throughthelensesofviscomm-blog

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Best Contribution Post

http://nus-gabriel-lim.tumblr.com/tagged/%20nm2208

I am nominating Gabriel’s post on his project 2 to be the best contribution post.

I like how he uses colour to engage the viewer in his narrative sequence. The tones and variants of colour show how colour is so important in shaping the viewer’s perception. In a lot of the instances, we tend to take colour for granted and design as what it should be. But we must always keep in mind that design is intentional and only with intention, will the message be brought out.

When we incorporate visual communication principles into whatever we do, we will know that it will bring out the crux of the message.

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Project 2 Independent Narrative Sequence - Storyboard ( The Singaporean Rat Race)

Thought process:

When coming up with the storyboard, I wanted to show how people initially start off with a simple view of the world before getting cynical about the world with the rat race, subsequently viewing everyone as instruments of the oppressive institution of capitalism. 

This story talks about how a guy in Singapore begin life with a optimistic, simple and idealistic view of the world as children But as they go through the different stages of life, it makes them unhappy knowing they are cogs in a system, one of the many that keep the system running. As they go through stage after stage,  they find that people become more distant and unapproachable. By the time they reach university, people have become generic and indistinguishable. The way they look as they relentlessly pursue grades and achievements have took out the life in them. They are portrayed in ominous figures to show how the paper chase for grades and achievements have made people that are the same kind: workers that make the system of capitalism working, As he graduates from university and lands a job in the working world, he finds himself dislllusioned and unhappy being in a sea of ppl that has lost the idealism in them. Arriving at this stage shows the disconnect he has with society as it is no longer as warm and idealistic as he have experienced in primary school. These ominous figures subsequently turn into tall buildings that signify the competing race to the top and the triumph of capitalism. As people climb up the corporate leader, they are no longer seen as people but symbols evident to show the entrenchment of capitalism in our society as they occupy high positions in their career and let themselves be motivated by the pursuit of money and achievements as they compete with others to see who can be more prominent. 

The main takeaway from this story is to show that as children, we have an undeterred idealism in us that is hopeful and bright. However, as we go through the stages of life, people begin to get consumed in pursuing material achievements and lose themselves in it. They may have a life of material prosperity, but they end up lonely, disillusioned as the race for material success runs them dry. 

My critique was:

- Show, not tell 

- show more of their thoughts and expression behind every stage of life, don't just show different backgrounds, include more movement  in the narrative.

- Flow of the narrative sequence

From there I went to the direction of focusing more of the individual’s experiences throughout the different stages and how these experiences of the world has shaped his outlook of life from child-like idealism to disillusionment and unhappiness as a result of the relentless pursuit of materialism. 

I experimented with the positioning of the narrative frames, deciding in making the final 2 frames the biggest and most prominent as they explain the outcome and highlights the message that this story aims to bring across. The narrative sequence is read from left to right, in a general direction of going from top to bottom. The different sizes in frames is to ensure that it isn't a dull transition of frames and give a direction to the flow of the story. I have decided to put it in black and white as I wanted to bring across the ominous feel of individuals being too caught up and consumed by the endless desire for material success. 

Final Product: The Singaporean Rat Race

 This is the final product after some digital editing. Decided to leave the product in black and white as it will make it clearer, bringing across the message better.

Artist Statement;

As we grow up, we find ourselves disillusioned with the state of affairs. We benchmark material wealth as the golden standard of success. But somehow, this golden standard of success doesn't match up to our expectations of happiness. 

Many people long for the past, reliving the simple and idealistic happiness they once had. But over the years, people have become increasingly distant from each other. The radiant smile that once characterised people have developed into cyncism, disenchantment and separation from each other. They have come to accept that the world can’t be what they like it to be. 

Slowly, but surely, they all look the same, losing the personal touch and being consumed by an obsession over money. The world has become unfamiliar, not like what you’ve known during your childhood. Singaporeans are too busy running the rat race, idealism has no place in their hearts. 

The pursuit of wealth and prosperity gets formalized. Singaporeans are no longer people, but cogs in a well-oiled capitalist system. Disillusionment builds up to pent anger and sadness, realising that money can't buy the prevailing emptiness in their hearts.

(185 words)

Response: What is my first impression about this?

It shows how people get disillusioned and unhappy endlessly pursuing materialism, not giving them the idealism and child-like happiness they seek. As long as we keep chasing solely material success, we will remain tools and symbols of entrenched capitalism in our society that is obsessed with wealth and prosperity.

Description: What do I see?

It is about a Singaporean guy going through the different stages of life and his changing worldview in each stage. The guy looks very happy when he goes to primary school but that smile slowly wanes away as he grows up, ending up  angry and disillusioned when he is at the workplace where he see that humans are chasing material success. They soon turn into tall buildings that seem to be competing with each other to see who has more prominence in terms of wealth. 

