Visual Thinking

VISUAL V I SU A L THINKING T H INKING

Helen O’Connor BA Hons Graphic Design Level 4

‘Visual Thinking’ focuses on extending your visual awareness, individual creative language and understanding of contemporary practice while examining the fertile and complex semiotic and aesthetic nature of the word, image and object. You will examine these relationships while engaging with broad and experimental creative processes through a series of workshops, demonstrations, seminars and critiques provided across the courses in the School of visual Arts: Fine Art, Graphic Design, Illustration and Visual Communication. This unit has been designed by the Course Leaders across the School to give you a unique opportunity to test and expand your range of skills and to combine materials and processes in different ways.

1.

Distinctive Characters

2.

Letters in the Landscape

28-35

3.

Berlin

36-47

4.

For the Love of Graphics

48-53

5.

Lectures and Workshops

54-67

4-27

1.

Distinctive Characters; Typography as a semiotic souce

'Typography as a semiotic resource in its own right is capable to transmitting a variety of meanings' Task one involved exploring typography as a vehicle to communicate meanings, ideas, culture and materiality. From as far back as the middle ages typography as been used to establish a meaning or even status; however over the years and as design has come into its own people have had conflicting opinions in how it should be conceived and how the audience should be made to perceive it.

Our task involved using it as a tool to communicate with, but the brief involved some restraints: one letter, a word and a measurement to abide by.

We were asked to pick our letter and dimension at random, my partner and I picked the letter S (150 mm tall) and then the mind-mapping process had to begin. We could chose any word, design related or not, which opened our minds to all kinds of interpretations and ideas.

Getting an understanding of typography and type setting was very important in this task, I read ‘Type and Typography’ by Phil Baines and Andrew Haslam (pictured) to help me with this.

The book helped me understand the history of type that the brief refers to, the development of digital type which was more in line with what I was going to come across in the second part of this task, as well as typography terminology that made it a lot easier to communicate and enhanced my understanding of software and other resources.

7

After brainstorming all the words we could think of beginning with S, we narrowed our selection down to a few choice words. These would be the ones we would start exploring.

Pictured right are a few examples of our trials; syrup and string made by my partner Ravina Patel, and spaghetti, shadow and shrivel are a few examples of what I created.

The problem with the ones I completed were their lack of strength, shelf life, that extra dimension and/or they just didn’t excite me enough. We found similar problems with Ravina’s syrup experiments, the S also lacked clear form when placed in its context; it was her string S that she felt she wanted to take forward. However, having seen another groups S made out of a non perishable food, I think I may have a go at making the spaghetti S one day; its flexible quality made it easy to work with and as it dries it becomes sticky and each strand mold together with ease. And the impact of a letter made from food was very unique.

This task was really enjoyable, it opened our minds to think about a lot of aspects to do with contemplating what materials would be best, picking these materials, pushing them to create what we had in mind and also keeping in mind what was necessary to complete the brief. The chance to use photography was a huge up-side for me, its a medium I always enjoy using but now with equipment that I have never before had access to.

9

Far left:

top: string 1st experimient

below: syrup on paper Second from left:

spaghetti experiements Left: Shadow

top: simple overlapping of text.

below: net design for 3d attempt Abvove:

Shrivel, dried tangerine skins.

Ss Chivo Black, 140pt.

I chose the word shrapnel because I thought it wouldn’t be - or be similar to - something that another group would be doing. It also gave me the chance to think about lots of materials and how to combine them to make an S that communicates the word well. I bought basic materials that I could experiment from: an S made from cardboard, spray paint, glue and nails. I spray painted the S a metallic black to resemble a dark metal that denotes the debris that is associated the word shrapnel and war.

I was pleased with the outcome, firstly I think because of it being a while since I built something with my hands and secondly because it looked good and was appreciated by my peers and tutors. There was a problem with it being interpreted the wrong way, but was left with little tips to assist me in enhancing the clarity of it. I felt I had probably reached the end as far as making an S to communicate shrapnel but was advised to keep with it along with my partner’s work that she had created.

13

String and thread are materials that has never-ending uses and comes in countless colours and weights, its also very cheap and easy to get a hold, which I feel was the catalyst for our ideas and concepts for this word. While I created the S for shrapnel, my partner Ravina experimented and created these two examples. She used foam board for the base, screws and different weights and colours of string to create the web-like designs.

