OUGD501: Context of Practice 2 (Lecture) - The Gaze and the Media

Women internalise the gaze, they see themselves as they see images around them.
according to usage and conventions which are at last being questioned but have by no means been overcome - men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselvesbeing looked at’

Hans Memling - Vanity (1485) 

• Impossible image of herself
• There is no way they mirror can reflect that
• He’s apportioning a type of moral judgement to the woman that is pictured
• Triptych of Earthly Vanity and Divine Salvation (front) (c.1485) Oil on oak panel, 22 x 15 cm (each wing) Musée des Beaux- Arts de Strasbourg.
• Using the mirror at an odd angle appears in many contemporary images, we can see a shadowy outline of her face - the fact she’s preoccupied means we have permission to gaze at her. 
• A very vouyeristic approach

ALEXANDRE CABANEL ‘Birth Of Venus’ 1863

• We’re left as the viewer to regard the naked body uninterrupted
• She doesn’t stop us from looking, there’s no challenge to the gaze.

Sophie Dahl for Opium

• This version of the advert was deemed to be too adversely sexual
• It was too sexual, it wasn’t going to pass the advertising standards,
• So to pass this, they turned the image on it’s side, so there’s more of an emphasis on the face, and less on the body

Titian's Venus of Urbino,1538

• The look in this woman’s face is almost a sort of flirty imitating to allow you to look at her body. 
• The position of her left hand could be argued that she was covering herself, but it could also be perceived as quiet sexual

MANET - ‘Olympia’1863

• There’s a difference in the woman’s gaze, as apposed to Titian’s,
• The hand position is significant, it’s not a modest sexual gesture, it’s stopping you looking at that part of her body
• The woman is actually a prostitute, she’s a modern woman, a modern nude.
• Manet is celebrating the powerful female figure

Ingres ‘Le Grand Odalisque’ (1814)

• Informed the Guerrilla girls

MANET - Bar at the Folies Bergeres, 1882

• if you look in the top right corner, you can see Manet, it’s almost like a self portrait.
• The reflection you can see wouldn’t exist in reality, it’s obtuse.

  Jeff Wall ‘Picture For Women’(1979)

• The woman repeats the vacant inactive look, in woman.
• He’s divided the image into thirds using the mirrors,
• you can see the camera, acting as the POV like Manet
• You can then see Wall on the right, like you can see Manet in his painting

Coward, R. (1984)

• The camera in contemporary media has been put to use as an extension of the male gaze at women on the streets,
• The action of the camera replicates the male gaze,
• Normalisation of the female form

Eva Herzigova, 1994

• Wonderbra, normalisation of the female body in the streets, 
• This appeared as a billboard in a high density area

Coward, R. (1984)

• The profusion of images which characterises contemporary society could be seen as an obsessive distancing of women... a form of voyeurism
•  Peeping Tom, 1960  
• The male body can also be objectified as it would be with women.
• From 2007, Dolce and Gabbana 

Marilyn: William Travillas dress from The Seven Year Itch (1955)

• 1970’s she looked at 1950s and 1940’s films using Freudion theory, to look at how films are made, with female objectification 
• Cinema was a darkened room, it’s notable that one may look without being seem, by those on the screen and others in the audience,
• The Voyeuristic process of females characters and the narcissistic nature of egos in characters

Artemisia Gentileschi ‘Judith Beheading Holofernes’ - 1620,

• In Griselda Pollocks ‘Old Mistresses’ 
• A more active role for females
• She wants to reposition the role of women in art history, making their work and their voices visible
• Pollock, G (1981)
• Women ‘marginalised within the masculine discourses of art history’
• This marginalisation supports the ‘hegemony of men in cultural practice, in art’
• Women not only marginalised but supposed to be marginalised

Cindy Sherman, “Untitled Film Still # 6”, 1977-79 

• The woman in the image is in a reclining position 
• Barbara Kruger ‘Your Gaze Hits The Side of My Face’ (1981) 
• Your gaze hits the side of my face
• Why can’t we look at a female body - she challenges that
• Sarah Lucas ‘Eating a Banana’ 1990 
• Sarah Lucas Self Portrait with Fried Eggs 1996 
• She challenges the gaze

