IT IS ALL ABOUT SPACE
ISEL VEGA RAMOS
Anhalt University of Applied Sciences Department of Design - Master of Arts Integrated Design Prof. Sandra Giegler and Prof. Petra MĂźller-Csernetzky
IT IS ALL ABOUT SPACE A research inspired by the intimate space that everyone deserves.
ISEL VEGA RAMOS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First I would like to recognize myself because if I do not appreciate how important is to "give me the space that I deserve", this thesis would never have existed. Thanks to all my family for trusting me and supporting me to come to study in Germany. My mother for being a struggling and inspiring woman, my father who taught me to appreciate art and my brother for believing in me. To my nieces Valeria and Domenica to whom I dedicate this thesis. Thanks to my advisors, two spectacularly authentic and complementary people, key pieces in put order and originality in this Project. Thanks, Petra Muller and Sandra Giegler. To Bianca Herlo, Severin Wucher, Natasha Meuser, Dana Benshalom, Galit Shvo and all the members of the Baunow Project, for being an important part of the first stage of the project. To Uwe Gellert for his passion in simplicity. To my friends from MAID, from whom I have learned the unimaginable. Especially Mauricio Sosa, Nadine Ungefucht and Camila Giraldo for listening to me and getting up when I fell.
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To my Peruvian friends who never ceased to encourage me and give me ideas: Maria Isabel Valverde, Fiorella Parraga, Zoila Zamalloa, Louis Pisconte, Claudio Yi and Enrique Apaza. To whom let me explore in their closet to measure their pockets and shirts, listened to my questions and had patience; to my couple Matthias Fröse. I cannot stop naming all those who supported me in the workshops, surveys, and others, thanks: Angie Salama, Greta Dulke, Jaydeep Chug, Aleksandra Sviridova, Vanessa Espinoza, Abi Schneider, Esteban Amon, Christine Wilderman, Claudia Nuñez, Aditi Singh, Kanokpon Youcharoen, Mareike Biesel, Rima Ahmad, Leticia Brown, Suphathada Burodom, Konstantine Krüger, Mila Goicochea, Stephany Gil, Arely Amaut, Leonor Vasquez, Marilia Fernandez, Flabia Cuneo, Luz Ramos, Ximena Ferrer, Ulrike Josh, Carolin Adelheim, Ursula Achternkamp, Carolin Scheffer, Kristina Sosa Noreña, Angela Pfeiffer and Karoline Staude.
ABSTRACT The purpose of this project is to provide women with a tool to increase their comfort and confidence at work, through their non-verbal language specifically Body Posture and Clothing. Due to a work environment with fewer opportunities for them. The methodology used consists of two parts: first a very intuitive and exploratory process and second using the double diamond of the British Design Council. The final prototype is the design of a shirt that solves many comfort necessities and creates confidence in the user. I come to the conclusion of offering the product as a genderless shirt, I think it is convenient that although it was inspired by the specific needs of women and inequality. It would be of a greater contribution that can help in the empowerment to all those who need it, without exception of gender.
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INDEX ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT
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I. INTRODUCTION 1. Motivation & Intent 2. Topic-Scope & Variables 3. Research Question 4. Methodology II. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1. Gender Codes 2. History of Women Space 2.1. Space to Read: Cristine de Pizan 2.2. Space to Vote & Breath: Dress Reform (18501890) 2.3. Space to Move: Modernism - Coco Chanel 2.4. Space to Study: Bauhaus Women and their Non- verbal Communication 2.5. Space to Work: Women in the Workforce 2.6. Space to Position: Body Posture and Connection with Gender Inequality 3. Women Workspace: Body Posture & Clothing 3.1. Workspace of Women Nowadays 3.2. Clothing at workspace Dress Code at work Fast Fashion System and Interests in appearance Lack of pockets and Dependency Relevance of clothing 3.3. Body Posture at workspace Body Posture codes at workspace Body Posture & emotions: Poor and High Power Posture Relevance of Body Posture
9 10 13 14 15
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16 17 20 20 21 22 25 28 29 31 31 33 33 34 36 39 40 40 41 43
III. RESEARCH 1. Baunow Exploration 1.1. From Non-Confidence to Confidence 1.2. Mountain Women 1.3. Workshop 1: Breaking Stereotypes 1.4. Workshop 2: Hear your Body 1.5. Garments: Poor & High Power 2. Gender Inequality: Culture & Non verbal communication 2.1. Survey (Germany - Peru - Israel - Uruguay) 3. Women Roles at work ( Peru - Germany) 3.1. Persona 3.2. The image of women’s role in Peru and Germany 3.3. Interviews with women in different roles in Peru and Germany 4. Looking for the ideal garment 4.1. Survey Garment: Clothing & Body Posture of Women at Workspace
44 45 46 47 47 48 52 54 54 58 58 60 63 69 69
IV: IDEATION & PROTOTYPE 1. Prototype A 2. Prototype B 3. Final Prototype
76 76 86 91
V: CONCLUSION 1. Evaluation of the Research Question & aims 2. Suggestion for future work
108 109 110
VI: BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Thesis declaration
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I. INTRODUCTION
1. MOTIVATION & INTENT This project represents for me one of the greatest learnings of my life. Surely for those who know that I am an architect, the question would be: what do I do researching about Body Posture and Clothing. And to be honest I asked myself several times too. As an architect in a Master of Integral Design, my main motivation was to learn in a holistic way about design, I believe that there are important connections between what we call „external disciplines.“ Architecture and clothing have a strong and intimate connection. Architecture expert Werner Blaser also expresses this connection in his essay for the book by Christa de Carouage, Habitat: „The skin, the dress, and the house are the three shells in which we live, nature gives us the first. We mold the two others ourselves. Both manifest our needs for protection, comfort, beauty, and individuality.
with this, I had to learn to recognize what it is a good posture, like not feeling uncomfortable after working for a long time on the computer, stretching, trying corsets, correctors and also skin bands. Unintentionally and a little forced, I learned empirically how the spine and muscles work and what to do to keep them healthy. Yoga has helped me a lot to maintain harmony in body and mind, and above all to learn to listen to my body. Currently I work as an instructor in this discipline for the students of the university and the staff of the Hoschschule Anhalt, which has helped me significantly so that this thesis continues to have the relevant coherence.
Seen from this perspective, clothing begins to take on a greater significance instead of being something that is simply fashionable. To avoid this confusion, in the project I will not use the word „fashion“ to refer to the shell that dress us. At the stage of ideation and prototype, the design process will be very similar to my way of learning about architecture, You will see an exploration of the structure of the body and its functioning, of the basic needs and as well as the recognition of the value of presence and aesthetics in the context. Another of the personal motivations present in this research is yoga, one of my great passions. I practice yoga steadily more than 3 years ago. What brought me there was a need to improve my back with severe problems and after trying many physical activities yoga was the only thing that managed to fit in with me. Along
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Figure: Minimal House - Le Cabanon from Le Corbusier - 1950 / Source: Habitat - Crista de Courage
Also, I have been able to recognize more easily the connection between body posture and dress. Something that many times we do not even notice, on this subject is dedicated one of the most important chapters of the investigation. On the other hand, my experience living in Germany has also enriched the research. In my short time living here I was able to recognize the different perception of women. Coming from a Latin American country with one of the highest rates of violence against women, the change was quite evident. But after a careful investigation, the situation of women in Germany and Peru is not so different, while in some areas the figures are positive for one country in the other does not result in the same way. The role of women has had fewer opportunities for decades, their presence in politics and in important decision making still remains unchanged. In a world historically dominated by men, the recovery of democratic space for women is a process that requires discussion, understanding of the problem and, above all, the empowerment of women with themselves. The only big change for me will come from the inside out. For that reason, I would also like to distinguish that I will not base myself on a feminist understanding based on comparison with men, or placing them as authors of this situation.
Between the Design Department of the Hochschule Anhalt together with Bezalel University Jerusalem on the topic of „Bauhaus today-Examining Bauhaus values ​ and their relevance for community building processes“. The final project will be part of a traveling exhibition for the 100 years of the Bauhaus. The process of this project was to explore and exchange ideas among international students, I chose to be part of a group called Attitude, where I went to explore what captured me most among the Bauhaus photographs. In it appeared women posing in a defiant attitude, full of power, in these black and white photos, the women of the Bauhaus had an admirable authenticity. I marveled at their camera game and their desire to continue testing their skills in a world alien to them. The Bauhaus school, opened the door to them but not completely, they could learn from textiles, but they could not be architects, they could learn but very few managed to be teachers. The incredible talent of the women of the Bauhaus is in their carpets that became iconic paintings for the world, in the metallurgical art of Marriane Brandt one of the only ones that managed to enter this workshop and excel remarkably. I could spend days admiring these photos, admiring their non-verbal communication and everything they want to tell us today. That is why Baunow for me is a key piece in my thesis, I will quote part of a previous investigation.
The present project tries to leave the position of victims of women and place them in the full and absolute responsibility for a change they deserve. To do this, I have researched several important examples of women who managed to establish themselves fully in their work roles and I have also done interviews with women close to my environment that have helped me to broaden my perspective and learn more about their current situation and their connection with his clothing and body posture for his empowerment. One of my great inspirations is the architect Zaha Hadid, the first female architect in the world to win a Pritzel of Architecture. Zaha not only designed authentic buildings, but Zaha also designed her dress and body posture, Zaha knew that it was part of her communication and that this also endowed her with uniqueness. To finish, I would like to add when it was exactly that I connected all this. Before I had it as clear as I explained it before, it arose unconsciously. Less than a year ago, I was invited to participate in a project called Baunow.
Figure: Isel Vega doing Yoga / Photo: Matthias Frose 2017
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My intention is to help women to be able to position themselves with confidence in their work roles, to create more awareness of the importance and connection of their body posture and their dress, that they can feel more comfortable to develop their skills. It is important and necessary that the lost space be recovered, but with freedom, respect, responsibility and authenticity.
I hope that this project will contribute to reducing stereotypes at the labour level and to reduce the gaps of opportunities between genders. I hope I can empower women to really believe in their abilities and forget social codes, to believe in themselves. I also hope that it will help anyone who believes they need this type of support, even if it is a project initially inspired by women.
Figure: Zaha Hadid with proposed site-specific intervention for the Guggenheim‘s 1992 exhibition. / Photo : David Heald
Figure: Zaha Hadid cover of the Times magazine 2010 with a Issey Miyake dress.
Figure: Karla Grosch and students in the terrace of the Bauhaus canteen / Photo: Unknown.
Figure: Students of the Bauhaus in movement. / Photo: Giese Heder
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2. TOPIC - SCOPE & VARIABLES The investigation is delimited in the background of the women in their workspace, it is recognized as the connection with their clothing and body posture can help them to feel more comfortable and with that to express themselves with more confidence. It is also important to understand that there is no linear process, that comfort will not only bring confidence, because we can gain confidence with our comfort. Behind all these definitions translates into feel freedom in our natural habitat, we have a living space to live, and that space is not just our office, our ideal space is one that allows us to move
freely with naturalness. If we work in an uncomfortable desk and chair, the result at work will be bad. In the same way, this happens with our clothing. If we wear something tight or that does not allow us to move or that does not fit our needs, the result will be discomfort, on the other hand, if we go to the other extreme and go in our pyjamas our presence will affect our cognitive power to develop our daily activities. The project will try to develop a balance between what a woman‘s identity implies and her needs but at the same time her connection with a variable environment.
Figure: Scope to recognise thesis topic. / By: Isel Vega
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- VARIABLES: a. Space: a continuous area or expanse which is free, available, or unoccupied. / The dimensions of height, depth, and width within which all things exist and move. / The freedom to live, think, and develop in a way that suits one. 1 b. Comfort: a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint./Things that contribute to physical ease and well-being. / Prosperity and the pleasant lifestyle secured by it. 2 c. Empowerment: Generally it implies, in the beneficiary, the development of a confidence in their own capacities and actions, together with access to the control of resources, representation in decision-making bodies and the participation of planning processes. 3 d. Confidence: has a common meaning of a certainty
about handling something, such as work, family, social events, or relationships. Confidence can be described as a belief in one‘s self and one‘s ability to succeed. 4 e. Clothing: clothes, especially clothes of a particular type or those worn in a particular situation: especially of a type made to protect the wearer against cold, heat, water, or machinery: f. Fashion: is the area of activity that involves styles of clothing and appearance. Is a style of clothing or a way of behaving that is popular a particular time. g. Body posture: is the embodiment of your confort zone. Posture is not a position, but a dynamic pattern of reflexes, habits, and adaptive responses to anything that resists you being more or less upright and functional.
1 Oxford Dictionary 2 Oxford Dictionary 3 Sharp‘s dictionary of power and struggle: Language of civil recistance in conflicts (en inglés). Estados Unidos de América: Oxford University Press. p. 130. ISBN 9780199829897
4 Stajkovic, Alex (2006). „Development of a Core Confidence-Higher Order Construct“. Journal of Applied Psychology. 91 (6): 1208–1224. doi:10.1037/00219010.91.6.1208. PMID 17100479.
3. RESEARCH QUESTION: HOW = developing comfortable (physical) and confidence (mental) through non-verbal communication (clothing and body posture) WHO = women WHERE = in their workspace WHY = to establish themselves and reach better positions.
HOW MIGHT WOMEN DEVELOP THEIR COMFORT AND CONFIDENCE THROUGH THEIR CLOTHING AND BODY POSTURE TO ESTABLISH THEMSELVES IN THEIR WORKSPACE?
