Wednesday 30 January 2013

OUGD401 - Lecture Notes: Photography

William Edward Kilburn 'The Great Chartist Meeting At The Common' 1848
  • Camera used in a documentary way
  • Early trade union movement
  • People here are protesting about the conditions in the Victorian era
  • Recording an important historical event
  • Recording a type of people power
  • Photographer is an invisible observer in this image
  • He is standing at the back of the crowd
  • He is therefore not acknowledged by the people
  • He is a third wall
  • Objectively recording
Grahame Clarke
  • In many contexts the notion of a literal and objective record of 'history' is a limited illusion. It ignores the entire cultural and social background against which the image was taken, just as it renders the photographer neutral, passive and invisible...
"How The Other Half Live" Jacob Riis, 1890
  • His purpose is essentially a push for social reform
  • He is a wealthy, fairly educated, middle class man
  • Access to the technology that the people who he is photographing don't have access to
  • Setting up a large plate camera in the street which is essentially their home
  • The presence of the people on the street is more to do with the interest of what is going on
  • These people were caught in this 'hanging out' pose but at the same time reacting to his presence
A Growler Gang in Session, 1887
  • Riis is trying to expose this idea that working class people would have a tendency to crime
  • He is implying that he is robbish a lush
  • He got the children to reenact the situation that we see here
  • It is purely constructed and gave them cigarettes as a reward
Lewis Hine, Russian steel workers, Homestead, Pa, 1908
  • Photographing Russian steel workers
  • There is a respect given to them as people and they are not just immigrants representing a larger group
  • There is a relation between us and the subject
Duffer boy, 1909
  • Hine never exploits the people he is photographing
  • He doesn't attempt to shock them he really reports the conditions
F.S.A (Farm Security Administration)
  • Creating as part of the new deal
Margaret Bourke-White 'Sharecroppers Home' 1937
  • The images are not seen as subjective in any way they are trusted to be objective
  • Photogtaphing a young man in a sharecroppers home
  • Shack is constructed and lined with newspaper and magazine cuttings
  • Practical use of materials
  • She is contrasting the wealthier world with the young boy
  • The newspapers represent the American Dream
Russel Lee 'Interior Of A Black Farmers House' 1939
  • There is a less artistic use of composition
  • There is no human presence in the image
  • Magazines and newspapers on the wall
Dorothea Lange 'Migrant Mother' 1936
  • Famous image of huge debate
  • 'I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother...'
  • Speaking in retrospect about her work
  • In doing so she describes her treatment of the woman almost like an object
  • There is a situation where the image becomes everything
Walker Evans 'Graveyard, Houses & Steel Mill, Bethlehem'

Bill Brandt 'Northumberland Mier at His Evening Meal' 1937
  • He is making significant all of the images in the photograph
  • There is nothing neutral about the inclusion of the objects
  • Making of ordinary lives into a museum culture
  • Something to look at and be thankful that it is not our way of living
  • A construction of the working class
Magnum Group
  • Founded in 1947 by Cartier-Bresson and Capa
  • Small portable camera which has been used without being noticed
  • This allows the street photographer or the reporter to make documents unseen
Henri Cartier, Bresson
  • Reflection in the water and a shadow in the background
  • Almost sees the world like a kind of stage
  • He is there waiting for all of the moments in the story for him to strike and capture that moment
Documentary in war
  • Robert Capa 'The Falling Soldier' 1936
  • Image that is much discussed as it was originally recognised as the moment of the soldiers death captured on film
  • It has since been disputed
George Rodger 'Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp' 1945
  • The way that he has photographed the bodies retains a respectful distance from the subject
  • He could have easily done close up shots of the bodies but hasn't done
Hung Cong Ut 1972
  • Anti war statement
  • Expresses the real effects of the accident
  • When an image like this becomes as iconic as it is it kind of transforms it and we end up discussing it in a way that is about the relation of the photographer to the subject
  • Is the photographers role to intervene?
Robert Haeberle 'People About to be Shot' 1969
  • The photographer is witness to the people about to be shot
  • He shouts 'hold it' before the actual shooting occurs
  • So that effectively the photographer shoots first
  • The picture and the desire to gather the information overrides any human response to the work
  • This is where documentary starts to exhaust itself
Don McCullin 'Shell Shocked Soldier' 1968
  • We are seeing his own trauma
  • He is so traumatised himself by the experience that he retreats to idealised landscapes
  • As we get documentary switching we are almost exhausted
  • Perhaps we are experiencing the point where we get to a lack of sympathy or identification because we are overexposed to the horror

