Lecture - Brief Analysis
It was really interesting to hear from industry experts about how they do self initiated projects. Self initiated projects have always been of the most interest to me but I have real trouble finding the time to do them, alongside my job as a designer. Vince Frost was really interesting, especially when he was talking about how he fits it in - if it is a small project he does it alongside his studio practice whereas if it is bigger he has someone else project manage the studio and he focusses his time on the self initiated project. I was also really impressed with the Design Your Life brand he has created - starting with advice which led to a book and now a podcast is a pretty inspirational was of expanding a self initiated project and making sure it makes reaches its full potential.
Sam Bompas from Bompas & Parr explained that your next big idea for a self initiated project could come from anywhere, even random conversations with friends can spark inspiration that leads to an incredible self initiated project. I found this really interesting because I think I usually put the pressure on myself to come up with ideas that have legs, however after hearing this I will definitely consider how I come up with ideas and the different sauces that can be inspiration.
Further Research
What’s a Designer to Do? How Self-Initiated Design Projects Kept A Greek Agency Busy (and Sane) Through Tough Times
This article [1] examines the way designers used self initiated projects to help them through the Coronavirus pandemic. Beetroot Design are a studio set up in 2000 and they reached their stride just as the recession hit in 2008. With a lot of free time due to small budgets and dwindling clients, instead of laying people off they kept the team together and began self initiated design projects to keep their portfolio up to date and evolving. This led to some incredibly successful projects such as their Greek Monsters exhibition (below).
“At that time, Greece was depicted as the monster of Europe. We’d had financial problems and quite a lot of trouble,”
They based the exhibition on the idea of Greece as a monster and depicted it using Greek mythology with the idea of by the end of the exhibition showing that monsters aren't necessarily bad just different. I think this was an incredible self initiated project that took something happening in the world at that moment and turn it into an exhibition to entertain and educate.
I think this article highlights some really interesting points about how self initiated projects can lead to bigger things and even keep us focussed during hard times, whether that is a recession or a pandemic. This leads to a bigger question about how self initiated projects can also help with mental health and making you feel like you have more of a purpose. I think this is a really important conversation, especially for the current climate, being 18 months deep into a pandemic. Staying centred and focussed is difficult with so much uncertainty and self initiated projects can be a great way to do this. Art allows us to explore everything it means to be human through a world of different mediums, at stressful times looking inwards to reflect on ourselves can only be a good thing which is also something you can explore in self initiated projects.
Art and design to me have always been not only a way to keep myself grounded but also a vehicle for me to explore my beliefs. During the first four weeks of this module I plan to explore my relationship to self initiated projects in this way while also considering the positive impact this can have on mental health and productivity as mentioned in this article.
"Art gives us immeasurable personal and social benefits. We rely on the arts to help us through difficult times. Art reminds us that we are not alone and that we share a universal human experience. Through art, we feel deep emotions together and are able to process experiences, find connections, and create impact."[2]
Workshop Challenge
This week you will identify the subject of your four week self-initiated project.
Review the subjects, research and outputs you generated during the GDE710 Contemporary Practice module. Make notes about the topics that interest you and consider the characteristics of your personal interests, identity and experiences.
Write a short description to outline four potential self-initiated project ideas (up to 100 words per project idea) and add these notes to your blog.
Select one self-initiated project and post an overview to the Ideas Wall, to encourage discussion and feedback.
Write a brief for your self-initiated project and upload it to your blog. Your brief should include the following:
The project question – Think of your self-initiated graphic design project as a question, that you will answer and respond to over the next four weeks.
Aim, objective and critical context – Write a short summary to outline the intent of your self-initiated project and clarify what you plan to achieve.
Audience – Take time to identify and refine a specific target audience, as this will help focus your project.