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4. METHODOLOGY: The project has two types of methodology because the objectives were not the same. The first is the methodology that I used for the Baunow, since the project had to end in an exhibition, the exploration was much more intuitive, I did not base all the time on a research question. But if I experienced on my own what I was studying, I managed to experience with my same clothes that language of trust and not confidence. I also managed to do two workshops that led me to great learnings for this thesis. Regarding the Baunow post, my methodology was much more strategic, here I always base myself in asking a research question, having a clear objective of looking for what I could really do. The methodology is the
Double Diamond of the British Design Council, I found a problem, I defined it and then look for alternatives or solutions with these findings then I went back to define my question and so on. As for the tools I used: persona, surveys, face-to-face interviews with photos and videos to observe their non-verbal communication and garment prototypes. I consider important a methodology where the user is placed in the center and this is important, the personalized interviews and workshops were the best learning for this research, because not only did I obtain valuable information that changed my paradigms but I could also get in touch with my target group. I could reaffirm the importance of non-verbal communication, which will reinforce this thesis much more.
Figure: Design Council’s Double Diamond, image source: http://static1.squarespace.com/static/55fa0341e4b06660c65bd4f0/t/5642c682e4b0b633d4fcc1 fd/1447216776499
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II.THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1. GENDER CODES During the semester of summer 2018, I took the course of Design Theory where I had the luck to pick a great article about Gender Research: Visualising Gender Norms in Design: Meet the Mega Hurricane Mixer and the Drill Dolphia. Read this paper helped me to understand the responsibility of designers in gender-dichotomous and to be aware how we live in a world plenty of stereotypes and norms that govern our decisions consciously and unconsciously. It is also not a surprise that article is one of the few that discusses gender issues in design. Keep in mind that until the end of the 20th-century men were the only ones who could write the history of nations, the only ones with the right to vote and therefore those of absolute dominion. Just men could write history and had an exclusive monopoly on the process of remembrance, it is not strange then that the fruit of that process was for centuries its peculiar way of seeing the world. Wherever you go, all this perceptions are surrounding us, and defining what is acceptable or was is not, this levels of acceptance are measured by gender codes. For example, a gender code can be girls have to wear in pink and play with dolls, use earrings to called her a girl. And this codes all together create a Gender System, it is described as a power structure that organizes the relationship between sexes on a symbolic, structural and individual level . This system is not only opposite between ‚male‘ and ‘female‘ it has also a principle of hierarchy where men’s value is higher than women’s value. In this system we can see clearly how women is always related to the Private sphere (house, kids, kitchen) and men is always related with (work, outside, big decisions). The point is that we are use to this reality, we think that is normal,
and we are not aware also about all the consequences that we are creating with centuries of generations with the same mindset. Hence, when we talk about equality between women and men, we are not only talking about biological equality, we are talking about rational human beings whose relationship does not end in procreation. It is essential to de-naturalize inequality, and for this it is necessary to debate and learn about the origins of women submission to realize that any explanation has no basis to be part of our values. But why this codes are still part of our values? Why we don’t change it? The changes of mentality are achieved with arguments that comes from history, sociology, political science, anthropology and of course design, these can provide us the answers that we need. The cultural map designed by the political scientists Ronald Inglehart and Christian Welzel based on the World Values Survey, shows the extreme repercussion of the values traditional versus rational (y-axis) and towards the other extreme survival versus selfexpression values (x-asis). What I did in the first place was to locate Peru, and then see how far away Uruguay is. It was interesting to review its history and its quality of life, Uruguay is a more tolerant country and that is also because it is not guided by traditional norms imposed by Catholicism and is more rational and its state policies are trustworthy. Then I located Germany, it has less emphasis on religion and replaces it with science and bureaucracy. This map helps me to understand why gender equality changes in each country, at first glance we can say that the countries located in the upper right area are the countries with the most tolerance for gender equality. But if we take Japan for example, the woman that become mother stops working and is dedicated exclusively to the home, there
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are few who work, their husbands usually give them the full salary for them to administer, but their presence in the workspace is weak. Japan is ranked 19th worldwide in 2016 with respect to the most developed countries. Germany occupies the 5th, but equally with a woman to the power of the country as Angela Merkel only 8% of mayors are women here. With this I want to make clear
that the economic development of nations is not always linked with equal opportunities. This information helped me to develop a survey that will be the ideation chapter, whereas a result I refocused my target group of only women in Peru and Germany to take it to women in the world.
Figure: Diagram of Gender Codes. / Designed by: Isel Vega Ramos
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Figure: Inglehart and Welzel Cultural Map of the World. Based on the World Values Survey. 2004. / Source: Wikipedia.
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2. HISTORY OF WOMEN SPACE The history of how women have been establishing themselves in different spaces of society is related to how they felt free and could develop with confidence. Because comfort is not only related to the architectural space of the human being, but also to the living space it can be understood that the clothing of women in history has emerged numerous metamorphoses as well as their body posture. Women have been experimenting, gaining space, responding with democracy and also losing a bit in the superficiality that is often linked to fashion. To understand this whole process I will review the role of women from the beginning. Pilar PĂŠrez CantĂł, Emeritus Professor of Contemporary History at the Autonomous University of Madrid had studied the
origins of women submission and she explains that: during the Palaeolithic period, there were not many differences between the sexes, both were responsible for the collection. It was only in the Neolithic and with the sedentary when the need arises to acquire land and wars appear with it, was the woman who was linked to the children who was in charge of caring for the cabin. And she took over the agriculture activity. Patriarchy began to take more and more value, religions were also a huge influencing factor in imposing virginity and chastity. While in the Middle Ages, Christianity was responsible for strengthening the patriarchal model and extends the idea that women were a failed creation carrier of evil (Eva).
2.1. SPACE TO READ: CRISTINE DE PIZAN
In France during the reign of Charles VI (1380 - 1422) appeared a woman who serves the court, whose father taught her to read and write, Cristine de Pizan. She realized that what the texts said was not true, that the speech of men in the courts was totally false and that the woman was not stupid and bad. To claim the role of the woman Cristine writes The Book of the City of Ladies and The Treasure of the City of Ladies. Shortly after during the sixteenth century and with the French Revolution begins to discuss the issue
Figure: Cristine de Pizan in a catedra / Source: wikipedia.
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2.2. SPACE TO VOTE & BREATH: DRESS REFORM (1850 -1890)
Figure: Illustration Dress Reform 1891. / Source: wikipedia.
In the mid-eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, in England women fought for the right to suffrage, education and puritanical morality. This was the first feminist wave in the world that also had repercussions in the United States. And of course, it also had to be hand in hand with a rational movement of clothing. This movement had its greatest success with the underwear, which was not comfortable or rational. In Germany the reform was dedicated more to the underwear of men, Dr. Gustave Jaeger claimed that these garments were not made of the material indicated for ventilation and body movement. Criticized the tight dress „criticisms of tigthlacing“, the use of the corset was questioned because it was also bringing health problems to women by placing a lot of pressure on the spine and also forcing the body‘s natural shape, with these corsets women could not move properly, many of them began to stop using it or have ventured into trying pants. The woman wanted to be public also wanted to ride a bicycle and do sports, they wanted to have the same rights as men.
Figure: Corset distortion. / Source: http://www.ashleyedavidson.com/blog/ fashion-history-the-19th-century-dress-reform-movements
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2.3. SPACE TO MOVE:
MODERNISM - COCO CHANEL With the development of modern industrial societies and the rapid growth of cities, during the 19th and 20th centuries, modernism appears as an answer of new necessities and changes. After the World War I, the society was asking for hope and development, so functionalism was the best option. Modernism brought economic and social changes, its origin is connected with a need for a better quality of life, to become a much more rational society. Industrialization was the activity that accompanied modernism, machines could do much more easily what men did for weeks or months. Mass production, migrations to big cities, printing, etc.
- She popularized the small haircut, demonstrating that short hair could also be feminine. - She designed for the working woman, creating the tweed tailor, inspired by the two-piece masculine suit. Letting the woman move with freedom for the tasks and challenges of her new social reality. - Reinvented the colour black as a symbol of elegance, which had been used by the ancient aristocracy and was only used for mourning.
Gabrielle Chanel, was born at the right time, she had her greatest boom after the 1st World War. At the same time, the ideal feminism appears with more force in Europe and the United States, what they called the New Woman, the independent woman, educated and also venturing for the first time in different activities such as new alternative dress style representing an example of the power of non-verbal symbols. This period was extremely important for women, here they started to change the codes in order to claim their space and be heard. Chanel conquered the French aristocracy and reinforced the feminist movement by providing multiple responses to the feminine wardrobe that needed a profound reform. In 1916 Chanel opens its first store offering a line of casual, simple and comfortable clothing. Gabrielle‘s talent managed to strike a balance between aesthetics and comfort, women now had space to move. Chanel is really one of the few designers who understood the importance and impact of clothing with body movement, managed to give women the most intimate space they deserved. I will list below the greatest achievements that will help me in the investigation1: - She freed the silhouette and adapted the comfort to the female body, abolished the use of the corset, promoted the use of masculine garments, such as trousers, flat shoes and jersey. 1 Article: 9 things that Coco Chanel made for women, Marie Claire web By: Sandra Carcel
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Figure: Chanel with her tweed. Source: http://decoratorsbest.tumblr.com/ post/64018097211/tweed-from-1950s-coco-chanel-to-2014-paris
Figure: Sketches of Chanel. / Source: Baudot, Franรงois, 1996. By: Schirmer/Mosel. Chanel
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Figure: Sketches and Photo of Chanel. / Source: Baudot, François, 1996. By: Schirmer/Mosel. Chanel
Figure: “The great revolutionary”. / Source: https://theluxonomist.es/2017/02/15/coco-chanel-la-creadora-de-un-imperio/patricia-rosales
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2.4. SPACE TO STUDY:
BAUHAUS WOMEN AND THEIR NEW NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION (BAUNOW PROJECT) The education of women was the breaking point for them to realize that they were also capable of making decisions like men and also recognize their true value. After the World War I, Walter Gropius, a talented German architect who fought in the war, reflected on the responsibility of architecture and aesthetics in the solution of the social problems that the post-war was leaving. And that is how he founded the Bauhaus, with a group of international professors and an original curriculum. Within his modern thinking, he allowed women to be part of the school. But only allowing them to belong to the ceramic or textile workshops. And this is the case when, in 1919, Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus with the support of the government in Weimar and with the slogan: „Form follows function“.
Along with the development of the Bauhaus and its innovation the industrial process, women also stood out for their genius and tried to venture into other activities. Gunta Stölzl talented textile artist managed to be a teacher and director of the workshop. Marianne Brandt became an admirable industrial designer getting into the metal workshop. It is clear that not all women were motivated by textiles and ceramics, many others were dedicated to full photography like Gertrud Arndt. These series of photographs that the Bauhauser made are today one of the best examples of his legacy. I silently analysed these photographs and what most caught my attention were their challenging looks, their sarcastic gestures, the freedom of their postures, their experimental dress. Understand that by then, studying
Figure: Life at the Bauhaus, group portrait of women weavers in the Weaving Workshop (Webereiwerkstatt), 1927. / Source: www.bauhaus-online.de
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for a woman was a privilege and cutting their hair, imitating the men‘s wardrobe and worse not behaving as a lady was even more challenging for women of this time. They needed it, they wanted to excel and wanted to be seen and wanted the world to see that they could also contribute and that they could also do the same as men, who did not need to enter into social stereotypes and respect gender codes to feel accepted. From there I began to contemplate each photograph with respect and admiration. And I understood that they had not only developed a contribution in the aesthetic world of modernism, with its textiles, ceramics, photographs and industrial objects. The women of the Bauhaus created a new form of non-verbal communication. This way of communication helped them to be seen and claim their position as designers. I think that this outcrop of a whole new
perspective of design came together with the change of life that these women experienced during their years in university. The non-verbal forms of communication are not a simple topic to address because it is quite particular depending on the culture and also the own experiences. Non-verbal communication (NVC) is all the kind of transmission of information that is not linguistic, like visual, auditory, tactile and kinaesthetic (physical). 1 In a particular way, I will base my research on just two elements of non-verbal communication where I have observed that these changes have been much more represented: clothing and body posture. In the next chapter, I will explain the history, importance and the connection of each one in order to reach the goal of empowering women. 1 „Non-verbal Communication Theories“. Encyclopedia of Communication Theory. 2009.
Figure: Diagram of non verbal communication. Designed by: Isel Vega
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Figure: “The Women Weavers on the Bauhaus Stairway, Dessau 1927. Lena Bergner, Grete Reichardt, Lijuba Monastirsky, Otti Berger, Lis Beyer, Elisabeth Mueller, Rosa Berger, Ruth Hollos, Lisbeth Oestreiche, young master Gunta Stölzl in front. / Photo © Lux Feininger
Figure: The members of the Bauhaus, once Europe‘s leading art and design school, included: Albers, Scheper, Muche, Moholy-Nagy, Bayer, Schmidt, Gropius, Breuer, Kandinsky, Klee, Feininger, Stölzl, Schlemmer. / Source: Bauhaus Movement Twitter.