Tracey Emin ‘Money Photo’ 2001

• Challenging the criticism, almost like some sort of prostitution

Caroline Lucas MP in June 2013

• No More Page 3 - she was asked to remove it, because it was against the dress code of the house of commons, 
• Challenging the gaze, against the objectification of women in page 3,
• Lucy-Ann Holmes, who founded a campaign to end the publication of topless "Page 3 Girls" in The Sun newspaper last year, told the BBC that while she had also received death threats, she had not been subject to the level of "sustained attack" experienced by Ms Criado-Perez. "I'd say it's a constant undercurrent, when women write about feminist issues or are exposed in a lot of media for speaking out about sexism they tend to get a barrage of abuse and threats," she said. (www.bbc.co.uk)  

Criado-Perez campaigned to keep Elizabeth Fry on the £5 note 

• Criado-Perez argued that as the Equality Act 2010 commits public institutions to end discrimination
• She received up to 50 threats a day via Twitter including threats to rape and murder.
• Although she reported the abuse police lost evidence and she was forced to delete her account 
• Campaign to represent women on British currency

Social Networking is used to perpetuate the male gaze/ the gaze of the media

• The body is broken into fragments- could be any female
• Plays on teenagers body consciousness, potentially carrying those perceptions into adult life

 Susan Sontag (1979) ‘On Photography’

• 'To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed’
• The act of photographing is more than passive observing. Like sexual voyeurism, it is a way of at least tacitly, often explicitly, encouraging what is going on to keep on happening’   
• Paparazzi shot of Princess Diana

Reality Television

• Appears to offer us the position as the all-seeing eye- the power of the gaze 
• Allows us a voyeuristic passive consumption of a type of reality
• Editing means that there is no reality
• Contestants are aware of their representation (either as TV professionals or as people who have watched the show)

The Truman Show (1988) dir Peter Weir

• His life, Jim Carrey’s character is in reality TV

Big Brother 2011    

• Making Voyeurism an every day activity, 
• They can’t see us, but we can see them, we are the peeping Tom. 

Looking is not indifferent. There can never be any question of ‘just looking’. - Victor Burgin (1982)

Further reading

John Berger (1972) Ways of Seeing, Chapter3

Victor Burgin (1982) Thinking Photography

Rosalind Coward (1984) The Look

Laura Mulvey (1973) Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema

Griselda Pollock (1982) Old Mistresses Susan Sontag On Photography (1977)
 

OUGD501: STUDY TASK 3 // CONSTRUCTING THE OTHER

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2482751/Left-handers-likely-psychotic-Study-finds-strikingly-higher-chance-suffering-schizophrenia.html

The article chosen, displays a sense of othering, alienating a larger majority of the population. The article, from the Daily Mail, 1st of November 2013. The article, 'Left-handers 'more likely to be psychotic': Study finds they have 'strikingly higher' chance of suffering schizophrenia’ Which goes on to make bold statements such as 'Left-handers are more likely to develop psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, than mood disorders, research suggests’ - This statement is completely othering an entire section of the population, people who write with their right hand. The blind ignorance conveyed in the othering of right handers suggests that only people with who write with their left hand are more likely to develop some sort of metal instability. '10 per cent of those being treated for bipolar disorder or depression were left-handed – a figure much more in line with the rate of left-handedness in the general population.’ Surely, the other 90% percent of those who are being treated for a bipolar disorder or depression are infact right handed. The article also writes, another blind statement "Left-handed people have a ‘strikingly higher’ chance of suffering from schizophrenia, research suggests. ...A study revealed left-handers accounted for 40 per cent of those with the mental illness.” Which also supports; those who write with their right hand have been othered, as even in the statistic displayed, there is a larger proportion of the percentage unaccounted for, the right handers. So, 60% of people with mental illness are right handed. 

You could also argue that in this article, they are also othering the stable-minded left-handers. It doesn’t give a proportion of mental illness rates to the number of left handers. These statistics which they’re dug up are completely out of context, holding little relevance because The Daily Mail have othered the, what I assume to be, the majority, the stable minded proportion, of the left handed population. 

OUGD504: STUDIO BRIEF 2 - Design for Web // Good Web Design

USM Modular Furniture - http://www.usm.com/en-us/

Lodgify - http://www.lodgify.com/

A Clever Little Agency - http://www.madebyblock.com/

The Squad - http://www.thesquad.com.au/

Design Shopp - http://designshopp.com/

OUGD501: Context of Practice 2 (Seminar) - Identity

Recap from the lecture

• Essentialism 
• Physiognomy - the outlook, because people are born in a certain environment, having a certain identity. 
• Anti-Essentialism - Society shapes us as people, and we don’t have any defining characteristics, but we’re formed by socialism.  

