Dissertation Texts

I have outlined and analysed two texts here that I would use as a basis for writing my dissertation. I am hoping to to look at the importance of a companies self created aesthetic and how this alters our perceptions of them.

1st Text

Would You Like Umlauts With That?

Bruce Campbell

The main purpose of this article would be to bring to light some of techniques used by companies to create a foreign identity for a brand or business as a marketing tool. The author shows how the Umlaut (ü) has been used in foreign branding to give brands the false appearance of being authentically from another country. This technique has been used by many companies to generate the feeling of class or sophistication for a product that if it was marketed from its original country of origin, would not be so successful.

The key question being addressed here by the author is what effect does the use of a self-generated marketing technique have on people’s perceptions of a product. Does the use of a German/Austrian/Swiss symbol mean that people are more willing to pay extra for Häagen Dazs ice cream as they perceive that there is added quality because they are buying a ‘foreign’ import?

Some of the key information shown in this article is such information of the origin of the Haagen Dazs Company, it comes from the Bronx, New York (1961), and its name is “totally fictitious name with no meaning in any European language”. The creator Reuben Mattus used a Scandinavian theme but of the 700 stores they now have in 54 countries, none are in Scandinavia. The article outlines the meaning and correct use of an umlaut (ä), as well as other example of its uses in foreign branding.

The author uses the IKEA’s “the unböring manifesto” which was a supplement included in “trendy shelter and fashion magazines” such as vogue, Dwelle and Metropolis. The supplement featured advertising tag line of “What is unböring?”. The author uses this as an example of the incorrect grammatical use of the umlaut in an advertising sense as it catches the eye and appears to be used in a word that isn’t English.

In this article the author takes quite a satirical view of the use of this foreign branding but however infers that the companies that have applied these techniques have in many occasions been successful when using such strategies. He does though conclude that in certain circumstances this technique has been applied but not fully understood (see Mötley Crüe, where pronunciation by German fans is “Mutley Cruh!”).

A key concept that Campbell outlines in this article is that if we see a word with a foreign spelling or grammatical addition such as the umlaut then we will initially associate a foreign identity with it. And with this we will associate the values of that culture. If a Manchester based kitchen designer uses the exterior front that gives the appearance of a German company then we will initially associate their strong, robust, efficient connotations with Manchester based companies product.

The author in some senses though is taking for granted such assumption as that this approach is always successful. There may be many cases, especially now in this current climate where this is unsuccessful because of that want for more home grown products therefore people may be less reluctant to buy “foreign” as they once would be.

If we were to take the author’s line of reasoning seriously but more extreme then by all means all companies should apply this tactic to their own marketing strategy. All cars would be German made, all appliances Japanese and all furniture Swedish and so forth. Although if this tactic was never applied then there would possibly be many companies that offer good quality products go out of business as they would have to drop their prices to compete with other home grown companies that don’t deploy such a savvy business approach.

The author is coming from the point of view that when this foreign branding technique is used properly that it can be extremely beneficial to the immediate impact of a brands weight in it’s market place. The author also reiterates that a company doesn’t necessarily need to be 100% accurate when advertising themselves as foreign in their own country as is the nature that they are foreign in the eyes of their customers.

2nd Text

The Advertising Handbook (Chapter 4 – Advertising and Marketing)

Sean Brierley

I have focused mainly on chapter 4 of Sean Brierley’s “The Advertising Handbook” as it relates closely to my chosen topic. I may relate back to other areas of this text for future references regarding my dissertation.

The main purpose of this chapter is to give a wide scale overview of the topic of advertising and marketing on the whole. The author has outlined the key element of what good advertising/marketing consists of and has shown how these have been used in general practice via a number of prime examples.

There are a number of key questions that the author addresses here. He firstly looks at what are the main components of the marketing mix, them being Price, Product, Place and Promotion and goes on to explain in depth why these are key. He then moves on to ask ‘Why use advertising?’ which he answers with three real life examples of positive advertising.

The most important information conveyed by the author is on his stance of the marketing mix. All four are equally important to advertising/marketing success. Red Rock cider is used to as an example of how its advertising was effective but because of underestimated stocking, the product sold out after 3 days, an advertising success but a marketing flop. A key point brought up is that advertising does not have a direct discernable effect on sales, this meaning that it can only contribute towards success.

The author uses a great deal of examples to support his claims those being Budweiser, Barclaycard and Packwood advertisement campaigns. He also uses reference points such as the Principals of Marketing, The Times and Marketing Week to name a few.

