Coverline Design

Master Project Brief

2010-07-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

The problem

In almost every sport women have less opportunities then men. There are far fewer competitions for women and the prizes are less worth competing for. But the situation is so much worse when it comes to action sports. Extreme sports competitions – including skateboarding, motocross and BMX racing – have almost always been a man’s world which young female athletes struggle to break into. It is almost impossible to find sports clubs for action-orientated girls. There seems to be a lack of structures within which young girls could train and compete.

Female sports also receive less media exposure than their male counterparts. Female participation in actions sports is often seen as a hobby rather than a possible career path. Young girls struggle to find female role models in action sports and are often discouraged from participating by their male colleagues.

The Goal

This project seeks to:

Break down the barriers between extreme and traditional sports;
Promote action sports as entertainment, hobby or career for girls;
Promote equality for women willing to participate in action sports competitively and/or on a professional level;
Promote action sports as an alternative to gym memberships and conventional sports for women willing to improve their fitness level and have a healthy lifestyle;
Encourage higher media exposure for women in action sports.

The Means

I intend to develop and launch a new monthly magazine aimed at young women interested in extreme sports. It will inspire girls to try new activities and excel at those they like most.

The magazine will be accompanied by a website providing opportunities for networking in order to establish a real community of adrenaline-loving ladies.

I will also develop a style-guide for the publication alongside with samples of covers and magazine spreads. There will be a possibility of developing a promotional launch campaign as well.

Upon completion of the project I intend to pitch the idea to publishing directors at Factory Media, the publisher of the Cooler magazine (competitor).

The Challenge

The biggest challenge is breaking into a very saturated market of women’s monthly magazines. Magazine publishing is also a declining industry affected greatly by the digital revolution. However, there seems to be a significant niche as the vast majority of women’s magazine focus of fashion and celebrity gossips. The UK market lacks a publication for women’s sports in general and there is nothing for girls in extreme sports either. I recognize it as a great business opportunity and the way to overcome the challenge.

The Outcome

Magazine launch is mainly a branding exercise, which includes:

Current market research, competitors analysis and positioning;
Business opportunity;
The brand development (name, slogan, mission statement, core reader, the content breakdown, flat plan, section plan);
The magazine’s visual identity (logo, typography, visual style, visual vocabulary, navigation system);
Design guidelines and style book;
Final product (sample magazine covers, layouts and spreads as well as a website);
Promotional launch campaign;
The final idea pitch/presentation.

Ice Cube Typography

2010-04-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

Having officially completed the semester 2 assignments I decided to spend a few days working on one of my personal project ideas.

I wanted to design and print a series of business cards for myself but I needed some artwork to go on the back. And some time ago I came across an interesting idea. I saw a set of typographic ice cubes trays in my local artshop and instantly imagined artistic photography featuring frozen letterforms. The ice-letters could by coloured by freezing fruit juices and then placed in glasses with water. With a bit of experimentation with light and angles, it could produce interesting results.

I would like to create an entire range of business cards with different images at the back. I am still thinking about a selection of words to be made out of ice cubes. It has to be a cross between design buzzwords and frozen liquidity. I am considering: design, liquid, ideas, art and type (not very original but at least they're short). Any suggestions?

Nothing Unfolded: Pictures of my Book

2010-04-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

We got to the end of the project and my book is ready! I am so pleased with the final result and so excited to show it to you. I took some pictures this afternoon. They are not great but give you an idea of what the book is like.

I would like to draw your attention to a few facts. Firstly, as you see, the book actually has a cover and it is a white hardback with an off-white cover wrap.

The book title page, the chapter openers and the author's commentary are printed on tracing paper in colour. The remaining pages are printed on layout paper which also allows for some see through effect (look at the close up pictures). Moreover, these pages are folded in a very unique way, which I developed with hours and hours of test folding.

Using a palette of 12 different colours for chapter openers resulted in a very interesting effect on the edgeof the book.

The book has over a hundred pages and if someone actually makes an effort to read it, it's very insightful. It triggers a deeper reflection about the nature of Nothing in people's lives. I do recommend.

TASK 8.2: Ten Things I've Learnt

2010-04-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

1. You don’t have to be born with it to do it
The notion that geniuses such as Shakespeare, Picasso and Mozart were `gifted' is a myth! According to a recent study at Exeter University, excellence in any field, this includes design, is determined by five key elements: opportunities, encouragement, training, motivation and - most importantly - practice. The research shows that everyone has creative abilities that grow with the amount of effort we put in. This explains the fact that I am being relatively successful on the course without being exceptionally skilled or talented in graphic design.

2. Feed your brain
In order to produce creative output you need to consume creative input. Your brain as is an amazing processing machine, not a magic hat. You need fuel to power it. Read books and magazines; visit industry websites and blogs; go to galleries and exhibitions. It is important, however, to not only see things but to actively question them. When you see something you like, ask yourself why you like it? What is unique about it? Why the idea works well? Be analytic and learn from it, maybe even write about it, articulate it. Processing ideas helps generate new ideas. And in this business…

3. Quantity equals quality
The longer the list of ideas, the higher the quality of the final solution. Don’t storm the exit door with your first idea. Get used to changing directions, angles and point of view. Often, the highest quality ideas appear at the end of the list. When I started this course I thought it’s best to quickly choose an idea and then work longer on polishing the final product. Now, I think it is better to take the time to consider alternatives – as many as possible. When you get the idea right, everything else will follow.

4. It’s good to be childish
The average adult thinks of three to six alternatives for any given situation. The average child thinks of 60. Seeing the problem, adults panic, feel insecure and uncomfortable, push for quick solutions. Children see a problem as an adventure and a challenge. They don’t look for ready-made solutions in books or on the Internet, but use their own imagination to invent new ones. And they play along the way. Childlike attitude helps designers have fun with their projects and deliver creative and original solutions.

5. Map your ideas
Whether you are working on a year-long project, researching the topic for your blog post or discussing something with a client, mapping is the best way to organize your thoughts. Mind mapping mimics the way we think more accurately than vertical (linear) lists. Neurons in your brain are not linear but have ‘branches’ (dendrites) that transmit impulses to many other cells simultaneously. Drawing mind maps will help understand complex problems, see patterns and make connections.

6. Don’t be afraid of doing things differently
Designers need to think like inventors. Nobody can come up with something new by doing the same think time and time again. Innovation might be an industry buzzword but you won’t get anything truly innovative if you don’t leave your comfort zone. Doing what you already can is your limitation. Start by imagining things even if you don’t know that they are possible to achieve. Don’t be afraid to experiment and to be truly different. Don’t follow the trends and fashions - make them! Don’t just meet the expectations – exceed them!

7. Creativity is an individual process
As designers we can’t work on any project in isolation. We need to cooperate with colleagues, clients and audiences to develop an inclusive considerate solution. Taking into account other people’s points of view is extremely valuable. But, at its core, creativity is an individual process. Personally, I am not most efficient while working in a group – it distracts me. I am much more creative when I am alone and can concentrate. Groups are best for idea selection or evaluation rather than idea generation.

8. Both sleep and creative insomnia are essential
Just a few months ago, I had a tendency to leave a lot of work till the last minute. I would spend the last few days and nights working on a project without a break to finish it before the deadline. At one point, however, I realized that some ideas need to mature for longer; sometimes I need to “sleep with them”. Moreover, most of my good ideas come to me at night when I am trying to fall asleep. In fact, a number of studies on sleep and creativity have shown that sleep can facilitate insightful behavior and flexible reasoning so it is important to get enough rest. Good ideas and creativity usually do not appear under stress but when you are relaxed and rejuvenated.
However, I also came across a theory of creative insomnia, in which creativity is significantly correlated with sleep disturbance. I experience it a lot when my mind refuses to drift off and keeps sending me some new ideas instead. Usually, these are good ideas so I’ve learnt to write them down and put to work the following day.

9. Nature has solutions for every human problem
Whatever design challenge you might be facing now, it has almost certainly been already solved by nature. With its 3.8 billion years of experience Mother Nature provides inspiration for sustainable design today. Biomimicry has led to development of self-cleaning paint by imitating the rough surface of Lotus and to increasing the efficiency of wind turbines by imitating the bumps on a humpback whale’s flippers. I have learnt to search for such simple and clever ideas in the natural environment I love.

10. Make ethical choices
The issues or personal and corporate ethics echoed across all the subjects discussed this semester: typography, wayfinding, animated digital media, packaging and advertising. I have realized that no matter what field of design you are working in, there is always something you can do to make our world a better place. It might be minimizing energy use in your studio, recycling paper waste, or campaigning for a social or environmental cause of your choice. It may involve choosing clients with a good Corporate Social Responsibility, or making sure your printers are also eco-friendly. Take a personal responsibility for the effect of your work. Whatever you do, there is always a way to do it better,¬ and to inspire other people to jo

TASK 8.1: Greener Than Green Design

2010-04-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

What is Sustainable Design?

Traditionally, a term 'sustainable design' was used as a synonym of 'green design', 'eco-design' or 'design for environment'. Now, it has a new, broader meaning. Sustainable design aims to deliver profits on the 'tripple bottom line'. It still generates financial profit, but also benefits the environment and the society.

While discussing the issue, it is extremely important to understand that sustainable design does not apply to designing products in separation from the environment they are being used in. Sustainable design refers to designing entirely sustainable systems: a product, the way it is produced and used, and what happens to it afterwards.

Briefly, sustainable design may be defined as the design of flexible systems that can be sustained indefinitely. Sustainable product design, on the other hand, is the design of products that aid or permit sustainability of the systems in which they operate.

These definitions can be simplified further to say that "sustainable design is good design", or even better, "good design is sustainable design".

The basics of the sustainable design are very well explained by Tom Greenwood in the video I found on the ESP Design website. To illustrate the concept, Greenwood is using three examples:

ebay (an online marketplace for second hand goods);
Onzo (home energy use monitoring system);
Freitag (fashionable bags made out of used truck tarpaulins, car seat belts, airbags and bicycle inner tubes).

Inspired by Nature

Personally, I am very much in favour of sustainable design. But what I find even more inspiring is 'biomimicry' (or 'biomimetics') - an emerging discipline that studies nature's best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems.

Biomimicry promotes the study and imitation of nature’s remarkably efficient designs. I was amazed to realize what nature has to offer: 3.8 billion years of field research, testing and prototyping as well as a successful adaptation of nature's designs in 10-30 million species living on Earth now. In my eyes, this is truly green and sustainable design!

There are a number of organizations that advocate the nature's inspiring solutions. Biomimicry Institute promotes learning from and then emulating natural forms, processes, and ecosystems to create more sustainable and healthier human technologies and designs. It brings together scientists, engineers, architects and innovators to create natural and eco-friendly technologies fit for the future.

The Biomimicry Guild is the only innovation company in the world to use a deep knowledge of biological adaptations to help designers, engineers, architects, and business leaders solve design and engineering challenges sustainably.

Ask Nature is an online inspiration source for the biomimicry community. In here, I have learned that butterflies exhibit vibrant colors and stay clean using nano-scale structures on their wings. Designers and engineers have emulated this strategy to create self-cleaning coatings, fabrics and paints, and electronic display screens.

I also came across this long but extremely interesting video featuring Janine Benyus from the Biomimicry Institute speaking at TED conference about 12 sustainable design ideas inspired by nature. These include:

self-assembly,
CO2 as a feedstock,
solar transformations,
the power of shape,
quenching thirst,
metals without mining,
green chemistry,
timed degradation,
resilience and healing,
sensing and responding,
growing fertility,
creating conditions conductive to life.

I found the above examples of biomimetic design extremely inspiring. I believe that this is the answer to most of our environmental and human problems. And beneath the advanced science and engineering, there is a very simple principle. Humans might be the dominant species on Earth now, but human history is very short as compared to the history of the planet. As seen on The 11th Hour, the planet is not in danger, neither is the life on the planet. But human existence on it is threatened because we see ourselves somehow in separation from the rest of the ecosystem. We need to develop sustainable ways of inhabiting the planet in order to provide a safe environment to live in for the future generations. And, in my opinion, it is best to use the 3.8 billion years of experience nature has to offer. I strongly believe that the only way to sustainability is to learn directly from nature and as designers we have the responsibility to do so.

TASK 7: Socio-Commercial Advertising

2010-04-12T17:17:00.000-07:00

Advertising in a Pill

A Canadian humorist, Stephen Leacock, once said that advertising is “the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it.” The statement was true in Leacock’s lifetime (1869-1944) and it is true today.

Traditionally, advertising is defined as a form of communication intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to take some action, such as purchase or consume a particular brand. It includes the name of a product or service and usually shows how that product or service could benefit the consumer. Through the repetition of an image or product name, advertising campaigns associate related qualities with the brand in the minds of consumers.

Although advertising is most often used to sell commercial products and services, some non-for-profit organizations (political parties, interest groups, religious organizations and charities) use this method of communication to inform, raise awareness and funds for a particular cause. Commercial and non-commercial ads are usually but not always (as I we will see later) easy to distinct from each other. Nowadays, both types utilize traditional media (newspapers, magazines, television, radio, outdoor or direct mail) and new media (websites and text messages).

Advertising's Got Some Issues

Regardless of the means of communicating, advertising has always been a controversial subject. Since its very purpose is to persuade customers to act in certain way, advertising is often accused (not without a reason) of manipulating or even ‘brainwashing’ people.

