Concepts of Visual Language Brief Introduction
- Monday 5th June deadline
- Explores semiotics and semantics of visual language
- Allows you to define brief
- Technology introduces change - can’t ignore it as it’s integral to work
- Talk about the understanding of what you’re doing within your discipline
A1 Identify topics and theories that underpin your project and then develop understanding of those
A2 How to then define an idea and whether that’s identifying problems or looking at ideas to solve them/raise awareness
A3 Design solutions relating to audience
LO1 Show how you are researching into a topic, theories and ideas around subject matter and reflect on that (tumblr and process book)
LO2 How you are able to identify problems and be able to generate ideas and use a range of approaches. Think about a range of solutions and land on one concept. Identify it based on audience. Tumblr and process book.
LO3 Have a design that’s trendy and current. Don’t want to see old ideas. Make it good. Demonstrate in outcome.
Task Outline:
- Combining elements can make for more powerful imagery (type and imagery)
- Design a project that meets the learning outcomes.
- Starting points:
- Navigation, advocacy, participation, conversation, critique
- The unit can be a series of experiments/ projects
- Eg. Navigation- look at how people interact when travelling
- What is your current understanding of the topic?
Navigation:
- Navigation systems as a basis for communication (wayfinding)
- Gather and present info through selection to align with audience understanding
- Mapping, signage, pictograms, data graphics, catalogues, app interfaces
Advocacy:
- Supporting or recommending a particular cause or policy
- Raise awareness
- Designers have a larger responsibility in the community we operate in
- Can think globally, nationally or locally
- Exhibition design, brand design, advertising, infographics, film
Case studies:
Jonathan Barnbrook- The Occupy Movement
Lucienne Roberts-On Solid Ground (refugees)
Participation:
- Taking part in something. Messages involve the audiences. How do you influence decision making as a designer.
- Branding, workshops, generative systems, data visualisation, ad campaigns
Conversation:
- Basis for how visual communication works
- How to bring feedback into creative process
- Surveys, data collecting
Critique:
- Proactive visual communication
- Reframe and speculate design to visualise potential futures
- Projects which spark discussion and foster enquiry
- Boundaries and borders of visual communication
- Magazines, blogs, monographs, exhibitions, website design, online forums
- Justified by Josh Ogden
Make a list of interests and a list of aspects within visual communication:
My interests:
-History: WW1 and WW2, controversial figures in art like Pablo Picasso, Victorian invention san dmedicine, piracy, powerful women and feminism, colonialism and the impact on indigenous cultures
-Social Issues: Women and medical neglect, women as second citizens in Syria, Afghanistan and South Korea, feminist movements, big oil companies and responsibility for global warming, Facebook and their promotion of the alt right, overconsumption, FGM, the accessibility of the internet for young children and lack of means to truly protect them, the victimization of indigenous people in America, gun violence in America, the rise of the alt in America, Brexit, the isolation of North Korea and the struggle of defectors
-Music: Indie psychedelic rock, avant-pop alternative, Fiona Apple and her music being used as a fetsihisation of women’s pain, feminist movements cultivated through music with likes of Paris Paloma
-Visual Communication: Women in design, Paula Scher, the origins of mural artworks, the rise of corporate design, the increased pressure to create under a world where ideas are constantly being shared, branding for the new generation
-Books: Romanticisation of abusive men in women’s literature (Colleen Hoover), romantic representations of men in literature as being an escape from the harsh realities of dating men, Dolly Alderton and her representation of love
-Movies: Representation of WW1 and WW1, harsh realities of history shown in film such as in Come and See, the discussions surrounding the morality of representation topics such as SA, symmetry in film (Wes Anderson)
I made a list of things that interest me and found North Korea to be of particular interest to me as in recent months, I have been listening to the experiences of refugees and their escape from the country. I have wondered how defectors are treated once they have reached safety.
Here are some questions proposed in the brief that can help me guide this idea:
Field of Study-
What is your current understanding of the subject area you wish to explore?
I know little about the full context in regards to North Koreans experience in other countries, but I do have a lot of knowledge on the country and the escape process from various documentaries, news outlets and interviews I’ve watched.
Context-
Where does your subject fit culturally within current understanding of subject area? Who is your audience and where will they encounter your design?
I believe there needs to be a global understanding of what refugees go through as to know how best to help them. My audience might be either that of South Koreans or the British general public, as we are one of the only countries to accept North Korean defectors.
Methodology-
How will you research and construct your design? Which lines of enquiry do you intend to follow to equip you with the skills and methods of production you feel you will need?
My research will be web-based as this is where the majority of the information we have about North Korea in the contemporary context can be found. I want to base my idea on the experience of defectors and their journey-such could be a book, leaflet, poster or exhibition piece. This is to help the audience empathise with their experience and in turn, offer help where needed. A point of research is to look to charities that help with this and perhaps formulate an approach around this.
