Development - Podcast Interviews
This was quite an interesting podcast to listen to - hearing about the designers and how they take self initiated projects forward and how they develop ideas. The thing that really struck me was when Sam Bompas said that it is all about the connections you make - the more connections, the higher the chance of a successful creative outcome. I have always valued research and knowledge really highly in my design practice which I think is the stepping stone of creating valuable connections between things.
Another aspect I will take to heart is where Christoph Miller from Offshore said get your hands dirty as early as possible and be rough with the way you sketch - this is always something I have had trouble with. Sometimes, especially in the development stages, I can be far too much of a perfectionist so I don't free sketch enough. For this stage of my self initiated project I am going to make a big effort to not be too precious about my sketches and take this advice on board to improve my design practice.
James Stinger from Werkflow also commented that they do big reviews at the end of each project. While I think a debrief is necessary and we can always learn from completed projects, I so think this review process needs to come earlier in the process to be truly valuable at the time. At the end point of a project you can't change things or learn directly how to do it better so having reviews during the development process I personally think is more valuable.
These interviews were really interesting and going forward in this self initiated project I am certainly going to try and take some of the advice onboard.
The Power of Failure
Make an idiot out of yourself at least once a day
I really enjoyed this video from Erik Kessels who made a strong point towards the start that if no one hates your work, no one loves your work either. This really resonated with me because at the end of the contemporary practice module I realised that the kind of design I wanted to do involved taking a stance and taking on projects that I really care about - like this self initiated period poverty campaign.
I love the witty take on design Erik Kessels has - from the magazine pictured to the left which focusses on women making £300k less than men over a lifetime, to the budget hotel in Amsterdam where they pointed out all of the terrible things in a funny and engaging way. This is not something most people would have ever thought for advertising a hotel but it worked, they are doing better than ever, although as Kessels points out, it's still shit.
Kessels' Red Stripe campaign was also great - really making people talk about Red Stripe making lots of free publicity for the brand. I think this kind of guerilla marketing would work really well for a social issue such as period poverty - after the initial outlay for the stunt, the marketing is essentially free as it is people sharing it over social media and continuing conversations about the issue. I think this is sometimes the key to ingenious marketing, making something so out of the ordinary that people want to talk about it. This is definitely something I will consider when developing my ideas this week.
Further Research
Period Poverty Campaigns
Freedom for girls campaign [1]
Girl guiding campaign [2]
Period Poverty marches [3]
After researching period poverty campaigns, I have realised that there is definitely something I can bring to the table that is a new, fresh take on it. All of the campaigns I have seen seem to be light and polite, not taking the issue straight to the source like I want to with my self initiated project. They are all pink and have illustrated periods in a family friendly way, I don't think this is the best way to approach this subject and instead of going with the norm, I want to harness the energy of more political posters and art installations to create a campaign to really get people talking. This will then hopefully gain the support needed to get 10,000 signatures and bring it up in parliament again.
The closest I could find is the end period poverty march banners that people made - this may be an interesting thing to research to start my project off, to see what people want to say about the issue. This would help me gauge public interest and the take people have on it in order to mould my campaign to be as effective as possible. I love the energy of marches and protests - I think they are such a valuable part of society and can encourage real change in the world. People's creativity on marches with banners has astounded me in the past so it might be time to look outside of the subject matter and look at the collective art of marches.
Protest Art
I love the signs I found when researching the protest art that people all over the UK had created. There was some really witty things - I especially like the "go with the flow" comment. When researching the signs people had made, I came across the inspiring story of Amika George [5] who after hearing that 1 in 10 girls miss school because of their periods, something had to be done about it. She started the campaign to ensure that girls on free school meals also get tampons. She has done an incredible job so far and is continuing to campaign and make waves around the subject of periods. I am definitely going to take inspiration from this and consider how my campaign can interlock with hers, doing the most good for the most amount of people.
I love the aesthetic of political posters and homemade banners and will definitely be taking this into consideration when developing my ideas for my self initiated project.
Periods for Periods
The Periods for Periods project has brought together 140 designers from across the world, including the likes of Design Matters podcast host Debbie Millman, Pentagram partner Giorgia Lupi and graphic designer Ellen Lupton.
Each designer has developed their own full stop – or a period – graphic. The selection ranges from the literal, with representations of uteruses, underwear, moons and flowers, to more abstract swirls and blob shapes. [4]
I think this is such a creative way of encouraging the conversation about periods and period poverty. It shows that when designers get together and collaborate they can really create something beautiful to affect change. The idea behind this is they can be used in protest art and I love this idea, creating something to help people with protesting is a great and effective thing to do.