I think how she used combinations in colours with the choices of string and her experiment with different backboards to contrast and enhance the S has turned out beautifully. We did have a bit of trouble photographing the S’s due to the size of the boards, but I think we managed to get a lot of interesting pictures; my favorites are the lower angles that show how interesting the depth of the S’s are the perspective from different viewpoints.

Another problem we came across was because of her use of screws, and despite that also beginning with S, there was slight hesitation when people guessed what word it was communicating. One of our tutors came up with another word that I feel was not only more interesting but complimented her work a lot better: skein. It is a word that isn’t used very often and as it is a more visual word, it puts a picture in peoples mind that accompanies her finished S for a more successful and pleasing result.

Ss

Elephant, 200pt.

17

Spring was a word I considered going forward with from quite an early stage of the mind mapping process, it has a lot of connotations and meanings so I thought this one would be interesting to explore. However, thinking about skill and equipment accessible to us and after a discussion with my partner we concluded that it would be very hard to do a metal spring cut/ shaped into an S, we weren’t enthused by spring for the season and perhaps going down the word by association route was not in the brief’s ideal. We also had a few other words we were excited about so I thought I could always come back to it. Nevertheless, after a discussion with a cohort of mine, I found someone eager to help me so I commissioned him and his colleague to have a go at making it. They joined two proggressive steel springs together; proggressive springs have coils tighter one end that the other which results in the S having less tension in the centre. Also, because its made out of a high tensile steel they had to put a threaded bar down the middle (one bit, heated to bend) to form S shape and wind nuts on the end to keep the springs around the bar.

I think its really quite amazing, the form of the S being long and narrow made photographing it great fun; experimenting with angle of the camera allowed me to get lots of other shapes from the structure as well as interesting photographs to experiment with in the following task. I also really enjoyed taking advantage of someone else’s skills that really differ from my own. It’s not always about what you know, but whom.

Ss

Simplifica, 135pt.

21

Our next task was to create an A6 postcard with an image of our letterform as well as a short bit of text to accompany the image. It would have been preferable if the text related to typography or design in some way, but because of some abstract words chosen, this was not imperative.

Our words were part of the majority of groups who had chosen words that could not really be related back to design, however searching through internet, books and so on was part of the task to try an join the two together. It was a struggle and my partner and I had to make due with loose links and definitions for the text; I like our use of definitions of skein and spring because it leaves the audiences minds to make their own creative link using our visual stimulus.

In the end I created 9 postcards because I had a wealth of interesting photography to play around with after photographing all three 3D S’s.

I’m pleased with the outcome of most of them, however I feel the type may be too large on some which I would definitely go back an change, also on the ‘skein’ postcards the type needs more of a solid ground to bring the card together. My favorites would be one of the ‘spring' postcards (fig.1), and the postcard for ‘shrapnel’.

Spring ‘Originate or arise from: ‘madness and creativity could spring from the same source’ Figure 1, 4 and 5.

- https://www.google.co.uk/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=EC1AU6u7KILR8gfZ7oGYCA#q=sp ring+definition

Shrapnel ‘In America right now, we use words like ‘smart’ to talk about bombs. American rhetoric is grounded in ideas of capital-G Good, capital-E Evil, and it’s very clear who is on which side.

But in a book you can do just the opposite. You can use all lower-case words. jonathan safran foer’ Figure 2 - http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/jonathan_safran_foer_3.html

Skein ‘An element that forms part of a complex or complicated whole.’

Figure 3, 6-9 - https://www.google.co.uk/?g fe_rd=cr&ei=EC1AU6u7KILR8g fZ7oGYCA#q=skein+defin ition

23

Fig. 1

Spring Originate or arise from: ‘madness and creativity could spring from the same source’

Shrapnel We use words like

‘smart’ to talk about bombs.

America’s rhetoric is grounded in ideas of

capital-G Good, capital-E Evil and its very

clear who is on which side.

But in a book you can do just the opposite.

You can use all lower-case words.

Jonathan Safran Foer

Fig. 2

Fig. 4

Spring

Originate or arise from: ‘madness and creativity co same source’

Skein An element that forms part of a complex or complicated whole.

