CONTENT GRAPHIC DESIGN Page 9 - Direction: Ovaltine Revamp Page 15 - Integrated Campaign: Petronas Page 21 - Competition Brief: Anti-Regulatory Icons Page 25 - Publication: Borderline Reality Page 29 - Brochure: Top 5 Architecture Page 34 - Corporate Identity: SPCA Selangor
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9-14
CRITICAL ESSAYS
25-28
Page 85 Seeing the “Self” and the “Real” in Superheroes. The Challenge of Originality: Originality in the 21st Century. Growing Ignorance: Of Corporate Capitalism, Consumerism and Advertising. The Human Obsession with Portraiture.
PHOTOGRAPHY
39-46
Page 39 - Final Major Project: Sama-sama Page 47 - Magazine Cover: Mars to Stay Page 5 1 - Photo Essay: Cars are not the Future Page 57 - Series: Don’t Smile, Don’t Pose Page 61 - Event: TEDxKL 2014
ILLUSTRATION
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Page 67 - On the Rails Page 71 - Culture Bomb Page 77 - Cloud Nine Bookmark Page 79 - Posters: SPO
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67-70
47-50
I am born in the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and I studied graphic design from The One Academy of Communication Design. I always knew I had a fascination with the visual arts - it just seem to resonate closer to me. Now, I mostly see things in shapes and colours. Being a Malaysian, especially one who had studied art and design, there is no doubt an invisible sense of responsibility to build a better culture through the work I do. For a country that proudly boasts its Nasi Lemak, Roti Chanai and Char Koey Teow, it still lacked a consistent visual identity that it could call its own. This is where visual design comes in to plug the hole. On the side, I consistently play in a local orchestra, practice my speechcraft in Toastmasters meetings, as well as dabble with a little bit of philosophy whenever I feel like it.
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Why an explorer
of visuals?
With the recent hype with space exploration, such as Nolan’s Interstellar, Alfonso’s Gravity, as well as the non-fiction Mars One project, undoubtedly the space-themed art direction got its influence from the trend. Additionally, my given Chinese name “启宇”, which can be translated as “to be defined as the universe”, gave me the motivation to explore my own identity, through the vast work and things that I do. I like broad spectrums. Just because a person paints, that does not necessarily mean he is a solely a painter. I may be trained in the theories and techniques of graphic design, but I felt that it does not need to be an end in its own. The feeling of not needing that restraint is felt even more so when I possess different skillsets, which allowed me to explore the ever expanding world of visuals with even more flexibility.
That is why this portfolio book is deliberately divided into the three main visual mediums that I explore, as a visual explorer. These fields of exploration include:
Graphic Design Photography Illustration The beauty of being a visual explorer is that it does not need to end there. Graphic design can morph into motion graphics, photography into videography, and illustrations into visual experiences. With that, it widens the breadth of possibilities in the visual realm. Just like space exploration
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Current ent Situated Loc Location
Send me a Ping
Creative Resume
K u a l a L u m p u r,
mr.kyle.low@gmail.com 016-6821868 www.linkedin.com/in/kylow ^^^ ILOHUJL UL[ 2`SL3V^
Malaysia
A Little Abou About ouut Me
Timeline
I hhave an academic background in ggraphic design, but one thing that I bbelieve in is the merging of di believ disciplines i li and practices that makes society push beyond boundaries, which is the exploration we should all be making. Besides that, there is also an invisible sense of responsibility for creatives like me to build a better culture through the work we do, which the country deserves right now.
Main Expeditions
Output
Editorial Posters Brand Identity Collaterals
Graphic Design Photography Illustration
T-shirts
(2012 - 2015) University of Hertfordsh Hertfordshire, Bachelor of Arts (Hons) (Hons), Graphic D Design. (201 1 - 2012) The One Academy of Communication Design Foundation in Communication Design. (2010) Catholic High School, PJ. Graduated from High School. (1993, January 10th) The beginning of existence.