Monday 28 January 2013

OUGD401 - Essay

Could it be argued that fine art ought to be assigned more 'value' than more popular forms of visual communication?

The differences between fine art and graphic design are subject to opinion. These opinions are controversial and will continue to cause disagreements for the foreseeable future. 'The mass production or reproduction of graphic design is necessary in order to distinguish it from art.' (Barnard, 2005, P11). This therefore implies that fine art is unique and has a greater importance than design which is purposely produced for the masses and is therefore seen as being less significant. For this to be said however, it is imperative that one is aware of the definition of the word value, as it can be interpreted in so many ways. It could be referred to as monetary, cultural, philosophical or even impact value. All of which are so vastly different and make it even more challenging to analyse both sides of this argument. This essay will explicitly focus on the notion of value of fine art in comparison to graphic design.

Malcolm Barnard is a key writer on this topic and discusses cultural significance and how it can define and separate fine art from graphic design. He says that fine art is seen as being more culturally significant and uses the quote 'where art is perceived to be of lasting value, graphic design is said to be 'ephemeral' (Cronan in Barnard, 2005, P165). Barnard discusses the evidence to support and argue against the claim that graphic design only lasts for a very short time. 'The first is made by Heller and Pomeroy (1977) in their Design Literacy. They argue that graphic production is not as 'ephemeral as the paper it is printed on' (Heller and Pomeroy in Barnard, 2005, P166). They are saying that some graphics is art because it can and does 'endure' and it can possess a sense of permanence.' (Heller and Pomeroy in Barnard, 2005, P166). They then argue that 'some graphic design products can be more artistic than art in some respects. In particular, graphic production can be more artistic than art because it 'speak[s] more about particular epochs... than fine art' (Heller and Pomeroy in Barnard, 2005, P166). This suggests that graphic design ought to be assigned more value as it portrays messages which communicate a remarkable event in history.

Barnard discusses creativity and problem-solving and says that 'graphic design and art are different from each other because graphic design can be characterised as 'problem-solving', while art is 'creative'.' (Barnard, 2005, P169). This could make it more challenging to say whether or not fine art should be viewed as being more valuable than graphic design as they both have completely different purposes, making it hard to fairly compare the two. However, there is an argument which suggests otherwise and expresses the view that 'problem-solving is itself a creative activity, that finding a solution to a communication problem is itself an example of creative activity.' (Barnard, 2005, P170). This therefore puts both fine art and graphic design under the same 'creative' category, making it harder to distinguish which is more valuable.

Barnard focuses on Benjamin's concept of aura. Aura is formed by the area surrounding a piece of fine art or graphic design. For example, if a painting was found in a gallery, surrounded by numerous other paintings with high value then it would automatically have a special aura about it. Benjamin portrays the view that the shrivelling of aura through technology is a good thing because aura makes people blindly accept what is tasteful and important.