I like this project but I was to create something that will stir up conversations in the street and get the average person's attention rather than just that of designers. I think the shapes used are beautiful and something I could take inspiration from in my developing designs.
End a sentence, start a revolution
Guerilla Girls
The Guerrilla Girls are feminist activist artists. They wear gorilla masks in public and use facts, humour and outrageous visuals to expose gender and ethnic bias as well as corruption in politics, art, film, and pop culture. [6] I love that they describe themselves as the conscience of the art world and they point out massive inequalities in the world. This is essentially what every charity campaign does - point out things that need to change. This is why I want to use the Guerilla Girls specifically as inspiration for my campaign, their values align with mine and the values I want to put out into the world as part of this campaign.
It also has a similar tone of voice to the one I want to have in my project - direct, holding people accountable and quite shocking in the facts it uses.
Workshop Challenge
This week you will make and produce your self-initiated project.
Imagine and make one design response to your self-initiated project brief. Your direction should be informed by peer feedback to your mood boards and initial rough visuals.
Make prototypes and experiment with design and production techniques to ensure you engage with your target audience. Remember to record all tests, even if they fail, and add them to the Ideas Wall and your blog.
Upload your design developments to the Ideas Wall and add further reflection on your blog. We want to you to demonstrate how your project has developed.
Design and deliver your final outcome, in line with your original aim and objectives. Post the final outcome on the Ideas Wall and reflect on your blog.
Initial Design Visual Research
Prints have always been used to disseminate political and for social commentary. In the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation triggered the development of anti-Papal or anti-clerical visual satire by artists like Hans Holbein the Younger. Prints disseminating political satire have a long tradition in Britain, dating back to the political and social shifts of the Enlightenment. [7]
I found it really interesting the British Satire actually has roots in Italian Renaissance painting, using the exaggerated forms similar to those of Carracci. The illustrations were originally etched but in the 1830s etching gave way to lithography and wood-engraving, and with this came the decline of the print-shop and its replacement by illustrated magazines and newspapers which is still the form these satirical images take today.
I am going to use British/ London satirical caricatures as a basis for my initial designs. This is because period poverty is a political issue and the individual take I have is wanting to hold the government accountable for this. I like the style of the British/ London satirical caricatures and I think this is not only a way to link my designs back to the history of the city but also the ground the subject matter in a style that is literally designed to spark interest and start conversations.
Initial Designs
The posters I am designing have the purpose of starting a conversation and getting people on board in this campaign against period poverty. I think eye catching, satirical and amusing imagery is the way to go. I have taken photos of amusing posters around London so I decided to drudge through my Instagram and see what kind of signs I tend to photograph as a research method for deciding what king of thing others might engage with.
Turns out I have taken a lot of these since I moved to London 6 years ago! There are a couple of common themes I would say run throughout - political, funny, satire and colourful. I think this is useful when developing my initial ideas further because it will inform the style and tone of the poster.
Development
I really like the close up drawing of Boris' face with tampons sticking out of his nose. I think this shows the wasteful nature of the tories and the face that the solution (providing free sanitary products) is right in front of their faces, or maybe even up their noses. I thought I would now redraw this into a more cartoon style rather than chicken scratch doodles and experiment with the slogans as I think this is going to be the most challenging part.
Developing the image
I want Boris to be recognisable and for the message to be front and centre. From my initial ideas I like the close up of his face because it is definitely the most Boris. I would like it to be cartoon style, keeping the inspiration from the British/ London satirical caricatures as this roots the drawing in history and political context.
I am really pleased with the outcome of this. It is very Andy Warhol esque rather than British/ London satirical caricatures so this is something I will look at further. I think this is recognisable as Boris so a great place to start experimenting with slogans.
These are the three slogans I came up with initially. I like the pop art style of the posters however it is moving away from the British/ London satirical caricatures inspiration I was initially taking from but I am pleased with the direction this is developing in. Although I am pleased I wanted to know what other people think of these posters so uploaded them to social media and asked for feedback...
I also asked my team at work, the Comms team.
I found the advice people were offering, especially from the comms team really useful. It's so interesting to know what other people think and how it differs from your own opinion, possibly because I am a bit close to it to see clearly sometimes. I totally agree with Melissa, in that the Bloody Twat one is a bit confrontational, and while they all are, this one is a personal insult. The double meaning of bloody twat also isn't clear as not everyone I asked understood it (Danielle, pic 1) so that image is out of the selection for me.
