RESEARCH
Sketchbook research, analysis and idea's for Week 9.
The Lecture with Susanna Edwards and Sam Winston culminated in the arena most designers relish, the execution of an idea and the form, material, environment, tools and structure that contribute to enhancing the communication of that messaging (Edwards, n.d).
The explosion of knowledge in today’s ever-connected world has stifled creativity with everyone drawing from the same pool of reference and inspiration. I find it reassuring that society is reenvisioning the notion of craft as a means to unique and innovative work and ideas. The Makerversity is a community of emerging maker businesses in cities around the world. They occupy co-working spaces, bringing together diverse disciplines, ideas, skills while working together and inspiring one another (Makerversity, n.d.).
Kenya Hara’s Ex-Formation brokers the idea that design begins with embracing the unknown, the starting point to unique thought (Ex-formation, n.d.). New and original ideas are not about thinking but instead embodying a physical execution or crafting as a means of communication using a toolbox of process, materials, environment, visual language and design (Edwards, n.d).
Other tools to enhance or craft unique implementations are a curious, playful mind, looking for strategies without answers, indulging in sensory perception and being receptive to different perspectives. The goal is to utilize ideas and knowledge to create a meaningful narrative or story through (Edwards, n.d).
ANALYSIS
How can a message be enhanced through the medium in which it is implemented?
Since the early days of communication, humanity has been captivated by the methods and mediums it uses to convey information. How we communicate defines who we are and constitutes so much of what makes culture and an individual design unique. To a designer, the medium is often the message (Clear Ashtray Promotes Healthy Lungs | ePromos Promotional Blog, 2007).
The intellectual process of idea generation runs wild and free in our heads. These thoughts are collated to form a message, whose implementation is enhanced through craft, emotion, visual language, audience engagement and purpose.
Emotion allows a design to become multidimensional, instead purely being appreciated visually, it is experienced, absorbed and reflected on which makes the piece memorable and long-lasting.
The Acid Rain clip by Friends of Earth is an intensely emotive piece of environmental advertising and a call to action. The clip starts with a copy on a billboard reading ‘THIS IS LITMUS PAPER WHEN ACID RAIN IS FALLING YOU SHOULD SEE RED’. You see people walking and running past, cars driving buy all while the rain falls and the paper turns red. It ends with the Friends of Earth logo and the copy line ‘The earth needs all the friends it can get’ (Friends of the Earth - Acid Rain (1990; UK), 1990). An emotion of fear and dread makes the impact of the message all the more profound, adding purpose through environmental awareness.
Guerilla marketing is an unconventional medium; best understood when observed, that catches people unexpectedly in the course of their day-to-day routines, creating awareness through audience engagement and interaction (Zantal-Wiener, 2020). A German insurance company AOK produced a guerilla campaign to create awareness of the effects of smoking. It mounted clean plastic lungs against street walls into which, your cigarettes were disposed of. These filled up creating a terrifying visual of your lungs filling up with old smoking buds. The visceral, emotional reaction through audience engagement resulted in 6000 people stopped smoking on the first day of the campaign (Clear Ashtray Promotes Healthy Lungs | ePromos Promotional Blog, 2007).
Fig. 1: 9 Gag, n.d.
The Singapore Cancer Association distributed ashtrays in the shape of human lungs into which your cigarette ash was disregarded (9 Gag, n.d.). Social purpose through the audience’s interaction visually demonstrates what the audience is doing to their bodies, creating a traumatic and powerful emotional reaction far more effective than the standard ‘anti-smoking’ poster messaging.
Crisis is a charity for homeless people. A communication pamphlet brought attention to the scale of the ‘hidden homeless’ in the UK. They are represented by a red dot in a double-sided booklet of over 400 000 dots printed in thermosensitive (heat) ink. It emotionally engages the audience through the interaction of touching the dots at which point they disappear, only to return which seeks to demonstrate that the problem won’t disappear but will keep coming back unless we donate and touch their lives (Behance, n.d.).
Fig. 2, 3: Behance, n.d.