Fig. 3

25

ould spring from the

Spring Originate or arise from: ‘madness and creativity could spring from the same source’

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Skein An element that forms part of a complex or complicated whole.

Skein An element that forms part of a complex or complicated whole.

Fig. 7

27

Fig. 8

Skein

An element that forms part of a complex or complicated whole.

Skein An element that forms part of a complex or complicated whole.

Fig. 9

2.

Letters in the Landscape - A lexicon of urban typography

Task three was about vernacular letterforms we could find in the landscape during a trip to the neighbouring seaside town of Poole.

In a group of four we collected images of anything we saw that could be interpreted as a letterform, i.e. road markings, shapes in buildings and other street furniture, as well as interesting type on signs; we also added to our typographic collection when myself and another member of the group Daniela Osorio went on a trip to Berlin, Germany.

From the pictures we collected, we had to choose our favourite interpretations and then edit them on Photoshop so be could begin to visualise and draft a book that would showcase the whole alphabet in the most visually interesting way.

This was tough, working in groups always has its hiccups, getting to know another new piece of software and having to account for all of our ideas and a selection of everybody’s photographs was complicated, but I feel that in the end we produced a very beautiful and well designed book. The book was then printed and was bound through French fold.

On the following four pages is a selection of the letters I photographed on our trip to Poole...

'A grid is fundamentally about spatial relationships. Every Spatial relationship needs to be considered.'

Before making the book, I needed to gain an understanding of how to build a book, design it and how to manipulate the software to create a solid jumping off point to which the book could be built around. I went through lots of my favourite design books I had at home trying to get inspiration and ideas from these, trying to understand how to balance a huge amount of photographs on pages and spreads, and how changes in pace can really give the audience more of an insight and perspective on the story you’re trying to tell. I read up on grids so I could understand how to create the

- Shaughnessy.A Graphic Design: A Users Manual. (2009 P. 134.)

35

solid starting point. I read Adrian Shaughnessy’s book ‘Graphic Design: A User’s Manual’ as it has information on grids and book design; it also recommended further reading of Josef Müller-Brockmann’s ‘Grid Systems in Graphic Design’ which I researched through online.

Pictured on this page are two examples from pages in the finished and bound book. These are two great examples

of how we carefully paced the colour and constrasting photgraphs on the double spread, as well as the vast variety of type we found in the landscape and on signage.

I really enjoyed making the book as I love photgraphy, being out there taking photographs and editing them afterwards, and design ing taught me a lot as it was my first experience in using InDesign for book making.

3.

Berlin - International visit

We were lucky enough to have had a talk and tour around the edenspeikermann offices in Berlin. It was amazing to get first hand experience of being inside a graphic design studio, especially one of such high caliber, and being able to see the layout and get a feel for it all. I didn’t expect such an in-depth talk with one of the senior designers; it really was an eye opener. They have a very strong ethic and way of working and thinking. This came across in research before hand and during the talk, it is something that they use to distinguish themselves from other studios and teams out there (their manifesto is to the right).

This idea of having a design ethic similar in stature to there’s has been discussed in class lectures but seeing how it shapes their business, from client base to how the team works, it is the building blocks of brilliant graphic design.

This is our manifesto.

We work for your customers.

We may have to take their side at times.

Challenge us.

Complacency is the enemy of great work.

We don’t give answers.

Unless we can explore your question.

We are not suppliers.

Partnership gets the best results.

Talk to us.

We thrive on feedback.

Trust us.

You hired us because we do something you cannot.

Pay us.

Our work adds to your bottom line, so invest in our future.

39

'Trust arises where there is understanding and sympathy. Encountering the Deutsche Bahn brand should be pleasant and uncomplicated. Therefore Deutsche Bahn want to send out as clear a visual image as possible.

Edenspiekermann analysed all means of communication and how best to apply them.

How, for instance, should maps and travel information leaflets on trains be presented?

Are the contents easy to understand for customers?'

Above -http://www.edenspiekermann.com/projects/deutsche-bahn Below -http://www.edenspiekermann.com/projects/ottobock

The Buchstaben Museum - 'The Letters Museum' Going to the Buchstaben museum was probably one of the most enjoyable places I went to in Berlin. It was like no other gallery or museum I had even known of or been to, and its wealth of signs and lettering was enthralling.

