Research Document: Poster for NSACSW by Wesley Norris

EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT POSTER PROCESS BOOKLET

Wesley Norris

EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT POSTER PROCESS BOOKLET

This document was created to show the design process and research behind the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everybody is Diffentâ&#x20AC;? poster for the NSACSW. The goal of this poster was to reflect on why society creates an unobtainable ideal of beauty. The aesthetic intent was to remain positive, inclusive and captivating. The tagline is broad enough to encapsulate the complexities and discourse surrounding female body image. Furthermore the illustration has characters that most female Nova Scotian viewers can identify with.

Index

1—2

Literature Reviews

3—6

Academic Research

Presentations and Critiques

8—10

Imagery Research

11—12

Color Research

13—24

Main Ideas

Literature Review

Sexual Assault: Safety, Help, and Healing for Teens in Nova Scotia Coleman, Kristi, and Rebbeca Pitre. August 2013 I found this PDF to be very straight forward and somewhat obvious at times. I understand that the ideal audience for this information is young teens in a very volatile situation, however I find that the creators are underestimating there audiences knowledge on the subject and creating condescending undertones. The main focus of this PDF continuously drifted toward legal issues surrounding sexual assault. I do not think that legal matters should be the main focus in a PDF marketing itself as “Sexual Assault: Safety, Help, and Healing for Teens in Nova Scotia.” This is a very difficult topic to discuss and this is a tasteful way of getting information across. Women’s Health and Well-Being Government of Nova Scotia, 2012 This Web page lacked in information provided by the NSACSW on Women’s Health and Well-Being. The few articles written by the NSACSW did not seem to give any insight into what Women’s health and Well-Being really embodied. The great thing about this page is that it linked the user to anti- bullying campaigns run by Nova Scotia as well as the very informative website “http:// novascotia. ca/ask/”. Therefore if the NSACSW is using this web-page as a platform to allow users to access other information, I think it is successful in its intent. That being said I think that there should be more external sources for people to peruse . Those websites as a result will help the NSACSW define what Women’s Health and Well-Being entails. Female Body Image and the Mass Media: Perspectives on How Women Internalize the Ideal Beauty Standard Serder, Kasey L. 2014 This essay proves that the media influences the way women view themselves. This media portrayal is often the reason women develop eating pathologies. However the scientific reason that creates these negative health goals is still unclear. The social comparison theory, cultivation theory, and self-schema theory can be used to examine how media images of women come to affect the way women feel about their bodies and physical appearance.

Sexual Assault and Sexual Violence Government of Nova Scotia, 2012 This Web-page provides the user an endless list of helpful resources and great information. The webpage is laid out in a way that if a teen made it this far they are immediately met with an list of helpful and calming information. The amount of misinformation on the Internet is growing and to see a compilation of some of the best resources for Canadian youth on one page is great. Youth could use this page for sexual health problems, sexual abuse, recovery support, safe environments, etc... Ask, Nova Scotia Province of Nova Scotia, 2013 This website is a hard hitting commentary on the lack of understanding of the word Consent. The website very quickly establishes an intent and continues to push that message as the user navigates throughout. The graphics have been well thought out and the overall feeling is not negative. Therefore the user is going to stay longer and explore the information that is available to them. The message, Ask, is also a useful tool. It establishes a line of communication between partners and opens a dialogue about sex. Communication and dialogue are both key aspects in any sexual relationship. Also in another situation it forces the male to ask themselves, is this female under the influence. By making males second guess their behaviors it forces the parties involved to make wiser decisions and in the end learn more about the proper ways to ask and receive consent. Healthy Eating in the Workplace: Body Image Nova Scotia Public Service Commission, 2007 Questionable content taken from a book written in 1997 probably from statistics that date back another ten years. The overall message is bland and any adult with a clue would know all of the stuff that is outlined. Some of the content says to take longer to get ready and throw out your old clothes... How is that helping promote a healthy body image if anything it is just reinforcing the fact that image and style are most peoples main priority when introducing themselves to new people. Considering the title is healthy eating in the work place , there is very little that truly depicts that title.

