COP: 3rd Tutorial w/ Amber

Today I had my 3rd tutorial with Amber looking at my essay draft and refining bits that should be works on so that I can finally print it for binding.

From the session these are the notes and refinements I need to do on my essay:

• Check up on the topics in the essay
• Try to be more analytical and suggestive. (why? and how?)
• When using quotes, make sure that I explain why I'm quoting these people and why the quotes I used are relevant to the essay. 
• I use 'furthermore' too much.
• 'Perception of novelty' – explain why it's not a good thing, (...in this senses it's undermining and trivialising the culture)
• In the introduction  talk about what High fashion is: 
• Exclusive
• lavish
• largely inaccessible
• not everyday
• Make the point  that it's deliberately exclusive - but why? and how?
• ...They don't care about controversy, because it doesn't affect them that much, suggest that they can do it and there's no backlash from the mainstream. 
• Globalisation – It's possible, but still largely 'culturally sensitive' (could be concluded better)
• Owning heritage can be tied in with Globalisation.
• Conclusion needs to change, tie in with intro better

Thoughts & Reflection:

Overall, I think I had a really good session as I got loads of feedback I could work with in order for em to develop my essay. I'm especially pleased and relieved to know bits that I was worried about like the intro and conclusion, because I didn't think i did them right in the first place, but getting direction for it has put me at ease and I will definitely work on for the next tutorial. I was also good to get direction on how to be more analytical as I also felt that maybe I was just writing 'surface' descriptions, but this has also helped me to think more of how I am writing my essay. After doing all the refinements, hopefully I will meet Amber next week for the final touches on the essay so i can finally print it ad get it binded. 

COP: Research (Origen Mexico) – Ámbar Editores & Paola Gonzalez – Blok Design

• Book celebrating Mexican culture highlighting various Mexican cultural references such as Black clay pottery of Oaxaca, filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron, as well as Barrancas del Cobre . It also expresses love for Mexico and the Mexican identity. 
• It expresses the idea of time and continuity of time through the use of carbon paper which can be seen through between pages, indicating the idea that "The present is founded on, but would ultimately find it hard to recognise, all of the past, except that which immediately proceeded it." 
• It also showcases the relationship between objects, narratives, beauty of the country etc.  through the different layers and foundations which come to be the visual manifestation of  how the Mexican cultural identity is made. Not only that, but the usage of various production material and techniques such as monochromatic image treatment and use of copy paper, also showcases the flow and continuity of objects, information etc. which may seem disparate but ultimately merge together in order to create what is know to be the Mexican culture.
• The different colours that built up across the edge of the book also emphasises the development and continuity of the culture. And, through the different techniques used it gives the book a strong sense of identity and authenticity, as well as tangibility that the audience can personally experience themselves. 
• Through the various elements and techniques used within the book, it gives the audience a real interactive experience in which they can engross themselves in the book more through the tangible elements that are put within it.
• The uses of san serif type gives it a contemporary and progressive tone, which reflects the way in which the book is intended to be read and seen as it is exploring ways in which culture progressing throughout time through the past, present and future advances. 

https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/blok-origen-mexico-graphic-design-publication-251119

https://bpando.org/2019/10/28/origen-mexico-by-blok/

COP: Research (Made in North Korea: Graphics from Everyday Life in The DPRK) – Nick Borres