There is a number of ethical issues surrounding the field of advertising and these include:

The use of sex and/or violence in advertising campaigns;
The right to advertise products considered to be harmful to humans, such as alcohol and cigarettes or unhealthy foods;
Advertising aimed at children and other vulnerable social groups;
False claims, lies and misleading the consumers (especially evident in recent trend to show brands as ‘green’ and ‘eco-friendly’ in order to win the environmentally conscious customers);
The use of shock tactics crossing the boundaries of taste and decency (frequently utilized in charity fundraising campaigns);
The cultural and moral impact of advertising on customers and customs as well as the overall spread of consumerism.

In order to protect people from the impact of unethical advertising, a number of laws and regulations have been introduced. In the UK, for example, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) acts as an independent watchdog ensuring that ads we see everyday are legal, decent, honest and truthful by enforcing the Advertising Codes written by the Committee of Advertising Practice and acting when marketing communications break the rules.

Personally, I do understand the need to have some control over what can and cannot be used in advertising. However, I always find it interesting that people who raise accusations against advertisers are not usually concerned about themselves but about ‘someone else’: children, teenagers, young adults, working class people, elderly, the ill, the troubled, the stupid ones, etc. I do acknowledge the fact that we all, at times, become ‘victims’ of manipulative advertising. But I also believe that the fears of the entire, ‘brainwashed’ human civilization heading for the inevitable self-destruction are a bit exaggerated and those who spread such panic simply underestimate customers’ intelligence. People are not dumb! We know advertisers are biased! We know they are just trying to sell us something! We no longer take adverts seriously! We really can negotiate advertising or ignore it completely.

With this in mind I begun questioning what ‘ethical advertising’ really is. Does a commercial become ethical by simply obeying the laws and respecting the rules of social and cultural decency? Is a charity ad an ethical ad only because it supports a good cause? How do we distinguish good advertising from bad advertising? What makes a ‘good’ advertising campaign: a stunning graphic design, a commercial success it generates, or the charitable cause it advocates? And finally, is it possible to generate a profit while promoting an important social issue through a stunning graphic design? Can we have it all?

My answer is ‘Yes’! And it is not a totally new concept!

Advertising for Social Responsibility

While in 1980s the West was dealing with the issues of race, racial equality, inequality and diversity, United Colors of Benetton launched the first of many controversial advertising campaign featuring multi-racial couples and families. Instead of showing multi-coloured clothing and telling us where to buy it, Benetton ads represented important social issues, religious and political conflicts (the Palestinian and the Israeli), religious and sexual conflict (a priest kissing a nun) and yet another portrayal of moral conflict (the stereotypes of good and ever, symbolized by an angel and the devil). Paradoxically, the growing popularity of Benetton merchandise translated into the disappearance of those good from the ads.

In early 1990s Benetton’s advertising style became even more ‘realistic’ through the use of photojournalistic imagery instead of staged photography and manufactured reality used in traditional ads. Again, instead of pictures of happy people in colourful clothing, customers had to face terrifyingly real images of war cemetery, a newborn baby, a man dying from AIDS, a soldier gripping a human thigh bone, a ship being stormed by emigrants, etc.

The reactions to those real-life photos were sometimes violent. The campaigns were criticized not only for using shocking images and violating taboos but also for using AIDS, war, racism and so forth, as a source of income and a component of a profit-making venture. Nevertheless, Benetton’s campaigns stimulated public discussion of those important issues more than efforts of many purposely-established non-for-profit organizations. United Colors of Benetton proved that a ‘different’ use of advertising was indeed possible.

Designers Vs. Advertisers

The Benetton example serves also as a valuable contribution to the discussion of the graphic designers’ role in advertising. Back in 1964 Ken Garland questioned the application of graphic designers’ talent and skills to advertising. In his famous manifesto First Things First Garland argued that advertising had “reached a saturation point” (questionable from our perspective) and that it had been persistently presented as “most lucrative, effective and desirable means” of using graphic designers’ potential.

As the advertising field grew, it became more and more difficult to differentiate between graphic designers and advertisers. More than ever before, graphic design is now being used as a tool for advertising.

Garland’s call for “reversal of priorities in favour of the more useful and more lasting forms of communication’ was updated and reprinted by the Canadian magazine Adbusters in 2000. Many of the most influential contemporary graphic designers, art directors and visual communicators became uncomfortable with “devoting their efforts primarily to advertising, marketing and brand development”. They spoke against serving commerce and in favour of applying the problem-solving skills to unprecedented environmental, social and cultural issues demanding designers’ attention, expertise and help.

With the First Things First manifesto in mind, Benetton’s past and present marketing campaigns seem even more admirable and significant. The brands’ socio-commercial work of the past two decades strikes as a perfect example of a rare marriage of advertising and social responsibility. My point is that United Color of Benetton proved time and time again that combining aesthetics, social impact and commercial success is indeed possible. And this is what I call ‘good advertising’!

Coverline Business Plan

2010-03-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

Coverline Brand Identity Development and Design

2010-03-31T08:44:00.000-07:00

TASK 6: Packaging Design Unwrapped

2010-03-31T06:10:00.000-07:00

Role of Packaging

Packaging is the science, art and technology of protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of design, evaluation, and production of packages.

Packaging design has traditionally been viewed as a means of protecting the contents of the package. However, for several decades packaging has been increasingly utilized as a sales canvas on which the product’s attributes and benefits are promoted. Subsequently, packaging design is a contributor to the cost of the end product as well as a part of the product experience itself.

Nowadays, packaging and package labeling have several objectives:

Physical protection of the product from shock, vibration, compression, temperature, etc.
Barrier protection from oxygen, water vapor, dust, etc. most often utilized in food packaging in order to keep the contents clean, fresh and sterile for longer, and to extend the product’s shelf life.
Containment or agglomeration of small objects (or substances, such as liquids, powders and granular materials) in one package in order to increase handling efficiency.
Information transmission - Packages and labels communicate how to use, transport, recycle, or dispose of the package or product.
Reducing security risks of shipment through tamper-evident features, authentication seals, security printing, anti-theft devices, etc.
Convenience - Packages can have features that add convenience in distribution, handling, stacking, display, sale, opening, reclosing, use, dispensing, and reuse.
Portion control achieved with single-serving or single dosage packaging not only reinforces the precise amount of contents to control usage, but also aids the control of inventory.
Marketing - encouraging potential buyers to purchase the product by applying marketing communications and graphic design to the surface of the package.

Trends in packaging design

One of the most evident movements in packaging design is a shift from aesthetics to ethics. In the 80s and 90s packaging designers were mostly concerned with improving aesthetic appeal and sales of the product. They used foil bags, embossed and etched bottles, textured papers, latest print techniques and new materials to enhance product perception and standout.

More recently, packaging designers turned towards minimalism. Product packaging tends to be simpler and smaller, yet very functional. A growing awareness of the impact of excessive packaging on the environment has driven both designers and consumers towards green packaging.

Sustainable packaging refers to more than just recycling. It is considered with issues such as a carbon footprint (the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during the production process, transportation from the source to the points of production, sale and consumption). Packaging designers need to consider the palette maximization in order to minimize the amount of air that is shipped during transportation and, consequently, the number of shipments required and the greenhouse gases emission.

A good example of such considerations in use is Walmart’s redesigned milk container, which reduced shipping labor by 50 percent and water usage by 60 to 70 percent. The new packaging enables Walmart to stock 224 containers in a space that used to hold 80.

Another important issue is a life cycle of materials used for packaging. Designers need to consider whether packaging materials come from recycled or sustainable sources and what happens to them after they are used.
The sustainability of the product package can be assessed using the waste hierarchy, which refers to the 3Rs of reduce, reuse and recycle. Topping the hierarchy, prevention of waste is the most favoured option. Packaging should only be used when necessary. Ironically, however, avoiding all packaging may actually increase the amount of waste generated. If the product is damaged or degraded the energy lost is far greater than that of the package.

Therefore, minimization is the second option in waste management strategy. It refers to reducing the volume of packaging to the minimum necessary to perform the protective role of the package. Usually, “reduced” packaging also helps minimize costs.

A third option opened to packaging designers is design for reuse. It encourages reuse of the package by customers (for instance, by using the package for other purposes) and manufactures (reusing the packaging of the incoming parts for a product, either as packaging for the outgoing product or as part of the product itself).

Recycling is being placed further down the waste hierarchy. The reprocessing of materials into new products encourages the use of primary components such as steel, aluminum, paper or plastic, that are not difficult to separate and do not contaminate recycling operations.

The least favoured options are energy recovery (using the heat available from packaging components) and disposal (placement in a sanitary landfill).

Green is Good but... (it doesn't end there)

Having considered the environmental issues, a good packaging designers turns into graphic design and packaging aesthetics in order to attract consumers. It is important that a packaging stands out because, according to various reports, over 70% of purchase decisions are made at point of purchase and a pack on a supermarket shelf has less than three seconds to grab attention.

A product packaging needs to tell a story about the product, needs to communicate the key messages or attributes of the product and needs to convey the brand identity. Incorporating easily recognizable visual equities, such as a shape (e.g. the Perrier bottle), a colour (e.g. yellow for Kodak), an illustration (e.g. the Nike Swoosh) or a name (e.g. “I can’t believe it’s not butter”) can greatly aid the process.

It is true that he difference between a great pack and a disaster is all in the design. There are a number of websites you can visit to find excellent examples of great packaging design. These include:

Design Council
Design Notes
Design Tutorials 4 U
Webdesigner Depot
Smashing Magazine
Dzineblog
DesignMag
2ExpertsDesign
Koi Koi Koi Visual Arts Magazine
The Dieline
Ambalaj – sustainable packaging design
Minervity - one of my favourites, showing examples of inspirational packaging design utilizing type.

I used the above resources to find a few really inspirational packaging designs that are both sustainable and aesthetically pleasing.

Boxed Water is Better insists on keeping things simple, sustainable and beautiful. It started with the idea of creating a new bottled water brand that is kinder to the environment - ended up deciding that water shouldn't be bottled at all. About 85% of the Boxed Water container is made from a renewable resource, trees, harvested in a responsible, managed, and ethical way. The boxes are also shipped flat, which is significantly more efficient compared to shipping empty plastic or glass bottles to be filled.

Green Cup created by two young Swedish guys – Gustav Nisser Henrik Lindholm - is an alternative to disposable cups; a reusable mug that gets you discounts while at the same time reducing energy usage, wasted resources and littering. GreenCup creates a network of cafés that all offer the GreenCup mug for sale at a price substantially below market value, as well as a discount when people use their GreenCup mug to buy coffee. The consumer keeps enjoying great coffee at a reduced price and get to help save the environment at almost no effort. This is an excellent example of the 'reduce' and 'reuse' rules at work.

Banana leaves might be used as a new ecological material for take away packages. This deliciously refreshing concept puts many of the most "environmentally friendly" packages on today's market to shame. Banana leaves exist in many regions around the world and last long after they are cut off the trees (sustainably). Their wax-like surface is ideal for wet and greasy foods. They are flexible and, by using die cut technology, can be adapted to many types of packaging. No glue is used. The unique qualities of this material allow packages to be opened simply by tearing the banana leaf along its natural perforation.

The idea developed by an Israeli designer Tal Marco was showcased in Designboom' "Dining in 2015" design competition.

The Grid Based on Nothing

2010-03-10T12:33:00.000-08:00

Last week some of you had a chance to see the grid system I developed for my book. It was a long process during which I examined closely the 'folded pages' book idea I had. After creating a multiple dummies I came to a conclusion that the most impressive folded books are the art in itself. Like sculpture they are concerned with form rather than the content.

After receiving feedback from Amanda, I decided to stick to french fold style, which would be interactive if necessary. And I stick to the meaningful minimum rule. Little or none illustrations, playful typography,some textures, very little colours.

The images below show how my grid system was developed.

The gris is literally based on 'nothing'. The word has been placed on page with a 30 degree angle. The distances between individual elements of the grid are proportional and based on the Fibonacci sequence rule. Alignement points were used to distinguish main layout areas withing the system.

What is the Colour of Nothing?

2010-03-04T12:28:00.000-08:00

So, I am officially writing a book about Nothing and the deeper I go into the subject the more interesting it becomes to me. From time to time I will ask you guys for a little help. Right now, I am thinking about the colour of Nothing. In my survey I asked people what they think about when they say they think about Nothing. A few of the respondents gave me a colour: black, grey, yellow, blue, dark blue, green, white. It's quite a range, would you agree?

It got me thinking... Nothing has different colours for different people. I decided to find out more and came up with a little experiment. I want to know what colour is Nothing according to you! Look at the colour palette below and find the colour that represent Nothingness to you. Write down the reference numbers of that colour in the comments box. Remember to give HORIZONTAL number FIRST (from 19.0.5 to 19.0.1) and the VERTICAL number SECOND (from 010 to 10). Please note that shadows of grey have only ONE horizontal reference number.

For example, light blue is 25:02 while barbie pink is 13:1.

Along withe the reference number please give you age and sex. I am going to find out if there is a relationship between age, sex and the colour of Nothing. I will also try to calculate an average from all the responses to indicate the average colour of nothing! It will be used in the design of my book.

Good luck and I hope you will enjoy yourself. I am looking forward to see your responses.

Click on the image to see it better.