Identity and the other in visual representation

• Creation of identities
• concepts of otherness
• Analysis of visual example
• Identity - who we are and how others perceive who we are
• Identity creation - What makes you, you?
• The way you dress/present yourself
• How you speak/mannerisms
• Where you’re from
• Level of social skills/who you surround yourself with
• Interests
• Upbringing/background/genetics
• Physical Attributes (deformities)
• Fear
• Sense of Humour 
• Skills and abilities/what you can do for society
• Religion and Beliefs
• Gender
• Sexuality

How do you express your identity?

• The way you dress/present yourself - conspicuous consumption
• Your way of speaking
• Life style choices
• Body modifications
• Job/Profession/Vocation
• Emotional Availability 
• Social Networking
• Reality vs projected identity.

Circuit of Culture - Stuart Hall

• Culture is the framework within which our identities are formed, expressed and regulated.
• Identity formation
• Process from psychoanalysis

Jacques LACAN

• The ‘hommelette’ (french pun - man/omelette)
• The ‘Mirror Stage’ - the key point of identity formation in the individual
• The Mirror Stage
• Sense of self (subjectivity) built on:
• an illusion of wholeness
• receiving views from others
• Result = own subjectivity is fragile

Constructing the ‘other’

• Problems: relives on the assumption of position and radical otherness
• In the same way that we create our own identities we
• Identification
• Shores up unstable identities though the illusion of unity. 
• Shared fashions, belief systems, values
• — Subterranean Values (Matza, 1961)

Find an example of othering. 

OUGD504: STUDIO BRIEF 2 - Design for Web // Bad Web Design

Below, listed are some terrible examples, in my opinion, of web design, in no particular order. 

Evangel Cathedral // http://www.evangelcathedral.net/welcome.htm Plenty of flash based media, infinite loop media - appalling colour scheme, almost painful to view. It doesn't fit the context to which it was created.

Abbishek Designs // http://abhishekdesigns.com/#!/ I've never been a huge fan of the blown up stock images with grunge text thrown on the top, rasterized, then resized once again. On a more technical note, I'm struggling to find any use of grids, which are  fundamental to good web design. 

American Patriot Party // http://www.americanpatriotparty.cc/ Plenty of clashing colours. The content seems to be squeezed onto the home page, with plenty of links on the left side. It just doesn't work. 

Palace Fun Centre // http://www.palacefuncentre.co.uk/ (Probably hasn't been updated prior to Y2K) The content seems to have created to fit an academy ratio monitor, infinite loop gifs, and a wonderful gradient to set the scene. 

OUGD501: Context of Practice 2 - Study Task 2 // Consumerism Aston Martin Analysis

The advert depicted above is that of Aston Martin, a high performance, super car manufacturer, based in the UK. Aston Martin produced this advert to promote and re-home their used Aston Martins. This advert reflects the logic of consumerism; it does so by tapping into our suppressed irrational desires, as spoken about by Sigmund Freud. The idea that we all have hidden primitive sexual forces and animal instincts, which need controlling, hidden, suppressed by society. The advert does so by suggesting, quiet blatantly, that the woman in the ad is a sexual object, ‘you know you’re not the first, but do you really care?’, something which can stimulate you, a personification of an Aston Martin, you expect a thrill from her. This is supported by Berger, J. in 'Ways of Seeing’, where he write 'One may remember or forget these messages but briefly one takes them in, and for a moment they stimulate the imagination by way of either memory of expectation.’ (Berger. J, 1972, p129) - this car, like this girl, is an experience, it doesn’t matter that you’re not the first, as long as you’re experiencing it. It also implies that this car is supposed to pleasure you, like a woman would when engaging in sexual acts. This is once again referred to ‘Publicity is effective precisely because it feeds upon the real. Clothes, food, cars, cosmetics, bathos, sunshine are real things to en enjoyed in themselves. Publicity begins by working on a natural appetite for pleasure’. (Berger. J, 1972, p132) This texts also communicate the envy associated within the ads, almost like bragging rights, as some males, who are indeed the target audience for this advert, do tend to boast about their sexual encounters, in an 'alpha male’ style. Something, which could also be done with an Aston Martin, as apposed to a 2003 Fiat Punto. Transforming you into the man you want to be, which could either be with a fantastic looking female, or even an Aston Martin. ‘It proposes to each of us that we transform ourselves, or our lives by buying something more…it will make us in some way richer — even though we will be poorer by having spent our money.’ (Berger. J, 1972, 131). You could also suggest that whoever has used the Aston, or spent time with the model, have had an enriched life 'Publicity persuades us of such a transformation by showing us people who have apparently been transformed’ (Berger. J, 1972, P131). You could also argue that not only is an Aston Martin a commodity which acts as a status symbol, making you accessible to women, without it, you are nothing, as suggested by the association between the model and the car, this is supported by Berger; ‘If you are able to buy this product you will be loveable. If you cannot buy it, you will be less loveable’ (Berger. J, 1972, P144). Ultimately, tying the ownership of used Aston Martin to that with intercourse with an attractive woman. 

