Protest. Project Progress Report.
Joseph Smith. m. 07850 025 226 e. joseph@josephsmithdesign.com w. www.josephsmithdesign.com
Briefs/ Brief #1. To create product or service that enables more people to be politically active. Must take into account current lifestyles and new communication technologies.
Brief #2. To explore issues and ideas around personal sacrifice and personal activism. To create products or services that create debate around these issues.
Joseph Smith.
Protest/ Contents.
Find. Research Study.
Play. Experimentation.
- Project Rationale/ Starting Points - Protest/ Mindmap - Methods of Protest - Methods of Protest, Explanations and Examples - Protest Graffiti - Protest Graffiti, Examples - Protest Graffiti, Examples, XOOOX - Protest Graffiti, Examples, BANKSY - First Hand Research, Protest #1 - First Hand Research, Protest #1, Observations - First Hand Research, Protest #1, Observations - Protest Persona’s - First Hand Research, Protest #2, Stages of Protest - First Hand Research, Protest #2, Stages of Protest Photos - Protest Probes - Protest Probes Contents - Probe Handout - Probe Handout - Probe Results/ Feedback - Probe Results/ Feedback - Virtual Protest - Virtual Protest - Virtual Protest, Different Methods - Virtual Protest, Benefits and Problems Diagram - Fear, Generation and Perpetuation - CCTV, Rational and irrational fears - Media Alertism and Mass Tabloidisation - Media Techniques and Deployment - Information Overload/ New Media Landscape - New Media Landscape Diagram - Design for Control, Possible Briefs - Personal Protest, Possible Briefs
- Quick Mini Projects- Good Morning Printer - Quick Mini Projects- Good Morning Printer - Good Morning Printer Diagram - Good Morning Printer, Process Photos - Personal Safety Monitors - Personal Safety Monitors - Project Briefs - Virtual/ Physical Protest Diagram - Pay For Protest - Pay For Protest - Pixel Protest - Pixel Protest, Crystalize - Pixel Protest, Pointilize - Pixel Protest, Mosaic - Proess Photos, Other Ideas - Pay For Protest Logo Development
Make. Production. - Swarm Service Diagram - Prototype Film V1 - Prototype Film V2, Scenario 1 - Prototype Film V2, Scenario 2 - Scalability, National, Regional, Local - Scalability - PAYFORPROTEST Staff vs Package diagram - PAYFORPROTEST Website Visuals -PAYFORPROTEST Object Production Process - PAYFORPROTEST Object Production Process - PAYFORPROTEST Object Production Process - PAYFORPROTEST Object Assembly - PAYFORPROTEST Expereince Prototyping - PAYFORPROTEST Advertisment Photoshoot - PAYFORPROTEST Adverisment 1 - PAYFORPROTEST Advertisment 2
Talk. Evaluation, Reflection and Analysis. - Project Evaluation
Fear, Protest and Control.
Find.
Research Study.
Joseph Smith.
m. 07850 025 226 e. joseph@josephsmithdesign.com w. www.josephsmithdesign.com
Fear, Protest and Control.
Project Rational/ The reason for choosing “protest� as the starting point for my investigation occurred for a number of reasons. Over the past 10 years I have been interested in the idea of protest and how attitudes towards protest and the issues surrounding it have changed. How protest is used as a tool for public discontent as well as its connotations with being as visual as possible I found particularly interesting. I could also see how these themes could translate into a thought provoking design study. I have also learnt that are now restrictions being placed on organised protest throughout London, including Parliament Square and also restrictions on certain activities such as photography. This ties in with other interesting areas based on the idea of control and fear. Over the past decade there has been a lot of attention focused on protest. With issues such as global warming, human rights and person freedoms all being high in the public consciousness.
Protest; The most visible way of making a mass opinion about a local, national or international issue or policy. Joseph Smith.
Public opinion seems to be heading towards general discontent with key divisive issues not even being discussed and referendums not being called. Yet voting numbers have been dwindling in the UK, as well as the rest of the EU. A higher percentage of people vote for reality TV such as the X factor than in elections. How do you get your voice heard in the modern world, and are we being controlled? Increasingly we are being monitored and subjected to a sense of paranoia. Increasing levels of information due to the freedom of the internet, as well as new media providing information 24 hours a day may also be contributing to this level of alertness. Are these fears excessive? The media seems to be in a constant state of alertism trying to sell papers and generate high viewing figures, and governments who should try and quell them, now seem to perpetuate these ideas.
This all comes against the backdrop of a world where we are now living longer healthier lives, so what is rational relative fear? What should we be worried about? Do we actually enjoy this sense of alertism? Research Rational/ To look into protest and investigate how if it has changed over time. To also discover what motivates or puts people off protesting and supporting political causes.
MindMap/ Themes.
Bob Dylan “Not listened to”
“All the same”
Apathy
Bob Marley
Voter Disengagement
Control
Independent 1960/ 70’s Graffiti
Poetry
Comedy
Song
Terror Attack
Sensationalism Comfort Reality TV
Terror
Voting
Fear
Riot Art Violent
MEDIA Freedoms
POLITICS
March
METHODS
Hippies
Armchair Protestors??
Strike
Message boards
Peaceful
ATTITUDES Kooks
Crazy
Protest
EMOTION
Misunderstanding/ Mistrust To take a stand
Protest=Unpatriotic
CONTROL Shift in Attitudes
Design for Control
KEY NATIONAL/ INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
Climate change
Food and water shortages
Phone
Blog Rants
Police Passion
Public Behaviour
Restrictions
Public space Design
ID Cards
Discomfort
Global Terrorism CCTV
Anti Terror Legislation
Paranoia Big Brother
Patriot Act (US)
Guantanamo Bay
Spying
Being Watched
Methods of Protest/ Levels of Protest. March An organised and co- ordinated walk
Petition
Sit in
Strike An organised walk out at a work or company. Usually organised by a unionist group over treatment of workers.
Riot Terror Attack
Group
“Strong� letter
Blogs/ MessageBoards
Often written in response to a personal experience or a broadcast, to show displeasure or dissatisfaction.
freedom to bring attention to your cause. These moments have resulted in some of the most poignant moments in history.
Phone
Personal Low
High
Methods of Protest/ Explanations/ Examples Petition. Sacrifice = Time.
Blogs/ Message boards. Sacrifice = Time.
Self Sacrifice. Sacrifice = Life, Freedom.
Petitions are used as a way to show a company, government etc the level of discontent over a particular issue. Usually started by a group of individuals they go door to door, or stand on streets and gain signatures. This is then sent to the body in question. For individuals it wastes very little time or thought. It has been made easier and less significant through endless petitions started through large newspapers, and through unlimited petitions started on social networking media.
The growth of the internet and its accessibility has given many people to express opinions and ideas. Forums such as message boards and services such as twitter and facebook actively encourage people to express “whats on their mind”.
Self sacrifice can be sacrificing your freedom or even your life. It is the ultimate sacrifice for your beliefs and belief in a cause. Whether this be committing your life to a cause, being locked up, or actually dying.
People can publish opinions anonymously or publicly depending on the service they use..
Example: January 1969. Crushing Prague Spring.
Riot. Sacrifice = Time, Freedom.
March. Sacrifice = Time.
Riots usually evolve through other forms of protest such as a march or strike, or occur spontainiosly sparked by a certain event. Riots often occur from underlying wider social or economic problems. They often result in a stand with much aggression directed towards the police.
Organised march’s are a popular form of organised protest. They gather together people around one common issue, and march through the streets of a City/ Town.
Example: Brixton Riot, 1995, London.
They can also be organised as a celebration. Events such as Gay Pride conduct a march each year in many major cities to celebrate how far gay rights have come.
The 1995 riot manifested itself from what had been a peaceful protest. The march and protest outside a local police station was in response to the death in custody of Wayne Douglas (26). The riot was reportedly triggered by the polices heavy handed tactics. Wider social issues such as tensions between the local Black community and the police, as well as the area being largely impoverished and under- resourced. The people in the area felt alienated and ignored.