Cosimo Moller of Serviceplan Gruppe in Munich came up with the Design Lions Grand Prix award-winning Annual Report for Austrian Solar, an innovative solar energy producer (Cooper, 2012). The book appears blank, and the design magically appears when exposed to sunlight. It is the first annual report powered by the sun. Innovative print technology, using environmentally friendly, photochromatic colours only become visible when exposed to sunlight and disappear when shielded from the sun (Austria Solar, 2012). The annual report does a cultural and social service by bringing awareness to the plight of the environment.
Fig. 4, 5: Austria Solar, 2012.
Morag Myerscough bright colours and harlequin prints adorn the Sheffield children’s hospital wing (Dezeen, 2017). Formica wood-like panels and screen-printed woodgrain were printed onto paper and laminates for easy cleaning in a sterile hospital environment and to hide medical equipment for a more ‘homey’ look(Festival, B., 2018). Colours were designed to be suitable for children of all ages while providing ease and comfort for parents. Paler prints were used for children with autism and light sensitivities (Aouf, R., 2017). The project used innovative materials, functioning, visual language and design to create a unique visual experience with a social conscious.
Fig. 6, 7, 8: Aouf, R., 2017.
As designers, our focus often gets caught up in colour, typography and layout when we should be paying equal attention to the medium, emotions, environment, and materials of the message we are trying to communicate. It elevates the design from a pretty picture, into a message with a purpose. The ultimate goal in every design execution should be the combination of appealing visual aesthetics and meaningful messaging.
WORKSHOP CHALLENGE
Sketchbook research for workshop challenge - Week 9.
I spent the week road-tripping and hiking around my city with my camera in hand, at different hours of the day and night. I photographed all the majestic sites and landscapes Cape Town had to offer and marvelling in the beauty and joy this city brings me daily.
Photographys from hikes and road trips this week.
JOY - Excitement, Anticipation and Awe
I perceive Cape Town to be a small utopia, standing proud on the tip of Africa. I don’t believe a single emotion can define this city, but Joy is a sentiment most often felt and accompanied by Excitement, Anticipation and Awe.
The current pandemic has expedited a lifestyle most Cape Town residents embody, and that is a flexible work schedule which allows us ample time to enjoy all city has to offer. Beaches, mountains, forests, wine farms, European café and nightlife culture, are all within a few kilometres of the city centre. You can hike up Table Mountain or Lions Head in the morning, before heading into the city for work, walk along the beach during your lunch break and run in the forests to wind down for the evening.
I created a wheel of fortune that could replace a clock on any Cape Town resident’s wall. The dial is spun, and the audience waits in anticipation for it to land on an easily accessible destination that will undoubtedly bring joy and a sense of adventure. The wheel of fortune arrives in a box complete with a photographic pamphlet of sites and destinations to visit.
It serves to remind residents that in these uncertain times, we are truly fortunate to live in one of the most magical, joyful places on earth.
Cape Town Wheel of Fortune.
REFLECTION
This week my life embodied the workshop challenge as my city filled me with a sense of joy and awe. I woke up at four in the morning to capture the morning light overlooking the beaches. I hiked to the top of Lions Head to get panoramic views of the city as the sun rose and walked in the forest after work as the sun was setting. I drove down to the lakes to do yoga and had lunch at a wine farm, camera in hand to capture and absorb all my hometown has to offer.
A sense of awareness and appreciation for things that I have taken for granted was realized. From the city, I live in, to the love affair I have with my work and the new-found challenge the MA is inspiring.
I have also realized that throughout my career, I have paid too much attention to the beautiful execution of a project and how much more impactful, meaningful and profound my work could be if I add purpose to the concepts and messaging. By pushing ideas just one step further, they can be profoundly impactful as well as visually appealing.
I want my work to embody Bruce Duckworth's sentiments of design, creating magic (Austrian Solar, 2012).
Reference: Edwards, S. n.d. Interview with Sam Winston, Module GDE710 Contemporary Practice.
Reference: PHILIPS, M., 2020. Design For Emotion To Increase User Engagement. [online] Toptal Design Blog. Available at: <https://www.toptal.com/designers/product-design/design-for-emotion-to-increase-user-engagement> [Accessed 20 November 2020].
Reference: McNally, E., 2020. Good Design Hinges On Emotional Connection | Design Partners | Eoin Mcnally. [online] Design Partners. Available at: <https://www.designpartners.com/good-design-hinges-emotional-connection/> [Accessed 20 November 2020].