Bibliography

1. Berger. J (1972) 'Ways of Seeing' BBC and Penguin Books Ltd, London 

OUGD503: Studio Brief 1 - Individual Practice // Selecting 5 Competition Briefs

As part of this task, we were asked to select 5 competition briefs, which we had to print out and bring to the session. You can see the 5 briefs below.

Typography Day will be organised for the seventh time on 28th Feb, 1st, 2nd March 2014 at the Symbiosis Institute of Design, Pune (India) in collaboration with the Industrial Design Centre (IDC), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) with support from India Design Association (InDeAs) and Aksharaya.

The event will feature a day of workshops on Typography and Calligraphy followed by two days of conference dedicated to ’Typography and Culture’. The international conference will be devoted to addressing issues faced by type designers, type users and type educators.

Beside workshops and conference, Typography Day will also host a poster design competition. The theme for the poster competition is "Across Opposites". Design a poster to express two opposite or conflicting meaning words (antonym). Each of these words should be from a different language. You can make use of two different types faces from two different cultures.

Calligraphic or digitally created letterforms or existing fonts, or a combination of these can be used for the poster. Size of the final poster: 420mm x 600mm only in portrait format. Resolution: 300 dpi - File type: JPEG or PDF - Color Mode: CMYK.

Each participant is allowed a maximum of three entries.

There is no entry fee.

Eligibility // This competition is open to students, faculty and professionals all over the world.

Prize // Twenty five winning entries will be published and displayed in an exhibition during the event. The winners are entitled to free participation (workshop expenses and food) during the Typography Seminar and Workshop on 28th Feb, 1st, 2nd March 2014

http://www.graphiccompetitions.com/graphic-design/typoday-2014-poster-design-competition

If point of impact of the early-1990s grunge explosion can be traced to Nirvana's Nevermind, the full commercial arrival of rap-metal can be pinpointed to August 1998 — the month Korn's aptly titled third album, Follow the Leader, debuted at Number One. The two-time Grammy Award winning band is now celebrating the recent launch of their latest album The Paradigm Shift which was recorded with producer Don Gilmore of Linkin Park.

In celebration of the album release, Korn are inviting aspiring designers to submit a design inspired by their new track Love & Meth for the chance to become the official artwork for the single.

Korn's Choice
One winner will have their design produced and featured as the official artwork for Love & Meth. In addition, the winner will receive:

One custom Korn guitar (valued at $225) signed by the band
Limited edition lithograph of the winning design, signed by the band
Exposure for their design across Korn's social media channels
A deluxe version of The Paradigm Shift
Two tickets to a Korn tour date closest to the winner's location, with access to meet the band (travel and accommodation are the responsibility of the winner)
$500

People's Choice
One highest-voted winner will receive:

An exclusive Korn merchandise package including a signed poster
Two tickets to a Korn tour date closest to the winner's location (travel and accommodation are the responsibility of the winner)
Exposure for their submission across Korn's social media channels

Get Involved

Launch: October 28, 2013

Submit by: December 4, 2013
Vote: December 5, 2013 - December 11, 2013
Winner(s) Announced: December 19, 2013

(Disclaimer, I haven't listened to Korn since I was 15, I had a fringe). http://www.talenthouse.com/design-for-korn

Chris Stapleton released his new single "What Are You Listening To?" this summer. However, this is only the beginning, as September 24th marked the beginning of his tour. Check out his tour dates here. This country artist instantly grabs the attention of his audiences with his outstanding voice, as he has been described by artists including Adele and Sheryl Crow as the best voice in Nashville.