To be given the chance to stand close to, beside and behwind signs that are designed to be viewed tens of meters away was fascinating and opened my eyes to how depth and lights can be used and manipulated in creating and designing letterforms; this also meant I could get some really lovely photographs of the signage and neon lights up close, with cobwebs and all.

Not being able to understand most of the words there didn’t matter either, their shape, form, colour and font said a lot more than I assume the words would have. I also got the chance to talk to the woman who worked there, she was very kind and we discussed Berlin as a design city as well as teaching me about German letters that I had not encountered before.

43

The Bauhaus Archive Visiting the Bauhaus Archive was probably the day I was looking forward to most before the trip, and it didn’t disappoint. It also turned out to be the place I spent the longest despite it being one of the smaller museums I went to.

The depth of information and history really cemented the importance of the Bauhaus and how its impact has been, and will continue to be, felt in all areas of design. Seeing all the work, including being and walking the actual building and landscape, and the furniture design and architecture and 3d models, really was inspiring and even more than I imagined it would be. The gallery was also beautifully curated; I could easily drop from one thing to another or follow the headset and I didn’t get bored, confused or distracted. I feel like I gained an understanding of a well-curated gallery/show and how easy it should be for the audience to be there until they’ve run out of things to look at, not because of boredom or confusion.

During my time in Berlin I visited three places that were memorial sites of Germany’s Jewish history. All were very different experience: the Memorial to Sinti and Roma of Europe murdered under The National Socialist Regime was a very peaceful place, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe Information Centre was a lot more emotional and full of truths that during schooling, were obviously glossed over, and The Jewish Museum was more of a celebratory place full of all kinds of channels of their history and artifacts along with that. I learnt a lot during the trips to these places and really enjoyed getting a better grasp of such an important time in history.

However, I think what makes them stand out that much more is the extra dimension of beautifully designed buildings to be in/views to see. The Jewish Museum buildings are fascinating; the contrast in architecture and space as you move from the lobby (the older building of the two) and up and down through the rest of the museum is really exciting. All the rooms winded back and forth onto each other, it was really easy to get lost, but I feel that this is part of the buildings appeal and in conjunction with what is in it: a complicated and fascinating history that is not simple and straight forward, but definitely worth exploring.

The grotesque form and maze-like feel of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is something to behold. Placed in the middle of a city like it is, it almost seems out of place yet as if it’s always been there, like its the building blocks of the city that has only been exposed here.

The grave like feel of the museum below that houses all those horrid times is an encumbering experience that, when you leave, makes you glad to be released into the ‘real’ world again to view the vast monument perhaps now from a different perspective.

47

Other Adventures Museum Island Brandenburg Gate Governemt Tower The Berlin Wall Checkpoint Charlie

4.

For the Love of Graphics - A Level 4 exhibition

Due to a serious family illness I took some time off which resulted in me missing the chance to be a part of the Level-4 exhibition For The Love Of Graphics. The exhibition was our chance to exhibit what we love about graphic design; this could be a collection we already have, a piece of packaging or similar, something we found on our trip to Berlin, or we could contact a designer/design company to see if they wished to be involved. I had planned what I was going to exhibit from when we first were informed about the exhibition; it’s a print of ‘Only Revolutions’ by my favourite graphic designers, Storm Thorgerson.

Storm Studios is like no other, which is why I admire them so much. The ambition they have to create the photographs they use in their designs is an element that Storm Thorgerson has been renowned for. With this they also create stunts that either help create their designs as well as a form of very imaginative piece of advertising; everyone knows about the flying pig over Battersea Power Station that created Pink Floyd’s album cover for ‘Animals’. I think it is the fact that they have so many diversely skilled and creative minded people in the team that creates the very unique and immediately recognizable designs, which have been proven to be so timeless over the last 50 years. Every bit of artwork is intricate, thought through thoroughly, and paints a story in your mind that sells you the album within seconds, and then makes a good album an iconic one.

51

Fig. 1

Left Figure 1: My print Figure 2: Signed message to me from Strom Thorgerson

Fig. 2

Pictures from http://www.stormthorgerson.com Opposite page: Top: Pink Floyd, Animals Second from top: Muse, Absolution Second from bottom: Muse, Black Holes and Revolations Bottom: Audioslave, Audioslave Following spread: Biffy Clyro, Only Revolutions

5.