Multicultural Women & Body Image Adios Barbie, 2014 This article shows a humble female opinion on body image and how it can effect women of different races and cultures. The article is successful because it shows the many areas involved with body image. It is not just one factor, there are several psychological factors that effect even the most open minded individuals. This article also talks about the historical reasoning behind body image. Looking more deeply into the anatomy of body image is a great way to discuss the problems we currently face.

Bibliography Coleman, Kristi, and Rebbeca Pitre. “Sexual Assault: Safety, Help, and Healing for Teens in Nova Scotia.” Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women. (2013). <http://women.gov.ns.ca/sites/default/files/ documents/SA_EN_FINAL_WEB_Aug23_13.pdf>. “Status of Women.” Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women. Web. 03 Feb. 2014. <http://women.gov.ns.ca/womens-health-and-wellbeing>. Serder, Kasey L. “Female Body Image and the Mass Media: Perspectives on How Women Internalize the Ideal Beauty Standard.” Westminster College. The Myriad: Undergraduate Academic Journal, Web. 11 Jan. 2014. “Status of Women.” Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. <http://women.gov.ns.ca/sexual-assault-and-sexualviolence>. “Site Sections.” Ask. Learn about Consent. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. <http://novascotia.ca/ask/>. “Body Image Ppt.” Healthy Eating in the Workplace. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. <http://novascotia.ca/psc/employeeCentre/ healthyWorkplace/healthy- Eating/>. “Multicultural Women & Body Image.” Adios Barbie. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. <http://www.adiosbarbie.com/feature-articles/ multicultural-women- body-image/>.

Interview Process

In order to learn more about the topics within Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health and Wellness we interviewed many proffesionals in relevant fields. The list of individuals we interviewed is as follows: Margie MacDonald Council member of Society of Women Carmen Celina Moncayo ISIS Family Counselor Felicia Eghan position in Family Studies and Gerontology Mount Saint Vincent University Lucios Bossio Dalhousie University Bachelor of Psychology Jamie-lee Barden Dalhousie University Psychology Student Each person that was interviewed brought unique views and points to my research. Overall it reassured me in the subject choices that I was researching and taught me a significant amount about certain areas of female emotion in relation to body image.

Lucious Bossio Interview

My name is Lucius Bossio

last year of studying psychology

I started my studies at Dalhousie

at Dal. I ended up in psychology

quite a while ago. I started off

because I felt like it would

in economics and did that for

give me the background and

two years then started studying

skills I needed in order to be

psychology and now I’m in my

affective in the practices I want to get into, sex therapy and relationship counseling.

What do you think the youth thinks about when they hear, body image? Um interesting... I don’t know I think its kind of just like, we definitely see it as overall the way you perceive your body. It can be related to many things like your self esteem and then the way you perceive your body. The cognitive vs. the emotional. What type of words do you think young females think of when they hear, body image? Words female associate with body image.. Its hard to say what a young female might associate with it because I am not a young female. But by the research out there and what you see in the media, the amount of stuff you see in the media targeting body image, it seems to me that females would think of a lot of negative words would come up, I can imagine feelings of dissatisfaction. I don’t think thats just a thingfor women I feel like men are under similar pressures from media, I don’t think its nearly to the degree to what women are facing. Or at least thats how i see it from my experiences. As a teenager growing up i felt the need to change and be better i needed to make improvements. I can see that being the same thing for girls just magnified even more. When talking to youth about body image what methods of approach would you use? Thats really tough ... I think its most effective when its peers who are talking about it amongst themselves. I think you can talk at kids until your blue in the face but really what your looking for is when it comes from within. Being straight up and forthcoming can work as long as you connect with a few People so you can give them the tools to bring it up amongst your peers. I think thats a huge step in the right direction. At what age should body image be discussed in schools? I think it needs to be discussed in schools quite early. If you look at some of the research thats been done in body image dissatisfaction they’ve shown that more then half the girls age 13 feel dissatisfied with there body image and feel like they need to change there body to fit some ideal. So if its happening that early it pervasive. It starts really early if you look at rates of anorexia and bulimia its gotten worse in adolescent girls. I think it should be done as soon as possible.