“Last night happened because the only time a black man is seen and listened to is when he comes out on the street...They cause a million pounds of damage and then people start taking notice.” Quote from NYTimes.
Also as there is very little regulation in terms of what is published online.
Jan Palach, a 21 year old student who committed suicide in response to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in January 1969. He set himself alight on the steps in Wenceslas Square in Prague as a protest to the occupation and the crushing of the Prague uprising.
Streets are often cordoned off or closed.
Example: August 28, 1963. Washington March, USA. More than 250, 000 people attended the march, where Martin Luther King delivered his “I have a dream” speech. In recent years the power of organised march’s seems to have dwindled. Despite still being a clear symbol of discontent its power to sway issues. In 2004 over 1 Million took to the streets of London in protest against any potential military invasion of Iraq. Similar protests took place across the world with Millions of people taking to the streets. It did not affect the eventual invasion, nor prompt a referendum.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Methods of Protest/ Graffiti. The themes of Protest and Graffiti are intrinsically linked. They both are born from wanting to express yourself or your opinions as visually as possible. Graffiti has been used as a form of protest for hundreds of years, but became used as a form of political/ social protest far more in the last 70 years. As an art form graffiti offers people the most visible platform to express their opinions. It is a truly democratic art form. It is interesting from a protest perspective, as graffiti is often anonymous. So often it is not about your own personal opinions or getting your personal message across but about provoking a reaction. Passing on a message into the public domain, to provoke thought and reaction. The graffiti subculture can often tie in with other political ideologies. Some of the most infamous and respected graffiti artists such as Banksy from the UK and XOOOOX from Berlin have used there graffiti as a platform for political and social commentary about a variety of issues. Stencil Work, tagging, scribble and throw ups all contribute to graffiti that is used for political commentary and protest. Also techniques such as subvertising are also used. This is where billboards are commandeered and transformed using paints to create an alternative message. Protests against mass consumerism and mass marketing. The artist takes over a billboard that already exists, adding to it or changing it to make a statement. Oppoite Page/ 1) “No War”- Roller painted on Sydney Opera House. 2) Roller rooftop piece - “ the border is not between poor and rich, the border is between you and me”. Berlin. 3) “The revolution will not be televised- then most Americans will miss it” Los Angeles. 4) “All cops are bastards” -
Fear, Protest and Contol.
XOOOOX, Graffiti Artist, Berlin, Germany. XOOOOX uses his graffiti to comment on couture culture while criticizing the mass-merchandising of global retail chains. He expresses his growing displeasure with the uniform, consumption-driven hype of the fashion industry and its effect on people.
Joseph Smith.
BANKSY, Graffiti Artist, Bristol, UK. Probably the most infamous and acclaimed graffiti artist in the world, Banksy’s work offers a social commentary and many pieces have political motivation. The pieces shown here are on the wall dividing Israel and Palestine.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Photographer not a terrorist! Protest. 23rd January 2010/ 12:00 PM Trafalgar Square, London.
Joseph Jos Jo seph ph h Smith. S ith Sm h.
Protest attendance/ Cause: Im a photographer, not a terrorist! Date: 23rd January 2010/ 12:00 p.m Peaceful. Context/ The protest was organised in response to the restrictions being enforced in relation to photography, and how new anti terror laws are being abused by the police and government to harass and intimidate professional and amateur photographers. The campaign as well as this particular protest is run by “concerned individuals�, and comes after a series of very high profile detentions of photographers s44 of the terrorism act. - 7 armed police detaining an award winning architectural photographer Grant Smith in the City of London. - The arrest of a press photographer covering campaigning santas at City Airport. - Stop and search of a BBC photographer Jeff Overs at St Pauls Cathedral. Observations/ - A general distrust and suspicion between the protesters towards the police- despite there being very limited police presence. - People were unaware that a protest was taking place, or the issues behind it. Once they had discovered the cause chose to stay and take part.
Above/ A map showing places in the UK where Photography is either restricted, or photographers have been arrested. This is despite there being no specific law regarding photography. It Could be interesting to view other restrictions in the UK?
- Protest was a good leveller, allowing people to connect because they knew they had a similar issue in common.
Look at ways people are restricted and controlled?
- As it was a Saturday many people had turned out. However was informed if this was midweek the numbers and types of people attending may be different. - The stereotypes and preconceptions of a protest/ protesters was not evident at this protest. There was a mixture of people of ages, races and backgrounds.
Sources/ www. photographernotaterrorist.org/ www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2000/pdfukpga_20000011
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Joseph Smith.
James 22, Darren 21.
Seamus, 27.
Paul, 65.
“No we hadn’t intended to come, didn’t even know it was on. When we saw the crowd we came over and then were told what it was about.”
“ Generally don’t have the time but this is something I feel pretty strongly about, I feel like our freedoms are getting taking away, bit by bit.”
“Its funny because he was actually stopped for taking photos on the beach by the Thames the other day so we can definitely relate.”
“Ah no I came on my own. Im meeting some friends a bit later.”
“We’ve come up as a family today. My son and his two daughters are also here. I was a photography teacher so its a subject particularly close to my heart. I have found a tightening on photography over the last few years. Particularly photographing in the city, train stations.”
“Good idea to hold it on a Saturday, you’d get a bigger turnout I think.”
“I mean I personally probably wouldn’t have come, well, organised to come. I agree with what there saying, but its my day off you know. Its a good atmosphere though.”
Key Points/
Key Points/ - Believes in subject matter- went on own
“My son came to support me and the cause, and its a great occasion. There’s a lot of families here, a lot of skits and humour which certainly keep the kids interested, as well as obviously getting some attention to the cause.” “I’ve been to a few, you always meet really nice people, and have a common interest”
Key Points/
- Stumbled upon Protest. - Once realising the protest was somthing they agreed with stayed to support. - Found it fun. CASUAL PROTESTERS- hadn’t sacrificed anything to be there.
- Ties in todays protest with other plans for the day. Not making huge sacrifices to be there. - Saturday protest fits in with his schedule- harder in the week. (Responsibilities)
- Family involved- becomes a day out. - Good place to meet people, have starting point for conversations. Protest a good leveller. - 60’s/ 70’s spirit, wants to feel part of something, without risking his liberties because he now has a lifestyle and responsibilities. Fear, Protest and Contol.
Afghanistan Conference Protest/
Stage 1/
28. 01. 2010, Lancaster House, London.
Mostly organisers in area laying out placards and liaising with the police force. All the roads in local area cordoned off and police surround local area.
An Afghan War council was held in London. I went and observed the major protest, organised by the Stop the War coalition. I wanted to observe the stages of protest from the initial set up, to the protest itself, and then its disbandment.
I personally felt that the tactics used by the police of containment was quite intimidating, despite most people seeming relatively calm.
Stage 2/ The few protestors move from the meeting point across the road and march to the area closest to the entrance. They grow in numbers, the police presence is still relatively low key in the key protest area. Police begin to cordon off the protestors from the side nearest the entrance, and begin to enclose them and further cordons are put into place.
Stage 3/
Police
The protestors split into two key groups. The more active, loud and militant protesters stay closest to the police line. The more casual and quiet protestors almost encircling them.
Roads
The police have now almost completely encircled the protest group despite no real change in atmosphere within the crowd.
Baracades
Other unrelated protests also begin across the street.
Protestors Buildings
Joseph Smith.
Stage 1/
Stage 2/
Stage 3/
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Protest Probes/ Preparation and execution. The idea of the protest probes were to gain insights into peoples experiences of protest. I wanted to aim them at a cross section of people, so tried to approach people of different ages, genders, and also experiences. I wanted to have people who were experienced at attending and participating in protest, some less experienced and some first timers to see how their experiences and thoughts differed.
Joseph Smith.
