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Project 3 Research

Our next project assigned was creating a community based organization or CBO with our group. These organization are non-profit and tend to work at the local level hence 'community'. These groups often focus on fixing the equality gap in all subject or topics. Some example these groups focus on affordable housing, food security, preserving historic, medical relief funds, youth homes and centers, etc.

Typically these organization are run by local members and exist because the community they represent have these problems. Commonly the people staffed have experience first-hand these obstacles. Yet the skills set each member may have ranges differently. These group people are of the neighborhood and known the neighborhood at a personal level so it's essential for them to retrieve and compile local data.

In my first meeting with my group we unanimously decided we wanted our organization to focus on women. We decided that we should center our ideas toward women in need. Specifically our objective is making feminine products more accessible toward women who aren't able to afford or obtain them.

Feminine hygienic products tend to be expensive despite the necessity of it in comparison to other products. And we all believe women should be prepared and given proper menstrual care. Our local area of operations would be limit to only the tri-state area.

When brainstorming over our organization's name our options tend to lean at the ends of the spectrum of blunt or indirect.

1. Fem 4/for Fem 2. Ruby 3. V.A.G (acronym that was never solve) 4. The Dot Project

The Dot Project was the name we settled at the end of the meeting.

We have yet to finalized what services our organization would provide and so we began to look toward current established non-profit organization that cater to women.

NOW (National Organization for Women)

A movement that dedicates itself to multiple issues and strategies on working through women's rights. What started as a small grassroots foundation is operating within all 50 states and District of Columbia. Founded in 1966, Now's concept has remain to be taking actions on promoting feminist ideals and bringing up social changes while eliminating discrimination toward women. While above all protecting and achieving equal rights for women and girls for their life.

Assist in...

extensive electoral and lobbying work 

organizing mass marches and rallies to bring awareness to their purpose

works with local chapters, regional and state organization

They do not accept high school students to their internship program but encourage people of all ages to support their cause.

LWV (League of Women Voters) Founded by Carrie Chapman since 1920 this organization has fought helping women be aware and to carry out their new responsibility as voters. They believe citizens should play critical role in advocacy. While the organization is not association with any political party they encourage member to be political themselves by educating them and lobbying for government and social reform legislation. They're are a national organization that also operates in state and local level as well as in Hong Kong.

Assist in...

educating and engaging voters and potential voters

informing about possible money corruption and influence that undermines citizens to run as candidates on equal ground and citizen participation in the politics

One detail I noticed while observing the site is the organization's logo. It was clever to have a red stroke place right under the acronym to mimic the former way votes were done at the time of its foundation.

Conscious Period An organization that focus in providing high-quality safe tampons and access to women especially those who make low income. They mention how most tampons are made of synthetic fibers that are treated with many chemical, bleaches and dyes. And those that are made of cotton still have problem due to the fact cotton is the most sprayed crops in the world. FDA classifies tampons as a medical device so its not required to have all ingredients listed on its packages and so they aimed for transparency in their own products.

Assist in..

providing 100% organic cotton tampons

every box of tampon sold, a donation of organic + biodegradable pads is made toward someone homeless in the usa

provide women employment at their facility that manufacture these products

Viewing the name of this organization after reading their mission statement communicates a different perspective to its usage of 'conscious'. It not only refers to normalizing the topic of periods but express how women should know these 'luxury' products are not manufacture as safe as they should despite costing so much. The logo also plays toys with this concept of a period having a conscious.

SG (Support the Girls) Their focus first began when a woman asked a clerk what could she do with her old bras that no longer fitted her.The clerk told her how homeless people are desperate for bras as while many articles of clothing are donated, bras were rarely given. This idea expanded to sanitary products as well but bras donation were the foundation for this organization. They want to protect the dignity of women.

Assist in...

collecting donations of new/used bras and sealed packages of tampons and maxi pads

distrubutes donation toward homeless women and girls across North American and 4 other worldwide location

bringing awareness on the danger of using the same bra for a long period of time; back pain or skin infection

SG's logo and name is very humorous and friendly. The S and G within the logo plays with gestalt as it forms a bra. It's word usage of 'girls' to refer to breasts gives the group a modern touch.

She's the first An organization that provides scholarships to girls in low-income countries, fostering first-generation graduates and cultivating the next generation of global leaders.

Assist in...

providing girls tools to graduate not only get into school

mentorships for potential scholarship candidates

providing broading and health toward candidates

aids girls with high-potential merit who show financial need

#The Homeless Period Unlike the previous organizations above, the Homeless Period is a campaign website. It promotes attention to the problems homeless women experience on the streets of the UK. Their opening page shows a video narrated by a women who lived 6 months homeless in Brixton, London. She describes how she used cloth or whatever she could find as a replacement for a pad. She describe her emotional state at those times and the mental being that was effected. It brings up the issue that some women have to choose between being healthy or feeding themselves with the little changes they do get.

Assist in...

promotion of similar causes

being associated with well-known news outlets.

Originally our organization was center to focus on homeless women that live on the streets of Manhattan. In the end we decided that our mission would assist in...

providing sanitary aid and kits toward all women

educating young girls about their first period and the development that comes with it at local schools

educating young women and girls with proper sex ed

When it came to drafting up our mood board. Our group self-encourage to showcase a bold but subtle implication of periods. We would try to implement this conception when creating thumbnails of our organization's logo. The teardrop would be the significant symbol for our organization. Different flowers were used as a representation of femininity, while bright red or pink gave impact over the white teardrop shape.