Chris and Universal Music Group Nashville (UMGN) are inviting the Talenthouse community to create a poster design that captures the soul of his single "What Are you Listening To?" Listen to the lyric video on the right and download the sticker below for inspiration. You may use the picture of Chris in your design available for download below, but it is not required. This is a unique experience that provides the opportunity to design for the best voice in country music!

Chris Stapleton's Choice

One grand prize winner will receive:

$1000
A Chris Stapleton merch pack
The host's choice will be featured across Chris Stapleton's official Facebook and Twitter.

People's ChoiceThe highest voted winner will receive:

$250
The highest voted will be featured across Chris Stapleton's official Facebook and Twitter.
Get Involved

Downloads:
Chris Stapleton Picture.jpg
Retro Whiskers Sticker.pdf

Launch: October 8, 2013
Submit by: November 12, 2013
Vote: November 13, 2013 - November 20, 2013
Winner(s) Announced: November 28, 2013
All phases have a deadline of 10am PST

http://www.talenthouse.com/design-for-chris-stapleton

Your design for the coffee revolution! Bonaverde is a small, dedicated team of young, sleepless Berliner entrepreneurs that made it their goal to revolutionize the world of coffee. Around 2 years ago, Hans the founder started out with a vision: build the first all-in-one coffee machine in the world that would not only grind and brew, but alsoROAST coffee.

There are many benefits in having freshly roasted coffee, but probably the most groundbreaking thing about it is that you’ll get the raw beans directly from the farmer. You skip the currently up to 17 steps between the farmer and yourself, and gain complete transparency on your coffee bean’s value chain. And it also means that farmers finally get more for their beans.

Now it’s time for implementation. The technique is all set up but still lacking a beautiful housing. Bonaverde needs you to make this very first roast-grind-brew coffee machine an object to long for by creating the most spectacularly simple yet elegant product ever seen in a kitchen.

This contest also runs in combination with an upcoming Kickstarter campaign. So if your design is selected to be the best, it will get featured on Kickstarter as the machine design most likely to be produced. And if it’s produced, you won’t fall short off royalties.

There is no entry fee.

Eligibility

The competition is open to everyone worldwide.

Prize

The total prize money is 6,000 Euro (approx. 8,200 USD) split amongst the winners. The Early Bird winner (by October 30th) can literally make history by designing the next disruptive innovation that people from all over the world will long for.

However not only fame, but also serious financial benefits can come his way: 0.80 Euro royalties per machine could get him very far once we start serial production. Still, the project is far from being over after you’ve selected the Early Bird Winner - all other Community Winners stand the chance of being licensed and produced if they convince the crowd.

http://www.graphiccompetitions.com/multiple-disciplines/brave-new-coffee-world-design-competition

Grand Cigars

http://99designs.co.uk/logo-design/contests/create-logo-grand-cigars-256223/brief

OUGD501: Context of Practice 2 (Lecture) - Identity

james.beighton@leeds-art.ac.uk

Lecture Summary

• To introduce historical conceptions of identity
• To introduce Foucault’s discourse methodology
• Yo place and critiquer contemporary practice within these frameworks, and to consider their validity
• To consider postmodern theories of identity as fluid and constructed.

Theories of Identity

• Essentialism (transitional Approach)
• Physiognomy
• Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) - Founder of positivist criminology - the notion that criminal tendencies are inherited.

Phrenology

• Physiognomy legitimising Racism.
• Anglo-teutonic,
• Irish Iberian
• Negro
• Hieronymous Bosch (1450-1516) Christ carrying the cross, llid on panel, c. 1515. 
• Chris Ofili, Holy Virgin Mary, 1996. - suggesting that mary was something other than the blond hair blue eyes stereotypical beauty.
• Historical Phrases of Identity 
• Douglass Kellner - Media culture: Cultural Studies, Identity and Politics between the modern and the post modern, 1992.