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2.5. SPACE TO WORK:
WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE Workspace was designed and coded for men during centuries. Men were the responsable to support the family financially. And the role of women were to take care of home and family. But everything changed with the Industrial Revolution as I explained before. So women were allowed to work for a wage and eventually a salary. In the beginning of the 20th century, they started to occupied jobs in factories or as domestic servants. But the big changed was during and after the World War II, leaving millions of families without parents and a strong economic crisis, society created “jobs for women”, such as secretaries, waitress, salespeople, who were called, the “pink-collar”. The very popular picture of “Rosie the Riveter”, is a representation of the USA government’s efforts to exhort women to during this period. 1 1 Women in the Workforce. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_ workforce#19th_century
Figure: “We can Do It”, poster for Westinghouse, closely associated with Rosie the Riveter, 1942 - USA ( J.Howard Miller)
Figure: Women in the Workforce. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_workforce#19th_century
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2.6. SPACE TO POSITION:
BODY POSTURE AND CONNECTION WITH GENDER INEQUALITY Within the codes to which we mentioned repeatedly the body posture also has parameters within society. When the women stopped using the corset and the wider skirts, their clothes became more functional and comfortable. The skirts were also shortened for this purpose. With this other rules came about how women should position themselves corporally. In 1979, the German photographer Marianne Wex conducted a study of how the patriarchal system affects body posture. He called it „Let‘s Take Back Our Space.“ Marianne randomly took pictures of magazines, advertising and everyday life in Hamburg. The visual study shows how people seated: legs and feet; positions of arms and hands; etc. It is clearly expected that a woman with a skirt has her legs closed, the same way if she wears pants. It is expected that men open their legs more, this is socially more acceptable. A clear example is to see the body language of people traveling on a bus. Men expand their
body much more, in search of their comfort. Women, on the contrary, withdraw it, cross their legs and try to occupy as little space as possible. This is shown in the photographs of Marianne Wex, still seen today some 4 decades later. One of the main discoveries of this would be that Wex also explains that women can imitate men more easily and comfortably, but it does not happen the other way around. A man finds it impossible, even for research purposes. 1 Nowadays it is much easier to appreciate a woman with her legs spread, little by little society also becomes more flexible. The woman‘s body posture is much more open to change, we can see women with skirts standing with open legs and hands on hips. Or being themselves, not imitating any message but expressing what they really want to say, sharing their knowledge and communicating it.
1 Marianne Wex: Let’s Take Back Our Space, 1979. Source: David Campany. https:// davidcampany.com/marianne-wex-lets-take-back-our-space/
Figure: a 1920s Guide to posture for Flappers. Julia: “Cross the feet instead of the legs and you will be just as comfortable and twice as feminine”. The art of sitting with crossed legs. Source: glamourdaze.com.
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Figure: crossing legs or open it. Photo by: Marianne Wex.
Figure: opening arms, masculine or feminine? W Photo by: Marianne Wex.
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3. WOMEN WORKSPACE:
BODY POSTURE & CLOTHING NOWADAYS 3.1. WORKSPACE OF WOMEN NOWADAYS The relevance of gender equality at work is important, since we know that work culture is very masculine. If we only give a brief look at the governments of the world we can say that a little more than 10% of them are in the hands of women. If we go on to public offices, congressmen, ministers, managers and CEO, the figures do not vary much. With this quote I do not mean that men are doing a bad job, but it is important that big decisions are made by people that really represent society, and in the world women are not 10% of the population. The lack of presence of a true representation of humanity in major decisions is everyone‘s responsibility.
Not only the participation is lower, but also salaries are affected. In Peru according to the INEI, women receive almost 30% less salary than men for the same activity, 26.5% of women do not study because they dedicate themselves to housework. 1 While in Germany, women earn 21% less than men. The salary differences between men and women are 7% lower in Germany than in Peru, however, women in Peru return to work faster after childbirth (3 or 4 months) while in Germany after approximately 14 months. The law protects this decision and there is also an economical purpose for it but is usually the women who take more time. The social 1 INEI: National Institute of Statistics and Informatics Peru.
Figure: Difference between a man and a woman in Germany- 2016. / Source: Statisches Bundesamt.
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pressure of a German woman who wishes to return to work in a period of less than a year is quite high, it is not at all common and not well seen. I managed to recognize reality more closely when I interviewed women of both nationalities, I could see weaknesses and strengths on both sides and above all important information to reinforce the intension of the project. The issue of equal opportunities for different genders is extremely complex and controversial. Gender roles at work have created stereotypes so ingrained that it is very complex to imagine women in fields such as construction, high-risk jobs or positions of high responsibility. This differentiation comes from very young with the toys we use when we are children, our clothes, the colors we use, the way we should behave and also what we see. That is, our unconscious captures all those images, messages and concepts of our society and that also has a significant impact on our decisionmaking and our prejudices. In the workplace, there are attempts to create a much more diverse and open environment, but the results are not the best. Ines Bohnet, author of “What works“, manages to make an excellent analysis of how companies can work to reduce prejudices at work through “behavioral design“.
For Bohnet it is quite clear that we are a SOCIETY BIAS, but that we can design our way of thinking in order to appreciate the true value of our workers. In 1993 India reserved a third of its political positions for women, which increased insight in the government, encouraged women to say their opinions, continue studying, take control and delay their motherhood. Bohnet explains in detail how we can work on small changes such as covering the name of our candidate for a job. Make personalized interviews and assess rationally. Bohnet also explains how slow progress is made in terms of equal opportunities in terms of gender in the workplace, which is why with her book she tries to give companies alternatives to make a change in their system. This thesis project aims to investigate a field that is not entirely obvious in the problem, but at the same time as relevant as the state policies that try to support gender equality. The difference in investigating clothing and body posture is that it is in the hands of users the responsibility to understand its importance and apply it in the workplace where the presence of women needs to be reinforced.
Figure: WHAT WORKS: GENDER EQUALITY BY DESIGN, INES BOHNET. 2016. Video of Harvard University. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?time_continue=149&v=niH9wfKsUIc
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3.2. CLOTHING AT WORKSPACE In this section, I will detail what is the current status of clothing at work, and its connection to women. First, I will explain which codes we usually use, what is happening with the so-called Fast Fashion System and its impact on the search for equal opportunities. To finish I will finish explaining the relevance of clothing as the most intimate construction of the human being and its repercussion not only in comfort but also in our emotions. DRESS CODE AT WORK Dress code is a set of written and, more often, unwritten rules with regard to clothing. Clothing, like other aspects of human physical appearance, has a social significance, with different rules and expectations applying depending on circumstance and occasion. In 1957 in England, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip wrote some rules in order to organize the Western dress codes. They classified the formal, semi-formal and informal dress code. This influence has a lot of connection in the dress code at work nowadays. But also, white-collar workplace clothing has changed significantly over the years. In a corporate office, appropriate clothes are clean, business
casual clothes such as (for men) a dress shirt, polo shirt, and trousers, or other similar outfits. Suits, neckties, and other formal wear are usually only required in law offices and financial sector offices. So today, the two styles have merged, women’s work clothes expanded to include suit and men now have more bright colors. But of course, there are some exceptions like the business culture of technology companies or startups like Silicon Valley and California or for example the well-known “Casual Friday”. Many companies have understood that the use of a dress code differentiated between genders also promotes discrimination, which is why they avoid it. But others also take a lot of importance to the presence of their companies and their activities, which is why they continue to impose it.1 Many companies have understood that the use of the dress code differentiated between genders also promotes discrimination, which is why they avoid it. But others also take a lot of importance to the presence of their companies and their activities, which is why they continue to impose it. 1 Wikipedia ORG. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dress_code#Work_place
Figure: BUSINNESS CASUAL DRESS CODE Hugo Lin. / Source: The Balance 2018
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The important thing about all this is that although women have more choice options, fashion, in general, does not always respond to the needs of users. And it also happens at work, women want to look more professional and also express confidence, but the fashion system responds more to the excessive consumption of clothes that change faster than the climates themselves. What is behind a garment nowadays is not just an image and a price, it is something beyond is a sophisticated system made to buy more, which does not take into account not only what people need but also ignores its repercussion environmental and the unworthy environment and payment of the producers of these garments. A clear example is the so-called now FAST FASHION SYSTEM, which I will explain in detail and then I will also focus on the lack and the sizes of pockets in women‘s clothing, which is another of the big problems.
Figure: Morsa Image Dress Code/Digital Vision/Getty Images
FAST-FASHION SYSTEM & INTERESTS IN APPEARANCE The interest of women in appearance leads to excessive consumption of clothing. The explanations to this reality are varied, on the one hand this is learned through social promotion and the commercialization of the female image. On the other hand, from the evolutionary point of view where the only alternative of the woman was to become a wife, the competition in the appearance by the other candidates was high. The feminine features sexually selected by the culture during centuries are: narrow waist, shorter face, smaller hands and feet, etc. But although the reality of women has changed the interest in appearance and consumption continue to increase. The cost of clothing is on average $400 per year for women, which increases with age to approximately $ 700. While men decrease their consumption to a little more than half (280 $) once married. According to psychologist Nigel Barber of Psychology Today, this concern for their appearance is also an interest to feel competent, women who work and who occupy better positions do not want to look sexy want to show professionalism. It follows that they use this resource to gain power due to their flexibility in the attire and in wanting to establish themselves in their work spaces. After watching a documentary called „The true cost“, it was a little
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clearer what is behind the clothes we bought. Rapid clothing brands are not really catering to the needs of consumers, their main goal is to make clothing cheap and attractive for consumption. Personally, this topic was something that very rarely was a reflection for me. But now in the same way that I ask myself several times if I really need to buy something in a plastic bottle or use aluminum. Now I wonder if I really need that garment that I am buying if it responds to what I need and how long it will last me with the quality it has. It is understood that women naturally care more about their appearance, but this does not mean that their consumption must be excessive. WHAT IS FAST FASHION SYSTEM? Is the term used to describe the process in which designs move quickly from catwalks to retailers. The key worth is: “We want this NOW”. But what are the consequences: - Excessive consumption: it is also estimated that the system now called Fast Fashion creates an average of 52 season trends per year. And the message that sends through advertising is that you can never reach them, because if you do not consume you will be left into oblivion, also buying many times garments that will be forgotten.
- Unfair labor practices: the high consumption of clothing, brings with it a greater offer, the appearance of major brands such as H & M, Primax or Zara, continue to create greater demand. Prices are unimaginable if one tries to produce the same garment on their own. Cheap clothes are produced in countries like Bangladesh or India, with a badly paid labor force and inhumane conditions. 83% of workers that make these clothes are women, who usually earn an average of $ 3 a day. - Increased carbon footprint, water and pollution: the environmental problem that this system is bringing, is not solved with donations for clothing since the true purpose of used clothing is almost uncertain. Only
10% of the clothes donated to second-hand stores are sold and the other 90% ends up in garbage dumps or markets in developing countries. 50% of this clothing is made with polyester which emits 3 times more carbon dioxide than fibers such as cotton. And 20% of the world‘s water is attributed to the clothing industry. - Women consumers are also slaveries in a mental way, models in fashion around the world does not have the measure and aspect of the common women. Women with different proportions suffer a lot because they cannot fit in the fashion parameters. - Fashion first, comfort last: silhouette is a need, tide clothe and presence are more important.
Figure: FAST FASHION / Source: instagram Fashion Lover.
Figure: FASHION INSIGHT - THE INVISIBLE SIDE OF FAST FASHION. Source: www.hausielimited.com
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LACK OF POCKETS & DEPENDENCY Investigating about Fast Fashion, opened a scenario that I did not take into account. I was not aware about what I bought and dressed. Many colleagues collaborated in this research, both men and women, among the articles and comments that they shared with me is that of the women‘s pocket: since the industry offers them this functional detail or in a false way or in an extremely small size. I did not consider it so relevant until I took all my pants that I brought from Peru and more than half had fake pockets. Of those that I bought also in brands like H & M here in Germany, the pockets were small and of course, it‘s not impossible to carry a cell phone there. When I exchanged this information with my close friends, the result was pure frustration, if of course almost all the women affirmed the same, but somehow we did not think about the importance of a decent pocket. I remember a comment that my flatmate, who is married, did to me in the kitchen, while I was commenting about my thesis, she said:
„Yes of course, I can never carry my wallet and cell phone when I go out with my husband to a club or a bar for example, carrying a wallet is uncomfortable. So I give everything to him. But that is also uncomfortable because I have to ask him for my things and at the end when we pay, it seems that he pays for everything. „ There is absolutely nothing wrong with the fact that the couple pay for everything, even if the two of them actually pay, but if we go deeper, the women cannot carry their basic necessities unless they carry a bag, which means they should also think about where to leave it for safety, if not they should depend on someone to ask about their things. What happens if we go alone? What happens if we want to take something more intimate? Jan Die and Amber Thomas published in August 2018, a detailed study on „Pockets“ in which they explain and summarize the feeling of frustration of many women with this situation.On average, the pocket‘s in women‘s
Figure: EXECUTIVE WOMEN’S CLOTHING - KARDSTAD MAGDEBURG 2018. /Photo by: Isel Vega
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jeans are 48% shorter and 6.5% narrower than men‘s pockets. Women are indirectly forbidden from putting their hand, a cell phone and their wallets in their pockets, of course, men are bigger than women but they are not half bigger than women. The truth is that in the past women always wore pockets, they were large and often they wore them under their skirts or tied to the leash. When the reform of clothing with modernism began (explained on the history chapter) these pockets took up a lot of space. The option was to take it as an extra item in your hand or hung up. Nowadays the situation is quite different. But why does this happen? The industry and the codes have allied again to continue selling an image of a slender woman, whose tight clothing is a factor of femininity and of course, a large bulge in their pockets do not fit their patterns. Therefore, it is better to carry a bag and thus generate more sales and income. The 8 billion dollar bags industry knows this. Bags have become a necessary accessory in woman‘s wardrobe.
