This blog post will follow the process of the Unit 8 project, Gen Z, with personal/peer/tutor feedback and further investigations to support my development and outcome.
Mini-task; Illustrator as an Image Activist
Intro:
In response to the Gen Z brief, how can an image creator make a critical work about consumer culture? When we try to speak of our opinions to the wider public through illustration like a protester on the streets, could we also influence the audience to reflect on their buying patterns or shopping habits? Illustration can be used as a tool to twist an existed visual content, or mock a visual content, and illustrators can then become visual activists, to be vocal about the themes that concern them.
Brief:
The aim of this workshop is to study the visual literacy of a product of your choice, trace the outline or reproduce a whole image of the product, and substitute all or some of the original content with the visual narrative you create.
Task:
- Choose a product.
- Research it's journey as a product.
- Recreate/manipulate an illustration of the product to convey a message to the audience.
This video explores the journey of a hamburger in America:
Cows produce more greenhouse gas than 22 million cars per year.
Cow manure accounts to 2/3 of all Nitrus Oxide pollution in the world.
One burger can contain the DNA of over 1000 cows.
One 1/4 pounder burger is about 6 and a 1/2 pounds of greenhouse gas.
Some interesting reads on the hidden cost of a beef burger:
Whats in your Burger - UN Environment
We are killing the environment one burger at a time - Business Insider
The true cost of a burger - NY Times
In response to this brief I created a series of 'ads' highlighting the true cost of burgers from a popular fast food brand. I looked at the carbon footprint, and environmental issues which surround my chosen brand to make a series titled 'McMurder'. This was also inspired by the conspiracy theory McMurder, and my research into the magazine Adbusters.
*Although I used a specific brand these facts are about burgers from fast food chains in general, and is not associated specifically with the brand imagery used in these pieces.
These are my original two designs, focusing on finding imagery surrounding the issues I discovered, incorporated with the traditional advertising design of M*'s.
I added the grain to give them the format of the vintage advertising I was particularly interested in from the research stage of this project. I like these designs on a technical level, however am aware that conceptually they are a little generic. - also the grain and the contrast make the images a bit deep fried.
Feedback:
Tutor Feedback; The images are very powerful, their bold and simple graphic quality make it a simple yet effective message. The concerns you have about collage being considered your own work is valid but dependent on how you manipulate and collage the images. Ask yourself why you add the grain, what is that quality trying to tell your audience? Do you want the feel of nostalgia? Or the feel of a vintage print quality? Consider this. continue to experiment and improve your work, consider how you can transform this into an edition, and consider making project plans of each idea (Film/magazine), to reach a considered outcome.
Peer Feedback from YiMao's Session: The pieces are bold, and really make a statement. The composition is well done - especially where the cow is licking the burger. I like the filter it makes it look like a print. The simplicity of the logo is good, but consider the copyright implications of using the logo as it is.
Initial Experiments
My initial experimentation for this project is focused on recreating popular advertisements, using similar formats to specific brands in order to highlight some of the key issues with these products.
These experiments explore the plastic pollution caused by popular drinks brands, referring specifically to the number one polluting brand in the world. Again I used the grain filter on these images, feeling it gave the image a vintage print feel. They are specifically sized for Instagram posts with the plan to gain online traction for this project in order to have a 'following' when releasing my edition.
These collages focus on the billionaires behind some of the major companies which dominate today's consumerist trends. The purpose of these edits was to experiment with manipulating images digitally. Technically I feel there is work to be done here, the first image has a basic level of manipulation which the second is extremely manipulated. I feel it would be important to find a balance between these two styles in order to keep the image recognisable, with the existence of a message. I feel it represents the subjects as inherently 'evil', highlighting something malicious about their business practice.
These designs focus on the landfill waste caused by the fashion industry by layering imagery of landfill sites and catwalk runways. I feel on a technical note these designs are overly filtered and over-exposed, this makes the images visually blurred and too hectic. However, I feel the stark contrast between the clean silhouettes of the models and the hectic landfill backgrounds is effective in highlighting an idea of 'expectations vs reality'.
Personal Analysis:
I like this collection of collages for a series of initial designs yet feel there is work to be done both theoretically and technically:
Technical improvement on creating collage, consideration into the effect of filters is needed, how can I create a 'vintage print' style with visual quality still high?
Improvement needed on manipulating images; can be done on Photoshop and in physical work with edited collages from magazines.