Pre-Modern Identity

• ‘secure identities’
• Farm-worker,
• soldier
• factor worker,
• housewife
• gentleman,
• husband-wife (family)
• landed gentry
• the state,
• industrial capitalism
• patriarchy
• patriarchy
• marriage church

Modern Identity 19th and earth 20th Centuries

• Charles Baudelarie - The painter of Modern Life (1863)
• Baudelarie introduced the concept of the flaneur (gentlemen stroller)
• Veblen - conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentlemen of leisure
• Gustave Callibeotte (1848-94)
• Le Pont de l’Europe 1876
• Not having to work is an indication of your class
• Simmel - Trickle down theory, Emulation, Distinction, the mask of fashion
• Gustave Caillebotte (1848-94
• Paris Street, Rainy Day, 1877.
• Georg Simmel
• The feeling os isolation is rarely as decisive and intense when one actually finds oneself physically alone, as when one is a stranger without relations, among many physically chose personal at a party on the train or in the traffic of a large city. 
• Simmel suggests that; because of the speed and meltability of modernity -.-

Post-Modern Identity

• Discourse Analysis
• Identity is constructed out of the discourse culturally available to us. 
• What is discourse?
• 'A set of recurring statements the deinf e particular cultural object, eg. madness, ciminallity, sexuality, and provide concepts and terms through which such an object can be studied and discussed' Cavalaari (2001)
• Possible Discourses
• Cass
• Nationality
• Race/ethnicity
• Gender and Sexuality

Class

• Humphrey Spender/Mass Observation, Worktown project, 1937
• To know where you fit in, you need to know what the other classes are. 
• Set up by Spender, a social anthropologist, to observe Britain living. 
• Documented in Bolton - mass observation.
• Martin Parr, New Brighton, Merseyside, from The Last Resort, 1983-86
• Condescending way of viewing lower classes. 
• Perpetuationing a stereotype of a different class. 
• Martin Parr, Ascot, 2003,
• Society reminds one of a particularly shrewd cunning and pokerfaced paler i the game of life, cheating if given a chance flouting rules whenever possible. 

Nationality

• Martin Parr, Sedlscombe from Think of England 2000-2003
• Cultural appropriation
• Las Vegas - is American a real identity? Fake, replicas, taken from other nationalities.
• Disney World, all the con ties are much closer together.
• Race/Ethnicity
• Icons being depicted as in a different light, the holy virgin Mary being black, for example. 
• (Chris Ofili, Captain shit and the Legend of the Black stars, 1994)
• Chris Ofili No Woman, No Crime 1988
• Gillian Wearing, from the signs that say what you want them to say and not signs that say what someone else wants you to say, 1992-3
• Representation of black people, models being used in provocative nature. 

Gender and Sexuality

• The fashion industry is not the work of women, but the work of men.
• gigantic unconscious hoax.
• Flapper, 1925
• Androgyny 1920’s style, from Punch Magazine.
• Masquerade and the mask of femininity
• Cindy Sherman, Untitled film stills, 1977-80.
• Sam Taylor Wood, Portrait (Fuck, Suck, Spank, Wank, 1993
• Sarah Lucas, Au Naturel, 1994
• Tracey Emin, Everyone I have eve slept with 1963-95, 1995
• Wonderbar - women shouldn’t be stereotyped to the kitchen
• Gillian Wearing, Lynne, 1993-6

Post Modern Theory

• Identity is constructed through a social experience
• Erving Goffman The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959)
• Zygmint Bauman - Identity (2004), Liquid Modernity (2000), Liquid Love (2003)
• Yes, indeed, identity is revealed to us only as something to be invented.
• Rene Decartes (1596-1650) - I think therefore I am
• I shop therefore I am - Barbara Krunger

OUGD501: Context of Practice 2 (Seminar) - Comsumerism

Lecture Recap:

• Freud - Instinctual desires, 'pleasure principle', when satisfied you become docile. Incompatibility with humanity and society. 
• Bernays - Consumption satisfies the desires, we're made to think we're happy, so we're docile. As we believe our desires have been met. 
• Social Control - Using the consumer system, keeping people passive and docile, people are less likely to start a revolution. 
• P.R. - Commodities, society to people - a false need.
• Fordism - Mass production, an execration of the amount of things available - Because of it's nature it produced disposable income, which increased consumption. Which lead to brand rivalry. (1920's)

We then were asked to pick out some key phrases, which supported the idea of consumerism in the text below, click to zoom!

OUGD504: STUDIO BRIEF 1 - WHAT IS DESIGN FOR PRINT? // Commercial Costing

When defining the cost for commercial printing you must take into consideration a few several factors. I looked at a printers website, to see how their costing is spread out, how it works. Of course, getting actual figures would be useless, as each individual printers will have different rates.