The main conclusions that are drawn from this particular part of The Advertising and Marketing Handbook are that advertising and marketing are very different entities. Also that the success/failure of a product can easily be determined if the four P’s are all taken into consideration.

The key concept that we need to understand is that advertising is only one element of the marketing mix and that it works along with the four P’s. What the author is getting at is that if we do not adhere to these rules then the failure of a product is more likely to occur. This is due to all components being equally important.

The main assumptions underlying the authors thinking is that if the rules of the 4 P’s and advertising are key to success and if they are not followed then the product will be a failure. It is implied that this is the case in the text however there may be instances where a different formula has been used but and positive results have been yielded. If we were to take this line of reasoning seriously then there may be cases where either advertising or marketing is bypassed and would possibly lead to the failure of the product.

The main points of view that are stated are the importance of product pricing, the product and service, product placement and product promotion. Also the author reinforces that these marketing techniques need to be used in conjunction with advertising methods.

Wasssssup!!!

Who would have thought it. While doing some serious research for my (very highbrow) dissertation, I stumbled back onto this clip, which I found hilarious, first time around.

This does actually link into my dissertation topic, although very loosely. Any excuse just to post it up though.

Designer Languages "haitch" or "aitch"?

Urban Dictionary

I've just finished watching the channel 4 news and Jon Snow had a very interesting discussion and report on the evolution of language. It seems that as generations move on we alter pronunciations, with it currently being that the youthful thing to do is add extra syllables. An apt example being the word "mischievous", the current way to say this is "mis-chee-vee-uss", however the classic way to say this is "mis-chi-vus ".

It seems that we are redesigning our own language. From the previous example the second but also original pronunciation now seems to sound posh. However this "redesigning" of language has peen around for centuries. Originally much of the English language came from French and Latin. However when many of these words came in from the French language they were altered when introduced and given a "H" sound at the beginning as this was seen as a sign of class. Take "herb" for example this was initially pronounced "erb".

There are so many variants on pronunciations that there is now very rarely a definite right or wrong way. So much of this has to do with modern communication methods such as text language and even more recently due to twitter for example, words are being created and or their meanings being replaced 1.e. "he/she tweeted".

Mind Map Madness

I have drawn up an initial mind map of what I think that my dissertation may possibly be centred around. I have decided to look at Why We Buy as I believe that this could tie in well with Graphic Design and possibly work that I will embark on in 4th year.

The idea was progressed greatly from out group meeting today. I am focusing on Perth Road in this example and looking mainly at good & bad signage and the medium in how things are advertised. More will come soon as our dissertation workshop tomorrow will no doubt throw up some more questions.

Dissertation Group Meeting

Our group met again today to discuss our dissertation topics and initial ideas. The meeting went well and I think that even though everyone is still in the very early idea stage I feel that we all swapped ideas and helped each other progress well. On to picking our questions now eeek!

Thanks to Jen and the passers by for the photos.

Taking The Good With The Bad

So last week while enjoying the pleasures of a reading week from Uni, I had the unfortunate experience of having my flat burgled. My Mac, DSLR and iPod were all stolen and to make it all worse insurance isn't covering them.

This was the first time in as long as I can remember that I truly felt completely removed from all technology and I admit that I didn't like it. It began to get me thinking however of how important "technology" is to us. I think the idea of being connected with people is the most important thing, as I spent 1 night without a laptop and it felt like an age. In all honesty though, like me the first thing many people do when they go on the computer is immediately check their facebook, or their email as without it now we genuinely feel lost.

I don't necessary think this is a bad thing as in the modern world this is the way things are done now. WiFi is available on buses, trains, in airports, schools etc so that there is never a moment that we are truly alone. It is not that we are techno crazy but that the feeling of security is offered and everyone craves that. Not necessarily always in the literal sense of talking to friends or family 24/7 but the security of knowing that in your hand is all your music or all your pictures, as these are things that say a lot about us and are paramount in daily life to making us feel at home.

Although a great deal of negatives have came out of this situation, one small positive has been produced. It has given me a topic that I now feel strongly about and an opinion that I could possibly use in some form to build a dissertation question from.

In all the lectures we have had so far in, design studies, on our dissertation, the lecturer has stated that our topic should be something that we feel strongly about. Questions that relate to our dependence on technology or variations of this would now be of great interest to me as they have a more personal link.