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Photo Catergories/ I used 5 words to act as categories ffor the photos. I chose words that were naturally fairly abstract, and could be open to interpretation as many would be based on personal experience or emotion. The idea is that the person would take photos based on these categories, and then would mark what category each photo related to in the grid.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Probe Handout/ 29. 01. 2010/ Anti War Protest at Iraq War enquiry. We handed out 5 packs to people in the protest crowd and gave some brief information on the nature of the research. Left. Henrietta, 65. Occupation: Retired/ Organiser of protest. Right. Jane, 28. Occupation: Office worker- In Cardiff
Joseph Smith.
Left. Claudia, 19/ Joe, 22. Occupation: (C) Student of the classics, (J) Student Modern languages Right. Sara, 24. Occupation: “Resistance”
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Protest Probes/ Results/
‘The police response and presence was completely over the top. There was no reason for that many police to be there. its just to intimidate people, so you feel like your being watched.’
“Its kinda what I thought had died out it in 60’s. I saw the protest singer there and just thought it was cool. Unexpected but cool. He kept our spirits up in the rain.’
Joseph Smith.
‘ I saw a rudeboy in the crowd just standing quietly with his hood up. I don’t know but I thought it was quite surprising. You don’t expect to see a rudeboy at an anti war protest.’ Sara, 24, Resistance.
“We were chatting to this woman and she was fully passionate about the war. She was surprising because to look at she just seemed like a house wife. But she told us she had helped to organise the protest. She hasn’t got any kids there (IRAQ) or anything.”
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Virtual Protest/ Examples/ With the internet becoming more and more prevalent in peoples daily lives, and becoming a place where people spend an increasing amount of time it is almost inevitable that it has become a place for protest. Online communities and platforms have begun to be used as places to hold various incarnations of protest. Whether this be online petitions through social networking media such as Facebook, or on active petition websites such as Petitiononline.com, they are become spaces for increased mobilisation on quite a vast range of issues. Also more visual protests are taking place within online gaming/ communities such as Second Life or World of Warcraft. People are using there online “life” as a space to protest against a wide variety of issues. The sacrifices made through the avatars can often be quite dramatic, and to this point have gained some media attention due to the novel and innovative protest methods. At present these actions do not tug at the heart strings as large proportion of the population still are not involved in online role play/ lives. As this changes and develops these online actions, effectively killing off your online persona could become far more persuasive. The protests that occur online are often based on issues and current affairs occuring within the “real world”. War, the economic crisis, and restrictions on freedoms. As peoples online lives continue to increase how can online platforms be used to protest? If more people are reliant on online communities to generate income for example how would mass protest or attacks be reacted too? How can these online protests be projected into the real world, or what platforms could be used to grab more attention to these online activists? Online terrorists?
Joseph Smith.
World Of Warcraft/ Mass Suicide Mass online suicide within World of Warcraft to draw attention to restrictions to online freedoms in China is one example.
Second Life/ IBM Employee Strike.
Second Life/ Virtual Guantanamo.
Employees of IBM were involved in an online protest organised by its union. The company has a very large and active Second Life community. 2000 avatars wore shirts and carried placards in response to what they felt was unfair treatment. The companies huge profits were not being passed onto its employees. It was a very visual and unusual form of protest that gathered a lot of media attention and resulted in changes to internal policy and salary increases.
It was set up to try and bring the issues around the facility can be more tangible and brought closer to them if their own Avatar is imprisoned. It is far more visual. Also the experience is built up over sound based on experiences and accounts from real detainees. The idea is a protest against the way the government and the media have treated the facility, dehumanising the people there, and the game tries to re humanise them.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Virtual Protest/ Interesting examples of technology assisted protest/
Communication/ Expression Media Youtube, Blogs etc.
Social Networking Media Facebook, Myspace etc.
Virtual Worlds Second Life, World Of Warcraft.
The Love Police/
Creating Petitions/
Visual Virtual Protest/
The Love Police are a group organised by Charlie Vietch, that aim to protest and draw attention to issues around state controls. They want to dispel the inaccuracies in peoples understanding of the law and the way in which the police use legislation incorrectly, unethically, and even unlawfully.
Social networking media has hugely increased the ease at which petitions can be created. They have also allowed these petitions to be circulated much easier.
Virtual Protests have began to spring up within virtual online communities over the last few years. They offer a very visual communication of protest and can exist continuously within these virtual environment so can grow organically over small or large periods of time.
The other benefit to petitions being created online is that not only can you join, but the petition page can also be used to discuss the issue, therefore creating an open source platform where people can discuss and debate the nature of the petition.
Its easy to convene people in one place at the same time, and also unusual so gets a lot of attention which is key to any protest.
They use youtube as a platform to show their videos to expand the audience who can access their forms of protest whilst also maintaining a blog and website. This media has rapidly expanded their audience from those who are on the street witnessing it, to anyone with internet access.
Joseph Smith.
The downside is that with the ease of use many are often fairly irrelevant, and the ease at which you can sign and join them may make them less persuasive. However many of the petitions about facebook itself are very successful.
As more people begin to spend time within these online communities, and come to rely on them as sources of income or relationships then these platforms become far more important tools that can be used in protest.
Virtual Protest/ Benefits and Problems
No longer constrained by.....
BUT............ Geography
How do we show this in the physical world so it can have a larger effect?
What is the sacrifice? Conditions
How do you protect your identity and your network? Time
Social Stigma
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Fear/ The generation and perpetuation of Fear.
Levels of Terror Threat. mI5/ Home office.
An attack is expected imminently. Terror Threat Level.
Critical
The terror threat level indicator is used by the UK government as a way to inform the public as to how much danger there is of a terrorist attack at any point. 5 Levels;
An attack is highly likely.
Severe
- Critical - Severe - Substantial - Moderate - Low Why release this publicly?
Substantial
An attack is a strong possibility.
Threat Level has never been below substantial
Moderate
An attack is possible but unlikely.
The government state it is to inform the public to ensure they keep up a high level of alertness but there is no huge change in the publics actions when the level changes. However critics have stated that it is aimed to maintain a state of alert, even fear. The reason behind this is because a public that is alert, worried or fearful is more easily controlled. It is easier to pass laws and measures without public disgruntlement and protest if people feel it is being done to keep them safe. This is why, it is stated, that threat levels are risen without any specific threat. Observations How does this change the way the public act and behave? Could we monitor events globally and create our own opinions on our personal threat levels?
Low
An attack is unlikely.
CCTV/ Surveilance Britain has 20% of the worlds CCTV camera, making us the most watched nation on the planet. Whether or not this sense of being watched is concious, subconciously is there a sense of paranoia? The images we see on television of CCTV are always going to be related to some sort of crime. The majority of the coverage of CCTV camera capture will be everyday life. Is there a better alternative? Is it actually reassuring to have these cameras? Do they act as a deterant? Perhaps CCTV camera’s and there technology need a rebrand?
Information Source: The Times Most Likely
Rational vs Irrational Fears Fears can largely be broken into two categories, rational and irrational, relative or not relative. Largely it is the fears that are least likely to occur that we fear the most. They are often abstract and seem beyond our control.
Most Feared
Least Feared
Least Likely
Our senses are only equipped to deal with immediate risk, generating fear and reaction based upon immediate threat. Things we cannot see, that don’t have an immediacy do not provoke the same reaction. Therefore we are equipped to deal with being hit by a car- we move out the way. However something like the fear of obesity doesn’t provoke the same immediate responses as it occurs over a longer period.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Media Alertism and Mass Tabloidisation/ Mainstream media often seem to perpetuate or even generate a sense of alertism. There is an element of keeping people under control, as they encourage people to think in a certain way and to have certain beliefs. There are tow main reasons for the media having an interest in these techniques. 1) Keeping us alert drives consumption by a) Keeping us buying the paper or magazine b) Keeps you buying products that claim to aid these fears- Paticuarly evdient in womans magazines which keeps up advertising streams for the paper. 2) They can promote a paticular political or corporate agenda. Effectively all media outlets will have some form of opinion The media however decides what is important and what isnt.