When do you think youth should start to understand body image and can begin to accept social stigma? I think it should start as early as possible, like as soon as you start to be interested in relationships. Because thats when you start to ask yourself what you look like. And thats around puberty, your body is going through so many changes. I think thats where a lot of this stems from not being taught how to deal with puberty not just the factual things, getting into the emotional aspects the psychology behind puberty. Ideally it will start then but i think thats hard because when i think about what I used to know when i was a teenager, I didn’t know much of anything. I don’t think you know that stuff until your an adult, and even then late adolescence is another set of changes. If you could have known one thing about body image as a teen what would it be? I wish i had of been exposed to different influences in terms of fitness, and what i need to look like and i wish i told myself to look at some of the nutritionists and trainers i have been exposed to. I would show myself all those resources that taught me I don’t need to be 50lbs heavier and I can still be healthy and fit. I think its easier now because in the past there weren’t many resources that showed what real body image is. There was no resource in the past and now there are so many independent blogs and conferences. So many doctors and nutritionists who have websites that release a lot of great content.

What role do you think males play in the development of female body image? I think undoubtedly there is definitely some role we play in all of it even though you can say its society and the media thats putting pressure on girls. But if you look at male culture and especially young males, we aren’t taught about the way we should make sense of dating and attraction and not taught to appreciate girls at that age. The kind of stuff guys are exposed teaches us that were suppose to idolize men who are womanizers EX. MAD Men. Ideal man 1950s, alcohol, suits, not emotional. I think its confusing for young guys because were looking for a sense of masculinity and its not the best for our information. And thats going to affect the way women see themselves.

Do you think there are enough easily accessible institution for sexual educa-tion in Halifax? I think there are enough clinics because the Dal health clinic is pretty accessible and the Halifax sexual health center and there is a lot more LGBTQ. I think the facilities are in place and i know that Halifax sexual health center is pretty awesome and its all free and you can get any information you need and sex therapy. Its amazing the amount of resources available so i think it is there but how many people know they could see a therapist for free from the Halifax sexual health center. Yeah I just don’t think sexual health is talked about enough in general public. Sex in general is hard to bring up even telling my family that i want to be a sex therapist they don’t even know what to say or how to react. Its still not very prevalent in society to talk about sex openly so sexual health isn’t openly talked about. Even Venus envy has so many workshops for men women LGBTQ and you can go there and they are incredibly knowledgeable. Is sexual health something that should be further integrated in public school systems? Yeah definitely I think that sex ed is like one day or two days in school in grade six. Which is kind of ridiculous it was single days going over basic anatomy and it didn’t really talk about much, it didn’t really get into anything about becoming a man or woman. Nothing about healthy relationships. I think sexual education should cover stuff like relationships, multiple types of relationships, anal sex ( which isn’t covered because its frowned upon) they don’t talk about if you are a homosexual what your options may be. They don’t talk about that stuff i think the scope could be expanded a bit. To whom should the responsibility of sexual education fall? Federal, Provincial...Etc. I think it needs to come down Canada wide at first because its going to be hard to get everyone to adopt the same system early on. But it would be great to see people take the initiative in this area at a local level and to encourage people to talk about it locally. Like in support groups and i guess that stuff is starting to happen now but in general its still not socially appropriate to talk about this stuff. Parents even have a problem talking with there kids. Ideally parents

wouldn’t be awkward about it and in result the kids wouldn’t want to avoid the awkwardness. You cant rely on parents to talk about it with there kids so when sex is talked about its like a fantastic sensationalized pornographic act its never talked about it like its real. Do you think that young women in general are well prepared to form healthy sexual relationships with the amount and type of information that is readily available to them? Why or why not? I think some of them are if there parents were active in helping them, and that isn’t always happening. And we are exposed to so much social media now because were so connected at an early age. So there is so much influence coming from the Internet. So i have to say no they are not ready at a young age, and I don’t think guys are either. Where as girls are exposed to things in magazines that are unhealthy relationship advice, they are getting misinformation and sensationalized information about sex. So I don’t really think teens are in any position to make healthy choices. Does the Internet give teens access to good information? Or are they becoming vulnerable by accidentally looking at pornography or fetish websites? Its a double edged sword because there is so much good information about how to have good relationships but it is outweighed by the misinformation, porn on the Internet is pretty insane and what we are exposed to in a pornographic standpoint is not what it use to be. Like fetish and fantasy is not talked about in sex ed or with parents, that kind of stuff is completely off limits. Which is sad because it really needs to be addressed because the exposure is there, so its definitely one of the things that needs to come into sexual education. Because those things are okay and there is nothing wrong with those things but being taught how to bring that fantasy into a relationship isn’t talked about at all and i think thats a huge aspect of sexuality.