Language Proficiency
English Chinese Malay
Work Experiences
Programmes
Part Time Art Educator for Children aged 4-8, at Chan Academy of Music and Arts. Occassional Master of Ceremony, in various small events. Adobe Photoshop =LY` 7YVĂ„JPLU[
Adobe Illustrator
Freelance Photographer, notably at TEDxKL
=LY` 7YVĂ„JPLU[
Other Interests O
Adobe Premier Pro
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Audition Aud
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0U[LYTLKPH[L
sic Basic
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Playing in an Orchestra
Speechcraft
Philosophy
Go Ahead Ta k e o n e
They’re on the House.
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Aerodynamic Cohesive gliding.
A.R+ Navigator Designates appropriate art directions.
Crumple Zone
Thick Hull
Allocated space for Accidents
Able to withstand a good amount of criticism.
GRAPHIC DESIGN
They’re on the House.
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Direction: Ovaltine Revamp Integrated Campaign: Petronas Competition Brief: Anti-Regulatory Icons Publication: Borderline Reality Corporate Identity: SPCA Selangor Brochure: Top 5 Architecture
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Ovaltine Revamp Direction
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The Brief: Create a unique and holistic solution for Ovaltine to reinforce its brand, both in its packaging and its campaigns, in a refreshed manner.
The Solution:Having 17 different vitamins and minerals, and providing good energy to the body, Ovaltine is one of the healthiest malt drinks available in the market.
The Problem: An underadvertised and undermarketed presence in Malaysia made it the lesser favourite malt drink.
With the single minded proposition that with a healthy body equates a happy person, I proposed that “Ovaltine is Happiness�. This translates into the remaking of Ovaltine’s below the line designs, as well as its advertising campaigns.
Packaging Revamp
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Collaterals
Above: A leaflet is designed to be given away to mall-goers, informing them of Ovaltine’s new “Happiness Campaign” Left: A booklet designed to promote Ovaltine’s new look, as well as educate the masses why Ovaltine is the healthiest malt drink around.
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Posters
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Outdoor
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TV Commercials
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Petronas CNY Integrated Campaign
Petronas has always been the major corporate that consistently fields out public-serviceannouncement-like campaigns during the festive seasons in Malaysia. Chinese New Year is one of those festive times that Petronas focuses on to bring to the nation a message of celebration and unity. This proposed campaign called #YouthFromTheHeart comes from personal experience when yours truly realised that old, senior members in a lion dance troupe performed as if they were young, only because they perform with their hearts. Hence, this integrated campaign features a short film on lion dance and youth.
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Besides the short film, a digital activation was also proposed through a microsite platform. This microsite allows people to send a digital time-capsule to themselves in the future, which Petronas will see through that the message of youth be sent to its participants in the future.
Petronas CNY Integrated Campaign
Petronas has always been the major corporate that consistently fields out public-serviceannouncement-like campaigns during the festive seasons in Malaysia. Chinese New Year is one of those festive times that Petronas focuses on to bring to the nation a message of celebration and unity. This proposed campaign called #YouthFromTheHeart comes from personal experience when yours truly realised that old, senior members in a lion dance troupe performed as if they were young, only because they perform with their hearts. Hence, this integrated campaign features a short film on lion dance and youth.
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Besides the short film, a digital activation was also proposed through a microsite platform. This microsite allows people to send a digital time-capsule to themselves in the future, which Petronas will see through that the message of youth be sent to its participants.
Storyboard
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Storyboard
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Storyboard
In summary: The story talks about a 17-year-old boy looking to join the best lion dance troupe. When he had found it, he realised the whole troupe was made up of people younger than him, the master of the troupe being 3 years old only. After a few months into training, the main protagonist finds that he cannot cope, and is starting to lose interest. It is the moment when he had almost given up, the troupe master gave him an advice that he changed him, which was to “use the heart�. It then made the protagonist found out the reason why everyone in the troupe gradually grows younger. In the end of the film, it can be seen that the protagonist took the advice to heart, and be seen visibly younger than before.
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Case Study Board
Right: The microsite is a simple one to use. Upon entering the site, the main webfilm will be available for users to watch. Once the viewing is done, users can continue to scroll down section by section to read the words by Petronas. Towards the end, the user will be prompted to write a message to their future selves, to remind themselves to do whatever it is with their hearts with the hashtag #YouthFromTheHeart. Petronas then keep their promise and the digital time-capsule will be sent to them on time, in the future.