Analysis/ Interpretation:

The message of this narrative sequence is to show that the world is not a rosy place like what was envisioned during childhood. As people grow up, they seem to become more distant, less happy as they constantly get caught up with chasing of material success. This chasing of material wealth sees the majority losing the human touch, which is exemplified in the narrative by black silhouettes. They ultimately end up not looking like a human. They end up as buildings that compete to see who can achieve greater prominence, motivated by the love of money and achievements. The tall buildings in the last frame are symbols to show that they have lost their personal connection, their obsession with money shaping them into cold stone buildings that is solely concerned about money.

Evaluation:

I personally felt that colour could have been added. This will make the project look like a animated comic strip in a local comic book. It will have made this comic less serious and appeal to the kids more with the lively nature of colour. 

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Week 11 - Gestalt Principles

This lecture was intriguing, never really saw how proximity can change the perception of the viewer! This lecture brought up the principles of proximity, similarity, continuity, figure and ground etc. These images give room for viewer’s perception, allowing the viewer to deduce the message of the image. This showed me another dimension of visual communication and how perspectives can be seen in another dimension through these principles. Here are some examples that have used gestalt principles:

In the case of this logo for “Hope for African Children Initiative”, the Africa continent is made distinct through figure and ground. Similar faces of children are seen too. When put together, they bring across a message about African Children. Although it is not a complete picture of Africa, the viewer is able to deduce it as the Africa continent, bringing closure. 

This is another interesting one that I noticed, where gestalt principles are applied in logo design. This is a classic IBM logo. Using Figure and ground, the blue colour form the figure while the white lines that cut across form the ground. It may not be a complete picture of the words IBM, but when seen, there is sufficient shapes to deduce that it is IBM.

Through the way gestalt principles are applied, I noticed how strong messages can still be put across without the need for contrasts. The use of Gestalt principles is very much evident in our lives, from company logos to the everyday design we see on the streets. These principles shape the way we perceive things and influences the way we have an impression on things. They are very much important in constructing general design, bringing an innovative spin to the things  that we will normally see.

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Week 10 - Typography

Learning about the differences between the different typefaces gave me an insight on how typography influences design and the way we communicate our message. For example, sans serif font is for font that is more minimalist, simple and good to use to stand out. On the other hand, serif font is more structured and defined, good to use to read words clearly.

Serif font is used in logos that are more traditional, old-school. They are used more often in the past to bring a sense of structure, professionalism in their brand identity.

Logo’s like these from the 30′s have a serif font, showing a very distinct form of structure that makes it defined. This font was generally popular in the 1930s. It portrayed the brand as professional, distinguished and one that has class. In contrast for sans serif font, it has become more pre-dominant in recent times as many companies opt for a minimalist look. They want to look current, trendy and cutting edge. Below are some of these logos.

Comparing serif and sans serif fonts, it shows how important font is in communicating a message of the brand. A difference in font can indicate the image the brand wants to take on and the perception it wants consumers to have of the brand. 

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Week 9 - Brand Identity

Brand Identity is crucial in creating brand awareness, allowing people to relate to the brand. It gives the brand a meaning that they can attach to. From that basis, the brand can create an identity that appeals to the tastes and preferences of the consumers. Context and the creation of an identity is important for a brand to be successful in promoting itself and effectively communicate its message 

Marina Bay Sands  

In this ad, Marina Bay Sands tried to portray itself as a luxury brand for the elite. Through the presence of David Beckham, and captions ‘Never Settle’ and ‘Defy your imagination’, they create a luxurious impression that appeals to those who can afford it. The colour of the Marina Bay Sands logo is gold, to create an image of the hotel being high class. This attracts tourists that want a high class experience staying in Singapore. 

This is another ad showing the hotel as a glitzy one. Based on the way the photographs are taken, the colour and taglines used, it’s distinguishing itself as a glitzy hotel where guests can immerse in luxury.

Essential to creating a brand identity is an understanding of the audience and market the brand is reaching out to, only then will a brand be successful in establishing its message.

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Disturb Assignment

These were my source images for the assignment 

I applied the technique of deconstruction, taking out the Merlion head and the body of the Empire State Building. When I put them together, they look like a symbol of the Singapore establishment. When 2 elements like these are taken away from their original images and placed together, they form a different meaning and new symbol altogether, representing Singapore. As it looks like a Singapore establishment, I figured how can I use the remaining images to bring out the character of Singapore. 

I decided to add the tips of the Empire State Building to the top of the icon. In this illustration, they look very similar to guns. By putting them there, I’m trying to portray that Singapore has very strong deterrence force to deter enemies from taking Singapore. It shows Singapore’s superiority in their armed forces, unrivalled in the region with the most advanced technology. It is not only through the army that Singapore has a strong deterrence but also its strong social cohesion among races and the concepts of total defence that unites a nation behind deterrence such that any forces that try to break Singapore will fail to do so. From then on, I decided to add even more elements. 