Size
The first factor which you must consider is the size of the stock, in relation to the amount of ink applied. For example, if you were to print on 45 leaves within an A5 publication single sided it would be [x], however, if you were to print double sided within the document, you may pay double [2x]. You might also want to double the size of the document, making each of the leave A4, as apposed to A5, resulting you to pay [4x].

Quantity

If you’re not 100% sure, please let us know the minimum / maximum you’re likely to need as it will be fine to estimate within these parameters. For anything “litho” printed a large element of the overall cost can be the set up, the “run-on” figure for increased volumes is usually a pleasant surprise.

Material
With such a wide range available, we are happy to offer advice based on similar completed projects and specific recommendations on viewing the planned artwork. Our default materials are premium grade triple coated silk/matt/gloss FSC certified with minimum 15% recycled content, or FSC uncoated (option of 100% recycled). Please note you/we can include the relevant FSC environmental logo & supporting text on any project that uses FSC certified stock (in reality, nearly all) – there’s absolutely no cost implication for you …

Printing
If we are to print in 4 colour process (full colour), defined spot/pantone/metallic colours or a combination of the two – we will generally include a machine seal on all silk/matt coated stocks and also a special seal for uncoated stocks with large ink coverage requirements. This will not affect the printing or final appearance, but will prevent rubbing/marking.

Finishing
Some jobs are very straightforward, others involve several finishing elements – we can also show certain finishing options (e.g. lamination, spot UV varnishing) as an additional cost, for you to work out what fits within the overall project budget, where applicable.

Time Frame
We pride ourselves on never missing an agreed deadline (and we’ll be honest – if on the rare occasion it’s impossible to complete a requested time we’ll tell you at the outset, not mid-project). We operate 6.00am-midnight print shifts on presses and so with a bit of advance warning we can make most things happen. But advance warning is the key – even if final artwork is not ready we can reserve a repro & press slot working back from your deadline and also organise the materials if size/quantity is known. As all proofing/printing is completed under the one roof we are in complete control of the project … and therefore the deadline.

http://www.printhouse.co.uk/2011/01/quick-accurate-estimates/

OUGD504: STUDIO BRIEF 1 - Design for Print // Book Binding Research

Coptic binding or Coptic sewing comprises methods of bookbinding employed by early Christians in Egypt, the Copts, and used from as early as the 2nd century AD to the 11th century. The term is also used to describe modern bindings sewn in the same style.

Coptic bindings, the first true codices, are characterized by one or more sections of parchment, papyrus, or paper sewn through their folds, and (if more than one section) attached to each other with chain stitch linkings across the spine, rather than to the thongs or cords running across the spine that characterise European bindings from the 8th century onwards. In practice, the phrase "Coptic binding" usually refers to multi-section bindings, while single-section Coptic codices are often referred to as "Nag Hammadi bindings," after the 13 codices found in 1945 which exemplify the form.

A saddle stitch is appropriate for small booklets and, in general, for volumes with only a few pages. Most magazines that are not glued are saddle stitched: that is, they are held together by staples that run through the gutter. Once the pages are aligned and in the right order, this type of binding is quite straightforward. Staplers with extremely long jaws, designed specifically for saddle stitching, are available in office supply stores. Some photocopiers produce saddle-stitched volumes automatically.

Perfect binding is often used, and gives a result similar to paperback books. National Geographic is one example of this type. Paperback or soft cover books are also normally bound using perfect binding. They usually consist of various sections with a cover made from heavier paper, glued together at the spine with a strong glue. The sections are milled in the back and notches are applied into the spine to allow hot glue to penetrate into the spine of the book. The other three sides are then face trimmed. This is what allows the magazine or paperback book to be opened. Mass market paperbacks (pulp paperbacks) are small (16mo size), cheaply made with each sheet fully cut and glued at the spine; these are likely to fall apart or lose sheets after much handling or several years. Trade paperbacks are more sturdily made, with traditional gatherings or sections of bifolios, usually larger, and more expensive. The difference between the two can usually easily be seen by looking for the sections in the top or bottom sides of the book.

Case binding is the most common type of hardcover binding for books. The pages are arranged in signatures and glued together into a "textblock." The textblock is then attached to the cover or "case" which is made of cardboard covered with paper, cloth, vinyl or leather. This is also known as perfect binding, cloth binding, or edition binding.