From the start of when my group decided on what objective our organization would fixate at. Two artists' works resurface at my mind; Judy Chicago's Womanhouse and Dinner Party and the flower paintings by Georgia O'Keefe.

Judy Chicago - Womanhouse

Judy Chicago’s feminist installment is shameless in what they show. Their bold displays depicts a dramatization reality of a women’s place in home. While also trying resemble the sensation a woman feels during these moments. As seen in last picture showcase how a bathroom is like when a woman occupies it.

Judy Chicago - Dinner Party

Beautiful sculptures of various of colors that seats on a plate arranged in a triangle shape makes up the Dinner Party. Each plate represents a woman as shown in the first picture with their name sewed into the cloth. Not many might realized that these sculptures are really just creative vaginal pieces.

Georgia O’Keefe

O’Keefe works are merely just flowers but one can see the resemblance to Chicago���s piece and think of these curves and color link to something else. These subtle but heavy artworks toward the female reproductive system is the inspiration i use when drafting up my thumbnails for my group’s logo. I wanted to explicitly avoid using a pad or tampon in our logo as I believe we should be modest but forward in our expression as an organization. 

Other inspirations

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Project 2: Final Book Cover + Ads

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Project 01: Research

Before being given the full objective details of the project we were suggested to observed the visual language of MSU and so I started off by researching the exterior style the university use for their architecture.

According to the university website the style which was selected for our campus is the Spanish mission-style. Apparently it was decided upon as gift of appreciation to a benefactor of the school who happen to love the style after seeing it first in California. The first building to been made under the style regulation was College Hall.

The Spanish mission-style blueprint consist of stucco walls and red tile roofs that tend to extend a little pass the building along with its rafters exposed. Arches in particular was a common repetition used on the building multiple times situated above windows and entrances.

Looking through the campus the general style of the Spanish missionaries is definitely implied through the university’s architecture. Curves or arches is a well known design tidbit in the university’s look from a glance. The design is clear cut with its repetition and standard guideline of how to adapted this style onto future building that it’ll be difficult to confused the architecture design for anything else.

Once we were given the full detail of the project my research continued.

Directive: Designing a system set of signs that capture the essence of MSU and the five designated places assigned; Shuttle Bus Stop, Global Education, Center for Writing Excellence, Harry Pargue Library and the Advisement office. 

Before this project I have never visited or attended any of the place mention for our research so it was nice hunting out these places with the exception of the library-cafe. 

SHUTTLE BUS

The first place I went to was the shuttle bus although it took awhile to finally see once as it seem every time I’ve look at the bus stop since the beginning of this project it was nj transit bus instead of the shuttle bus. This is a transportation that helps you get around the university and to.

GLOBAL EDUCATION CENTER

Next, I stopped by the Global Education Center which was honestly a bit difficult to find. I wander throughout the student center annex for awhile before finally understanding that the GEC was building section separate from the annex. I felt relief being greeting to a stand stack with fliers of different locations when entering the entrance way for the GEC, it shown me I was heading in the right direction. The goal of this building gives students information on studying abroad along with receptionist who can give direction and explain the procedures if I were to travel abroad in my major. 

ADVISEMENT OFFICE

The advisement office was not anything I thought it would be. It’s located in Webster Hall and its for advisement and student transitions that is designed for student-workers to help guide Freshman and Sophomore students achieve academic success. Non-Freshman/Sophomore students who are seeking to find academic guidance must go to their assigned Academic adviser.

CENTER FOR WRITING EXCELLENCE

Next, the Center for Writing Excellence is a place where all students are welcome to ask for help on their written work such as term papers, rough drafts or anything of the like. One must first make an appointment in the center to get a spot. So I walked around the building to get an idea what the interior looked. I didn’t expect it to look like a lounge.

HARRY SPRAGUE LIBRARY

Lastly, the library on campus is connected to a cafe which is open most of the day but closes early on Saturday. This is where students come for research, to hang out and do homework. Currently there’s still only one entrance to the library due to construction on campus, which might be inconvenient for students in a hurry or people who are new to MSU who are trying to find the library (surprise, surprised, I was that student).

Importance of Signs

Signs are a way of communicating whether it be to a crowd or a person. It's used for aid to help the individual get around and be aware of their surrounding. Signs become apart of our daily life, often being taught the most simplest ones through childhood such as to find the bathroom and food.

There are three types of signs; iconic, indexical and symbolic.

Iconic signs convey a direct meaning, it usually label a noun or place or figure. Ex; car shape = 'car' the word + meaning

Because of how importance trades are is to the world, iconic symbols that represent an object often view the object in the same perspective as other countries do despite having a different name or word for the intended object. "A rose by any other name is just as sweet"

Indexical signs don't have a direct way to convey its meaning. Usually knowledge of the subject of the object it depict is necessary to understand what is being communicated. And is often used something that is related to the topic or subject it tries to convey.

This type of sign may across as difficult to try an present it as an international symbol at times.

Symbolic signs are signs that have to be taught. They could often contain letters of language or be symbols that related to something historic. Despite that this type of sign can be difficult for international it's used alot because of its targeted audience.

Despite the disadvantage each type of signs have they're are used in our world constantly.

In this project I like to focus on creating a set that the targeted audience can understand but also be able to convey to visitors of the school as well.

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