This time, these elements make the icon like a shining example for the rest of the world to follow, which the Singapore establishment indeed is. Singapore is exceptional in the running of its state, education, healthcare and the list goes on. Its low crime rates and political stability has made Singapore one of the most well-run countries in the world, making it one of the shining exceptions. It has been so illustrious that other countries are seeking to emulate it. Singapore is a role model in efficient urban planning and management and its achievements is a testament to the outstanding example it has been.

However, there were some considerations that I felt could be input into the image to further enhance its meaning. Maybe more cultural icons or examples of achievements can be placed in the image to further clarify its meaning. Also, there could be more of those ‘shiny’ things to further accentuate the effect of Singapore being a shining example.

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Week 7 Tutorial - Stencils and Paper Cuts

For this tutorial, we saw how positive and negative space was employed through stencils and paper cuts. Although it was tedious, it was one of the most fun stuff that we did during lesson! 

I chose to do Donald Trump, the current Republican nominee running for the US Presidential Election. The image below was the original image taken.

First of all, I traced Donald’s Trump body outline. After that, I decided which parts I am going to spray it black, which are the parts that I am going to have to cut out. I went with shading Trump ‘s chest, his hair, eyebrows, lips and the shadows on his face.

When I’ve created shadows on Trump’s face, it’s as if Trump as a character has come alive. The shadows make the features of his face more prominent. After tracing it on paper, I transferred it onto the card where i will proceed to do stencil cutting. 

At this stage, Trump looks cartoonish. It looks like a caricature of him. I proceeded to do a stencil cutting go him. The below image was the end product of the stencil cutting.

This stencil cutting was used to be put on another card where I used black spray paint to spray onto the other card. The below picture was the end result.

The image below ended up a little patchy as I oversprayed too much onto the card. The patchy paint made Trump’s hair look curly. Nonetheless, there were a few things I noticed when I ended up with this image. By selectively choosing which shadows to be covered with spray paint, I have simplified his image into an abstract form of positive/negative space. I have altered the contours of his face by accentuating positive/negative space. 

I noticed that on the parts where I sprayed more paint, the contrast was stronger and those parts were more evident and marked. However, on the areas where I sprayed less paint, it made the contrast less distinct but at the same time, provided a character to it, making it more fascinating than if I were to spray an equal amount of paint on all parts. 

Through positive/negative space, we can manipulate and influence the meaning of an image by selectively choosing which details we want to emphasise and which one we want to omit. From a color image, stencil cutting brings focus to certain parts of the image where we choose to put it out there through the principles of abstraction.

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Week 4 Tutorial - Line Tracing

For this tutorial, we experimented with tracing in a line! Through drawing different lines, we can see how it differs from the original image and how the principles of abstraction can come into play. This is the original image, elephants interlocking with each other. 

For this picture, I traced the outline of the elephants. By itself it seem to depict the form of elephants, but doesn't show any specific detail of the elephant. This can be an abstract form of art by itself as many details are taken out but it is still recognisable that they are elephants that are interlocking with each other. 

I carried on tracing and placed some more details. This time, I was even more detailed. I traced out the different details of the elephants and chose them specifically. It was interesting to see that when I choose certain details to trace, it brings out a character from the elephant. It’s as if the elephant has come to life, compared to a basic outline of the elephants. By adding on the details, it shows that these elephants have a identity of their own.

I carried on tracing the more intricate details and realise that the image has taken on a Thai character. The intricacies and complexities in detail remind me of Thai designs. As elephants are an integral part of Thailand, this picture could mean to convey that they are Thai elephants, given that they have been given the intricate designs that looks as if they came from Thailand.

Through tracing the different layers, it brought out character and life in the image. Tracing them in different layers showed that the meaning of the image can be changed from ordinary elephants to Thai elephants.

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Week 9 Tutorial - Brand Research

For the topic on Brand Research, I chose IKEA. Primarily because I love the brand for its simplicity, innovative design and its ability to make you feel at home with their products. This Brand Research cover namely 4 areas. 

-> Brand History

-> Company Ethics

-> Branding Imagery 

-> Historical Advertising Campaigns 

IKEA’s vision and business idea

At IKEA our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. Our business idea supports this vision by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.

Brand History 

> Founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, started off as a mostly mail-order sales business

> During the 1940s to 1950s, IKEA underwent an exploration      of furniture catalogue, showroom and self-assembly

> In 1958, the first IKEA outlet in Almhult, Sweden opens. It has the largest furniture display in Scandinavia at that time

> IKEA opens its first stores outside of Sweden in Norway (1963) and Denmark (1969)

> IKEA spreads to more European countries in the 1970s

> In the following decades, IKEA underwent an expansion throughout the world to areas like Asia, USA etc

> As of September 2016, it has 389 stores in 48 countries

Company Ethics

> IKEA incorporates environmentally friendly efforts into the business

   > Usage of recycled materials as much as possible. 