It was said that 'unlike the artist, the designer plans for multiple production.' It is this idea of reproducibility that is at the heart of Benjamin's notion of the loss of 'aura'. (Hollis in Barnard, 2005, P175). This is following the idea that graphic design is designed to be reproduced whereas fine art is not. Benjamin is trying to emphasise the view that 'some works of art possess 'aura' and that others, mechanically reproduced works (such as graphic designs), do not.' (Benjamin in Barnard, 2005, P175). He claims that the 'reproduction of text and image, whether mechanical (woodcut, for example) or process (such as lithography and photography), destroys aura in two ways.' (Benjamin in Barnard, 2005, P175). He says that the 'reproduction of an image precludes the possibility of a unique, one-off or original image.' He then explains his second reason by saying 'prints and digital images may exist anywhere, at any time, without losing anything (unlike an oil painting, which can be in only one place at any one time), and are thus available to any and all 'situations' (Benjamin in Barnard, 2005, P176). He is suggesting that if a piece of work retains aura then it is worthy of more value, as it 'is generated by the artwork's imbeddedness in the 'fabric of tradition' (Benjamin in Barnard, 2005, P176). Therefore suggesting that art is traditional and ought to be assigned more value as it is classed as being more traditional.

To quote John Berger, 'The reciprocal nature of a vision is more fundamental than that of spoken dialogue' (Berger,1972, P9). This enforces the importance to be able to appreciate and comprehend the message that the artist is trying to convey without it altering too much. These messages can differ greatly within art and design as Berger wrote 'the way people look at it is affected by a whole series of learnt assumptions about art. Assumptions concerning: Beauty, Truth, Genius, Civilisation, Form, Status, Taste, etc.' (Berger, 1972, P11). This makes fine art harder to understand as it is impossible for each individual to envisage the same as the painter once did, and feel the same emotions that were felt whilst it was being completed. This could potentially imply that it shouldn't be assigned more value because the meaning isn't clear enough.

On the other hand, the mystery that lies behind the work could be perceived as unique and worthy of value. Berger related to this as 'mystifying the past' (Berger, 1972, P16). He also argues that 'When the camera reproduces a painting, it destroys the uniqueness of its image.' (Berger, 1972, P19) which once again reinforces the view that reproduction of art and design deducts value and if something is multiplied then it is more likely that the meaning will become lost. However, he then goes on to argue the possibility that 'all reproductions more or less distort, and that therefore the original painting is still in a sense unique.' (Berger, 1972, P20). This is arguably a valid comment but would also suggest that graphic design has very little value when it is mass produced in some situations, for example advertising via leaflets and flyers.

Berger proceeds to look at replicated paintings in more depth. He has a strong viewpoint that whenever a piece of art is replicated, the meaning of it changes each time. He says 'Consequently a reproduction, as well as making its own references to the image of its original, becomes itself the reference point for other images. The meaning of an image is changed according to what one sees immediately beside it or what comes immediately after it. Such authority as it retains, is distributed over the whole context in which it appears.' (Berger, 1972, P29). This could support the argument that fine art is therefore in the same category as graphic design when taking replication into account. A lot of graphic
design is mass produced to communicate and distribute a message. Similarly fine art follows the same pattern and along the way the quality and message behind the piece of art is lost along with value.

It could be argued that fine art is more expressive and individual in comparison to graphic design. Some may say that because of this it should be valued highly. John Carey has a very philosophical and unique argument which suggests otherwise. He believes that 'there are no absolute values in the arts' (Carey, 2005, P249). This would suggest that all work has value which can't be judged upon personal reason. Every judgement is subjective to each individual and therefore it is impossible to categorise fine art and graphic design in terms of 'universal value' (Carey, 2005, P249).

Carey makes comparisons between science and art by conveying the idea that science can be proven and verified whereas art is something which has no means for verification. He quotes ''scientific truth' means something definite whereas 'artistic truth' is a nebulous concept. It is true to say, for example, that the earth goes round the sun, whereas the claim that Pollock is a better painter than Alma-Tadema, or vice versa, is not a verifiable proposition but an opinion, and this would be so even if it were an opinion that very many people, or possibly all living people, shared.' (Carey, 2005, P253). He is therefore saying that even if the majority overruled the minority when expressing an opinion, it would still lack common truth and would therefore lack consistent common value. Whether we are discussing art or more popular forms of visual communication such as graphic design, we are still in a situation whereby nothing can be proven and therefore they should both be assigned the same amount of value because they are both subjective to opinion.

