Helen Alice O’Connor Text, Sequence and Interaction BA(hons) Graphic Design Level 5
Information Exploration For the project Information Exploration we were asked to identity a topic area to thoroughly research into before developing a concept fro an interactive experience to share with our audience. We were asked to be ambitious, and try and move passed a website or an app idea. Communication is so easy nowadays, so much so people have started to avoid or stop doing it all together; their idea’s of engaging is ‘liking’ or ‘sharing’ and not getting whole heartedly involved in something, even if it is what they
say they are passionate about. This is a problem. Not just generally but in this project too. My initial thoughts and ideas were to either try and combat these issues, or create something that would be for those who need it the most. Topics that first sprang to mind where those rarely talked about and have a stigma against them. Its these factors that I think will push people to engage more, and then hopefully push the people who are more resistant and avoidant into doing the same.
Aperture Aperture is an installation created by FrĂŠdĂŠric Eyl and Gunnar Green whilst working on the topic "intelligent surface/sensitive skin" for the Digital Media Class at the University of the Arts Berlin. I have included this piece as part of my research due to its rather technical look and feel but it is taking advantage of a technology that has been around for a very long time; my eyes and brain are amazed by what visuals this instillation could create yet it is using this supposedly 'old' or maybe 'outdated' functions - there are no lasers or light shows here, yet its beauty is undeniable. Its this that makes an installation successful, people must want to use/take part/know more about it for it to be affective.
How it Works:
‘Aperture acts like an autonomous skin, which is also capable of precise external control. Visual information is transmitted from the inside of the building to the outside, the surface permeability is regulated when the aperture's opening diameters are changed. Each of the apertures in the array can be used to represent a pixel of an image. Set to interactive mode, each single aperture and all the apertures as entity "see" what happens on the inside of the facade and react accordingly: like the human eye's iris and irises in objectives, they react to light, widening and contracting with corresponding increases and decreases in intensity of incoming light. If no human activity is to be distinguished on the inside, a "memory" mode recalls images and abstract animations captured throughout the day and displays them.’ (above and images on this spread) http://www. fredericeyl.de/aperture/
What Made Me? ‘What Made Me? was designed by Dorota Grabkowska and Kuba Kolec for the Birmingham Made Me Design Expo (15-22 June 2012) at the Mailbox, Birmingham. Commissioned by the Idea Birmingham and Birmingham City University, the installation was created to provide an interactive experience for visiting members of the public. The project was based around a concept of information visualisation in a form of a large scale, complex data map, generated by visitors themselves.
(right and pictures on oppostie page) https://www.behance. net/gallery/WHAT-MADEME-Interactive-PublicInstallation/4419469
The aim of the project was to explore what shapes the people of Birmingham by asking them these five simple questions: What made you Think? What made you Create? What made you Angry? What made you Happy? What made you Change? Each question was assigned to a different colour and could be answered by connecting relevant words together with a coloured thread. Almost a hundred words were displayed alphabetically in a grid, giving the participants a wide choice of possible answers. Through this visual language, the participants were able to share their feelings, influences, thoughts and inspirations, which made them who they are today.’ This instillation really caught my eye during my research. The playfulness, the tactility of it and its simplicity of design makes it a very successful idea. Anyone, over a wide range of ages and abilities can take part for a wide range of responses in this, I suppose, experiment of sorts. Although perhaps the outcome is extremely complex and hard to analyse, this factor is what answered Dorota and Kubas’ questions, and as the input is anonymous, the beauty in diversity is what comes through strongest.
Interactive Design for Children
The Obliteration Room
(right) https://www. qagoma.qld.gov.au/ whats-on/kids/yayoikusama-the-obliterationroom
(below) http:// loveandcupcakesblog. com/2012/01/04/ thousands-of-dots/
‘When Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama was a young girl, she started seeing the world through a screen of tiny dots. They covered everything she saw – the walls, ceilings, and even her own body. In her artwork, Kusama has used dots to cover many different surfaces and fill rooms. She calls this process 'obliteration', which means the complete destruction of every trace of something. In this interactive instillation she invites Children to enter the world of the artist and 'obliterate' an Australian domestic space by adding colourful dot stickers to the white furniture, objects and surfaces.’ Similarly to ‘What Made Me?’ this instillation caught my attention due to its purpose being there for other people, visitors, to determine the end result. I also love how this takes an environment children know and have strict types of behaviours to uphold in its space, and ask them to do the complete opposite. This element of experimentation, fun, and naughtiness are behaviours that everyone relishes in from childhood and throughout life.
