What is Branding: Matthew Healey
“What is Branding?” begins by discussing the basics of the branding process. It looks at what a brand is, the components involved in branding, what branding does and who owns the brand. Healey covers all aspects of what is involved in developing a brand, and examines changes that may occur after a successful brand has been established, for instance, the evolution of a logo as time goes by, or the revamping of packaging. He then examines the relationship between branding and design, and how the latter can aid branding in achieving global success and ultimately profit.
Advertising plays a key role in promoting a brand, and through several examples, such as Fiat and Stella Artois, Healey explains that each brand “needs to tell a story” in order to sell its products, and that in order for advertising to be successful, it must tie the consumer emotionally with the brand, as “emotions drive our behavior [sic], including our buying.”
Healey also spends a chapter exploring “What Else Can Be Branded?”, which focuses on the logo of the Olympic Games, the five rings, and celebrities, such as David Beckham, and how being associated with a celebrity can further endorse a brand. He looks at the differences advertising faces when addressing men and women and how, in some cases, such as car manufacturers, to appeal to both sexes.
“What is Branding?” is an easy to swallow book as it breaks down the key components of the branding process from start to finish, and the helpfully named chapters allowed me to pick out the parts of the branding process I was most interested in and that would be most useful to me, without having to wade through masses of material. Healey takes a positive stance on the branding process, and admires the ways in which consumers can be influenced into buying a particular product, through clever, memorable advertising campaigns, although he is also fairly unbiased when examining the relationship between producer and consumer, and competition between companies. This unbiased approach is useful to me in understanding the process involved with branding, although it is not what I am choosing to examine in my dissertation, so Healey will be able to give me information, without swaying my viewpoint.
Healey’s approach is fairly simplistic, and he addresses this in the glossary of the book;
“While I have made a strenuous effort to avoid branding jargon in this book – I feel plain English is always preferable – there are some key terms and concepts, that readers may want to refer to …”
Having a glossary of branding terms explained succinctly will be useful when reading other books discussing branding, as they may not take this approach, so it is key to my understanding of the text.
Healey has used books and web resources when carrying out his research, and none of the books he has used have been written earlier than 1999 (the majority are from 2005 – 2006), which at the time of “What is Branding?” being published, would be nine years old, which suggests that the majority of the material in the book is fairly up-to-date. However, this only includes his secondary research, so his primary research may be more recent.
“What is Branding?” allowed me to examine the basics of the branding process, but in order to write my dissertation, I will need to look more in depth at certain areas covered, although not thoroughly examined, within the book and Healey has allowed me to see, in no great detail, what certain aspects entail which should help me in sorting through material into finding out what is useful and what is not.
Healey, M, (2008), What is Branding?, Switzerland, RotoVision SA
No Logo: Naomi Klein
Klein begins in her introduction by examining the reasons behind writing ‘No Logo’. She recalls her time living in Toronto, in what she calls a “ghost of a garment district”, and describes the dilapidated, boarded up warehouses, in one of which she resides, and her view of the area, which still features the faded signs advertising discontinued brands, that have never been removed, as no one has yet discovered how to make a profit from doing so, and as a result, the modern city has been built up around the area. She talks of the Polish and Russian immigrants that arrived in the 1920s and 30s, and the thriving sense of community and solidarity, as they formed unions for workers rights. She discusses how the area is now disintegrating, with the demand for the garments and items the workers manufactured, having fallen rapidly, and in some cases, is practically nonexistent.
“… And the need for a rhinestone bridal tiara if the need for such an item happens to arise (a Hallowe’en costume, or perhaps a school play…).”
Klein goes on to describe her visits to factories in Jakarta, Indonesian, that produce goods for various multinational companies that are widely recognised “back home” and the conditions in which the girls were subjected to, had resulted in a strike. She discusses these visits to various other locations and her own experiences that she can relate back to the workers; one example being that clothing is produced for the brand ‘Esprit’ and she, a teenager worked in a store which sold ‘Esprit’ clothing. Klein goes onto explain her reasons for writing ‘No Logo’, which she describes as:
“An attempt to capture an anticorporate attitude I see emerging among many young activists.”
Klein describes ‘No Logo’ as “not a book of predictions, but of a firsthand observation”, which would suggest that the majority of research she has undertaken in writing and producing ‘No Logo’ has been primary and has taken her to London for;
“The handing down of a verdict in the McLibel trial; to Ken Saro-Wiwa’s friend’s and family; to anti sweatshop protests outside Nike Towns in New York and San Francisco; and to union meetings in the food courts of glitzy malls”.
She goes on to describe in some detail the other locations that her “personal quest” has led her.
The book is divided into four main sections; ‘No Space”, “No Choice”, “No Jobs” and “No Logo”, each of which contains chapters discussing the title of that section, and ends with a conclusion and an afterword, which discusses the rise of anticorporate movements. Some section begin with two images, which relate of the content discussed in the following chapter, and there is a selection of statistical imagery displayed throughout the book, such as pie charts and graphs to show comparisons, so Klein has used secondary research that she has gathered to further her arguments, using sources such as ‘The Wall Street Journal’ and ‘New York Times’, and Klein uses quotes at the beginning of the chapters which have been taken from books on advertising and from various people within in the world of branding, such as Michael Eisner, CEO of The Walt Disney Corporation until 2005.
This analysis is based on only reading the introduction of ‘No Logo’ in depth and from scanning the remainder of the book, but from reading these few pages, it would be safe to assume that Klein will be taking a negative stance regarding the practises of multinationals and their treatment of their workers, but I would assume that Klein’s outcome would be fairly positive in that by educating and raising awareness of these malpractices, action can be taken in various forms, for instance boycotting the brand, which will affect profit and by passing on the information discussed in the book to spread the word.
Klein, N, (2000), No Logo, Great Britain, Clays Ltd, St Ives plc.
Monday 22 November 2010
Tuesday 19 October 2010
Statement For Exhibition of Narrative Project
The ongoing conflict in Palestine had always been an interest of mine, especially the situation in the Gaza Strip, which is home to 1,500,000 people, and in the winter of 2008, was subjected to air strikes by Israeli forces. Codenamed Operation ‘Cast Lead’, the attacks lasted from late December until mid January, and during this time, 1400 Palestinians were killed, and large areas of Gaza destroyed, leaving many thousands homeless. The stated aim behind the atrocity was to end rocket attacks into Israel by armed groups affiliated with Hamas and other Palestinian factions.
My initial intention was to recreate a section of the 703 kilometre long ‘Separation Barrier’ which is built around the West Bank, dividing Israel and Palestine. However, as my research developed, I chose instead to design a layered piece, secured by rivets, with each layer representing a different section of the history concerning the conflict. The segment which depicts the photograph of the woman at an anti apartheid demonstration was to epitomise peaceful protest and the reaction of people all over the world as the events unfold in Gaza. The brass etching of the mosque was to symbolise the destruction of the heritage of the Palestinian people, and the wire fencing represents part of the ‘Separation Barrier’ and the people trapped behind it.
Colette Brown
‘Narrative Project’
Jewellery & Metal Design
My initial intention was to recreate a section of the 703 kilometre long ‘Separation Barrier’ which is built around the West Bank, dividing Israel and Palestine. However, as my research developed, I chose instead to design a layered piece, secured by rivets, with each layer representing a different section of the history concerning the conflict. The segment which depicts the photograph of the woman at an anti apartheid demonstration was to epitomise peaceful protest and the reaction of people all over the world as the events unfold in Gaza. The brass etching of the mosque was to symbolise the destruction of the heritage of the Palestinian people, and the wire fencing represents part of the ‘Separation Barrier’ and the people trapped behind it.
Colette Brown
‘Narrative Project’
Jewellery & Metal Design
Monday 4 October 2010
Semester 1, Assignment 1: Wiki Article
Colette Brown
Jewellery and Metal Design
What is Branding?
A brand is a name, logo, symbol, slogan or colour combination that is used to identify a product, service or business. A brand is often used to project its companies’ values and objectives, and to communicate what the brand stands for, when reaching out to its audience; “Through the use of bright color [sic] and clever design elements, the Conseco Worksite logo communicates our mission and our energetic approach …” (Chordas, L, 2007).
The inspiration for brand names can come from a variety of sources and the most commonly used types are:
Creator/Family Name: the name is usually the surname of the person responsible for creating the concept, product or service e.g. Disney
Geographic: based on where the product was created and/or where it is manufactured e.g. Fuji Film
Descriptive: the name describes the product or services function
Abbreviations: the name is made up using initials e.g. IBM
Fabricated/Invented: completely made up words e.g. Wii
A Brief History of Branding
Branding was developed in the 19th century during the industrial revolution, when it became increasingly important for manufacturers to “create identifiable names and symbols to make their products stand out from their competitors” (Vaid, H, 2003). A brand is built, primarily through exposure through advertising. In the 1950s, branding and advertising took off on a much larger scale due to the invention and the availability of the television, and other methods such as radio, newspaper, magazines and other print advertising and the Internet have all been widely exploited. A brand can then begin to establish a reputation, and if successful, can create instant association with their product or service e.g. a McDonalds restaurant conveys to the consumer that they will be able to purchase cheap, fast food from them. The goal of the majority of companies is to become globally recognisible, therefore enabling them to amass sizable profit, whilst maintaining a consistent product or service, and constantly improving their advertising to keep them ahead of the competition of rival organisations.
Brand names which have been hugely successful through advertising and through continually providing a good service or product, have infiltrated their way into daily usage. Nowadays, it is common to refer to a vacuum cleaner as a ‘Hoover’, regardless of the company which produced them, as the brand becomes synonymous with the product. Customers often refer to adhesive tape as ‘Scotch tape’ or ‘Sellotape’, regardless of the company that has manufactured the tape, due to the aforementioned companies domination of the market.