Now I will detail the consequences of these small or false pockets:1 - Dependence on bags: which also implies an extra expense and is often non-functional. Of course, it is necessary for big things, such as the computer and books. But not everyone needs it for basic and essential items. - Affected body language: keep in mind that carrying a bag all the time also has a consequence in our body language, because if we do not hang it we carry it in our hands, and that implies that we have less choice to move our body and also our hands while we communicate, which is vital in nonverbal language. - Discomfort: within the comments read on social networks and among friends, it is often said that there is nothing more frustrating than seeing a pocket and then knowing that it is false. Wearing clothes that create needs instead of solving them does not help anyone. Even worse for women who try to gain professionalism and confidence, a fake pocket would say the opposite of what they want to communicate. 1 Die, Jan and Thomas, Amber. August 2018. https://pudding.cool/2018/08/pockets/#step-2 PIC: The pocketless Democratic nominee. Photo: Robyn Beck/ Getty
Figure: ‘Patterns of dresses from the 1850s to the 1890s show that although pockets were now attached to the skirt, they still followed the traditional shape of separate pockets. / Source: Fashion Museum England.
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Figure: EVIDENCE OF A NON FUNCTIONAL POCKET. / Source: https://iconstyle.al/mode/page/16/
Figure: AVERAGE SIZE OF A POCKET FOR A MEN AND WOMEN. Photo: Jan Die and Amber Thomas / Pockets
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RELEVANCE OF CLOTHING The importance of clothes in us is not only protection between the weather and the vigil of our privacy. Clothing is also important because it allows us to feel „comfortable“, which implies that it responds to our activities with coherence. That is, we find it more comfortable to have special clothes to go to work, such as to go to sports. But also our clothes connect us with our brain, send signals and play an emotional factor. For example, it has happened to all of us that after days of being sick or in a bad mood, a fresh shower and putting on the garment that we like most changes in our mood. In the same way in the labor field, our clothes affect the way in which others perceive us. This is what scientists now call EMBODIED COGNITION. EC describes the systematic influence of our clothes on psychological processes. Adam Hajo did the following study on how specifics aprons affect. If we use a doctor‘s apron our
ability to pay attention will increase, while if we use one that is a painter our attention will diminish but we will become more creative. Then we dress it also gives us: the symbolic meaning of the clothes and the physical experience of wearing them. Then after researching of clothing and the relationship of this in the workplace, I come to the conclusion that its relevance is not only linked to the comfort of who wears it, but also affects our daily activities in a psychological way, therefore it affects the trust with which we develop. So, I come to the conclusion that we can use our clothes to solve our needs (protection, store our thing, etc), communicate with others (presence), feel physically freedom from pain or constraint (comfort) and improve our performance at work with confidence (embodied cognition).
Figure: DOCTOR’S APRON. /Source: www. medelita.com
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3.3. BODY POSTURE AT WORKSPACE In this section I will detail what is the current state of body posture at work, how our body responds to our habits and the stress we handle. It will also be important to mention the codes of position that our society determines towards women. I will also explain the importance of body posture with emotions, how our emotions translate into posture and how we can also do the opposite, that is, we can make certain emotions arise in us with our posture. BODY POSTURE CODES AT WORKSPACE Body posture is a game of dynamic pattern of reflexes, habits and adaptive responses to anything that resists you being more or less upright and functional, such as: gravity, awkward working conditions, abnormal anatomy or athletic challenges. Our posture is a way to life. Usually we maintain us in different shapes to satisfy our social needs (codes) and replying our mood and emotions. We know how is a sad or happy postures for example. If we want to expand our ideas, expand our position, the body will always serve as a tool. What is happening with the body posture in the workspace, the difference of these codes is that we hardly find them written contrary to the Dress Code. Here what works most is the unconscious, many studies affirm the importance of our non-verbal communication and as it is it is almost half of what we want to transmit. Dr. Albert Mehrabian, the author of Silent Messages, conducted
several studies on nonverbal communication. He found that 7% of any message is conveyed through words, 38% through certain vocal elements, and 55% through nonverbal elements (facial expressions, gestures, posture, etc). So the posture is important, but the truth is that we do not give due importance until we have a severe pain in the neck or back, or we do not see ourselves in a photo with a bent body and we check our image. Body posture can not be bought as we do with clothes, body posture is worked. The truth is that by nature we need to move our body, exercise, stretch and strengthen our muscles. Body correctors will help us only for a moment or on specific occasions but we can not depend on them. The same thing happens with ergonomic furniture, which responds in an efficient and safe way to the integration of us at work, but this only happens when we work on the computer or we are sitting. Unfortunately the excessive use of computers has brought complex problems for long hours in front of them, especially the use of laptops because the screens are much lower than the visual range. After clearly understanding this, I made the decision to focus on something deeper, the positions we adopt in complex situations those that are more a result of our emotions. I will not touch exactly the subject of ergonomics linked to body posture, I will try to go rather to this connection of posture and clothing, which is a connection more with comfort and emotions.
Figure: Bad posture at work affects health./ Source: https://www.ixaxaoffice.co.za/bad-posture-work-affectshealth/
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BODY POSTURE & EMOTIONS: POOR AND HIGH POWER POSTURE Paul Ingraham, a Canadian specialist in posture, published an interesting article in 2004: Does Posture Correction Matter? In the first he explains what we usually call a Poor Posture, this is bad ergonomics and postural stress. Many of the postures are results of long-term adaptation and nearly impossible to change. For Ingraham, it usually does not make sense to correct posture, which is what people commonly believe, what we should do is reduce stress for example and this is achieved with exercises, especially those that require coordination and that interest us, to be able to Follow a habit. Homo Sapiens is naturally allergic to physical stress. But also counterproductive because we are prone to do things in the most difficult way and unnecessary stress is not always avoided. This is how we build bad habits. Paul Ingraham further explains that there are no clear solutions to these bad postural habits. What is clear is its relationship with emotions, we can change our mood through a body posture of happiness or on the contrary we can feel depressed if we stoop for a long time. In 2012, Amy Cuddy a prestigious social psychologist participates in one of the most popular speech in the
Figure: Amy Cuddy. Source: Amy Cuddy LinkedIn
TEDGlobal called: Your body language can shape who you are. Amy explains how after her own experience in a complex car accident and also seeing her students and her performance as an MBA professor at Harvard, she was thinking how body posture was helping them to empower. Amy‘s definition of poor body posture and a High Power Posture has a lot to do with our relationship with the Animal Kingdom. For example, the alpha male usually expands, becomes large and controls the space that belongs to him. Those who are in their power to the contrary become smaller depending on their functions, cross arms or legs, close. The same thing happens with humans. For Amy Cuddy this seems to be directly related to the gender, women are more likely to acquire Poor Postures than men. Women feel chronologically less strong than men. This was corroborated with her students who were evaluated from their participation in class, women had less note because participation in class was half of the evaluation. People who have more confidence in themselves, are more assertive and optimistic are usually people of power, people who influence.
Figure: Bad posture at work affects health./ Source: https://www.ixaxaoffice.co.za/bad-posture-work-affectshealth/
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Amy did a test on this finding and found that people who are placed only for 2 minutes in High Power Posture can get to increase their Testosterone by 20% and decrease their Cortisol by 25%. That is, you can configure your brain to become more assertive, confident, comfortable due to testosterone and with less stress due to the decrease in Cortisol. Amy ended her speech by inviting everyone to use this tip in Social Threat Situations, where you should be evaluated, for example in a job interview, in a major exhibition and in any place where you feel your „Presence“ plays an important role. It also invites people to start trying, even if they do not believe it, until the practice makes it their own.
Poor posture: (-Testosterone + Cortisol) - make yourself smaller - crossing your legs - covered posture - wrapping your ankles on the chair - closing up High power posture: (+Testosterone - Cortisol) - make yourself bigger - you stretch out - you take up space - opening up - expanding yourself
Figure: Amy Cuddy. Ted Talk 2012. / Source: Your body language can shape who you are.
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RELEVANCE OF BODY POSTURE So taking care of our body is of great importance not only because to prevent diseases also because we learn how to being in our body, we learn how to have this close relationship to understand him. Jon Kabat-Zinn make a very deep study of it, trying to heal illness through the understanding of body and mind. It could be said at first glance that the problems we find in body posture at work are much more related to our habits than to gender. But even if we do not realize it, the lack of participation of women in society is also related to non-verbal language and therefore to their position, as Amy Cuddy explains in her research. Men and women are a little more aware of it. Amy also quotes Alex Todorov from the Department of Psychology at Princeton University, the Todorov studies show that judges of political candidates faces in just onesecond predict 70% of US Senate & gubernatorial race outcomes. Just looking at the political sphere we can see clear differences in the participation of women, in Germany the proportion of women in the Bunderstag is 31%, while in the Congress of the Republic in Peru it is 28%. Also, as I said before, the situation does not change drastically in Latin American and European countries. This is a global situation. A great example of someone who knows how to use her nonverbal communication to express herself is Angela Merkel, out of the controversy
that she has caused with her last political decisions. Angela Merkel is an example of authenticity and communication, she takes care of her clothing and her body posture. She uses almost the same wardrobe with variations of colors, she has no qualms about feeling equal to everyone and when someone challenges her, she also challenges them. I placed another a screen shot in the Burderstag, a common day for a group of women, I think that at first glance we can see that the care of their presence does not match their knowledge. I do not want to express myself in a superficial way, but I have already explained why this is so important. After investigating body posture and its relation to the workspace, I come to the conclusion that its relevance is not only to avoid back or neck pain, its relevance lies more in its psychological repercussion. If women want to position themselves and gain more space to be ourselves and be heard, we can not doubt our natural care about presence, this is not superficial. Body posture helps us to manage our emotions and to become more comfortable in complex situations. We can use our body posture to gain confidence, to reduce our stress and expand our skills to other areas. The body posture is as intimate as the clothing, both are the perfect allies to strengthen our presence, small adjustments that can achieve great changes.
Figure: Angela Merkel & in the Conference of the C7. Canada 2018. Photo by: Bundeskanzlerin Instagram.
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III. RESEARCH
1. BAUNOW EXPLORATION This is part of the Baunow Project, I considered important to include it here because I found many learnings that helped me in the thesis ideation. Here I was focusing my objectives to explore by my own what is exactly non-verbal communication and what are the obstacles and opinion of men and women.
Figure: BAUNOW PRESENTATION UDK BERLIN, October 2018. Source: www.design-research-lab.org/ projects/baunow/
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1.1. FROM NON-CONFIDENCE TO CONFIDENCE: - RESEARCH QUESTION: HOW WOMEN ARE TAKING AN ATTITUDE IN ORDER TO TAKE A POSITION IN SOCIETY? - STUDY EXPERIMENT: I explored postures from non-confidence to confidence with the my own garments.
1.2. MOUNTAIN WOMEN: At the beginning of May 2018, during the summer semester of the Master program of Integrated Design, I took the Compact Week about Model Making. So in just one week, I made a small puppet of a women inspired in the Bauhaus Women and their body posture. In this design I got inspired by the cover of the book: Where are the women’s in architecture? Of Despina Stratigakos. The design patterns of Oskar Schlemmer and the pictures of Gertrud Arndt. This puppet does not have an exactly purpose more than remember me everyday the objective of my project. - LEARNINGS: Designing this puppet, I understood that our body posture has a lot of relation with our clothing, and that we can use them to express the attitude we want to achieve from ourselves and then towards others.
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- LEARNINGS: Since here, was clear for me how important is the non-verbal communication. I made this exercise by my own because I wanted to experiment how is the feeling and how are the reactions of others. For some people was very unexpected see me in this kind of posture and showing me in different aspects for some others was interested to appreciate it and made them reflex.
Figure 1: Costume from Triadic Ballet. Oskar-Schlemmer. Source: https://www.rimonthly.com/party-like-1919-designxris-designers-ball/costume-from-triadic-balletoskar-schlemmer / Figure 2: Book Cover: Where are the women’s in architecture? By: Despina Stratigakos. / Figure 3: Gertrud Arndt. Source: www.bauhaus.de/en/ programm/sonderausstellungen/761_quot_eigentlich_wollte_ich_ja_architektin_werden_quot/
1.3. WORKSHOP 1:
BREAKING STEREOTYPES I took the decision of make a workshop after Kensho Miyoshi’s conference (PhD candidate at the Royal College of Art, London) on Objects in Motion: Designing Kinesthetic Empathy. This conference helped me to understand the importance of body language and its impact on design and, on the other hand how workshops can incorporate a better global perception of the research question. What Kensho use to do, is have an idea and develop it with an international group in a workshop and in this way is easier to build a holistic perception about the research topic. This workshop was also part of the learnings of the Compact Week with Jordis Dorner. She was coaching me to organize the workshop, giving me tools and structures to reach the objective. After this first workshop I did another one.
- LEARNINGS: With this workshop I could realize how students are not get used to talk about genders. Also that is necessary to clarify and make understand the participants about the purpose of the project. But on the other hand was very interesting see how the postures and clothing changed between genders. For women it is important to emphasize the waist. The man‘s attire was much looser and simpler. There is some stereotypes that we get use to but in the case of the woman (Cansu Kipiri) the gesture was more variety in the performance.
- OBJECTIVE: - Know an international perspectives about the new women attitude in leadership positions. - Create a debate and criticism surrounded the codes which we are living every day and we are not aware of its importance in our behavior. - Design a garment that help people to empower, also the participants made a performance with this.
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Figure: Mohamed Mehdi and Cansu Kipiri, making a performance of their non-verbal design. June, 2018. Peer Teaching Compac Week. Photo by: Isel Vega
1.4. WORKSHOP 2: HEAR YOUR BODY
Women are more related with the private sphere, along with this, advertising, education and codes created by society tend to persuade women to adopt certain roles or behaviors that only enhance these attitudes. Within these ways of communicating we can appreciate that there are not so obvious ways in which we also express these stereotypes such as non-verbal communication, of which I will focus. This is how, after a detailed investigation of the Baunow project, I decided to take 3 points of non-verbal communication that in history have helped women to empower themselves. Kinesics (the interpretation of body motion communication such as facial expressions, postures and gestures), proxemics (the study of how human use of space and the effects that population has on behavior, communication, and
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social interaction) and clothing (wearing clothe is a social norm that expresses our attitude Women have long borrowed from men‘s dress to claim the authority associated with it). The purpose to create a debate between the participants in order to exchange ideas and perceptions about their stereotypes. Increase the knowledge about non-verbal communication and be aware about its importance in our attitude and of course in our relationships. After the debate the second objective was to create your own non-verbal communication forgetting stereotypes and also performing in public in order to learn also about the comments of others.