   > Holistic design of product and no usage of substances that may harm the environment

 IKEA has a strong business vision and core values. Through their vision, they aim to create a better everyday life for people

> IKEA has a sustainability strategy that has long term goals to enhance their impact on communities and environment by 2020

   > Partnership with other organisations such as non-profit Compassion in World Farming to ensure humane practices by the suppliers of its animal products

   > Ownership of IKEA GreenTech that invests in start-ups with the potential to increase sustainable business operations

   > Heavy investment in wind farms and solar panels

   > Sustainable sourcing of wood and recycling of its products

> Support for initiatives that benefit causes such as children and the environment including UNICEF, Save the Children

   > Partnership with UNICEF and Save the Children to empower women and provide funding for educational materials to address child labour

> Establishment of IWAY in 2000, a supplier code of conduct that sets strict ethical standards for suppliers

Branding Imagery 

> IKEA wins business through co-creation and collaboration with customers

   > Works together with customers to shape the branding  and product development of IKEA as a brand that fulfills the needs, dreams and desires of customers

   > Implements self-assembly initiative, gives customers a part in piecing the product together, creating a unique user-experience in the process

> IKEA positions itself as providing a range of affordable home products to many, combining with function, quality, design and value

> It reflects values of cost consciousness, renewal and simplicity

> Initiates democratic design process by using functional design to push prices down and allow as many people as possible to enjoy their products

> Promotes Swedish culture

> Its innovative design combined with high quality allows people to feel at home

> It generates content marketing through their mail catalogues, videos and home tours, creating a home-friendly perception

Historical Advertising Campaigns 

In 1994, IKEA ran a commercial that featured a homosexual couple. In the history of advertising, it was the first time that such a commercial was released. It aired for a few weeks before it was subsequently pulled down as calls for boycott arose and a bomb threat directed at IKEA stores. In other IKEA commercials, IKEA feature the LGBTQ community in their commercials. This reflects their progressive attitude towards the community.

In 2002, IKEA launched ‘Unboring’ Campaign where they pushed for innovative design at affordable prices. The advertisement titled ‘Lamp’ under the ‘Unboring’ Campaign subsequently went on to clinch several awards.

In 2007, IKEA launched a UK-wide “Home is the most important place in the World” campaign where they use estate agent signs called “Not for Sale” written on them as part of the wider campaign. The way they did so has drawn similarities with the marketing activity of UK home refurbishment company Onis Living. A debate subsequently ensued.

In March 2010, IKEA developed an event in four important Metro stations in Paris, in which furniture collections are displayed in high-traffic spots, giving people a chance to check out the brand's products. The Metro walls were also filled with prints that showcase IKEA interiors to promote awareness of the brand.

In September 2010, IKEA launched an advertisement for UK & Ireland called "Happy Inside" which had 100 cats lying on IKEA furniture in the flagship IKEA store in Wembley, London. 

In April 2011, an advertising campaign was launched discovering whether men or women are messier in the home. Created by Mother, the campaign will begin with a TV advert shot in front of a live audience, featuring four stand-up comedians, two men and two women, debating which gender is messier. The idea behind the campaign is that domestic clutter leads to arguments, and thus to an unhappy home, a conflict that IKEA wants to show can be avoided with better storage.

In 2013, when opening a new store in Richmond, BC, IKEA did an innovative campaign called Human Coupon to draw crowds to its new store. Basically, to earn the discounts at this store, people have to come down and be present for them to be eligible for the discount. Just like how you use discount coupons at a store, they have to bring themselves down to the store for the discount to work. 

IKEA launched The Wonderful Everyday Series in the UK, talking about the usage of IKEA products over the years and how it has been relevant throughout the generations. It brings a personal and emotive touch in advertising as it shows IKEA as an integral part of being part of their homes in different generations.

Given that IKEA is family-friendly and affordable to the masses, I have to find a platform to advertise my ads to all walks of life. And I think 8 Days will be the most suitable magazine for me to put my advertising sequence to as it is Singaporeans’ go-to guide for their weekly fix of showbiz and lifestyle news. It is aimed at working adults, the young-at-heart and everyone in between. It is voted the No. 1 Overall Magazine and Entertainment & Lifestyle Magazine in 2013 in an annual poll conducted by Marketing Magazine on advertiser preferences.

Given it has a wide audience base that reaches out to many Singaporeans, it will be the ideal magazine to run an IKEA advertising sequence. The ideals of IKEA; simplicity, affordability and modernity is applicable to the average Singaporean who is looking to enhance their quality of life by reading this lifestyle magazine. 8 Days being a lifestyle magazine promotes having a greater quality of life, which is synonymous to what IKEA is trying to promote. Furthermore, IKEA is a familiar brand to many Singaporeans. What better way to advertise the brand than to put it in a well-known magazine by Singaporeans. 

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Week 6 Tutorial: Positive and Negative Space

In this tutorial, we covered positive and negative space! As this tutorial fell on a public holiday, we didn't have actual class. However, i managed to do some self-experimentation at home and came up with a few interesting images! I took the Eiffel Tower as one of my images and tried to see how far positive/negative space will influence the meaning of the image.