Lectures and Workshops

Lecture 1: Ooh, Aah, Mmm

‘This session explores our relationship with objects and how we respond to and give value to ‘things’ and how our aesthetic judgements and purchase decisions relate to consumer culture. The session considers the phenomenon of consumption and notions of style, luxury, memory etc. in relation to bespoke and the mass produced items. It considers the thoughts of Baudrillard, Veblen, the Frankfurt School and Klein. In particular this session interrogates hierarchies of taste and popular culture and questions what factors determine what we consider to be good and bad taste and how the value of things can create social and cultural identities. The session will utilise design examples from AUB’s Museum of Design in Plastic (MoDiP) and wider ‘things’ (notably those often identified as kitsch).’

57

(Chapter page) Chinese Girl by Vladimir Tretchikoff (Opposite page) Virgin Mary by Soasig Chamaillard Gun lamp by Philippe Stark The Kebab lamps by Committee

-- Novelty, throwaway that has specific function become useless when taste changes -- Design choice in every aspect: shove, spay, clothes.

-- Conditioned by numerous factors; stigma, cost, availability.

-- Hierarchy of every aspects -- Coolhunting.com, “stuff that’s cool” - why is that so?

-- Oakley (brand) consistent throughout brand identity i.e. headquarters -- Sexualisation (“genderisation”) of objects, helps to sell/desirability -- Alluring ad’s to seduce and persuade -- Edward Bernays -- Image management – Today -- Neomania, need for new -- Built in obsolescence -- Taste: to touch/feel, metaphor for judgment -- Taste makers: parents, teachers, companies, “guides” -- Interiors – identity of an individual -- Cultural consumption, different in cultures, taboo -- Publicity: Good -- Bad; Adidas after riots. Immediate affect, overnight change in taste -- Fluride (research) -- Live in a world about mass production -- Beauty increased sales, 1920’s consumer engineering i.e. putting tail fins on cars. No function.

-- 19th Century, mass markets, mass consumerism -- Black eyes and lemonade, 1951, Whitechapel London -- ‘Redundancy is designed into industry’ -- Inhabitat.com -- We invest objects with meaning, even if

they will be out of style. Personalisation and sentimentality.

-- Mass consumer markets; style, fads, trends i.e. Hunter wellies from 1856 now fashion symbol.

-- Lifestyle, possessions -- Bespoke, unique, limited edition - desirable -- Subjective!

-- Prestige, status and luxury -- Privilege – wealth i.e. Swiss Rolex – professionalism ‘I’ve made it!”

-- Thorstein Veblen, conspicuous consumption – mark of status -- Twitchell, James B (os) Living It Up: America’s Love Affair with Luxury -- How do we judge design?

-- Subjectively Objectively Experience of Objects -- Influence, media Education

Fashion Styles -- Logos and their connotations, Apple = luxury -- Instant, convenient design. There is no time.

-- Form follows function, Louise Sullivan Skyscraper -- Function and form, use, ergonomics, size, handling, storage, recycling, shape, colour, style - (in that order?!)

-- Materials, production process, manufacture, cost, target, audience, competitors, marketing -- Variation on a theme -- Colour; normally silver/black/white for electronics, cars etc.

-- “Less is more” Mies Van Der Rohe, modernist, purity -- Dieter Roms, 1987, Modernist Creed -- “Less is more? Less is a bore!”

-- Albert Alessi, The Design Factory Academy -- Classic design? Who deems it?

-- Angle poise, George -- Polyprop chair -- The Frankfurt School -- Theodore Adorno and Max Harkheimer (1944) -- The culture industry: Enlightenment as mass deception -- Power of capitalism -- Hierarchy -- Mass culture -- Put in our place by choice we make that are theoretically being made for us by companies -- Illusion that they are made for us -- You will be this if you buy this product -- William Morris 1834 – 1896 -- “Have nothing in your home that you do not believe to be useful or beautiful” -- Baudrillard -- Murder of reality -- Buy into code of signs rather than the meaning -- Semiotics -- Kitsch -- Novelty, humorous, cheap, mass produced, poor quality, not functional, superficial, copy, fake, vulgar, ignorant, sentimental, souvenir, memento, personal, decoration -- Matei Calinesa, Clement Greenberg, Bourdien -- Boudelaire, intoxicating when bad taste is the aristocratic pleasure of being displeased -- Norman Rockwell, Tretchikoff, Salvidor Dali, Jeff Koens -- Depends on perspective, setting -- Pierre and Gilles, Jean Paul Gaultier, Jack Vettriano, Andres Serrano “Piss Christ” 1987 -- Victor Popanek, Design for the real world 1972