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Anti-Regulatory Icons Competition Brief Signages exist in the world to inform, caution or warn humans of the situation that is to be expected in front of them, however they can be very dictative and often times it leaves people having little to no choice but to heed their instructions, otherwise bear consequences. In this project, interactive icons are designed to create a sense of movement and stillness through the ideas of freedom and restraint. The project aims to eliminate restraining thoughts that ordinary signages project through interacting with the following pages, in
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hopes to create feelings of freedom, or at least taking away the hostility some signages give. The end result is a series of 20 icons that includes quirky ideas, creative expressions, and some rebelious, yet liberating thoughts.
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Competition Brief
The compilation of these icons were made into an interactive book.
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Borderline Reality Publication
Being really inspired by surrealism in photography at the moment, this project became an opportunity of an excuse to explore and rsearch deeper into the subject, and then develop into a fictional magazine. The name Borderline Reality reflects what surrealism appears to be, a notion stuck between a dream and the actual reality.
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Though, surrealism is hardly anything quantifiable or perhaps it is sometimes hard to be categorised, the nature of it being fueled by the creativity of the subconscious mind is what makes it diversedly interesting. That is why a number of surrealism/conceptual photographers were featured in this publication to show exactly just that.
It may not seem visible here, but all texts and images are slightly tilted to create the publication’s mnemonic.
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Top 5 Architectures Brochure A simple brochure that illustrates what I thought were the top 5 most innovative and visually stunning architectures around the world, considering them as the modern classics.
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This accordian fold in red consists of images and information on the Guggenheim Museum, the Zenith Music Hall, the Bahrain World Trade Centre, the Paul Klee Museum and the Prague Dancing House.
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SPCA Selangor Corporate Identity
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SPCA stands for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and there are many organisations adopting the same name and creed in different regions of the world, to all do the same thing: to be the voice and savior of animals from abuse.
By proposing a brighter, more friendly personality to SPCA Selangor’s identity, there lies the hopes of making it a more open organisation, while at the same time appear professional when communicating with interested parties to help the animals.
SPCA Selangor is one of those organisations, and it is considered the second oldest SPCA in Malaysia. After more than five decades, it is in need of a rebranding to regain the confidence of the people in SPCA Selangor’s capabilities to help animals.
The project consists of the renewal of its logo, constructing a brand identity guide, as well as designing a stationary set.
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Retractable Camera Unit Designed to capture (almost) all angles. Equipped with sapphire made lens.
Reinforced Glass Protects Camera Unit inside.
Orbital CMOS Sensor 42 megapixel sensor.
PHOTOGRAPHY
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Final Major Project: Sama-sama Magazine Cover: Mars to Stay Photo Essay: Cars are not the Future Series: Don’t Smile, Don’t Pose Event: TEDxKL 2014
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Sama-Sama A Malaysian Portraiture
As a final year graphic design student who is working on a final major project, I decided I wanted to push the boundaries of photography by making a series of images that will resonate to Malaysians, telling them that they do not need any political schemes, or religious sanctity to be united, when we already are united by the things we do and enjoy together. It is the common things that bring us together that builds our identity as Malaysians, not any political gerrymandering. Someone made mention that images alone can be powerful, but only if done right. If that statement is true enough, then this project already possess the challenge for me to design a set of photographs that can move people’s souls, or at least relate to them.
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Using elements and subjects like our local tropical fruits, local delicacies, favourite sports, rainforest animals, our local slangs and local tropical flowers, I wanted to create an exaggerated imagery that will create a gaping “wow�, but still be able to be understood that it is about being Malaysian, or at least know that it is a highly Malaysian imagery. Using portraits (of ordinary Malaysian youths) as a format to deliver that imagery, I am hoping that these images will be able to show the complexity in technique and thinking required to produce them.
Behind the Scenes
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Mars to Stay Magazine Cover
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The New York Times Magazine had always have an eye catching front cover to go with its weekly issues, and the images usually tie back to one of the main stories that they wanted to feature.
That is why the front covers’ execution should go hand in hand with the complexity of the topic highlighted in its stories. The image had to be carefully designed and crafted.