This was the original image, Eiffel Tower illuminated. What happens when we take out all form of light surrounding it?

With the background entirely black, it brings much more focus to the eiffel tower as the surrounding lights are eliminated. It brings prominence to the Eiffel Tower and makes it the only focus in the picture. It brings much clarity to the message that this picture is pre-dominantly the Eiffel Tower. I proceeded to bring in more black/white colours with the next picture. 

This image look like the Eiffel Tower has adopted an antenna. It is akin to a TV tower created back in the 19th century. By making it white, it makes the tip of the tower more pronounced and evident as it draws focus to that part of the picture and breaks away from the rest of the elements. What if we colour more of it white?

In this image, it looks like ‘Eiffel Tower-ception’. It’s as if another Eiffel Tower has been built on top of the existing Eiffel Tower. Colouring it white has made it very evident that there is a shape of a smaller Eiffel Tower in the existing Eiffel Tower. The abstraction has started to become more evident as the details get reduced and eliminated. What if more space is being coloured white?

In this case, the whole Eiffel Tower have become the main focus of the image. Although the specific details have been gone, it is still recognisable that it is an Eiffel Tower, given the shape and lines evident in the image that distinguish it as an Eiffel Tower.

When the whole area has been coloured black and white and there is no evidence of specific details, the image has become more abstract. Although there maybe no details the shapes, lines all convey the message that this image is the Eiffel Tower with greenery surrounding it. It makes that message much clearer and pronounced. 

Experimenting with positive/negative space has shown me that turning pictures into black/white colours can sometimes convey the message of the image much clearer by removing all its complex details. Through abstraction, it has clarified the meaning of the image with the reduction of details. 

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

(NM2208 - Week 5 Tutorial: Repetition)

For this part of the tutorial, we experimented with repetition! We saw how repetition could distort the meaning of an image and how far it will change it from the original. We had to take a particular feature and repeat it.

This is the original image: an ice cream. Let’s take the feature of the ice cream and engage it in repetition.

I like how this image turned out, it looks like a kids toy or a hammer once the ice cream has been repetitively placed. The ice cream becomes the surface which the hammer use to hit. It looks like it could be a hammer for kids or a hammer that is really soft that will not work on hammering in nails or harder stuff. What used to be just an ice cream has become a hammer or even a child’s toy. When you place it in such a scenario, it takes on a new meaning altogether and this shows how the meaning of an image is distorted through repetition. 

i experimented yet again with repetition, this time with the ice cream cone. In this image, the ice cream cones that are placed facing downwards look like an ice cream holder for the ice cream. It seems like an innovative ice cream holder that can be brought about anywhere we go, sounds like a pretty cool idea! When we engage in repetition, the cones take on a new meaning of being a holder for the ice cream. It sheds a different perspective of the same image and brings a character and function for the ice cream cones.

In this image, the ice cream is stacked upon each other. It looks like a triple scoop ice cream. It gives the impression that there is a lot of ice cream and makes it more appetising with more ice cream on top of it. When repetition is used, feelings and responses are being evoked which makes it so much different from showing just an ice cream cone. 

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Project 1b - Advertising Sequence

Advert 1 

The aim of this advert is to allow the audience to relate to the simplicity and modernity of IKEA brand by bringing that concept and idea to them. Most IKEA ads were simple and aesthetically pleasing. So what I did was to keep those details to a minimum so as to make it less messy and more minimalistic to bring out the essence of simplicity for the common man. An IKEA advert makes you feel like wanting to adopt an affordable lifestyle that makes them feel at home, which IKEA wants its consumers to perceive.

Picture 1: Since IKEA revolved around simplicity, I thought what better way to do it than to bring out their plain vanilla ice cream. The vanilla ice cream represents the simple joys in life that IKEA  wants you to enjoy. I applied repetition to the ice cream to further reinforce the notion of simplicity. To further bring out that essence, I cut out a few numbers namely ‘0.50′ to show that such simplicity can be affordable and enjoyed by the masses. I put ‘0.50′ in white colour to show that price point is important and should be given focus. At IKEA, their vanilla ice cream is sold at 50 cents.  

Picture 2: On top of the basic vanilla ice cream, I wanted to bring in the notion of intentional, functional and modern design, which IKEA aims to do with its furniture. I took furniture and placed it in a way that looks modern, innovative and functional at the same time. The placement of the furniture shows IKEA’s ability to come up with innovative designs that improve the quality of life for its consumers. 

Picture 3: This was one of the drafts that I came up with. Initially put 1.00 to show the idea that its cheap and affordable but it doesn't reflect the actual price of the ice cream so I changed the number to “0.50″. It is important to reflect the actual amount as it shows IKEA’s promise to deliver to its customers and to do so with integrity.