• Book curated for a 20 year 'hoarding' or North Korean graphic design by Nick Bonner.
• Showcases the 'outdated' and unchanged Graphic Deign that is created in North Korea. It's also interesting how they have kept their style where they focus on functionality as opposed to 'aesthetic' purposes, which may be due to their isolation and limited access to knowledge to Western Graphic Design, therefore they utilise their own knowledge in order to create design which are representative of how they want to be perceived by their people and by the world. 
• From the initial front cover, the tone and atmosphere of the design content inside is also hinted at, giving the audience an initial reaction and opinion to what the book is going to be about, which may intrigue them to read. In addition the Korean title may also intrigue the audiences to read the book further. Thinking of context, it also stands out in comparison to other books that it may shelved with due to its bright appearance and soft illustrative style . 
• The use of a 'serif' looking 'sans serif' font gives it a very retro aesthetic in addition to the pale pink and red as well as  soft gold colours, creates a very inviting and almost 'childlike' tone to the book. 
• The images are laid out in relation in certain themes such as 'candy wrappers', 'tickets' etc. creating a sense of direction and allows the readers to comprehend what and how the graphic within the designs are used. In addition, it also allows the readers to systematically go through the chapters and pages of the book without compromising any information as they are laid out in 'themes'. 
• Using the flexibound technique to bound the book is also effective as it doesn't only offer functionality but it also gives it the 'educational' feel and is purposeful for the content to be passed on the the readers as the feel and texture of the book alone gives it a sense of academic motivation.

https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/2-8-october-2017/made-north-korea-book-exploring-totalitarian-states-graphic-design-history/

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/north-korea/articles/heres-what-design-looks-like-in-north-korea/

COP: Research (China: Through the Looking Glass Book) – Pentagram

Black box is Embossed with 'Dragon' image

Cover is silk (gold-stamped)
*Inspired by pattern adapted from 19th century festival robe
(that's included in the museum collection)

• Book illustrating the designs and garments by various Haute-Couture designers such as Christian Dior, alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Yves Saint Laurent etc. 
• They are illustrated and exhibition in pair with art forms, and pieces that they are 'inspired' with. 
• The garments aims to highlight the connection 'between objects and fashions across period and mediums' and a 'creative dialogue between East and West. 
• It embodies the 'Oriental'/ Chinese aesthetic which is the reference of the exhibition and where the designer reference and inspiration came from as well. Cover is silk and gold-stamped, giving is a lush feel and elevated and special aesthetic, mirroring  the Haute Couture expectations. 
• Japanese book binding technique giving it a hand crafted and organic feel. (raw and delicate feel which highlights the garments that are hand made in haute couture atelier). 
• Serif typeface highlighting an elegant feel to the publication as well as traditional but contemporary at the same time. 
• Layout is a simple centred image of the garment in juxtaposition of the object, film, person etc. it is referenced from. Though it's a simple layout, it's effective as it clearly shows the correlation between the garment that is being presented; as well as the fact that most of them lack text, the images in itself speaks to what they are trying to portray. 
• Although, I think that the exhibition itself does confirm it' relation to 'cultural appropriation' (though I think it was meant to say that it rather they are appreciating the culture), the publication itself uses successful design elements which engages the audience and creates a certain aesthetic that is needed in order for it to work with the exhibition. I'm not exactly agreeing to its content however, looking purely at its design techniques and elements it is effective in what it is trying to portray.   

https://www.pentagram.com/work/china-through-the-looking-glass

https://www.pentagram.com/work/china-through-the-looking-glass

COP: Practical Student-Led Crit

I discussed my ideas to the group that in today and got some feedback for it; it also seems like everyone preferred the 'informative idea' better as they thought there was more I can do with it compared to the other ideas.

• Possibly go in depth and create a structure to it - in order to make the audience understand the message behind, make sure it goes from 'summary' to in depth representation and examples, in order to get the message across e.g. go in depth with the visual examples pin point each aspect etc. * I really liked this suggestion, and something that I was thinking of myself as I'm planning to make it informative I have to give enough info and engaing visual in order to capture the readers attention and for them to grasp the message of the publication. 
• Look more in depth into @Diet_Prada - maybe get more info and content from them to add into the publication.* Could be really good for engaging a more younger audience, more contemporary and  modern take on cultural appropriation, stereotyping etc. 

Thoughts & Reflections:

Though I didn't really get much, I am considering to use these suggestion in my practical which would help me generate more visual ideas and content in the publication. 

COP: Initial Ideas

As I said when I dismissed my 'look book' idea, I am still planning to create a publication, with different visuals.