Funky Forest
(right) http://designio.com/projects/ FunkyForestSAM/
‘Funky Forest is an interactive ecosystem where children create trees with their body and then divert the water flowing from the waterfall to the trees to keep them alive. The health of the trees contributes to the overall health of the forest and the types of creatures that inhabit it. First installed at the 'Cinekid' festival in Amsterdam, a new version for the Art Garden exhibition at the Singapore Art Museum which features updated creatures, trees and a new particle system.’ Unlike ‘The Obliteration Room’ the “Funky Forest’ is designed for children to learn through play and investigation; it uses new technology that most children will be very unfamiliar with to activate these behaviours in the children. I love this idea of the input being from the people who take part, and that they are rewarded by seeing how their input immediately takes affect. Instead of being told something, they are finding out for themselves and this is a better way, I feel, to get a message across and to get a lasting, higher impact result.
Initial Research
Cancer, Raidotherapy Treatment When we first received the brief I knew that I wanted to create something that would be for or inform people about a topic in which is either very rarely discussed, or perhaps the "gory details" of which are often ignored, or something that is for people who have to live through these unpleasantries. My father recently passed after suffering through 4 years of cancer and all the treatments and unknowns it brings along with it; he never complained about the illness but did often bemoan the tediousness of treatments, the variation of destinations he had to go to and how hard it could be to pass the time. One of the points where he was at his best he was
Fig. 1, Young boy having his mask made. Fig. 2, mask, strapped to bed fig. 1
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undergoing radiotherapy where he had to be strapped to a bed under a face mask to stare at a ceiling while a very special machine carefully and pointedly attacked the cancerous cells in his neck. This to him was frustrating and tedious, but to others, especially younger patients, is absolutely terrifying. My dads answer to this was, "something nice to look at would be nice". My thoughts however, is there something that could be added to these rooms in which could occupy the minds of these patients. I will be looking into the technology that is controlled by the movement of your eyes. I do think this is a tad far fetched perhaps, using technology that is relatively new and expensive but its worth looking into.
Mental Health Mental health is an issue that has forever been a subject that is misunderstood, ignored and had some pretty awful ways of looking and treating the issues in the past. It is also something I care about and would like this to change, this is why I am looking into it as a possible topic to research more into for this project. My first port of call was to see what is available for people at the (below) Mental health apps Optimism, Pacifica and Mindshift
moment who suffer from these issues; I already knew of an app or two that was out there so I looked further into use and was pleasantly surprised at how much was available on the App Store. I downloaded a handful of free apps to experience what it is they offer. These were, MindSift, WellMind (NHS), Pacifica, Optimism and Headspace.
Final Outcomes
Cancer, Radiotherapy Treatment
I moved away from technology that is controlled with eyes as it got very complex and confusing. I then when back to the drawing board and thought about technology everybody uses daily, sometimes without even recognising its complexities at all. I thought about the use of touch and how, theoretically, cheap and advanced it is now. My idea would place two touch pads, one under either hand of the patient, during their treatment. From here they can control what happens on the screens above their heads. This screen would be made up of various little screens, seamlessly, creating a larger, more lifelike affect for the patients to get lost it. Apps/features that would be on the screen would all be first person point of view, where the patient chooses what to do as they go on a journey through time/space/whatever is created for this platform. App’s from phones can be linked in too, to give some a sense of comfort during a scary time/procedure.