When the brand is recognisable to the point that the name of the company is no longer required in order for the product to be distinguishable, but merely the logo or symbol to be present, it is the highest level of achievement for a business. Many companies have had such successful advertising campaigns, through billboards, television and radio advertisements, that the viewer knows exactly which product is being portrayed before the brand even appears on the screen. One such television advert was ‘Surfer’, used to promote ‘Guinness’, the popular Irish alcoholic beverage, and it first made it’s debut in 1999, and went on to become hugely famous. ‘Surfer’ depicted four men riding a colossal wave, whilst the foam generated by the force of the sea, transformed into several huge white horses, and the music track ‘Phat Planet’ by British band, Leftfield, played in the background, becoming increasingly louder as the advert progressed. ‘Surfer’ won a Gold Lion in Cannes in 1999 and was voted number 1 in the ’100 Greatest TV Adverts of all time, a poll run jointly by The Sunday Times and Channel 4 two years later in 2001. The slogan the advert was trying to project was “Good things come to those who…”, but in the success the advert had in becoming so hugely famous, and indeed in other similar campaigns, the original message has been lost, and it is the advert itself which sticks in the consumers mind, and through association, leads back to the brand.
The logo for The Coca Cola Company, one of world's most widely recognised brands.
(Image from: http://www.anh-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/coca-cola_logo_script.jpg)
Relevance of Branding to Design Practise
Usually a company begins with a concept; the invention of a product or service that will in some way enrich peoples lives. This can be the invention of a product that is faster or more convenient in completing a task than a previous product, or it can be a completely new product that the market has unfulfilled need for. Once the concept has been established, the design process can begin; the long arduous task of experimenting and probing until the product is ready to go out onto the market. For huge multinational companies such as Nike, there is a team of inventors and designers working round the clock to create the latest and most competitive product on the market, and enabling them to stay one step ahead of their rivals. For these massive companies, having a ready supply of experts is necessary as they are working within a very specific area and need to have all the facts and information there when creating their vision. The design process plays a huge role in the lead up to the finished product, but at the end when the product or service has been finished and is ready to go out into the world, there needs to be a powerful advertising campaign behind it, to raise consumers interest and persuade them to purchase.
For an already successful brand, this is simply a method of staying one step ahead of the game and thinking up new and more innovative ways of promoting their product. However, for a small and not quite as successful a company, group or individual designer, this can be an extremely difficult process of breaking into the market. Branding helps further and promote a product or service and establishing a brand is vital in gaining interest and therefore profit. Depending on the nature of the service or product and its target audience, the design of the packaging and advertising must be tailored to its individual needs. For instance, Camel cigarettes, introduced by American company R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, are sold in packets which have a dromedary camel on the front and on the back of the packet, is a scene featuring mosques and bazaars, which is in keeping with the idea of an exotic faraway land as suggested by the name.
Raymond Loewy was a designer working in the 20th century and is responsible for some of the worlds most hugely recognisable logos and designs, such as the slender Coca Cola bottle and the oil company, Shell logo. By designing these iconic pieces that are still used today, he increased sales and one such example is when the American Tobacco Company (ATC) commissioned Lowey to redesigned the packet for Lucky Strike cigarettes. Loewy changed the packet from green to white which increased product visibility and cut costs, as it eliminated the need for green dye. By improving the packaging in a small but significant way, Loewy aided in increasing the companies profit. Although the brand was already successful and established, a designer can improve on its current packaging by making it stand out more and have more of an impact of the consumer, therefore increasing sales and ultimately profit.
Bibliography
Chiaravalle, B, Findlay Schenck, B, (2010), Popular Types of Brand Names, Wiley Publishing
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/popular-types-of-brand-names.html
Chordas, L, (2007), Cosenco Worksite, http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Conseco+Worksite.-a0171581725
Mono, (2002), Branding: From Brief to Finished Solution, Switzerland, RotoVision SA
http://www.raymondloewy.com/
Reeves, R, (2006), Paradoxes of Perception, Management Today, Haymarket Publishing Services Ltd
Thibodeau, M, Martin, J, (2000), Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: Branding and Design in Cigarette Packaging, New York, Abbeville Press
Unknown, (2002), Surfer, the Guiness TV Advert, http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A767207.
Vaid, H, (2003), Branding, Cambridge, The Illex Press Ltd
Jewellery and Metal Design
What is Branding?
A brand is a name, logo, symbol, slogan or colour combination that is used to identify a product, service or business. A brand is often used to project its companies’ values and objectives, and to communicate what the brand stands for, when reaching out to its audience; “Through the use of bright color [sic] and clever design elements, the Conseco Worksite logo communicates our mission and our energetic approach …” (Chordas, L, 2007).
The inspiration for brand names can come from a variety of sources and the most commonly used types are:
Creator/Family Name: the name is usually the surname of the person responsible for creating the concept, product or service e.g. Disney
Geographic: based on where the product was created and/or where it is manufactured e.g. Fuji Film
Descriptive: the name describes the product or services function
Abbreviations: the name is made up using initials e.g. IBM
Fabricated/Invented: completely made up words e.g. Wii
A Brief History of Branding
Branding was developed in the 19th century during the industrial revolution, when it became increasingly important for manufacturers to “create identifiable names and symbols to make their products stand out from their competitors” (Vaid, H, 2003). A brand is built, primarily through exposure through advertising. In the 1950s, branding and advertising took off on a much larger scale due to the invention and the availability of the television, and other methods such as radio, newspaper, magazines and other print advertising and the Internet have all been widely exploited. A brand can then begin to establish a reputation, and if successful, can create instant association with their product or service e.g. a McDonalds restaurant conveys to the consumer that they will be able to purchase cheap, fast food from them. The goal of the majority of companies is to become globally recognisible, therefore enabling them to amass sizable profit, whilst maintaining a consistent product or service, and constantly improving their advertising to keep them ahead of the competition of rival organisations.
Brand names which have been hugely successful through advertising and through continually providing a good service or product, have infiltrated their way into daily usage. Nowadays, it is common to refer to a vacuum cleaner as a ‘Hoover’, regardless of the company which produced them, as the brand becomes synonymous with the product. Customers often refer to adhesive tape as ‘Scotch tape’ or ‘Sellotape’, regardless of the company that has manufactured the tape, due to the aforementioned companies domination of the market.
When the brand is recognisable to the point that the name of the company is no longer required in order for the product to be distinguishable, but merely the logo or symbol to be present, it is the highest level of achievement for a business. Many companies have had such successful advertising campaigns, through billboards, television and radio advertisements, that the viewer knows exactly which product is being portrayed before the brand even appears on the screen. One such television advert was ‘Surfer’, used to promote ‘Guinness’, the popular Irish alcoholic beverage, and it first made it’s debut in 1999, and went on to become hugely famous. ‘Surfer’ depicted four men riding a colossal wave, whilst the foam generated by the force of the sea, transformed into several huge white horses, and the music track ‘Phat Planet’ by British band, Leftfield, played in the background, becoming increasingly louder as the advert progressed. ‘Surfer’ won a Gold Lion in Cannes in 1999 and was voted number 1 in the ’100 Greatest TV Adverts of all time, a poll run jointly by The Sunday Times and Channel 4 two years later in 2001. The slogan the advert was trying to project was “Good things come to those who…”, but in the success the advert had in becoming so hugely famous, and indeed in other similar campaigns, the original message has been lost, and it is the advert itself which sticks in the consumers mind, and through association, leads back to the brand.
The logo for The Coca Cola Company, one of world's most widely recognised brands.
(Image from: http://www.anh-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/coca-cola_logo_script.jpg)
Relevance of Branding to Design Practise
Usually a company begins with a concept; the invention of a product or service that will in some way enrich peoples lives. This can be the invention of a product that is faster or more convenient in completing a task than a previous product, or it can be a completely new product that the market has unfulfilled need for. Once the concept has been established, the design process can begin; the long arduous task of experimenting and probing until the product is ready to go out onto the market. For huge multinational companies such as Nike, there is a team of inventors and designers working round the clock to create the latest and most competitive product on the market, and enabling them to stay one step ahead of their rivals. For these massive companies, having a ready supply of experts is necessary as they are working within a very specific area and need to have all the facts and information there when creating their vision. The design process plays a huge role in the lead up to the finished product, but at the end when the product or service has been finished and is ready to go out into the world, there needs to be a powerful advertising campaign behind it, to raise consumers interest and persuade them to purchase.
For an already successful brand, this is simply a method of staying one step ahead of the game and thinking up new and more innovative ways of promoting their product. However, for a small and not quite as successful a company, group or individual designer, this can be an extremely difficult process of breaking into the market. Branding helps further and promote a product or service and establishing a brand is vital in gaining interest and therefore profit. Depending on the nature of the service or product and its target audience, the design of the packaging and advertising must be tailored to its individual needs. For instance, Camel cigarettes, introduced by American company R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, are sold in packets which have a dromedary camel on the front and on the back of the packet, is a scene featuring mosques and bazaars, which is in keeping with the idea of an exotic faraway land as suggested by the name.
Raymond Loewy was a designer working in the 20th century and is responsible for some of the worlds most hugely recognisable logos and designs, such as the slender Coca Cola bottle and the oil company, Shell logo. By designing these iconic pieces that are still used today, he increased sales and one such example is when the American Tobacco Company (ATC) commissioned Lowey to redesigned the packet for Lucky Strike cigarettes. Loewy changed the packet from green to white which increased product visibility and cut costs, as it eliminated the need for green dye. By improving the packaging in a small but significant way, Loewy aided in increasing the companies profit. Although the brand was already successful and established, a designer can improve on its current packaging by making it stand out more and have more of an impact of the consumer, therefore increasing sales and ultimately profit.