TASK 5: Redesigning the World

2010-03-02T14:03:00.000-08:00

Design for Social Impact

Design is often considered a powerful tool capable of changing the world for better. If the goal of a design process is to improve human well-being and livelihood, we are dealing with so-called 'social design'. There are many definitions of the term but within the design world social design is understood as the designers' responsibility to facilitate the betterment of the society and/or the environment through good design.

The idea of responsible design was popularized by Victor Papanek (1927-1999) known as "a philosopher of design" and one of the first advocates of socially and ecologically sensitive design of products, tools and community infrastructures. Papanek travelled around the world giving lectures about his ideas for ecologically sound design serving the poor, the disabled, the elderly and other minority segments of society. His philosophy became the foundation for other ethical movements in design such as human-centered design, universal/inclusive design and sustainable design.

Currently, there are a few organizations putting social design high on their agendas. These include:

AIGA - professional association for design with a special interest in society and environment. AIGA's Center for Sustainable Design provides a wide range of information regarding sustainable business practice.
The Designers Accord - Global coalition of designers, educators and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact.
SocialDesignSite - International platform on social design projects.
Design Council UK - National strategic body for design.
O2 Global Network - International network on sustainable design.
Massive Change - explores the legacy and potential, the promise and power of design in improving the welfare of humanity. It originated as a collaboration between Bruce Mau Design and the Institute without Boundaries.
WorldChanging - Online magazine that works from a simple premise: that the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us.
DESIGN 21: Social Design Network - Online community that brings together socially conscious designers, non-profits, individuals and organizations to promote design for the greater good. It is co-founded by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Social Designer - Online competition platform and marketplace for socially conscious goods.
IDEO - Global Design consultancy that creates impact through design.

I research through the above sources to find some interesting case studies - designers or design groups with strong ethics and socially responsible approach to their design concept work. Here is my pick.

David Berman

David Berman is a Canadian author, expert speaker, designer, communication strategist, typographer and consultant with over 25 years of experience. His clients include IBM, the International Space Station, the Canadian government, the World Bank, and the Aga Khan Foundation.

Since 1984 he worked to establish a code of ethics which embraces social responsibility for graphic designers throughout Canada. In 2000, Berman sold his design agency and rededicated his career to help spread the idea that visual communications can, and will, help repair the world. He authored Do Good Design (2009) in which he encourages designers not just to do 'good design' but to do 'good'.

He writes: "Designers have far more power than they realize: their creativity fuels the most efficient (and most destructive) tools of deception in human history. (...) The same design that fuels overconsumption also holds the power to help repair the world."

In his book, Berman encourage designers to take the "Do Good Pledge", which involves the commitment to stay true to the profession and oneself, and spending at least 10% of the professional time helping repair the world.

At first I was attracted to the idea and wanted to take the pledge myself. But after researching Berman's work deeper I got an impression, and it's my subjective opinion, that Berman persuade designers to scrap aesthetics altogether and devote their lives entirely to helping others. If you look at his website, you will notice that it's not fantastically designed. I found it surprising taking into consideration that Berman spent years in website design. Even his book, written by a graphic designer for other graphic designers, seems to be lacking the visual 'wow factor'. His graphics somehow fail to truly impress me.

In my opinion, designers can do more good if they combine their 'good intensions' with 'good designs'. I agree with Berman's claim that designers should be doing more 'good' for the world. But personally, I believe that they should also make sure that their 'good' looks good. Design in about inspiring people to act and visually persuading them to do so. And although I admire Berman's work ethics and philosophy, his graphics somehow failed to convince me.

Worldstudio

Worldstudio is a marketing and design firm which believes that corporations hold the power to make lasting social and environmental change. It works with organizations to connect their marketing goals with strategies for corporate social responsibility through marketing, communication and branding programs.

In 1993 Worldstudio established Worldstudio Foundation as a vehicle for the company to give back to the creative community. One of the most important initiatives of the foundation is the Design Ignites Change project co-founded with Adobe Youth Voices. Design Ignites Change engages hight school and collage students in multidisciplinary design and architecture projects that address pressing social issues. In its annual contest, it rewards exeptional application of design thinking to solving problems in health, education, environment, communities, politics, business and humanity.

In 2006, Worldstudio got involved in The Urban Forest Project described as a series of unprecedented outdoor banner exhibitions taking root in cities around the world. In each location, artists, designers, students and the general public employ the idea a tree to make a powerful visual statement on banners that will be displayed throughout the community.

The tree is a metaphor for sustainability and, in that spirit, the banners at the close of each exhibition will be recycled into totebags and auctioned off to raise money for a local non-profit organization. Each local project will also incorporate or support an environmental call to action such as tree planting initiatives. The program can easily be adapted to address a number of green and creative initiatives in a variety of ways to shape a project that is unique and expressive of the local community.

I chose to discuss The Urban Forest Project because it perfectly illustrates the idea of design for social change. It addresses the environmental issues through the colaboration of many people. In my opinion the designers efforts to change the world must not be limited to digtal desktop design. The Urban Forest Project takes design for sustainability to the streets, gets the public not only influenced but also involved. As opposed to a one-off campaign, the project created a wider and more flexible system of eco-friendly design.

There are hundreds of banner designs I wanted to show here but I have to limit myself to a few. For more visit the following websites.

Times Square, New York
Baltimore
Denver
Albuquerque
Toledo

TASK 4: Resurrection of Corporate Ethics or Effective PR Buzzword?

2010-03-01T19:40:00.000-08:00

CSR Decrypted

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), also known as corporate citizenship, responsible business, sustainable responsible business (SRB), or corporate social performance, is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model aiming to embrace responsibility for the impact of the company activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere.

The term CSR came in to common use in the early 1970s and refers to the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision-making, and the honoring of a triple bottom line: People, Planet, Profit.

CSR demands that businesses manage the economic, social and environmental impacts of their operations to maximise the benefits and minimise the downsides. Key CSR issues include governance, environmental management, stakeholder engagement, labour standards, employee and community relations, social equity, responsible sourcing and human rights.

Beside “fulfilling a duty to society”, CSR brings a competitive advantage by improving access to capital, reducing risk, enhancing brand image, reducing costs and attracting, retaining and motivating employees.

So if CSR is so good why does it remain a controversial subject?

Criticisms and Concerns

Critics of CSR argue that corporations are only responsible to their shareholders and not to the entire society. They accept that businesses should obey the laws of the countries within which they work, but see any additional initiatives as threats to capitalism and free enterprise.

In many instances CSR programs undertaken by companies such as British American Tobacco, the petroleum giant BP and McDonalds, are believed to distract the public from ethical questions posed by their core operation. It seems that the goal of their CSR efforts are not to benefit the society but to maximize their commercial profit by raising the company’s reputation.

Some critics claim that CSR programs are easily misused. Some companies may accept self-regulatory policies to avoid more strict regulations imposed by law or various pressure groups (for example, workers unions). At times, simply obeying laws is being presented to the public as voluntary and dragged under the CSR umbrella.

As CSR became mainstream, most companies now incorporate their environmental and social policies into the wider PR and Marketing Strategies. Yet some companies seem to try harder than others. Every year Ethisphere magazine publishes the globally recognized World’s Most Ethical Companies Ranking to honour the best CSR efforts. Not surprisingly Starbucks, Nike and Marks & Spencer made it to the list. But among the 2009 winners are also: BMW, Toyota Motor, HSBC, T-Mobile and even McDonald’s! For the full ranking of awarded companies visit the Ethisphere’s website.

"Good Guys" in Business: Patagonia
To illustrate what in my opinion is a good CSR execution I chose the following two examples.

Patagonia (listed as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2009) is an American company producing and selling outdoor clothing and equipment. The company’s mission statement is to “build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis”.

The company is known to actively proclaim environmentalism. They provide environmental grants to fund activists who take radical and strategic steps to protect habitat, wilderness and biodiversity. They work towards creating the future Patagonia National Park in Chile and Argentina. They support the EOG Association for Conservation and donate at least 1% of their annual net revenue to environmental organizations worldwide.

Patagonia’s current environmental campaign, Freedom to Roam, aims to create, restore and protect wildways or corridors between habitats so animals can survive.

But a good CSR is so much more then simply charitable giving. Patagonia closely monitors working conditions in their supply chain and makes a huge effort to analyze the business’s impact on environment. The findings are accessible to the public via the Footprint Chronicles – an interactive mini-site allowing user to track Patagonia products from design through delivery. It shows how much waste was generated during the production process of each individual product, what the carbon emission was and how far the product travelled before reaching the stores.

The company website is also an excellent source of information on general environmental issues with many interesting news, essays and videos not directly linked with the company PR strategy.

To read more about Patagonia's corporate social responsibility visit the website.

"Good Guys" in Business: Cafedirect

Cafedirect is the second example of exceptional CSR I wanted to bring up. Much closer than Patagonia, closer than Patagonia's home the USA there is a socially responsible business that stands out in the mainstream crowd. You have probably already stepped inside the Regent Street's Cafedirect for a cup of coffee with a difference. You might enjoy the aromatic beverage even more knowing the company's CSR.

Cafedirect is currently one of the largest Fairtrade hot drinks companies in the world. As a a UK-based alternative trading organization, Cafedirect is a mission-driven business aligned with the Fair trade movement, aiming to contribute to the alleviation of poverty in developing regions of the world by establishing a system of trade that allows marginalized producers in developing regions to gain access to developed markets.

The company was founded in 1991 by Oxfam, Traidcraft, Equal Exchange Trading and Twin Traiding as a response to a global collapse in coffee prices. Cafedirect was the first coffee brand to carry the Fairtrade Mark in the UK and the first Fairtrade product to be sold in supermarkets such as Co-op and Safeway.

Currently, Cafédirect works with over 260,000 coffee, tea, and cocoa growers in 40 registered Fairtrade producer organisations across 14 countries, affecting the lives of over 1.2 million people in developing countries.

Cafédirect's mission is to "change lives and build communities through inspirational, sustainable business" and to focus the company's "social and economic impact in the developing world".

I chose Cafedirect as an example because, in my opinion, it illustrates business for social responsibility rather than CSR in business. Founded by charities and non-for-profit organizations, its prime mission was to make a difference... and profit to make the change happen. The biggest and best in business might be donating 1% of net profits to charitable causes, but what happens to the remaining 99%?

Following the success of Cafedirect, Teadirect was launched and is now the fastest growing tea brand in the UK. All of this has been achieved with a small marketing spend and no TV advertising. They even hear anecdotally that Nestle is beginning to see them as a competitor.

Cafedirect's Chief Executive, Penny Newman, believes that at this stage in the company development, the focus needs to be placed on the mission. Cafedirect resists to become a victim of competitive pressures. The company refuses to lose its sense of directions.

Penny is dismissive of imposed measures such as Corporate Social Responsibility. "It is only about reputation and how it affects the bottom line," she says. "Cafedirect is about ethics and values - these are part of our DNA."

See more at: Cafedirect Transforms the London Eye.

The Art of Book Folding

2010-03-01T05:20:00.000-08:00

Discovering the enormous range of Nothing in people's lives gave me some ideas for my book design. My journey to reveal the real Nothing, all those Somethings hidden in Nothing should be reflected in book binding and design. I realized that I could utilize a great potential of folded books. A simplest fold such as folded corner can be so intriguing. A reader feel tempted to unfold it to see what it hides. The book becomes almost interactive.

The principle of book folding can be then taken to a whole new level to create something truly amazing. I found some examples of artistic book folding which aims to create a sculpture or of unwanted books. It's so worth sharing.

Gathering the Book Content

2010-03-01T04:55:00.000-08:00

The Nothingology survey I created was o far completed by 30 people and the results are stunning! I asked people a few tricky question to uncover the variety of forms Nothing takes in our everyday life. As I expected, the range of responses is simply fascinating.

I decided to use the data in my book. However, I needed to consider how to translate apparently random words and phrases into a flowing book content. I tried to make sense of the responses by mapping them. It helped me to identify patterns and connections in peoples understanding of Nothing. It is hard to process the data without getting totally confused but I will try to break it down into smaller pieces and then post a summary on the blog. Watch this space!

Gripping on Nothing: Research Into the Concept of Nothingness

2010-02-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

Researching nothingness is certainly more difficult than one might think. During my desktop research I came across a few interesting publications. Firstly, there is The Book of Nothing by John D. Barrow, which captures the mysteries of non-existence, the origins of zero in Egyptian, Babylonian, Mayan and Indian cultures. It touches on Medieval and Shakespearean conceptions of nothingness to move into the contemporary, science based, understanding of the Vacuum. It surely is an fascinating read but for me Barrow's work was a little too abstract and detached from the ordinary people experiences. I am not that interested in looking for Nothing in the cosmic space while there is so much Nothing around us everyday. It seems like that human side of nothing is not only easier to capture but for me, personally, it's also more interesting to explore.

There are so many thinkg people do when they say they do nothing at all. One could even find advice on what to do if you have nothing to do! The list I found includes trying to swallow your own tongue (amusement potential: 1-2 minutes), pretending to be a car (amusement potential: 5-10 minutes) and trying not to think about penguins (amusement potential: 1-5 minutes). The last one is especially hard, because by trying too much, you remember what you were trying to avoid thinking of. If you try too little, you end up thinking about penguins anyway. It's amazing what you can come up with.