As science can be reinforced with verification and reason, but not subject to opinion, it could be argued that it is restricted. This would therefore suggest fine art or graphic design, holds more value as it is open to interpretation, allowing everyone to have their view without it being instantly discarded. This is another argument of Carey's. He says 'Since art must accommodate all personal tastes and choices (at least, according to the definition of work of art that I have offered), it is illimitable as humanity, and as extensive as the imagination. The aim of science, by contrast, is to find solutions that are unaffected by taste or choice, and which consequently eliminate the human element altogether.' (Carey, 2005, P254). We are therefore part of a world which is full of both scientific proof and personal opinions, and what we decide to value most can often depend on whether we follow scientific beliefs or whether we open our minds and allow ourselves to be open to different interpretations of art and graphic design, which in turn can be supported by religious views and the idea that we have all been given free will. It could be argued that this free will has been given to us to form an opinion and decide which form of visual communication is most valuable.

Steven Heller is another important writer where fine art and graphic design are concerned. He looks at the price of fine art and design and concentrates on the notion that it is extremely subjective to time and as a result it could be argued that value is determined by how much art or design is worth. He states that 'monetizing fine art is a fairly logical process. Artists who have reputations command more money than those who do not. Gallery shows usually create the baselines for value, while museum exhibitions exponentially raise that line.' (Heller, 2010, P212). He also finds a similarity between art and design and says 'posters are among the few graphic design forms that follow this
essential model. Since a poster is a displayable objected, often marketed to a broader audience than just designers or design scholars, it commands a higher price.' He is therefore conveying the idea that regardless of whether we are considering art or design, the same principle applies where monetary value is concerned. If fine art or graphic design needs to reach the masses, then it instantly falls into the same category of being worth more money and as a result it is more valuable overall.

Damien Hirst is a prime example of a fine artist who is widely recognised for his unusual, unique work. Among his work he created a piece of art named 'Pardaxin, 2004' (see fig.1) 'The small coloured spots, all with the same area, that fill the canvas, distributed at regular intervals over their surface, reproduce and rearrange the synoptic abstraction and the sense of tranquility of pharmaceutical design.' (D'Argenzio, 2004, P41). This explains the reason for the existence of this piece of art, which is then reinforced by saying that the 'paintings summarize and coagulate the symbology of colours' (D'Argenzio, 2004, P41). They also 'verify the the unstable territory positioned between the artist's intention and the interpretation of the viewer.' (D'Argenzio, 2004, P41). This implies that the painting was purposefully designed for the viewer to form their own opinion regarding what the painting is portraying. One could argue that the value of fine art is held in the meaning. This being said it could be argued that because it is subject to opinion, it is therefore less valuable.

During an interview Hirst was asked 'Did you paint the first ones yourself?' (D'Argenzio, 2004, P104). He responded by simply admitting to only painting five himself. He then went on to say 'I hated it. As soon as I sold one I used the money to pay people to make them.' (D'Argenzio, 2004, P105). This is a major flaw in Hirst's work and it most certainly deducts value from his art. If this is a flaw where art is concerned however, surely the same criticism could be applied to graphic design, as when one design is finished and ready to be replicated, it is then left in the hands of the printers and the designer doesn't need to be involved. Ironically, Hirst said during the same interview 'in my head I had this idea of this artist who just endlessly made these paintings that were more like a logo. I did that. I just made that grid where I said all the gaps have to be the same as the spot and in no painting two colours are the same.' (D'Argenzio, 2004, P99). This suggests that art and design aren't always as different as we might imagine or presume as there are close links demonstrated here when he makes a comparison to logos. On the other hand, Hirst admits that his spot painting series should 'be put to bed' (D'Argenzio, 2004, P98). Therefore stating that there has to be an end to a series at some point as it can get too repetitive. Graphic design on the other hand almost certainly relies on replicability to be effective and successful. It is challenging therefore to settle on an objective opinion where value is concerned as there are so many factors which can affect the answer.