Fig. 3 IMAX dome screen technology. Fig. 4 Apple iPad Pro and Pencil. Fig.5 Lexus touchpad in car Fig.6 F1 simulation with 180 veiw Fig.7 Wacom Cintiq 24HD Touch Creative Pen Display
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Sequence The sequence assignment brief asked us to first research into and discover a topic of interest to base our sequence upon. This could be done by looking at something we already know/watch/ read/etc, or by exploring other avenues such as TedTalks. Once our topic had been chosen, we needed to brainstorm an idea for a plot/narrative of sorts to then storyboard out. This would then be the basis of our sequence and something to continually follow and refer back to; the sequence had to be 25 seconds long, resulting in a message or a title on screen.
I’ve always been a huge admirer of Saul Bass, so I started there; I looked through and read a book I had of his work (Saul Bass a Life in Film and Design) to inspire me as this brief really wasn’t my forte or where I had any skills to help me through. Bass’s work is beautiful but simple and iconic in this; I think this is key when creating work, being excellent enough to communicate through utter simplicity makes work timeless and can cross so many boundaries. I then went onto research more current designers and work, the vastness in look, feel and technique was quite shocking, It was also made the task a bit more daunting and open.
2Veinte Design and Animation Argentina 2veinte.com.ar “2veinte is a design and animation force helmed by Pablo Gostanian and Agustin Valcarenghi. The heavily-awarded studio is internationally renowned in the industry of motion graphics and design. 2veinte's expertise goes from TV channel branding to animation for clients worldwide. This team is made of talented people that cover different areas such as: design, 2D, 3D and cel animation. The studio is also known for their non-commercial projects. 2veinte has created over 10 experimental projects so far. Some of these shorts have been selected and showcased for more than 50 animation and film festivals all over the globe. 2veinte's style exemplifies the cutting edge of the new generation, with bold colors and a penchant for the surreal.” Brands they’ve worked with include: Fox Disney Channel Nickelodeon National Geographic MTV Sky
Nickelodeon, TV Spot: Ice Cream Factory I looked at the work of 2Veinte because I came across their show-reel and was really amazed by that, so I thought looking at their work would definitely be beneficial to myself. Although its not my style or the kind of work I aspire to it is eye opening to what can be created and how I should definitely be more ambitious when delving into work such as animation and sequences.
Sebas and Clim Design and Animation London
Tiny Story
“Once upon a time, a tiny story with great soul.”
Vimeo.com/sebasandclim “Together we merge meaningful design with crafted motion.”
Tiny Story really showed me again the beauty in simplicity; it uses simple shapes movement and lighting to create a dynamic story with one birds eye view shooting mode. In the end it’s this work that inspired me to go ahead with my simplest idea for my sequence as it is definitely more my style and what I would be interested in creating when I create sequences again.
Inland Studio Design and Animation Argentina InlandStudio.tv “Inland studio is a Design and Animation company, Based in Buenos Aires. It produces high impact and solid concept Branding and Advertises, caring deeply for details playing with visual rhythms, reinventing resources and exposing them in their best. With a compelling 3D team, animations that stands from subtle to strident and unique design and creative direction, Inland has made its way as one of the most solid studios in the Argentine emerging animation scene.” Brands they’ve worked with include: Discovery Channel MTV AMC Networks Viacom Samsung Wunderman Toshiba Microsoft
Desde El Jardin
‘Inspired by the Shodō, oriental writing technique, we created this graphic package representing different environments of a Japanese garden. On this show issued by the channel elGourmet.com, the chef ohno cooking traditional dishes from the Japanese Garden of Buenos Aires.’ I looked at the work of Inland Studio for research as they create a wide range of types of design and animation, most of which have a very different look and feel to ‘Desde El Jardin’ but its this piece that I really liked. Its very subtle, and just uses the silhouettes of objects but still has depth and movement. They obviously went against their ‘norm’ to create this work as the brief needed them to do so.
Julien Douvier Photography, Fim and VFX France JulienDouvier.com
Routine
“ROUTINE 1. A course of action to be followed regularly ; a standard procedure. 2. A set of normal procedures, often performed mechanically. 3. A set of instructions designed to perform a specific task (computing). One day, I realized that I was making the same trip every day for almost four years. Waking up at the same time, taking the same routes through the same streets, on the same sidewalks, in front of the same buildings… This is why I wanted to find a visual way to represent this phenomeon called routine. That’s how this project was born. This is a work about repetition, present in many forms in these images, not only with people walking by in cadence but also with the buildings facades full of geometric, rythmic and repetitive elements. Because life is all about rythm.” This is definitely my favourite work I found during my research, of course each single piece would fall short of our 25 second requirement, but their short repetitive nature is what makes them so successful. They are hypnotising to watch over and over again, and are beautifully shot and communicate the narrative Julien set out with.