I have created an online survey asking people some tricky question about nothingness in their lives but in order to fully understand its findings I looked into the concept of Nothing in philosophy. I found a great video about Nothing by British philosopher Alan Watts, who claims that "Nothing is what brings something into contrast" and that "you can't have Something without Nothing". His idea and explanation isn't as confusing as you might think and you can watch the video without risking a headache.

Watts was famous for popularizing Eastern philosophical ideas in the West. Taoism was among his interests and in this video he used a term 'Tao' to describe the unity of Something and Nothing, the Form and the Void.

Joan Konner - the author of You Don’t Have to be Buddhist to Know Nothing: An Illustrious Collection of Thoughts on Naught - is another influential expert on nothingness. She claims that "the concept of Nothing, in Western thought, is a paradox. We simply cannot accept, no less conceive of, the paradoxical concept that 'Nothing exists'. (...) In the material world, which we inhabit, the very words 'Nothing exists' are a contradiction in terms, an oxymoron."

Konner agrees with Watts that Nothing can and does co-exist with Everything, because everything, even in physical terms, has its equal and opposite. She says: "If a vacuum occurs, nature rushes in to fill it. But where and what would Nature rush in to fill if there wasn’t a vacuum? Without Emptiness there would be no opportunity for something new, or something else, to occur. Where would Something happen? Stars disappearing. Novas appearing. Leaves falling. New leaves growing. One generation dying, another being born. Nothing is the still center of the wheel of life. Nothing is the core of creation. In the dark evanescence between equal and opposite, the Universe ignites."

Maybe, that's the key to understanding nothingness? We can only capture Nothing by capturing the contrast to Something?

Nothing is invisible and, as John Lloyd argues, all the best things are invisible. Watch this very entertaining video to uncover what exactly he means by that.

And finally, I just wanted to share this last piece of research.
In June 2007 Discover Magazine published a list of 20 things that you didn't know about Nothing. And guess what! There is vastly more Nothing than Something. Roughly 74 per cent of the universe is “Nothing,” or what physicists call dark energy; 22 per cent is dark matter, particles we cannot see. Only 4 per cent is baryonic matter, the stuff we call Something!

Introduction to Nothingology: Design Project B Outline and Workplan

2010-02-25T17:17:00.000-08:00

Project Brief

Nothing doesn’t exist. Nothing is impossible. The concept of nothing is so fraught with paradox and contradictions that it defeats definition. We are surrounded by loads of nothing although we cannot come to terms with the concept. We do nothing, know nothing, hear nothing, have nothing, mean nothing, think nothing. And yet, we can’t define it or describe it. Nothingness is all around us even though we don’t seem to notice or understand it.

Writing a book about nothing contradicts itself. How can one focus on nothing, research, describe and illustrate something that doesn’t exist. Wouldn't a blank page express the idea better than any written word? Wouldn't the book's nonexistence communicate the idea most effectively?

Every attempt to discover nothing reveals yet another ‘thing’ – something smaller than the smallest, microscopic, unnoticeable because of its size or (non)importance. Probably, there is no nothing! Probably, nothing is always something!

This book aims to explore the idea of nothingness and to reveal the nonexistence, triviality, nonentity and nonbeing of surrounding us objects and pointless actions we take everyday. Its purpose is to uncover the real thing in nothing and to transform nothing into something.

This book takes a human-centered approach to nothingology. It will examine the complex interaction between people and nothing. What people do when they do nothing? What they think about when they think about nothing? What they say and hear when they say and hear nothing? And finally, what does nothing do to people?

In my design authorship project I aim to take the concept of nothingness on the journey through people’s lives. I don’t intend to simply reproduce the words of philosophers, scientists, poets and other experts on nothingness. I wish to express the idea with the words of ordinary people and support it with their real life stories. My aim is to communicate the concept of nothingness through typography, illustration and conceptual publishing solutions. And since there is no beginning and the end to nothingness, my book will have no beginning and no end, no page numbers and no cover.

You can contribute to my research by completing an online questionnaire – the survey of nothing.

Project Workplan

For the purpose of this project, I adopted and customized a BrandCulture's chart illustrating the key stages of the design project.

Click on the image to see a large version.

TASK 3: Movements in Motion: A Guide to the Animated Digital Media Design

2010-02-22T06:35:00.000-08:00

Desktop Digital Revolution and the Birth of Onedotzero

Year 1996. New desktop digital filmmaking tools are becoming available. It’s the beginning of the desktop digital revolution – a dawn of a new era in new media and motion design. A writer and former film critic Matt Hanson creates a film festival designed to showcase the vibrant new media collectives and digital arts scene burgeoning in London. Onedotzero is born. The festival becomes a platform to explore innovative moving image, live audiovisual performances, interaction design, computer gaming visuals, music videos, commercials in film and arts contexts.

Year 2009. After touring Buenos Aires, Argentina, New York, France and Russia Onedotzero festival returns to the BFI in London to once again amaze us with groundbreaking and inspiring works. “Decode: Digital Design Sensations”, which Onedotzero co-curates with the V&A Museum, showcases the latest developments in digital and interactive design from small screen based graphics to large-scale installations. The exhibition includes 35 works by established international artists and designers including Daniel Brown, Golan Levin and Daniel Rozin as well as emerging designers such as Troika and Mehmet Akten.

The exhibition that we saw in January 2010 certainly helped me to understand the today’s “computer-generated world of animated digital design”.

Quest for the Pioneers

Animated digital media design, as we know it today, incorporates typography, computer graphics, video, animation, sound and even live performances – all of them mixed together with a great deal of interactivity. Therefore, it is impossible to name the pioneers of the field without looking into the history of its main components. It seems to me that animated digital media design of today was created by merging traditional animation, computer graphics and motion design.

The history of animation goes back to palaeolithic cave paintings, where animals are depicted with multiple sets of legs in superimposed positions, clearly attempting to convey the perception of motion. Other examples include a 5,200-year old earthen bowl found in Iran in Shahr-i Sokhta showing phases of a goat leaping up to nip at a tree and a 4,000 years old Egyptian mural with the images of wrestlers in action.

Motion design, however, has truly been developed only in the 20th century. It is being defined as a subset of graphic design that uses film, video or animation techniques.
Early examples include the typography and graphics used as the titles for a film, or opening sequences for television programs.

Among the precursors of the discipline you will find:

Saul Bass – an American graphic designer and Academy Award-winning filmmaker known best for his design on animated motion picture title sequences. Amongst his most famous title sequences are the animated paper cut-out of a heroin addict's arm for Preminger's The Man with the Golden Arm, the text racing up and down what eventually becomes a high-angle shot of the United Nations building in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest, and the disjointed text that raced together and was pulled apart for Psycho (1960).

Maurice Binder - a famous title designer best known for his work on 14 James Bond films including the first, Dr. No (1962). Binder created the signature gun barrel sequence as well as the opening title credits, showing an artistic display of scantily clad and often discreetly naked females doing a variety of activities such as dancing, jumping on a trampoline, or shooting weapons. Both sequences are trademarks and staples of the James Bond films.

Pablo Ferro - a director, editor and producer most famous for title design for Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Stop Making Sense (1984), Beetlejuice (1988), L.A. Confidential (1997) and Good Will Hunting (1997). Ferro is known as an early master of hand-drawn lettering, quick-cutting and for using multiple images within one frame. He received the DaimlerChrysler Design Award in 1999, and the Art Directors Hall of Fame Award in October 2000.

Animated digital media design, as we know it today, goes far beyond the title sequence design. Nowadays, about 12 minutes in every hour of broadcast television is the work of the motion graphics designer, yet it is known as the ‘invisible art’, as many viewers are unaware of this component of programming. Although this art form has been around for decades, it has taken quantum leaps forward in recent years, in terms of technical sophistication. The graphics, the typography, and the visual effects within this medium have become much more elaborate and sophisticated owing to the extensive use of computer graphics. The art of creating moving images via the use of computers is called ‘computer animation’.

Among the pioneers of the discipline you will find:

Charles Csuri – the author of the first computer art (1964) recognized as the father of digital art and computer animation by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).
Donald P. Greenberg a leading innovator in computer graphics and the founding director of the NSF Center for Computer Graphics and Scientific Visualization. Greenberg has authored hundreds of articles and served as a teacher and mentor to many prominent computer graphic artists, animators, and researchers such as Robert L. Cook, Marc Levoy, and Wayne Lytle.
A. Michael Noll - one of the first researchers to use a digital computer to create artistic patterns and to formalize the use of random processes in the creation of visual arts. He began creating digital computer art in 1962, making him one of the earliest digital computer artists.

Contemporary Animated Digital Media Design

Today, we are seeing stunning examples of computer animation in the most unexpected places. Creative new ideas are being applied Web design, architecture, engineering, interior design, landscape design and city planning. In healthcare computer animation is being used to demonstrate bodily functions and processes. Educators of all types are using computer animated programs as visual teaching aides. Students benefit from interactive learning, and from realistic graphic depictions of their subject matter. Artists who work in all media utilize computer animation to plan, create, construct and promote their works. Even make-up artists are delving into the high-tech computer animated field to advance their creative visions. More importantly, computer animation has had a huge impact on commercial advertising. New computerized billboards have appeared along highways that feature creative animation and design.

While researching contemporary motion graphic designers, I came across Jon S. Krasner's (2004) book titled Motion Graphic Design & Fine Art Animation: Principles and Practice, in which the author lists the key players in the field. I shortened his list to a few of my favourits.

Viewpoint Creative – a team of producers, writers, designers and editors specializing in advertising and promotional solutions, such as broadcast logo and identity design, main titles, program packaging, DVD menus and interface design. Their clients list includes Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Disney Entertainment, History Channel, Sci Fi Channel and the Travel Channel.

David Carson – a film and television motion graphic designer with a special interest in commercials and music videos. “His intuitive use of images and typography (…) is expressive, experimental and multilayered. He reinforces content with form, and his use of subtle shape and colour contrasts communicates the feeling of the subject matter, often eliciting an emotional response from the viewer” (p.79).

Big Blue Dot – a kid-oriented broadcast design firm with Disney, ABC, Microsoft and the Cartoon Network among the clients.

Hatmaker – a design studio that serves the entertainment industry with a strong focus in broadcast design. Hatmarket created Cosmopolitan Television’s branding to complement Cosmopolitan magazine. “The goal was to allow for magazine’s expansion worldwide by communicating a sense of ‘local flavour with universal cohesion’” (p.82).
April Greiman – one of the first graphic designers to combine video images and bitmap typography on the Macintosh computer. “Her work is daring, depicting a digital fusion of photography, airbrushing, and typesetting and is characterized by complex layering and manipulation” (pp.85-86).

Future? Trends in Motion Design

The contemporary motion design landscape is extremely diverse and capable of accommodating all creative efforts. The boundaries between traditionally distinct branches of graphic design are blurring. Almost anything goes. The field of computer animation only promises to expand into the infinite future. Industry trends and opportunities in the field are growing and adapting to all walks of life. And yet some trends are more successful than others. I tried to identify a few of the most prominent fashions within the animated digital media design.

Firstly, there is the 3Dization. In the early 90’s there were no true 3D games at all. Now a 2D game is an exception from the general rule. The 3D-craze is penetrating not only gaming world and cinematography (both animated and non-animated films come in 3D now) but seems to progress to broadcast as well. We saw a first 3D football game recently so the question isn’t if but when we start watching all TV programming with the funny glasses on. Since 3D models, used previously in games, are now being utilized in movies, footage doesn’t have to be rendered in real-time. Shortly only experts will be able to see the difference between a real-time video footage and pre-rendered graphics.

Photorealism of course goes hand in hand with 3D-craze because the point is to make a computer-generated graphic look like they were real.

Interactivity is another undeniable trend. User-controlled, web-based computer animations and motion graphics provide customized viewing experience. But it doesn’t end there. We can now enjoy interactive movie trailers (for example, Avatar) featuring interviews with the actors and designers involved in the production. But we can also participate in an interactive crowd gaming experience. In summer 2007 during the opening weekend of Spider Man 3 in Los Angeles moviegoers became a crowd of human joysticks.

The idea has obviously a vast potential in cinema advertising that was used in Sao Paulo’s Dove Bubbles Campaign. And the trend develops rapidly. Interactive motion graphics were used for car projection, for instance. A real 3D object (a car) was combined with digital virtual reality to create 'mixed reality' or 'augmented reality'.

However, it’s the live performance from the Sancho Plan during Thinking Digital 2009 that really shook the ground of interactive entertainment of 21st century. A live band performed in front of large screens. The on-stage musicians orchestrated sounds simultaneously controlling the on screen animated character. Truly spectacular. Sancho Plan is an award-winning collaboration of writers, musicians, animators, designers and computer programmers that create new interactive entertainment experiences by fusing animation, music, gaming, technology and performance.

Beside those major trends, I identified also some less significant fashions in motion design, which include:

3D flying graffiti arrows
Pixiliation
Ink Splatter
Subtle 2D and 3D juxtapositions
Light Rays
One colour over B&W
Digital-aided emulations of preexisting techniques, such as the return to the hand-drawn animation or dusting the style of the old movie title sequences.

and my personal favourite - architecturally animated typography. As an example I share a video created by Antione Bardou-Jacquet for the French DJ Alex Gopher. A world made only with typographics. Cult video for font lovers. Enjoy.

