designplusmediastudies-blog

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[designplusmediastudies-blog]

Creative Output??

For my creative aspect of this project, I am still unsure which direction I will take it,but i know that I would like to use aspects of Critical Design, and play on the rules with it a bit more than an everyday product. I think that I will design a product, possibly a piece of clothing, and instead of the standard tag or label on the inside (and often outside) of the clothing, and use this area to redesign a way to show the human labour that has gone into the product.

This could be some how done using blood, hair or fingerprints, but I want the product to have a level of shock value that gets the attention of the consumer to realise the true value that is human labour.

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Fetishism and Narcissism

Commodity Fetishism and Commodity Narcissism.

Commodity Narcissism is the concept in which people that are fully aware of the current situation of labour and human resources that go into a product, and act as if they are culturally concerned about what goes on, yet continue to shop and purchase products that they know are exploiting human resources. In today's society with factories and sweat shops that are exploiting human labour of all kinds of people, to create products with such well known brand labels, you could assume that we all fall under this category. We know the situation, yet only a few people are willing to change their roles as consumers.

I was thinking I could maybe look into this as area and use the connection of critical design to push the question of how commodities are seen by consumers and how the use value of objects comes from the labor out into the creation, but as soon as it leaves the factory the connection with the factory and its workers are no longer attached to the product.

On this topic I could possibly design a product or redesign something and the way in which we purchase the product and how the value of the object would change if the purchaser had to construct the product themselves, taking out the slave labor aspect, and creating a higher level of value for the owner of the product, or, another idea could be having these commodities 'wearing' scars, like how they have been produced, where, by who, how long it took, so that there becomes a new form of connection with the object as we know how much effort went into building and designing a product to suit its audience.

My main aim will be to make sure that there is a connection between the product, labourers and purchasers.

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A simple diagram which shows the patterns of the market using commodity fetishism and exchange, use values and labour value.

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Commodity Fetishism - Part 2

When products are created, and then enter the market place; they lose part of the biggest aspect of value. The value put on these products through labour and the commodification of human resources.

The more labour that goes into a product, generally equals the more value a product has, but what I want to look at in this project is the alienation between the labourer and the product in the market and create a way for consumers to be aware of the connection between the product and its origin.

Marx also uses the term Commodity Fetishism to define the way that the market is an ongoing and ever turning wheel of consumption. When a product is purchased, it creates a feeling of satisfaction for that buyer. They feel that they have the newest and best product available on the market. Then the market moves forward. New advertisements are made for the even newer product just released, causing the consumer to feel as if they are missing something, and they cannot gain this "happiness" till they have bought the new product.

This cycle, ever repeating itself causes markets to keep developing newer products, and causes the purchasers to have even less time to think about the commodification of human labour that they are buying into.

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Commodity Fetishism

A term by Karl Marx, which he used to describe how consumers are connected with a commodity.

Commodity fetishism is the transformation from subjective value of something to its objective value. Through the working line of labour and production, the worker is then alienated from the product, whilst their own work and labour has become a commodity to be sold, like the product.

When things enter the market, the are transformed. Commodities gain value through market trends, and has nothing to do with the labourer. When we look at a product, we look at it in relation to other things, and use this to 'see' its value.

1. Exchange Value (not usefulness)

2. Labor - Embodied - to generate exchange value (Price in the market)

3. Labor - Aspect of humanity is sold (but not in relation to their connection with the product)

Economists forget the source of value, the product of human labour.

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Drinking - New Zealand - Statistics into Infographics

Using drinking culture in New Zealand as a scenario, I will research statistics offered by NZ Transport Agency, ALAC and New Zealand Health Statistics to show the side effects of excess alcohol consumption and show this in a light that will hopefully gain the attention of a new range of audiences. 

I would use an image similar to the one just posted and add statistics and a way of interpretation to make an impression of the number of drink drivers in NZ.

I would plan to use other combinations of images to express the ideas of:

-Alcohol related hospital admissions

-Deaths

-Road Accidents

-Non-accidental related injuries (assaults etc)

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An idea of the graphics I would like for my infographics, need to add the statistics etc but this might be a starting point

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This image was posted on billboards and truck backs all over N.Z,

I would possibly like to use imagery similar to this in the creative output for this project.

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Assignment Two: DESIGN + CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Reaction Infographics:

Part One

Taking what I have already researched into with the first project, I am going to continue to use Infographics as my connection with design and media studies, but will aim to push this next part further into the media sides of things.

After researching into how I plan and want to use infographics as a tool for critical design, one way that I want to look at it will be to use statistics from New Zealand Health and use this alongside advertising that we have become familiar with in relation to alcohol abuse, drink driving, alcohol related injuries and other statistics.

Using infographics I hope that I will be able to come up with a new way of "grabbing" attention of the people that are ignorant of the current advertising or thing "this isn't about me". At this current point I would like to recycle some of the themes and techniques from other advertisements and design something that will create a reaction.

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Project One - Plan

Introduction:

Brief overview of main points of the essay:

  -The connections between Media studies and Design.

-Mention the uses of infographics in everyday society.

-The opportunities that graphic design has created in terms of data visualizations.

-Possibilities as a learning tool.

-Highlight the companies and designers wanting to interview.

  Paragraph One:

-The importance of using techniques learnt in Media Studies to help auidences understand visual messages in the media.

-Reading semiotic messages within media texts.