Idea #1

• Working stereotypes against itself - e.g. Showing the same pics of the same garment/ ethnicity being portrayed but comparing it to how its supposed to look and how it's being appropriated *Can create a 'shock factor? which can get audiences intrigued to read more and engage with the publication more at the same time, it also gives them the information I want them to take away from the publication in a straightforward manner. 

Idea #2

• Informative and Educational approach(?) - as mentioned in our practical brief crit, it could be a visual manifestation of the research that I did in my essay. Can showcase: appropriation, stereotyping, tokenism etc. in a more educational and 'standard' book form. Would it be type heavy? Serious but Contemporary. *Educates the audiences in a more structured and educational way, would be appropriate for keen readers? Having type with images would engage the readers in a more and possibly make them understand the context and message better rather than abstractly and putting their own subjective view on it. It good to be subjective, but giving the right context would direct their view to the right understanding of the message of the publication. 

Idea #3

• 'Interactive Book??? - showcasing and highlighting appropriation and stereotypes through altering original photos which are appropriating East Asian culture and comparing them side by side, letting the readers take in the differences and realising it. Can be really drastic and distorted. *May make make the audience rethink their perspective on the adverts that they see, make them more aware of the subtle and obvious difference that can and can't infer to appropriation and or stereotyping. 

Production Method

• Perfect Binding - professional and slick finish, appropriate for exhibition display as well as can infer to the editorial spread in magazines for High Fashion brands. Appropriate functionality, the most effective in showcasing the visuals and informative, if it was hand-made it would take way the slick contemporary aspect which fits the tone and context behind the publication. 
• Gloss? - similar to contemporary magazines, publications, books 
• Soft cover 
• Black cover? - minimal, neutral, if colour (possibly colours that evoke the presence of culture eg. orange, green, red?) 

Thoughts & Reflection:

I think so far although the are just rough ideas, I think that they do answer the brief in some way and I can definitely expand on them and think more deeply and in detail once I choose the idea that I want to use. Also, in the crit it'll be useful if people can give me feedback on how I can expand on these ideas and which one is the strongest and most appropriate to go with so that I can start developing it already.

COP: Abandoning 'Lookbook' Idea

In the previous practical brief crit with my tutorial group with Amber, we discussed that maybe I could do a look book with some of the Fashion Students who are also doing or have done photoshoots and garments in the similar theme and concept that I am doing for my essay.

However, after thinking about it and debating I think I am going to do it, as I feel like I am just taking their photographs and using it for my own publication, and they don't really have any advantages that they get from it, other than getting their garments shown. I don't want to make them feel like I'm just taking their work for my own work and publication.

Instead, although I am intending to do something similar, it will be pictures from the High Fashion brands that I have looked at and more, they should still in my opinion create the same effect and be as effective in resolving my practical brief.

COP: Practical Primary Research (Village Books)

While in Village Bookstore, I tried to look for books which have references to culture.

Tupera Tupera Postcards

• Russian-themed postcards by illustrator Toshiyuki Fukuda.
• Illustration are very colourful at the same time minimal - high impact and eye catching
• refers to culture in subtle way which engages the audience - intriguing and engaging
• postcard method - interactive with the audience, can be used, theres functionality but also decorative aspect. 
• material is thick and appropriate, printing method makes textures stand out (screen printed?)

Gold Dust (Tripod City) Bruce Usher

•  Publication showcasing street scenes and documentary photography challenging African stereotypes.
• Diversity within a community
• Colours coordinated within each spread- showcases storyline and photo development throughout 
• Production is very sleek and professional -usage of glossy and shiny paper stock, highlights the photos (colours, location, layout) BUT can juxtapose the context and message that is trying to bring awareness to (African stereotypes)
• Effective engagement with audience by using juxtaposing layouts; zooms, landscape, portraits to effectively highlight the message of every photo and how each photo (set relate to one another. 