Endnotes
I am aware that this post was extremely long but I just got carried away with the research. It was such an diverse and interesting topic. I hope you will find my post useful and inspiring.

Here are some additional links to motion graphics resources:

Creativeleague.com - Directory of companies and individuals in motion design.
Motionographer - A resource for some of the best works.
MGFest: The Motion Graphics Festival - Touring festival of motion graphics screenings and education.
Jerwood Moving Image Awards - A major new prize for artists working in digital moving art.
The Mograph Wiki - a comprehensive wiki maintained by motion graphics professionals and fans.
Mograph.net - A forum for discussion and advice on all things motion graphics.
Onedotzero - A contemporary, digital arts organisation with a remit to promote innovation across all forms of moving image and motion arts.

Coverline Design Company Concept

2010-02-17T15:33:00.000-08:00

Who are we?

Coverline Design is a design consultancy specializing in magazine launching and redesign. We offer a broad multi-disciplinary expertise in developing a strong editorial voice, ultra-contemporary look and feel, broad readerships and efficient workflow for periodical publications.

We do understand that magazines are collaborative enterprises. Launching or redesigning a publication must emerge from a shared vision that incorporates editorial, design and business interests.

We realize that an in-house design can be a struggle, requiring not just talent and motivation but also initiative and energy. It means finding extra time within a regular production schedule to reimagine a magazine. It means finding a new visual vocabulary that is different from the one you speak daily.

Coverline Design translates those management, editorial and design concerns into a functioning structure. We recognize that even magazines with similar readerships can have very different souls. We respect and advocate the essence, the attitude and the personality of every publication.

What do we offer?

Depending on your publication needs, Coverline Design offers three major redesign services:

1. Updating – improved look without a change in content:

changing the look and feel of the magazine without modifying the editorial voice and character of the publication;
gradual updating of the particular design elements;
a refreshing of the title rather than an extreme makeover (change in colour palette, signage, typography, image style, logo, cover, etc.);

2. Restructuring - modifying the editorial content without replacing it with a new one:

making the content more inviting, more accessible and revitalized in order to recapture advertiser or readers who have drifted off;
reordering a format that has become unwieldy or ineffective in places;
introducing new ways of presenting information.

3. Repositioning – a total makeover of the editorial content and a visual style:

changing not just the physical form of the publication but who is reading it as well.

While updating introduces a new look and restructuring may involve new approaches to storytelling, a repositioning alters the entire publication’s DNA. The name may be the same, but the result of the redesign is a fundamentally different magazine aiming to reach out and capture a different market.

While the third and most severe stage of redesign might seem risky, for some publications it is a matter of life and death. If a magazine has covered a topic that no longer resonates with a sustainable readership, then it must expand or change its topic. If a readership is aging with the magazine, new readers must eventually be found. Turning-off old readers is a calculated decision taken to attract new enthusiastic readers of a different age or income level.

Coverline Design understands that magazines are carefully balanced ecosystems, and it can be hard to make minor adjustments without setting off a cascade of visual issues. Therefore, we always seek to establish authority and build consensus for a redesign.

When do you need a redesign?

We live in the age of tremendous change, many readers lose interest in a publication that looks as though it is standing still. In the past most magazines needed a redesign every seven years. Now, large newsstand titles seem to change every three or four years. And, if they are aimed at young audiences, two years is a norm.

The credit (or the blame) for this quickening of the redesign circle goes to the Web. The Internet has raised the overall level of visual literacy and created an expectation for freshness among readers. Magazines must run to stay in place.

Coverline Design recognizes the importance of regular, well-executed redesign and offers the expertise in both editorial management and graphic design to deliver successful design solutions when:

Your editorial message has changed;
Your audience has changed;
Your staff has changed;
Your production and distribution methods have changed;
Readers attitudes changed;
Advertiser attitudes changed;
Your competition has changed.

If any of the above seven applies to your publication, a redesign may be in your future. If not, a redesign may be a smart strategy for staying ahead. Leaders are proactive. They deal with a problem before it becomes one.

TASK 2: Which Way is the Wayfinding Going?

2010-02-16T10:40:00.000-08:00

Retrospective

Wayfinding encompasses all of the ways in which people orient themselves in physical space and navigate from place to place. The term is being used in the context of architecture to refer to the user experience of orientation and choosing a path within the built environment, and it also refers to the set of architectural and/or design elements that aid orientation.

According to David Gibson (2009), three writers are largely responsible for popularizing the term wayfinding. In 1960, an urban planner Kevin Lynch explained the term in his landmark book, The Image of the City, as the process of forming a mental picture of one's surroundings based on sensation and memory. The subject was than explored further in Wayfinding in Architecture by Romedi Passini and Wayfinding: People, Signs, and Architecture, which Passini coauthored with Paul Arthur in 1992.

In addition to coining the term signage, Arthur also developed innovative wayfinding projects and eventually became a fellow of the Society for Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD), which today serves architects, planners, graphic designers, exhibition designers, product and interior designers who practice wayfinding. The SEGD annual competitions and website recognize outstanding achievements and innovation within the field.

Over time, environmental graphic design became the preferred umbrella term to describe any communications intended for spatial application, ranging from wayfinding sign programs to branded spaces, exhibitions, and even public art.

Trends

Just like any other aspect of design, wayfing is a subject to trends and fashions. Contemporary wayfinding design tends to be bigger and bolder than before. Tiny signs and arrows are often replaced with oversized typography placed on walls, floors and even ceilings. Letters and signs are sometimes distorted to fit the space. In 2006 Paula Scher and her collegues at Pentagram used the method in the design for Bloomberg L.P. Corporate Headquarters in New York. The project won the SEGD Honor Award. Two years later, Eureka Tower Carpark in Melbourne became another excellent example.

However, according to Mark VanderKlipp (2007), “one of the hottest trends in wayfinding these days is interactive digital signage—the use of electronic kiosks and flat-panel screens that display instantly updated information of a user's choice”. As price points for LCD and plasma display technologies have come down in the last several years, digital signage has grown in prominence. Still, the channel remains young, its borders not entirely defined, and its potential vast (Frankel 2009).

Regardless of the designer's preferred materials and means of communication, a good signage design not only helps to navigate through the environment, but also represents a brand and communicates the host's intended messages. An inspiring example of such practice is a BrandCulture Communications design for Mirvac WA.

Concept Innovation, Strengths and Weaknesses

BrandCulture is an Australian design company specializing in creating branded environments and visual communications for retail, corporate headquarters, office and multi-residential developments.

The Mirvac WA brief was to differentiate the environment to reflect the local culture and independence that Perth has within Australia and consider a new way to reflect the ‘living line’ and brand values.

The ‘living line’ concept had been used in the Sydney office to great effect and again formed the backbone to this branded environment albeit in an edgier, more graphic form. The ‘living line’ starts in the reception and leads through the office across tiled and carpeted floors traversing walls, wooden beams and glass meeting rooms to ceiling tiles and down pin boards creating a sense of connectivity as well as guiding visitors through the building.

Rooms are subtly numbered using gloss grphic finishes applied to the matt painted walls and across the glass doors. The line connects all of the meeting rooms and spaces, each named after a landmark project. The names are inlaid into he the carpets outside the meeting rooms.

Graphics across the 30 meters of office ceiling highlight satellite meeting areas and connect the space with the main meeting rooms. They also help to navigate through this large space without walls.

The 'living line' interact with the brand values, which are laser cut into the red anodised aluminium beams laid into the pin boards. This has been designed to introduce the company values to visitors and to reinforce the company's identity.

In my opinion, the 'living line' concept is a simple yet very effective way of organizing a complex office environment. It not only guides visitors from the reception to the heart of the office but also creates a sense of connectivity, demonstrates the company's commitment to building communities, creating connections and sharing success.

TASK 1: Comparison and Analysis of Two Chosen Typefaces

2010-02-15T05:33:00.000-08:00

Helvetica (2007), produced and directed by Gary Hustwit, is a famous documentary about typography, graphic design and global visual culture, which looks at the proliferation of one typeface as a part of a larger conversations about the way type affects our lives. Following the screening of the film, I was asked to select and analyze two typefaces discussing the designers influences and the fonts' characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. I chose a modern slab serif typeface called Clarendone that seems to regain its original popularity in a very different post-modern environment as well as an extremely elegant and contemporary sans serif Kozuka Gothic Pro.

Clarendon is a slab-serif typeface that was created in England by Robert Besley for the Fann Street Foundry in 1845. Clarendon is considered the first registered typeface, with the original matrices and punches remaining at Stephenson Blake and later residing at the Type Museum, London. It was revised by Hermann Eidenbenz in 1953.

The font design was influenced by common wanted posters in American Old West as well as the government proclamations of the German Empire during the World War I.

Until recently, Clarendon Bold was used on a U.S. National Park Service signs. In 2008, the typeface was utilized extensively by the Ruby Tuesday restaurant chain in the re-launch of their corporate identity. The same year the font was used by the Norwich Union building society in rebranding exercise. Clarendon can also be seen in the logotypes of corporations such as Sony, Pitchfork Media, and Wells Fargo.

Clarendon is classified as a slab serif font which hybridize the bold presentation of a sans-serif and the horizontal stress of a serif face, characterized by an overall consistency in stroke weight. The serifs and the stems are of a similar weight. The body of a slab serif is often wider than what is considered normal.

Clarendon is a dynamic typeface full of contrasts. It can be distinguished by a contrast between angular serifs and round terminals (for example: r, g, a, y). There is also a contrast within a single stroke - flaring in thickness from the middle point of the stem outwards to the terminal (modulation). The speed of transition between thicker and thinner strokes (ductus) is rather vigorous making the typeface feel more active and energetic. The angular and rigid serifs contrast also with elliptical eyes and curvy bowls and shoulders.

Claredon’s joints are rather smooth with curves flowing into the stems with slow ductus giving the face slightly more relaxed and casual feel.
The relatively small x-height, shallow descenders and small counters give the face condensed, yet bold and legible feeling.

According to Return of the Serif by Scott Billings (Design Week January 2009) slab serifs are returning as a trend in magazines and newspapers. In 2005 The Guardian’s redesign led to the iconic Helvetica headers being replaced with slab serif font Guardian Egyptian.
Most serif typefaces are being redesigned to be used in display and advertising. Serifs now are much bolder and “in-your-face” even thought they are still traditional in some ways.

Kozuka Gothic Pro is a Japanese humanist typeface, designed as a sans-serif companion to Kozuka Mincho family. The Japanese letters were designed by Masahiko Kozuka and Adobe’s Japanese type design team. The Latin letters in Kozuka Gothic were adapted from award-winning Myriad designed by Robert Slimbach and Carol Twombly for Adobe Systems.

It is easily recognized due to its special ‘y’ descender, slanting ‘e’ cut and rounded curves. The typeface designers developed clear image, visual strength and clarity. Recently, the typeface has been effectively used in the advertising campaign for MacBook Air.

The Kozuka Gothic typeface family, composed of six different weights to cover various uses ranging from body text composition to headlines, have now been completed as OpenType fonts. It has systematically designed glyph shapes with good design consistency, and fine printability. Retaining the clear and modern feeling of Kozuka Mincho, Kozuka Gothic has the visual strength required for a Gothic typeface.

Kozuka Gothic Pro has relatively big x-hight, which makes the letters look open and inviting and increases their legibility. There is very little contrast between thicks and thins. The letters have strokes of the same weight, which produces an even, regular and consistent rhythm.

The visual elegancy of Kozuka Gothic Pro is a result of slick and simple letter design. Bowls, shoulders and eyes of the type are elliptical and fluid. Apertures, the entry into the counters of letters such as the lowercase ‘e’ and ‘a’, are open and inviting.

Critical Reflection on Design Project A

2010-01-27T11:04:00.000-08:00

Introduction

HoneyHome.com is a design project that revolves around the notion of a community focal point. Its aim was to “develop a new service through which a supermarket engages on a local level with its customers and other in the community […] to increase the resourcefulness of the local community and individuals” (RSA Design Directions, 2009, p.17).

The project responds to the brief with four distinctive elements: a concept, a wall-size touch-screen device, an associated website and a promotional campaign.

In this paper, I intend to critically assess the project by looking into its key stages: (i) research and strategy, (ii) design concept, (iii) design development, (iv) implementation, and (v) evaluation.

Research and strategy

I used many different methods of research throughout the project. I conducted an extensive secondary research into the role of media in building and maintaining communities, the changeable nature of communities, the future of magazines, existing community projects, tangible technologies and relevant issues for design.

While investigating touch-screen technologies and their possible applications within local communities, I combined the secondary research with observation techniques. I collected web-sourced images of digital kiosks, community notice boards and other touch-screens used for information, education or retail purposes. More importantly, I took my own photographs of such devices in museums (Science Museum, National History Museum) and on the streets of my local town.

Similarly, while collecting information about existing local magazines I used qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis in order to gain a better understanding of the market and its dynamics.

Other primary research methods were also widely used. I interviewed an expert on magazine industry to test my initial ideas. The peers and tutors feedback was often considered. In addition, I kept discussing my work in progress with colleagues, friends and family as the project was targeted at all supermarket customers, people of different classes, cultures, ages and lifestyles.