Picture 4: This is the final product of Advert 1. The ice cream are being placed on top of the IKEA table to show the lifestyle consumers can enjoy when they go for their brand. Chose a blue background instead of a black and white one as the blue colour induces familiarity and resemblance to IKEA brand. By looking at the blue colour, it associates with the simplicity and modernity of the IKEA brand, which this advert exudes and exemplifies. I chose to put the IKEA brand in colour because ultimately this is where the focus is diverted to. The details of the advertisement provide direction towards the brand, not overpowering it. The placement of the IKEA brand is at the bottom right is common in IKEA’s adverts, acting as a trademark rather than one that sprawls across the whole page.

In conclusion, the advert conveys a simple yet affordable lifestyle. The innovative design gives an impression of homeliness and a Scandinavian quality of life. Knowing that their dollar can stretch far to enjoy that lifestyle, it draws people to engage in IKEA where they feel right at home and be assured of the high quality they deliver.

Advert 2

The aim of this advert was to connect to the heart of every Singaporean by bringing in cultural icons and symbols to bring IKEA closer to home.

Picture 1: This advert resonates with many Singaporeans. There are not many elements in this advert to show its simplicity. This advert takes on a local flavour as you can see the words ‘Merlion’ and ‘Sale’. The ‘Merlion’ acts as an Singaporean icon, part of the Singaporean identity. There is something synonymous with these 2 words. One of the things that Singaporeans love is shopping. The shopping culture is ingrained with events such as the annual Great Singapore Sale where retailers give big discounts to consumers during this season. For a population that loves to shop and look out for big discounts, what better way to do it than to add a local spin to IKEA’s advertisements.

The Merlion takes up the background, showing that this advertisement’s character and nature is of Singapore. Bringing in the cultural icon makes an attempt to connect and relate with Singaporeans by embracing the presence of things that are endearing to them. Adding the words Sale, which many Singaporeans love to hear, it appeals to the many Singaporeans looking for a really good discount while shopping. The box that Sale is in sprawls the whole page, giving the impression of big discounts and one that shouldn't be missed. It attracts the attention of the viewer to the idea of a sale that is going on. 

Behind the sprawling ‘Sale’ box is one of IKEA’s furniture. It is placed there to show that the Sale will be for IKEA’s furniture. In most of IKEA’s ads, they will normally place one piece of furniture, which is evident in this advert as well where one piece of furniture is seen. This is to bring emphasis to simplicity and innovative design of IKEA. Even though the words Sale are sprawling across the advert, focus is still brought upon the IKEA furniture as it is placed in such a way that it stands out from the rest for the different position and perspective it is placed. 

Picture 2: I chose blue colour as my background as the colour is light-hearted and to promote a sale from IKEA, the event is generally light-hearted and makes people feel comfortable. Therefore, such a colour draws people into the experience of what it’s like to be with IKEA. Similar to the first advert, the IKEA brand is placed as a trademark at the bottom left corner. It is placed in colour to show that the brand is what matters at the end of the day.

Overall, this ad bring Singaporeans together to engage in a culture that they love to do; shopping with big discounts. The simplicity in elements bring the message across with much clarity as with one glance, one can tell that it is a Singapore Sale with the Merlion and Sale being shown across the ad. It assimilates IKEA’s innovative design into the local culture; Singaporeans’ habit of going for sales.

Advert 3

This advert aims to show the ideal IKEA home. It gives consumers a vision of what its like to have a home when they use their products. It gives consumers an opportunity to build a home and have an idea about it. It draws consumers to work together in the process of creating this experience of a home with a great quality of life that is simple and modern. 

Picture 1: This is a picture of a typical home. It has the television, a table, some frames on the wall with lights from the ceiling. From such an image, the home evokes the message that IKEA wants to bring across: a home of great design that makes you feel comfortable. It shows that the dream of getting such a home is affordable. You do not need a lot of money to own a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing home. This model of a home allows people to envision what a comfortable home will be like. With the placement of IKEA furniture in there, it shows how people can use the furniture to create their dream home, which is very important as most furniture end up as only utilitarian and not having the function of great design. On top of the television is a triangle, which I used to represent an antenna through the principles of abstraction. The legs of the television are obtained through paper cuts. I’ve placed 2 squares that resemble wall frames in such a way that contributes to the whole aesthetic of the home. The floor and the ceiling are replaced by symbols that make the idea of a home much clearer with their positioning. The lights are repeated to give the impression of multiple lights that decorate and fill the house. Through deconstruction, I’ve put together a table where the table top is an image of a towel rack and the legs created through paper cuts. Putting all these elements invoke a sense of harmony in the message of a home. 

Picture 2: I’ve chosen red as the background colour for this advert as Singaporeans largely relate red to being auspicious. Also, the colour red is warm, which is what people want to think about for a home. According to the Chinese, by donning and including red in your lives, good fortune will come your way as it is an auspicious colour. More than just the cultural element, most people want a warm home and by seeing red, they associate it with warmth. Thus, the colour selection is made to be red. Similar to Adverts 1 and 2, IKEA is placed as a trademark at the bottom corner. Such a positioning is adopted in a lot of IKEA adverts.