Bibliography
Chiaravalle, B, Findlay Schenck, B, (2010), Popular Types of Brand Names, Wiley Publishing
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/popular-types-of-brand-names.html
Chordas, L, (2007), Cosenco Worksite, http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Conseco+Worksite.-a0171581725
Mono, (2002), Branding: From Brief to Finished Solution, Switzerland, RotoVision SA
http://www.raymondloewy.com/
Reeves, R, (2006), Paradoxes of Perception, Management Today, Haymarket Publishing Services Ltd
Thibodeau, M, Martin, J, (2000), Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: Branding and Design in Cigarette Packaging, New York, Abbeville Press
Unknown, (2002), Surfer, the Guiness TV Advert, http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A767207.
Vaid, H, (2003), Branding, Cambridge, The Illex Press Ltd
Semester 1, Assignment 1: Second Meeting
Our group chose to meet a second time before the due date, to see how we'd all gotten on with our mind maps and research, and to check if anyone had been having any problems, or wishing to change their topic. We'd all been fairly successful and our research was well underway.
Semester 1, Assignment 1: Mind Map
I chose 'Branding and Design' as my topic for the first assignment. I've chosen to examine the conflict in Israel and Palestine for the jewellery aspect of my discipline, and have been researching what brands support Israel and how they contribute to the Israeli economy, so was intrigued to look at the branding process in more depth. My mind map is a first draft, and I just jotted down words and key phrases that sparked my imagination, as well as some solid research.
I looked at the different types of brand names and what inspires them, the main aims of companies when they design their brands and how design can aid branding. With some of the subject headings, I had the information I required when it cam to writing the wiki article, but with others, I had to research further. The mind map helped me with research process as it forced me to look down many avenues and explore the subject quite fully, before I could choose areas to focus on.
I looked at the different types of brand names and what inspires them, the main aims of companies when they design their brands and how design can aid branding. With some of the subject headings, I had the information I required when it cam to writing the wiki article, but with others, I had to research further. The mind map helped me with research process as it forced me to look down many avenues and explore the subject quite fully, before I could choose areas to focus on.
Friday 1 October 2010
Semester 1, Assignment 1: First Meeting
For our first asssignment of third year, we've been asked to choose from a variety of headings and write a wikipedia article on our chosen subject. We've been placed into random groups that include members from all the disciplines that attend Design Studies lectures, and have so far met twice to discuss our ideas.
Our first meeting was to see which subject everyone had selected, and is as follows:
Natalie: Social Change & Design
David: Interactivity & Design
Sara: Gender & Design
Sean: Mass Production & Design
Colette (that'd be me!): Branding & Design
Samantha: Fair Trade & Design
Sophie: Corporate Identity & Design
Robbie: Co-design & Design
We noted down each other's blogs and photos were taken as evidence that the meeting had taken place:
Our first meeting was to see which subject everyone had selected, and is as follows:
Natalie: Social Change & Design
David: Interactivity & Design
Sara: Gender & Design
Sean: Mass Production & Design
Colette (that'd be me!): Branding & Design
Samantha: Fair Trade & Design
Sophie: Corporate Identity & Design
Robbie: Co-design & Design
We noted down each other's blogs and photos were taken as evidence that the meeting had taken place:
Monday 29 March 2010
Semester 2, Assignment 5: Part B
With regards to using the methods learned throughout both semesters, I can only see the benefits to be gained from putting them into practice. As a jeweller, I look at my work as something to be worn on the body, and for me, that aspect is always at the forefront of my mind when designing a piece. Although, I can’t see how the techniques will help me all that much at the moment – our briefs this year have never been specific to one person; you’re designing the piece more for yourself than a client, I can most certainly see how they’d be extremely useful in the future. My aim, when I graduate, is to try and create pieces which always have the wearer in mind, as it’s to be more about them than me when I’m designing a ring, or a brooch etc, as it’ll be them that wears the piece, and it needs to fit the occasion it’s meant for; be that a piece to commemorate a particular event, or evoke a certain memory, or a piece to be worn everyday to remind them of something. Although, I’ll be ever present as the maker, it’s not myself I’m designing for, and I will need to learn to separate myself from the piece, in a sense.
However, I’m going to try and apply the techniques learned to one of the briefs we were assigned this year, and have chosen the stone setting project. The key directives of the brief that had to be answered were as follows; it was to be piece of wearable jewellery, it had to be made in metal, it had to incorporate the setting of another material or materials and it was to be inspired by religious/spiritual symbolism. I chose to focus on the ongoing Palestine/Israel conflict, as it was not only a subject that fitted in with the brief, but also a subject that I have been interested in for a while now. I chose it also because I wanted to reflect on the consequences of what happens when religious fanaticism gets out of hand; and to appreciate that while religion often carries positive message of love and respect, these messages are lost when situations like this arise, and innocent people are murdered in bloody warfare.
I originally deigned to concentrate solely on the struggles of the Palestinian people, as I am of the opinion that they are oppressed by Israel, but after further research and exploration of the topic, decided to include a piece which would reflect the suffering of the Israeli citizens, as it’s important to remember that the aggressors have lost victims as well, albeit, a fraction compared to Palestine. As precious or semi precious stones are not something I would associate with that part of the Middle East, I decided to set another material; a fragment of porcelain, and chose this to be my representation of the Israelis, as it is a white piece of porcelain overlain with blue patterns; the colours of the Israeli flag.
In terms of research, I read a selection of magazines and websites in order to gain an understanding of the series of events that surround this war, and as it was a visual piece, researched photos of silhouetted mosques, as this was to represent the Islam. Looking back, ideally, my strongest form of research would be to go to Palestine myself and take photographs, record notes on the atmosphere, the people, graffiti, slogans, observe the suffering in the refugee camps that litter Palestine and interview their inhabitants, but in terms of time and money, this is an unfeasible task. However, it’s something I long to do and fully intend to do in the future, as it’s a subject that both fascinates and repulses me, and is one that I’d like to explore further.
As I was not designing for a client, I’d like to think I was designing for the people of Palestine themselves and trying to create something beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, that was inspired by a horrendous subject. I wanted to shed more light on the subject, as I feel it’s something that not enough people are informed about, as more would be outraged. So, looking at it from that aspect, I’d like to put my secondary research skills to use and go out and talk to people about the situation in Gaza. I’d use a variety of interviews to find out how people felt, or how much they knew, and whether or not they sympathized. It would be a set of unstructured questions that began with loosely finding out the interviewee’s grasp of current affairs, before honing in on the subject I was most interested in their views on. This would be useful as not only I’d find out people’s reactions, I could also use it as an opportunity to inform them as well.
Another method I could use would to show people images, preferably not too disturbing, but to an extent unsettling, and ask people what the images made them think of. I could collect a selection of key words and phrases, which I’d use as inspiration when designing the piece. In saying that, I could also show people my designs and ask them what it made them think of; would they immediately associate as I’d intended? This could be, potentially, incredibly useful, as it would give me as outsider’s opinion as to what message my piece was relaying, and how obvious it was. Although I wanted the message to be subtle, I also wanted it to be fairly recognizable, but again the problem arises of people not knowing enough on the subject, so would they understand the message I was trying to convey? I think that, given the opportunity, I’d need to display the piece next to some of my research, such as an open page of my sketchbook, in order for the viewer to fully recognize the subject matter.
However, I’m going to try and apply the techniques learned to one of the briefs we were assigned this year, and have chosen the stone setting project. The key directives of the brief that had to be answered were as follows; it was to be piece of wearable jewellery, it had to be made in metal, it had to incorporate the setting of another material or materials and it was to be inspired by religious/spiritual symbolism. I chose to focus on the ongoing Palestine/Israel conflict, as it was not only a subject that fitted in with the brief, but also a subject that I have been interested in for a while now. I chose it also because I wanted to reflect on the consequences of what happens when religious fanaticism gets out of hand; and to appreciate that while religion often carries positive message of love and respect, these messages are lost when situations like this arise, and innocent people are murdered in bloody warfare.
I originally deigned to concentrate solely on the struggles of the Palestinian people, as I am of the opinion that they are oppressed by Israel, but after further research and exploration of the topic, decided to include a piece which would reflect the suffering of the Israeli citizens, as it’s important to remember that the aggressors have lost victims as well, albeit, a fraction compared to Palestine. As precious or semi precious stones are not something I would associate with that part of the Middle East, I decided to set another material; a fragment of porcelain, and chose this to be my representation of the Israelis, as it is a white piece of porcelain overlain with blue patterns; the colours of the Israeli flag.
In terms of research, I read a selection of magazines and websites in order to gain an understanding of the series of events that surround this war, and as it was a visual piece, researched photos of silhouetted mosques, as this was to represent the Islam. Looking back, ideally, my strongest form of research would be to go to Palestine myself and take photographs, record notes on the atmosphere, the people, graffiti, slogans, observe the suffering in the refugee camps that litter Palestine and interview their inhabitants, but in terms of time and money, this is an unfeasible task. However, it’s something I long to do and fully intend to do in the future, as it’s a subject that both fascinates and repulses me, and is one that I’d like to explore further.
As I was not designing for a client, I’d like to think I was designing for the people of Palestine themselves and trying to create something beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, that was inspired by a horrendous subject. I wanted to shed more light on the subject, as I feel it’s something that not enough people are informed about, as more would be outraged. So, looking at it from that aspect, I’d like to put my secondary research skills to use and go out and talk to people about the situation in Gaza. I’d use a variety of interviews to find out how people felt, or how much they knew, and whether or not they sympathized. It would be a set of unstructured questions that began with loosely finding out the interviewee’s grasp of current affairs, before honing in on the subject I was most interested in their views on. This would be useful as not only I’d find out people’s reactions, I could also use it as an opportunity to inform them as well.