Some of the designs are very similar in terms of text placement, image style and design; how can I create variation in my works when creating an edition? How can I be less reliant on text yet still convey a strong message?
Plan must be done this week on a design idea for an edition; how can I collaborate the different themes explored?
Tutor Feedback:
"Think about how many copies of it you want to make. How many people will you have in your readership, where is a good place to start and grow from? Look at other small press magazines for a guide on style, content, platform."
"There is a good level of diversity in the approaches to image-making, the consumer product satire, fashion commentary, billionaire face manipulation. The colourways and style make it all feel cohesive which isn't a bad thing. Keep playing with what you are capable of technically, as well as what the images say."
Action Plan:
Complete research into a possible outcome; print, editions and zines.
Begin to consider a platform for promoting an edition, how will it be distributed? Consider things such as teasers, surveys and interviews.
Begin to consider collaboration, collecting a range of view points for a set of desired subjects.
Development; Further Research
In order to develop my work I have completed further research about the key topics of interest I found during my initial stages, in the hopes to create an informed magazine which addresses the key environmental issues of our shopping habits. As I create my work I am beginning to share it via Instagram, in order to generate an online following in preparation for releasing an edition.
Creating stories with my key findings has helped me explore how to represent some of the key facts boldly an efficiently. I think these are useful for generating interest in the project but there isn't enough image manipulation for these to feature in the magazine.
I have also been using Instagram as means to conduct further research, asking my following questions about how they reduce their plastic waste. This helped me realise my audience do know about the impacts of their consumption, and actively want to change their habits. For this reason I decided to add an educational element to the magazine with tips on how to reduce carbon and waste footprint.
These designs explore how I can use manipulated image and text to create informative pieces. I like how they convey the message in a bold way. I did experiment with using a different font for one of these images:
I don't like this use of font because I feel it is too stylised and distracts from the message, I prefer the other font as I feel it is more my style.
Development; Improving Designs
For this stage of the project I am beginning to improve some of the designs I liked but felt could use technical improvement. With consideration of the outcome I am also starting to plan out the pages of my magazine, experimenting with how each page compliments each other. For the construction of the magazine I am using Book Wright by Blurb, to enable the pages are formatted correctly for printing via Blurb.
For this piece I wanted to create a page with more information, however I feel there is too much going on in the image, so would like to recreate it as separate pages per item, feeling the simplicity of my previous designs to be more effective. Also, I don't like the drop shadow on the text as it makes the text feel separate from the image.
I recreated this page as separate JPEG images which take a focus on each type of ocean waste, using inspiration from one of my designs from the further research stage. I prefer this as a series of images as I feel it puts more focus on the message without overcrowding the page.
I transported these images into a set of four pages (2 A3 Spreads), adding text to introduce the series in a publishing format. I had a couple of technical issues with these designs as I wanted them to completely match up in preparation for printing, I found noting the presets for text sizing, and filter ratio enabled me to ensure every image had the same digital format.
These designs were from my initial experimentation stage exploring the impacts of the fashion industry. I like the concept of these designs but feel they are too similar to work next to each other in a magazine format, I also feel they need technical improvement in terms of digital skills and are too overcrowded meaning the message becomes lost in the design.
To develop these magazines I looked at some of the ideas from my artist research where recognisable imagery is manipulated to add another layer of meaning. I looked at the layout of clothes advertisement:
Brands such as Topshop, Urban Outfitters and ASOS, tend to use minimalist design with white/plain backgrounds. This draws attention to the advertised product. When applying this to my work the 'product' is the message I am portraying, therefore using minimalism draws attention to this message.
I decided to recreate the images by stripping them back as much as possible, while still keeping the idea of replacing product imagery with imagery that represents the issue I am highlighting. As opposed to using the noisy landfill images I chose one texture (i.e. oil) to replace the clothing with, to create stronger imagery. The white background emphasises the issue as it contrasts the chosen texture.
I had a couple of issues when formatting these designs for the magazine because I wanted the images to mirror each other but the white text wasn't visible on the ocean dress. I experimented with adding a drop-shadow but felt it makes the text seem separate from the image. I decided to lay the text over block colour, as I found this particularly effective in Barbara Kruger's imagery during my artist research.
To choose the most effective layout I asked a peer to compare the two images:
"I prefer the text box design, as it has a bold composition, whereas the drop shadow makes it look like you have used too many effects, it doesn't read as much like a magazine and seems more amateur." - Dee, Westminster University.