Telling a story using straight forward methods no longer stimulate the intellect, and knowing that The New York Times Magazine is catered mainly for people who wanted to nourish their brains with stories that mattered.
Space exploration is one of the favourite stories to cover, especially when the Mars One project had proposed an ambitious endeavour to house humans on Mars. Hence, it is in my interest to highlight this notion to spark up discussions on the matter of exploring outer space, especially to other planets other than our own.
The final look of the magazine cover for a proposed issue of the New York Times Magazine.
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Creating a conceptual piece of image sometimes tests the creator’s ability to be resourceful in using the objects that they wish to narrate the story with. For this case, looking for red-orange-ish sand and pebbles to construct the surface of mars and using minitures to represent our (possible) colonisation on Mars is my way of using available subjects to deliver that narration.
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Set Up
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Cars are not the Future Photo Essay This project was inspired by a Transit Oriented Development conference that I had previously attended weeks before the project’s initiation. Greater Kuala Lumpur is expanding at a rapid pace with many new buildings currently being built. Soon even more vehicles will enter the area , which will inevitably cause massive traffic congestions. Most well-planned cities around the wor ld rel y on effective development planning, as well as effec tive public transporations to curb the problem. While Greater Kuala Lumpur has plans to improve its public transportations , many people are still not willing to part with their cars, because it is simply more convenient to drive around.
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This project aims to tell people that cars are not the future that they might have thought to be. In an already congested Greater Kuala Lumpur, more cars would only mean worse congestion. It is high time we make a change towards public transporations. Fascinated by the long streaks of lights emitted from the vehicles during a stand-still traffic jam, I decided to photograph them during their worst: rush hour. Compounding to that, I used a filter technique to funnel these vehicular lights into words, ultimately forming a sentence with out of the traffic congestion locations.
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Don’t Smile, Don’t Pose. Photo Series What was initially thought as the source of the clichés, the opposite literally became the modus operandi of an art direction. Taking the play out of cosplay, I asked each cosplayers to “Don’t Smile, Don’t Pose”. On its own the photograph is just another portrait with a classical look, but as a series one can start to see that these portraits gets pretty grounded fast. There is a contrast between those whimsical, neon coloured hair wigs and that stare that pierces the soul. I knew I wanted to go for that look.
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Not all cosplayers does it quite as well though. Some of them pull the natural, honest look quite naturally, but there are people who felt out of character when asked not to smile and pose. Some people had attempted the look, but they just didn’t have the “look”. Some were just plain confused. Currently unsure if anyone else has started on a series like this, but it does seem like it could be a project worth publishing when gathered enough pictures. Hence, this will be an on-going series on its own.
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TEDxKL 2014 Event TEDxKL is considered as Asia’s largest TEDx event. The 2014’s conference was its biggest yet, haviing held in Calvary Convention Centre, which could potentially hold three thousand people if the hall is filled to its brim. That year, the conference had as many as 18 speakers, which went on for one full day.
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As a volunteer photographer, the event itself gave me opportunities to meet new people, and create other possibilities with these vibrant individuals. At one instance, one of my photographs of a presenter was used by the Star Online portal. The opportunity to cover the event is one that I am grateful of.
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Fusion A.R+ Reactor Nuclear creativity propulsion furnace.
Hardened Landing Tripods Sturdy grip to the ground.
ILLUSTRATION
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On the Rails Culture Bomb Cloud Nine Bookmark Posters: SPO
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On The Rails Location Sketching I had always wondered what lies beyond the train stations that we do not get off to. Unless we step onto the platforms, we are leaving these places unexplored. Deciding to go onto an adventure to document what exactly lies outside of those stations, I brought along a sketchbook and pen to bring back visualisations from the rugged, unexplored parts of the city.
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After stopping by each and every stop on the LRT and the KL Monorail, I made a seamless trail from the beginning of the ride till the end, which serves as a visual guide to anyone who has yet to explore the city that they live so close to. Each stop has a small blurb that will hint what you can find at that location, yet it does not fully reveal what it is, thus encouraging readers to do the exploration themselves.
Green trails represent the KL Monorail Line. Red trails represent the Putra LRT Line.
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These were the sketches that were made during the train riding moments. Some time was spent soaking in the sight before moving on to the next stop.
