he visited.
'Originally my family came from Wenzhou in East China’s Zhejing province a strong hold in industrial regeneration, my father was keen for me to learn more about different types of industry, construction and communication of various communities. Out of all the cities around the world my family chose very carefully and decided that Birmingham's Industrial heritage was best suited.’
‘I arrived on my own, my family thinking this was good for me to apply my English and find my own way, harsh in some ways but I learned a great deal on my first few weeks, I initially felt very lonely, the sky line very different from my home city of Shanghai, a bustling city full of colourful characters, smells and sounds, all alien for me. I had
done an exceptional amount of research but still nothing prepared me for the cultural differences. My first encounter with food halls and English language products made my shopping process a very long process, the people all though very friendly and willing to help could not help with this process, I soon found the Chinese Quarter and the food sights and smells evoked a little piece of home
“THE new lifestyle” GUOLIANG ZHOU
19 10 20 13
DATE OF INTERVIEW LOCATION SECRET
and very comforting to speak in my mother tongue for a short while. Simple day to day tasks of phone calls, working alongside various other members of the property business within Birmingham was a hard process, it was like relearning how to live. Even driving was a very different experience, more thought had to go into everything I did, I had been immersed into a new lifestyle and a kind of sink or swim mentality had me feeling quite low at some points, my family were very keen for me to phone home at first daily then gradually a once a week call, I NOW understand why they in some ways let me find my own way, that is how I learned a great deal, not least from my mistakes, the actual process of integration was life changing and character forming, I have made some wonderful friends and now 18 months later I can honestly say I feel part of this Birmingham community, I have a lot to give back to this Industrial City that opened its arms to welcome me for that I am very thankful.’
CHIESE TRANSLATIONThis interiew was conducted using a clever app called ‘Translate Voice’ - Emily Goater Guliang was asked if he had any adverse experiences.
‘On the whole I have encountered nothing but positivity, help and kindness, there have been a couple of occasions where I have been made to feel not part of this community, quite rightly so in a couple of incidences as I was not, I made it my business to find out about the ins and outs of this historic city, most of the negatives came from inability to understand the cultural differences, but there is always a common factor that lies within all of us, some common ground can be found and it is usually music!’
What would you miss if you went back to Shanghai?
‘Fish and Chips! …the friendly happy faces of the Birmingham folk, vibrant musical culture as diverse as the people that live in and around this city’
“对我好我的英语应用，并找到自己的方 式 ， 在 某些方面苛刻，但我学到了很多，我的头 几 个 星 期，我最初觉得很孤单，天空行非常不同 ， 我 的家乡上海，一个繁华的城市充满五颜六 色 的 字 符，气味和声音，我的所有外来。我做了 一 个 特 殊的大量研究，但仍然没有准备我的文化 差 异 。 食品大厅和英语语言产品我第一次遇到我 的 购 物 过程中一个很长的过程，所有的人虽然很 友 好 ， 愿意帮助无法帮助这一进程，我很快就找 到 了 中 国区和食品景点和气味引起了家庭和小片 ， 非 常 欣慰地说我的母语很短的一段时间。简单 的 每 天 日常任务的电话，各种伯明翰内地产业务 的 其 他 成员一起工作是一个艰难的过程，它就像 重 新 学习如何生活。即使驾驶的是一个非常不 同 的 经 验，更多的心思去为我做的一切，我已经 沉 浸 到 一种新的生活方式和一种水槽或游泳心态 已 我 感 到相当低的，在某些点，我的家人都非常 喜 欢 我 首先打电话回家，然后每天逐渐每周一次 通 话 ， 我现在明白，为什么他们在某些方面让我 找 到 了 我自己的方式，这是我学到了很多东西， 至 少 从 我的错误，实际的整合过程改变生活和性 格 的 形 成，我已经做了一些美妙的朋友，现在1 8个 月 后，我可以诚实地说，我觉得伯明翰社区 的 一 部 分，我有很多回馈给这个工业城开双臂欢 迎 我 ， 我非常感谢。 ” “整体来说，我没有遇到过，但积极性， 帮 助 和善意，已经有一对夫妇的场合我已经觉 得 不 是这个社区的一部分，也是理所当然的， 因 为 我是在一对夫妇的发病率不，我做了我的 公 司 了解这座历史名城的来龙去脉，大部分底 片 都 无法理解的文化差异，但总是有一个共同 的 因 素，在于我们所有的内，可以找到一些共 同 点 和它通常是音乐！“ “鱼和薯条！ ...伯明翰民间的，充满活力 的 音乐文化，多样的人生活在这个城市周围 的 友 好幸福的笑脸
THANK YOUGUOLIANG ZHOU
19 10 20 13 DATE OF INTERVIEW LOCATION SECRET
BIG THANK YOU
WHO ARE THE
Featured AMRIT / IMMY / TRISTAN HANNAH / JACK / LESLEY CONOR / RYAN / GEORGIE NATAILE / FRANCES / JOSIE CHARLIE / JAMES / EMILY
peo Ple
THE BIG THANK YOU
SPONSORED/ FUNDED BY KICKSTARTED, BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY, BIAD, PICCADILLY OPTICIANS THE SPECTCAL MAGAZINE
NO 1 2013 LAUNCH ISSUE