Anticipated final outcome – Consider a final outcome that is appropriate to your target audience
1. Review Contemporary Practice module
Week 6 - Noticing the Ignored
The part of this I found the most interesting was the research I conducted into 'Frontiers' by Rachel Gannon. I loved Rachel Gannon's exploration of frontiers and what lies in the 'marchlands' between them. [3] The world is full of frontiers, whether it's borders between countries, war zones or even outer space. The world is full of these invisible lines that only some people are allowed to cross and only in certain ways. Gannon also states that we always have a preconceived notion of what lies on the other side of the border, it's almost never a mystery. Gannon's drawings make the south coast border of the UK look grim and unsettling, which depending on how you reach those borders in the UK I imagine is quite accurate.
Week 4 - The Self and Identity
I really enjoyed the workshop task for week 4 of Contemporary Practice because I think it was the first week I started to think about design in a bit of a different way. It made me realise that I don't have to say everything in one idea, it's much better to have a targeted approach and a strong voice with one solid idea. I really liked my design this week and think it was successful at getting the message across.
Week 10 - Type and Page
This week really pushed me to think outside of the screen and develop my ideas further and further which is why I would consider this as one of my better weeks. It is more about the process I went through than the outcome, physically making the piece rather than designing on a screen.
Week 11 - Message Delivered
This was by far my favourite week of the Contemporary Practice module. It combined everything I had learned so far and allowed me to explore political statements at the same time. It really allowed me to focus on what was important to me and what I wanted to say through design. Physically making it in the form of a fanzine and being able to completely trash Donald Trump really made this a great week.
Topics I am interested in
Throughout the contemporary practice module I explored my relationship to design and what was the most important to me. I came to the conclusion that to me, design should be used to say something and to stand up for what you believe in, this is the theme I want to continue with for this self initiated project.
The first question I decided to ask myself is what makes me angry, from this I can work out what I want to change and design a brief about it. Because I have a strong interest in social justice I think this approach will really help me narrow down my interests and ideas.
2. Potential Self Initiated Projects
1. Why should we pay for tampons?
According to the UK government tampons are a luxury item but for people born with a uterus, these are not optional. I want to create a campaign to encourage the public to back an appeal to the government to make tampons free for all. This is especially important because 1 in 10 girls in the UK can’t afford menstrual products [4] so end up missing school because of it. These items are not a luxury and the definition of them as a luxury yet again puts women at a disadvantage.
2. Everyone is talking about incels
Incel culture is a growing problem in the UK, as seen with the recent shooting in Portsmouth. I want to design information aimed at schools and parents highlighting what to look out for and what to do about it. This will hopefully protect people, especially women, from this disgusting internet culture and dangerous people that follow this ideology.
3. Everyone is welcome
Refugees have been a hot topic for a while in the UK and this has been ignited again recently with the trouble in Afghanistan. In my opinion borders are a creation of people so the crossing of them shouldn’t be an issue. I want to create a campaign to make people coming into the UK as refugees feel welcome and wanted here - they provide invaluable skills and culture to the UK and this should be celebrated not debated. I want to make people feel included at the same time as hopefully changing public opinion.
4. It’s just not fair
Wealth disparity is a big issue across the world - rich people get richer by keeping poor people poor. Billionaires have the means to solve world poverty, yet no one is doing anything about it. I want to create a cross channel campaign to tax the rich and make sure people on welfare have enough money to thrive. In the UK universal credit has just reduced by £20 per week, taking money from those who need it most, while companies like amazon pay little to no tax. I want this campaign to promote a fairer society for all.
3. Final Self Initiated Project Idea
I popped my four ideas on the ideas wall and got some really good feedback! Cat pointed out to me that Scotland actually changed the law a few months ago (November 2020) and tampons are free to anyone who needs them. [5]
Why should we pay for tampons?
According to the government in England tampons are a luxury item but for people born with a uterus, these are not optional. I want to create a campaign to encourage the public to back an appeal to the government to make tampons free for all. This is especially important because 1 in 10 girls in England can’t afford menstrual products [4] so end up missing school because of it. These items are not a luxury and the definition of them as a luxury yet again puts women at a disadvantage.
4. Project Brief
The project question
Why should girls be put at a disadvantage because they have periods?
Aim
To produce an outcome that addresses period poverty in the UK and encourages people to support an appeal to the government to make all sanitary products free.