Another method I could use would to show people images, preferably not too disturbing, but to an extent unsettling, and ask people what the images made them think of. I could collect a selection of key words and phrases, which I’d use as inspiration when designing the piece. In saying that, I could also show people my designs and ask them what it made them think of; would they immediately associate as I’d intended? This could be, potentially, incredibly useful, as it would give me as outsider’s opinion as to what message my piece was relaying, and how obvious it was. Although I wanted the message to be subtle, I also wanted it to be fairly recognizable, but again the problem arises of people not knowing enough on the subject, so would they understand the message I was trying to convey? I think that, given the opportunity, I’d need to display the piece next to some of my research, such as an open page of my sketchbook, in order for the viewer to fully recognize the subject matter.
Semester 2, Assignment 5: Part A
Throughout the Design Studies aspect of our course, we have focused on using a variety of research methods to help us question how we process information, and as a result, the ways it can be manipulated and translated into assisting us in our own specific discipline. Semester one focused on secondary techniques; using research carried out by others to forward our analysis of our chosen subjects; and semester two had us try out a selection of primary research methods, to give us the experience of doing the initial research for ourselves, and the benefits gained from the process.
The alarmingly rising influence of The British National Party, and identity cards were the subjects I chose to look at in depth. (Lyon, D, (2009), Trilling, D, (2009), http://bnp.org.uk/, http://www.jobbik.com/) They were two separate subcategories that frequently reappeared during the tasks I completed last semester which included different brainstorming techniques and seeing where one idea may lead you through a series of linking concepts, and although I don’t consider them to be an obvious progression from one to the other, the subjects kept appearing, so something was driving me back to them. They are both matters I already had strongly formed opinions on, and although the research I carried out did little to shake those opinions, it did help me to gain more perspective on them.
As most people will already have a fairly set opinion in regards to the BNP, I’ve chosen to look purely at identity cards for this set of experiments. Identity cards, if ever brought into practise, are a topic that would directly affect everyone of all ages and cultures, and for my first experiment, I’d choose the most obvious and direct route; to find out how the public feel towards identity cards, and if they would have a direct impact on their day to day lives. I’d conduct this experiment through a series of interviews, beginning with a general set of structured questions to find out how much people knew about identity cards. The questions would need to be in a fairly roundabout fashion, as asking “how to you feel about identity cards?” is unlikely to get me very far, unless I get someone who is already well informed on the subject. I would begin with by questioning the interviewee about how often they give their details out in standard situations such as a job application, or applying for a course, and how they feel about giving out their details; does it bother them that although they may not get that job or gain a place on that course, those details may still be stored somewhere? I wouldn’t directly ask them about their thoughts towards identity cards, and may not even mention them in the first stage of interviewing, but would try and gauge their attitudes towards information storing and how comfortable they felt about it, which would give me a fairly good estimation of what their feelings towards identity cards may be.
In order to conduct these interviews, I’d prefer not to ask passers by in the street, as from my experience in a previous assignment, I don’t feel comfortable approaching people, as I feel I’d be hassling them, and I know from my own experience as being the potential interviewee, people express reluctance in having to stop and answer questions. I’d perhaps try a round-robin style email to have the potential interviewees meet me in an environment I’d chosen, such as a coffee shop, as I’d want my interviewees to be relaxed, as I feel they would be more likely to be cooperative and willing if they felt at easy. It may also encourage them to go into more depth in their answers. However, this method would only really be beneficial if it was student opinions I was trying to gather, so in order to target different age groups, I’d need to look at other methods as few people will have an email address that I’d be able to access out with the university. A questionnaire that could be delivered would work, and I’d only use a couple of questions in order to save time and keep people interested, as members of the public are unlikely to fill out a long, detailed set of questions. It would also have a section to fill out contact details in order for me to contact them at a later date to ask the full set of questions I’d prepared.
Another experiment I’d like to try out, but am unsure how feasible it would be due to ethical reasons; would be to follow a random member of the public for a set time period, say an hour, taking snapshot photographs of them in various locations, and recorded notes, but only of key words or actions, and then approach them to show what I’d recorded. I think it would give the subject a real insight of what it’d be like to have someone be aware of his or her movements through out a section of time when they were shown back to them. It would be easy enough if I was carrying out this experiment and keeping the results for myself, but it’s the reaction of the person I’d have followed that I’d want to get. Perhaps if I was to carry out the experiment, I could then approach the person and explain to them that I’d taken a couple of photographs of them for an experiment, and if they were comfortable with it, perhaps we could meet at a later date to discuss what I’d found. However, the problems I can foresee with this experiment are rife. What if the person reacted negatively at being followed in the first place? Or when I approached them, they wished to go no further with the experiment and wanted the photos I’d taken destroyed, resulting in me wasting time. I couldn’t prearrange the experiment as the subject’s actions may be influenced by my presence. Time management and diplomacy would be key to carry out both this experiment, and others, successfully.
Bibliogrpahy
http://bnp.org.uk/
http://www.jobbik.com/
Lyon, D, (2009), Identifying Citizens; ID Cards as Surveillence, Cambridge, Polity Press
Trilling, D, (2009), Who do you think you are kidding…?, New Statesman, London, Spencer Neal
The alarmingly rising influence of The British National Party, and identity cards were the subjects I chose to look at in depth. (Lyon, D, (2009), Trilling, D, (2009), http://bnp.org.uk/, http://www.jobbik.com/) They were two separate subcategories that frequently reappeared during the tasks I completed last semester which included different brainstorming techniques and seeing where one idea may lead you through a series of linking concepts, and although I don’t consider them to be an obvious progression from one to the other, the subjects kept appearing, so something was driving me back to them. They are both matters I already had strongly formed opinions on, and although the research I carried out did little to shake those opinions, it did help me to gain more perspective on them.
As most people will already have a fairly set opinion in regards to the BNP, I’ve chosen to look purely at identity cards for this set of experiments. Identity cards, if ever brought into practise, are a topic that would directly affect everyone of all ages and cultures, and for my first experiment, I’d choose the most obvious and direct route; to find out how the public feel towards identity cards, and if they would have a direct impact on their day to day lives. I’d conduct this experiment through a series of interviews, beginning with a general set of structured questions to find out how much people knew about identity cards. The questions would need to be in a fairly roundabout fashion, as asking “how to you feel about identity cards?” is unlikely to get me very far, unless I get someone who is already well informed on the subject. I would begin with by questioning the interviewee about how often they give their details out in standard situations such as a job application, or applying for a course, and how they feel about giving out their details; does it bother them that although they may not get that job or gain a place on that course, those details may still be stored somewhere? I wouldn’t directly ask them about their thoughts towards identity cards, and may not even mention them in the first stage of interviewing, but would try and gauge their attitudes towards information storing and how comfortable they felt about it, which would give me a fairly good estimation of what their feelings towards identity cards may be.
In order to conduct these interviews, I’d prefer not to ask passers by in the street, as from my experience in a previous assignment, I don’t feel comfortable approaching people, as I feel I’d be hassling them, and I know from my own experience as being the potential interviewee, people express reluctance in having to stop and answer questions. I’d perhaps try a round-robin style email to have the potential interviewees meet me in an environment I’d chosen, such as a coffee shop, as I’d want my interviewees to be relaxed, as I feel they would be more likely to be cooperative and willing if they felt at easy. It may also encourage them to go into more depth in their answers. However, this method would only really be beneficial if it was student opinions I was trying to gather, so in order to target different age groups, I’d need to look at other methods as few people will have an email address that I’d be able to access out with the university. A questionnaire that could be delivered would work, and I’d only use a couple of questions in order to save time and keep people interested, as members of the public are unlikely to fill out a long, detailed set of questions. It would also have a section to fill out contact details in order for me to contact them at a later date to ask the full set of questions I’d prepared.
Another experiment I’d like to try out, but am unsure how feasible it would be due to ethical reasons; would be to follow a random member of the public for a set time period, say an hour, taking snapshot photographs of them in various locations, and recorded notes, but only of key words or actions, and then approach them to show what I’d recorded. I think it would give the subject a real insight of what it’d be like to have someone be aware of his or her movements through out a section of time when they were shown back to them. It would be easy enough if I was carrying out this experiment and keeping the results for myself, but it’s the reaction of the person I’d have followed that I’d want to get. Perhaps if I was to carry out the experiment, I could then approach the person and explain to them that I’d taken a couple of photographs of them for an experiment, and if they were comfortable with it, perhaps we could meet at a later date to discuss what I’d found. However, the problems I can foresee with this experiment are rife. What if the person reacted negatively at being followed in the first place? Or when I approached them, they wished to go no further with the experiment and wanted the photos I’d taken destroyed, resulting in me wasting time. I couldn’t prearrange the experiment as the subject’s actions may be influenced by my presence. Time management and diplomacy would be key to carry out both this experiment, and others, successfully.
Bibliogrpahy
http://bnp.org.uk/
http://www.jobbik.com/
Lyon, D, (2009), Identifying Citizens; ID Cards as Surveillence, Cambridge, Polity Press
Trilling, D, (2009), Who do you think you are kidding…?, New Statesman, London, Spencer Neal
Sunday 21 March 2010
Semester 2, Assignment 4: Interviews
For assignment 4, we had to choose a topic from a list in the design studies, and go out and interview a selection of people in order to gauge a selection of responses. I chose "How do magazines influence people’s ideas of design and taste?" as I am dedicated follower of Vogue, so thought I might learn something about how much I am also influenced by the constant bombardment of advertising that we are subjected to on a daily basis.