Just last week I recently discovered Google Reader and realised how much easier it would make things as I wouldn't have to trawl through lots of different blogs and web pages. After last weeks events though, I'm wondering if depending on things like this simply make life more difficult in the long run. If we lose our laptop for example then we have lost more than just an expensive piece of equipment. Just something to think about.

Kick Up The A...

Image from here

Sorry to disappoint but the picture acts more as a metaphor.

After last weeks lecture from Jonathan Baldwin, its fair to say that 3rd year design took a bit of a kicking up the bottom for our lack of bloggage (i'm claiming that phrase).

So taking the positives from this its time to dust off the old blog and start showing her some attention. Like my friend & colleague Connor Mcartney who has recently revamped his blog, I thought I would also.

In the coming weeks I will keep you updated with my progress on the MPA Roses brief and a team project that myself and Laura Hall are working on to produce an ident for 'The Box' music channel, plus some extra side projects and previous work.

Too The Cake Shop Batman!!!

Image found here

Im pretty sure most guys have been scared by their other half at one time or another by a sentance such as "when we're married" or "our kids will look like...".

I can quite confidently say that i want this to be my wedding cake.

Easy.

Mass Production Wiki

Mass Production & Design

Stephen McKay

Graphic Design

Summery

Mass Production is as the name suggests in its simplest form, a method of production, used to generate vast amounts of goods quickly and efficiently.

"The mass production of standardized goods is using dedicated machines and moving assembly lines, employing unskilled and semi-skilled labour in fragmented jobs, with tight labour discipline, in large factories." (Zeigler, R.H, 2002)

This process has enabled the modern work forceto replicate and reproduce items at a previously unthought-of speed and volumes. Mass production can be applied to almost any item, from cars to clothes and appears to have minimal limitations.

There are however some disadvantages to this method of output. In such cases where machines do the majority of the work, there rigidness doesn’t allow for much variety and freedom as a skilled manual labourer would provide. Henry Ford himself was famously quoted on the rigidity of this rapid mass production method; he however manages to put a somewhat positive spin on the matter:

"Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black"(Ford, H, Crowther, S, 1922).

The tedium of using unskilled, untrained workers to complete menial, repetitive tasks can also lead to workers feeling some what removed from the end product.

“It is frequently alleged that the extreme division or simplification of tasks in mass-production industries is a major source of job dissatisfaction.” (Kilbridge, M.D, 1961)

History

The roots of Mass Production lie deep within the ethos of the American culture, as it was here that the ideology was first born at the turn of the 1900s. Automobile pioneer Henry Ford was “the first industrialist to make full use of this system” as he gave life to the very first production line while developing his now iconic Ford Model T car.

“Initially it took 14 hours to assemble a Model T car. By improving his mass production methods, Ford reduced this to 1 hour 33 minutes. This lowered the overall cost of each car and enabled Ford to undercut the price of other cars on the market. Between 1908 and 1916 the selling price of the Model T fell from $1,000 to $360.“ (Zeigler, R.H)

This process has since shaped the modern world and created a consumer culture that is on a scale unparallel to anything prior to the early Twentieth Century.

“The production of long runs of standardized goods for a mass market was introduced into the United States at the beginning of the 20th Century. The first industrialist to make full use of this system was Henry Ford and as a result it became known as Fordism.” (Zeigler, R.H, 2002)

The void between production methods of pre-Fordism and post were so great as following this creation of Mass Production also came that of Mass Consumption that unlike the term “Fordism”(Thomson, G.F) which has since disappeared, has grew rapidly. As the means of production have evolved, our requirements to consume have also vastly elevated. Previously items were only purchased out of necessity rather than pure desire (apart from the wealthy). With the mainly post war/depression era ofthe 50’s however came the new phenomenon of a consumer culture. People could afford to buy clothes, household appliances and cars etc., which previously were unthinkable for the average British or American household.

In more recent times the level of consumption has out ran that of production especially in the western world. Shopping has become a far more frequent event to the average individual.

“Shopping is viewed now as a social event, Shopping is recreation for many people and a status symbol for others.” (Smith, J.W, 1994)

With this high consumption, coupled with high costs of production and worker wages, countries such as the USA, Britain, and Germany etc who were previously the industrial powerhouses of the world have turned to outsourcing to the east. It is now in countries such as China, Vietnam, Malaysia,

Thailand, India etc were the labour is cheap and workers are a plenty that the majority of production takes place. Various major corporations have been criticised for there use of Sweatshops where workers are being paid pence a day for working under inhuman conditions 7days a week and upwards of 15 hours a day.

