Case Studies
One of the things all five seemed to agree on was how fast design is moving forward and how the breadth of branding and design is getting broader. This echoes the previous research I have conducted into the D&AD awards - the boundaries between the different disciplines are getting blurry - something can be branding, animation, graphic design and advertising whereas previously these genres would be completely separate - all specialities in their own right.
Another theme I felt coming through from the interviews was the idea that technology is having a big effect on the direction design is going in. Sam Winston suggests that technology is directly linked to the attention span of people and that is the most valuable thing. Regular Practice suggest that technology, more specifically the internet, means everything is more generic all over the world. This was interesting to me because of the idea of globalisation and the way brands are changed depending on where they are in the world - will this be as common now all of the information is everywhere all of the time? Everything is accessible at the click of a button so why the need to individualise products and advertising? Pushing this further, will there always be a need for advertising in the same way? I'm really interested in this and would like to explore it more this week.
When they were asked about what needed to change, I found Sarah's answer particularly interesting - that people are more environmentally conscious now. I think this is true, especially over the last 5 years there has been a big shift in public consciousness towards the environment. I know I try and buy socially and environmentally conscious products now more that I ever have before. I am more aware of their impact which I think is a wonderful thing. I think this is definitely something that brands need to be far more aware of and generally do better with if they want to stay relevant.
New Steps – Susanna Edwards in conversation with Maziar Raein
This conversation between Susanna and Maziar was really interesting. It really linked design and culture in a deeper way. It was also interesting to me that Maziar commented on communities coming up with better design solutions, such as Raphael's studio. This links nicely back to previous research where Bria Eno suggested the same thing - group thinking is more successful. This surprises me because in my experience design through committee means you end up with the most bland outcome. But if the community is all working to a similar goal in a similar way, surely more brains will be better?
Maziar also mention that the most interesting things are the edges, whether that is politics, ethics or values. I really like this idea because it encourages you to think outside the box and explore points of view you might never have considered before. This links back to last week when I researched zines and came to the conclusion that the most interesting thing about design is being able to take a side, not sit on the fence and stand up for what you believe in.
I am also left with the question from this of what are my sensibilities and how do I formulate them? This is something I am going to think about and reflect upon in this coming week.
Anab Jain: Why We Need to Imagine Different Futures
I absolutely loved this talk from Anab Jain. [1] It really captured my imagination. I think sometimes I get too caught up in what is happening right now and don't think about what could happen in the future, but this took me out of that and allowed me to consider it.
I was also pretty inspired by the fact that the whole talk was about using your imagination to create the tools. When Anab talked about a future living with drones, she described the way they built the drones, flew them but the hard work came when they imagined the rest of the future with them, not just the immediate experiment. It also allows you to understand the potential impact now of something that hasn't happened yet.
I am left with the idea that even though the future creates a sense of anxiety, it is continually being shaped by what is happening now, so in that way, we do have some control.
Further Research
Expo Pavilion "A Country without Walls a Future without Limits"
Taking inspiration from Anab Jain's TED Talk and looking into the future, I discovered this new concept for a pavilion on Arch Daily. [2] This pavilion is based on the ideas of communication, openness, hospitality, and change. It is designed to have no walls to encourage storytelling and human connection and is based on the topography of the country it will be in (which is yet to be announced).
“By imagining, making, communicating, and sharing within the pavilion’s activity spaces on the ground, a bright and open future is revealed in the clouds above” [2]
I was interested in this pavilion because it seems like a midway point between what the world is like now and what it will be like in the future. It is possible yet the concept of it breaks a lot of boundaries. Having no walls will encourage openness and transparency and also makes the whole project look futuristic. This also made me think that maybe thinking about possible futures should be based on values rather than products, the images above involve beautiful architecture and people enjoying the space, not brands and adverts. This is a concept I want to explore further because the world is full of consumerism, especially now, and values seem to be based on products rather than people - it would be interesting to envisage a future where this was reversed.
I think this pavilion is beautiful, the architecture is modern and sleek and the fact it echoes the topography really gives it a sense of place. I would definitely want to visit it when it is built!
Infinite Monkey Cage - Parallel Universes (Podcast)
I have listened to The Infinite Monkey Cage [3] since it started in 2009, I have always had a fascination with physics. I thought this would be a good episode to re-listen to for research this week because we are thinking about 'next steps' and possible futures - why not look at the idea of possible futures all at the same time? I also think learning about theories like this that are pretty incomprehensible in their size, helps to stretch the mind and allows you to push an idea further. It's relatively easy to come up with an idea and test it against know data, and you get into a routine of thinking about ideas in a certain way. But what if you challenge these ideas by imagining a completely different world - a parallel universe? I could really help with coming up with creative solutions and telling interesting stories.