Drive Consumption
Fear/ Alert
Mainstream Media
Joseph Smith.
Promote Agenda
Techniques and deployment/
Visual
Eye Contact/
The techniques used to provide disinormation and to perpetuate this sense of alertism are standard techniques that are used. With Professor Phil Macgregor I discussed these issues and techniques and we devised them into sections based on the media used to deliver the message, and then catergories. The series of techniques make up a strategy called Neuro Linguistc Programming. Neuro Lingusitc Programming is a way of programming peoples minds through your words and actions. Anchoring: When you place accusations against somone and then appear to change the subject suggesting to put that aside. An example is, “you are a liar and a cheat, but putting all that to one side”. What this aims to do is to attach those accusations to the person within your head and then put that aside so these accusations are anchored to the person in question. Transcient Terminology: Is where terms and phrases being used in serious news stories are then used in stories that have no relation to the other. So after a terror attack in Yemen, the wor
Eye Movement Looking bored
Hand Signals H
Body Language
Neuro Linguistic Programming
Audio Crossover
Suggestion
Anchoring
Written
“Inevitable”
Transcient Terminology
Buzzwords
“Experts” “our nations/ the UK’s “might” “In a developing story”
“Possible links” “Deadly”
“could”
“As many as”
“50% of....”
“loopholes”
“potential”
“Shocking new details”
Buzzwords: Commonly used words by news broadcasters and newspapers to try and give credibility to a story. “Possible links to....”, is a good example. Theoretically if you loosen the links enough then anything and everything could be linked. Also the use of words such as “experts” and statistics are common as they make stories seem more factual. Who are these experts? Who conducted these surveys? With how many people? Suggestion: “Could”, “Possible”, “potential”- suggesting subjects and stories are true, that infact have no basis in fact.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Information overload/ As we become more informed the World becomes more complex. The amount of information we are subjected to. The amount of information that we are now exposed to has greatly increased the level of fear and worry. This increase in information availability has appears to have changed the nature of our fears.
ster headma
he Trip to t Falling Over Catch ing G erms
e o breath t e l b a n U Being near a Bomb Being h it by a c ar
Also as we develop as people our fears change and develop, but the amount of information plays the same role. This information comes in such a variety of formats, through 24 news coverage, printed media, and online. It is visual aswell as verbal. The internet has opened up the amount of information available to us, and the speed at which this information can be accessed has increased and is increasing further. The democracy of the web means that information can be produced and distributed by anyone. if you search information through the web it is inevitable you will find something to confirm your fears. However there would equally be a stream of articles that disagree.
Information Source: Panic-ology
Web sources cannot always be trusted as it can be difficult to understand who has produced the information.
New Media Landscape/ The internet has revolutionised the media, in the sense that now anybody who is a consumer of the internet can also be a producer of content. The tools to produce media used to be specialised in the forms of TV, Radio, and print. Now the playing field is levelled as the equiptment to use the internet is the same as to produce for it. This has many benefits as it means we can get more perspectives and there is less control from central sources. However at least with the central sources we could try and judge any agenda. How do we learn to judge internet sources? What can we look for to judge these sources?
Joseph Smith.
Internet limitless information
New Media Landscape/ Internet making consumers- Producers
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Design for Control. (FEAR) Fear has often been used by Governments, groups and cults to control people since the dawn of civilisation. Irrational and sensationalist responses to events, and the manipulation of situations is used by governments to gain support for ideas that would otherwise be difficult to pass. By generating fear and worry amongst a people it makes it far easier to pass legislation that removes civil liberties and freedoms. The mainstream media largely perpetuates these emotions. Sensationalism and crisis sell newspapers and ensure viewing figures. What if there was a Dirty Bomb attack on London? What if terrorist had attacked multiple locations across the UK? What if this Terrorist was British? What if an airborne virus hit the UK? What if it wasn’t clear how it was spread? How would the “Media” and “Government” react? How would personal freedoms and civil liberties be affected?
Briefs/ How could the idea of control and fear be explored and challenged though design? To explore scenarios and design products and services that relate to these ideas, in order to provoke thought and discussion. Explore products and services that aim to reduce irrational fears?
Joseph Jos J Jo o eph h Smith. Sm mith h.
Personal Protest/ Public organised protest has been used throughout political and social movements throughout history. Marches, rallies and sit ins have all be used as tools in raising attention and awareness of issues, and have also contributed in making governments and companies acknowledge particular issues. This was once the ultimate sign of public discontent. There is much evidence to suggest that the days of organised protest are over. With other outlets for opinions being opened up far more. With the advent of the internet and social networking such as blogs and twitter people can publish their opinions and get them into a public domain far more easily. However these outlets are wide spread, and often anonymous which can mean they have far less influence, and also are far less visual or provoking. This could be put down to peoples busy lifestyles, people being comfortable in their own lives and also a general disengagement from social and political issues.
Brief/ - How could people be re- engaged with public protest and what tools could make this more efficient and more effective? - To design objects or systems that facilitate and encourage protest. To try and give people a sense that their opinions and ideas count and should be heard. - How can people with similar opinions and discontent be connected and encouraged to do something about it?
Fear, Protest e and and Contol. Contol.
Play.
Experimentation Phase
Joseph Smith.
m. 07850 025 226 e. joseph@josephsmithdesign.com w. www.josephsmithdesign.com
The Good morning Group/ Good Morning Printer were an initial response to the issues addressed with the sensationalism and tabloidisation of the media, and its affects on people. The print outs are effectively the result of a media filter service. It takes the top ten most read news stories from Google or another search engine. It then takes articles on these stories from 30- 50 different news outlets, who could potentially sign up to the service. It then filters these articles for key words and phrases asscotiated with tabloidisation. The articles that the system has to filter least are the ones that are printed for your monring reading. Any sections of these articles that use media techniques or phrases that have the possibility of being sensationalist, biased or unture are highlighted. Also every article is rated for its objectivity, and the source provided. How would this objectivity change our behaviour? Would we want to have fully objective news coverage or is there part of us that secretly likes media sensationalism and being alert? What would we gossip and talk about if we no longer had sensational media coverage?
Joseph Smith.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Good Morning Group Process/
VA R
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Takes top 10 most read or most searched articles
Sign up to good morning group ONLINE
Joseph Smith.
Process of making “Good Morning Printer”
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Personal Safety Monitors The personal saftety monitors were an initial responce to the ideas surrounding irrational and rational fears. This was combined with the backdrop of political measures and actions that now seem to perpetuate or manipulate public fears.
The fear monitors was an small exploration of what might hapen after an extreme “event�. I looked at the tone and actions that had been made by governements and the media after other events that caused panic.
The monitors were intentially designed to look ordinary, boring even mundane. The product semantics were to look completely in keeping with what we have in our living rooms today, to look unintrusive despite its function. Syncing...
What would be the result of the introduction? How would these devices be used- to add to fear, or try and rationalise and calm irrational fears?
Joseph Smith.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Project Rational/ Virtual Protest in the “Physical� World
Brief 1/ To create product or service that enables more people to be politically active. Must take into account current lifestyles and new communication technologies. Brief 2/ To explore issues and ideas around personal sacrifice and personal activism. To create products or services that create debate around these issues. Joseph Smith.
Virtual World
What are the sacrifices? How do people find out?
Can this feed back into the virtual world- Progress, plus ones etc?
Allows prolongued debate/ discussion.
Transcripts Videos
Recording Representing
People Objects Projections
Real World Newspapers
Media Who do we want to see it?
Public
Televised Reports
Politicians Corporations
Private
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Pay For Protest. What we do? Payforprotest.org is a organised non profit organisation that allows people to donate funds towards participating at a certain protest. We work in a similar way to charity where by you make donations to us, however you are able to actively be involved in protest for the cost of that donation. Most of the important organised protest occur at events that are during the week. You sign up for a specific protest or event that you wish to make your voice heard at. You pay the fee for the amount of hours you wish to attend, and then our team attend the protest on your behalf, making your presence felt. This can then be monitored by you remotely.