High street giants Primark were under scrutiny in 2009 after a documentary exposed their appalling treatment of workers in India

“Employees in Primark factories in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka slaving away for up to 80-hour weeks in appalling conditions, at well under a living wage.” (Hilary, J 2009)

This has left many areas especially within the UK within town and cities that relied on these factories for jobs with high levels of unemployment. There is an ethical dilemma regarding the argument against sweatshops, as although it is claimed that these workers are being exploited, there is also the opposing side that claims that they wouldn’t be getting paid at all if there weren’t these corporations to create job that they voluntarily take.

Relevance

In modern times there is now a culture of” “The Want”. Following to the success of Ford's low-price cars, it became common practice for other companies to introduce Mass Production methods to produce cheaper goods faster. Products are now designed especially for this type of production with parts being outsourced from various different countries and then being shipped to one location for assembly.

Because of this method it is generallythe case that quality is substituted for quantity. Something that is exceptionally common in modern production, that comes from the designers themselves is a term called Planned Obsolescence.

“ “Planned Obsolescence” is the production of goods with uneconomically short useful lives so that customers will have to make repeat purchases.” (Bulow, J. 1986)

This method has been used a great deal in modern design although it has been around for decades. In recent times perhaps most notably with Apple’s iPod. It is claimed that they have the technology to release models numbers of stages ahead of the current but release them at planned intervals as to catch new and existing customers then their current model inevitably brakes.

“Made to Break”(Giles Slade, 2007) looks at this theory and tried to propose a solution of how this method of production can be changed.

“A lot of really sophisticated people devoted a lot of time and thought to developing this system," he says. "We need to look at the problem creatively and rethink it. Our whole economy is based on buying, trashing, and buying again. We need to rethink industrial design." (Giles Slade, 2007)

Mass Production isn’t always a negative thing however. Within industry there is a brand leader for every genre and sector imaginable; be it Coca Cola, Tesco, IKEA, Microsoft, Apple, Nike. People gain a sense of individuality from there purchases even though there will rarely be an occasion that you ever own anything that is unique any more. Companies such as IKEA have such a wide range of products that you genuinely cannot help but find something that you feel represents you.

Nike’s philosophy appeals to both sides of this trend. Some people wear Nike trainers because they want to stand out where as some just want to fit in. In their “Time of Hope” adverts Nike compiled stock images of people that are shown “reduced to representations of the common ability in us all to prevail over our circumstances” (Goldman, R, Papson, S. 1998). Nike in these adverts silently asks of the viewers “not to capitulate to the in justices of circumstances and difference (being poor, black, a woman, or confined to a wheel chair)” (Goldman, R, Papson, S. 1998).

Bibliography

Zieger, R.H and Gall, G.J. 2002., American Workers, American Unions: The Twentieth Century. The John Hopking University Press.

Thomson, G.F.2005., Fordism, Post-Fordism, and the Flexible System of Production. Oregon Williamette University.

Kilbridge, M.D., 1961. Turnover, Absence and Transfer Rates as Indicators of Employee Dissatisfaction With Repetitive Work, [online] Available at: <http://www.jstor.org/pss/2519600>[Accessed 5^th October 2010].

Smith, J.W, 1994., The World's Wasted Wealth 2: Save Our Wealth, Save Our Environment. Inst for Economic Democracy.

Hilary, J. 2009. Primark Soars, But At What Cost? [online] The Guardian. 5^th November 2009. Available at: <http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/05/primark-ethical-pledges-sweatshops>[Accessed at 5^th October 2010]

Budlow, J. 1986. An Economic Theory Of Planned Obsolescence. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Wiki Mind Map

Continuing on from the last post, we were to compile a mind map on our chosen subject. I don't tend to work the best in this formula but prefer lists in general, however to stay true to Mr Tony Buzan himself I thought I would give it one more try.

I managed to generate enough subject matter for my Wiki, next up the real thing, watch this space...

Wiki Group Meeting

For our first design studies project this semester we have been given the task of compiling a group Wiki on design terminologies.

I have assigned myself the topic of Mass Production & Design. Below is a (belated) picture of our first meeting in Drouthy's basement over a lovely lunch. We are all from different design specialities so hopefully we will be able to gain some valuable insight when we comment on each others findings later on.

