Developing key notes into a structured paragraph

Structured Paragraphs

Meredith Davis writes about the role of technology  in the Graphic Design World. She discusses which of both digital and print media has more of an affect on viewers and what affect each of them have on design itself. She starts by explaining how audiences once viewed photography as the ‘denotative documentation’ of fact, however due to advances in technology such as photoshop, it is now seen as an ‘eternally malleable fiction’. Photoshop started out as a computer software to aid design but very quickly became a verb in itself ‘referring to the digital alteration of images’. The 'cut and paste’ marks that were once visible to the naked eye are now ‘seamless’ which means that how design is made and distributed is as important as the subject matter. This has had a huge impact on the design world as people are now drawn to design that makes you think about how it’s done rather than why. Print media on the other hand has less emphasis on the production qualities and is far less seamless. This is one reason print media is still seen to have the most trust in advertising in magazines and newspapers. As well as trust, print media can have a much more lasting effect on the audience, take the New York 9/11 bombings for example. Memories of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre are less about any reporting at that moment and more about the ‘iconic imagery’ replayed for days and weeks after. Any live reporting was soon forgotten about but the print images on every newspaper tabloid, magazine and billboard stayed with the audience until this very day. This proving that amongst all the advances in technology, print media still comes out on top in having a larger and more lasting impact on the masses.

  

  Davis then goes on to discuss what affect technology has had on the process as well as practice of graphic design. ‘No longer are capital, approval, and production time necessary to distribute content’. It is clear that Davis does not agree with this change in the industry as she explains that although it has contributed to a wider availability of information, it has ‘not always promoted a greater understanding or assign deeper credibility’ to the information displayed. This leads on to a theory by Marshall McLuhan describing a Global Village. This is the idea that because of television, and other forms of digital information distribution, everyone has access to the same information at the same time all over the world. This has had and continues to have 'major affects on nations and their practiced democracy’. Take the Richard Nixon versus J F Kennedy election for example, through the digital media coverage, certain images were created of both candidates. Nixon appearing ‘rumpled’ and disordered wheres Kennedy held his own and appeared far more ‘composed' when on television. This undoubtedly had an affect on the end result. This further emphasises why print media still needs to exist as it is a lot more personal and open to interpretation allowing the audience to form their own opinions and beliefs.

Reading & Understanding a Text

 


 In today's session, I was set the task to find and examine a piece of text relevant to my chosen essay question. The question I have chosen involves looking at the role of print media in the digital age.

The extract I will be examining is Graphic Design Theory by Meridith Davis.

  The book starts off with a paragraph that clearly disagrees with the ever decreasing role of print media in todays society. It goes on to say that "the digital revolution distracts designers" and that "computer technology collapsed typesetting, design and photographic processing". Just looking at the language used such as 'distracts' and 'collapsed' I can tell that the author strongly disagrees with technology and its role.

  However, the author then goes on to talk about McLuhan and his theories of electronic media. The general tone of McLuhan's theories is that media has played a very positive role in filling in the gaps and act as a solution to all aspects of design that need resolving. He does mention, however, that print media can have an even stronger effect that digital in some cases. Take the 9/11 attacks for example, memories of the event will be less about the media coverage at the time and more on the devastating images produced and seen for days afterwards.

A short selection of key points...

- For many, memories of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre are less about any reporting at that moment and more about the iconic imagery replayed for days after. 

- McLuhan's Hot & Cool theory - Theory explains two categories for all media. Radio and Film are hot media and political cartoons and tele are cool medias.

- Another of McLuhan's theories describes a Global Village. This is the idea that because of television, everyone has access to the same information and the same time all over the world. 

- Levinson explains that new media seek to remedy the problems of previous technologies. 

- Thorburn & Kenkins speak about how the graphic design press in the 1980s were preoccupied with debates concerning the loss of traditional craft and designer control du to the introduction of the Macintosh and design software.

Key quotes...

- "Although these circumstances expanded the available information, they did not always promote greater understanding". This referring to the the increasing accessibility of tools and skills to just about anyone who wants them.

- "Electronic media is not just a tool but also a means of social and cultural production"

- "The collision and convergence of old and new produced outcomes that often define particular periods in our technological history"

- "Design educators still ponder the efficacy of introducing students to the computer in their earliest design experiences, rather than focusing on conventional strategies.

Compare & Contrast Essay

Compare and Contrast two Examples of Historical images.

Image 1

Image 02

The first image in question is an American advertisement from 1876 for a kitchen appliance under the name ‘The Uncle Sam Range’. The image is by Schumacher & Ettlinger of New York. The image that I am comparing it with is a poster produced by the Empire Marketing Board produced and displayed between 1930-1931. This poster portrays an image of Britain and their colonialism in East-Africa.

The first aspect of each image I will be comparing is the choice of font and styling. At first glance, image number 1 clearly has a very patriarchal styling with the primary use of the three colours strongly associated with the U.S flag; red, white and blue. This theme is used all over the image, through the people’s outfits, the floors and the furnishings. This gives the image an immediate sense of patriotism and cultural pride. There is a large title across the bottom of the image that reads ‘THE UNCLE SAM RANGE’, this text is written in a typeface associated with Western America. This typeface has been used to further strengthen patriotism as it reminds viewers of the importance of Western America during the 18^th century.