Thoughts & Reflection:

Gathered from this research I'd also like to explore how I can use production methods n order to engage the audience with the context and content of my practical that Im trying to convey to the target audiences (*Cultural Appropriation). Appropriate picture and stock in order to effectively convey the meaning and message so the audience can interact and get the information that I'm trying to convey to them. I'll have to research more *another book I can refer to will be the China: Through the Looking Glass book -How does the design indicate the message of the exhibition? Is it effective? It is appropriate? 

COP: Essay Draft 1 (to send to Amber)

How is the portrayal of  East Asians in High Fashion affecting the representation of East Asian cultures and traditions today?

Introduction

The purpose of this essay is to explore various topics which revolves around the representation of East Asians within High Fashion and the role it has on the perspective of East Asian cultures today. The basis of this research is from a keen interest of East Asian cultures, as well as a personal relation to the theme of the topic itself. Especially, in today’s society where ‘Cultural Appropriation’ and ‘Stereotyping’ is such a sensitive issue, it will be interesting to know how High Fashion brands have dealt and explored East Asian cultures and their development to this day. Are they representing ethnic minorities respectfully or is it just ‘tokenism’? (using a small number of people form a minority in order to give the appearance of equality in a work environment) Although, there are also other ethnicities who are also being misrepresented – they are not to be forgotten. However, it seems as though from stereotypical ‘Asian’ traits of being naive and reserved, East Asian stereotypes are being ‘normalised’ and downplayed to ‘appreciating the Oriental aesthetics’ or ‘paying tribute to the aesthetics of the culture’.

Pastoral w/ Nick

Today's pastoral with Nick:

• Think about putting a portfolio together in order to send to possible placemat agencies 
• Maybe also think about possibly doing a placement at several places for 2.3 days a time rather than one in 2 weeks.
• Create a time plan for extended Practice just like what I did for PPP (weekly timetable) -> will help reorganise everything and help me prioritise briefs.
• Make sure to have enough time for COP practical 
• Send draft essay by MONDAY

Meet & Greet w/ L6 Photography

Today we had a meet & greet with the L6 Photography students for a chance to do collaboration work as well as create connections with them and do some networking with people from a different course within the university.

For Photography students it's a chance for them to collaborate with us in order to create their personal branding for PPP, and for us its an opportunity to collaborate with them and create work that could go as one of our Extended Practice briefs.

Outcome from Meet & Greet:

• Met some people that do photography that I also enjoy doing (street photography, documentary photography, fashion photography, focus on diversity (POC representation) – possible people to do collaboration with
• Some people that specialise in Fashion photography and focus their practice on diversity and ethnic minorities as their subjects which links well with my COP or if not, still something that I can possibly work together with. 
• Got some of their instagrams and emails as point of contact, great for continuing conversations about work and projects etc. 

Time Check :///

Just to reflect on how I've been managing my time since the first tutorial I had with Amber.

PPP TIMETABLE:

I tried implementing the timetable that we made in PPP and split work up according to timetabled days they're on and worked on COP after uni hours.

• I could only implemented some of it - I really didn't have time to rest during the weekdays like I said because I procrastinated too much.
• I found myself doing my blogs when I tried to "get in the zone" to write my essay, so it helped in a way as I'm doing them along the way, but at the same time I lost time to do actual COP work and it made me stress out cos I'm doing 'small things' rather than important stuff. *WHICH WAS EXACTLY WHAT I SAID I WONT DO :))))

REGULAR HABIT:

I also did To Do Lists for the day to set myself tasks to do which was actually kind of effective

• It made it more 'realistic' for me to write it down so I actually set myself a time for when I have to do each task, therefore I became more productive.
• I looked forward to filling in the box - made me feel like I achieved something
• I wrote down actual important tasks to do and made me evaluate which ones NEED doing first. 

OTHER WEIRD HABITS:

• As much as I try to work hard, I also want to socialise to balance thing out - when friends tell me an event or gathering happening it makes me more productive as I know I'll have to rest on that day. 

Thoughts & Reflection:

I think so far, I've kind of stuck to the plans and habits I have, which did make me progress in writing my essay. I did have stressful days where I didn't do much and made work stagnant so this week I'm trying to get back on track again. Although, from how I felt last week I think my time management was okay.