Margie MacDonald

I’m retired now but i worked in

Then i worked with health

So our office looked at gender

the health area a lot of my life,

Canada working with community

as a determine of health and

my background is in international

based groups on different

income on an determine of

development. I worked in what

funding programs. Mainly we

health. I worked in the field

was then southern Sudan on a

had a determinants of

about 22 years. Sociology is so

primary health care team, i was

health approach.

broad that it allowed me to do

a sociologist helping with the

what i have.

development of primary health care program.

What do you think the youth thinks about when they hear, body image? I think it differs from men and women and I think women would look at weight and males may look more at physique. When talking to youth about body image what methods of approach would you use? I would get them to do as much talking as possible, Rather then talking to them. Help them move from there intellect to there emotions, and how they feel. At what age should body image be discussed in schools? Well i think you should start it much more subtly. But then to have it as a topic of conversation it should be discussed while they are young. There are different ways to approach it at different ages. Like pictures with young children they could start to see cultural values in the images portrayed. What role do you think males play in the development of female body image? Well males certainly have a big role in the media and social media stuff. When portraying body image in a poster do you think a negative shaming approach will work? Why or why not? I guess my first reaction is when its about body image, if its for females, it needs to be positive because there is enough negativity around body image. But it depends on if you are trying to tell males and inform them. It is still about emotional health and thats everything. What do you think is the standard or ideal body image portrayed by the media? Healthy weights and not sexualized, should be portrayed but the way that is being portrayed is less affirming. This image sets people up for failure and its not healthy. Do you think the amount of media you are exposed to has any effect on your body image perceptions? Yes, huge, because you just see it all over the place. When do you think youth should start to understand body image and can begin to accept social stigma? Whether or not they ever do, when i was a kid it was much older but now its much younger. They become aware of body image at 8 or 9 but then to intellectualize it and to understand they are being manipulated that comes later in life. Depending on the kids and there own perceptions of themselves and some of them will understand while others that are more insecure may never truly accept that they are okay. If you could have known one thing about body image as a teen what would it be? Well seeing as now i am really interested in physical activity, i wish i had have known as a kid the positive things attributed to activity.

Do you think there are enough easily accessible institution for sexual education in Halifax? No, I think there needs to be a full range everyone is going to learn differently and in different environments, and easily accessible for different age ranges. The institutions available are not young friendly. And certainly in Halifax is our growing multiculturalism, and now we have to look at where for example young Muslim girls and boys can go for information. Is sexual health something that should be further integrated in public school systems? Yes, but it should be done by the right people who feel comfortable teaching that topic. Because schools are one place you have a captive audience of kids. To whom should the responsibility of sexual education fall? Federal, Provincial...Etc. I think every level of government has a level of impact on young people so i think its everyones responsibility. Does the Internet give teens access to good information? Or are they becoming vulnerable by gaining access to misinformation? Pornography, Violent material, Blogs... Etc. When kids want the information they should be able to get it. I don’t have a definitive answer on that its very gray. The misinformation out there is definitely a problem. These issues just raise so many questions but certainly when kids are aware of these issues they need to have access to this information. Then we need to make it more personal not necessarily on the Internet. Whatever happens you need to keep the lines of communication open. Do you think that young women in general are well prepared to form healthy sexual relationships with the amount and type of information that is readily available to them? Why or why not? I think some are and some aren’t. I don’t think that can be answered in generality. Some young women are very immature, while others are very mature. Some have the information and some have a bunch of misinformation.

As this project progressed I recieved feedback from the NSACSW and individuals with related knowledge to the fields of female body image. Also I had to pitch my ideas and opinions about Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health and Wellnes to be able to continue on a female body image topic path.