Team Gorgeous

I Wish I Was This Smart

These people have found ANOTHER use for the iPad, this quirky little animation here was produced using and an iPad stop-motion animation, see if you understand how they do it. I think I do...

Making Future Magic: iPad light painting from Dentsu London on Vimeo.

Tumblr

I fancied a little freshen up so made a tumblr, feel free to follow at stephenmckay.tumblr.com. Not a lot there yet but they be lots to come...(hopefully)

Week 1

So the first week back at Uni is over and I must say it couldn't have gone any better.

Il admit that I didn't keep up to scratch with things over the summer so when we returned it took a while for me to get back into the design way of thinking and it also didn't help that I hadn't started up Photoshop, InDesign etc for around 4 months. But I think things have got to the stage where its now second nature.

Were working on a single brief for 3 week periods in groups. I am once again paired with Conner Mcartney and for the first time with Catriona Mciver for a brief set by branding company Wolff Olins . I feel we have quite a good group dynamic and are taking on our task of reinvigorating the high street quite well so far.

Capote

Recently over the last few weeks I have developed an increasing fascinated by eccentric American writer Truman Capote, after being totally blown away after reading his non-fiction novel 'In Cold Blood'.

I purchased this book at an Oxfam book sale at the start of 2nd year for a mere £2.50 after recognising the title from the autobiographical film 'Capote' starring Phillip Seymour-Hoffman which I rented from the university library a year prior. The book sat dorment on my shelf for the best part of six months as I sparsely had any time to read it, however on reading it this summer I was so grateful of my thrifty purchase. The chilling real life tale tells of the brutal unprovoked murder of a well respected Kansan family by two recently released convicts after the unsuccessful robbery of their farm house. The thing that makes the novel so compelling however is that you actually feel a lot of compassion towards the murderers which us unusual. Capote used his journalistic talents to get the complete story from all the people from the town of Holcome as well as the murders side and their pasts.

The thing that really drew me to this story is the circumstances in which it was written. In 2005 the film Capote was released and recieved rave reviews aswel as an Oscar for Hoffman. The story tells of the writing of In Cold Blood. It is somewhat implied in this film that Capote may have fell in love with one of the murders Perry Edward Smith while gathering information on his past, during Smiths time on death row. Strangely enough in 2006 a film called Infamous was released telling the exact same story however with the love story strongly forced upon you.

I found it so odd that two so similar films were to be released only months apart. The latter starring arguably bigger names but receiving little to no publicity.

Capote is probably one of my all time favorite films and probably so because of Hoffmans performance but on discovering Infamous I have become torn as it seems that Toby Jones' performance is by far more true to life as he totally became the character in every way, mimicking facial expressions and his voice to a T. But still, I prefer not to think of the story the way it was told the second time as it seems far too flamboyant and void of the raw emotion shown in Capote as Hoffman shows how his control on prolonging and ending of the murderers life to get his story is emotionally tormenting him.

The story surrounding the gathered information is perhaps more interesting than the final story. Capote created a whole new genre with the non-fiction novel and it is in a way tragic that this was to be his last complete story as some say that he never quite recovered from the depths that he took himself too in writing it. Sadly in 1984 capote died due to a life of alcoholism and a drug fueled lifestyle.

The book and two films are extreamly interesting and even just for comparison sake are worthwhile. I experienced them in this order Capote, In Cold Blood, Capote (just to remind myself), Infamous. However if done in a different order I may have preferred the films differently.

iPhone 4 Unveiled

So if the official release of the iPad within the last month wasn't enough for you, Apple have once again tightened their stranglehold on the the worlds technology market. The iPhone 4 was recently announced an finally it looks to be the complete package (as if it wasn't before).

Although the iPhone is the best selling phone of all time, it had for some time seemed to be holding back in key areas of technology where other rival phones have excelled, much preferring to launch and create their own unique selling points such as the AppStore and 3G capability features. These areas are of course the video recording and camera flash capabilities which had always seemed to be some what ignored by Apple as they focused on more important parts of the iPhone in previous generations. But now that there here now it seems that Apple have firmly thrusted the iPhone head and shoulders above other competitors where such features as a 5MP camera was perhaps their only selling point.

The way that it seems to have been presented is rather nonchalantly mentioning "oh yeah by the way we could have done that all along", which they of course could have but boldly waited and spearheaded the market in other ways. The iPhone 4 also boasts a host of new features such as their video call feature Facechat, longer battery, retina display, multi-touch screen and a new slim light weight engineered design.