Antony Gormley's Domain Field project (see fig.2) was a time consuming project involving a large population of people. 'The making of Domain Field, as Gormley has often said, is just as much a part of the work as the finished product. Participants had the opportunity to become part of a collective project, involving the delicate process of being cast and then engaging with the resultant figures.' (Gormley et al, 2003, P58). In comparison to Hirst, Gormley is much more concerned about perfecting the process before reaching the final product. Having said this, he had a team of welders working with him on the project to help complete the moulds. 'The instructions to the welders were to use seven lengths of stainless steel to form a random matrix of T pieces where one end of the T was touching
the skin or boundary of the body space.' (Gormley et al, 2003, P143). Therefore guilty of the same as Hirst as they do not produce their work completely individually, which in turn has an impact upon the value of their work.

Although both Gormley and Hirst are fine artists they differ greatly, demonstrating how difficult it is to categorise fine artists in one way and graphic designers in another. Mainly because there are a lot of similarities between the two. In the same way as graphic design, the figures were composed in a certain way to illustrate 'a matrix of lines joined at mostly irregular angles, creating a play of light and line that privileges energy and process over boundary and surface.' (Gormley et al, 2003, P59).
Gormley's philosophical views on life have a huge impact on his work. He says he 'keeps going back to this idea that my appearance doesn't belong to me, it belongs to others; that the constitution of self is the constitution of our relationships with others, and that's what makes life worth living.' (Gormley et al, 2003, P127). As a result, similarly to Hirst, the message he is trying to portray isn't exactly clear, 'because suddenly Allotment or Domain Field becomes an illustration of a thesis about identity and society, and it isn't that. It's an experiment to try to make the physical equivalent, for the state of togetherness and apartness in which we live.' (Gormley et al, 2003, P127). Here he is trying to explain how he believes that 'we don't want to acknowledge the death that we carry inside us.' As a consequence, we fail to understand the relationship between the body and soul.
When considering the strengths and weaknesses of both graphic design and fine art it is evident that they both have their flaws where value is concerned. We can easily argue that graphic design is more valuable due to a variety of reasons, such as it reaching a wider audience, it is more cost effective and therefore not as extortionately priced as fine art can be. On the other hand we can say that fine art is more valuable as it can be more sought after with it being so unique as Berger said. A lot of the time, both are subject to the same flaws. It is therefore challenging to state whether one is more valuable than the other. However, one thing which is certain is that fine art has a lot of writers in support of it, whereas graphic design is judged upon social acceptance. It is therefore down to whether or not people are willing to form their own opinion or trust a writer's opinion.

Bibliography
Barnard, M. (2005) 'Graphic Design As Communication' Oxon, Routledge.
Berger, J. (1972) 'Ways Of Seeing' London, British Broadcasting Corporation.
Carey, J (2005) 'What Good Are The Arts?' London, Faber and Faber Limited.
Heller, S. (2010) 'Pop How Graphic Design Shapes Popular Culture' New York, Allworth Press.
Napoli, E. (2004) 'Museo Archeologico Nazionale' Quarto (Naples, Italy), Sa.Ma.
Gormley, A. et al (2003) 'Making Space' Gateshead, Hand Books.


Fig.1

Napoli, E. (2004) 'Museo Archeologico Nazionale' Quarto (Naples, Italy), Sa.Ma, P103.

Fig.2

Gormley, A. et al (2003) 'Making Space' Gateshead, Hand Books, P53.
 

3014 words

 




Friday 25 January 2013

OUGD405 - Research, Collect, Communicate: Product - Belly Band Research

Since deciding to design a belly band for my lead and brush rather than a box I thought it would be appropriate to research belly band designs to see if I can get any inspiration from them. I have chosen ones which were similar styles to mine.
This is quite similar to my style as the belly band has an organic feel to it, and all of the tones used are very neutral and complement each other well.