Objective
I plan to learn about period poverty in England and the negative effect this has on girls. I will use this research to create a campaign to gain support for an appeal to the government to make sanitary products free for everyone. The long term objective will be to make sure no girl has to miss school because she can't afford pads or tampons.
Critical Context
Women's rights are still a major issue all over the world and period poverty is part of this. 10% of girls and young women in England can't afford sanitary products and instead use items like socks, paper towels and newspaper to alleviate bleeding. It is 2021, this should not still be happening in the 5th richest country in the world. [6]
Audience
I am aiming this project at anyone with a strong social conscience who has the ability to lend their support to a campaign to make sanitary products free. It will also be aimed at people do not think this or are on the fence in an effort to convince them otherwise and gain more support.
Anticipated final outcome
The final outcome should be a campaign that informs people about period poverty and also gives them the means to help in some way. The ultimate outcome would be a successful petition to the government, making all sanitary products free for girls and women in England.
Here is my brief written on pads.
Summary
This was an excellent week to start a new module! Self initiated projects are really exciting to me, there are so many things i am interested and care about. This is where I hit my slight issue this week - I was paralysed by choice. The first decision I had to make was what avenues to go down- this is where looking back at the Contemporary Practice module came in extremely useful. During that module I had really explored my interests relating to design and where my passion lies, this is why I think the best thing to do for my self initiated project is focussing on social change and political issues, much like week 11 of Contemporary Practice. This was the fanzine I created about Donald Trump's neo nazi supporters and expressing my opinion on the capitol riots. I came to the conclusion at the end of the module that I want to use design to create social change and focus on making the world a better place so this is what I plan to do with this self initiated project.
I was surprised this week at how quickly I could write a list of things that make me angry in the current political climate. I knew there was a lot but it just rolled from the pen! It was difficult to narrow it down to four let alone the final one. I was interested in pursuing all of my final four but came down to the idea of a campaign against period poverty as it is an issue close to my heart - I used to work for a charity that had a programme to help girls have access to sanitary products so I have seen first hand how this can help. The fact that tampons and pads are seen as a luxury in this country is disgusting to me but also not surprising from a Tory government run by straight middle aged white men.
I am pleased with the brief I have written this week and think it is a project I can really run with and come up with some good ideas for. I thought writing my brief on the pads was a good idea at the time because it really illustrates what this campaign is about. However, upon reflection it is wasteful of products some people cannot afford and the pack I used would have been better being donated to a food bank or charity. I think ethics is something I am going to have to be constantly aware of focussing on such a sensitive subject, for example terminology. I have been referring to people as women and girls throughout this post and brief, whereas not everyone who has periods may identify as women or girls so this is something I am going to have to address and be conscious of through the project.
I can't wait to take this forward and develop it further!
References
[1] Johnson, T. (2020). What’s a Designer to Do? How Self-Initiated Design Projects Kept A Greek Agency Busy (and Sane) Through Tough Times. Available: https://thedieline.com/blog/2020/7/27/whats-a-designer-to-do-how-self-initiated-design-projects-kept-a-greek-agency-busy-and-sane-through-tough-times?. Last accessed 22/9/21.
[2] Artwork Archive. (2021). Why We Need Arts in Times of Crisis. Available: https://www.artworkarchive.com/blog/why-we-need-arts-in-times-of-crisis. Last accessed 22/9/21.
[3] Gannon, R. (2020). Frontiers. Available: https://www.rachelgannon.co.uk/Frontiers. Last accessed 22/9/21
[4] Plan International UK - https://plan-uk.org/media-centre/plan-international-uks-research-on-period-poverty-and-stigma
[5] Brooks, L. (2020). Scotland becomes first nation to provide free period products for all. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/nov/24/scotland-becomes-first-nation-to-provide-free-period-products-for-all. Last accessed 24/9/21.
[6] World Population Review. (2021). Richest Countries In The World 2021. Available: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/richest-countries-in-the-world. Last accessed 25/9/21.
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