OUGD501: Context of Practice: Applying the Shannon & Weaver's model

Apply Shannon & Weaver's model to an example of communication. ow widely is the applicable? How useful do you find this source of exercise. Write a short analysis for your blogs, also think about the limits of Shannon & Weaver's model

What are the main communicative functions of redundancy? what do we mean by saying the English language is 50% redundant?

Discuss the ways in which convention can be said to facilitate understanding. Think of visual communication that breaks or extend specific conventions. How does this affect desire to communicate or the audience the reach? 

The Model

I have chosen to apply the Shannon & Weaver's model to the series of adverts which Apple use to promote their products. Apple have always had a high level of sophistication within their adverts, very incising  simple. Incredibly informative, I feel this would be an interesting subject to investigate, and apply the model to. 

Apple uses the the specifications of the product (the information source) The specifications are extremely minimal Apple then uses their advertising team, the world renown designer Sir. Jony to create a short video (the encoder) which becomes the advert, the deliverable (the channel), they advert is then received by the audience, (the decoder) either from the adverts on television, YouTube and other websites or on Apple's website itself. The audience then take in the information and make sense of it, (the destination)

The adverts have a much different approach, rather than applying the products to a situation, much like competing technology companies, for example, Samsung who show the target audience enjoying the product, seen below, whereas Apple's initial product reveal ads usually show Sir Jony I've discussing the technical aspects of the product, with complementary shots of the product, showcasing it in an almost human like fashion. 

Redundancy within

Apple's adverts could be described as extremely redundant. Redundancy is the lack of information, in a sense that there is not a huge amount to take in, or to understand, a smoother method of communication. The adverts use precise phrases such as "The iPhone 5 is the thinnest, lightest phone". An example of redundancy within the Apple ads, they always use simple, short phrases using words to describe a change or an exact percentage, for example "14% lighter". Apple uses the the specifications of the product (the information source) The specifications are extremely minimal Apple then uses their advertising team, the world renown designer Sir. Jony to create a short video (the encoder) which becomes the advert, the deliverable (the channel), they advert is then received by the audience, (the decoder) either from the adverts on television, YouTube and other websites or on Apple's website itself. The audience then take in the information and make sense of it, (the destination), perhaps comparing the specs given to their current phone, contemplating an upgrade, depending on the impact of  the advert, which in itself is extremely redundant, which eliminates the possibility of any confusion being created, (noise) a simple message.  

The English Language is 50% Redundant!

The phrase 'English is 50% redundant' is referring to the obtuse way in which we have several words which have the same meaning, equivalent duplicates. Words and phrases such as 'We ascended upwards' or 'the end result'. 

OUGD504: STUDIO BRIEF 1 - Design for Print // Layout Design Research

As part of my publication, I want to research into layout design, so I can present the information within my print manual, as well as I possibly can.

This piece uses layout in a very interesting fashion. Leaving a large amount of white or in this case, black space. It appears to use a rule of thirds throughout. What they don't do, is obey a rule with readability. Typically, you would allow room for 7-10 words per-line, and nothing more. Purely as the eye begins to trail off after 7 words. This publication uses type and readability in the same way a novel would, almost. Also allowing full pages for large impactful imagery. http://www.workinprogress.no/ 

This is another example of editorial design. It uses white space, and a horizontal central gutter to separate two columns of text. Justified in a way to make it almost look centre aligned. They have pages dedicated to images, rather than using the full page for the image, instead they have a large amount of space around it.  http://pepper-cinnamon.net/

The layout design featured in this publication has an overlapping grid. The lines of text extend onto the next page. As they do with the images, it's quite unusual, but it works. I wouldn't do this type of layout on a normal page, however on a double page spread, where the two leaves are of the same paper, I'm sure this would be more than acceptable. http://www.kasperpyndt.dk/

This publication uses a few full page images, or in this examples, more specifically, and example of calligraphy.  http://www.wanderandfind.com/

These publications use full page spreads, with a small amount of information at the bottom, the absolute minimum needed. Also using an overprinting colour technique, on top of the images throughout the publication. http://studionewwork.com/

A slightly more plain layout design, using grids to create a central aligned, fully justified type, leaves a very aesthetically please look about it. That will full images covering whole pages, it does work rather well, and looks extremely balanced. http://www.relajaelcoco.com/