With it now available to pre-order im sure there will be the familiar air of Applemania sweeping across the globe riding on the back fo the iPad wave.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/design/index.html#design-video

Logorama

Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

I found this film recently an was really impressed by it. Logorama won the 2009 Oscar for Short Animation.

Its a Graphic Design/Animation dream as the story is told entirely using brand logos. Its quite long at around 16 minuets but is definitely worth watching as not only is it really stunning but its quite funny too.

Homepage Feature!

A lucky week for me by the looks of it. Got one of my photographs featured on the artybuzz home page!

http://www.artybuzz.com/

Artybuzz: Featured Artist

Hey everyone, hope you have all had a great easter hols.

Well...I have recently been doing some work with artybuzz.com. Its a great way to get your work out there and get to know other artists, designers as well as potential customers. Well over the past few months I have had a couple of pieces featured on the home page and this week I have got a featured interview on the artybuzz blog about photography. It may be worth a look if your interested.

Its a great opportunity and is a great way to get noticed so join up people could be an easy way to make some money!

Is it Over?

I can't really seem to be able to grasp the thought now that the main part of 2nd year is already over (and its only March!).

This year has been a lot of fun and I feel that I have been quite challenged for the majority of the time. The studio briefs, although they could have been better in some aspects such as Typography, were enjoyable for the most part.

Although I cant wait for a good relax over the summer, I feel that after probably the first 2months of the the 5 (yes 5) that we have been awarded that I will be looking for some form of new challenge. I have contacted a design company Big Blue Dog in my home town with a view of looking into maybe doing some work with them if they will take me.

Well roll on summer and heres thanks for the last 7 months.

Assignment 5

Activity 5A

The growing trend of celebrities being used in advertising has become a multi-million pound industry over the past few years. In the last semester I explored this topic from a point of view of that used secondary research. A great amount of information was found through this method, using the library and cross-search facilities that are at our disposal. This method however like everything else has its flaws, as you are using someone else’s findings which at times can be unreliable and leave you being slightly removed from the subject. This time around I am looking into the possibility of ways that I could improve on the previous task in a way that will provide some more salient information. In order to gain a firmer grip of this topic it would prove beneficial to carry out some primary research of my own this time. I have planned some possible methods that could be applied and from experience on similar projects, carried out in such a way that would yield the most positive, well-rounded responses.

I believe that when researching this subject there could be a number of initial problems that would have to be addressed. Mainly there is, for some reason, a sort of shame that goes along with this type of topic. Although there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with admitting that we like to follow trends or dress like celebrities etc. people still don’t like to admit it when asked. I don’t believe that many people would like to think of them self as followers or sheep but instead as trendsetters, when in actuality very few people are these. Even those who try to stand as “individuals” out like Goths or Punks for example are conforming to a stereotypical group of society even if not consciously. I myself would probably act in the same was if questioned however; I do know that I would fall into a certain group of the public although probably wouldn’t admit it if asked. I will openly admit that I bought my Sharpie markers after seeing the David Beckham advert, although I don’t believe that it was him having them that drew me to them but the fact that he drew my attention to them. After seeing this I perhaps thought, “maybe I will buy some markers” but it probably wasn’t a conscious thing in direct response to the celebrity endorsement. I think that the idea of a product being brought to your attention is the more likely result of this style of advertising, as after seeing it you may see the product somewhere else and believe it was your decision to buy it, this probably more than anything relating to fashion.

Considering the previous point if I were to conduct interviews I would have to be quite careful with my wording. The best results would not come out from openly asking people if they are effected by celebs so careful wording would have to be applied as you approach the subject with caution. The likely answer would probably be negative and at that would be a yes or no. With that in mind the sort of question that should maybe be used could be:

“So tell me about your outfit, where do you get your ideas from?” From this you could derive a number of things like if they buy designer clothing that could be endorsed by celebrities for example or if they take their ideas from the ‘what are the celebrities wearing’ columns of fashion magazines. Questions that could apply to all would be such things as “name the last thing that you bought” or “last expensive thing” and ask their reasons why. Even asking what future purchases they have in mind as from this you could derive if there are any current advertising campaigns that support these products.

There is no limit to the range and amount of questions that could be asked with relation to interviews of this subject as everyone buys and everyone views this form of advertising. If I was to carry out this type of interview I feel it would be most constructive to focus on a particular age range, predominantly the 18-25 bracket as this is when I believe we are most bombarded by targeted advertisements.