Why we do it? Organised protest is diminishing which is leading to dwindling numbers attending demonstrations. This has meant that protest no longer holds as much political or social influence. Many people share the same ideals as protest groups however lifestyle, personal commitments and a lack of time means they are often unable to show their support. These issues mixed with the social stigma attached to protest, and in particular protesters, mean people often cant or wont attend a protest. We feel that the tradition of protest should not be lost. It is important that we keep a visual presence when we feel passionately about a particular issue. www.payforprotest.org aims to ensure this continues.
Joseph Smith.
Indicator Ideas/ Above: For the person who is doesnt want to outwardly show his support and who likes the sense of espionage and secrecy. He can monitor the protest on his display and when its turned over the object looks ordinary. Right: Representation of minature that changes when your representative gets to the protest. When dormant his placard is down, but when the protest begins his placard is raised.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
PIXEL PROTEST There are currently no laws on projection in the UK. The only relevant legislation is in reference to projection used alongside music, to curb the rave culture during the mid 90’s. Therefore having no restrictions placed upon it theoretically means that projections can occur anywhere. Could projections be used as a form of visual discontent like graffiti. How could a projection represent a protest? Pixel Protest Idea/ Virtually join the protest via Pixel Protests online platform. As more people join the amount of pixels increases the image on the screen becomes clearer. As more and more people join the protest the image depixelates and the message of the protest becomes clearer. This draws from and mimicks the method of chanting at a protest as well as protest itself. As the crowd gathers the message of many slowly builds into one large group or one recurring chant. There needs to be a way to ensure that you need to remain active for the duration of the protest so that you are definitely sacrificing the amount of time. This could be done by; - Tracking through a webcam, - Having to perform a certain task every minute or so - Maintaining a dialogue and discussion with fellow protesters.
First National TV Leaders Debate Visual/
The protest not only shows a visual support or distaste for somthing but also allows the collaborators involved in the protest to share a dialogue and discussion. Could the pixel protest be on your computer screen and somthing physically manifests itself in public? What does this mean for traditional protest, and could this be a tool that works alongside it? This would allow more people to feel more active and show a more active and appropriate respoonse to issues.
Could this be used as a visualisation on which Political Party has the most support? Could it be used as a visual for the General election- which party has the most proportional support? Joseph Smith.
< Stages of a protest. As more and more people join the protest the amount of pixels increase making the message or image clearer and clearer. Therefore people need to remain part of the protest to ensure that the message comes accross clearly. Could you run a series of protests over a day to understand what issues are most emotive to people within the UK? This style of Pixelation is crystalised giving a fairly nice balance between structure and being organic.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Differing styles of Pixelation/ Left: Pointilize style Pixelation more like artwork but gives a very abstract slow reveal, non structured growing organically which could fit well with its appiication as a visualisation of protest. Right: Mosiac style pixelation more structured style of image revelation.
Joseph Smith.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Joseph Smith.
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Fear, Protest and Contol.
Make.
Production phase
Joseph Smith.
m. 07850 025 226 e. joseph@josephsmithdesign.com w. www.josephsmithdesign.com
SWARM. Service Process Diagram.
REQUIRES PHYSICAL MEETINGS
Causes Injustices
SWARM London Travel search..
SWARM Downloading...
Annoyances
Impromptu Protest
15 Matches in area
INVITE TO SWARM
Circumstance
Download the SWARM Application to meet others who support similar causes.
Joseph Smith.
Can arrange impromptu meetings when you have spare time.
Locates people who have similar tags. This is done within 2 mile radius using GPS system.
Accept to SWARM and meet in a central location.
Discuss the issues
Fear, Protest and Contol.
SWARM. Film Scenario One- Photographic Storyboard. Sam and Max free in London, meet to discuss the digitial economy bill and how they can make a positive impact on the issue.
Joseph Smith.
SWARM. Film Scenario Two- Photographic Storyboard. Jon sends out SWARM invitatrion in regards to his annoyance at Londons transport system. Many people feel the same within the square mile so they arrange to meet up at Lunchtime. They hold an impromptu protest.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
SWARM. Local- Regional- National The service can be used to connect with people across different boundaries. SWARM is a location based serviced and therefore is initially perfect for tackling local based issues. This is because local issues can be highlighted, and then addressed as local meetings will be far easier to participate in. People in local areas will have fre time at similar times based on commutes and daily routines.
National Level/ Nationally SWARM can work on two levels. Firstly, when moving around the Country people can open their SWARM application and connect with others who are trying to tackle the same issues elsewhere. Secondly, once over 15 people have met over an issue, webspace is provided to form a group. Groups can locate each other by the issues they are involved in and can liase with one another forming coalitions and sharing ideas on how to tackie issues.
Regional Level/ Depending how large you set the radius for the search, you can connect with people within specified regions. For example if there were specific causes or issues to South Londoners then the service would allow people throughout South London to connect with one another. Local Level/ SWARM is location based, and therefore is perfect to connect with those in your local area, regarding local issues.
Joseph Smith.
Scalability/ Patricia joined SWARM 6 months ago because she was becoming increasingly concerned about the environment. This was highlighted by an increase in fly tipping in her area that she wanted to do somthing about. She opened the application on a Saturday Morning and sent out an invitation. Many people in her local area responded so they met at a nearby coffee shop. They quickly formed a group that met reguarly. Patricia had to go to Sheffield on a training day. On her way home she had 2 hours before her train came. She opens the SWARM application and sees people in the area who had also tagged fly tipping. This had been a problem in Sheffield and a action group had been formed. Patricia meets them at a nearby pub. They exchange ideas and advice on how they are dealing with the problem, and have links with one another which makes their movement stronger. She can then return home to her group and discuss the information shared.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Packages available/
Staff Level/
Price/ - Taken internal pay for protest exam. - Sales/ PR/ Performance background - Degree or higher level education
- Present in Zone 1 throughout. - A written review of the protest that had been attended. - Open communication with your representative throughout the protest. - Documentation in the form of a Photograph provided for your records.
prices based per 4 hours
£39. 99
Package Senior Protester
- Zone 1/2 Guarantee. - Basic Feedback from protester on event. - Open communication with your representative throughout the protest. - Documentation in the form of a Photograph provided for your records.
- Taken internal pay for protest exam. - Educational background or expereince in areas of sales, PR, performance, english etc.
“Mass March” Package
£34. 99 Protester
- Attends protest on your behalf with participation in group dynamic. - Zone 1/2 guarantee.
- Attended 10+ protests.
£19. 99
“Strike” Package Junior Protester
- 6 months- 1 years working expereince
- Attends protest on your behalf with participation in group dynamic. - No Zonal guarantee’s.
£9. 99
“Peaceful” Package Newbie
Joseph Smith.
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TWITTER FEED PAY FOR PROTEST @ STOP THE WAR DEMONSTRATION, MANCHESTER. 12. 05. 2010
May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009
We are pay for protest. We are organisers and innovators of Protest.
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PAY FOR PROTEST MEMBERS CONTIBUTED 10 PROTESTERS TO THE STOP THE WAR Coalitions demonstration today in Manchester. The meeting .........(Read more)
PAY FOR PROTEST Members stage protest against DEBILL, LONDON. 10. 05. 2010
We allow you to be part of causes you believe in from the security of your desk or the comfort of your home.
A purely PAY FOR PROTEST “PROTEST” occured today outside Number 10. 27 PAY FOR PROTEST Members arranged a protest to voice their..... (Read more)
By signing up and donating to support a cause we will then send someone to the protest on your behalf, as a visual representation of your discontent.
PAY FOR PROTEST Needs you!!!! Senior and Entry level opportunities. PAY FOR PROTEST have opportunities for both senior and entry level positions. If your are interested, articulate and organised please send a CV........... (Read more)
PAY FOR PROTEST @ Friends of the Earth March, LONDON. 08. 05. 2010
We believe everyone should have the freedom to express their views, but we also understand that your lifestyle and commitments often mean you cant support the causes you want to.