Week Starting 18th November - Weekly Briefing

TO DO LIST:

• Pastoral Tutorial - Thursday, Friday, Monday
• PPP - Tuesday 
• Photography Meet up - Wednesday
• COP - FINISH ESSAY
• Practical work - Start this week 
• Caption pictures as figure 1 etc. and Put images on a separate page
• Finish first draft of essay and email in advance (maybe day before).

PPP: Hawraf (Anatomy of a Design Studio)

HAWRAF; (HARD AT WORK, RUDE AS FUCK)

• Hawraf was a design studio consisting of Carly Ayres, Andrew Herzog, NIcky Tesla and Pedro Sanches in 2016. They use design to create new ideas, tech, to work for clients and themselves, 
• Worked on various fields like: brand identities, installations, websites, books films etc.
• They achieved various awards e.g. one of 15 under 30 New Visual Artists by Print Magazine (Andrew Herzog)
• They were all alumni at Google Creative Lab
• Their ethos: to create messages that would evoke people to 'say something back', and through tech, advertising and design they focus on concepting, designing, and developing interactive projects that engages people in new and interesting ways. 

3 documents I found most interesting/useful and why:

• Operations -> Culture : It was really useful how they set our their rules on what they strictly can and can't do in order for the partnership to be smooth. It's good to have rules and values set so you know what your working towards and if you're on the right track to your goals.
• Potential -> Internal : Similar to the first one, but also it lets you know how they are as an agency and really shows the fields in which they want to work more on and are proud of. 
• New Business -> Capabilities :  A good way to showcase their strengths and documentation of their achievements.

2 reflections I've made on running a design studio and having done research on HAWRAF:

• Maybe don't underestimate just how realistic the goal you're setting yourself is because you're working with other people as a team, and it's going to be really pressuring for everyone not just yourself to work out how you're going to achieve those goals. 
• Be open to communication and discussions – although they shut down the agency, there wasn't really any conflict, and they have kept their relationship professional.

1 system, idea or approach that I'm adopting or experimenting with as a result:

• Setting clear goals, values and ethos - being able to stand for what you believe in and also being realistic about setting goals and relationship values, being strict about the do's and don'ts.

COP: 1st Practical Brief Crit

Today we had our 1st crit for our practical brief and also heard for the first time what everyone else have done so far.

WHAT I HAD:

• I was quite worried, because my final outcome isn't concrete on the brief yet so it might sound a bit vague.
• I still feel like it's not referencing Graphic Design strongly yet and I'm worried it might stray away from it too much.

WHAT I GOT FROM THE CRIT:

•  As I was hearing everyone's briefs I thought that mine was too much away from Graphic Design as everyone has explicitly referred to 'Branding' and 'Marketing' etc. – I shouldn't think too much about what people are doing
•  Put some content from 'Brief' to 'Background/Considerations.
• Focus on one aspect that I want to focus on – 'Cultural Appropriation'. 
• Final could be a publication or a look book – look at Fashion Communication work – look at the aesthetics and how they use visuals and refer it back to East Asian culture etc.
• Content could be the visualisation of the research that I have. 
• Maybe contact Fashion Design/Communication students and ask to use some of their work in my publication.
• *Other ideas - maybe photograph models of different ethnicities in garments that represent a culture. 

Thoughts & Reflections:

I was really worried in the crit because I felt like I wouldn't be able to create something that is necessarily linked to Graphic Design and it may contradict my practice. I did have the idea of creating a publication as my outcome however, after hearing people I thought it wan't right. But, Amber suggested the same thing to me, which I was quite surprised about but felt reassured at the same time. After talking to people in the session I think that there are ways in which I can go around the idea; I also got good ideas from the crit therefore I got a better idea of what I'm going to be researching and creating from now. 