For interviews it could be useful to incorporate a pictures element with blurred out products and likewise in videos. A study could be undertaken to see if participants can still name the product because of its flagship celebrity.

A study that could return varied results may be the analysis of pictures. If photos of a select age and gender group of the public were scrutinized then we can look for similarities in clothing, hairstyles etc. This wouldn’t be the most accurate way of researching, as we would just be assuming for the main part, however the analysis would produce some form of results and patterns. For example: you can tell that stripes are in this season by taking a very brief look at women from the ages of anywhere between 6 and 60. This wont simply be by chance and it is unlikely that it has only caught on through one person copying another, therefore there must be some form of media that has shown that this is what is “in” this season. In our 1^st assignment when we had to analyse a person from only photos of them it wasn’t particularly difficult figuring out the type of person they are from very small amounts of information. Using this technique research could be done quickly but not wholly accurately.

I don’t believe that there are that many of the techniques that we have learned that couldn’t really be applied to the furthering of this study although this may be naive and be from the preparation side of the research. The only way that you could really be sure would be to carry out the actual processes.

Activity 5B

When asked to apply the techniques of primary and secondary research skills we have learned this year to a studio brief that could have benefitted I chose one set to us by the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI). I decided on this particular one, mainly because it was the most factual based but also because there were times during it when I feel that I hit somewhat of an information brick wall and I could have gained an advantage from having some extra knowledge other than the standard Google search results.

The brief asked us to investigate SCRI and their research into certain fields of soft fruit. My fruit was strawberries, which I soon found out that SCRI no longer produce, at this point it probably would have been useful to apply some of these skills in research.

I could of perhaps utilized the online cross-search facility a lot more as this would maybe have given me a more in depth background on the discovery of non allergic white strawberries, which I chose to base my project on. I linked this discovery to the idea of appearances after and questioned whether people would be drawn to these beneficial strawberries over the familiar red ones. I wasn’t sure if people were as much drawn to the appearance of the fruit as they were to the taste. This would have been the ideal opportunity to create an investigation of my own.

If I were to redo this project I would definitely take the opportunity to answer questions rather than just simply posing them. I think that the best course of action would be to conduct interviews on the subject of food appearance over taste. In Assignment 4 when we were asked to conduct interviews, along with two colleagues we conducted ours on this subject asking a variety of questions in attempt to get peoples perspectives. It was more on food in general but from the type of process we used I feel if this was used again but slightly altered we could have got some interesting results. Questions along the lines of, for example: “Name me your favourite food or fruit and why” this type of question could point me in the direction of foods with particular appearances or either tastes.

There are a number of other primary research methods that I feel could have added sustenance to my research for this project, even basic ones such as showing people pictures of the different coloured strawberries and seeing which ones were most preferred. Ideally if I could have acquired some white strawberries then a blind taste test would have been quite simply the fastest and easiest way to get to the crux of the issue.

At first I did originally see the methods used in design studies and the briefs that we were set in the studio as completely separate entities and couldn’t really see where they would eventually cross over. However I find that mainly because of discussions that we have held with peers those things have became more apparent as the year has progressed.

I do feel that the idea of doing research work on the computer as being beneficial in some respects such as ease, but I don’t think that anything really compares to gathering information yourself. It was perhaps a dismissive thing or because of the nature of the 1^st semesters studio briefs that I couldn’t quite see where research methods would really slot in. But now that that my attention has been drawn to the fact that all these skills we have learned are interchangeable, I feel that this gives me more opportunities to create a more solid basis for my studio work in 3^rd year. I have certainly found that the process of planned and unplanned discussions has played a large importance when it comes to developing ideas and helping others do the same. I found that as the year has progressed that I would notice ourselves as a group more often having what could be seen as “important” conversations regarding design issues. It has been firmly expressed that the importance of communication is key in this area and I’ll admit that I was once again sceptical of this. I now believe however that the talking element is very much as important as any other skill that we may learn during our time at university as it has the power to simplify any issue that you may have. If we were to have a planned discussion it, at times may not go as well as something that comes naturally. I think that the use of Tony Buzan’s Mind Mapping techniques perhaps threw me as; as much as I tried I couldn’t link it to any projects without consciously doing it. Ironically the turning point for me was probably the Tipping Point, as the discussions we first had as a group came without trying, as we were actually interested in these issues. I feel that this is because of opinions that people have now formed and that we now have a more advanced knowledge of design as a whole.