I'm really torn between the "time to ovary-act" and the "tampons will only be free when tories can live in them" one. I think the first is snappier although I'm not sure it gets as much of the point across. Although I do need to remember that I will be adding a QR code and a hashtag to my final poster, both of which will offer further explanation. I think the second one is a bit long winded and relies on people reading a reasonable amount of text if they're just passing. I decided to put these two up for an instagram poll.
It came in overwhelmingly in favour of the ovary-act image so I think this is the one I am going to develop further. I think I can push this and given more time develop a whole series of posters holding the tories accountable for period poverty and encouraging people to join the fight and sign the petition, supporting changes to the governmental policies.
Further Development
I like the overall meaning and theme of my poster, however, I think I need to work on the method of printing. While I am comfortable digitally drawing and painting, I am not sure this is the right process for this project. In a way I need it to be more rough and ready than this. It looks very polished and clean - protesting isn’t clean. I want people to be able to replicate this poster so I think I need to come up with a different format or at least explore my option.
WOODCUT AND LINOCUT
After creating my posters and prints using procreate and photoshop, I decided to look more into traditional techniques for protest art. I was particularly interested in the way leftist ideas were spread around the time of the World Wars. I have always been fascinated with this period of history and the art that accompanies it. From visiting the Imperial War Museum recently, I remembered the prints produced by artists such as Käthe Kollwitz and Frans Masereel and the haunting feel they had - a damning look at life during the war and the brutality of that time. [8]
This led me to wood cut and linocut prints. Woodcut originated in East Asia in the 8th Century but didn’t become popular for protest art in Europe until the early 20th Century. The relative cheapness of materials and ease of getting them meant they became a firm favourite for people protesting the wars, especially Frans Masereel who detested nationalism and warfare from the beginning and is said to have been a great influence on the anti-military stance of European artists.
As an anti-nationalist, leftist anti-military person I can’t think of better inspiration for my anti-tory, anti-period poverty guerrilla marketing campaign than Frans Masereel. Therefore my next step is to linocut my posters to offer a different method of production and possibly get a different feel altogether. I haven’t lino cut since I was 15 but here goes…
Well, that was harder than I remembered! I'm glad I remembered to do the writing backwards, it was a very close call. At first I was going to try and just carve the outline however I quickly reslised I was limited by space so went for an entirely black image with the outline in white. I think this gives it quite a stark look which I like and it also makes the blood stand out.
At first I was just going to leave it black and white but I then decided red would really pop. I coloured the tampon and moon cup in with red sharpie in the third image then in the fourth I just focussed on the blood. I think this is reasonably effective but it's a bit too neat and tidy for the classic protest poster I am using as inspiration for this project. I think in the next development I am going to try something a bit more radical - splashing blood (well, paint) at the posters.
I really like this version of the poster - I think it has quite a shocking look and will really gain attention for the cause. I do think the print isn't as clear as it could be - it is not obvious they are tampons and moon cups coming put of Boris' nose however this is something I would develop going forward. I love the visual though and I think the splashes of pain work really well and this way, every poster would be different.
Because the red paint obscures the drawing I want to see what it would be like if I splashed the paint first then did the print afterwards.
I like the aesthetic however I think the previous ones are more successful. I like the black white and red theme and think this would be great at getting attention and pushing the issues of period poverty into the public consciousness.
Not just a poster...
Installation
As part of my anti period poverty campaign I want to also look into installations that could go with the poster campaign. In my initial research I found some really inspirational projects, for example, Ai Weiwei’s Berlin project, below.
I love this because it is it really drives the point home by making a spectacle and something people are eager to find out more about. I would love to include something as thought provoking as this in my period poverty campaign. My next step was to sketch ideas for installations or art pieces that can work alongside the poster to promote awareness.
Direct Mail Out
Gathering attention for the issue is a priority of the campaign however so is going directly to the source to try and push for change. This is why I think my project to end period poverty will be enhanced by doing a direct mail out to MPs - the people who have the power to change things. This needs to be something they will want to open and that really drives the point home.