PAY FOR PROTEST MEMBERS CONTIBUTED 10 PROTESTERS TO THE Friends of the Earth March today in London. The meeting was attended .........(Read more)
We believe that a presence on the streetis the most visible sign of discontent, and essentail to ensure we can affect issues. The image of an army of pay for protesters on the streets is not an image that can be ignored.
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Set up account Packages available
Packages Available/ Available to all registered users.
Step 1/ Set up an account online by hitting the Join the Revolution tab at the bottom of the page.
Package
Step 2/ Upload personal identification (Passport/ Drivers license) as well as a proof of address.
Step 3/ Start Protesting, search causes, add suggestions and join the online community.
Join today and recieve £30 worth of travel vouchers from Thomas cook.
Blog/ Community
TWITTER FEED
TWITTER FEED Joining the easier.
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“Mass March” Package
- Present in Zone 1 throughout. - A written review of the protest that had been attended. - Open communication with your representative throughout the protest. - Documentation in the form of a Photograph provided for your records.
- Zone 1/2 Guarantee. - Basic Feedback from protester on event. - Open communication with your representative throughout the protest. - Documentation in the form of a Photograph provided for your records.
“Strike” Package
- Attends protest on your behalf with participation in group dynamic. - Zone 1/2 guarantee.
“Peaceful” Package
- Attends protest on your behalf with participation in group dynamic. - No Zonal guarantee’s.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Joseph Smith.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Joseph Smith.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
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Fear, Protest and Contol.
Joseph Smith.
IF YOU STAND UP.
WE WILL STAND OUT.
JOIN THE REVOLUTION Fear, Protest and Contol.
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Talk.
Evaluation, Reflection and Analysis
Joseph Smith.
m. 07850 025 226 e. joseph@josephsmithdesign.com w. www.josephsmithdesign.com
Find/ The starting point or the project was based on an article I had found about protest being restricted within London, and also other areas. This was also in the aftermath of the G20 Protests in London where groups of protesters were contained, and one was killed. The issues surrounding the subject were interesting. I did some initial research into the background of protest and its history in order to get a flavour for it. It immediately seemed that there were varying levels of protest and personal sacrifice. It also was immediately apparent that many protest strategies hadn’t changed for hundreds of years. I also found it interesting that protest could be group actions like Marches or strikes. However they could also be personal in the form of complaint letters or even making conscious decisions not to buy a certain brand of toilet roll. I was also aware that I was conducting the project against a backdrop of “Voter disengagement” and especially young people seemingly being disconnected with political opinion, which is synonymous with the protest movement. I felt that some very early engagement with people was key. Protest by its very nature is an extremely people centred process and therefore it was important to understand the people who were protesting and those that weren’t, and current issues surrounding the subject. So I arranged to attend a protest in London on a Saturday. The protest was arranged by “Photographer not a terrorist”. I spent the first half of my time observing the protest and then the other talking to people about why they were there. I got some interesting initial insights. This informed my understanding of how protest worked, and also really changed my idea of what protest was, and who protesters were, having been such a range of people there. It was a good idea to also go to some based during the week to see how the crowd perhaps differed, if at all. There were differences between the people at the two protests. During the weekday protest many people had made a decision to go and be late for work, or had travelled. It had also started at 8AM so had rearranged their time schedules to get there. It also seemed less light hearted and fun, and much more focused and serious. The people there seemed more active and ore professional and co-ordinated. It also seemed that many people were cautious about getting to involved in protest. Personal and family commitments, as well as employment status were all mentioned at the Saturday protest as a reason they were unable to do more than they had hoped. They were effectively weekend protesters, where the forcefulness of the protests are often less dramatic. I decided to attend the protest organised for the Afghanistan War Joseph Smith.
Comitee in London. I wanted to really experience the protest this time. I also asked two people who had never been to a protest before to attend, so they could reflect on there experience.
At the same time was looking more widely at the trend of restrictions. Based on initial starting point and photographer not a terrorist protest. Media and Government (Control Techniques)
I provided them with disposable cameras and also a list of categories to base their photos on. We then met up afterwards to discuss the experience. They explained that the idea of protest was foreign to them, and that they weren’t sure how to protest, what to do! Also they admitted it had been a uncomfortable experience. The most interesting insights really came from Sam, 24, camera. Under fears he had photographed his tub of hair wax, and his white trainers. When asked why this had been a fear, he said because he was worried about what to wear, and how to look. The protesters at this event differed from those at the Saturday one I had been to. They were more dedicated and “professional”. Many worked for organisations and charities in this sector, or had political affiliations.
I then went to Bournemouth University to meet Professor Jon Mcgreggor in order to discuss what I understood and also to get his insight on these subjects. We spent the afternoon dividing the tactics used in to categories and methods, and then dividing the techniques used into these sections. We then discussed ideas relating to new media and its effect on journalism and news broadcast. It was extremely useful and rewarding exercise as it filled in a lot of detail and provided interesting angles that I may not have thought of. The restrictions placed on people through a sense of alertism and fear I found an intriguing subject matter. I was reading the book “Panic-ology” and this provided many ideas of fears, and the differences between rational and irrational fears.
Also I documented through photographs the growth and process of the protest, and then mapped this out onto graphs to see any patterns that emerged. Most protests seemed to be zonal, in the sense that they could be broken up into three separate zones. These zones were based on levels of activity. The front centre obviously being the most active.
Looking at othger areas where people are restricted was also important. I looked into restrictions in Iran and how people get around this in the form of graffiti on bank notes.
I then decided to design some packs to distribute at a protest to gain an understanding of peoples feelings about protests that I perhaps couldn’t get through speaking to them.
The ideas of protest becoming a more online activity I found particuarly interesting, as it had two very conflicting scenarios. On the one hand online or virtual protest seemed a dramatically strong tool, as it was novel and innovative. Especially in its use within virtual online communities, it had to this point been very effective.
The probes consisted of a camera, pen, form, and a stamped address envelope. The camera was reappropriated and the packaging changed in order to list categories for the photos on the back. The categories were left deliberately abstract to ensure there was enough room for interpretation and some interesting results.
However on the flip side of that the ease at which someone could support a cause, sign a petition, or make complaints meant that forums and social networks were saturated with these groups.
The results proved really useful, especially combined with earlier first hand research at earlier protests. Characters were starting to emerge, which could then be used to create scenarios around.
There was no real sacrifice as time was not need This meant that although the groups were large often they had no political or social sway, and also having no sense of activism about them. They were often fairly dormant groups purely confined to the online community.
These insights proved really useful. The reasons why some people are so engaged and others are not was interesting. I found that the people who were perhaps less politically engaged needed some way of communicating and creating a more instant protest, designed around there lifestyles etc in order to get them initial politically or socially active.
The positives of the internet were that they offered excellent communication and organisation opportunities, so how could this be brought within the physical environment to make it easy for people to be active on causes they felt strongly about.
It would have been really useful to repeat the process again and to collate larger amount of results, perhaps organising more people who hadn’t been to protest before. Although I got some extremely unexpected and interesting insights from this process many of the pictures taken were less serious than I would have hoped for, or were a bit to practical.
Bridging this gap between the digital and physical worlds I found particularly interesting and was something I wanted to explore further. .
I left the categories fairly abstract and perhaps if I was to do this again I would rethink the categories slightly.