-The role of the Media in everyday society (the particularly the internet).

-How design re-affirms the connections within infographics to design problems and solutions.

-“Media reception is seen as a process of interaction between recipients and media, determined by features of the media as well as by characteristics of recipients. This leads to an action oriented framework that integrates both aforementioned perspectives, semiotics and HCI [human-computer interaction]” (Schumacher, 2008).

  Paragraph Two:

-What is infographics?

-The use of colour, text, etc to create aesthetics.

-“One can regard the normalistic curve-landscape—understood as the totality of infographics in which the objective conditions of data are symbolically subjectivized” (Hall and Link, 2004).

-Data visualization in an increasing visual culture.

  Paragraph Three:

-Possible future with infographics?

-Teaching and learning tool

-Jason Davies prime number infographic design.

-Case study for using data visualization as a teaching method (students create theor own infographics to understand theories, etc) “This project seems to help them see a solid representation of their rhetorical artifact, which many times can seem rather abstract. It also seems to breathe new life into a critical process that, although it has been around for decades, is still relevant and useful today” (Butler, 2008).

  Paragraph Four:

-A company that uses infographics (creates them for others).

-Column Five – a design company that specializes in data visualizations and sees them as an important tool for companies to use.

-Designer David McCandless – Information Is Beautiful.

NOTE: This company and designer would be interesting and beneficial to contact for the next assignment as they both have full understandings into the importance of data visualization.

  Conclusion:

Review the essay and touch on important points about the connections and the possibilities that they open up for media specialists and designers.

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Infographics

Infographics use graphic design to express information in appealing ways to audiences that often would not read a facts sheet. Through the use of aesthetically pleasing colours, shapes, contrast and text, infographics appeal to a range of internet based sources such as social media, artists and designers, people trying to show an impact etc.

Infographics uses designs in such a way that gets attention whilst also creating beautiful images. Mixing things that get the attention of people, beauty, and the need to know more (facts, etc) infographics can be used in a variety of ways to share information and share a message.

I think that I will look more into this side of the mix of Design and Media studies, with the importance put on environmental design, social media and graphic images.

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Infographic About Your Life

"Vizify uses the data you share on social media sites to automatically create visualizations explaining who you are."

The principal of this is to re-group all of our social networking connections, and put our data into one system of infographics, which becomes like a timeline, or portfolio of our lives that we have already shared with the internet.

Vizify generates images using data and information and creates art-like graphics.

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1670378/vizify-turns-your-social-network-into-an-infographic-about-your-life#1

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Social media and graphic design - Showing the advancements in social media usage over the 4 year period between the 2008 Olympics and the 2012 Olympics.

This is a really nice example of using social media and design to show data and express values of significance in terms of internet usage and social media.

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Social Media

Design Photography + Social Media

Photography in new media plays a very important role through the use of the internet opens up new values of designs, and brings about new ideas of connections such as social media marketing and using photography to aid this.

Critical Design + Social Media

Critical design and new media has the potential to offer up some new challenges relating to its quickly rising social networking systems. To critically challenge the users of these things and to question people on their choices in this new medium.

Cultures of Design + Social Media

Design and media culture has lead us to a cross road where now what is to become new design and new media is often built around the internet. Web design, social media etc. are based around this new culture that has risen in the last few years. Consumers’ reliance on the internet pushes companies to follow suit and begin advertising, news sites, social media and the sorts based around the network.

Design Research + Social Media

Research into new media shows patterns and ways of thinking of the new media users. To be able to design for this sort of audience, there needs to be research into the “invisible” consumer sitting on the other end of the network. Designers need to be able to create “personas” that can be fashioned into people with real needs and wants so that there is a template of what needs to be available.

Green Design/ Environmental friendly Design + Social Media

While new media is based on the internet and connecting networks, there are good and bad effects of this. Companies now see the importance of branding themselves over this media source and showing their loyalty to the environment. This causes issues such as green washing vs. green design and how to separate the two.

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Guest Speakers - The Dowse Art Museum

In today's lecture, the guest speakers from The Dowse really interested me in the process and experience of setting up the art shows and gallery pieces. They are an organization that I would be extremely interested in finding connections between my major and minor. But they seem to be more connected with such topics as Archeology and Social Anthropology and even Marketing rather than Media Studies, although I would like to find a connection in some way to their organization to possibly study and research more.

http://www.dowse.org.nz/

The connection that the Art Museum makes between design and art in their exhibitions and shows was interesting and also the importance that the setting up and visual and physical requirements for each set up is something that interests me a lot.

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Graphic Design - A second connection

Design used commonly through the media can be focused on magazines, internet, television etc can be taken back to graphic design roots. Graphic design works as a tool connecting 'art' or a visual expression through media resources to advertise, express and notify the masses of an event, of a way of thinking, of many things.

Graphic design plays an important role in marketing and media studies and is a popular resource for companies to advertise in a way that is smart looking, fitting into an aesthetic while also being witty and cunning in its ways of pulling its consumer audiences.

This is a connection between my major (Culture and Context) and my minor in media studies that I think is interesting as it holds many techniques that are observed and studies in both disciplines and across many media landscapes. Yet while looking into this connection, I know that many techniques and skills I have gained from studying design, the focus is not so much into graphics as it is into other forms of modern design. I am looking to research more into the method and techniques behind Graphic Design but I am unsure if it is a connection I would personally like to make within my future as a designer.