I agree with Dee and went with the block colour text layout, which is something I will also incorporate into other designs to create consistent formatting.
Despite wanting to reduce the noise of my images, I did feel the landfill imagery was particularly successful as it uses ideas of evoking disgust in an audience that I noticed was a common trait in anti-consumerist art. With the idea of trying to refine my images I recreated the design using developed Photoshop skills and an idea of formatting text over block colour. I experimented with using a model like the original designs, but felt this was too noisy again, so simply used text. I like this but am concerned I am becoming to reliant on text.
These designs again focus on an idea of replacing recognisable imagery, using the outline of a plastic bag, a washing machine drum and a paper receipt. I think these have a strong visual relation to the dress designs with reoccurring colour balance and text layout.
Outcome Process
While creating the designs, I began to return to my Instagram for testing, considering the distribution of my outcome. To do this I asked my following if they would be interested in free copies of the magazine. I felt if I was the sell them it would contradict my criticism of consumption.
A follower suggested I create a competition for my audience, encouraging them to share images in order to enter. I felt this would be a good idea as it would expand the audience my pieces met through sharing and promotion.
Tutorial Feedback: How can I effectively edition it?
The magazine is a cool idea, but consider the environmental impact of the production of your magazine, how does the context of your edition impact the message you are trying to convey?
Maybe consider your audience and then think about how it is distributed, are you preaching to the converted?
Maybe if sharing via Instagram make it a challenge for your following, perhaps encouraging them to share something they are doing to reduce their waste.
Have a look at the 2nd year's COVID19 response fundraiser.
Am I using too much text?
No, the level of text is good and it gives it the publication feel which you mentioned you're aiming for.
Maybe even include more text, if you want the magazine to be informative, perhaps focus on making the last few pages about how to change habits even more informative, thinking about your personal aims for this project.
Who do I want my audience to be?
Based on my Instagram question "How do you reduce your plastic waste?" I am aware that my audience do want to reduce the impacts of their consumption, but don't always know how. For this reason I wish to add an educational element to the magazine.
These pages explore how my audience can reduce their plastic waste. I kept with running visual themes such as text composition, and manipulating recognisable imagery.
(Edit: After printing I noticed I spelt coffee wrong (TWICE!!) I need to remember to proof read and peer proof read)
For my magazine cover jacket I wanted to keep the composition as minimalist as possible, this is as some of the imagery inside can be quite visually crowded, and I therefore feel the contrast would be effective. The actual image is over saturated and quite bold, which I feel attracts the reader to read more. I also chose the title 'Consumption' as I feel this is the overarching theme of all of my individual series - making the reader question the impact of their own consumption and criticising over-consumption.
For my contents page and inner cover designs, I again wanted a minimalist style which would emphasise some of the more effective designs further on in the magazine. I also chose to use the ocean for the inner cover as I felt ocean imagery is reoccurring throughout each section of the magazine. After tutor feedback I decided to write a small introductory paragraph, as it was noted if I am making an informative magazine I need to make the reader aware of what I am trying to tell them. This sparks a couple of questions in the readers mind before they begin to read the magazine to inform the direction of what they take from the inner content.
The Full PDF Copy is Available Here
Outcome
I printed my final magazine through the printing service, Blurb, and editioned it by creating an Instagram competition where I gave out five copies of the final print.
I began by posting designs to the page to gain audience traction, with captions which asked the audience to question their consumption:
A couple of people seemed interested based on likes and shares, I then posted a 'teaser' announcing the magazine, to gain interest in the project as a whole. This was based on the idea to distrobute my magazine via an Instagram competition (see above).
I announced the competition as 2 posts, which explained the magazine concept and encouraged people to enter via sharing a design or tagging someone in the post. This was with the intention to broaden my audience and spread the message of the harmful impacts of consumption further.
While people liked and shared the post I also promoted it on my story to reach a wider audience. While promoting I used story layout settings to use similar text layout to the actual product.
Thankfully people did enter! I drew the winners from a raffle and shared the process on my story:
This process was fun as the competition element gave the audience an interactive aspect which I felt was beneficial when generating audience interest. However! I wish I'd have had the chance to be more creative when distributing the outcome. If it wasn't for coronavirus I would have liked to plant copies in places such as transport, shopping carts and magazine stands at shops. This would have enabled me to directly target an audience engaging in consumerist behaviours - yet I wouldn't have been able to collect feedback.
I was really happy with the final print, and full analysis of the outcome, including audience feedback can be found here.