Therefore, this ad conveys the message of creating an ideal of a dream home. It allows consumers to have a benchmark of what their ideal home should be like and elevates the quality of life of living in homes for many people. It gets consumers excited about creating their home and being part of the process of building their dream home, which IKEA aims to invoke.

As a whole, the advertising sequence convey different messages and show the different sides to IKEA; simple, modern etc. These narratives come together to bring about a strong brand identity for IKEA; what it stands for and what it delivers to their consumers. These messages of affordability appeals to the masses, which is in line to what 8 Days magazine reaches out to. 

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Project 1a - Graphic Illustration

(Project 1a- Graphic Illustration: 2016 US Presidential Election)

Through this graphic illustration, I aimed to portray the dynamics of this election and how it subsequently affects how the nation and the world views what is going on. 

From the first picture, I first started by cutting out Trump’s face at the centre and focus of this illustration. His face is in colour to display the prominence of his personality through the coverage that he is receiving in the media and throughout the world. For the whole body of Trump,I used the technique of deconstruction to create an image of Trump being viewed as foolish and incompetent by many people. The ice cream cone that is inverted on his head, looks like a party hat which comes to show that he is a fool that can’t be taken seriously taken for what he does. The ice cream that covers his brain comes to show that his brain is very soft, susceptible to constantly changing viewpoints, not being able to hold his thoughts together when attacked and not being able to think deep into the issues concerning the country. If you notice, his mouth is taken out of the picture to depict that his words are coming out of a hole, his articulation of words not making logical or verbal sense. The body that he is taking on looks presidential, which comes to tell that he is seeking to be president as he contests in this election. The words TRUMP are emblazoned across his chest, to signify his ego in promoting and getting himself out there, emphasising his name and things about him when he campaigns. 

In the second picture, I began to bring in other elements that further define and explain the presidential election. From the focus of Trump, I bring in other images to signify the relationship between Trump and Clinton and on a global scale, how is the election viewed as a whole. In comparison to Trump, the rest of the images are in black and white as throughout the election, Trump has been the most colorful throughout the election, gaining the most prominence about himself and for himself. I placed Hillary Clinton’s face behind Trump’s body to bring about a sense of positioning, showing that although Trump might be at the focus of the world, Hillary Clinton controls the election from behind through her calm responses with Trump, slowly swaying the vote to her as she allows Trump to self-destruct on television. I took the Eiffel Tower that I experimented with in positive/negative space and reduced it to entirely white to depict it as one of the icons of Western democracy, along with the Empire State Building. This is to simplify it and make the meaning of it as an icon more clear and pronounced. These icons of democracy are pointed out towards ‘UFO-like’ shapes, seeking to ward off these glares and defending the elections from degradation by preserving the dignity of the democratic instituition and brings the focus down to Trump as an individual . These ‘UFO-like’ shapes represent the eyes of the world. As the world is watching, their eyes are akin to mocking the electoral process, criticising the democratic process. They are used in repetition, to show that respect for USA is diminishing in the eyes of many. The shapes being ‘UFO-like’ come to emphasise that the eyes of the world are coming together as ‘UFO’s’ to attack the institution of democracy for the state they are in today. The eyes fill the whole page to show how overwhelming and important it is for the whole world watching the state of affairs unravelling. 

There were some considerations that I felt could be put in to improve the illustration though. The words emblazoned across Trump’s chest could be made bigger, filling up the whole chest to suggest that his ego is so big that he is so full of himself in everything that he does. 

As a whole, the elements come together to portray the intricacies, complexities and relationships within the US Presidential election. It is interesting to see how Trump dominates the whole illustration with the focus largely on him. The chaotic arrangement of elements depict how messy the presidential election is and the implications it has for the world at large.

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Class Exercise A

• Sketch (or design) a machine or a device that enhances your creativity.

• Tools: A4 paper, pencil, pen, marker, colour pencil etc.

Rules/tips:

• The sketch should be detailed enough to express your machine/device.

• Describe how does it work in concise point forms [3-5]

• The machine/device doesn’t need to be working realistically. Just a speculative idea, be imaginative.

This is a multi-tasking modem that can conduct simultaneous transactions and serves multiple purposes.

How it works:

1. To power the modem, throw trash into the trash bin which is connected to the modem. The modem is powered through the incineration of trash, promoting sustainable energy :)

2. The modem has moisture conditions that facilitate the growth of plants on top of it. The modem is favourable to the growth of orchids and hibiscus and adverse to potato or corn plants.

3. There is a receiver at the end of the modem to facilitate transactions with taxi companies and online shops. The signals sent out are represented by the colours: red, green and yellow. Red means it has failed, yellow means it is in the midst of sending and green means that it has been sent.

4. There are 2 waterproof monitors that track the progress of the transactions. The colours green and red will fill the entire phone, indicating whether the transaction is approved or rejected. The colour will be reflected with a buzz and shown for 3 seconds. One monitor is for hailing a cab from Grab or Uber while another monitor is for making transactions with online shops. These waterproof monitors can be put anywhere. Even if it is placed in the shower or brought with you to the pool, it will be working perfectly.

