Digital exproration Opportunities of current graphic designers
Social design
Unbeaten personal project
Typography
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Information environment and branding
Unbeaten process of summer project 2015
“She could just pack up and leave, but she does not visualize what’s beyond ahead.” Núria Añó
Michaela Vildova VIL14421208 August 2015
Unbeaten research and process of summer project August 2015 by Michaela Vildova
CONTENTS
Unbeaten Summer project 2015 Michaela Vildova VIL14421208 GMD ě2
thevidlis.wordpress.com
Introduction Specialist areas 01. Digital exploration 5 02. Social design 8 03. Information Environments and Branding 10 04. Typography 13 Unbeaten Teoretic Research 18 Outcome Production process 20 Conclusion 24 Bibliography 23
Digital Exploration
Digital working methods of graphic design by Michaela Vildova
Working methods of graphic designers significantly evolved with the introduction of technological advancements. In 1950’ and 1960’s computers began to be marketed to business users and introduced the proliferation of new design techniques. By 1962 the use of new technologies facilitated a more systematic method of design, which attracted more users. Computers therefore inevitably entered the world of arts. Unlike the previous generation designers currently have unprecedented access to digital technology . Digital technology is practically used in every form of personal electronics such as smartphones, however the most practical device is the computer where designers can create, erase, manipulate and experiment with design. The computer software company Adobe historically focused upon the creation of multimedia and creativity software products and moved the creative field forward by providing software products such as best known Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and may other professional applications to create images.
This essay will investigate the nature of work of graphic designers now and in the past. A short study of the origins of computers will introduce the topic followed by a brief history of how computer generated design was developed. I shall look into what exactly is the role of the graphic designer with relation to the usage of computer technology. Also, the nature of ‘graphic designer today’ will be studied and compared with the areas of graphic design in previous eras. Secondly, different design technologies will be explored. This essay will explore how these technologies are used and what benefits there are from using them over traditional and established methods. Thirdly, the arguments for and against the use of technology will be considered while concluding remarks will address whether technology is a necessity or a luxury. 5
Because of the technology, we have the opportunity to become really important. We don’t need publishes anymore to do this. Just look at the Web designers, they can single-handedly reach the world eventually withfull-motion video and stereo sound. We can do this for free; we can all do it at home, not only designers, but also everybody else in the world. So I am exited by this because I am hoping that people are going to be serious enough to not be constantly in search of something that’s just cool, but to be in search of ideas that can eventually begin to fill these huge empty vessels of technology.
Digital Exploration
There are literally endless possibilities of what a good and talented designer can use programs such as these for. There are other computer programs, each of them specific for particular fields of design. For example the desktop publishing software application Adobe InDesing is also produced by Adobe Systems. This program can be used to create brochures, books and layouts of periodical publications as it supports different features, especially typographic. There are many application which can be used on laptops and macs. All applications have simple interfaces and their workings can be easily mastered by enthusiastic people with a good education.
Steven Heller and Elinor Pettit
There are many benefits in using digital technology instead of more traditional methods. The opportunity of using digital cameras, printers and scanners which can be easily plugged into the computer give designers infinite possibilities. Also the impact of digital revolution has profoundly affected ways of printing.
I feel the development of digital technology is a great aspect of graphic design. As computer applications become more developed, it is to shift the focus of the designer’s work from mechanical tasks to the development of their creativity. Computer applications shorten the time spent between the inception of ideas and their realisation. However, technological advancement transformed computers into intelligent machines that are capable of a certain degree of autonomous thought, which provokes another debate, namely whether the importance of the designer as the creator of visual ideas is decreasing.
Technology has given not just professional graphic designers and students in education the chance to express themselves in various ways, but it has given an option for anybody around the world who is interested in design to get themselves known. 6
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as their means of presentation.
Lucy Kimbell designer, researcher and educator on social innovation and social venturing
Activist people are part of the social design process as they seek to create positive change of social, political, economic, or environmental issues. There are many varieties of activism from peaceful protests to violent attacks however I believe activism as a movement is an important part of social design.
Social Design In today’s times, public discourse is dominated by economic ideology. Social values and environmental considerations are often disregarded in favor of profit-oriented decision making. Historically, design has often taken on the role of a service provider to corporate clients, further advancing private interests. With the continuous erosion of common social values, it is the responsibility of designers to assume a different role in order to advance the cause of overall societal well-being.
more sustainable world or for human well-being, others refer to a process where social design is rooted in a participatory or human-centered design processes. One of the dimension of social design in modern Western society focuses on graphic designer’s power. Victor Papanek’s idea of responsible social design (graphic designers are responsible to use design as a communication tool for people’s needs rather than what they want) is something what social design is built on. Responsible design includes many directions from the socio-spatial conditions to environmental issues.