My Idea My idea for my sequence is around the idea of feminism and inequality. A hot topic at the moment, but one that has many different versions and arguments and quite a heavy black mark from some people. After watching a number of different TedTalks on the subject, all from 6 completely different people, male/ female, different races and ages, one common theme was the role of men in the issue. This is what my proposed TV series would be about: getting men to make the change. It would be on channel 4 as part of First Cut 9pm documentary series. It will challenge men’s obligation and which would align
with Channel 4's 360degree Diversity Charter as well as support their ongoing commitment to diversity. I have a couple of ideas for the title, 'Mind the Gap' referencing directly to the gap in everything from pay to rights men have over women all over the world, and 'The F Word' which is reference to how feminism is seen as a dirty word and something men don't want to be associated with very often. This tonguein-cheek title is also what Channel 4 do and are known for, it is even in their C4 Style guide (see fig. 8).
fig. 8 Channel 4 Style Guide http://www.channel4. com/about_c4/styleguide/
The 360° Charter: Channel 4 Diversity http://www.channel4. com/info/corporate/ about/c4-diversity
“The 360° Charter puts diversity at the heart of all decision making at Channel 4, across all activities on and off-screen, at every level and with all external partners and independent producers. It includes 30 significant activities worth £5m of investment and covers a wide definition of diversity including BAME, disability, LGBT, gender and social mobility.”
Diversity on Channel 4: “We want to respect people for who not what they are. People should be judged on how they do their job and what they bring to the table. We aim to foster an environment in which everyone feels free to contribute without fear and to maximise their potential. This way, we can get the very best from everyone, whichever side of the screen they sit. So we're constantly looking for ways to help more people from diverse backgrounds break into the industry. We're not just talking on-screen either, but all the other areas it takes to keep a media business going: production, creative, planning, press relations, commissioning, HR, finance, commercial, new media and so on.”
Feminism & Gender Equality
Elizabeth Nyamayaro:
An invitation to men who want a better world for women.
Elizabeth Nyamayaro, head of UN Women’s HeForShe initiative talks about her life and experiences, how she got involved in the UN and her hopes for HeForShe and women all over the world. Her main battle cry was for men to do their part, and how this is essential in affecting any real change for women and girls. TEDWomen 2015 · 12:39 · Filmed May 2015
Michael Kimmel:
Why gender equality is good for everyone - men included.
Michael Kimmel is a sociologist and this comes across in his analysis of behaviours and clichés we attach to gender, and the humour that we relate to these behaviours and clichés daily. He creates a good argument for the benefits for men if, one day, women and men are treated as equals. TEDWomen 2015 · 15:58 · Filmed May 2015
Tony Porter:
A Call to Men.
Like the title of his talk Tony Porter’s aim is for young men to stop and ignore claims they should “act like a man” as its these characteristics he believes that lead to the mistreatment of women and girls as well as other boys. He says that boys/ men need to escape from the “man box”. This is yet another talk that highlights the responsibility of boys and men to make changes to help fight against the mistreatment of women. TEDWomen 2010 · 11:13 · Filmed Dec 2010
Jimmy Carter:
Why I believe the mistreatment of women is the number one human rights abuse.
Before I watched this talk, I didn’t know much about Jimmy Carter and his life; in this talk he discusses how his vast experience in opportunities he’s had has led him to this conclusion: the mistreatment of women is the #1 human rights abuse. He also calls for men to make a change, to stop being lazy and to get uncomfortable. TEDWomen 2015 · 16:36 · Filmed May 2015
Leymah Gbowee:
Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girls.
Leymah Gbowee is a very inspiring person without even watching her talk; quick research into what she has achieved is astounding and she now uses her influence and voice to help fight against the mistreatment of women and girls all over the world. Her story is inspiring and really fuels this idea in myself, and I’m sure countless others. TED2012 · 14:39 · Filmed Mar 2012
Hanna Rosin:
New data on the rise of women.