Pinned Image

I like the style of this design. The emblem stands out as a unique feature and the stock which has been used is very appropriate for the product. 
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This is very similar to the first image I found.The design is fairly feminine and once again has organic elements to it. The colour scheme is very appropriate and suitable for a wedding invitation.
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The colour scheme used here is exactly the same as mine. This reinforces to me that they are successful and work well together. I am not as keen on the choice of font used for the names but I like how the rest of the text has been aligned in the centre.
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Source

I particularly like this design. The illustration is well suited to both males and females and the neutral colours which have been used also allow it to reach a wider audience. I also like how the only detail on the belly band is on the front centre, so nothing else detracts attention from the design.

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Source

This is very simplistic, professional and attractive. I like the typeface which has been used and the use of uppercase works really well. I will definitely take this into consideration when designing my own bellyband.

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Source

The word 'notepads' has been successfully kerned and as a result it makes it stand out from the rest of the text. This shows the success of kerning, and also links to the work I have already produced for the packaging, as I did the same with my font.

Pinned Image

Source

I am not as keen on the colour scheme of this design but I think the design on the bellyband is quite successful. The card within the bellyband is well designed and looks classy and sophisticated, I think maybe the same colour scheme should have been used for both to allow them to work better in conjunction with each other.

Pinned Image

Source

Sunday 20 January 2013

OUGD405 - Research, Collect, Communicate: Product - Pet Travel Kit Design Secondary Research (Symbols)

I thought it would be helpful to research into existing logos and images that are used to represent the objects that will be found within my box. I didn't feel the need to research every object because I already had ideas for them. For medication though, I needed to create an easily recognisable symbol. Below are some of the images I found.

Existing symbols for medication

I don't think this would be helpful in any way as people wouldn't recognise what the symbol is being used for.

Source

The pills below could be adapted to illustrate a simple outline of medication as this would be easy to recognise.

Source

This is the kind of design I had in mine but maybe not quite as bulky. I think the design would look much more successful if it had a finer outline.

Dog shampoo

I really like this shampoo bottle design as it stands out from many existing bottles. The use of a dog bone for the lid works really well and instantly captures attention.


OUGD405 - Research, Collect, Communicate: Product - Pet Travel Kit Design Primary Research (All Bar One)

Having recently visited All Bar One in Leeds I came across their menus and whilst reading them I thought that the design was very similar to the design I have in mind. I thought it would be interesting to create something very similar to this and have a simple line drawing to represent each product and apply to each sticker. It also gave me another idea, to produce tissue paper which I could include in the box too, to give me some more designing to do and to make the product more appealing.


 
I think the simple drawing works really well to inform the reader about what the menu is advertising. It links back to the idea of symbols and would make my product recognisable on a global scale.
 



OUGD405 - Research, Collect, Communicate: Product - Pet Travel Kit (Logo Research)

When starting to think about my logo design to brand my product I was trying to think of any existing designs which have caught my attention in the past. I particularly like this logo as it is very minimalistic and the chosen typeface works really well to capture the company and portray it successfully.

 
Posh Pads is in Liverpool and it is five star accomodation which can be rented out for certain events. I think this design is also very successful and I love the way they have designed the 'P' and 'P' back to back to represent them. I will most certainly be taking inspiration from these designs when I think of my own,
 


Having thought of the name 'Pooch Pouch' for my travel kit for dogs I thought it would be necessary to check whether or not this already exists. It does, however I asked for an opinion off Simon and for this brief it doesn't matter too much as it is just the idea behind it that matters. The existing website doesn't sell the same product as me either which is good.

 


Wednesday 16 January 2013

OUGD401 - Lecture Notes: Creative Advertising and New Media

What is new media?