Reference: Public Information Film Wiki. 1990. Friends Of The Earth - Acid Rain (1990; UK). [online] Available at: <https://pif.fandom.com/wiki/Friends_of_the_Earth_-_Acid_Rain_(1990;_UK)> [Accessed 19 November 2020].
Reference: McAlhone, B., Stuart, D., Quinton, G., Asbury, N. (2016) A Smile in the Mind; Witty Thinking in Graphic Design (Links to an external site.). London: Phaidon.
Reference: : Cooper, A., 2012. Austria Solar “Solar Annual Report”. [online] Oneclub.org. Available at: <https://www.oneclub.org/articles/-view/austria-solar-solar-annual-report> [Accessed 19 November 2020].
Reference: The One Club for Creativity, 2012. AUSTRIA SOLAR "SOLAR ANNUAL REPORT". [image] Available at: <https://www.oneclub.org/articles/-view/austria-solar-solar-annual-report> [Accessed 19 November 2020].
Reference: Aouf, R., 2017. Morag Myerscough Brightens The Wards Of Sheffield Children’s Hospital. [online] Dezeen. Available at: <https://www.dezeen.com/2017/02/05/morag-myerscough-bright-colour-wards-sheffield-childrens-hospital-interiors-uk/> [Accessed 19 November 2020].
Reference: Ditchling Museum of Art + craft. 2018. Belonging Bandstand - Ditchling Museum Of art + craft. [online] Available at: <https://www.ditchlingmuseumartcraft.org.uk/event/belonging-bandstand/> [Accessed 19 November 2020].
Reference: Festival, B., 2018. Belonging: Morag Myerscough / What's On / Brighton Festival. [online] Brightonfestival.org. Available at: <https://brightonfestival.org/event/13552/belonging_morag_myerscough/> [Accessed 19 November 2020].
Reference: Institute of Making. 2020. Materials - Materials Library. [online] Available at: <https://www.instituteofmaking.org.uk/materials-library> [Accessed 19 November 2020].
Reference: Somerset House. n.d. Makerversity. [online] Available at: <https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/residents/makerversity> [Accessed 19 November 2020].
Reference: British Council | Creative Economy. 2015. In Focus: Makerversity. [online] Available at: <https://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/blog/15/01/04/focus-makerversity/> [Accessed 19 November 2020].
Reference: Promotional Products & Marketing Blog. 2007. Clear Ashtray Promotes Healthy Lungs | Epromos Promotional Blog. [online] Available at: <https://blog.epromos.com/hot-products/clear-ashtray-promotes-healthy-lungs/> [Accessed 20 November 2020].
Reference: Lars Müller Publishers. n.d. Ex-Formation. [online] Available at: <https://www.lars-mueller-publishers.com/ex-formation> [Accessed 19 November 2020].
Reference: Promotional Products & Marketing Blog. 2007. Clear Ashtray Promotes Healthy Lungs | Epromos Promotional Blog. [online] Available at: <https://blog.epromos.com/hot-products/clear-ashtray-promotes-healthy-lungs/> [Accessed 20 November 2020].
Reference: Zantal-Wiener, A., 2020. What Is Guerrilla Marketing? 7 Examples To Inspire Your Brand. [online] Blog.hubspot.com. Available at: <https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/guerilla-marketing-examples> [Accessed 21 November 2020].
Figure 1: 9 Gag, n.d. Singapore Cancer Society. [image] Available at: <https://9gag.com/gag/arGjOm7?ref=pn> [Accessed 20 November 2020].
Figure 2, 3: Behance, n.d. Crisis - Direct Mail. [image] Available at: <https://www.behance.net/gallery/1609355/Crisis-Direct-Mail> [Accessed 20 November 2020].
Figure 4, 5: Austria Solar, 2012. The Solar Annual Report. [video] Available at: [Accessed 19 November 2020].> [Accessed 19 November 2020].
Figure 6, 7, 8: Aouf, R., 2017. Morag Myerscough Brightens The Wards Of Sheffield Children’s Hospital. [image] Dezeen. Available at: <https://www.dezeen.com/2017/02/05/morag-myerscough-bright-colour-wards-sheffield-childrens-hospital-interiors-uk/> [Accessed 19 November 2020].