What it does:

- Reduce reliance on electrical energy and powering activities through a sustainable form of energy

- Revolutionising the way plants are grown in densely-populated Singapore

- Brings convenience and accessibility to transaction updates from Cab and online companies to users wherever they go

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Tutorial 1: Constructive Criticism Exercise

Retrieved from Nature by TeamLab @ Art Science Museum Singapore (http://www.marinabaysands.com/museum/future-world/nature.html#yj421P18Jk5kh0ew.97)

Response: The artwork is very immersive, pretty, and it brings the person into the artwork. It feels like we are actually part of the artwork - and not an outsider looking into it. The music is calm, pleasant, and it makes you feel like you’re in this nature utopia.

Description: On the projection there will be patches of greenery and flowers; and then there are random sections that will have the flowers grow; the music played is also very calm/relaxing/soothing, and it feels like you’re very one in nature. The exhibit makes use of a lot of technology and it seems quite advanced for what it is.

When human presence is sensed, the flowers will grow, and bloom, and there’s activitiy in the projection. But when no human presence is sensed, nature is left untouched

Analysis: Human presence on nature and what does this entail? Do human actions shape nature? Positively or negatively - which is it?

Message: We affect nature-  no matter how small or big the action is- we still affect it. However, whether it is positive or negative- its up to us. People become very careful where they step on in this exhibit, because every step or action they take affects the projections as a whole. This is ironic because while we are quite careful not to “harm” or “disturb” nature in this manmade exhibit, we do not do the same in reality.

The exhibit exaggerates the idea of humans affecting nature - because the effects are immediately seen, but that doesn’t happen in reality. This brings the message out more effectively because it directly and immediately shows us the consequences of our actions on nature.

Evaluation: More elements should be added: birds, trees, not just greenery - to make it more realistic.

Ultimately this art piece is successful because it really drives the message home - that human action will affect nature and the immediate effects of it being shown here really makes us think about what have we been doing to the greenery around us - because we might not be there to see the consequences, but there are consequences all the same.

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Class Exercise B - Construcitve Criticism Model

Campbell’s Soup Cans, Andy Warhol (1962)

Retrieved from (https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/andy-warhol-campbells-soup-cans-1962)

This is an artwork by Andy Warhol, called Campbell’s Soup Cans in 1962. It is made by synthetic polymer paint on 32 canvases and currently shown at the Museum Of Modern Art in New York City.

Response:

Upon first look, the painting have the different varieties of Campbell Soup, showing the diversity of a brand that is universally well-known. The diversity explains the different tastes and preferences society have. It depicts modern culture as intrusive and penetrative into society with 32 cans of a similar popular brand, showing how modern culture have come to define the way we live. The multiple canvases seem imposing as they seek to entrench the image of Campbell Soup in our minds.

Description:

The 32 canvases, albeit differences in the varieties of soup, shows a similar shape of a Campbell Soup Can. The shape of the Campbell Soup Can is repetitive. Every Campbell Soup Can has the same size with each can standing on its own. Each variety is put into a single frame, with each frame separated from the other. The gaps between frames are uniformly spaced out.The frames subscribe to a colour scheme of red and white, staying uniform throughout every frame.

Analysis and Interpretation:

Through the 32 canvases, the Campbell Soup comes across as a cultural icon that transcends different tastes. It’s shape of the can, font and logo entrenches Campbell Soup as a cultural impression on the minds of many and as a prominent brand of not only that generation, but for the subsequent generations as well. The painting depicts a cultural legacy that the painting leaves, having it’s impact and influence further than that of its era.

Evaluation and Judgement:

The painting shows the prominence and proliferation of the Campbell Soup Can, having a cultural role and shaping the mindsets of people. It further reinforces the dominance of Campbell Soup as a cultural force in society.

[throughthelensesofviscomm-blog]

Lecture 8 - Harmony, Contrast Repetition and Unity

This lecture covered visual principles that encompassed harmony, contrast, repetition and unity. Harmony and Contrast can be made possible through these elements: Shape, colour, placement and size. When you introduce differences in colour or shape, it introduces contrast.

This is an artwork that consist of Marilyn Monroe’s repetitive portraits, inspired by Andy Warhol. Unity is achieved by combining harmony and unity together. Each portrait is created with a variation of tones and hues, creating emphasis in the process. Variances in color leads to variances in contrast. By introducing different colours that contrast, it sets as a good balance with the repetition of her portraits, bringing a visual unity to it. Variations in the colour of the features of Marilyn Monroe distinguish each portrait from the other. It breaks the monotony of her portrait and brings the image towards visual unity, instead of showing simply repetitive patterns. The different colours engage each other, in whispering, shouting and speaking.

The harmony that is created by the repetitive pictures of the size is complemented with the differences in colour evident throughout her portraits to create a unity that carries a visual message.