I wanted to get a balanced view of this topic, and gain a bit more insight into it so I’m not being led by peoples experiences and ideas but to make sure there really is something there. Hanna’s talk on the face of it seemed this would give me the kind of ‘other side’. Her talk was about how women have made important strides, sometimes even surpassing men with this, however some of what she said left questions and were open to too much interpretation.
TEDWomen 2010 · 16:12 · Filmed Dec 2010
Initial Ideas
Idea 1:
Idea 2:
My first idea would be live action; I would film people interview style asking them to comment on the word feminism. These, I’d imagine after research, would all be vastly different. Also with a clear difference between men and women’s comments, and maybe age too, as well as nationality, religion and race. Towards the end, I would have the more passionate, factual definitions of feminism to hopefully inspire people to watch on and find out more. This narrative tells a story about how people perhaps misunderstand and misuse feminism as an insult and in fact its something everyone should be, including men.
fig. 9 Fig. 9 & 10 Brainstorm from watching Elizabeth
Nyamayaro TedTalk
A more shock factor idea. One of the biggest issues is the fact that in Africa and back here in the West, girls are still being genitally mutilated at the hands of the men in their families. You can list off countless statistics on uneven wage slips, and how many more CEO’s are men than women, even statistics on how many young girls are being harmed by their father and brothers, but showing people really has a much larger effect. Obviously, I cannot show people the nightmare girls go through, but through editing, covering up images and clips I could recreate the horror and hopefully entice viewers to watch and learn how to make a change. The problem with this is actually finding footage and images that are available to use for free.
Idea 3: My last idea is to do with the visuals shown during Elizabeth Nyamayaro’s TedTalk. I would use simple shapes to identify men and women, they would be perceived to be in a box of sorts as they move around bouncing off each other and sides gaining momentum. This narrative is to illustrate the importance of talking about feminism and inequality, and how its just as important to get men on board to affect any huge change. This was the idea I pushed forward with taking notes and inspiration from Elizabeth Nyamayaro’s talks and the building blocks the herself and HeForShe have already built in the last year or so.
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Fig. 11 Stills from the TedTalk and the sequence denoting what she is asking of men and women
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Story Board My idea I chose to go forward with for my sequence was the simplest of all my ideas, but due to factors such as time and my skill level I thought this would be my best chance to communicate the main points and essence of my topic. The sequence is focused around the impact of how and idea can be proliferated more quickly and effectively if we are constantly talking about it, discussing it, arguing about it and fighting against those who try and quieten us. At first there is just one ball (a woman) but as this bounces around and hits the edges of, what is later shown to be a glass box, more balls start to appear. The more balls that appear and hit the sides and clash with each other more and more balls appear with higher momentum. This momentum ends up resulting in black balls appearing (men). These have more power in creating more black balls (more men) and soon the box is so full that it starts to cloud up. As this increases, the stress on the glass box increases. The end result being cracks appearing in the glass, potentially letting the balls (everyone) out and become as equal to those who put them in the glass box to begin with. Themes such as the glass box, is a note to the glass ceiling that keeps women below men and is often referred to in the workplace. The visuals and the colours are inspired by the talk from Elizabeth Nyamayaro about HeForShe and the sequence displayed during her talk about how men need to get onto the same side as women to affect any sort of momentous change. I did this because the impact of HeForShe has been astronomical, and I think their logo and identity is now recognisable and would be a huge part/partner of the proposed Channel 4 TV program.
Voiceover throughout:
THE F WORD
“The fight for gender equality is gaining momentum but it’s not just women who need to fight. In a new channel 4 documentary in partnership with HeForShe, we discuss how important it is for men too do their part. If we share and fight together, we can break through the stigma and give women/girls the opportunities they deserve.”