Personally at the moment I still very firmly see myself as a Graphic Designer, this is perhaps not due to my unwillingness to become something on a much more global scale but because mainly of my affection for my chosen speciality. I think that given the chance to progress and build on the skills that I have acquired so far that there is potential for the boundaries of specialities to change and easily cross over. I think that I came in with the idea that one side of thing would be practical and the other theory but once you get over these perceptions you can see that both are neither simply one or the other.

Bibliography

Buzan, T (2003). The Mind Map Book. London: BBC Worldwide Limited

Gladwell, M (2000). The Tipping Point. London: Abacas

Assignment 4

For Assignment 4 we were asked to conduct some further investigations as we continued our look into primary research. Along with Connor and Sam, we decided to focus our interviews on the topic of food preferences, continuing research that I started on a previous project set by SCRI. We looked at whether the appearance of your food matters as much as the taste. This came from when I looked into the possibility of producing non allergic white strawberries rather than the traditional red kind. In my opinion white strawberries wouldn't have appealed to the public as they don't hold the same connotations as red ones. We conducted 6 interviews on a variety of 1st year students.

I found the initial idea of carrying out interviews quite daunting and was perhaps a bit apprehensive at first to undertake the experiment as this was unlike anything we had been asked to do before. The decision to conduct the interviews as a group came after a pilot test when on discussion we found it to be easier to get a response from subjects if they felt like they were in a more relaxed conversational environment than a one on one question answer situation. We took turns with one taking notes while the other two talked to the subject, this way both us and them felt more comfortable.

The questions asked were:

- Describe your favorite meal?

- What makes this special?

- How does the environment effect the experience?

- What would you do if your received a bad looking meal?

- Would you taste it first?

- If a meal looked nice but still tasted bad what would be your actions?

We got a variation of answers but mainly the thing that we found was that people generally preferred comfort more than anything. By this they ment meals at home cooked by family members as they felt that they could more easily say if they wanted moe food or if they didn't like something. They also mentioned that having say their gran make them food, it took them back to a happy stage in their life. Of those who said that they would like to eat out there were a mixture of feelings regarding sending food back as some said that they would definitely do it as they were paying for it while others said that they never would as they would be too embarrassed. The general feeling was that they would always try their food no matter what it looked like and if something looked good and tasted bad, it was mainly their fault.

Afterwards we has a discussion with other class members about our findings. I found this to be very purposeful as it helped me to fully analyse what we had found out. I also quite enjoyed hearing other peoples opinions and giving my views on their findings. I definitely feel that this was a worthwhile task however I think that next time I should maybe put a bit more planning into the type of questions asked as although the results I received were good, they could have been a lot better. Perhaps a series of pilot tests followed by group discussions would yield the best results.

London 2012 Logo

We all know how terrible the London 2012 logo is, well this website offers some alternatives.

Flick through the logos and look at the comments, some of them are SO funny.

http://www.fubra.com/london2012/

Invisible Worlds

If you get the chance try and watch Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds on the BBC iPlayer. It has some really beautiful slow motion images as well as a lot of very interesting facts in it too. Its around an hour long but really worth it.

http://bbc.co.uk/i/rmrln/

Chiquita Branding

This new sticker rebrand caught my eye recently. The iconic Chiquita banana sticker has been given a fun new spin. It was the colours are the most noticeable thing about them in my opinion as they appear so bright and happy. Theres some nice variety of pictures. Enjoy.

http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2010/03/chiquita-banana-brand-refresh.html

So Easy You Could Make A Fuss About It

I have a small gripe with the current Oven Pride adverts. The slogan that there going with is "So easy a man could do it". It is quite obviously a joke about how men are stereotypically bad at house work and leave it to women. However if this was turned on it's head and it was, say a car advert saying "So easy to park a woman could do it". Even if it was said in jest I highly doubt it would be seen as a joke and would probably receive a host of complaints. Something that is now seen as a joke when women say it about men would very likely be seen as sexist if the other way around.

We will only really know if this would really be how people would react though if someone bravely (or stupidly) tries this technique in advertising.

Exhibition

Friday 26th of March saw the opening of the Origin of Food 3D Typography. The exhibition showed off the work of all the 2nd year Graphic Design students.

The show was themed around research done into soft fruit and vegetables for crop research company SCRI. The exhibition was well received and attended and lated till monday the 7th of March.

Heres a snippet of my work.

If any students would like a full copy of the exhibition photos just ask and il get them too you.