The styling of image 2 very much accommodates Africa and its image. Both images featured on the poster convey a typical African environment with warm colours and sparse landscapes. As well as imagery, the font used underneath both images is very much typical of African styling as it has a hand-rendered look about it. The overall styling of the poster is a lot more humble than Image 1 as it is a lot less assertive.

The next aspect I will compare is the purpose and meaning behind both images. Primarily, the purpose of Image 1 is to advertise and sell a domestic cooking appliance. However, it is clear that this is not the main intended message portrayed. The overwhelming sense of cultural pride throughout the image suggests that this advert has been used to boost patriotism and give the US citizens something to celebrate and be proud of.

  The contrasting, humble purpose of image 2 is intended for the East African population. It is meant to persuade them that the work the British are doing for them is majorly beneficial and that with their help the standard of living in East Africa will be majorly improved (in this case due to transport provided such as cars and boats). To be more specific about the target audience, the poster is definitely aimed more towards the affluent classes of Rhodesia etc as they have more resources to contribute and further boost the colonialism.

  The main historical reference to which image one conveys is the 100 year anniversary of the US gaining independence from the British empire. The small clock on the wall featured in the top left hand corner of the image displays two different years; 1776 and 1876. The advertisement also denotes the growing consumerism in the western world as more and more people find themselves with disposable income and can therefor afford to buy extravagant cookers.

 In contrast, the historical context of image 2 denotes British colonialism in the early 20^th century. This was when the British really took hold of the economy and infrastructure of East Africa and provided them with a higher standard of living.

  In conclusion, although sharing some similar qualities, the two images are very different in the methods used to convey a message as well as the actual message itself. Image 1 being very over-the-top and patriotic with the use of the colours and iconic symbols, whereas image 2 takes a slightly more humble approach of persuasion.

Finding Research Sources

Research Sources

2. Sources / methods: 

- Books - 

use the library catalogue to find a book then its contents pages to find specific information. Try a variety of search terms to get the most success...or ask a librarian.

- Google books - 

https://books.google.co.uk/ - 

Google in equipped to search for books. As a bonus, google will often offer a preview of the book and will allow you to search for key phrases inside the book. Try using Google books to find answers to your research queries.

- Websites - 

try to find specific information on the internet. Websites belonging to universities (.edu / .ac.uk) are good sources of academic knowledge.

Use at least one of these methods to find specific information related to your original research queries.

- Evaluate - 

you should consider very carefully if the information that you have found is of value and trustworthy - non-academic sources should be avoided where possible.

- Write-up - 

summarise this task on your blog - discuss what methods you used to find information and whether or not the information you found is of value to your research.

Other Useful Sources

https://books.google.co.uk/

http://library.leeds-art.ac.uk/liberty/libraryHome.do

http://www.jstor.org/

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/search/basic?sid=c56362be-0c68-40b0-8e78-2ed9012825c4%40sessionmgr4005&vid=0&hid=4209

http://portal.leeds-art.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Leeds%20College%20of%20Art%20Journals_0.pdf

Getting to know people

In groups of 5, we were given a name of a Design Studio. With this, we had to research into the studio and answer a series of questions and present our findings on a powerpoint presentation. The 5 questions were...

• Who they are?

• Where are they based?

• What do they do?

• How do they do it?

• What makes them unique?

My group was given a design studio called Wolff Olins.

Wolff Olins beautifully simple logo

  Wolff Olins is a London based brand consultancy with offices located in New York, Dubai and San Fransisco. The company was founded in 1965 by Michael Wolff and Wally Olins. The company specialises in creating a positive social impact for their clients and developing brand experience. They accomplish this with the use of technology, culture, retail and many other medias and platforms.   One way in which the company strives to be unique is by running their own 'school' of design that travels to organisations and businesses and teaches them about successful design.

Below are some examples of the other design studios allocated to the other peer groups:

  Ah-Ha Studios is a design firm founded in 2011 and is based in Lisbon. They are involved in a variety of mediums ranging from brand strategy to interior design. They pride themselves on their holistic approach towards design and branding, working together with clients through every stage of the process.
  

  Lust studios was established in 1996 by a group of young designers in The Hague, Netherlands. Lust works in a broad range of media including traditional printmaking and book design. Lust is deeply interested in exploring new pathways for design.  

  Bleed 'is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Oslo and Vienna.' Bleed create identity and experience through concept development, art direction, graphic design and service design. They take pride in pushing boundaries and todays conventions around art, visual language, interaction, media and identity.  

  Face was established in 2006 by Rik Bracho and Ricardo Tejeda in Monterrey, Mexico. They label themselves as supermodernists who specialise in developing honest branding projects across the world. "Our work is made to brave the test of time".

  Sagmeister & Walsh is a New York based firm that aims to create identities, commercials, websites and more. The founders of the studio are Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh, both being very highly credited artists and designers. They have an extensive list of clientele that includes HBO, Red Bull and Adobe. They often partake in non-profitable projects funded by the statement and outside investment.