'...media that work not through persuasion or impressions but through engagement and involvement.' (Sutherland, 2009)

Rory Sutherland, former president of the IPA

Need to break with a past media 'model'

Advertising Strategy (Emotive)
  • Requited speaking to the masses
  • Global print campaigns
  • Imagery of Britannia and Royalty suited all domestic and imperial markets
  • High feeling strategy (Signs = patriotism and empire)
High Feeling Strategy Today
  • Remember Reach Campaign (2010) Agency Two Fifteen and AKQA
  • Launch film Birth of a Spartan - announce Reach /beta
  • Involves the audience emotionally
Halo - Reach
  • Global campaign
  • Involving people in a different way and collaborating with people
Old and new communication models
  • Old: transmission
  • Transmit ideas to an audience
  • New: cybernetic
  • Engage with an audience
  • Via computer (Mediated communication) CMC
  • New media based on... (ICTs) such as the internet and cell phones, invite us to think in exciting new ways about advertising, as an industry and... communication process (Spurgeon, 2008)
Illustration of the Kaiser Chiefs engaging with the audience
  • Universal music
  • Choose track order and create album cover
  • Their name was then put on the drum cover and all over websites, Twitter etc
New Media Model
  • Advertising and New Media (Spurgeon, 2008)
  • Shift from Mass to My media
  • More targeted (mobile)
  • Audience involvement:
  • (a) voluntary passing views ads (virals)
  • (b) creating spoofs or filming events
  • More personalised
Viral unpaid advertising
  • Unpaid peer to peer communication of (provocative) content originating from an identified sponsor using the internet to persuade of influence
  • Using the internet
New way of communicating
  • Virals (ads) becoming part of our converstions
  • BMB after labour account
  • May elections 2010
  • Sent to friend
  • From talk about to talk with
  • Trevor Beattie (BMB) Hello Boys and FCUK
Two Conversations
  • Two Little Pigs viral 992
  • Recession and riots
  • BBH
  • Client The Guardian
  • TV & Print
  • Celebration of NM iteself; citizen journalism, open platform collaboration
  • idea 'transform brand' from newspaper to globral news hub
  • 'Modern news is dynamic, participative with open dialogue' (Gonsalves, 2012) Head of Strategy, BBH London
Conversation three Invisible Children campaign
  • R4 ICC Congo warlord Lubanga guilty 30yrs
  • March 5th released
  • 3 days 26m views. 5th 63m
  • Oprah Winfrey treet 5th March
  • 9.7m followers
Beattie The Big Creative Idea
  • Internet biggest idea since the wheel
  • Enables lots of small ideas to circulate
  • 'that combination of a trillion little ideas is it itself the biggest idea there is...'
Viewer-generated content
  • Case study Coke-Mentos
  • Viewer generated advertising worth US$10 million to Mentos 'more than half its annual advertising budget' (Spurgeon, 2008, p1)
  • New media threatens the top down communication model
Creating a dialogue
  • Paul Burns (TBWA) 'talking with audience'
  • 40 million Old Spice
  • Responding to a tweer
  • The making of Old Spice: copywriter and art director Craig Allen and Erik Kallman W&K
  • Released adjacent to the American Superbowl most viewed sports event 106.5m viewers
  • Actor X-footballer/Superbowl player) ran online then TV
10 reasons why this is the best time to be in advertising
  • An audience with Sir John Hegarty 25.3.10
  • No. 1 Agencies can innovate eg. NYC tourism campaign
  • The idea NYC = street culture = street musicians
  • Linked 2 campaigns 'Dig out your soul'. New album tracks released to NYC street musicians to play
The Third Screen
  • Mobile phones will soon become the greatest tool for persuasion, more so than any other medium for advertising
The Kairos factor
  • Fog (2003) primarily due to their kairos factor
  • The principle of presenting the desired message at the opportune moment
  • Location
  • Routine
  • Goals
  • Tasks
  • Okazaki article (2009)
Impact of NM Conclusions

1. Shift from old to old and new media
2. Blurring communication, entertainment, education creators, producers, consumers and professional roles
3. New models communication, creativity and agency structures
4. Third layer experimental, engaging, social and tactile
5. Golden age of creativity - embrace it
6. New skill set work collaboratively on and off line
7. Creatives LCA Ad

Tuesday 15 January 2013

OUGD404 - Design Principles: Colour - Part 3 (Colour and contrast)

Part 3 - Colour and contrast

Presentation

Our perception of colour is all based on our physiological ability to observe wave lengths.
Because of this physiological response, the eye can be "fooled" into seeing the full range of visible colour through the proportionate adjustment of just three colours: red, green and blue.
Colour is based on an interpretation of contrast.
All contrasts are happening at the same time.