Social design is a professional contribution that plays an important part in global economic development. Good social design should be capable of impacting the environment and society we live in. Social change is any alteration in the cultural, structural, population, or ecological characteristics of a social system. Design as a discipline is producing objects, infrastructure and services that produce change in the way we experience the world around us. Social design is used interchangeably amongst different disciplines, some use it as design for a better and 8
“ There are now several initiatives in the UK and internationally in which design-based approaches are being used to support innovation and improvement in public services and tackling Shepard Fairey social problems,” One of the aims of social design in modern Western society is the responsibility for Third World countries. In this particular countries lies hope held by Westerners that they will avoid design faults and opt for socially useful products. Nigel Whiteley, a theorist who in the past have explored the concept of ‘Socially Responsible Design’, has written: ‘Third World Countries- almost by definition- are characterised by scarcity rather than surplus and merely owning a product ought, therefore, to matter more to people than it’s particular make or styling.’ (Whiteley. N, 1993, p119)
designer, researcher and educator on social innovation and social venturing
says Lucy Kimbell, who started as head of social design at the Young Foundation in January last year Victor Margolin, a social designer and educator, explained in `The Politics of the Artificial`, a text on social design development studies that “designer’s ability to envision and give form on material and immaterial products that can address human problems on broad scale and contribute to social well-being.” Charities, aid donations and other help activities are closely connected with social design process but do not have to necessarily use social design 9
Works of Shepard Fairey, a social activist designer are characteristic of this movement as well as interesting for using a variety of techniques and media. The world-known graphic designer and illustrator states was an experiment in Phenomenology. The aim of Phenomenology is to create a sense of wonder about one’s environment as well as increase the awareness of something that might not be so immediately clear, for example the trendy and consumptive nature of society.
enough to capture ones attention while passing on the information at the same time, which implies the branding has to be simple yet capturing.
branded products, which brings us to the topic of design and information environments.
Information Environment and Branding The power of design lies in its form of a medium through which a brand identity is being presented to the end consumer through the use of different creative tools. Design essentially gives a face and form to a brand.
Design can be applied to a never ending list of objects such as books, public transport, flyers, furniture, billboards etc. in order to give a face to a specific company or group of products. The one thing that connects different types of environments is the potential to convey a given message to the end consumer. The way he picks his means and methods depends on the brand image as well as on how the consumer interacts with the 10
Thinking in terms of information environments can be very useful for a designer in order to maximize their impact on the audience when creating a brand identity. In order to be successful, a designer should not be naïve enough to think his raw idea will be so amazing that it will capture the attention of the audience wherever it is used. Today’s world is so full of different sensory perceptions that compete for the audience’s attention. This is why it is necessary to think about different platforms through which brands target the audience and take advantage of their comparative strengths and avoid their weaknesses in order to be one step ahead of the competition.
First of all, I will try to come up with a definition of information environments. I will use the example of designing advertisements of a branded product to demonstrate what I understand information environments to be and then I will expand on why I consider important using this concept in my creative process. Let’s take the example of a supermarket advertising new products. This information will be aimed to reach the largest possible number of customers, which means it will have to be advertised in a number of environments – TV, radio, flyers, billboards. Each of these environments presents a different type of interaction with the customer and engages different senses – TV combines picture and sound, whereas a flyer has to attract one’s attention as it’s usually handed out on a busy street full of other sensory stimulants. Billboards require the information to capture ones attention and to be understandable in a split second as the consumer probably does not stare a billboard for much longer. Hence, a TV advert will probably have to contain moving images that are synchronized with positive sensational sounds and the branding has to enable such flexibility. A billboard will have to be simple yet smart and original 11
Typography “ Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind. “ Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
It’s everywhere. In stores, on public transport, on buses and products. Typography is being used in nearly every form of advertising as well as design. We are currently accustomed to a variety of letterforms with more than ten thousands of font available.
Typography as craft with a long history existed since the dawn of writing. However, it is considered to have begun in 15th century with Gutenberg and the development of the moveable type. Typography encompasses everything from calligraphy through digital type such as type on Web pages. It is defined as an art and technique of arranging type to best achieve the desired visual effect laid out on a page and to best convey the meaning of the reading matter.