Finally, I used methods of visual exploration, such as mind maps, sketches, mock-ups, storyboards and diagrams to organize my thoughts and research findings. I believe that by combining all of the above methods, I based my project on solid and sufficient research. Consequently, I was able to better understand the project brief and formulate clear strategic objectives for the project.

Design Concept

During the early stages of the concept development, I planned to incorporate the notions of community networking and cooperation into my design by comparing it to the DNA structure. However, I realized that to my targeted audience the DNA’s scientific and medical associations might be unfamiliar, confusing and difficult to understand. Therefore, I decided to modify the concept and the ‘community DNA’ became the ‘community honeycomb’.

As opposed to a DNA, honey is a popular grocery product that can be seen, touched, smelled and tasted. “Honey is a symbol of richness and sweetness in all traditions. In the sacred texts of East and West, milk and honey flow like a stream through the Promised Land. The Celtic traditions celebrate mead as an immortal beverage. In Greek mythology, in which honey is the drink of the gods of Olympus, it is the symbol of knowledge, learning and wisdom” (Bernard Michaud, [n.d.], [n.p.]). Moreover, the very concept of networking derived from social insects, such as bees. “As the workers of the hive, bees are symbol of an industrious and prosperous community” (Bernard Michaud, [n.d.], [n.p.]).

Design Development

I successfully incorporated these good associations into my designs by using a hexagon motif throughout the project. Simple geometric shapes are known to carry symbolic, easily identifiable meanings and messages. While circle stands for unity and a squire for stability, a hexagon represents colabaration - a key characteristic of a prosperous community.

The honeycomb inspired also the project name, which evolved from the ‘Community Honeycomb’ to the ‘HoneyHome.com’, which sounds more playful and points towards the online presence of the project. Consequently, the in-store, wall-size, digital device was named ‘The Hive’.

I used images of honeycombs to develop the colour palette for the project. Shades of bright yellow, golden, warm orange and lime green enhance the concept by expressing the associations with sun, summer and harvests.

I selected two contrasting typefaces: Helvetica (for body text and secondary text) and Hobo (for logos). The feedback I received during the post-production tutorial suggested that the Hobo font, originally created in 1910 by Morris Fuller Benton, might be a little dated as it referred to the Art Nouveau style. I do understand this argument, but after considering modern alternatives I decided to keep the original font because of its organic, floral motifs, as well as highly-stylized, flowing curvilinear forms and friendly personality. I do feel that it is suitable for HoneHome.com project.

Design Implementation

I believe I developed a very original and unique logo for the project and campaign by intersecting horizontally and the words: ‘honey’, ‘home’ and ‘.com’ as well as replacing the common ‘O’ with a yellow hexagon.

I designed the ‘home screen’ for the in-store device and its website, as well as a simple promotional campaign. The ‘Sweet Campaign’ involves printing the HoneyHome.com logo with a catchy slogan, such as “Sweetening Your Local Community” or “Buzzing With Activity”, on supermarkets’ carrying bags, shopping baskets and trolleys. Similarly, locally-sourced honey could be used for promotional purposes.

Evaluation

I believe that I managed to successfully develop the HoneHome.com concept. However, its implementation could be further improved. The interfaces for the device applications as well as the website need to be developed.

Similarly, the campaign could be extended further. I thought about designing a system of floor signs that would point customers from different parts of the supermarket towards ‘The Hive’ and encourage them to interact with the device. The label for the ‘Homely Honey’ jar I created for the campaign also needs to be redesigned. I feel that my packaging design skills were insufficient on this occasion.

This might be due to the fact that I spent most of my time on the project working on the concept development and was left short of time during the design implementation stage. If I were to work on a similar project again, I would manage my time more efficiently.

Also, I would make my research more structured, systematic and objective, especially in the post-production stage of the project. I would try to develop a prototype of the HoneyHome.com website in order to show more detail about the possible applications of the concept. The prototype would have allowed me to accurately test the functionality of The Hive among the targeted audience and to improve the design of the device and the website.

In terms of professional growth, I feel that I have leant a lot on this project. I extended my academic and industry knowledge and improved my practical design skills. Taking into consideration that I come from journalistic rather than graphic design background, I did find the project quite challenging. However, I truly enjoyed that challenge and I am looking forward to utilize my newly acquired skills in the future.

Conclusion

In general, I find my project successful. I believe that, despite its weaknesses and limitations, HoneyHome.com has a potential to restore the community focal point. I think that I managed to develop a practical design solution to problems outlined by the project brief and investigated through various methods of research. In my opinion, the project offers the unique balance between the interests of supermarkets, individuals and existing communities. It shows how supermarkets could “demonstrate commitment to their locality and create bonds of reciprocity between themselves, their customers and the greater community” (RSA Design Directions, 2009, p.17).

References

Bernard Michaud (n.d.). Mythology of Bees Honey [online]. Available from: www.lunedemiel.tm.fr/anglais/06.htm [Accessed: 15 January 2010].

RSA Design Directions (2009). The Resourceful Supermarket [online]. Available from: www.rsadesigndirections.org/projects/projects6.html [Accessed: 10 October 2009].

Bibliography

Anderson, W.T. (1999) Communities in a World of Open Systems. Futures. 31(5), 457-463.

Bernard Michaud (n.d.). Mythology of Bees Honey [online]. Available from: www.lunedemiel.tm.fr/anglais/06.htm [Accessed: 15 January 2010].

Churchill, E.F., Nelson, L. and Denoue, L. (2003). Multimedia Flyers: Information Sharing with Digital Community Bulletin Boards [online]. Available from: www.fxpal.com/publications/FXPAL-PR-03-198.pdf [Accessed: 16 November 2009].

Dorf, D. (2008). Web 2.0 Honeycomb [online]. Available from: http://blogs.oracle.com/retail/2008/12/web_20_honeycomb.html [Accessed: 27 November 2009].

Leight, S. (2008). Supermarkets are evil: what a shame we love Tesco and Waitrose so [online]. Available from: www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/samleith/3563175/Supermarkets-are-evil-what-a-shame-we-love-Tesco-and-Waitrose-so.html [Accessed: 23 October 2009].

Michaels, L. (2001). What’s Wrong with Supermarkets [online]. Available from: http://archive.corporatewatch.org/publications/agriculture/www_sm_v4.pdfAccessed: 23 October 3009).

Ribeirinho, A. (2007). The User Experience Honeycomb [online]. Available from: http://blog.delaranja.com/the-user-experience-honeycomb/ [Accessed: 27 November 2009].

RSA Design Directions (2009). The Resourceful Supermarket [online]. Available from: www.rsadesigndirections.org/projects/projects6.html [Accessed: 10 October 2009].

Slattery, J. (2009). Local Media’s Community Building Role at Risk [online]. Available from: http://jonslattery.blogspot.com/2009/05/local-medias-community-building-role-at.html [Accessed: 4 November 2009].

Smith, G. (1995).Virtual Community in Real Reality [online]. Available from: www.partnerships.org.uk/itf/virtreal.html (Accessed: 10 November 2009).

TASK 7: Ethnic Masks (Design Authorship Presentation)

2009-12-17T11:38:00.000-08:00

What is this?

This is a copy of the presentation I gave today for my peers in the MA Design for Communication class. It uses a very new and innovative technique that I learnt recently from Liana. It is very simple to use, yet looks dynamic and very exciting. It doesn't present slides in linear order like PowerPoint. It's more user-oriented and interactive. Think about it as a big canvas when you can zoom in and out on different object.

How to view the presentation?

There are two methods you can use to view the presentation. Whichever you choose, open the presentation in the full-screen mode first by clicking on the button in the bottom right corner of the window.

Then, (1) simply press the 'play' button in order to process with the presentation in order we viewed it in the classroom. But remember, the presentation was interactive and viewers could choose the places they wanted to visit first on the map of the world.

Therefore, I would recommend that you view the presentation in the order of your individual choice (2). It's like a journey around the world! You can zoom in on any object (picture, text, frame) by clicking on it. Zoom out by pressing the 'space' button on your keyboard. Be adventurous and explore. I am sure you will have a lot of fun with it.

The word of introduction before you start exploring

I chose ethnic masks as a subject of my presentation because I am very interested in original and 'pure' culture. I am attracted to 'pure' custom, tribal traditions, cultures that evolved in isolation from Western influences.

And there is something incredibly mysterious and enigmatic about masks. They are used for protection from real and imagined dangers, for concealment, performance or amusement.

Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes. They are usually worn on the face, although they may also be positioned for effect elsewhere on the wearer's body, so in parts of Australia giant totem masks cover the body, whilst Inuit women use finger masks during storytelling and dancing.
Throughout the world masks are used for their expressive power as a feature of masked performance - both ritually and in various theatre traditions. Masks are also a familiar and vivid element in many folk and traditional pageants ceremonies, rituals and festivals, and are often of an ancient origin. The function of the masks may be magical or religious; they may appear in rites of passage or as a make-up for a form of theatre. Equally masks may disguise a penitent or preside over important ceremonies; they may help mediate with spirits, or offer a protective role to the society who utilizes their powers.

The presentation is also available online at:

http://prezi.com/abunntidtvyn/

My collection

Finally, this is a pick from my personal collection. They are not the original tribal artworks. I buy them on ebay. They were probably produced as souvenirs for tourists, but still, I find them fascinating and inspiring.

RSA Project Final Boards

2009-12-17T11:37:00.001-08:00

After weeks of intensive work I have submitted my boards for the RSA 2009/10 competition.
Below you will find the presentation of my project along with the project report I also submitted.

Project Report

The HoneyHome.com is a design project that revolves around the notion of a community focal point. It challenges the argument that large retail corporations are destructive to local communities. Since a local supermarket is a physical place that every member of the community visits frequently, it could, potentially, play an important role in the community life. The HoneyHome.com recognizes that opportunity and provides a new-age community focal point by introducing a new channel for multilevel communication, called ‘The Hive’.

The research into the existing and historic communities revealed that the nature of interaction between people is changing as a direct result of a rapid development in information and communication technologies. As the nature of human interactions changed, we moved away from the traditional model of community. In the ‘Digital Age’ the communities are no longer closed systems with clear geographic boundaries, stable memberships and few linkages with other communities. Instead, they are fragmented, geographically dispersed and, to a large extend, virtual or placeless.

I began to investigate the methods of restoring the lost community focal point locally by improving the communication between communities, supermarkets and individuals. Taking into consideration the role of local media in building and maintaining communities, I thought about designing a local magazine produced by the collaboration of a supermarket with journalism and design students from a local university. It seemed to solve the problem temporarily, but a steady decrease in popularity of print media made me look at digital and more future-friendly alternatives.

Inspired by an ever-increasing use of tangible technologies in our everyday life, I decided to design a digital device, which would create and reinforce links between local communities, supermarkets and their customers. And my idea - The Hive – took a form of a wall-size, multi-touch screen that allows several users to interact with its contents and with each other at the same time.

The very concept of networking derived from social insects, such as ants and bees, therefore, I based the interface design around a simple graphic representation of a honeycomb - the hexagon motif. It represents collaboration and, therefore, illustrates the key characteristic of a vibrant community. The honeycomb inspired the project name and the colours used for the campaign development.

HoneyHome.com does not require extensive advertising. The target audience comes to supermarkets regularly and a wall-size tangible device is almost certain to create a positive buzz within the community. However, in order to encourage people to use ‘The Hive’ and the associated website, a number of promotional activities are recommended.

The campaign logo with a catchy slogan, for example “Sweetening Your Local Community” or “Buzzing With Activity”, could be printed on carrying bags or on shopping baskets and trolleys. Similarly, locally sourced honey could be used for promotional purposes. A label branded with HoneyHome.com logo would inform people about the new service. Given away for free at the launch of the campaign, the honey would also help to leave a sweet and homely flavour on the community taste buds.

Project Logo Design

2009-12-02T13:16:00.000-08:00

I wonder how often professional designers can't sleep because of their projects?

I can't sleep almost every night. I go to bed and as soon as I close my eyes the images of my project attack me from everywhere.

Sometimes, it is not such a bad thing. Apparently, the middle-of-the-night ideas might be quite useful as they are normally a little detached from what we're working on.

Yesterday, one of those midnight persuasive thoughts made me change the title of the project from the 'Community Honeycomb' to 'Honey Home' only because the second one rhymes with 'dot.com'.

So I could have 'HoneyHome.com' and my Touch Screen Wall was meant to be accompanied by a website anyway. But this is just a beginning. I could design a campaign logo, banner, floor signs, promotional stall... even a honey jar and label that promotes the idea but also generates profit (needed in order to pay for administrator and maintenance of the Wall).

Searching for 'honey' on Waitrose.com returns over a hundred results. Surely, one of those honey jars could be locally sourced and labeled as 'Honey Home'.

Following the night-time stroke of genius (ha, ha!!!), I started working on potential logos for my project.

Which style will work best for my project?

Fonts

2009-11-30T07:03:00.000-08:00

I was trying to pick fonts for my project. I am looking for something contemporary but quite simple and soft at the same time.

This are some suggestions.

Which one do you like?

Colour Palette

2009-11-29T19:18:00.000-08:00

I spend a day researching possible colour themes for my designs.

And, I discovered Kuler! This fantastic web-based software allows users to browse through existing colour themes as well as create new ones. It can also convert an image into a palette which I found very useful.

I was not only thinking about colours for the actual touch screen, but also for the boards I will design to enter the RSA competition.