In the podcast Brian Cox and Robin Ince discuss how the universe is essentially a chain of complex events. From dark matter to ants in the soil, everything that exists has gone through a complex process of which people only understand around 5%. This suggests that between now and possible futures, everything will go through a further series of complex events, which actually make the possible outcomes (within the constraints of science) infinite. This is an exciting concept to me and really inspires me to think about the future of design in a wider context
Workshop Challenge
Take a graphic design interest that you are familiar with and investigate how the idea can be improved, disrupted or retold through a shift of application.
This might be an opposing media or environment ( e.g from book to installation, packaging to performance) or an opposing time or fictional future (e.g. speculative design). You can tell the story of your idea in any medium, but ensure the shift you make with your project is apparent, courageous and driven by risk and a rationale.
The direction I have chosen to go in this week after the research I conducted is speculative design - imagining a different future. Here is an initial list I came up with:
A world with no art (including film, music, design etc)
A world with no workers - everything is automated and everyone gets the same wage
A world with no branding or advertising
A Space faring world - humans become an interplanetary species
A world where you have to pay to speak per word
Transhumanism
I really enjoyed coming up with these ideas and thinking about extreme versions of what the world could be like in an alternate reality (taking inspiration from the Infinite Monkey Cage.) I have decided to explore number 3 further - a world without design or branding.
My first thought was to think about the obvious initial changes that would happen if branding became outlawed. The first thing that came to mind was the high street so I decided to sketch it out to explore the idea further.
I did this sketch in black and white so my colour palette was limited to what is functional. The idea behind no branding means signs are purely descriptive - they functionally tell you what is inside, for example clothes or food, while giving no information on brands and not trying to entice people in - they go in the shops if they want to.
I then decided to mock up a bus stop poster and some books to experiment further with the idea of no branding and advertising.
The first iteration I chose was to use Helvetica black text on a white background. I liked the way it looked however I then realised this was a design choice, exactly the opposite of what I am going for. Instead of using a design font such as Helvetica, to really capture the essence of this future I am envisaging I need to go back to basics with everything, including typeface.
I went right back to basics and used a classic font Times New Roman. In the late 20's Times New Roman became a popular typeface in newspapers due to its readability which I think makes it a perfect choice when thinking about a future without branding and advertising.
I then realised however that I had been unconsciously making design choices - from the difference in size of the title and author on the books, to the placement of the text on the poster and on the book. I need to take it back even more and just start the text in the top left and run it on, it's the most functional and non branded way.
This is definitely the most functional and non-designed version yet. it it simply labelling the books and getting across a message on the poster. It was a really hard process at first because it goes against everything you learn as a designer, to let go of all preconceptions and simply make things functional with no consideration for the form is a really interesting exercise.
I then decided to mock up some well known things with the concept of no branding. This is a future world in which consumerism is gone and people buy only what they need. Although this includes buying what you need to make you happy so clothes, nice food and tech is still available.
While I think the text and placement has gone well, I realised that I was still naming them after their brand - McDonalds, Diet Coke, Domino's. It was such a deeply ingrained thing that I didn't even think about it at first. This shows how consumerism is literally consuming us in the modern world- everything is about brands and advertising which is one of the reasons I liked exploring the idea of a world without that. As I expected so far this is creating an almost unrecognisable world. I had another go at these three ideas with taking the brand names out.
I think this is far more in line with my concept. My next step was to look at mocking up a high street.
[4] This was a mock-up of a street removing all of the advertising and instead just having messages about consumerism and buying only what you need. As a development point I need to add another sign into the front as buy what you need and buy only what you need are two different messages however I was limited by the model. I wanted to push this further and mock up shops from a high street too.
[4] Taking all of the colour out and only using Times New Roman to signal what the shops are completely changes the look of a high street. The eye os no longer overcome by the constant brands, posters and advertising, instead it is clean and informational without being oppressively commercial. It really puts into perspective the extent of this idea of consumerism being dead. This was the first image that really struck me as how different life would be. I do want to see these messages in a more real life context though.