According to Peter Bilak, the Slovakian graphic and typefacer designer, typography creates 95% of design as it uses typeface as a means of communication. Typography is part of our everyday lives, our habits as well as major part of our education. It’s obvious that typography IS everywhere. In addition, the evolution of typography is inextricably intertwined with lettering by hand and related art forms, especially formal styles, which thrived for centuries preceding typography,[32] and so the evolution of typography must be discussed with reference to this relationship. 12
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Elements of Good Typography
“ Science is not a believe system, it is a rigorous process of inquiry. That is what science is about; it is about checking. “
Consistency – in any typographical work the consistent use of typefaces, kerning, leading, bullets and formatting is critical. Consistency makes the work look professional and keeps your readers focused on the content and not the formatting. Hierarchy – it is important that your text gets read in the order that it’s meant to be read in. Take a book for consideration; the title is the first thing a reader sees, then the author’s name, followed by the chapters and then the story. Hierarchy intentionally guides the reader through the content. Often with best selling authors, their name will appear larger or the same size as the title of the book. This is because the designer is aware the author has an existing fan base that will be interested in the book regardless of the title and will most likely pick it up for that very reason. Alignment – Alignment helps keep the look of a piece unified. A flush left or flush right alignment gives the piece a stronger edge line for the viewer’s eye to follow. It also tends to give a more sophisticated look than a centered alignment, which is often the choice of typography novices. Designers should also carefully consider the relative importance of each elements in a design when establishing a visual hierarchy. Visual hierarchy is defined as an arrangement of elements in a graduated series. Its important that the “parts” which need the most attention are prominent by following rules of similarity, closure and proximity. I believe that the principle of similarity is key. Hence, similarity of elements on every page demonstrate professionalism as well the personality and style of a graphic designer.
Digital age opened up typography to new generations of visual designers and lay users, and David Jury, Head of Graphic Design at Colchester Institute in England, states that “typography is now something everybody does.” For a graphic designer is important to understand the psychological effect it has in relation to conveying a message. It is crucial to follow several components that make up the art of typography and make the whole process of understanding and comprehending information effortless. 14
Typographers
Milton Glaser is one of the world’s most celebrated graphic designers. His most famous work is undoubtedly the logo he designed for New York to promote tourism in the city in 1977 Much copied, much used and much adored, the ‘I love New York’ logo is set in American Typewriter, a rounded slab serif. Its simplicity makes it appealing to a wide spectrum of audience of different tastes and backgrounds.
Milton Glaser Graphic designer
Wim Crouwel is a Dutch graphic designer and typographic artist most well-known for his typeface design called ‘New Alphabet’ which he created in 1967. The typeface was designed in such a way to make it represent the limitations of the cathode ray tube technology used in early typesetting equipment. This technology limited the process of recreating type and so the typeface Crouwel created is entirely made up of only straight lines, 45 degree and 90-degree angles. This makes it fairly hard to read which was the main criticism from the design community at the time of its creation, however it was designed with aesthetic and theory in mind and was never intended to be used as a functioning typeface due to its illegibility. As a display typeface it is very impressive, especially on bold coloured backgrounds, and reading it provides you with an interesting challenge, which makes it somewhat interactive as well as attractive.
Wim Crouwel Typographic artist
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Unbeaten Initially I will explain what domestic violence is through research and case studies. Further, the topic will be treated with regard to design including the introduction of most famous designers treating this topic. Since this project is done under the framework of digital exploration, I will explain how I made my short videoclip in Adobe Aftereffects. This was the first time I used the programme, hence I will explain my method and how this process artistically enriched me. Further, the descrioption should also discuss the desired social impact of the piece.
The project is constructed to combine social design and digital exploration, which are two specialist areas discussed on previous pages. This paper describes the causes and effects of domestic violence with a number of facts and studies as well as with some of my personal opinions. 17
Domestic violence is a behavior pattern, which involves violence or other kinds of abuse by a person against others in a domestic setting taking place in heterosexual or same-sex relationships. Globally, female partners are more commonly victims, although not exclusively as males can also be affected. However, according to research cases of domestic violence against women are reported to authorities more often than those against men because of social norms and pressure, as males are more likely to face social stigmatizing with regard to their perceived lack of machismo. Globally, domestic abuse has a negative effect on the economy due to the amount of costs to services such as the Criminal Justice System, health and social services. According to Sylvia Walby, the cost of domestic violence is estimated at £18.7 billion a year.