Figure: Diagrams that explain Attitude and their connection with non-verbal communication. Designed by: Isel Vega
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- TARGET GROUP: Is students from the Hochschule Anhalt, I decided to invite everybody to the course. Male and female aged 22 to 35 years old. The target group is mostly students from the master program of Integrated Design, Architecture or Research. I invited everybody because in the daily life we share with all the genders and male’s perception is also interesting in this topic.
- RESEARCH QUESTION: HOW WOMEN CAN IMPROVE THEIR ATTITUDE THROUGH THEIR NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION (kinesics, proxemics and clothing) IN A STEREOTYPED SOCIETY?
Figure 1: Poster for the promotion of the Workshop. Designed by: Isel Vega Figure 2: Picture of the participants during the discussion. Photo: Isel Vega
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- RESULTS: After make the main exercise and work with the body language, the participants selected a group and did a performance about their own perceptions and learning about the workshop. They made 3 different groups. And those were the results:
EYE CONTACT: This group discussed about why we should be ashamed about eye contact? Why women sometimes should hide their gaze and feel intimidated about it? We can connect also with a stranger.
GREETINGS: our culture influence in the way we greet. Why cannot two men kiss each other? Why we have to greet out mother, brother and friend in a different way?
CLOTHING : it is not only about women, everybody is restrained about clothing. Clothing is limiting our body language.
Figure 1, 2 and 3: Picture of the participants during the performance. Photo: Esteban Amon
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- LEARNINGS: Although I learned a lot from the 1st workshop, the second was a totally enriching experience. I managed to realize the great influence of the debate and the reflection before entering the part of ideation and creation, depending on how the theme is played, the participants will show a different result. Therefore it is important that everything is in tune, the exercises, the presentation, the debate and the ideation, all connected with the purpose of the workshop. On the other hand, although this time I managed the motivation and the debate in a better way; the poor handling of time and projection did not help in keeping the participants focused and comfortable at all. My biggest learnings of the participants were:
- Women do not need to imitate men to claim their space, they can be sensitive, they can wear flowers or they can cry too and have long hair, and they can still be strong and work on everything they propose. - Men also struggle with stereotypes and social codes, their dress although it means power is also often uncomfortable and rigid. - Look into the eyes, it‘s an opportunity. Maybe many times women feel self-conscious about looking into their eyes but it is normal and this also allows us to have more self-confidence. - Greetings are rules, it is better to say hello in the way that we please the people we already know, we should not make differences, it can also limit our feelings.
1.5. GARMENTS:
LOW & HIGH POWER POSITION This is the last study experiment for the Baunow project, as I explained at the beginning it will exposed. So I would like that participants in the exhibition can experiment and reflect about their body posture and how the consumption of excessive clothing often does not allow us to take time to understand how important it is to dress what we really need and how this affect our posture. Body posture is also importance to manage our emotions and communication with others. - LOW POWER CLOTHING FOR POSTURE: This garment is a pre-designed blouse of the brand „LA FABA“, made of gauze and with some extensions it is designed to fit with some strips, but take advantage of this design to use it as a low posture garment. The idea is to place an object on the floor that pulls the blouse in such a way that the user can wear this blouse and then anchor it in this object. The user will be in a stooped posture and looking at the floor. This is an exaggeration of what a low power posture is. The objective is to reflect on how bad we feel in this position.
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- HIGH POWER CLOTHING FOR POSTURE: I designed this to empower users and make them more aware of sitting right. A good posture not only implies strengthening your self-confidence, look the eyes of others but also improve your breathing, release tension in the back and strengthen your muscles. It also reinforces the attitude and purpose of your clothing. This is a device, made of elastics, fabric and velcro has been placed in the joints to be able to adjust it. Although it is very similar to a posture corrector, its shape is much more friendly and organic as well as the wooden rings and the cloth of which it is made makes it much more comfortable and not so abrupt in its design. - LEARNINGS: This two garments were designed to be part of an exhibition. The main ideas was that the participants can use it, but their measures doesn’t fit with everybody. Since was the first time that I was learning how to make my own garment, I learned about body measures, points of tension, etc. Comfortable clothing is difficult to design since our stereotypes are more stronger than our necessities. Posture make a big different, you can wear a fancy shirt but with a poor posture your body language is detrimental.
LOW POWER GARMENT
Figure: Isel Vega wearing a Low Power Garment. Photo: Matthias Frose.
HIGH POWER GARMENT
Figure: Isel Vega wearing a High Power Garment. Photo: Matthias Frose.
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2. GENDER INEQUALITY: CULTURE & NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION 2.1. SURVEY:
(GERMANY - PERU - ISRAEL - URUGUAY) After finishing the last study experiment for the Baunow, I started to work in my thesis. This project gave me many learnings and I was very motivated to keep researching in it. But I started to look into the topic deeper and with different tools that made me reach the same goal, try to design something that help women to empower themselves. It was then that I found Cultural Map of Inglehart and Welzel, based on the World Values Survey, 2004 (which I explain in detail in the Gender Codes chapter) and I wondered if cultures had an intrinsic relationship with Gender Inequality. The Cultural Map shows how the activities of self-expression values and rationality create more tolerant cultures, accepting different genres, taking care of the environmental, interpersonal trust, etc. The world is named by developed countries and their quality of life is within the highest standards. Here is also an important factor is my own experience, for me gender equality is everyone‘s responsibility. Being that way, as a woman I have also gone through some situations in which my gender was a factor of discrimination or lack of respect. In the face of complex situations like these, the activities of self-expression, such as dance, yoga and meditation, along with assisted counseling and coaching, were very helpful for me. The strengthening of my self-esteem was an important part so that I also knew how to strengthen my attitude towards these problems and how to cope with them. I have also lived in one of the most patriarchal countries in Latin America. I did a scope to organize my ideas in order to find what is exactly happening, so I came back to the core of the problem, before to research more in the non-verbal communication. Then I decided to make a survey to know if this is really true. So I picked: Peru, Uruguay, Germany and Israel, because they are located in very opposites places in the map and also because I have contacts there.
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- DEFINITIONS: - Survival Values: emphasis on economic and physical security. They are linked with a relatively ethnocentric outlook and low levels of trust and tolerance. - Traditional Values: religion, parent-child ties, deference to authority, absolute standards and traditional family values. - Self-Expression Values: high priority to subjective well-being, self-expression and quality of life. Environmental protection, growing tolerance of foreigners, gays and lesbians and gender equality, rising demands for participation in decision-making, economic and political life (autonomy and freedom from central authority), interpersonal trust, political moderation, and a shift in child-rearing values from emphasis on hard work toward imagination and tolerance. - Secular Rational Values: Less emphasis on religion, traditional family values and authority. Divorce, abortion, euthanasia and suicide are seen as relatively acceptable. - Androcentrism: is the practice, conscious or otherwise, of placing a masculine point of view at the center of one‘s world view, culture, and history, thereby culturally marginalizing femininity. - Patriarchy: is a social system in which males hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property.. Patriarchy is associated with a set of ideas, a patriarchal ideology that acts to explain and justify this dominance and attributes it to inherent natural differences between men and women. Sociologists tend to see patriarchy as a social product and not as an outcome of innate differences between the sexes and they focus attention on the way that gender roles in a society affect power differentials between men and women.
- PROBLEM STATEMENT: *Ideal: omen should take responsibility for their role in gender inequality. Empower themselves, believe and use their skills and merits in order to claim coherently the rights and opportunities they deserve. *Reality: for centuries, many women live in patriarchal and machista societies where their value is underestimated. The reality is that many times women is not aware of their responsibility to reduce the gap of this situation. *Consequences - Although studies show that women have greater capacity for discernment in ethical issues, there is few women leaders in the world. - Women have less possibilities to study, work and exploit their potential, even in the most advanced societies their salary is still lower than men.
- Society has become accustomed to seeing them as the weaker sex, often justifying gender inequality. - Gender violence and femicide are the worst consequences the world faces. - RESEARCH QUESTION: HOW MIGHT WOMEN LIVING IN PATRIARCHAL SOCIETIES BE MORE AWARE OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITY IN REDUCING GENDER INEQUALITY THROUGH THE EMPOWERMENT OF THEIR NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION (clothing - body language - gestures) IN ORDER TO CLAIM THE SPACE (rights and opportunities) THAT THEY DESERVE?
Figure: Scope of the Problem Statement. Designed by: Isel Vega
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- STUDY EXPERIMENT: SURVEY The study experiment was a Survey realized in September 2018. The survey was made by internet and I could do it with 23 persons between Germany, Peru, Israel ,and Uruguay. Even I tried to do it with a more variety gender target, more women were interested.
- QUESTIONS OF THE SURVEY: - What is your gender? - What is your nationality? - Where do you live now? - Do you have influence from another culture? Which culture? How did you get this influence? - Who or what is “responsible” of Gender Inequality? - What action do you think would help women to claim their space? - What is the most important action that helped you to strengthen your self-esteem? - What is the activity of self-expression that helps you to undergo complex moment? - Which is the most important aspect of the Non-Verbal Communication?
GENDER
NATIONALITY
17 %
30 %
48 % 22 %
70 % 13 %
Women
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Men
Peru
Germany
Israel
Uruguay
Clothing 1 %
Gesture 53 %
Which is the most important aspect of the Non-Verbal Communication?
Body Posture 46 %
Others 15 %
Nutrition and Exercises 10 %
Coaching and Orientation 35 % What is the most important action that helped you to strengthen your self-esteem?
Education Strategies 20 % Parenting Strategies 20 % Others 11 % Painting 7 %
Conversations and Debate 11 %
Physical Activity 37 % What is the activity of self-expression that helps you to undergo complex moment?
Music 15 % Yoga and Meditation 19 %
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- FINDINGS: - The survey did not come out as expected, since what I want to find with the survey was not entirely clear. When someone touch the theme of countries, it is not always related to culture. It is a little complex to understand the connection that exists between the place where you are born and then the cultures that influence you. - When I asked about the space of the woman, the question was not completely clear since „space“ was not defined. - Using ranges from 1 to 5 to denote importance, it is a mistake if someone work with different countries. In Latin America 5 is more, while in Germany 5 implies less. - The interesting thing was to appreciate how for most of the interviewees Education, Religion, Politics and History are the factors responsible for Gender Inequality. The woman obtained the lowest score, she is not considered a key player in the fight for Equality. - The actions that help people to strengthen their self-esteem are mainly coaching and guidance, these
activities tend to be learned more when they are teenagers or adults. - The self-expression activities that help people to undergo complex moments are usually physical activities. - 75% think that non-verbal communication is important, but almost nobody thinks that clothing is relevance. - LEARNINGS: - I learned that I cannot do a survey for so many countries, with so many variables and with a Research Question so open at the same time. Because instead of help me, can confuse me. - It is important to appreciate that not too many people can see women as responsible for the struggle of Gender Equality. - Body care is important for more than half, also they believe that non-verbal communication is important, but they do not care at all about clothing.
3. WOMEN ROLES AT WORK: (PERU & GERMANY) 3.1. PERSONA: With a progress of the research and learnings, I realized that it was pertinent for the project that a clear, specified target audience was selected. I made the decision to only investigate two countries, Peru and Germany, for the contacts and the contrast that both have. Specifically in the workplace where we can appreciate the different roles of women, and also focus only on two factors of non-verbal communication, body posture and clothing. So, I created two personas, two women who work. So I tried to create the characteristics that the participants in the interview had, with a similar scenario and also hobbies.
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- RESEARCH QUESTION: HOW WOMEN IN PERU AND GERMANY COULD RECOGNIZE THEIR SKILLS AND OBSTACLES THROUGH THEIR NON - VERBAL COMMUNICATION ( clothing ad body posture) WITHIN THEIR ROLES AT WORK IN ORDER TO EMPOWER THEMSELVES? HOW WOMEN IN PERU AND GERMANY COULD FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE THROUGH THEIR NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION (clothing and body posture) WITHIN THEIR ROLES AT WORK IN ORDER TO EMPOWER THEMSELVES?
Sofia Rodriguez Peru She is 32 years old. She works in "Cementos Pacasmayo” for 8 years, she is an accountant. She is a single mother of a girl of 4 years. She lives in Lima and she enjoys to go to restaurants with her family. She likes to go to the gym and the spa. During holidays she goes to travel with her daughter.
Sophie Staude Germany She is 28 years old. She works as Responsible for the internship area at Technische Universität München. She lives in München and she enjoys to cook healthy with friends. She likes to make yoga and take pictures. During holidays she goes to travel or camping near to the lake.
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3.2. THE IMAGE OF WOMEN‘S ROLE IN PERU AND GERMANY: COMPARATIVE TABLE The first exercise I did was to select roles and then search them on Google. I wrote the paper in the female gender and the country where I wanted to investigate, both in the language of the country.
Then I took the most outstanding image and placed it on a comparative table, to appreciate what is the common image of the roles at work.