Decided to go for an unstructured approach, with a list of set question, but wasn't afraid to go off course if need be. I had originally intended to ask three different individuals, but for my last interview, I had a mother and daughter out shopping together, and decided to interview them both separately, although they were both present. My dad was throwing a party this weekend for his work colleagues, and I thought it may be more interested to interview slightly older members of the public, as I’m fed up of asking students seeing as I am one, and didn’t think I’d be able to get that much new information than what I could say myself. It was also a safe environment to interview as I could just take them into the guest room of our house. This post is a tad late, but I was very preoccupied on Friday evening having to cajole my rather inebriated father and his friend down from the coffee table during their rendition of Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again”. Hideous.
I started off asking general questions about the last items my interviewee’s had purchased, most of which were clothes, ranging from the high street to boutiques, and had one woman who had last bought food for her lunch. My first interviewee was a nurse, who was a friend of my mum’s who she knows through Unison. She gave me a fairly interesting set of answers, including denouncing magazines; she instead chose a newspaper The Socialist Worker, which I occasionally read, and my parents do as well. It’s fairly self explanatory, but she chose this particular newspaper in order to keep up with current affairs, and due to her political views. I wouldn’t say this was particularly helpful to me, as it was more magazines that I was interested in, but it was an interesting response seeing as all my other interviewees read magazines. She read The New Statesman as well, which is a weekly left wing political magazine that my family and I also read, so I didn’t seem to be getting very far on getting opinions that differed very much from my own. However, in terms of music and television, she was a fan of the Manic Street Preachers, whose only song I know is “If you tolerate this, then your children will be next”, which tells the tale of fascism in Spain, so you can see links between reading material and musical tastes.
My second interviewee was a Debbie, female colleague of my dad’s, and is a social worker. (My dad’s a criminal justice assistant, which none of us know what that means, but we assume it’s some form of superhero.) She was the one who’s ‘last purchased item’ was sushi and grapes, and the only one to answer an item that wasn’t clothes related. She was also the only one to have considered her purchase; all the others had acted on impulse. She is a monthly subscriber of ‘Zest’ a health and well being magazine, and chose it purely for the reason “makes me feel healthier without doing anything”. Already, I can see patterns emerging as Debbie was choosing seemed to be choosing ‘healthy’ items over anything else by choosing fruit and fish as her lunch, and subscribing to a health magazine, which although she appears flippant in her answer of why she chooses it, it does obviously influence her lifestyle.
She is a listener of Radio 2, and watched only 2 television programmes; Hustle and Coronation Street, and answered that she limited herself to these two, and these two only, suggesting that she wasn’t a big fan of vegging out in front of the TV screen, again, encouraging the trend as before that she cares about her health.
My third and final interviewees were mother and daughter, Margaret and Susan. I happened to stop them as they passed me in Dundee City Library. I originally targeted Susan, but it became clear Margaret wasn’t going to let her answer for herself, so I asked Susan first and then her mother. Their answers were very similar; they shopped in the same places, and both relied on each other for answers. For example, when I asked Susan what television programmes did she watch, her mother immediately answered “you like Sex and the City, don’t you?” and the same happened when I posed the same question to Margaret as she paused to think, and Susan said “what’s that one with David Jason?” They definitely influenced each other’s answers which was interesting as the two obviously have a very close relationship. Both subscribed regularly to magazines; Susan; Vogue and Elle Decoration, Margaret: Good Housekeeping, Woman and Home, She and Prima, and Susan would read She once her mother had finished with it. Margaret also circulated the magazines within her circle of friends, and gave me much more positive answers when it came to questions relating to music/film/theatre as Margaret was a regular listener to Radio 2 and went at least 4 times a year to plays in Dundee, as well as a variety of shows in Glasgow and Edinburgh, whereas Susan had less opinions on music and opted to just listen to whatever CD was in the car which I thought slightly odd seeing as she lives in Dundee and commutes every morning to Kinross to teach which is considerable journey. Susan is an art and design teacher, so I assumed she’s by more up to date with theatre and music, but it would appear that her mother had more of idea of what was currently popular in the charts. However, Susan did choose her magazines with the intention to keep up to date with interior design and architecture, so is obviously taking in her surrounding, just not through perhaps the most obvious channels.
I enjoyed assignment 4, although in future will need to think my questions through more thoroughly and be more specific to my area, but think the unstructured interview technique worked well.
Decided to go for an unstructured approach, with a list of set question, but wasn't afraid to go off course if need be. I had originally intended to ask three different individuals, but for my last interview, I had a mother and daughter out shopping together, and decided to interview them both separately, although they were both present. My dad was throwing a party this weekend for his work colleagues, and I thought it may be more interested to interview slightly older members of the public, as I’m fed up of asking students seeing as I am one, and didn’t think I’d be able to get that much new information than what I could say myself. It was also a safe environment to interview as I could just take them into the guest room of our house. This post is a tad late, but I was very preoccupied on Friday evening having to cajole my rather inebriated father and his friend down from the coffee table during their rendition of Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again”. Hideous.
I started off asking general questions about the last items my interviewee’s had purchased, most of which were clothes, ranging from the high street to boutiques, and had one woman who had last bought food for her lunch. My first interviewee was a nurse, who was a friend of my mum’s who she knows through Unison. She gave me a fairly interesting set of answers, including denouncing magazines; she instead chose a newspaper The Socialist Worker, which I occasionally read, and my parents do as well. It’s fairly self explanatory, but she chose this particular newspaper in order to keep up with current affairs, and due to her political views. I wouldn’t say this was particularly helpful to me, as it was more magazines that I was interested in, but it was an interesting response seeing as all my other interviewees read magazines. She read The New Statesman as well, which is a weekly left wing political magazine that my family and I also read, so I didn’t seem to be getting very far on getting opinions that differed very much from my own. However, in terms of music and television, she was a fan of the Manic Street Preachers, whose only song I know is “If you tolerate this, then your children will be next”, which tells the tale of fascism in Spain, so you can see links between reading material and musical tastes.
My second interviewee was a Debbie, female colleague of my dad’s, and is a social worker. (My dad’s a criminal justice assistant, which none of us know what that means, but we assume it’s some form of superhero.) She was the one who’s ‘last purchased item’ was sushi and grapes, and the only one to answer an item that wasn’t clothes related. She was also the only one to have considered her purchase; all the others had acted on impulse. She is a monthly subscriber of ‘Zest’ a health and well being magazine, and chose it purely for the reason “makes me feel healthier without doing anything”. Already, I can see patterns emerging as Debbie was choosing seemed to be choosing ‘healthy’ items over anything else by choosing fruit and fish as her lunch, and subscribing to a health magazine, which although she appears flippant in her answer of why she chooses it, it does obviously influence her lifestyle.
She is a listener of Radio 2, and watched only 2 television programmes; Hustle and Coronation Street, and answered that she limited herself to these two, and these two only, suggesting that she wasn’t a big fan of vegging out in front of the TV screen, again, encouraging the trend as before that she cares about her health.
My third and final interviewees were mother and daughter, Margaret and Susan. I happened to stop them as they passed me in Dundee City Library. I originally targeted Susan, but it became clear Margaret wasn’t going to let her answer for herself, so I asked Susan first and then her mother. Their answers were very similar; they shopped in the same places, and both relied on each other for answers. For example, when I asked Susan what television programmes did she watch, her mother immediately answered “you like Sex and the City, don’t you?” and the same happened when I posed the same question to Margaret as she paused to think, and Susan said “what’s that one with David Jason?” They definitely influenced each other’s answers which was interesting as the two obviously have a very close relationship. Both subscribed regularly to magazines; Susan; Vogue and Elle Decoration, Margaret: Good Housekeeping, Woman and Home, She and Prima, and Susan would read She once her mother had finished with it. Margaret also circulated the magazines within her circle of friends, and gave me much more positive answers when it came to questions relating to music/film/theatre as Margaret was a regular listener to Radio 2 and went at least 4 times a year to plays in Dundee, as well as a variety of shows in Glasgow and Edinburgh, whereas Susan had less opinions on music and opted to just listen to whatever CD was in the car which I thought slightly odd seeing as she lives in Dundee and commutes every morning to Kinross to teach which is considerable journey. Susan is an art and design teacher, so I assumed she’s by more up to date with theatre and music, but it would appear that her mother had more of idea of what was currently popular in the charts. However, Susan did choose her magazines with the intention to keep up to date with interior design and architecture, so is obviously taking in her surrounding, just not through perhaps the most obvious channels.
I enjoyed assignment 4, although in future will need to think my questions through more thoroughly and be more specific to my area, but think the unstructured interview technique worked well.
Friday 19 March 2010
The quality of line
Ok, so it's never been my favourite activity, but having struggled through 4 years of non-stop nudity (and that ain't as exciting as it sounds!) I thought I'd upload a few shots of my most recent session of life drawing. At Dundee College, we had it well and truly drummed into us that the quality of line in a drawing is hugely important; entire weeks were dedicated to this process, and it's something I always carry with me now. I'm not a huge tonal genius; it just always looks flat and grey, but I get well into my linear flow when I want to.
The first two were a series of 10 minute poses, and the third was 40 minutes. Funnily enough, none of my drawings are of a whole human - the first two feature a collection of torsos, and my third is only a head. Wonder why that is?
The first two were a series of 10 minute poses, and the third was 40 minutes. Funnily enough, none of my drawings are of a whole human - the first two feature a collection of torsos, and my third is only a head. Wonder why that is?
Tuesday 9 March 2010
Sophie Calle
In light of our most recent assignment, my flatmate told me of a French artist, Sophie Calle, who followed people she saw on the street and observed them.
http://www.whitecube.com/exhibitions/suitevenitienne/
"For months I followed strangers on the street. For the pleasure of following them, not because they particularly interested me. I photographed them without their knowledge, took note of their movements, then finally lost sight of them and forgot them."
http://www.whitecube.com/exhibitions/suitevenitienne/
"For months I followed strangers on the street. For the pleasure of following them, not because they particularly interested me. I photographed them without their knowledge, took note of their movements, then finally lost sight of them and forgot them."
