#galleryyuhself/consumers

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Galleryyuhself - Some important information to know.

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Galleryyuhself - A history of BATA and its establishment in Trinidad and Tobago.

From the Facebook page of Dominic Kalipersad - The Bata Company began exporting shoes to Trinidad in 1930 and two years later, it established shops on the island.Bata continued selling its shoes to Trinidad customers even after the Second World War, and the company ceased operations on the island in 1993.It sneakers, called Bata Bullets, were a hot seller for schoolchildren, probably due to the economical price, but they were not considered cool by the fashion-conscious.

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Galleryyuhself - A fitting end?

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Galleryyuhself - Consumer education. There must be an APP for dis!

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Design NOW

Today, I look at the landscape of local products, manufacturers and services against the appetite of the world at large. I often take into account the way our local businesses sell  customers to us through Facebook, Instagram, Newspapers, Radio and more. Just observing can leave me more concerned than encouraged when I ask, how does the young designer working in Trinidad and Tobago today make a contribution to our desire to sell products while also being socially and environmentally responsible?When I taught Graphic Design at John S Donaldson Technical Institute (now University of Trinidad and Tobago UTT) one of the things that challenged me was the realization of being one of the Lecturers tasked with making great Designers for the world of work. 

Tasked with disseminating knowledge, colleagues Valmiki Ramcharan, Elizabeth French, Reginald Cox and I were always bringing into the curriculum the question of designing with a conscience. Way before the diagnosis on climate change, we would make our students aware that there was no such thing as designing in a vacuum. To design anything for anyone, one must ask pivotal questions. Who is it for? What advantages and disadvantages are known to assist in better design? Why design and for what function? 

It is easy to feel as though leaving school with your papers in hand and getting a job does not give you power to decide what can be done to make designing processes better. You are asked to know Design Software packages; Photography; some Printmaking; some Art History; write a Thesis and to create a  Portfolio. Yet, armed with that information, can a young designer impact the industry?  Particularly when not much is known about the needs, wants and bottom line of said industries?

Some may argue that the designer does not have to know any of that? This is what the agency executives are to know. The Designer is reduced to the active worker bee churning out a quarter page advertisement for BOGO shoes or Spaghetti for Eve products. Very quickly it becomes clear that creative design thinking is not required. The young designer feels as though they were never in the loop, only in the execution of the product needed to keep the industrial complex going. 

However, I would like to posit a possibility to that  young designer today.  So often when I speak with students, they tell me that family and friends  always ask them quite seriously, what do they do? Why study Graphic Design? They all know how to answer. Everything you see has been designed. Yet, how much of what you see is designed in Trinidad and Tobago? What of the things that you see that are done here, are user friendly? Let us take a look.

Trinidad and Tobago’s business community is made up of a few manufacturers and mostly distributors of foreign goods. We import a great deal of our needs and wants. Very quickly it is clear that our societal demands are all about comfort and sophistication, from cars to fast foods. The young designer today is creating content to keep these wants in a context. Local products take on a feel of their own and foreign products keep in line with their international appeal. What is the designer to do? Know the market, the basics of selling to the customer, the taste range of products and  the user. In some ways, take an algorithmic temperature of the push and the pull of consumption on the islands. Observe the ways people purchase things and why. To be a designer today is to be on top of social media, the language of viral videos, fake news and the emoji. However the biggest learning curve comes from knowing  the end point to consumption. What is the shelf life of products you design? 

How are they collected when they come to their obvious decline? What recycling facilities do we have to dispense with our treasures that are now trash? Does the company you did that label for  use a one use plastic product? These are the conversations that young designers have to be part of right now. 

All products end up in a landfill at some point. We can no longer pretend that clogged waterways are not a product of our collective use of consumed items. We are all part of the answer to a very devastating world problem and we are fortunate that we can do many things right now to make things better, one design at a time. Have the conversation and make the change NOW.

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~Galleryyuhself~ More sensitivity to production and consumption in our corona virus era.

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~Galleryyuhself~~ I firmly believe that the future of Graphic Design is determined by many questions this article brings up. This is an important read.

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~Galleryyuhself~~ I am always interested in the way companies in Trinidad and Tobago present their products to the public. In these images TTL/GBP Trinidad Tissue Ltd/Grand Bay Paper set up at The University of the West Indies with the usual table, kiosk, standing poster combination, giving out rolls of toilet paper to passers by. The assistants wore red and gave out red environmental bags.

The company also provided an interactive game using their products in their give away to winners of hampers of paper rolls for kitchen and bathroom. .............................................................................................................................

TTL/GBP collaborates with environmentally sustainable partners to source raw materials and convert into high quality tissue products.

Trinidad Tissues Ltd/Grand Bay Paper is the largest tissue paper manufacturer & converter in the English speaking Caribbean. We're proud to be a sustainable local company providing quality bath tissue, paper towels, napkins and facial tissues to all our consumers!

Products: Bath Tissue, Paper Towels, Napkins, Facial Tissue, Dispenser Napkins & Dispensers, Interfold Towels, Jumbo Rolls (Bath Tissue & Hand Towels.

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~Galleryyuhself~ The Minister of Trade Mrs Paula Gopee Scoon speaks with I95.5 about an Entrepreneur who has ventured out into exporting batteries to twelve countries.

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~Galleryyuhself~More opinions on the Emancipation advertisement.

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Dungozoro Design (stupid/ignorant design)I wasn't surprised by the offensive advertisements by KFC and Stag beer recently. They actually work best as comedic skits - offensive bad humour. Except it's not. It’s the racist (racial) culture that produced it and the racist culture that does not have the mental capacity to acknowledge this historical genocide and how to celebrate the African culture on Emancipation Day. Of all days, corporate Trinidad, you are truly showing your ignorance. These adverts are definitely worthy of a do-over - says the design professor. Because the Black body has historically and systemically been violated, abused, killed, raped and made invisible. The Black culture has been denied its history in a country that is significantly (predominantly) Black - go figure. Neither ad has an image/identity of a Black person and the message is in the capitalist propaganda that reiterates purchase and consumption - not emancipation/freedom. In fact, the ad suggests that Black people are only empowered through consuming alcohol or eating chicken - racist stereotypes. And the Black power movement, symbolized by the fist, is subordinate to the capitalist corporate agenda - profit. Luckily I do not patronize either business. But before I end, let's take a keen look at the ethnic background of the designers (ad agency) and the owners of these companies. My academic suggestion - peer review outside of your cultural ethnic and corporate bubble. The visual language is real. Learn it before you offend people. Part of your bottom line might be at stake.

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