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Culture Bomb Wearable Visual Design Culture Bomb is an apparel brand that focuses on bringing out visuals that are hidden within our very own local traditional cultures. Gaining inspirations from local festivals, folk lores, beliefs, flora and fauna, making shapes and patterns into wearable visual designs. It initially started off as a personal interest in Iban Dayak, but soon realised its culture may only be appreciated by a niche, or only people who knows about the culture.
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Noticing how intricate certain objects were crafted by different cultures, I thought it would be a good idea to incorporate those patterns into modern graphic designs. That is where the idea of Culture Bomb comes in; many cultures used distinct patterns to create an identity for themselves, and they use these patterns in explosive amounts of details. Patterns do not necessarily have to be understood fully to be appreciated, hence I do think it is highly martketable to the public.
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Cloud Nine Bears Character Design A local favourite candy bar, Cloud Nine successfully sells itself with its cheap, sugary caramel and peanut filled chocolate bar. Usually eaten in children parties, Cloud Nine proves to be quite the favourite candy bar among children. Without a mascot, I felt there is a potential to creatively input one. What is a party without a rock band? With that in mind, I decided to create one and make it consists of bears, because teddy bears relate well to children.
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The output was an illustration of a bear-filled rock band jamming on a cloud above a Cloud Nine candy bar. The illustration then becomes a bookmark that children would get whenever they purchase a packet of Cloud Nine candy bars.
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SPO Posters
I find joy in the challenge of interpreting music to beomc a visual that communicates its essence to audiences. Designing Selangor Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert posters give that sort of welcomed challenge,
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Of course, being trained musically helps the design process a bit, but I keep going back to design these concert posters because the outcome of it is one that is usually out of the ordinary and conventional.
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Critical Essays While the commercial arts world rellied heavily on the visual works done to promote itself, a good designer is one that can additionally think and write critically. Here are some of the essays that were written whilst studying in the Graphic Design course, in which I think are worth reading if one has the time.
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The Challenge of Originality: Originality in the 21st Century
Seeing the “Self” and the “Real” in Superheroes.
...originality may be too overrated for its own good, especially when the borderless network known as the Internet allowed information sharing beyond restrictions. Most of the information that was once only available within the circles of professions is now publicly published for the world to access freely. As long as a person has Internet access, they are getting more readily equipped with knowledge that enables them to learn and create work of art. When majority of the people are given the ability to create, would it not make achieving originality even harder, knowing that someone out there in the world might have already thought up of the exact same idea?
... topics on the “Self ” and the “Real” surfaces around us as we observe the patterns in our day to day routines. It is worth understanding some underlying problems that the postmodern society currently faces, so that as individuals we can identify these problems to avoid becoming part of them, and at best inspire change to society in our own unique efforts.
Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/mycp3l2
Superheroes, characters of comic book origins who mainly possess superhuman capabilities, are recently becoming favourite mediums of modern and postmodern ideas that can be readily interpreted by audiences... Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/n27g4nb
Growing Ignorance: Of Corporate Capitalism, Consumerism and Advertising
The Human Obsession with Portraiture
...perhaps we might want to take a step back from advertising agencies and look at the greater machine that had placed them as cogs in the system. Shall we perhaps look at corporates whose goal is to gain the largest amount of profit amongst their competitors, employing advertising as a mean to bridge their product to where the capital is – consumers. The drive for these corporates to play the game of profits could be traced back to the time of industrialisation and mass production. With mass consumption in mind, and advertising as a tool of mass communication, corporates are pumping in all their resources and effort to persuade consumers that mass consumption is the life to adopt. At the same time, instilling a type of complacency and ignorance onto consumers to justify their consumption...
In this essay, the portrait is explored thoroughly through the history of the portrait and understanding underlying social values that influenced the portrait. Once that is critically understood, we question our current era’s heavy reliance on the genre in our daily communication, as well as how it affects our current behaviour through constant interactions with portraiture and the mediums it has presented itself on. Ultimately, this essay attempts to figure out the combination of reasons that makes us humans as a whole that much obsessed about making portraits and why we are not stopping anytime soon. Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/kd2gvfl
Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/mwvpjc9
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