PERU
GERMANY -
GOD
GOVERNOR
LA PACHAMAMA -
GOTT Source:
Source: www.takurina.com
www.welt.de
ANGELA MERKEL Federal Cancellor 2018 - Source:
DAMA DE CAO 400 AC - Source: Municipalidad de Lima
Tallinn Digital Summit
MARTINA KOEDERITZ - IBM Sales Director2011
INES TEMPLE
MANAGER
Source: www.inestemple.com
NURSE
Source: www.lucidez.pe
Source: www.personalwissen.net
MARISOL LEON Winner of the International Women’s Entrepeneurial Challenge 2015
ANNETE GOLDSTEIN / ACCOUNTANT & CEO OF GOLDSTEIN CONSULTING
ACCOUNTANT
Source: IBM
KRANKEN SCHWESTER
NURSES
Source: www.jcmagazine.com
ARCHITECT
Source: www.frempreneur.com
RUTH ALVARADO Winner of “Hexágono de Oro 2014”
MARET RIEMER
Source: http:// www.architektendesign-holzhaus-bayernsüddeutschland.de
Source:
www.archidaily.pe
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ARTIST
DANCER
DESIGNER
PSYCHOLOGY
SHEILA ALVARADO
MARY DEE
Source: Piko Tamashiro/ Perú21
Source: www.marydee.com
VANIA MASIAS Founder of D1Academy
KASSANDRA WEDEL Source: Hans-Rudolf Schulz
Source: www.vaniamasias.com
EVA GRONBACH Fashion designer
MECHE CORREA Fashion designer
Source: www.europefashion.ber lin.com
Source: www.mechecorrea.com
MATILDE URETA First peruvian Psychology
CLAUDIA DZAACK
Source: www.actberlin.info
Source: Peru21
LAWYER
ENGINEER
SONJA ELLE The new judge at the district court of Plettenberg Source: www.come-on.de
MAGALI ROJAS Ejecutive President of OSCE Source: www.portal.osce.gob.pe
SANDRA NEUWIRTH Industrial engineer is a team leader at Daimler in Berlin
MONICA ABARCA Equipment specialist in KOMATSU MITSUI Source: www.masivaecologia.com
Source: Christian Kielmann
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- FINDINGS: - Due to the use of the search engine, the people selected tend to be prominent people in their work roles. As for the search in my country, many of the women were familiar to me, but others managed to be a surprise. I had never really had an image of any woman in this role. Thanks to this search I was able to know the reason for its recognition. - Regarding the role of the ruling woman, Peru has only one example, but per-Columbian, La Dama de Cao, then it does not count on more. The presence in Germany of Angela Merkel is important as a female image in politics. As for the roles of dancers and artists, their languages are much more open and express more freedom. You can see much more comfortable in different body postures, and their clothing is very compatible with this versatility. -The use of the stock market along with a much more formal and fairly orderly language stands out more in the roles of lawyers, managers, and accountants.
- LEARNINGS: - As a woman, I often find it difficult to imagine women in positions of engineering, law or politics. I think it‘s important to know that there are successful cases of women in these roles. - It is clear that there is an encoding in the use of nonverbal language for each function. - When comparing clothes and body posture of dancers and artists with lawyers, managers, and accountants, I came to the conclusion that the first group uses much more non-verbal language. That the codes of the second group are clearer and more specific, but that perhaps they can express themselves and communicate their knowledge much more through their non-verbal communication. - The examples that I found on internet are cases of success, it is also important the presence of this women. Each one of them is using their non-verbal communication in order to express their goals and feel confident in their positions.
3.3. INTERVIEWS WITH WOMEN IN DIFFERENT ROLES IN PERU AND GERMANY: The second part of the study consisted in going much closer to these roles, knowing what their obstacles are and what their strengths are. I wanted to know if these women really feel comfortable in their work situations, if their clothing or body language were details that helped in their empowerment. So I contacted 26 women with different roles to get to know them up close. The methodology I used were photos and videos, and after each question I was taking a photo to know what their emotions were and how they responded to it, so I could have much more information. The last question was related to the possibility of being fully realized in their roles, along with a drawing that supported you to visualize yourself. The interviews conducted in Germany could be face-to-face, those of Peruvians were only some face-to-face interviews and the others were made by video call.
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Figure: Peru and Germany locations. Source: www.dole.de/dole-earth/ farm/61700.html
QUESTIONS OF THE INTERVIEW: 1. Could I take a picture standing up? —> PHOTO 1 standing 2. What position do you occupy in your current job? Where? 3. Can you describe how is a common day in your work? 4. What was the motivation that led you to work here? 5. Did you have any female image with this role that impelled you or inspired you to make this decision? YES / NO 6. In your work is the uniform mandatory or is there a dress code? YES / NO (If the answer is NO go to question 11) 7. Which? (take a photographic record or look for the image) 8. Would you change something to feel more comfortable? YES / NO 9. DRESS CODE ANSWER: What is your way of reinterpreting the dress code for your comfort? Please explain / UNIFORM ANSWER: What would you like to change of uniform? Please explain. 10. Do you remember any work situation where you felt uncomfortable and insecure at work? (example: situations of negotiation, labor harassment (invasion of the workplace), promotion, lower remuneration, etc.) Which? What did you do? How did you feel? —> PHOTO 2 11. Do you remember any work situation where you felt empowered and confident? (situations of negotiation, recognition, promotion, higher remuneration) Which? What did you do? How did you feel? —> PHOTO 3 12. A good body posture is vital to develop self-confidence and reduce stress. From your experience, the position is important? 13. Do you practice any activity that helps you in the construction of confidence or stress reduction? YES / NO 14. Imagine now that the ARTIST of the most important company in the world is a woman, this has caught the attention of the media. Could you please draw how do you imagine this person, please draw her full length, I will give you some colors, please also draw the clothing. —> DRAWING 15. Now to close the interview, I will ask you that you imagine that you are this CEO, remember your posture. —> PHOTO 4 standing
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DANCER
ARTIST
ARCHITECT
ACCOUNTANT
NURSE
MANAGER
NEUTRAL
COMPLEX SITUATION
SUCCESFUL SITUATION
PERU
NO DRAWING
IMAGE A SUCCESSFUL WOMAN IN YOUR ROLE
#1
IMAGE THAT YOU ARE THIS WOMAN
SHE WAS SICK
NO PICTURES
SHE WAS SICK
NEUTRAL
INTERVIEWS BETWEEN PERU AND GERMANY
NO PICTURES
NO PICTURES
COMPLEX SITUATION SUCCESFUL SITUATION
GERMANY
NO DRAWING
IMAGE A SUCCESSFUL WOMAN IN YOUR ROLE
MISSING
IMAGE THAT YOU ARE THIS WOMAN
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STUDENT OF ART
COOKER
ENGENIER
LAWYER
DESIGNER
I COULDN’T FIND A CONTACT
PERU
NO REPLY
NO PICTURES
GERMANY
NO DRAWING
SOMEONE OLDER, WITH EXPERIENCE, NO POLITIC, SOMEONE THAT THINK IN POWER.
NO PICTURES
- FINDINGS: - I could not manage to contact all of them, many of them accepted and then when commenting that I needed the photographs they refused to interview me or got sick. - The photographs are quite intimate forms of communication, the people interviewed mostly worried about their image to be photographed many of them did not want to be photographed. - In environments led by men like in engineering, or in a court of justice, it is difficult to listen to women, communication can be complex, but when you understand how everything works, you can start talking as equals. - In almost 80% of the interviews the higher positions at work are taken by men. - It is difficult for almost all the women to imagine themselves in higher positions. - Alternative activities are important for reduce the stress and change of topic but are not usually the higher factor to increase the confident at work, knowledge is more importance, comfortable, etc. So this comes also from the space where they are. - There are other factors that create stereotypes and differences in the world of work, not only gender, status and age play an important role. - Women who feel comfortable and confident at work (case of success): - I would like to clarify that what I have called a success case is not related to the position of the interview, but to the learning of it in complex situations. - They don’t care or think so much that they are women, and they try to understand their different in order to undergo their problems. - Clothing is not a topic to spend SO MUCH TIME, it is necessary to feel comfortable, to dress well, to be practice and to know when to dress more formal. First impression is important. NO OVERDRESS - FIND A BALANCE. - Women who need to deal with conversations, customers and meetings have more knowledge of her body language, are more aware of the importance. - Women with higher positions, understand the codes at work and play with it, it is difficult that they didn’t find a way to undergo some situations. - Women who DON‘T feel comfortable and confident at work: - The dress code in different roles can be uncomfortable as in the case of ballet dancers or when asked to use tacos, many of the interviewees really do not feel
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comfortable with this but accept it because it is always like that. - In both Peru and Germany, bosses sometimes take advantage of their status and allow themselves to treat others as they wish. Some interviewees from both countries, commented on cases in which male bosses make jokes or approaches too intimate, which causes them much discomfort. The responses of the interviewees is to evade the situation. Of the 9 interviewees who mentioned similar situations, only 4 took measures in this regard, the others still do not know how to deal with it, they feel that they can be dismissed. - LEARNINGS: - I thought that trust was intrinsically linked to selfexpression activities such as art or dance, but after the interviews I could corroborate that trust and comfort are connected in the establishment of women in their roles. - Clothing is an important tool for women with success cases, for them clothing is not a mode. Presence and comfort are first. 10% of them design their own clothing. - Body language is also an important factor because it is versatile, complex and challenging. But it helped 100% successful cases to cope with complex situations.
DRESS
ROBE
APRON COOKER TROUSERS
Sketches of examples of garments worn by women who were interviewed and make them feel comfortable.
Sketches about uncomfortable situations at work in various work roles and how women used their nonverbal language to overcome the situation.
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- CONCLUSION: I come to the conclusion that the process of establishing women in their work is not linear, it is not that clothing comfort them and then they acquire confidence to express themselves better (body language). This is a mixed process, where there is no order and where both have equal importance to stable our living space at work.
Figure: FINAL DIAGRAM OF BODY POSTURE AND CLOTHING. Designed by: Isel Vega
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4. LOOKING FOR THE IDEAL GARMENT: 4.1. SURVEY GARMENT:
CLOTHING & BODY POSTURE OF WOMEN AT WORKSPACE - TARGET AUDIENCE: After the interviews conducted and to know face to face the reality of women in different roles. I confirmed once again that the obstacles that women have are not very different between countries, the realities change a bit but the situations they have to go through are very similar. The success stories also denote many similarities in terms of empowerment. The project is aimed at having as a target audience women from all over the world who work.
- RESEARCH QUESTION: Who: for women from around the world Why: to develop their comfort and confidence Where: Workspaces How: through their Clothing and Body Posture So that: establish themselves and reach better positions HOW MIGHT WOMEN DEVELOP THEIR COMFORT AND CONFIDENCE THROUGH THEIR CLOTHING AND BODY POSTURE TO ESTABLISH THEMSELVES IN THEIR WORKSPACE AND REACH BETTER POSITIONS?
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- QUESTIONS OF THE SURVEY: 1. What position do you have at work? 2. Which one of this is your work space? Office / Home / Public Space / Clinic or Hospital / Other 3. Describe a situation when you used your body posture to reinforce your communication at work. Which posture did you use? Why? 4. Which of this factors are the most important to improve your body posture?(multiple choice) A body corrector / Stretches at work / Exercises / Comfortable clothe / Comfortable furniture / Not so much hours in the same position (siting down, standing up) / Other 5. How is your work-clothing? 6. Is it comfortable? YES/NO/Sometimes 7. What makes your work-clothing comfortable? (Wide clothe, feel free to move, In case you want to small stretch in a long term period of work, also you feel that you clothe doesn’t allow even to put your arms up or open more your legs. / Pocket enough big to store your main things (cellphone, keys, wallet, pencil, tampex) / When you were whatever you want, doesn’t mean that is formal or not, pijamas. / Fabric / Other 8. What makes your work-clothing uncomfortable? Tight clothe. Means clothe that you can use more than 8 hours and you feel constraint, clothe that doesn’t allow you to move with freedom, clothe that give you space for your normal movement. In case you want to small stretch in a long term period of work, also you feel that you clothe doesn’t allow even to put your arms up or open more your legs. / Good pockets to storage your main objects (cellphone, keys, wallet) / Use the size that is not proper for me. / Overdressing 9. What is the garment that has more influence in your confidence at work? (For example: in case you need to do a presentation, talk with customers or be in public? (Blazer / Shirt / Vest / Skirt / Dress / Trouser / Bag / Bag pack) 10. If your regular work clothing gave you the alternative to take your main things with you like wallet, keys and cellphone. Would you use a hand bag? YES/NO Why? 11. Do you think that your work clothes have a close relationship in your body posture?
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9. What is the garment that has more influence in your confidence at work? (For example: in case you need to do a presentation, talk with customers or be in public?
BLAZER
SKIRT
DRESS
SKIRT
VEST
TROUSER
BAG-PACK
BAG
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RESULTS
Sometimes 13 %
Is your cloth at work comfortable?
Yes 87 %
Others 11 %
Wide Clothe, feel free to move. 24 %
It adjusts to different occasions 17 % What factor makes your clothe comfortable?
Flexible Fabric 26 %
It adjusts to the temperature 22 %
No 20 %
Body Posture and Clothing are related?
Yes 80 %
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What is the garment that influences in your confident at work? 30
23
23 20
19
15
8
0
11
9
7
7
0 Blazer
Shirt
Vest
Skirt
Dress Trouser
Bag Backpack
Body Posture that reinforce your communication 4
4
3
3
2
2
1
0
2
1
Stand up
Open my arms
Use my hands Shoulders straight Sitting down
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- FINDINGS: - Standing up, using your hands and arms to communicate is important mostly for women. Sitting upright and upright is also important to them, it denotes respect and attention, look into your eyes too. - What makes clothes comfortable at work are several factors, women ask for more clothes not so tight, with flexibility for movement, that adjusts to the temperature and also be flexible for various occasions. - The pocket was not as important, but a large group denoted a great importance in the use of the portfolio, consider it an important part of look - The garment that most women chose as the one that brings confidence in complex, challenging and formal situations at work was the „SHIRT“. - Compared to the first survey, this time 80% believed that the clothing and body posture are connected, it is also because the survey was much clearer and more specific questions were asked which denote such connection.