Play/ It was important to initially get the critical theoretical research out in some form of designed objects or scenarios very quickly. This was to show the way my ideas were heading, and also where the project could progress towards. I focused my idea’s down to a range of topics and scenarios from research. These were the media, protest/ virtual protest and the idea of irrational vs rational fears. I then developed three ideas, one for each of these topics to begin to start a discussion with others about these ideas. The three ideas were, good morning printer, fear monitors, and paying for protest. These exercises really helped me to focus my thoughts into product outcomes and show how the research was being applied into possible outcomes. After deliberation and consultation with others the focus was on developing ideas around protest. The reason I chose to develop the protest ideas further as opposed to the others was that I felt that I could bring more to the subject having detailed research in this area, and also felt that the projects I was picturing the development moving into would bring something new to design projects based on the idea of protest. Found from the research that protest is an important activity. However, it seemed that the medium used to facilitate protest was wrong and wasn’t aligned with 21st century lifestyle where things are less structured because of mobile communication. I created a set of criteria that my research and design exercises up to that point. These were; - Sacrifice - Connectivity (with others) - instantaneous - Engagement These were areas that any ideas had to address in some way. At the same time I was looking for metaphors in other areas such as nature in order to try and draw further inspiration. I felt it was important to keep the expansion of the project at this point to allow ideas to not be discarded to early.
idea I was very interested in. The idea is that you would join an online protest. This protest would be visualised through projection in real world high profile locations. As there are no laws on projection in the UK I thought this could be nice guerilla style project. As you sign up for a protest you are represented by a pixel. The more people that sign up the clearer the picture, and therefore the clearer the message becomes. This means that a virtual protest is being brought into the physical environment, and also means that people are required to maintain there presence (sacrificing time) to ensure the message is clear and gets across. From building a flash animation of how this would work, I found that this style of visualisation is really exciting and the metaphor works well. However I didn’t feel that this was the way the project should go as it didn’t seem to cover all the points I wanted to address and also didn’t really provoke much thought. I did however think that it could be used as a way to visualise the polls in the election on election night. I think this could be a very nice information aesthetic. The process I was going through by this point was really different in comparison to that I had been through before. I was developing large numbers of ideas and getting bogged down in creating multiple ideas. The ideas I was having were multi facetted and it wasn’t appropriate to communicate them through hand drawn sketches and diagrams. It was important to communicate the concepts and ideas through more detailed developments to show how the ideas could be implemented, Therefore I took the ideas that I had generated around my criteria and began to look to prototype each idea to a higher standard so that each idea was up to a point where it could be critiqued. I created computer visuals and animations for some ideas to test how well they would work, and with others story boarded scenarios of the people that would use them. The two projects I then focused on were “Pay For Protest”, and SWARM, a political networking service. They were quite different projects than I had done before, one being all serviced based, and the other being a more critical reflective research project. This meant I had to learnt new and existing techniques in order to develop and present the projects.
Through playing around with some ideas and sketching out concepts and diagrams of how things could work came up with a set of criteria or topics within the idea of protest today.
“Pay for Protest” was a service but the its inception was to get a response and ask a question, more than provide an answer. Through the research it was clear that many people had the same ideals as many protesters. However they were either embarrassed or scared to attend protests. How could they get their voices heard? Also many of these people gave to charity or supported causes financially.
I was excited about the ideas around virtual protest and how this could manifest itself within the physical environment. Pixel protest was one
Therefore why couldn’t you pay for protest? How this effected the idea of protest? How would people take to the
service, and how would protesters react to this service. Is time more disposable than money, and is it always appropriate. Would it have a positive impact? Is it just about having as many bodies for a physical presence on our streets, or is it about an individuals personal sacrifice. Is money now more disposable to many than time? I knew I would have to build this project so that it seemed real in order to get the feedback that I wanted. I found this notion really exciting and interesting and began to devise ways in which I could gain the feedback I wanted and provoke a response. I thought that I could create a company that offered this Pay for protest service. I could devise all aspects of it like a real company, a real service, and then attend protests as a staff member. This way I could gauge protesters reactions, and also try and canvas more widespread opinions. The other project SWARM was a political networking application that would tackle the structure of protest and political “slacktivism” by connecting people instantly for more impromptu meetings, allowing them to engage with others who supported or opposed similar causes.
Make/ SWARM/ SWARM is a political networking service and a tool for impromptu protest. As the outcome is a service it was obviously multi- facetted idea with a number of applications. It was important to understand and develop the ideas I had for the service into an understandable model in order to move forward. Therefore I began to plot out how the service would work through a series of diagrams, and through using post it notes to organise all my thoughts from the play stage. It was a good way to build a structure around a lot of ideas and create a frame work for the SWARM service. Once I had the basis of the service structure, it was then about making the service understandable for people. I sketched out a range of potential scenarios using storyboards. These stories were honed down and developed until I was left with three strong stories that described the key attributes of the service, and also about the people and situations that were highlighted through the research. I then wanted to use these storyboards to create a short film that explains the service in full. I also plotted out the storyboards through a series of application screens that would be used to connect with each other. Therefore I began to plan and sketch out the shots and footage that I wanted to get again using storyboards but with far more annotation based on the nature of the shots. The first day of filming although ok, I didn’t feel was high enough quality. Fear, Protest and Contol.
This was primarily because we kept getting moved for filming using a tripod, and also because the camera I was using wasn’t of a high enough quality. This first experience was essential as I began to understand what shots worked and which didn’t. It also became clear that the quality of the camera I was using wasn’t good enough. I therefore went about hunting down a camera that films in HD. It also gave me the time to detail the service application screen shots a bit more and make them more graphically clear and understandable. Organising a number of people to be in the same place, at the same time was extremely difficult. At many stages throughout this project it felt more like a project management exercise rather than a design project. I do now see that these experiences would have improved my organisational skills, and I can see that reflected in the later stages of the projects. The second day of filming went a lot better as I had an idea of the shots that worked with the stills. Therefore the process was far quicker. Now I had this basis for the short video I was able to think of other scenarios and begin to storyboard the story in terms of shots and camera movement. This was far more detailed and meant that I knew exactly what I needed to shoot. I arranged to visit a friends office space and used people I knew as the workers using the service. I knew from the first scenario that the “impromptu protest” shots were the most difficult as they required congregating a large amount of people. Therefore I improvised and found a spot outside a pub in the city where large numbers of people congregated after work. I arranged to meet the actors there and then took stills of this large crowd. I was then able to Photoshop out any glasses etc and had a good sense of a congregation of people. The voice over was then recorded by a voice over artist I had seen advertised. I wanted to use voice over as I felt it was a good way to tell a story. I also knew that it meant the actors didn’t need dialogue and therefore there was little risk of it not being believable.
In order for the company to seem realistic I needed to think about the direction that the company was coming from. Why it was established, what exactly it offered, and how it was implemented. The way I went about working these details out was through working out a number of scenarios in sketch format, often in the form of storyboards. I also plotted out and brainstormed everything I thought needed to be covered. This helped me begin to build a picture of how the company would operate and then I could start to work out the details, such as the add on features, the packages available, and any objects the staff would have. I also had to think about how I wanted to test the idea. What would be the best way for me to get real life feedback, whilst reducing the risk to myself and my volunteers. I considered acting as charity employees do and trying to get people to sign up in the street and getting feedback that way. However I knew that this could be problematic as many people don’t like talking to them anyway, and also they are usually standard charitable organisations and therefore a new name would perhaps make people suspicious. Therefore I decided the best way would be to attend protests as staff members of the company. We would go on the basis that someone had paid for us to be there. This way we would just be innocent workers from this company- just employees- and therefore in no way at fault. It would also allow me the distance from the company to get honest feedback. As I wasn’t an owner etc it allowed me a chance to get peoples honest opinions. Therefore it was essential that the back story of the company was clear and concise. Therefore a manifesto, job advert, application form, and a terms and conditions were written in order to clarify the thoughts and ideas of the company into a manageable format. This meant that others could also easily understand and master the spiel and we could attend as a group. Physical/
PAYFORPROTEST.
In order for the company to seem realistic enough for people to question its existence it was important to create a professional look.
The preparation and making of PAY FOR PROTEST was slightly different. With this project I wasn’t necessarily trying to prove the idea. I was trying
Therefore creating a identity for the company that ran from the logo through to the uniforms was essential.
to get the idea to a stage where it seemed realistic enough to convince people.
LOGO/
Therefore there were many things that needed to be considered. These could be split into theoretical and physical attributes. Theoretical/ Joseph Smith.