Lecture 2: The Power of Persuasion

‘This session investigates propaganda - what it is, why it exists and how it operates through consideration of historical and in particular contemporary examples from across a range of dynamic, dramatic and diverse contexts and channels of communication. The session examines key issues - notions of mass manipulation; spin; persuasion and control - in relation to propaganda examples including visual, aural and ariel examples and digital and guerrilla methods. This provocative session will question how we encounter propaganda today including Animal Rights, political campaigns, war reportage and news stories. The power of persuasion is to be explored and the session will question the role of social media in contemporary propaganda experiences.’

59

(Opposite page) Denver airport WWII poster

-- Propaganda -- Overview into propaganda -- How we engage in it -- Book: Propaganda, Power and Persuasion; David Welch -- One sided images, campaigns, tool box for politicians, bias, agenda, subconscious manipulations -- Surrounded by it daily: anti/pro-war, political, advertising -- Make a nation/world believe something that isn’t real for particular reasons (scare mongering?)

-- Definitions: spreading of ideas, info to damage or assist a government/movement, to rumor to injure an institution, ideas/ facts/allegations to further ones cause/damage opposition -- Religious background/origin -- Censorship -- Index in Censorship (book), Colors Magazine, Professor Jenny Kroth (YouTube), Noah Chomsky -- Organisations: Liberty, PETA, Act Up -- Propagate: to spread, reproduce, breed or grow -- 3 forms: Black – comes from a source that cannot be identified -- White – can be evidenced, sourced, substantiated -- Grey – half-truths, questionable, may not be able to source -- 4 varieties: -- Big Lie – Hitler, Stalin, state controlled -- May not be the truth but is plausible -- Tell your side, withhold opposing views -- The Truth -- Propaganda can be concealed, open, emotional -- Propaganda techniques to avoid truth, they rely on an element of censorship or manipulation either omitting significant information or distorting it -- Visually communicate immediately and effectively to say something. Moments in time depend on this i.e. content (war, poverty, etc.)

-- Denver Airport -- Cover-up, Exposé -- Engineering Consent -- Use of national icons, “be patriotic” -- Selective stories that seem objective, partial pacts or historical context. Reinforcing reasons and motivations to act due to threats on security or the individual -- Reframing: newspeak, use nice words to say bad things -- Delusion: give a false idea that doesn’t give alternative views -- “Go through life and leave it be? Probably the best option” -- False flag terrorism, when elements within a government stage a secret operation whereby government forces pretend to be targeted by an enemy. While attacking their own forces or people. The attack is then falsely blamed no the enemy in order to justify going to war against that enemy.

-- In modern world, images are overused, drills occur, eyewitness accounts do not match up, conflicting evidence.

-- Distraction and denial “don’t look there, look here!”

-- Celebrities are good distraction -- Vicarious/initiative learning, imitate others as we are already programmed this way it is reinforced -- This can turn sour, negative imitative learning i.e. GTA, Hip-Hop, films -- Repetition -- Persuasion technology, digital image alteration -- Social media use by governments -- Wartime was radio -- Leaflet bombs -- It works because we don’t question it, scare mongering, easier to stay in the bubble

Lecture 3: Postmodernism & Identity

‘This lecture with Paul Roberts from BA (hons) Illustration examines the ways in which postmodern culture has impacted individual identity: how we define ourselves (and how we are defined), and our relationships with others and the wider social environment. It considers a range of perspectives: including the notion of the bricoleur and cultural appropriation, simulation, performativity, feminism, and cyborg identites; and their location within a society purportedly freed from an overarching ‘grand narrative’.’