Monday 8 March 2010
Seminar Reflection
For our seminar this week, we discussed the results from this weeks assignment; The Design Safari. Three of us went to two different shopping centres in Dundee; the Wellgate and the Overgate. We talked about our experiences, the people we observed and the stories we could make up about people; the tale of the lesser toed single mother turned lesbian being er, a Natalia specialty! I'd actually like to go and follow someone for the day, make up a name and a life for them, based perhaps on the things they buy and what they'd tell you about them? They would essentially be a blank canvas for you to manipulate any way you saw fit. You'd need to be fairly subtle to follow a person for the amount of time you'd need to make up their story, hence why this may not be the best idea for me! Time to whip out those dark sunglasses ...
Don't think the shopping centres were the best idea for people watching - there's a limited amount of information you can gather on a person in the 3 seconds it takes them to walk past you. Unless they have an extra leg. Or a very humorous walk. If we knew this before we'd done it, we would have opted for a train station or bus station; someplace that emotions would be more obvious, goodbyes and hellos, harassed parents, students lugging backpacks from whichever parts of the country they're zooming off to. Plus, there'd be people waiting around for other passengers or for a bus/train to arrive, so you'd have more of an opportunity to study them, whereas you only get a glimpse of someone pacing past you in a shopping centre.
Doing something like this makes me ponder what people passing me must think of me. I tend to have a very serious face (constantly being told to cheer up; it may never happen ... well, obviously it has freakin' well happened if I'm wandering around looking like this!) and no doubt I must look a miserable git to passers by! If I don't know someone well, or feed off their nervousness around me, I become very quiet and reserved - quite unlike how I am around any of my friends or family, and it makes me wonder; after a 10 minute meeting with me, how do people perceive me?
In terms of relating it to my own discipline, I think this method will make me observe a person more closely; what do their movements and body language give away about their character? I’d focus on that quite strongly, because like me, I know that to someone who knows nothing about me, I’d come off completely different to how I am. I think I could manipulate this method, because you can tell plenty about a person by their clothes/makeup/hair because these are all methods of self expression and can usually take a relative stab at their music taste, interests and possibly in some cases, their sexuality as well; you just have to be selective in what assumptions you make. For instance; if a person wears trainers, it doesn’t necessarily make them a chav. They could be someone who practises a sport, or prefer them purely from a comfort perspective. We judge people on a daily basis, not necessarily fairly, but there’s no denying it. You just have to be fairer and more objective to use it in a beneficial way.
Don't think the shopping centres were the best idea for people watching - there's a limited amount of information you can gather on a person in the 3 seconds it takes them to walk past you. Unless they have an extra leg. Or a very humorous walk. If we knew this before we'd done it, we would have opted for a train station or bus station; someplace that emotions would be more obvious, goodbyes and hellos, harassed parents, students lugging backpacks from whichever parts of the country they're zooming off to. Plus, there'd be people waiting around for other passengers or for a bus/train to arrive, so you'd have more of an opportunity to study them, whereas you only get a glimpse of someone pacing past you in a shopping centre.
Doing something like this makes me ponder what people passing me must think of me. I tend to have a very serious face (constantly being told to cheer up; it may never happen ... well, obviously it has freakin' well happened if I'm wandering around looking like this!) and no doubt I must look a miserable git to passers by! If I don't know someone well, or feed off their nervousness around me, I become very quiet and reserved - quite unlike how I am around any of my friends or family, and it makes me wonder; after a 10 minute meeting with me, how do people perceive me?
In terms of relating it to my own discipline, I think this method will make me observe a person more closely; what do their movements and body language give away about their character? I’d focus on that quite strongly, because like me, I know that to someone who knows nothing about me, I’d come off completely different to how I am. I think I could manipulate this method, because you can tell plenty about a person by their clothes/makeup/hair because these are all methods of self expression and can usually take a relative stab at their music taste, interests and possibly in some cases, their sexuality as well; you just have to be selective in what assumptions you make. For instance; if a person wears trainers, it doesn’t necessarily make them a chav. They could be someone who practises a sport, or prefer them purely from a comfort perspective. We judge people on a daily basis, not necessarily fairly, but there’s no denying it. You just have to be fairer and more objective to use it in a beneficial way.
Sunday 7 March 2010
And now, a little self indulgence ...
"When his two hour set ended, I could only think, 'Can anyone really be this good; can anyone say this much to me, can rock 'n' roll still speak with this kind of power and glory?' And then I felt the sores on my thighs where I had been pounding my hands in time for the entire concert and I knew the answer was yes." Jon Landau.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3vUKBOJ5sU
This isn't his most recent video, but it sums up all that is Bruce Springsteen for me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3vUKBOJ5sU
This isn't his most recent video, but it sums up all that is Bruce Springsteen for me.
Semester 2, Assignment 3: Design Safari Analysis
The top floor of the Overgate is a fairly deserted realm first thing on a chilly Thursday morning. I say first thing, when I really mean; just after half past 10 when most reasonable people are up and about in their busy day, and not blinking, bleary eyed into the town in search of some much needed hot chocolate. Apparently however, their busy day doesn’t lead them to the Overgate; it probably leads them to their no doubt very respectable and well paying jobs. Quite unlike a certain threesome of miscreant art students who are unused to seeing this early hour, unless the period of sleep that takes place in the dark hours has been missed out altogether.
Quite a specific group of people littered the top floor of the town’s busiest shopping centre; mainly being single elderly males, and a few mixed couples of either; boyfriend and girlfriend, husband and wife, mother and daughter (who is sometimes a child, sometimes not). These people obviously have much higher tolerance levels than I, as no mentally well balanced amour of mine has ever had the urge to disturb me in the dawn hours. For that matter, no member of my family (spare my father, but he’s always been a tad slow) or friend has bothered me either. I tend to hurl various objects in the direction of the no doubt well meaning individual who has deigned to bring me cup of coffee and curse in a heavy Dundonian accent, littered with glottal stops. It’s only about 2pm that I start to have functioning thoughts (just) so perhaps that would explain the scarcity of people other than aged singular males. It tends to be, in my experience, that the elderly do rise earlier than the young, indeed my own slightly batty grandmother has a tendency to hoover at around 4am when she can’t sleep.
The sole purpose for the top floor seemed to be purely as a thoroughfare for people to belt along, obviously with someplace better to be going. Few went into the surrounding shops; Thompson’s the travel agents and Optical Express, and I sat and studied a bored looking sales assistant polish the same pair of glasses for a good twenty minutes. Debenhams up to 25% off sale seemed to be doing a roaring trade and it wasn’t long before I was taking a tally chart of all the luminous lime green carrier bags that passed my way. The power of advertising on carrier bags is unbelievable as it drove me to Debenhams, a venue I rarely venture, and had be thoroughly abusing the discount. It’s someplace I’d be unlikely to bother noticing the advertising but seeing all the lime green bags made me want a piece of whatever action these people were getting. Goodbye £25.60 and hello Art Deco dress and crippling student debt. Primark, M&S and Next seemed to be doing not too shabbily either, and working in retail myself, I took noticed of another shopper’s gaudily lit red bag baring the message of a massive sale at Next. Maybe I’ll just take a wee gander…
Other than a woman wearing one UGG boot and a trainer, and Karen and I being interviewed for the Evening Tele’; “If you won the lottery, would you spend it or save it?” Save some, spend the rest. “And what would you buy?” A pony. (I’m such a girl); the Overgate had little to offer, so we moseyed on down to the Wellgate, also a shopping centre, but quite with quite a different vibe.
Little drives me up that end of town; albeit TopShop and my own work, Clarks, and the Wellgate has little to offer a younger crowd like myself. Save from New Look (which the Overgate boasts a larger store), the Wellgate is filled by BHS, bargain store TJ Hughes and a scattering of random little shops that sell all manner of crap. It’s no secret Dundee’s shops er, suck and with TopShop moving to a bigger space in the Overgate, how much longer can that end of town survive? It’s a relic from a bygone era; the lady’s toilets in BHS haven’t changed their sickly gleaming white and blue interior since I were a wean, and that were many moons ago. Even the music belongs to a time gone by; Maroon 5’s “This Love” was one I heard played and right enough, every time I’ve passed through the Wellgate, I’ve never heard a snatch of Gaga or whatever else is topping the charts blaring out over the tannoy. It seems the Wellgate is trapped in the past, the clientele being (without sounding heinously like an middle class snob) specific to the less well off and well, chavvier people of Dundee,
Beco, a smallish vintage boutique, has opened on the first floor of the Wellgate and despite it having a not too bad collection of shirts, scarves and handbags (shoes too, but they don’t count for me seeing as I have to buy my shoes down at the boatyard), it’s location isn’t prime, and I wonder how long it will manage to survive. I bought a skirt whilst out on safari and whilst the price right enough, the girl who served me seemed fairly out of it; eyes glazed over, either at the prospect of another dull day trapped in the Wellgate, or the previous night out on the town; who knows? Perhaps I’m being harsh, but realistically, the future doesn’t look good, as every time I’ve been there, the place is deserted, and in a town thronging with art students and quirky fashion sense, surely Beco’s rails should be bare, save for the odd hanger? The power of advertisement is key, and I think Beco ought to be looking into some of those lime green bags …
Dundee’s other vintage shop, of which I am a frequenter, is RARA and The Pretty Vacant Showrooms. Located on Exchange Street, it’s location is also not ideal, but it’s a cosy wee shop littered with a variety of jewellery, handbags and clothes. Its interior is completely different; Beco favours minimalist chic whilst RARA is chockablock with memorabilia and it’s something I much prefer. The girl who works there is pleasant and chatty and lacks the snobbish airs of the girl who served me in Beco. I’m a fierce supporter of one off thrift shops and vintage boutiques popping up in Dundee, and I will continue going to both, but I know which I prefer.