Visual commentary on a few select posters. This research has allowed me to compile a visual reference guide, as well as given me a few key ideas about succesful poster design. Some of these images relate more to the content while others just speak to the aesthetic of the design that i will try to accomplish.

1. 1. This poster is a great example

2. This poster is a very powerful

3. This image shows a lovely

of using strategic colour

visual using only black and

approach to illustration with an

placement to accomplish focus

white. Due to the silhouette the

immaculate focus on detail. The

and message. A juxtaposition is

poster remains racialy neutral.

artist creates subtle moments

created between the feelings of

This type of negative imagery

within the illustration that

royalty created by the hairstyle

as a way of informing and

manage to capture the viewer in

and typeface, yet the facial

provoking change.

a moment and then stay to look

expression shows a calm despair

for more of those subtle nuances.

2. This image portrays the target

3. This poster is successful in its

audience and the problems

information organization. It is

that social media has on young

also a great example of a black

girls. This is the problem and this

and white poster still creating an

image is crucial

intresting composition.

in understanding and remembering the audience that these posters are aimed towards.

1. The use of photography and

of creativity that should take

manipulation to create a long

place in all poster design.

made of tree branches is a simple yet elegant design that speaks about health and the benefits of nature. I find that this is the type

These images reflect the style and aesthetic I was aiming to capture in my poster. This type of illustration avoids being didactic and I believe that it would appeal to my target audience.

Throughout the interview process

That meant no purples or pinks

I asked the opinions of many

and no blues. Also I tried to stay

people about what colors they

clear of political colors that could

believed would be a good suit

be associated to a political party.

for a body image poster.The overwhelming consensus was that it should be calm warm colors that are not to gender bias.

BE YOUR NATURAL SELF

Idea #1

My first idea was to play with the tagline “Be your natural self.” The concept was to use a double exposed image with trees creating a silhouette. I thought that by creating a connection between beauty and nature it would make the viewer question modern media and its’ ideals about beauty. Unfortunatelly I could not develope this idea because it was to “Hippy” for the NSACSW to be able to use.

Idea #1

BE YOUR NATURAL SELF

October: Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s History Month women.gov.ns.ca @StatusofWomenNS #WomensHistoryMonthNS Designed by Wesley Norris NSCAD Studio 4 2014 NSACSW/NSCAD Poster Design Project

Idea #2

Unlike idea one I was able to push idea two to a further stage of developement. I was able to experiment with text, illustration and I managed to push the poster to a semi-polished stage.

Don’t let your ____ Bully your Body PortagoITC TT

Don’t let your ____ Bully your Body Gibson semibold Don’t let your ____ Bully your Body BlairMdITC TT med

Don’t let your ____ Bully your Body Copperplate

Don’t let your ____ Bully your Body Arial Bold

Don’t let your ____ Bully your Body Andale Mono

Don’t let your ____ Bully your Body Impact

Don’t let your ____ Bully your Body Gotham Book

Don’t let your ____ Bully your Body gotham bold

Don’t let your ____ Bully your Body gotham med

Idea #2

DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T LET YOUR (______________) BULLY YOUR BODY

I believe that this tagline allows for many justifications of poor body image, it will allow more youth to relate to the poster. My main goal in the aesthetic intent will be to create a poster that is incredibly personal for each person who stops to look. Yet it will be broad reaching enough to makea large demographic of young females feels as though the image speaks to them. To accomplish this I wanted to attempt to meld together a photograph of a multicultural young womans face with an illustration. If done correctly it will accomplish a sense of amiguity. Thus making it easier for the viewer to relate to the image. With this idea I would be taking inspiration from the design firm M/M Paris, they are known for their unique approach to graphic design. They often use illustration over photography to create intrigue. I believe that it is crucial to create an intrigue in order to avoid being stale. If the image is straight forward it will create a disconnect with the very youth who aim to benefit from it.

Idea #2

Idea #3

After making my illustration I began to work with type and layout. In the beginning I wanted a typeface that was loose and fun. However I eventually realized that a strong typeface that looked like handset type was a better approach beceause the messgae was the strongest point.