(Right) Naoimi Klien 'No Logo' (Below) Dr. Martens, out oforgional culture, fashion

61

-- Increasingly complex -- Sociological: class, race and gender -- Class is problematic, designed around money, education and occupation and parent’s occupation. We now apparently live in a classless society despite people still feeling they are judged by their class (87% Guardian/ICM Poll 2007) -- Sex and gender, expectations revolve around gender, traditional notions and roles, occupations assigner gender i.e. nurse, mechanic (and the absence of work). Gender notions of identity are assigned early, i.e. pink and blue (very modern) Modern feminists challenge that sex is a given whereas gender is learnt and can be altered -- Race can be thought of a construct in which a form of ‘othering’, ‘us’ vs. ‘them’.

We establish ourselves by what we are not, just as much as what we are -- Occupation opens up for judgment -- TV shows to social networking you identifiable by job. Unemployed find themselves more on crime news - and channel 4 documentaries -- Culture and cultural activities engaged in can define you and your class. These give us an identity/how we are identified -- Politics, traditionally defined by class, lotion and background. North/south divide -- Modern times towards single issue politics, little party allegiance, apathy towards mainstream politics and on decline in union membership -- Food ‘Elaine Glover on Food’ -- After the war our access to foreign goods exploded -- “Super foods” -- Levi-Strauss – Bricolage -- In this sense is therefore the use of diverse materials that are at hand and have little or no historical or purposeful resemblance to the task at hand.

-- “Make do with whatever is at hand” -- Hebdige: Subculture -- “The mods 1st in line of working class

youth cultures which grew up around the West Indians, responded positively to their presence and sough to emulate their style” (1979, p52) -- Jameson and Postmodernism -- Grand-narrative – the future will be better -- What to fight for? New art movements.

Feminism get what they wanted -- Capitalist culture then won is about recreating over and over again. And contemporary culture tells us we need it and if we do not buy into it then the whole thing collapses -- We take from other cultures and times and recreate it, however we are not doing it to say something/do something important. It looses its authenticity or its parody. Pastiche, “pastiche is thus blank parody, a statue with blind eyeballs” -- I.e. Dr. Martens, Vans taken out of original culture -- Klein and Advertising -- (No Logo) -- Formation of people against companies that supports/create use of sweatshops etc.

-- Companies then advised themselves as ethical ideals.

-- Brands here to sell an image not necessarily a product and people will buy into it and then their products -- Establishing emotional ties -- Zizek on Charity -- Bourdieu and Capital -- Defines the concept of different forms of capital-economic capital is self explanatory (money you have) -- Cultural capital is gained though school/ life/uni -- Other forms of cultural capital are exchanged through relationships -- Lawler and lack -- Identity in a postmodernism context may be defined by lack i.e. youths categorized due to lack of taste, knowledge and understanding -- The lack constitutes a powerful mean of

promoting consumption based on desires not needs -- Postmodernism consumer culture also encourages us to buy with economic capital what we lack in cultural capital. We buy things to create satisfaction and show others that we do not lack desirable values and attributes.

-- Alain de Botton ‘Status Anxiety’ -- Angela McRobbie -- Second modernity brings into being kinds of people whose lives are no longer wholly determined by roles ascribed to them by the older structures of class, race and sex… second modernity is about the individual to reflect the various roles and constraints and the structural factors to do with it.

-- (Beck and Giddens) Women moved from ascribed to acquired ideas McRobbie says no need for angry revolt. What was being fought for has been lost in this pastiche feminism, empty of all its meaning -- Butler and performativity -- Concept of performativity in relation to gender -- Gender is not about what we are but what we do. Gender is performed -- It’s performed through codes, including clothes and behavior -- Reinforcement makes it difficult for people to move outside these constraints without question. You may change “performance” but society want and will make it hard tis to continue -- As designers we have a responsibility to promote a healthier way of living, representing people for what is real not what is already done–but we communicators may find this heavily problematic -- “Am I reinforcing notions of identity?

Think through decisions that you are making” identity is performed or enacted.

Identity can’t be changed and has to be socially validated.

-- You can’t just exist, no one simply appears anymore

Workshop 1: Chromophilia ‘Colour is one of the most potent and important communicative elements available to the artist/ designer. Via a mixture of practice and theory, and using Josef Albers ‘Interaction of Colour’ as basis, we will look at how colours interact, and how colour might be deployed in order to best express our ideas.’