Final Outcome
Showcase The assignment for showcase was about creating and building ourselves an online identity that clearly and beautifully presents our portfolios to the outside world, such as possible employers. It was very important to get the look and feel of ourself and our work throughout the design so everything would feel concise and direct. The space needed to also be easy to navigate around and have interactive features too. We were also asked to look for websites we feel are good and some that we feel are bad; the first site that I like that came to mind was Behance. I think this is
because its a very smooth and flexible space that allows all types of designers to showcase their work how they wish too. It’s also easy to know about the designer, get to their website and see their other work on Behance and not on Behance. I much prefer the image driven look, like the dashboard of many blogging sites as well as Behance. I think this is mirrored in my work as I like to use photography where I can, and I’m much more into older techniques and technologies than newer ones. It’s this kind of theme that I will use in designing my own website.
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Fig. 12 Home page of my website. I have decided to go with my initials as the header instead of my full name as I think it gives me added identity and something to stand out with whereas my full name is long and more likely to be forgotten. I have a link to my ‘About’ page in my header as it is important for people to be able to find out who I am , what/where I’ve studied and how to get in touch with me. There is also a link to my blog where I discuss in more detail my work an, my research and how I get from start to finish in a brief.
Fig. 13 is my only completed portfolio page. I chose this topic to foremost show how I work as the task was a group task where we all did a lot together, but I also am very proud of the quality and variety of the work I completed myself during that task. It is this clean and simple layout I will go forward with on my website as it is best for showcasing the work with little distractions.
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Fig. 14 is my about me page of my website. I have little bits about where I am from, where I have studied and my interests other that graphic design. I also have information about what briefs tend to excite me the most, and ones that I have particularly enjoyed. I’ve used the same picture I have on other systems, such as Behance and my e-mail so it keeps some continuity over various platforms.
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Evaluations The unit Text, Sequence and Interaction I have found especially hard; this is because of numerous reasons, some I had no control over, the others however were due to lack of experience in the subjects and needing to push myself to the limit when this was seemingly impossible. The first brief, Information Exploration, I found similar in journey to one I really enjoyed the previous (Wayfinding for Alzheimer’s patients). I enjoy a task a lot more where I can explore a subject, reflect on it and come out with an outcome that I think can/will (maybe if even just in theory) help people or is for a good cause. I had this opportunity with this task. I do however know I tend to get wrapped up in the ‘who’ and lose focus on the end result. I realised this last term, and it is definitely something I need to continue to work on. My output in this project however was not up to the standard I had hoped nor did it marry up
to what I see in my head. I need to work on my drawing, even just a bit, so I can create outcomes that are more clear, more defined and therefore others are able to look at them and completely see what I am trying to communicate. I think this is my main downfall for this task. The Sequence brief filled me with fear as soon as I read it. I did A-Level media, where I excelled, and that did entail creating a title sequence as well as an advertisement. These were in groups, and mostly shot live action. Through hindsight, I think I should have pushed more and asked more people this time if they wanted to work in a group as I had a lot to learn and from last term I learned the value of learning from peer to peer. I’m much better at learning through seeing and example than sat in front of a computer, alone, while it talks at me. Topic and research wise, I enjoyed this as I was once again allowed to pick my own theme
and audience so I could choose something I am passionate about. I picked feminism as a topic because of this, and also because its being talked about a lot more over the last year or so, therefore I knew there was definitely an audience out there that would be interested in a proposed television program, if not my end result. I am not happy with what I ended up doing, I took the path of least resistance which at the time I know was the right decision, however I am extremely disappointed that I couldn’t move further with my other ideas as I think they would have really took off. Despite all other kinds of difficulties that effected this, I will learn and move forward knowing that I do have the ideas and the vision, I just need the gumption to push it through. Building a website was new for me too, however it is something that plays to my skills I think and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I
haven’t been able to get where I want with it, but I feel confident in my choices when creating layouts. Learning grids and typography systems with the journey book last term helped enormously in this sense; its all transferable and I think this is a direction I could move forward in, maybe even for next year and maybe even careerwise. Overall I will take away from this unit my ability to always do my best, I know I could have given up quite a few times but persistence is key. In regards to my outcomes, I am thoroughly disappointed that I haven’t created anything that is worth putting on my website or in my portfolio. All the work I have done however has moved me forward, even if its not as much as I hope, I have work to build upon, work from and extend later on.