Idea #3

Everybody Everybody Everybody Everybody Everybody Everybody Everybody Everybody Everybody Everybody

is is is is is is is is is is

different different different different different different different different different different

EveryBody is different October: Womens History Month women.gov.ns.ca @Statusof WomenNS #WomensHistoryMonthNS

October: Womens History Month women.gov.ns.ca @Statusof WomenNS #WomensHistoryMonthNS Designed by Wesley Norris

Everybody is different

EveryBody is different October: Womens History Month women.gov.ns.ca @Statusof WomenNS #WomensHistoryMonthNS Designed by Wesley Norris

October: Womens History Month women.gov.ns.ca @Statusof WomenNS #WomensHistoryMonthNS Designed by Wesley Norris

Idea #3 Idea three was my final Idea and the concept that I developed to a finished final product. This poster concept won a two hundred dollar honararium from the NSACSW and was choosen to represent The Womens Health and Wellness sector for 2014 women’s history month.

My main goal in creating this poster was to make it incredibly personal for each individual who stops to look at it. The aesthetic should be broad reaching enough to make a large demographic of females feels as though the image speaks to them. I believe that the tagline “Everybody is different. Every body is different.” is broad enough to encapsulate the issues surrounding female body image. I also think that by drawing emphasis to the words “everybody” and “every body” it creates a subliminal hint at the idea that we accept that everyone is different, but we do not accept that our own bodies are different. This type of rhetoric device is called antanaclasis, antanaclasis is the stylistic scheme of repeating a single word or phrase, but creating a different meaning.

1. 21

The alignment of the text was intended to make it easier for the viewer to distinguish the difference between the uses of “everybody” and “every body”, while also drawing attention to the fact that it is the same phrase repeating (fig. 2). The typeface I chose is called H.H. Samuel, it was creWated to mimic a letterpress font. This aesthetic creates a feeling of empowerment and allows the message to jump off the page. After developing a tagline I felt had intention and intrigue I was able to establish imagery to compliment the phrase. I began character development with the forethought that there is a specific character in the illustration that every viewer could relate to. Thus making it easier for the viewer to associate themselves to the message. This technique is used frequently in comic books, by making the image simple with a lack of distinguishing features it allows the viewer to imagine themselves as the character they are viewing. A few things I kept in mind during character development were; body size, height, race, age, hairstyle, and clothing. I was also thinking about stereotypes that are commonly associated with different races and body types.

EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT EVERY BODY IS DIFFERENT 2.

DY ENT

Keeping all of that in mind is very important in order to avoid accidentally offending a demographic. Once I had my characters developed my choice to overlap and layer the illustration was intended to create a visual curiosity and make the poster more captivating. The inspiration to overlap the line work of the illustration came from stereoscopic 3D images. I believe that it is crucial to create an intrigue in order to avoid being didactic. If the illustration was to clichĂŠ it would create a disconnect with the females who aim to benefit from itsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; message. After having a framework of Imagery and message I began to implement color. During the course of this project I have done extensive color theory research by using a color palette book I created. When I was interviewing many female body image experts I brought my color palette book and asked them to point out color palettes that they believe would be useful in developing a poster with this subject matter. Their response was astonishing, out of a total of seventy five different color combinations to choose from three quarters of these professionals chose the same color palette. I agreed with those I interviewed and therefore worked to implement the color choice correctly. I used light toned colors to make things recede into the background. Then I was able to use the high contrast colors or darker colors to draw attention to the main messages I wanted to portray. The colors are all very warm and inviting, yet they remain gender neutral. The black and white version kept all the same principles of contrast. I used high contrast darks to draw attention to certain areas and subtle greys to allow for depth (fig. 4).

In conclusion: The goal of this poster is to reflect on why society creates an unobtainable ideal of beauty. My aesthetic intent was to remain positive, inclusive and captivating. The tagline is broad enough to encapsulate the complexities and discourse surrounding female body image. Furthermore the illustration has characters that most female Nova Scotian viewers can identify with.

EVERY BODY IS DIFFERENT 3.

October Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s History Month 23

women.gov.ns.ca #WomensHistoryMonthNS @Statusof WomenNS

EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT EVERY BODY IS DIFFERENT

October Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s History Month

women.gov.ns.ca #WomensHistoryMonthNS @Statusof WomenNS 24

EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT EVERY BODY IS DIFFERENT