When designing the logo I looked at traditional protest iconography and also the objects used within protest. One thing that immediately stood out was the graphic style of placards, and in particular the Ban the Bomb iconography. Therefore I reinterpreted this iconography for the pay for protest logo placing the symbol for the dollar in the traditional circle so it extended to the edges.
Advertisement Posters/ I was able to get a number of good photographs that could then be used to create a series of adverts. These adverts took the aesthetic of charity adverts; asking rhetorical questions, dramatic aesthetic, and simple plain colours used with black and white. I also wanted to ensure that the project gained attention within exhibition space. Therefore I wanted to present the project in a slightly weird, sinister sense. This was people would be able to engage with the project, and then hopefully begin to ask themselves these questions. These adverts I feel were successful. PAYFORPROTEST Objects/ During the design of the companies products I had the idea that the customers could purchase add ons. These add ons were to make your voice heard more clearly at the protests. The objects were intended to be conversation pieces aiming to create interest around the project. It was important that the project had some presence within an exhibition environment. I designed a range of these objects based on traditional protest equipment. Designing products that were made by this company wouldn’t have made sense to the project, Therefore I opted to create tools for the staff based on aspects of the service they could provide. The one that was taken forward and developed fully was the megaphone attachment. This was because it seemed apt that you would sell add ons that would make your message louder and clearer. I modelled it in the sense that it would be attached to the phone. So the messages could be read out as they came through, or the megaphone would project the messages as a sound. Experience Prototyping/ The way I then decided to test and trial the idea was through experience prototyping (attending the protests as a member of staff.) I had roped in a colleague and prepared them a uniform. As this was over the May Day bank holiday there were many protests on. On the Monday there was one that was highlighted on the Metropolitan Police website. This was the only one I could find online that day. On the Met Webpage however there was no information on what the protest was for.
When we arrived we discovered it was a protest by families who’s relatives had been killed by gun or knife crime. This posed a dilemma. We didn’t feel comfortable, and felt it would be disrespectful to trial the idea at this protest. This did however made me think how would the staff member feel about this. Would they feel comfortable attending? We quickly assessed
though that if someone who had been personally effected by this issue had paid for us to be there because they were infirm, to traumatised, or just were away then we would have felt far more comfortable about it, if not proud to be there. Luckily there were a large range of other protests going on in London City centre. Therefore we attended some of these. Many people didn’t seem to bat an eyelid, there were only a few disparaging remarks. I also contacted a charity policy writer who gave me some critical reflection based on her wealth of experience inside charities. “Just in terms of the project itself, I think it sounds really great. There’s a lot I love about it - Rob was telling me about it in more detail on the train tonight. One thing I think you’re to be commended for as a designer is that you’ve innovated on a production process (if we accept that political protest is a product, certainly it’s been commodified) and in doing so accepted that that process is both the real product for most people who put their resources into it and also monstrously inefficient for their purposes. That is to say we (as charities) have become entirely professionally staffed, and have built business models which allow people to buy a slice of a protest movement with as little as £2. We even offer monthly installments. That is going halfway to saying that as a society we find it acceptable to outsource our conscience and reduce social action to the same process as buying a block of cheddar or a new kettle. What your project does is offer the consumer unparalleled choice and control over that protest but with the minimum of discomfort, embarrassment or reputational risk. This is the excellent design I was talking about; as it stands customer service is pretty damn poor in the charitable industry, and since emotional relief is the product you’re buying, that makes for a damn poor product too. Because charity is an industrial sector, even if we don’t want to talk about it. I wish you the best of luck with it! It really made me think, and giggle to myself a bit.” Rosie Anderson, Policy Writer.
Evaluation: SWARM/
organising and arranging protest over the internet from your computer isn’t even necessary. The rigidity and structure of traditional protest doesn’t fit in with many peoples lives. Also when it is only a small minority who sacrifice a lot, including employment, who protest it makes it easier for them to be mocked or ridiculed as crazy or militant. When there are many groups, with working professionals from all sorts of backgrounds it is harder to dismiss their concerns. It is important for people to be able to contribute, not only because protest is an important activity, but also it acts as a great leveller. Attending a protest you immediately know that others there have a similar interest. This means there is no need for an icebreaker and you are able to converse with one another. If SWARM is used purely as a way to meet and discuss political and social issues then I still feel that it is successful as providing people with an outlet to voice opinions, and discuss and debate with others promotes objectivity and perspective. In order to connect with one another SWARMers have to meet in person. The reason they are unable to connect until they do so is it Making that sacrifice of time to meet up can lead to better connections and more meaningful connections. Therefore there is a better chance of people acting on these meetings, rather than joining an online petition and never having to act. SWARM doesn’t create protest or activism. It empowers people with the tools they need to connect with others who feel the same, and gives them a platform on which to form active groups. It gives them the opportunity to fit this around their lifestyle and make use of their available time. PAYFORPROTEST/ This project has been challenging, thought provoking and particularly interesting for me. Undertaking a project of this nature I found a very different experience than other projects I haver done. Picking up on trends through the research, both first hand and second hand, I felt that there were a lot of issues within protest and charity that had made me question my own attitudes towards these subjects. This led me to want to get a better understanding and to hear other perspectives on these issues. A project that opened these subjects up to others I thought would be an interesting angle.
SWARM political networking takes modern communication technologies and applies them to political based networking.
Trying to create a project that challenges people and potentially asks questions, rather than solving problems was a new area of work and a chance to experiment. It allowed me to use my design skills and techniques in a different way.
New technologies, especially mobile communication technologies allow people to connect instantaneously whilst on the move. This means that
I was interested in exploring the interactions we have with causes and how we support or oppose causes we care about. From my initial research it was clear that time had become in many cases a more valuable
commodity than money. It was easier for If you supported causes then perhaps you should donate time to that cause. You should do However what was also clear through the research is that many people didn’t feel able to attend protests or rallies. They felt uncomfortable or embarrassed. For many people work, familiy and personal commitments just meant it wasn’t possible, despite many having the same ideals as many protesters. What happens to these people? Do they not get to have their say? Charity in many senses has become an industry. They are paying people to promote their cause on the streets in the form of charity workers trying to sign people up on the streets. They have defined business models and are run like large corporations, with CEO’s earning enormous sums of money, and employing specific types of people to perform roles. Therefore is there a difference if a company did the same thing. In many senses there are examples of this occuring already in the form of product endorsement. Companies pay people to endorse products and services that they perhaps don’t use or believe in. They support these companies causes and campaigns because they receive financial incentives to do so. Is it different when your donation doesn’t disappear, but is represented on the streets of towns and cities. PAYFORPROTEST is not focused on any particular cause. Nor does it discriminate against any particular cause. Its purpose is to allow people to pay to get there presence felt or their message across within the public physical environment. It allows people the feeling of more activity without actually making them become more active. The project aims to create a discussion around the nature of personal activism, personal sacrifice The project will continue in the form of experience prototyping and critical feedback.
Fear, Protest and Contol.
Joseph Smith.
Bibliography. Books. - Panic-ology,(2008) Briscoe and Aldersley Williams, Penguin Books - Design Research, Methods and Perspectives - Risk. - The Wisdom of Crowds, (2004) James Surowiecki, Abacus
Film. - We are the people weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been waiting for, Daryl Goodrich, 2009 - In the Loop, Armando Iannucci, 2009 - Thank you for smoking, Jason Reitman, 2005 - Us now, Ivo Gormley, April 2009.
Events/ Shows. -PlayMakers Screening, Nesta, London. 31.03.2010
Internet. - The Love Police, www.cveitch.org/wordpress/ - NLP, www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTIw7FEg85E - IBM Protest Group, http://ibmslprotest.blogspot.com/ - SL Protest, http://gigaom.com/2008/10/30/protest-threatens-lindenlabs-profitability/ - http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/evgeny_morozov_is_the_internet_what_orwell_feared.html - http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history.html -http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/oct/31/guardiansocietysupplement.voluntarysector
Fear, Protest and Control.