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- LEARNINGS: - I learned that for the interviewees body posture is important but they do not have much idea, or practice of how to improve it. - There is a need to look for comfortable clothes at work, with greater flexibility and that does not fit. It is important to look professional first and foremost. - Although there is a reality of absence and small pockets, women do not qualify as an important part of comfort and therefore are much more dependent on portfolios. Women have become accustomed to carrying an accessory to store their things. - Standing up is a good posture in order that makes people feel taller and also feels with the same rights and options. - People usually don‘t make discussions about this kind of topics and they become more aware of this situation once I was asking about it. - When you ask much more clear and specific questions you can reach better conclusions.
IV. IDEATION & PROTOTYPE
1. PROTOTYPE A Summary of the main criteria to guide the creative phase - SCENARIO: - Women at workspaces. - Gender Inequality. - Threat Situations: job interviews, presentation, participation, harassment, abuse of authority by a boss with more authority, etc. - Women related with mode and fashion, with consumption. - PROBLEM: - Stereotyped roles of women, it is difficult to image women in other roles. - Less payment of women for the same work and less women in leadership positions. - More of the half of women doesn’t know how to deal with threat situations. - Women at work need to make stretches and use their body for communication, they know that body posture is important.
- The habits at work and the lack of exercise affect our posture, we spend many hours in front of a computer, the body tends to stoop. This affects our emotions and therefore causes poor body posture. - Even though a bag is a very popular accessory in the wardrobe of every woman. There is a need to store their main things like cell phone or keys. But the use of a bag can influence a free and power Body Posture when women need to have a public presentation or communicate their ideas. I don‘t think in bag‘s extermination, I want to explain that we can avoid an extreme use of it every time. - Women are usually not aware of the connection between body posture and clothing, just when they really think about the importance and not in the mode. - OBJECTIVE : - The objective is to provide women who work a garment that allows them to develop their potential to the fullest, through confidence and comfort.
Figure: Measuring pockets different between men and women Photo by: Isel Vega
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Figure: Formal clothing doesn‘t reply to the necessities of stretching at work. Source: https://bagnanas.com/se-muscler-au-bureau/semuscler-au-bureau-lovely-5/
Figure: Stereotyped clothing and body posture at work. Source: https://devacaturemakelaar.nl/
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- DESIGN PROCESS: 1. EXPLORING ON SHIRTS AND MUSCLE ANATOMY: The garment is a SHIRT: this decision was made after the survey conducted where 76% of the interviewees confirmed that it was the most appropriate option for formal or complex situations. Then the first step was to take mine common shirts and experience what made them uncomfortable. Definitely I found many details in the shirts like lack of space under the shoulders, just in the part of the body where the joints and muscles meet to provide the special movement of the arms. We must bear in mind that the arms are an important part of our communication, as well as the movement of the hands. This is how I also went to research on muscle anatomy, as can be seen in the images attached, the muscles are a system of elastic layers. The shoulder in providing the human being with this particular movement requires space for the natural rotation of the arm. Space that many times our clothes do not give us.
Figure: Shirt that I used to test movement‘s shoulders. Photo by: Isel Vega.
Figure: Testing a common shirt in my closet, trying to move my shoulders and see how much space is missing. Photo by: Matthias Frose.
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Figure: Introduction to Anatomy of Muscular System. / Source: http://www.pharmatips.in/Articles/Human-Anatomy/ Introduction-To-Muscular-System-Anatomy.aspx
Figure: Introduction to Anatomy of Muscular System. / Source: http://www.pharmatips.in/Articles/Human-Anatomy/Introduction-To-MuscularSystem-Anatomy.aspx
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2. LEARNING TO SEW: thanks to the sewing machine of the MAID studio, tutorial videos on You Tube, a manikin, and a master class with an Angie Salama I learned what the process of sewing a shirt consists of. It took almost 2 weeks realize all this process, also to learned to sew a hat I took a class in Magdeburg to understand step by step what I needed to produce a Shirt.
Figures, from left to right, Angie Salama in the MAID studio, Isel Vega sewing. Photo by: Isel Vega
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3. LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION: In the History section I mentioned Coco Chanel as a great reference. But other of my contemporary inspirations is Issey Miyake, one of the most talented Japanese designers, as well as Zaha Hadid‘s favorite designer. Issey Miyake also works first with freedom in the movement of the body to then incorporate designs that can adapt to these free forms. On the other hand, another great reference was the Design Engineer Jeffrey Heiligers based in the Netherlands, who has worked linking the body posture with clothes and in his quest to combat desk Posture. He has designed a tailored shirt to remind you of your slouch down. As an experiment I tried to test this detail in my own blouse to check the effectiveness of this detail on the back.
Figures, from top to bottom: Issey Mikaye designs. Source: Bénaïm, Laurence; 1997. By: Schirmer/Mosel. Issey Miyake
Figures, from top to bottom: testing Jeffrey Heiligers‘s design in my light blue shirt. Photo by: Isel Vega. / Jeffrey Heiligers‘s design about Posture. Source: www.jeffreyheiligers.nl
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4. SKETCHING: Once the problem is recognized and also knowing the manufacturing process. I started by drawing images of what I wanted to do. First how I wanted that free and powerful position to be. Options of how I imagined the shirt. Then I went to the most functional details of the shirt.
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5. RECOGNIZING PATTERNS: the industry has exact sizes for the clothes we must wear, S, M, L, XL. And the patterns conform to these measures. My process regarding the measurements was different, I took the common shirt, I made the molds, then I adjusted what I wanted, I tried it, I made molds again, the mannequin served as an instrument to be tested.
SHOULDER
UPPER BACK DETAIL
BACK AND FRONT
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UPPER BACK DETAIL
6. PROTOTYPE A: white, with pockets, independent sleeves and folds on the upper back. I managed to make molds for all the details of the shirt. It was a bit complex to solve the join on the shoulder. This first prototype was not enough wide and long for be comfortable, also the detail of the pockets attached to the belt was a not a good solution because then again the garment depend of another accessory.
Figures: Different ways to use the Prototype A. Photo by: Isel Vega
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2. PROTOTYPE B The objective of the second prototype was to adjust details and also to do it with a more suitable fabric. The fabric was a gift from the printing workshop at the university. I also learned at this stage to make better molds and learn to cut them and join them. - DESIGN PROCESS: 1. SKETCHES: To start with the new shirt, I had to resolve details such as the shoulder termination. The length, width and also the location of the pockets, next to their size. So I did some drawings that helped me solve these doubts.
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2. PATTERNS: One of the patterns that I developed the most was the shoulder, due to its complexity. In prototype A I thought of designing only one part of the shirt for men, but it was completely practical because I could not put the sleeves easily. So then I found another much lighter solution but it did not fit well the body required many buttons. The last option was to separate the shoulders to make them more independent, so the shirt was designed in: the central part and the sleeves that can be added according to the needs. I also placed the pockets close to my hands and one on each side.
SLEEVE
BACK
SHOULDER EVOLUTION
LEFT
RIGHT
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3. PROTOTYPE B: - CHARACTERISTICS: - The shirt is a comfort garment that is designed in order to develop confidence in the user, and help them with their Body Posture. - Wide: the blouse is designed much wider, so that the user can move more freely and comfortably. - Independent sleeves: which is a response to people‘s need to be able to use their arms more in communication or to be able to stretch or move more while working. The connection between the muscles, the natural movement and the blouse was understood to give a coherent solution. - Folds in the upper part of the back: to support a more upright posture. (Idea from Helligers, Jeffrey. 2017. Posture.)
- Worthy pockets: on both sides of the shirt, large enough to hold personal items and also located exactly in an area that encourages the user to place their hands on their sides, expand their body and position themselves in a High Power posture. - Information attached to stretch and posture of High Power, on the inside of the blouse there are instructions that the user can review in a private environment to have alternative communication and exercises to reduce stress. - Flexibility in occasions and temperature: the blouse has the alternatives to open the neck, remove the sleeves and roll them up, tighten the shirt with a strap: it allows to manage the shirt in different occasions and also to manage the temperature.
DETAILS PROTOTYPE B
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TESTING PROTOTYPE B
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- FINDINGS: - For the first time, I knew a whole new world. I learned how many women tend to make their clothes or adjust them because the clothes do not respond exactly to what they need, nor to their bodies. - The costs of making clothes in Germany are high if we order to do with a seamstress since the workforce is high, but there are also many resources to be able to sew your clothes by yourself, such as classes, tutorials, molds, schneiderei, CafĂŠ, clubs, etc. - Learning to sew was not easy, nor finding the resources. The mannequins for sewing come in too small sizes are usually S or XS, which I think is a lack of respect to the user, because the tools do not respond to the average of consumers - The garments worn by women tend to be focused on showing a slender silhouette, so in shirts, you usually find folds on the sides of the bust or behind the back to fit the waist. The space left for the movement of the arms under the man is too small. - The material used for the shirts is usually cotton and although it is fresh it is not as flexible. - I learned that I like to sew.
- Women‘s shirts should be designed for their comfort not only to fit their silhouette. - The costs of making your own clothes in Germany are high if a tailor does it, but there are multiple resources to be able to learn on their own. - You can investigate much more in materials in which a shirt is produced, unfortunately, this is an obstacle in this case for me due to the budget I have for the prototype. But on the other hand, it is interesting that I tried to solve the necessities with some other functional details, without changing the material itself. - While producing prototypes A and B, I was able to converse and exchange ideas with my friends. In one of these conversations, I exchanged ideas with fashion designers, who understood my project but then suggested that I design it Unisex. This idea was difficult to assimilate for me because I felt that the project lost its essence. But then I realized that yes, it was ONLY for women, I would continue doing the same thing that all the products do, create more differences in the genders, instead of solving needs. So I took the decision of making the shirt inspired by women by designed to everybody.
- LEARNINGS: - Women who learn to make their clothes, value the production of a garment and learn to know their body. - Involve yourself in the production of your own garment open possibilities in a more coherent and empathetic design.
- RESEARCH QUESTION:
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HOW MIGHT EVERYBODY DEVELOP THEIR COMFORT AND CONFIDENCE THROUGH THEIR CLOTHING AND BODY POSTURE TO ESTABLISH THEMSELVES IN THEIR WORKSPACE?
3. FINAL PROTOTYPE - DESIGN PROCESS: - During the design stage I realized that I was creating a shirt which I would probably use in thesis presentation. So I took the decision to look for someone else who can produce the Final Prototype. - Then after looking a tailor for two weeks I found one in Dessau called Sabina Lohse, to whom I gave the patterns that I did for with prototype B, and I explained what the project is about. She made small adjustments to her criteria and their experience because some of the molds had defects because of my lack of knowledge. And also she was very to give me a Student price. - VALUE PROPOSITION: “ The solution helps people who works to show their full potential developing their comfort and confidence.“
- ONLYNESS STATEMENT: “ This is the only shirt that can be embodied, connecting Body Posture and Clothing, by developing comfort and confidence for people who want to establish themselves in their workspaces. In order to show their full potential in challenging and treat situations, in a workspace with differences opportunities and stereotypes.“ What: the only shirt that can embodied, connecting Body Posture and Clothing How: developing comfort and confidence Who: people who want to establish themselves in their workspaces Where: around the world Why: users can show their full potential When: challenging and threat situations, in a workspace with differences opportunities and stereotypes.
Figures: Isel Vega preparing the patterns for the tailor Sabine Lohse. Sabine Lohse workshop in Dessau. Photo by: Matthias Frose.
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- COSTS: - 2 meters of fabric: 18 euros - 18 buttons: 18 euros - Tailor work: 25 euros - Transport: 4 euros - TOTAL: 65 euros
Figures from top to bottom: Matthias Frose helping me to place the buttons. Sabine Lohse in her workshop in Dessau with the final prototype. Photo by: Isel Vega.
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- CHARACTERISTICS: - Material: Satin Stretch Walk 97% Cotton + 3% Spandex - Independent sleeves sticked with buttons. - Folds in the upper part of the back. - Worthy pockets. - Internal Instructions. - Belt.
SHOULDER BUTTON
INDEPENDENT SLEEVES
INTERNAL INSTRUCTIONS
WORTHY POCKET AND BELT
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INTERNAL INSTRUCTIONS: The internal instructions help the user to have easy access to a practical guide on the knowledge of the Body Posture. In addition, these instructions are removable depending on the circumstances to which the user faces. They can also be stretching instructions in case of muscular pains for example. The idea is that the user
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can have a look of it in a private space and practice this postures in order to undergo difficult situations. In this case, the design of the instructions is inspired by Amy Cuddy researchers, with the collaboration of TED and Super interesante.
WONDER EXPANSION
EM
- POWER - BODIED
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WORTHY POCKETS
EM
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- POWER - BODIED
NO MORE SLOUCH
EM
- POWER - BODIED
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- EVALUATION AND TESTING: Who: Greta Dulke and Jaydeep Chug. Where: in a workspace (in front of a computer), job interview, when a chief freaks out. How: - 1st: Wear a normal clothing make pictures in the following situations: workspace (in front of a computer), job interviews, presentation or when a chief freaks out. - 2nd: Make some pictures of the person stand up right with the garment, with normal positions , High Power posture, using the pockets, sitting down in front of a computer. - 3rd: Making some stretching for relax in front of a computer, standing up, high power postures 2 minutes before job interview or presentations. - 4th: performance situations: job interview, presentation, when a chief freaks out. Wearing the special garment. - 5th: interview:
- QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW - Have you ever pass for this situations? Which one? - Did you use your clothing or body posture for it? - Did you feel any different with between wearing a normal shirt and the EM shirt? - What emotions did you feel for each one? - Was helpful for you the pockets? - Was helpful for you the sleeves? - Was helpful for you the internal instructions? - Was helpful for you the folds in the upper back? - Did it make you feel more comfortable? Why? - Did it make you feel more confidence? Why? - Did you feel that you cognitive replies where different in one and the other? - What do you think is not working on the details? Why? - If you have the opportunity to wear this shirt for you work? Would you use it? - Any other comment?