This also made me think about how the idea of no branding and advertising would affect different industries. This is how I think my speculative design would affect different areas:
Fashion - This is a really interesting area. Without advertising and branding, clothing would take on a different meaning. Without models wearing brands and promoting a certain image, would people still wear the same kinds of clothing or would they instead wear what they wanted and what was comfortable. I actually think other people would become the new models in this situation - people would see what others are wearing and emulate that. Even though brands and advertising would be gone, people would still want to fit in.
Film - In this speculative world there would still be movies and music and art but without advertising it would change the industry entirely. I think in this reality we wouldn't have A list stars, a lot of that comes from adverts and billboards, neither of which we would have in this world without branding and advertising. Films would be made but it would be people's choice based on titles and descriptions rather than posters and adverts.
Politics - The face of politics would be completely changed. No more lies on the side of a big red bus. In this world people's political leanings would be based on what is said and done rather than what is advertised to us on the TV or posters. This would hopefully mean the world would end up with no more caricatures of politicians such as Boris Johnson and Donald Trump, instead with people whose policy speaks for itself. This may seem idealistic but the hope is that no advertising could lead the way to fewer lies and more honesty.
I was trying to think of the most commercial place I know and came to the conclusion it was Piccadilly Circus...
This was much more of a challenge that I thought it would be, there was so much in this one image that involved branding - from shop signs to carrier bags, even an umbrella advertising Wicked the area is saturated with brands. I removed all of the brand names and logos and replaced it with functional signs such as 'clothing'. I think this image does a really good job of getting my version of an alternative future across - it takes something so recognisable such as the Piccadilly Lights and changes the meaning of it entirely.
Although to develop this image further, after receiving feedback from Sarah, this image would be stronger with only one message on the billboard so I'm going to delete 'consumerism is dead' and stick with 'buy only what you need'.
I think this is a far more successful image, it has one unifying message and no brands in sight. it really puts my speculative design into perspective - it would entirely change the landscape of cities especially. It would change everything from theatres to shops, from clothing to restaurants and mean people had to rely solely on the product rather than what people are trying to make us think about the product.
Final Workshop Challenge
From the last iteration I enlarged the type to make it fill the curved screens in a more functional way. I am really please with the outcome as I think it illustrates my idea for a speculative future without branding and advertising well.
Summary
I really enjoyed this week of content as I think it really brought a new perspective. Design is ever changing, technological and societal advances open the path for new ways of thinking and new ways of doing things within the context of graphic design. I found the Anab Jain TED talk particularly interesting, speculative futures is not something I have ever thought about in a deeper way until now. Hearing her talk about ways to imagine the direction the world will take and developing tools to do this was really interesting to me - so much so that I chose to imagine a different future as my workshop challenge response this week.
This workshop was possibly the most challenging yet. It challenged me to think in a different way and push my idea to the limit. I am pleased with the idea I settled on - a world without branding and advertising. Mainly because it is the exact opposite of everything I know. Design has been a central part of my life for so many years that removing it from existence was really pushing myself and taking a bold stance. As I have said in previous weeks, to me one of the most important things in design is taking a stance, it's finding your voice and using it. I think I have done that with this challenge response - I have taken the stance that consumerism in this context is bad and things should be based on their quality and not their advertising.
In reality this speculative design would not work - it's too opposite from the world as it is today. Also, no one on this course would have a job doing something they love. This was part of the fun of this week, being able to think about something in such detail that in reality can't happen. If I was to develop this idea I'd want to push it even further and explore different aspects of this alternative world. For example, the idea of transhumanism also fascinates me - this is using technology to advance evolution using body augmentation. If I were to develop this idea further I would like to see how this would fit in to my speculative world design. In a more practical sense I would also want to redo my photoshop of the Piccadilly Lights as I think I could make it more seamless and also do a view at night with the sign lit up.
Overall I am really pleased with the outcome this week and I really enjoyed immersing myself in a completely different futuristic world.
References
[1] Jain, A. (2017). Why we need to imagine different futures. April 2017. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/anab_jain_why_we_need_to_imagine_different_futures. Last accessed: 10/5/21
[2] Harrouk, C. (2020). 10 DESIGN Proposes an Expo Pavilion Entitled "A Country without Walls a Future without Limits". Available: https://www.archdaily.com/938872/10-design-proposes-an-expo-pavilion-entitled-a-country-without-walls-a-future-without-limits. Last accessed 11/5/21.
[3] Cox, B, Ince, B. (2012). Infinite Monkey Cage. [Podcast].
[4] Render Hub. (2021). Free Renders. Available: https://www.renderhub.com/. Last accessed 5/5/21.
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