63

-- Optical artists -- Colours work via interaction – depends on its context -- Western culture returns to making colours important – think of colour as most important element in support of ideas trying to communicate -- Made up of powder suspended in a medium (glue) most natural, mineral, rocks -- Shape through linear means, lines and strokes -- Graduations of colour then to communicate shape -- Fraus hours -- Perspective -- Ties together things in lines -- Ties foreground to near spacew -- Linear web -- Pigment in the service of volume and space -- Photography come about and questioned this -- Changed/added colours -- Chemicals paint, not minerals -- George Seurat; dots next to each other (Monet) -- Van Gough couldn’t work in that way -- Expressed through solid colour -- Returns to colour as direct communicative experience -- Fauves artists i.e. Matisse -- Maximum impact/use of colour is flat and bold -- Direct colour!

-- Modernists moving to America, “successful” would added to the debate on colour as volume or solid direct -- Clifford Stille, Patrick Haran -- Birt Irvin, Christof Ofilli, Tal R -- Colour is also about blacks and whites as well as subtle colour additions -- Albers, Joseph. Bauhaus student -- The Black Mountain College, Cardina -- John Cage, Robert Rauchenberg, Cy Twombly -- Mes Cunningham -- Albes became very important, went to Yale and made a portfolio about colour interaction and screen-printing. Interaction of colour

My Task: to divide up the rectangle using letters, and paint 85% of the shapes created warm colours and 15% cold.

Pictured on opposite page)

-- Colours act entirely different, depending on context -- Complimentary, opposite on colour wheel -- If mixed they become chromatic grey -- When the eye is exposed to colour it waits to see its complimentary simultaneous contrast -- Chromatic, colours of the spectrum -- Sun white light is able of all colours, red is reflected not absorbed “a red surface is every colour except red” -- Value, refers to a colour lightness or darkness -- Not “tone” but value -- High light, low dark -- Saturation, refers to a colours intensity -- High light, low dark -- Pure/brighter, earthier -- Tint, any colour mixed with white -- Adding white makes it opaque “thuddier” -- Tone, any colour mixed with black and white -- Shade, any colour mixed with black -- Natural Pigment, natural mineral -- Ultramarine blue is unnatural, lapas lasular, Virgin Mary -- Hue, family of colours -- When a colour has hue it means it has an artificial pigment -- Pigment is the powder -- Oil paint – Linseed and pigment -- (not globby) White spirit/tops breaks it up into colour made to make paint -- Acrylic paint – plastic, very efficient. Thin it with water, acrylic medium -- To make adhere once thinned -- Darkens and cods when dries -- Water colour – Pigment and gum Arabic, still water soluble once dried -- Extended Palette, lots of colour -- Limited, few in colour, low in saturation -- Analogeus, palette of similar colours -- Colour patrician, relation of colours to one another

Workshop 2: LetterMPress ‘This introduction to LetterMPress gives you the experience of producing your designs on a letterpress — placing and arranging type on the press bed, inking, and then turning the hand crank to make a print.

Every step in the printing process is replicated to give you an authentic, interactive experience.’

I’m always interested in learning a new piece of software so I was eager to try out the LetterMPress workshop. At first I found it hard to navigate around, but once I got the hang of it I enjoyed playing around with the effects that can be created. I’m not great with thinking of things on the spot so when we were asked to create something, I went with a song that was in my head: Go Your Own Way but Fleetwood Mac. I wasn’t greatly pleased with what I created in the session but it definitely inspired me to keep trying; being able to create letterpress within minutes is a feature that no other software offers and I have now purchased it myself so I can continue to take full advantage of this.

Whilst creating the designs, they reminded me of a peice of graffiti I once saw when I was out in London:

'All in all

your just another

brinck in the wall' It's lyrics from a Pink Floyd song, Another Brick in the Wall. It has spelling mistakes in it, 'your' instead of 'you're' but it caught my eye that day and with the music connection I had to photograph it.

With this inpiration, I decided to do the same completely legally however - so using Illustrator placed my designs onto pictures of walls I could grab of the internet (see following spread).

65

Helen Alice O'Connor Visual Thinking Workbook Graphic Design BA (Hons) Level 4

Figures used are Ampelm채nnchen, German crossing signals, created by Karl Peglau in 1961.