The differences in the different ends of town were what I noticed most; the people, the shops and the feel of the two centres struck quite opposite chords, and I look forward to Dundee welcoming more shops, and await with a certain melancholy the no doubt certain demise of the Wellgate centre.
Quite a specific group of people littered the top floor of the town’s busiest shopping centre; mainly being single elderly males, and a few mixed couples of either; boyfriend and girlfriend, husband and wife, mother and daughter (who is sometimes a child, sometimes not). These people obviously have much higher tolerance levels than I, as no mentally well balanced amour of mine has ever had the urge to disturb me in the dawn hours. For that matter, no member of my family (spare my father, but he’s always been a tad slow) or friend has bothered me either. I tend to hurl various objects in the direction of the no doubt well meaning individual who has deigned to bring me cup of coffee and curse in a heavy Dundonian accent, littered with glottal stops. It’s only about 2pm that I start to have functioning thoughts (just) so perhaps that would explain the scarcity of people other than aged singular males. It tends to be, in my experience, that the elderly do rise earlier than the young, indeed my own slightly batty grandmother has a tendency to hoover at around 4am when she can’t sleep.
The sole purpose for the top floor seemed to be purely as a thoroughfare for people to belt along, obviously with someplace better to be going. Few went into the surrounding shops; Thompson’s the travel agents and Optical Express, and I sat and studied a bored looking sales assistant polish the same pair of glasses for a good twenty minutes. Debenhams up to 25% off sale seemed to be doing a roaring trade and it wasn’t long before I was taking a tally chart of all the luminous lime green carrier bags that passed my way. The power of advertising on carrier bags is unbelievable as it drove me to Debenhams, a venue I rarely venture, and had be thoroughly abusing the discount. It’s someplace I’d be unlikely to bother noticing the advertising but seeing all the lime green bags made me want a piece of whatever action these people were getting. Goodbye £25.60 and hello Art Deco dress and crippling student debt. Primark, M&S and Next seemed to be doing not too shabbily either, and working in retail myself, I took noticed of another shopper’s gaudily lit red bag baring the message of a massive sale at Next. Maybe I’ll just take a wee gander…
Other than a woman wearing one UGG boot and a trainer, and Karen and I being interviewed for the Evening Tele’; “If you won the lottery, would you spend it or save it?” Save some, spend the rest. “And what would you buy?” A pony. (I’m such a girl); the Overgate had little to offer, so we moseyed on down to the Wellgate, also a shopping centre, but quite with quite a different vibe.
Little drives me up that end of town; albeit TopShop and my own work, Clarks, and the Wellgate has little to offer a younger crowd like myself. Save from New Look (which the Overgate boasts a larger store), the Wellgate is filled by BHS, bargain store TJ Hughes and a scattering of random little shops that sell all manner of crap. It’s no secret Dundee’s shops er, suck and with TopShop moving to a bigger space in the Overgate, how much longer can that end of town survive? It’s a relic from a bygone era; the lady’s toilets in BHS haven’t changed their sickly gleaming white and blue interior since I were a wean, and that were many moons ago. Even the music belongs to a time gone by; Maroon 5’s “This Love” was one I heard played and right enough, every time I’ve passed through the Wellgate, I’ve never heard a snatch of Gaga or whatever else is topping the charts blaring out over the tannoy. It seems the Wellgate is trapped in the past, the clientele being (without sounding heinously like an middle class snob) specific to the less well off and well, chavvier people of Dundee,
Beco, a smallish vintage boutique, has opened on the first floor of the Wellgate and despite it having a not too bad collection of shirts, scarves and handbags (shoes too, but they don’t count for me seeing as I have to buy my shoes down at the boatyard), it’s location isn’t prime, and I wonder how long it will manage to survive. I bought a skirt whilst out on safari and whilst the price right enough, the girl who served me seemed fairly out of it; eyes glazed over, either at the prospect of another dull day trapped in the Wellgate, or the previous night out on the town; who knows? Perhaps I’m being harsh, but realistically, the future doesn’t look good, as every time I’ve been there, the place is deserted, and in a town thronging with art students and quirky fashion sense, surely Beco’s rails should be bare, save for the odd hanger? The power of advertisement is key, and I think Beco ought to be looking into some of those lime green bags …
Dundee’s other vintage shop, of which I am a frequenter, is RARA and The Pretty Vacant Showrooms. Located on Exchange Street, it’s location is also not ideal, but it’s a cosy wee shop littered with a variety of jewellery, handbags and clothes. Its interior is completely different; Beco favours minimalist chic whilst RARA is chockablock with memorabilia and it’s something I much prefer. The girl who works there is pleasant and chatty and lacks the snobbish airs of the girl who served me in Beco. I’m a fierce supporter of one off thrift shops and vintage boutiques popping up in Dundee, and I will continue going to both, but I know which I prefer.
The differences in the different ends of town were what I noticed most; the people, the shops and the feel of the two centres struck quite opposite chords, and I look forward to Dundee welcoming more shops, and await with a certain melancholy the no doubt certain demise of the Wellgate centre.
Thursday 4 March 2010
Semester 2, Assignment 3; Design Safari
For our third assignment, we had to go out as a group and study our fellow human beings in an environment such as a coffee shop, shopping centre, bus/train station etc. Here are our findings, copied exactly as I wrote them down.
4th March, 11.05 am, opposite Thomsons, top floor of the Overgate.
20 year old guy, wearing a suit, possibly getting interviewed. 25 - 26 year old female, grey jacket. Interviewing/ survey for Evening Telegraph. If you won the lottery would you spend it all at once? Took names and photographs. Use top floor as thoroughfare - few passers by actually go into the surrounding shops. High ration of singular elderly men. Lots of couples either husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfiend, mother and daughter etc. Odd workman. 2 policemen carrying paper cups in a Morrison's bag. UPS guy carrying an Orange bag. Chinese mother and son waiting for something/one? Sat behind us. Many a buggy/push chair. Mixtures of races but predominantly white. Man - Rupert. 10 x 10 -13 year old boys with tennis rackets. Black lab guide dog in training. Couple both drinking Irn Bru and eating Greggs. 2 men unsuccessfully flogging makeup in black bags outside WHSmith. One woman wearing an UGG boot and a trainer.
Debenhams bag count: 25
M&S bag count: 8
Next bag count: 4
Primark bag count: 18
Will analyse and discuss results in a future post.
4th March, 11.05 am, opposite Thomsons, top floor of the Overgate.
20 year old guy, wearing a suit, possibly getting interviewed. 25 - 26 year old female, grey jacket. Interviewing/ survey for Evening Telegraph. If you won the lottery would you spend it all at once? Took names and photographs. Use top floor as thoroughfare - few passers by actually go into the surrounding shops. High ration of singular elderly men. Lots of couples either husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfiend, mother and daughter etc. Odd workman. 2 policemen carrying paper cups in a Morrison's bag. UPS guy carrying an Orange bag. Chinese mother and son waiting for something/one? Sat behind us. Many a buggy/push chair. Mixtures of races but predominantly white. Man - Rupert. 10 x 10 -13 year old boys with tennis rackets. Black lab guide dog in training. Couple both drinking Irn Bru and eating Greggs. 2 men unsuccessfully flogging makeup in black bags outside WHSmith. One woman wearing an UGG boot and a trainer.
Debenhams bag count: 25
M&S bag count: 8
Next bag count: 4
Primark bag count: 18
Will analyse and discuss results in a future post.
Project 3: Catwalk; Evaluation and Results
So with my laptop outta use, I've found it harder to keep up with the blog, but going to post a variety of posts today to catch you up with all everything that's been happening.
Project 3: Catwalk ended a couple of weeks ago, and rather successfully I may add. I've posted pictures of me modelling Natalia's piece, so I'll upload a couple of Suzi modelling mine. I chose Art Nouveau as my inspiration and spent most of my Christmas holidays tearing up vintage Vogues and researching various designers including jewellers, glassmakers, interior designers, furniture designers and illustrators. I focused mainly on the work of Rene Lalique who crafted these beautiful intricate costume pieces, often with a macabre edge to them.
I love how elaborate his pieces are but how they also have a somewhat sinister air to them, and this was something a really wanted to incorporate into my own work.
I also focused on furniture designers of the period, in particular Louis Majorelle, whose Nenuphur bed was a endless source of ideas.
I wanted to manipulate the heavy solidness of the furniture into my headpiece and my first idea was to carve the headpiece out of wood. However, after much debate and deciding that it would be both too heavy for the wearer and too time consuming to construct, I settled on combining brass, reminiscent of the feet from the bed, and branches; the main inspiration for the Art Nouveau artists was nature afterall.
I created a lily out of brass and etched a pair of eyes on two of the petals, giving the viewer the impression of having someone stare back out at them. I wanted it to be subtle and not instantly recognisable.
One of the main components of the brief was to use colour in this piece and for this, I used flocking; namely a textile technique for velvetising surfaces using a static charge and coloured fibres, and used acrylic paint and gold leaf to make the inside of my flower as lavish and decadent as possible.
For the photographs I got Suzi back in touch with nature and dressed her up in a sheet and had her wandering the campus. I think they worked really well, and my only issue with them was the college in the background which if I'd had more time, I would have edited out. Also, it was the middle of February and I think it may have been too much to ask Suzi to travel much further in her toga without catching hypothermia!
Project 3: Catwalk ended a couple of weeks ago, and rather successfully I may add. I've posted pictures of me modelling Natalia's piece, so I'll upload a couple of Suzi modelling mine. I chose Art Nouveau as my inspiration and spent most of my Christmas holidays tearing up vintage Vogues and researching various designers including jewellers, glassmakers, interior designers, furniture designers and illustrators. I focused mainly on the work of Rene Lalique who crafted these beautiful intricate costume pieces, often with a macabre edge to them.