Since my project will have a symbolic association to honeycomb, I tried to concentrate on warm orange range. I wanted something contemporary, fresh, vibrant, warm...

This are a few palettes I created. Your comments and suggestions are as always appreciated. Help me choose the right one.

1. Muted grey and orange from oriental print.

2. Honey Bees - shades of yellow, beige and brown.

3. Late Summer Evening - vibrant green and orange with a hint of grey.

4. Summer Night - a follow up on the Late Summer Evening theme; it includes black and light grey.

User Experience Honeycomb

2009-11-27T17:15:00.000-08:00

I have been working recently on the design for icons representing different applications (functions) of my touch-screen on its home screen. Initially, I was inspired by the idea of the 'Community DNA', therefore, I designed hexagon-shaped icons.

After presenting the work to my tutors today, I realized that the term 'DNA' is somehow very scientific. It almost sounds to difficult to fully understand. And there is a possibility that an average supermarket customer might think that the entire idea is somehow too complicated to follow. The fear of the unknown...?! Maybe.

They suggested a simpler concept: 'Comunity Honeycomb'.

As opposed to difficult, clinic and unknown DNA, honey has very positive associations: it's sweet, it's natural, healthy. It's touchable and smells nice. It's sticky so can stick members of the community together. It's edible and available in supermarkets, familiar to all customers. And still, it could be represented by a network of hexagons. Honey is GOOD!

I did a quick visual research for the concept and found some excellent applications of it.

Honeycomb, originally applied to web design, is being used to visually represent the key characteristics of a good user experience design.

In relation to my project, a wall-size, multi-user, multi-touch screen needs to be:

Useful - All potential supermarket customers should feel the need to use the device;
Usable - The device should be easy to use for someone with a minimum or none computer knowledge (children and the elderly);
Desirable - The screen should look attractive and tempting (trendy);
Valuable - The device should be valued among its users (but it will only be possible if the device responds to the community needs, serves the community);
Findable - It surely needs to be easy to locate (and there is no better place to put the thing that a supermarket becauce supermarkets have been playing the role of the community focal point for a while now);
Accessible - The screen needs to be placed close to main entrance in order to make sure that every customer walking through that door notices it, but also, to attract passers-by.
Credible - And obviously, all the information available for the screen's users should be reliable. The screen's administrator (there surely should be one) would have to be responsible, as much as possible, for checking the information.

The honeycomb structure can be customized. I found another example where it has been applied to retail. The characteristics (useful, usable, desirable, valuable, findable, accessible and credible) have been replaced with: presence, sharing, relationship, identity, conversations, reputation and groups.

I also got inspired by a diagram illustrating the cycle of information architecture. The author claims that on every project there should be an a 'unique balance' between business goals, user needs/behaviours and available content.

I think of actually using this very simple diagram to illustrate the 'unique balance' between the goals of supermarkets (increasing sales and/or attracting new customers), customers' expectations (community needs) and the available content.

Issues for Design

2009-11-26T13:22:00.000-08:00

This post features the results of another mapping exercise.

I consolidated my research by looking into important issues surrounding the design of a wall-size, touch-screen device for community communications.

I considered:

location,
audience,
contents,
practices around contents,
community functions.

I listed various functions the device could fulfill and grouped them into three major categories:

Community:
News - updated daily, automatically generated by local media;
Events - community generated;
Board - an electronic, community generates notice board containing customer advertisements;
Maps - maps of the local area featuring community points of interests and local businesses (paid advertisement);
Faces - a social networking application allowing users to create an online profile, share their interests, archive posts and communicate with other users;
Talent Bank - an application allowing users to advertise their talents and/or special interests and exchange them for services of other users, for example spanish lessons in exchange for piano lessons.
Activity:
Canvas - a simple application allowing users to draw and create similar artworks, and share them with other users via digital gallery;
Puzzle - an interactive game allowing multiple users to work together to create a big image by dragging and moving around its small pieces (all images to be sourced locally: landscapes, local photographers, local models);
Games - other similar games.
Shopping:
Food - an interactive database of grocery products available in the supermarket, alongside with recipes, food guides (cheese, fish, etc.) featuring dish of the day, ethnic foods, customers' comments and reviews;
Drink - a similar database showcasing wine of the day, information about grape varieties, origins, history, etc.;
Style - a guide to fashion available in stores that sell clothing, featuring latest fashion trends, accessories, customers' comments and reviews;
Books - a local readers' club, featuring books available in store, book of the week and customers' reviews;
Movies - a similar local fun-club for film, cinema, DVDs available in store;
Music - an application for all music-fanatics featuring expert and customers' reviews of music albums available in store as well as sample music tracks available for customers to listen;
Games - another application that enables users to review latest games releases, etc.

TASK 6: Reflection on Museum Visits

2009-11-20T16:29:00.002-08:00

I went today to see a few exhibitions at the V&A, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. And no, I was not going after the Indian Raj, not after the models of a spaceship and not after countless species of insects. I was chasing interactive, touch-sensitive screens, their design and technology. The trip has surely reinforced my believe in the digitalization of our world. It seems that if you want your exhibition to be successful you need to go for the interactive exhibits, something that people can play with, something that demands attention and provokes that 'wow' reaction. And clearly, you will need a digital notice board just to inform that a toilet is out of order.

The new space at the Natural History Museum was full of interactive toys far more advanced that those in 'The Future' section of the Science Museum. There were more touch screens than insects in 'The Cocoon' and some of them really wowed.

An image projected on what looks like an ordinary table, by what looks like an ordinary projector, can actually respond to your

touch! And to use this stuff you don't need a PhD in Computer Science. It actually is people-centered and elderly-friendly. The lady in the picture is enjoying herself and she is not in her spring!

The digitalization is not aiming higher! In the literal meaning, of course. Interactive touch-screens are 'the thing' among kids too. Just look at these delightful little cyber-addicts: they can hardly walk but are quite comfortable with digital interfaces.

But, what is really nice to see is that they actually interact with one another as much as they do with digital media.

Some of the objects are designed particularly for group activities and people seem keen on it. There is a chance that the Mother Nature is not going to erase the herd instinct from our DNA anytime soon.

I really get excited thinking how people might react when they see that massive multi-touch screen I am now designing for supermarkets. Will they be similarly wowed? Will they interact with each other?

The visit also made me aware that there are different levels of interactivity:

(Inter)active reading - this is when you consciously read the digital content, absorb the information;
Navigating and Browsing - this is when you browse through menus, searching for more information, seeing what other functions are, etc.;
Messaging - this is when you actively participate in the content generation by posting comments under other pieces of information, when you express your own opinion or participate in a debate. Also, when you forward the information to someone else, share it.

The interaction of the third kind is clearly the most valuable in terms of building and maintaining communities and should be encouraged on my supermarket touch-wall.

QUIZ

It's time for a little quiz for you. Below, you will find several photographs taken during today's trip. Identify the levels of interaction represented by the pictures. Post your answers in the comment box.

TASK 5: Project Outline and Work Plan

2009-11-20T16:29:00.001-08:00

Project Outline

The HoneyHome.com is a design project that revolves around the notion of a community focal point. It challenges the argument that large retail corporations are destructive to local communities. Since a local supermarket is a physical place that every member of the community visits frequently, it could, potentially, play an important role in the community life. The HoneyHome.com recognizes that opportunity and seeks to bring together supermarkets, their customers and the existing local communities in order to provide a new-age community focal point.

The research into the existing and historic communities revealed that the nature of interaction between people is changing as a direct result of a rapid development in information and communication technologies. As the nature of human interactions changed, we moved away from the traditional model of community. In the ‘Digital Age’ the communities are no longer closed systems with clear geographic boundaries, stable memberships and few linkages with other communities. Instead, they are fragmented, geographically dispersed and, to a large extend, virtual or placeless.

With the HoneyHome.com project I aim to introduce a new supermarket service that would reflect the idea of extensive multilevel communications within local communities. I intend to develop: a design concept, a multimedia device, a supplementary website and a campaign.

The HoneyHome.com concept is based on the idea of networking which derived from social insects such as ants and bees. The design uses a simple graphic representation of a honeycomb – the hexagon motif. It represents collaboration and, therefore, illustrates the key characteristic of a vibrant community.

Inspired by an ever-increasing use of tangible technologies in our everyday life, I decided to design a digital device, which would create and reinforce links between local communities, supermarkets and their customers. And my idea - The Hive – took a form of a wall-size, multi-touch screen that allows several users to interact with its contents and with each other at the same time.

Users could interact with the device and its content on many levels. The users’ comments, adverts, images can be uploaded from a USB stick or from a personal computer via the HoneyHome.com website, which would also allow the users to access the contents from any place at any time. The contents could be saved to users’ profiles or forwarded to others via email.

The device and the website will be supported by a ‘Sweet Campaign’. The campaign logo with some catch slogans could be printed on carrying bags or on shopping bags and trolleys. Similarly, locally produced honey could be used for promotional purposes.

TASK 4: Reviewing the Blog

2009-11-20T16:15:00.000-08:00

I have used blogging before to illustrate the progress of projects I worked on during my undergraduate degree in Journalism with Media & Cultural Studies. I was already familiar with the Blogger.com. I started by adopting my existing template. With its black background and white texts, it looked simple and amateurish. But this time I was to create a blog suited for designers so I needed to improve it.

I started by searching for a suitable template on Btemplates. I chose the Magazeen template created by the WeFunction Design Agency. This bold magazine 2-col-theme was designed with the main focus being on typography, grids and magazine-look. It is very functional, attractive and modern.

After downloading, I worked on the template’s html code to customize it. I included the following elements:

Blog title – I used the research I carried for the Business for Design module and called my blog Coverline Design.
Strapline – “Where Design Meets the Editorial” – which reflects my prime interests in editorial design and visual journalism.
Navigation bar – buttons allowing user to view the blog’s home page, posts RSS, all comments and edit the blog.
Motto – “Design is a behavior/Not a department”.
Image showcase – it was design to show thumbnails of images from posts, which could take the viewer to the original posts. However, I used it to show the examples of work of other designers that I find particularly inspiring.
Widgets – About Me, Blog archive, Followers, Labels (which are very useful while searching for a particular post, topic or trend) and Blogroll.
Categories (in the Footer) – an extremely useful tool for a viewer interested only in postings related to a particular academic module (Design Project A (RSA), Business for Design and Design Research Methods).
About this blog - a short introduction to the purpose of the blog.

Towards Digital Interactivity: Wall-size, Multi-Touch Digital Screens

2009-11-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

I conducted some video research for examples of existing technologies for production of large touch screens as well as their various applications. I found out that this type of interactive screens are already quite affordable to purchase and are being used:

by museums for exhibitions (Science Museum, London),
by schools and universities for educational purposes,
by entertainment industry for various touch-based games,
by corporate organizations for information sharing.

Below, I posted some You-Tube examples and my comments regarding their possible application in supermarkets.

1. This video explains very well how the idea of wall-size screen might work. Classic touch-screens have theirs limitations: (A) they tend to be small as their price increases significantly with the size; and (B) they can be used by a single user only. However, the use of infra-red light technologies removed those limitation and allowed the development of simple, self-explanatory, interactive systems that could be controlled by natural gestures (no more clicking) without any extensive computer literacy.

2. My idea for the use of wall-size screen in supermarkets was to have a variety of things each user could use it for. I imagine it as a set of different applications that users could activate and interact with. For example, a small child uses drawing application, a teenager checks out a game, a mother downloads new recipes and a father reads local news and community adverts. And they can do all those things at the same time. Just like an iPhone does not come with a set functions but each user can download different applications to suit individual needs.

I saved the above video because it prompts how those applications (icons) could be browsed through.

3. This video presents an interactive touch-sensitive table that could be used for literacy exercises. There are no graphic (except letters), the numbers of users and possible applications are limited. But, what I like about it is that it uses natural gestures only. So, no clicking, no icons, no buttons, no commands! If you want to accept a word, you don't hit ENTER or NEXT button but you circle it with your finger.

4. This is another, far more advanced version of interactive table. I liked it because it allows several users to work together. For example, all users could draw over the same document. This is so community-friendly. I could picture one person starting to play with gigantic on-screen puzzles by dragging the pieces around and other people joining in to help. The possibilities of communal use are endless.

Towards Digital Interactivity: Community Boards

2009-11-20T12:58:00.000-08:00

Digital kiosks are already widely used and it might be hard to imagine life without them. However, the experience of using a digital kiosk is very private and happens mostly in isolation.

The questions are:

How can we use touch-screen technology, such as digital kiosks, to benefit the local community?

How could the users be encouraged to interact with each other?

My observation of existing community communications indicate that people are constantly seeking the means of communicating with neighbours and other people living locally. They do it via local print and web publications (classified advertisements) as well as through community notice boards.

These community notice boards can be found in various public places such as launderette, bus stops, workplace corridors, but also 'corner shops' and SUPERMARKETS.

"Community poster boards serve an important community building function. Posted fliers advertise services, events and people’s interests, and invite commun
ity members to communicate, participate, interact and transact" (Churchill, Nelson & Denoue 2003).

But, as we moved into the 'digital era' these old fashioned boards are being replaced with digital ones that display community-generated, interactive multi-media content in the physical environments. As oppose to web-based notice boards, these physical, touchable objects

"blur the notional 'boundary' between virtual and physical locales of communication, and take advantage of the fact that relationships usually take place offline as well as online" (Churchill, Nelson & Denoue 2003).