Itten's 7 contrasts
  • Contrast of tone
Formed by the juxtaposition of light and dark values. This could be monochromatic (single colour)

Removed all colour values to make the colour wheel monochrome - This suggests that even without the chromatic value we can perceive difference based on tone.
The highest contrast we can see is black and white.
White word on grey background and black word on grey background both just as readable because they are on a mid tone.
When similar tones are used it is harder to read.
Orange on the red are almost the same distance apart. They start to blend together.
Blue on red is a higher contrast making the blue become thrown forward.
  • Contrast of hue
Formed by the juxtaposing of different hues. The greater the distance between hues on a colour wheel, the greater the contrast.

Blue, yellow and red have an equal distance between them. In terms of hue there is an equal distance between them.
Yellow is the brightest colour but blue is the one that stands out the most.
The closer to black there are the less contrast there is. Yellow comes forward as there is the contrast of tone and hue working together.
You have to consider which background colour to use to produce the most contrast.
There is a real active contrast between the lightest and the darkest colour (blue and yellow) they start to merge together once you stare at them for long enough.
White background with yellow type is almost illegible.
Black background with yellow type is the most legible.
Closer in terms of hue to the background makes it less legible.
Low contrast is almost something blending in.
  • Contrast of saturation
Formed by the juxtaposition of light and dark values and their relative saturations.

A pure spectral yellow in the middle will make all other yellows look desaturated.
It is cumulative.
Tone, hue and saturation - Fundamental contrasts
  • Contrast of extension
Formed by assigning proportional field sizes in relation to the visual weight of a colour. Also known as the contrast of proportion.

Balancing a colour is something we try to achieve.
Proportion and weight of a colour.
Spatial shift - Intense complementary opposites.
Last thing to put together is complementary colours.
  • Contrast of temperature
Formed by juxtaposing hues that can also be considered 'warm' or 'cool'. Also known as the contrast of warm and cool.

Red - Cooling temperature moving it more towards another colour.
Black removes gradient making them flat colours.
Changes colour infront of our eyes.
  • Complementary contrast
Formed by juxtaposing complementary colours from a colour wheel or perceptual opposites.

Red and green just as high contrast as black and white.
We have no control over complementaries.
Dealing with perceivable colours.
They start to blur and vibrate.
Complementaries start to react with each other.
Green on red - More painful composition.
Brighter higher chromatic colours are even harder to read.
  • Simultaneous contrast
Formed when boundaries between colours perceptually vibrate.

Blur and merge.
All contrasts happening simultaneously.
We can't separate complementaries.
Seeing all colours even though one is absent.

Exercise

After this presentation we then carried out an exercise in pairs whereby we had to look at different objects on different coloured backgrounds and make observations about how the colours altered each time.

We had to choose two complementary colours so Amy and I chose red and green. Below are the images of the objects we used and then what they look like when placed on top of the different coloured paper.

Here are the observations we made:

Hue and Saturation
  • Greeny blue against neutral paper because it has a blue hue in it (medium to high saturation)
  • Against orange it looks warmer as greens contrasting colour is red which is close to organse on the colour wheel, so the green appears to have more yellow in it
  • Against yellow paper it isn't that different to the affect it has on neutral paper because it is closer to it on the colour wheel
  • Both neutral and yellow have low saturation
  • Against blue paper it is more yellow as the complementary colour of blue is orange and it is trying to bring out the orange so that the green is closer
  • Against red it is more green. It is not far from the effect it has against orange
  • Against the green paper it is less saturated because the paper is more saturated than the box