With the direct mail out the aim is to bring the idea of fighting period poverty directly to the desks of MPs. 67% of Mps in the UK are male [9] so I want to directly target them. This is how I came up with the idea of labelling the external packaging as "Free condoms for MPs" then the secondary envelope crosses the word condoms out and replacing it with sanitary products and the word MP is replaced with the word everyone. Then on the inside there is 2 cards, one with "your period" and the other with "your sanitary product". The idea is they can spill the period and try and use the sanitary product to wipe it up, the sanitary product being something children in poverty use like cotton wool or underwear.
The idea is to show them how inappropriate it is for children to not have access to sanitary products. I made a mock up to illustrate this.
This was the basis of the design for the mail out. It is in the same style as the posters to ensure brand identity and a recognisable campaign. I wanted to experiment further and make the packet of fake blood that will be attached to this and the kitchen roll for the sanitary product used by people unable to afford tampons, moon cups or pads.
The 'blood' is made with watercolour paint for the purposes of my experiment! It is 60ml which is the average amount of blood a person who menstruates loses each month. [10] Next job is to find something to put it in. I had to be resourceful and ended up using one of the bags from the lateral flow tests, ironic considering these were also provided my the government...
At this point I started to hope the neighbours weren't looking in...
I also wanted to see how much blood this was compared to the paper towel provided. If I am expecting MPs to do this, I wanted to see what it was I was asking them to do and how impactful this would be.
Turns out it was very impactful and I think it really illustrates the need for sanitary products to be available to all people who menstruate.
Final Proposal
Poster
Installation
MP Mail Out
Summary
What a big week! I am really pleased with the outcome of my project, it was a completely different direction than I thought I would go in when I first set out my question but this illustrates the value of research and thinking outside of the box. I think the three elements of this project work well together and would not be as impactful separately.
I think the poster is reasonably successful, I like the style and I think it added an element lino cutting the design in a similar vain to protest posters of the past. This really helped me to pin down the overall look of the campaign - red, black and white with a lino cut style. I think this really took it to the next level and helped me continue the theme throughout.I think it is successful because it is stark and quite shocking to the the presence of blood everywhere which is essentially what this project is about.
I think there are definitely some areas for improvement in this project. One of the things I would change is to lino cut the poster larger - I wanted the words to be "It's time to ovary-act" but I only had the room (and the skill) to ass "ovary-act". The final one would have "It's time to ovary-act" as the tag line. The drawing also isn't as clean as I would like - you can't see that it is. a moon cup and a tampon sticking out of his nose -this is an important part and given more time and a bigger lino canvas I think this poster would be cleaner and more successful. I would also like to photoshop the tampon installation better and from different angles as I think this view is slightly limited.
All in all I am really leased with the outcome of the project and I would love to develop it further and make a go of making it happen.
References
[1] Freedom for Girls. (2021). Home. Available: https://www.freedom4girls.co.uk/. Last accessed 6/10/21.
[2] Girl Guiding. (2020). Ending period poverty. Available: https://www.girlguidingscotland.org.uk/girls-taking-action/our-campaign-work/period-poverty/. Last accessed 6/10/21.
[3] George, A. (2021). The pandemic has exacerbated the horrors of period poverty; the free period products scheme must be made mandatory. Available: https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/the-pandemic-has-exacerbated-the-horrors-of-period-poverty-the-free-period-products-scheme-must-be-made-mandatory. Last accessed 6/10/21.
[4] Long, L. (2021). Designers protest period poverty with punctuation. Available: https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/19-25-april-2021/designers-protest-period-poverty-with-punctuation/. Last accessed 6/10/21.
[5] BBC. (2017). One teen has been campaigning to end period poverty. Available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-42424484. Last accessed 6/10/21.
[6] Guerilla Girls. (2021). GUERRILLA GIRLS: REINVENTING THE 'F' WORD: FEMINISM. Available: https://www.guerrillagirls.com/about. Last accessed 6/10/21.
[7] British Cartoon Archive. (2021). The Database. Available: https://archive.cartoons.ac.uk/Overview.aspx. Last accessed 9/10/21.
[8] Hickman. (2021). History of Printmaking and Protest. Available: https://hickmandesign.co.uk/blog/history/printmaking-protest/. Last accessed 8/10/21.
[9] UK Parliament. (2021). Frequently Asked Questions. Available: https://www.parliament.uk/about/faqs/house-of-commons-faqs/members-faq-page2/#jump13. Last accessed 16/10/21.
[10] NHS. (2021). Heavy Periods. Available: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/heavy-periods/#:~:text=Most%20women%20will%20lose%20less,necessary%20to%20measure%20blood%20loss.. Last accessed 16/10/21.
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