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BEFORE DRESSING WITH A COMMON SHIRT Pictures of Greta Dulke, current dentist worker. In a work space, with different work situations. She is wearing a shirt that she usually uses for these occasions and was not motivated or informed about the thesis topic.
BOSS FREAKS OUT
DESK POSTURE
JOB INTERVIEW
COMMON SHIRT DON‘T GIVE ENOUGH SPACE TO MOVE ARMS
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AFTER DRESSING WITH EM - SHIRT She was invited to dress the EM - SHIRT, the characteristics of the product were explained to her. Before going through the same situations again, Greta did some posture exercises to reflect a little on her personal image and how to communicate better.
GRETA DULKE TESTING THE EM - SHIRT BY HERSELF
EM
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- POWER - BODIED
GRETA DULKE TESTING THE EM - SHIRT IN A COMPLEX SITUATION
EM
- POWER - BODIED
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GRETA DULKE TESTING THE EM - SHIRT IN DAILY WORK ACTIVITIES. LAST PICTURE: GRETA AND ISEL IN A INTERVIEW ABOUT THE TESTING.
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BEFORE DRESSING WITH A COMMON SHIRT Pictures of Jaydeep Chug, current Master student but he had experience working as an architect. In a work space, with different work situations. He is wearing a black shirt that he usually uses for these occasions and he was not motivated or informed about the thesis topic.
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AFTER DRESSING WITH EM - SHIRT He was invited to dress the EM - SHIRT, the characteristics of the product were explained to him. Before going through the same situations again, Jaydeep did some posture exercises to reflect a little on his personal image and how to communicate better.
JAYDEEP CHUG TESTING THE EM - SHIRT BY HIMSELF
EM
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- POWER - BODIED
JAYDEEP CHUG TESTING THE EM - SHIRT IN COMPLEX SITUATIONS
EM
- POWER - BODIED
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JAYDEEP CHUG TESTING THE EM - SHIRT IN DAILY WORK ACTIVITIES. LAST PICTURE: JAYDEEP AND ISEL IN A INTERVIEW ABOUT THE TESTING.
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- FINDINGS: - COMFORT & MOVEMENT: It was interesting to try the shirt with Greta and Jaydeep, both felt much more comfortable in their body movements, they felt free to move. Both can reflect on how their clothes did not allow them to move normally. Greta had a slightly broken shirt just under her arm. Something that I also noticed in my shirts, that‘s because of the lack of space. - COMPLEX SITUATIONS: Regarding situations such as job interview or when a boss freaks out. Jaydee knew immediately how to react, stopped immediately and faced the situation. While Greta crossed her arms but fixed her gaze very hard. - BELT & UPPER BACK: I offered Greta the option to use a belt, she accepted and she liked the idea of using it. As for Jaydeep, I forgot to propose the option, I believe that even in these studies even my gender stereotypes still govern my thoughts. Greta commented that wearing the belt liked it because it helped her when she was sitting at the computer to reinforce her posture. - POCKETS: the pockets were well accepted by both, it is always good to have extra space for things. Jaydeep commented that the pockets were located far back and that it did not look good to put their hands there. - INSTRUCTIONS LABEL: on the instructions both did the exercises. Jaydeep suggested that the label should
be smaller and should be placed much closer to the eyes in order to read it easily. It was enough for him to see her once, that was enough. - POSTURE: Greta used the position of Wonder Expansion more when she faced a complex situation. Jaydeep used much more arms and hands to express himself. With Greta, a greater change could be seen when he was explained how he can work on his body posture to communicate with more confidence. - INDEPENDENT SLEEVES: the independent sleeves were of great pleasure commented both, could be used in many ways. The sleeves could be rolled up a little, which was a benefit for Greta because the sleeve was very long. Regarding Jaydeep, the sleeve should be a little wider. - CONFIDENCE & COGNITIVE SKILLS: both pointed out that comfort was the key to making them feel more confident, that it is important to dress well, to feel comfortable with what we wear. That the image must be taken into account for our communication. - PRODUCTION: producing clothes in Germany is quite expensive, if you want to make a business of this you should send them to make clothes elsewhere and import them.
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V. CONCLUSION
1. EVALUATION OF THE RESEARCH QUESTION & AIMS I remember that when I started the project I was quite inspired to shorten the gap between men and women. I felt frustrated and helpless to see so many cases of violence against women, to know about gender difference data, less remuneration, less education, etc. My ideas came and went focused solely and exclusively on seeing what women have gone through for so long and keep going. As I said at the beginning, I did not want to look for culprits, I wanted to put the target group in their total and absolute responsibility. When I made the banner of the first workshop for the Baunow project, I wanted to invite everyone so I wrote: "invited men and women", since the theme was to break stereotypes; but I was making more distinctions myself. It happened to me in the same way with the interviews, but I think this was part of an apprenticeship. The most interesting part of the project was that coming and going, power enters the identity of women and then return to the world of all. As a designer I think we can make big changes and think about the impact of our designs, our legacy has the same value as the people who manage the politics of our countries. We can find functional benefits by recognizing what our clients really need, instead of make first differentiation because of gender, nationality or age. The world of fashion really needs to reflect on the value of its products as the most intimate piece of design that we humans carry day by day and how much the garments impact on our activities, behaviors, health, image and especially in our minds. The common shirts mostly restrict the movement of people, and just as there are pants, skirts and heels. But those who also have to reflect are the consumers, because we accept this and do not say anything, just follow, buy and dress.
One of my great learnings of this thesis, is to value the pleasure of being confused with the rest, of not focusing all the time in history and in the paradigms that we have been bringing from past generations, that this story only serves as a learning, that serve to create hatred or resentment. Everybody has difficulties at the time of work and we all need a guide that helped us cope with these situations. That is why this shirt inspired by Women is designed as a final product for all those who go through this need to want to establish themselves in their work environment through their comfort and confidence, open to all public and not to make more differences. The EM shirt has fulfilled its objective of providing comfort, freedom and confidence to its users. The comments have been positive in terms of the link between clothing and Body Posture. This project since its inception has allowed all people linked to become more aware of the value of clothing, how they could better use their body to communicate and give more importance to their image, which is not at all superficial. But, on the other hand, I have also realized that there is very little knowledge of people about how to work your Body Posture, it is a very intimate subject and often difficult to comment. The researches or designs linked to Body Posture and Clothing are very limited, even more researches on Embodied Cognition, that is, with respect to the linking of clothing and mind. Fashion designers don't work so much with this issue, and of the few that there are their garments end up being products at unreachable prices.
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This project is a good initiative to create a brand that provides smart solutions to our clothing in the workplace. But if the brand starts with a German market, it has to evaluate its production costs, because the materials and the clothing are very expensive. And the competition could end the initial idea. To finish, I think it is important to be able to use methodologies such as Service Design or to provide multidisciplinary
professionals with project ideation. I think that I have a perspective on what is a worthy space for me and how I design it, has made this project so authentic and empathetic with the user. But, on the other hand, I can not disprove all the knowledge of a Fashion Designer, knowledge that I do not have and that I could not include constantly in the thesis process.
2. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE WORKS - DEVELOPING THE SHIRT: The shirt, being versatile in its structure and practice, can be worn in many ways. Both in a casual and formal way. It also gives the user options to exchange colors in the sleeves. The blouse could continue to develop and evolve with respect to the results obtained after the Testing, besides the material could also be part of its development. - FOUNDING A BRAND: It is clear that there is a target group who need this type of garments. The present project is just an exploration and design in a conventional shirt, and as a result there are still many needs that can be met. In the same way
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as a shirt was investigated, it is possible to investigate trousers, dresses, shoes, bags, etc. All those work clothes that we all need at some point in our lives. Although the world of fashion is quite competitive, there are no brands that work exactly to find coherent solutions in the workspaces. Therefore, as a suggestion for future work, I believe that the creation of a brand focused on people who want to establish themselves in their workplace. The name of the brand does not have to be specifically identified with the inspiration of a woman but it is open to all, it is important to emphasize the importance of the Body Posture and the knowledge of the body above all, as well as presence. As a brand name I propose:
- POWER - BODIED
- PRICE, PROMOTION & PLACE: As a startup I decided to outsource some of the major procedures, in order to save money and be efficient. Procedures as cutting, tailoring, packaging, distribution and online retail were outsourced. Due to the high costs of textile production in Germany, I have decided to produce it in Peru. Textile production is much cheaper and the conditions of its workers meet the standards. Peru has positioned itself as a highquality textile country thanks to good workmanship and premium materials such as Pima cotton, the Alpaca fiber and Tanguis cotton, which is also a long staple fiber highly valued by manufacturers as well as by consumers. On the other hand, the product could also enter Latin American markets, expanding the business.
According to the prepared business model, it is expected to sell 8,000 pieces the first year, starting with a German target group. The piece is not a cheap piece but it is not sold alone, the EM - SHIRT sells the experience and its development as a smart garment. The EM - SHIRT would be sold in the market at a price of 96 euros, it includes the cost of export and taxes, and it is expected that in 3 years you can see a profit. It is important to think about how to position the brand, because being a Genderless product there are not many examples like this. But also there is an interesting market gap. The cost structure included fixed cost structures, employee salaries, initial investments, product based costs, production, sales margin and a general sales projection.
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Factory, workers, oversight. Export Warehouse IT + Logistics Marketing + Sales
Textile Supliers Project Management tools User Testing Marketing + Branding Distribution and Sales Designing
Primary: directo to consumer e-commerce. Amazon.com LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook. Brand Website Mailing, texting. Secondary: pop-up shops
Events Outplacement events Job fairs Design fairs Retails Loyalty discounts Online Communities
“ This is the only shirt that can be embodied, connecting Body Posture and Clothing, by developing comfort and confidence for people who want to establish themselves in their workspaces. In order to show their full potential in challenging and treat situations, in a workspace with differences opportunities and stereotypes. "
THE ONLYNESS STATEMENT
Aged 25 - 50s Working professional Digital savvy Fashion Sense Dissatisfied with Fast-Fashion Chooses brands that align with their social values.
One time revenue stream, based on a one time purchase. Asset sale revenue stream (events, fairs, online stores) Pay per sale (pps) comission after 3 years.
"The solution helps people who works to show their full potencial developing their comfort and confidence. "
Fixed and pre-operational investments 5 090 euros. Fixed Sustainance Cost 14 184 euros per month. Product Base cost + Import 44.82 euros / Final price 92.54 euros Units to be sold in the first year 8 000 books.
Services
Zalando Online Retail
Services
Amazon Online Retail
DHL Transportation Services
Packaging Services
DS Smith Assembling &
textile company
Devanlay Peru SAC
Business Model Canvas
VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Baudot, François, 1996. By: Schirmer/Mosel. Chanel - Bénaïm, Laurence; 1997. By: Schirmer/Mosel. Issey Miyake - Bonet, Iris. 2016. What works: Gender Equality by design. - Diehm, Jan and Thomas, Amber. August 2018. Someone clever once said women were not allowed Pockets. https://pudding.cool/2018/08/pockets/ - Demetrakas, Johanna. 2018. Netflix Documentary. Feminists: What were they thinking? - Ehmberger, K. Minna, R. and Illstedt, S. 2012. Visualising Gender Norms in Design: Meet the Mega Hurricane Mixer and the Drill Dolphia. - European Institute for Gender Equality. https://eige.europa.eu/ - Helligers, Jeffrey. 2017. Posture. https://jeffreyheiligers.wordpress.com/2017/03/29/99/ - Ingraham, Paul. 2004. Does posture correction matter? Posture correction strategies and exercises and some reasons not to care or bother. https://www.painscience.com/articles/ posture.php#sec_what - Kabat-Zinn, Jon. 2005. Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness. - Morgan, Andrew. 2915. Netflix Documentary. The true cost. - Muller, Lars and Blaser, Werner. (Ed. 2000) Christa de Carouge, Habitat - Müller, Johana. Summer Project 2018 of HS Anhalt Department of Design Dessau. Interviewreihe: Welche Bedeutung haben Geschlechterrollen? - https://vimeo.com/ user88030815 - Orth, Anna and Lenz, Pia. Der Kleine Unterschied 2018 (The little difference in 2018). Germany, Documentary form NDR TV. - Shlain, Leonard. The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The conflict between Word an Image. - Sullivan, Arthur. May 2018. DW Business Report highlights lack of female leaders in German business. https://www.dw.com/en/report-highlights-lack-of-female-leaders-ingerman-business/a-43747520
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DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby declare that this thesis book is result of my own work and effort. I have not used other people‘s work without explicitly stating the resources. All references and extracts have been properly cited and all sources of information habe been acknowledged. Dessau, Germany - 08.01.2018 ISEL VEGA RAMOS
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IMPRINT IT IS ALL ABOUT SPACE Master Thesis by Isel Vega Ramos Advised by Prof. Petra MĂźller-Csernetzky and Prof. Sandra Giegler Winter Semester 2018/2019 MAID Master of Arts Integrated Design Department of Design Anhalt University of Applied Sciences Gropiusalle 38 D-06846 Dessau - Germany