I love how elaborate his pieces are but how they also have a somewhat sinister air to them, and this was something a really wanted to incorporate into my own work.
I also focused on furniture designers of the period, in particular Louis Majorelle, whose Nenuphur bed was a endless source of ideas.
I wanted to manipulate the heavy solidness of the furniture into my headpiece and my first idea was to carve the headpiece out of wood. However, after much debate and deciding that it would be both too heavy for the wearer and too time consuming to construct, I settled on combining brass, reminiscent of the feet from the bed, and branches; the main inspiration for the Art Nouveau artists was nature afterall.
I created a lily out of brass and etched a pair of eyes on two of the petals, giving the viewer the impression of having someone stare back out at them. I wanted it to be subtle and not instantly recognisable.
One of the main components of the brief was to use colour in this piece and for this, I used flocking; namely a textile technique for velvetising surfaces using a static charge and coloured fibres, and used acrylic paint and gold leaf to make the inside of my flower as lavish and decadent as possible.
For the photographs I got Suzi back in touch with nature and dressed her up in a sheet and had her wandering the campus. I think they worked really well, and my only issue with them was the college in the background which if I'd had more time, I would have edited out. Also, it was the middle of February and I think it may have been too much to ask Suzi to travel much further in her toga without catching hypothermia!
Semester 2, Assignment 2: Stories
Ok, so with my trusty laptop outta action, and apparently unfixable (I'm hoping that the bearded man that haunts level 3 of the Matthew building can save it; it's in his capable hands for the time being). However, I lost all the work that was on it, but have got some of it back, so here be the long awaited assignment two.
For this we had to show three photographs (the images just above this) to a mixture of people from different backgrounds and see what stories they could come up with...
A pagan ritual involved the midwinter worship of a giant orb. The barbarians stay up drinking in the moonlight after leaving their dirt cave houses. Every one in the pagan community went out for this ritual, except the muppet normaloid who was kept locked up inside the mud hits, because his rantings and ravings and science talk was dangerous to the moon people! In the full bright ritual night, the moonlight passed through the window into the raving mans room, he changed and morphed and broke free from his chains! ARGHHHHH arf.arf woof he becomes a god, to dance and jump and participate in their crazy moon sacrifice! Josh, English student
In the dark dark forest, there was a dark dark cottage and in the dark dark cottage, there was a dark dark room, and in the dark dark room, there was a dark dark bed and under the dark dark hid a dark dark dog. The bright bright moon shone through the dark dark window revealing a dark red eyes … Julie, Psychology student
A man looked through a telescope at the shining moon. It was still visible despite the low rising sun. He was in the observatory atop his tower, in the middle of a vast desert, in the middle of a dark land! The only noticeable thing in the tower beneath the vast glass dome on the top, was a small window with a cross bar across it, and a disturbing and putrid stench escaping in surges from the dark square hole. The man shuddered as a howl escaped loudly from beneath him! Emma, Shop assistant
Nose close to the ground, he ran snuffling through the forest, lightly pattering against fallen leaves, the luminous moon his only source of light. He wasn’t sure what had driven him from the warmth of the cottage. He stopped, paused, and sniffed the air. A mile on, he reached his destination and growling, pulled at the trouser leg protruding from beneath the leaves … David, Lecturer
Once upon a time, there was a boy, his face yellow and bright. He was a sad boy; he got very lazy in summer and would only wake up for a couple of hours in the middle of the night when it was nice and cool. What he longed for most was to up in the day hovering above everyone watching the world pass by. He only gets to see the sinful stop outs and drink addled fools stumbling home to their cottages and homes, in his bright light. On occasion when he was wearing his heels and had eaten too much and was highest and fullest in the sky, some odd hairy folk came out and yelled at him. This boy felt this was very unfair. He was only doing his job. Ruth, Vet
The main themes that my er, subjects picked up on were mainly that of er, werewolfism and murder. Cheery stuff. So, with these somewhat sinister thoughts in mind, I chose an image of a werewolf silhouetted against the moon to put across the concepts of darkness and terror.
Wednesday 17 February 2010
Modelling For Project 3. Catwalk
These are a couple of the shots I posed for for Natalia wearing her piece. They're the raw, unedited, unphotoshopped and unfixed images in all their original glory. I'd not realised how pale I look against the black of the background and considering the photo studio is down in the depths of the Matthew building in the basement, it was mighty cold, so I don't think they've turned out too bad. Not sure what Natalia's intending on doing to them, but I imagine (or hope) that she'll find a way through the magic of Photoshop to edit out the unwanted bra lines!
Tuesday 16 February 2010
Prepare for lift off ... (Or should that be top off?)
Ok, so when Natalia asked me to model her piece for the catwalk project, that was fine by me. Her piece is gorgeous and despite us telling her throughout its production that it somewhat resembles a steak, ears, mini eggs etc, I was still flattered to be asked to model it. However, our Natalia is somewhat Hitleresque when it comes to getting that right image, and has requested not only a multitude of vest tops in varying colours, and my permission to double sided sticky tape merino wool balls to my face, she has also rather specificly asked I pose topless to show her piece. Intriging, but I'm up for anything, so we shall see how the results turn out. I only hope it's not too chilly in the photography studio ...
Friday 12 February 2010
Photographs; The Results
I was amazed at how much Gemma picked up on my personality in her analysis of of my photographs.
"Now, Colette wears glasses. Some people wear contact lenses or alternate between the two but the fact she wears hers all the time shows maybe she isn't completely image conscious and is confident in her appearence ..."
Ok, scratch the last part at the risk of sounding like blowing one's own trumpet, and it's very true. I have always worn my glasses as a statement piece as a result of being bullied for wearing them when I was at high school.
"Her taste in music can be judged, to a certain extent, by the playful photo of her and friends in Dundee's Fat Sam's nightclub. This may suggest she listens to chart and current music but the fact she's on the third might mean she tends to op for the older more classic style music ..."
Anyone who knows me knows that Bruce Springsteen is my homeboy, and I'd not realised just how much I gave things away in my photographs when it came to fac ts about me that are no secret but are evidently more obvious than I thought.
"Now, Colette wears glasses. Some people wear contact lenses or alternate between the two but the fact she wears hers all the time shows maybe she isn't completely image conscious and is confident in her appearence ..."
Ok, scratch the last part at the risk of sounding like blowing one's own trumpet, and it's very true. I have always worn my glasses as a statement piece as a result of being bullied for wearing them when I was at high school.
"Her taste in music can be judged, to a certain extent, by the playful photo of her and friends in Dundee's Fat Sam's nightclub. This may suggest she listens to chart and current music but the fact she's on the third might mean she tends to op for the older more classic style music ..."
Anyone who knows me knows that Bruce Springsteen is my homeboy, and I'd not realised just how much I gave things away in my photographs when it came to fac ts about me that are no secret but are evidently more obvious than I thought.
Friday 5 February 2010
Semester 2, Assignment 1; Photographs
For our first assignment of the semester, we had to swap photographs of ourselves in various stages of embarrassment growing up with someone else in our lecture group, and had to write about the photographs and what kind of an impression we could gauge from them, what they made us think, what the photographs could tell us.
I found it incredibly bizarre to write about someone I've never exchanged two words with, and felt very put on edge, as you're making massive assuptions about a person's life, without knowing their background or history. I found I could only say 'nice' things as it were, as I felt it wasn't my place to say anything that may have been conceived as nasty in any way, as I didn't know anything about the person in question.
There's at least a couple featuring what I assume to be family holidays judging by what Gemma's wearing and by how tanned she is, so would assume she's obviously quite close to her family; more so with her mum and possibly with a sister or cousin because there's a couple in which a younger girl appears who looks similar. There's one of her wearing a pale pink long sleeve top around about Christmas time, and I assume the woman on the right of the photo is Gemma's mum because she's the spitting image of her. The majority of photographs are of Gemma with friends suggesting she's pretty sociable and outgoing. The only thing I can't gauge is how old Gemma is because in what look to be the most most recent ones, she doesn't look as she's gone through any major image changes, as often happen when you grow up trying to find an exterior you feel comfortable in. This would suggest to me that Gemma is someone who's quite comfortable in her own skin. She's aways got long hair, even when she was little. There's one that looks like she's taking in part in some form of acting, so again, this would suggest confidence. She's got a really cheeky smiley face, which looks to me like she'd be pretty approachable and easy to chat to.
I found it incredibly bizarre to write about someone I've never exchanged two words with, and felt very put on edge, as you're making massive assuptions about a person's life, without knowing their background or history. I found I could only say 'nice' things as it were, as I felt it wasn't my place to say anything that may have been conceived as nasty in any way, as I didn't know anything about the person in question.
There's at least a couple featuring what I assume to be family holidays judging by what Gemma's wearing and by how tanned she is, so would assume she's obviously quite close to her family; more so with her mum and possibly with a sister or cousin because there's a couple in which a younger girl appears who looks similar. There's one of her wearing a pale pink long sleeve top around about Christmas time, and I assume the woman on the right of the photo is Gemma's mum because she's the spitting image of her. The majority of photographs are of Gemma with friends suggesting she's pretty sociable and outgoing. The only thing I can't gauge is how old Gemma is because in what look to be the most most recent ones, she doesn't look as she's gone through any major image changes, as often happen when you grow up trying to find an exterior you feel comfortable in. This would suggest to me that Gemma is someone who's quite comfortable in her own skin. She's aways got long hair, even when she was little. There's one that looks like she's taking in part in some form of acting, so again, this would suggest confidence. She's got a really cheeky smiley face, which looks to me like she'd be pretty approachable and easy to chat to.
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