PPP: Being a Pro (Studios of the Future) Presentation

Presentation: 

(Notes on other groups) 

Our Presentation (Thoughts & Reflections):

I thought our presentation went okay, though it was really hectic as we felt like we didn't really have enough time and content to present. maybe it was because we did take quite a while to get our heads around our idea, although we did know what we wanted to do, there were details that were getting left out and people within the group didn't really get the idea in the beginning stages, therefore we had to get the basis done first then delegate roles. 

However, during our presentation feedback, I felt like people were too hung up on our example "Chilly's water bottle' that they didn't really get the idea behind what we wanted to do. I also felt like the whole presentation in general was quite bleak and it was more just criticism rather than constructive.

PPP: Being a Pro (Studios of the Future)

• Building your own career to do what you want to do.
• Dreaming up ideas and studios of the future – doesn't have to be graphic Design
• *New Studio - borderless collab based around the world (agency) focused on building up individuals portfolio *read up on Intern Mag
• Digital mag - social chain (social media site activation) *Nine Sixteen
• KyraTV - mixing social media influencer culture and YT to get effective brand partnership in video form. 
• New York Public Lib – ads in Insta story format 

Today's Workshop

• 10 Year in the future - 10 groups
• Design Sprint
• Name & Branding
• Insight in predicted trends that the concept responds to or is about
• Can be about: Social Media Trends, AI, Impact of data in projects or industry, Voice Command and Voice Search, Influencers, Climate Change?
• The way the studio respond to the trends - how it provides customer, price of the services
• fictional case-study report
• Presentation formats can be - Keynote, Presentation, PDF
• Delegate roles early on 

PRESENTATION DECK:

• NAME & BRANDING – Insight, Insight Studios, Incite Studios 
• PREDICTED INDUSTRY TRENDS –
• HOW YOUR STUDIO MEETS THESE NEW NEEDS –
• PRICING STRATEGY – 
• CASE STUDY – 

Our idea

*An ad agency that uses Apple's new technology of contact lenses that lets users experience augmented reality. We intend to work with brand in order to elevate their brand and product from just information that user's read to advertising that the user's experience. 

Overview that Jocel and Libby created

(Branding and Presentation Kristen, Jake and Laveeza created)

I've worked with Jocel, Kristen, Jake, Laveeza and Libby as a group and we delegated roles to everyone based on the required objectives from the presentation deck. I was tasked with the Pricing Strategy.

Pricing Strategy – Value - Based Pricing

Off the bat I thought, it was only appropriate to use the value-based pricing for our service as an advertising agency, the performance and effectivity of the advertising is the main value of service that you are providing to your client. 

Along with Jocel and Libby who are doing the case study and background for the idea, we decided to use a 'previous' client in order to showcase what we do and an estimation of how well our service will do and how how we intend to charge our clients in relation to their brand value and the value of our service that we are providing for them.

"We chose value-based pricing as we are the first ad agency to fully take advantage of this platform, which effectively uses the current technology to elevate advertising from receiving to experiencing.

We advertised Chilly's water bottles to 18-25 years, by augmenting their vision to remove single use plastic bottles in everyday life and replace them with Chilly’s. This aligned with the brand’s ethos by creating advertising that realistically changed the surroundings to a better and more environmentally friendly place. This elevated Chilly's sustainable brand image and increased their sales by 40% and their net worth up to £45.5 million. We charged Chilly’s £1.5 million for our services through its success. The value of this partnership can even be seen in this room.

Insight studios operate on a strictly value based pricing as this allows us to generate revenue to further expand our practice to involve more household name brands.

Through our success, we are currently developing to integrate audio within our advertisements. This would further enhance the effectiveness of the advertisements, ultimately results in greater profits for our clients."

Thoughts & Reflection:

Overall, I thought our idea is quite good, it's experimental and something that might be quite plausible in the future. Although, I am worried that it can be something that will stir up ethical issues, as it may seem like forcing or manipulating people's 'reality' and bombarding them with advertising that they may not want or not even necessarily realise are experiences. Nevertheless, though for an ad agency I think it is a good idea to explore and something that will be quite profitable in this capitalist society.