Domestic Violence Domestic violence is a major problem that shouldn’t be over looked. This social issue has been recognized as a serious global problem, which has a harmful effect on individuals as well as on family members, communities and nations as a whole.
Traditionally, domestic violence is mostly associated with physical violence involving contact intended to cause injury, pain or other physical suffering. It involves hitting, punching, choking and other types of contact that result in physical injury to the victim.
A billboard by Barbara Kruger, part of Liz Claiborne, Inc.`s campaign to promote awareness about violence against women
abuse. It`s another kind of domestic violence and it can increase into physical abuse. People experiencing domestic violence are monitored, controlled how much finance they spend, isolated from friends, work or school and also humiliated by the abuser. A different type of physical domestic violence can include physical injury caused to another person intended to cause emotional harm to the victim. The target can be a child, who gets threatened or harmed by the abuser to make the victim to do what he/she wants in particular situation or relationship. Around 1 in 5 children have been experienced domestic violence and more than 130,000 children live in households with high-risk of domestic abuse. Children can be affected emotionally, which can cause behavioral problems in further stages of their lives.The victim might not necessarily be hurt physically, but attempts to control, threaten and isolate also count as
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Another type of domestic violence is sexual abuse, when force is used to obtain participation on unwanted sexual activity. Domestic violence has many forms and all have a common pattern of abusive behavior. Women abused by their partners find it hard to abandon a relationship as the abuser makes them feel sorry for themselves or promises that it will never happen again. That is the reason why many victims will not report abuse. However help line services for people abused in domestic setting receive more than 1.6 million reports in year just in UK. Yet it is only in the last ten years that it has been taken seriously as a criminal justice issue. I believe the high number of victims experienc-
ing domestic abuse in the past two years is showing a lack of education on these matters leading to dismal ignorance by the wider population. One of the artists using design against domestic violence is the American conceptual artist Barbara Kruger. Her Public Service Announcement addresses many issues of social problems such as feminism and cultural constructions of power as well as domestic violence. Her method is to appropriate images from mainstream magazines and to use bold phrases to frame them in a new context to emphasize the negative emotions she wants the audience to ponder upon. Domestic violence is serious and pernicious. It ruins lives, breaks up families and has a lasting impact. It is criminal. And it has been with us for a very long time. Yet it is only in the last ten years that it has been taken seriously as a criminal justice issue. Before that the vast majority of cases were brushed under the carpet with the refrain “it’s just a domestic”.
Unbeaten
Personal approach and logs of digital exploration and social design
Process of outcome
by Michaela Vildova
violence. What especially atteacted me on the idea was that the bruises imply that the person is a victim, but the fact that they are not permanently visible shows that the impact does not always have to be obvious.
Since I consider domestic violence a serious social issue, I chose to make a moving image using Aftereffects. The main point of my project is to demonstrate that domestic violence does not consist only of physical violence, but also of other forms of psychlogical abuse such as limiting the access to money, controlling the contents of the other person’s phone, verbal abuse, and many others.
I believe that sound effects could further emphasise the message conveyed by the visuals, but given that mastering Aftereffects was more complicated than I thought I was unfortunately not left with sufficient time and energy to add a soundtrack. However, when I gave it a second thought I realised that the lack of sound makes the audience focus on the messages in the bruises while highlighting that the victims often do not speak about the abuse they experience.
In order to explain that domestic violence is not only physical, I thought of possible ways of visualising limiting someone’s freedom. I decided to pick an image of a woman, who apprears to be unharmed. However, as the moving image progresses, we can observe bruises that sudenly apprear. The bruises actually contain quotes that could be typically associated with non-physical forms of domestic 20
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The visual frontier
The process of digital exploration
First of all I picked a photo of a woman. I edited the colour and contrast of the photo in Adobe Photoshop while adding layers with the bruises and quotes. The bruises consist of layers of different opacity creating a true impression of an actual bruise. Different degrees of opacity were applied to the quotes as well. I exported the raw material into a new composition in the Aftereffects programme. Given that the layers appear the same as in Photoshop, their editing is relatively straight forward. The sequence starts with a close up of the eye, where a bruise with a quote appears. The camera then moves to both shoulders respectively without zooming out. On both occassions the camera stops and a new bruise with a new quote appears. After the final bruise appears, the camera zooms out to show the original picture of the lady holding after which a sign saying Unbeaten appears.
I acheived this by changing the size of the image, contrast, rotation and opacity of every layer. This is done for every key frame, changing the time values and creating a free flowing moving image footage. The reason why I named the project Unbeaten is to highlight that one does not have to experience physical abuse to become a victim of domestic violence, which ties in with the meaning of the quotes appearing in the bruises. I further expanded the campaign by creating posters in the same style as the moving image. The bruises appearing on the body are bigger in order to accomodate longer stories expanding on the short quotes in the moving image. The other outcomes could be used in different informational environements such as posters or flyers. ěě22
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Bibliography Bailey, J. (2012) Role of social design in public services, Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2012/apr/18/social-design-public-services (Accessed: 12 August 2015)
Conclusion
Humphreys, C. and N. Stenley (2006) Domestic Violence and Child Protection: Directions for Good Practice, London, Jessica Kingsley. IDEO.org (2009), The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design by IDEO.org, Available at:https://www.ideo.com/images/uploads/hcd_toolkit/IDEO_HCD_FieldGuide_for_download.pdf, (Access: 12 August 2015)
Baracaia, A. Domestic violence ‘reaching crisis’, Available at:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ article-299491/Domestic-violence-reaching-crisis.html (Accessed 5 September 2015)
Kline, J.B.T. (2005) Psychological Testing: A Practical Approach to Design and Evaluation, 1st edition, New York, SAGE Publications.
Bilak, P. (2005) Experimental typography. Whatever that means. Available at: https://www.typotheque.com/articles/ experimental_typography_whatever_that_means (Accessed 2 Semptember 2015)
Kruger, B. (1994) Remote Control: Power, Cultures, and the World of Appearances, Cambridge, The MIT Press.
Cook, A. and Fleury R. (1989), Type & Color: A Handbook of Creative Combinations, 1st edeition, Rockport, Rockport Pub.
Researching the four subject areas provided me with a guidance of what I could expect from my second year courses. Reasearching information environments showed me that I will have to start thinking more about how to make the most of the platform I use to convey my message. Social desing showed me that that as a designer I should think how good design can have a positive impact as explained in the definition of responsible social design by Viktor Papanek. Digital exploration made me think outside of my usual boxes of Photoshop and Indesing. I realiyed that as a well rounded graphic designer I have to have at least a basic knowledge of all possible means of expanding and expressing my creative capabilties. Typography highlighted the key importance of script in graphic desing, urgining me to take all the basic principles of typography into consideration in my future designing challencges. The combiantion of social desing and digital exploration resulting in me picking domestioc violence made me realize the importance of the issue in our society, which led me to the decision to create a kving image and three posters. Depsite not being initially capable to work with Aftereffects at all, I managed to rudimentarily use it. This made me realize the potential of the programme with its infinite dept of possibilities and I would really appreciate further academic guidance leading to proficiency of use, which would allow me to include this tool into my regularly used tools of choice. 24
Margolin, V. (2002) The Politics of the Artificial: Essays on Design and Design Studies, Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
Crawford, T. (2010), Legal Guide for the Visual Artist, Fifth Edition edition, New York, Allworth Press.
Papanek, V. (2005) Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change, 2 Revised Edition, Illinois, Chicago Review Press.
Facebook Developers (2011), Social Design: A Definition, Available at: https://www.facebook.com/FacebookDevelopers/videos/817121135533/ (Accesses: 18 August 2015)
Reed, R. (2012) Social Design, Field Studies & Sustainable Development, Available at: https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd. send_file?accession=osu1356646012&disposition=inline (Accessed: 14 August 2015)
Fairey, S. (2010) MAYDAY: The Art of Shepard Fairey, 1st Edition, Berkeley, Gingko Press Hamilton, N. (1980), Design and Industry: The effects of Industrialisation and Technical Change on Design, The Design Council.
Stephenson, S. (2004) Five Kinds of Silence, New York, Dramatist’s Play Service. Whiteley, N. (1994) Design for Society, London, Reaktion Books.
Heller, S. (1998) Design Dialogues, 1st edition, New York, Allworth Press. Heller, S. (2005), Introduction to The Education of a Graphic Designer, 2nd Revised edition edition, New York, Allworth Press,U.S. Humphreys, C. (2006), Relevant evidence for practice, Open University Press. 25