They also stimulate unplanned social interactions around digital content and provide opportunities for discovery of shared interests. In other words, the users don't interact with the content privately from their home PCs, but interact with the content in public and therefore have the opportunity to discuss it with other users on the spot. It reminds me of the "Memory Maps" and the notion of 'triangulation'.

The digital kiosks and interactive digital community boards

have had a deep impact on my RSA project since I decided to look into the communities of the future and the future of communication within those communities. I want to design a completely new genre of communication: a wall-size, digital and interactive touch screen that could be placed in supermarkets. It would not only inform the community members, communicate important messages, but also stimulate interactions between individual users.

References:

Churchill, E.F., L. Nelson & L. Denoue (2003) Multimedia Flyers: Information Sharing with Digital Community Bulletin Boards [Online]. Available at: http://www.fxpal.com/publications/FXPAL-PR-03-198.pdf (Accessed: 16 November 2009).

Towards Digital Interactivity: Digital Kiosk

2009-11-19T14:38:00.000-08:00

Inspired by the Local Project's "Memory Maps" I thought about an interactive object that could:

Be physically located in a public space, such as supermarket, in order to enable physical interaction between its users;
Fulfill the same role in building and maintaining communities that local magazines and newspapers play;
Yet, be inexpensive to maintain (minimum labour costs, no printing costs);
Be environment-friendly (minimal or none waste);

and

Be future-friendly!!!

The solution seemed obvious!

The pictures above illustrate several variations of widely used digital kiosks - computer terminals that provide information access via electronic methods:

Movie tickets kiosk;
Telephone kiosk;
Vending kiosk (for DVD rentals and libraries);
Visitor Management and Security Kiosk (airports, GP's surgeries);
Photo kiosk;
Giving kiosk;
Internet kiosk;
Financial services kiosk (cash machines);
Building directory & way finding kiosk (shopping malls, airports).

There is a variety of ways this digital kiosks could be used in supermarket, especially if we design a device that could combine more than one of the above functions.

But if we were to provide long-term community service, we've got to look further than that.

How would digital kiosk be used in the future?

How could they serve the local community?

How could they allow for the interaction between many users?

If you are interested in this sort of interactive device and wish to have a closer look into latest design and technology developments, have a look at the blog below:

http://kiosknews.blogspot.com/

Towards Digital Interactivity: Triangulation

2009-11-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

So, what is the future of the publishing industry?

Will it move completely into the cyberspace?

Will we read magazines from our ever-minimizing computer/mobile phone screens? In isolation? In virtual reality?

If so, how does it going to affect our communities and community spirit?

I tend to believe that community bonds, in the traditional sense of the word, are formed via personal or at least semi-personal interactions among individuals. Even if the interactions are stimulated or mediated using digital technologies.

During my research for the project I came across a media design firm called Local Projects. On their website they claim that although technology facilitates their work, storytelling is at its heart:

Despite the migration of many of our experiences to an online space, we're interested in how media plays a role in a real physical space. When that space is large, we delight in spectacular media installations that seamlessly integrate architecture and media. In physical environments of all sizes, we seek to facilitate connections between strangers. When our work becomes the instrument for dialogue between two visitors, we call that "triangulation," and we consider it one of the holy grails of our design work.

I got particularly interested in one of their projects called "Memory Maps" where they constructed a structure similar to subway car with large maps of the city inside. People were invited to go in, write up the memories they associated with various parts of the city on small pieces of paper and pin them on the maps. The surprising outcome of the installation was that complete strangers interacting with the structure started talking to each other and share their personal experiences.

Jake Barton from Local Projects called it "triangulation", which is precisely what I am after in my RSA project. Watch the clip!

Emerging Designer Jake Barton featured in DWELL from Local Projects on Vimeo.

Mood Board Exercise

2009-11-18T14:40:00.000-08:00

I began working on the Coverline Design mood board from identifying key words relevant to the company.

Then, I searched for images representing those words and created a puzzle-like collage to show that all those elements are inter-related.

The shapes of human faces incorporated in the image symbolize the process of communication that can only be completed by Coverline Design.

Design Company Positioning

2009-11-18T11:56:00.000-08:00

I have looked at the existing design companies serving my field of interest. I realized that there is a number of large design companies which serve the market by providing photography as well as graphic designs for brochures, catalogues, direct mail, branding and websites design.

Also, there seems to be a lively market of freelancer proving work for various magazines.

In addition, there is a few of design companies specializing in magazine design and publishing. They offer ongoing work on existing publications, rebranding/redesign of existing publications, as well as launching new magazines.

Finally, I have managed to identify a few companies providing design for self-publishing.

Links:

http://www.deep.co.uk/

http://www.v-creative.co.uk/

http://www.pentacordesign.co.uk/

http://www.nbmedia.co.za/books/index.html

http://www.origindesign.uk.com/disciplines-magazines.php

http://www.magazineproduction.com/

http://www.freelancemagazinedesign.co.uk/

http://www.bookdesigners.co.uk/index_magazines.asp?

gclid=CMby_LG3lZ4CFVtn4wodnRzzpQ

My Design Company Logo

2009-11-18T11:35:00.000-08:00

I did work a little more on the design company logo I started few weeks ago. Having attended a few design exhibitions (such as Mariscal Drawinf Life) and talks like Paula Scher's lecture at D&AD, I realised that what inspires me most is typography. Therefore, I tried to design a logo for my design business using typography. I was looking for something simple ("less is more") and easily recognizable. This is what I came up with and how I got there.

Where are we heading? An Insight into the Communities of the Future

2009-11-16T07:04:00.000-08:00

Communities are changing!
Just like our wardrobes are changing because fashion is subject to trends. Our customs and cultures we share are constantly being modified. Sometimes the change is slow and hard to notice. Sometimes social revolutions strike suddenly and rapidly.How are the communities changing and what are the factors that triggered the process?

In the past, communities tended to be closed systems with relatively clear boundaries, stable memberships, and few linkages to other communities" (Anderson 1999). They were bounded to geographical location: a village, a town, a city.

With the development of mass media we moved into the 'Analog Age', when "television and radio created communities of people thinking and talking about the same thing" without being gathered in the same location (Anderson 1999).

But with the rapid development in information and communication technologies supported by globalization and increased social mobility, we were pushed into the 'Digital Age' - 'age of open systems'.

"Cyberspace has become a new kind of social terrain, crowded with ‘virtual communities'" (Anderson 1999). Geography is no longer the predominant force in shaping community. Most of the communities are fluid, some are placeless. People became multi-community individuals with many kinds of memberships.

However, "whatever benefits may be found in the information society, revival of 'community' is not one of them. At least not community as the traditional nostalgic, and incontrovertibly good product of our imaginations" (Smith 1995).

As the digitalization and globalization progress, the communication between people, which is a fundament of any community becomes less personal but the human need to belong remains as important as ever. And in the future, "community will continue to be a profound human need but will be redefined, perhaps many times over" (Anderson 1999).

Is it possible to have a sense of community without a sense of place, without anchoring it in locality and/or personal face to face interaction?

References:

Anderson, W.T. (1999) 'Communities in a World of Open Systems', Futures. 31(5), pp. 457-463.
Smith, G. (1995) Virtual Community in Real Reality [Online]. Available at: http://www.partnerships.org.uk/itf/virtreal.html (Accessed: 10 November 2009).

Magazines are good. But we can do better!

2009-11-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

Presenting my blog and project ideas to my colleagues and tutors today got me thinking about the future - the future of communities, the future of publishing and the future of retail corporations such as supermarkets.

Yes, the experience of shopping is changing and is changing for good. With the introduction of online shopping practices many years ago we began our journey towards faster, easier shopping yet we're now bearing the consequences of impersonal shopping experiences - partial demonstration of community bonds, for instance.

For the past few weeks I was trying to find a bridge between supermarkets' corporate social responsibility, local communities and the print media, such as magazines. Media theorists and practitioners seem to be in agreement that media play crucial role in building and maintaining communities. My research, however, indicated that none of the existing publications effectively fulfills that role now. There surely is a place for another magazine. But maybe creating yet another print publication to solve the community problem is like looking for a light switch on the wall of unfamiliar room in the dark - you touch the wall groping your way across the room.

TOUCH THE WALL

The whole experience would be so much easier if only the wall could respond to your touch. And what if it could?

There seems to be a lot of discussions about the future of magazines. Some of them are moving online or at least creating their 'www-counterpart' but the print 'glossy' is not yet sentenced to death. People seem to enjoy the physical experience of flipping through a magazine, touching the slick pages. There is something sensual about magazines. And, as web pages are good for transmitting information, the magazines transmit style and feelings.

But would it be enough to keep magazines alive in 50 years?

Or should we think about design solutions for the communities of the future? Your comments are appreciated.

The Cost of Printing a Magazine

2009-11-11T17:01:00.000-08:00

I have done a little research into the cost of printing a magazine. I used a simple quote form on Mixam Printing website to estimate that a 20-page, A4, Full-Colour magazine printed 90GSM coated paper with silk finish and a 150GSM cover would cost less than £1.

The cost of printing depends largely on number of copies printed:

£872.70 for 1,000 copies (£0.87 per magazine)
£1692.10 for 5,000 copies (£0.34 per magazine)
£2312.20 for 10,000 copies (£0.23 per magazine)

Taking into consideration that many supermarkets already developed the policy of Corporate Social Responsibility and have schemes in place aiming to support local community initiatives, an expense of this sort might be well within their budget. Each larger Waitrose store, for example, spends £1,000 monthly for local community projects and/or charities. Wouldn't they be able to afford printing a 20-page magazine once a month?

There are obviously other expenses involved, such as labour cost. I believe that it could be paid for from the revenue the publication would make on advertising.

I have looked at Sheengate Publishing, which produces 7 advertisement-sponsored local magazines in Surrey (Kingston, Richmond, Guildford, Woking, Surrey Downs, Elmbridge and Business West).

I analised the content of the Kingston magazine and realised that this 80-page glossy contains less than 17 pages of editorial content, which is only 21% of the total magazine content. There were over 34 pages of advertisements (42,5%), another 5 pages of classified ads (6,25%) and further 24 pages of property advertisement (30%). No wonder noone ever reads that magazine if there is nothing to be read in it!

Despite it, the publication charges a lot of its advertising space. Here are the rates:

	1 Insertion	4 Insertions Less 10%	7 Insertions Less 15%	12 Insertions Less 20%
Full page colour	£1,155	£1,039	£982	£924
Half page colour	£660	£594	£561	£528
Quarter page colour	£410	£369	£349	£328
Eighth page colour	£230	£207	£196	£184

Therefore, selling advertising space is not only the mean of promoting local businesses but also an important source of revenue for the publication. If the new magazine was to sell 4 pages (20%) for ads, would it be enough to cover the cost of labour? Would it be enough pay wages of the permanent editor and designer who could coordinate work of students and other voluntary contributors?

Flipping Through Waitrose Food Illustrated

2009-11-11T16:25:00.000-08:00

This application allows you to see the contents and the design of Waitrose Food Illustrated published by John Brown. Right-click on the picture and select 'Start Slideshow'.

TASK 3: Approaching Organizations to Cooperate on the Project

2009-11-11T15:22:00.000-08:00

Publishing a magazine, even the smallest one, costs a lot of money. I assume that the big supermarket chains would surely have the financial means to cover the expenses associated with printing since they already publish so much of brochures, leaflets, catalogues and even glossy magazines. However, if the new magazine I am working on is to be local and community-orientated, I need to think deeply about the costs of labour.

I thought about using the students of journalism from local universities who are always searching good work experience opportunities. I contacted Beth Brewster, the Director of Studies, Journalism & Publishing at Kingston University, and outlined my idea briefly asking for her expert opinion.

The outcome of our email exchange so far is outlined below:

1. Journalism in general is surely moving towards local markets with hyperlocal sites like Kings Cross Environment that deal with what's happening in local communities.

2. Having supermarkets sponsor the magazine is problematic because the sponsor would surely want to have an influence (and generally negative impact) on content. For example, I might never be able to run stories on certain new shops opening in the area if they are competitors.

3. There are more examples of sponsored local community magazines online, mostly because they are cheaper to produce than print publications. For example, Beckenham.com is sponsored by local estate agents. Although it has the appearance of being a community site it definitely has an 'agenda'.

4. Journalism students could be used as free labour as long as they are not exploited. They can't work for free for longer than four weeks so a skeleton permanent staff would also be needed to maintain consistency. My Village is run this way/.

I have also tried to get in touch with a friend of mine who works in Sainsbury's in order to arrange a meeting with the sore manager and run my idea through him. So far, I had no lack with getting anything back from him.

Mini Brief for the RSA Project

2009-11-06T05:25:00.001-08:00

The Community DNA

2009-11-06T05:19:00.000-08:00

This diagram explains the local media's role in building and maintaining community. The local magazine serves as a platform for communication within the community, such as opinion exchange. debate about current issues and events etc. Therefore, the magazine supports a supermarket in fulfilling its role as a focal point of the community life.

Local Media's Role in Building & Maintaining Communities

2009-11-04T11:48:00.000-08:00

According to Lena Calvert from the National Union of Journalists, the local media's role in keeping communities together is at risk. The recession caused severe cutbacks across most sectors of the industry. Small local media outlets are at risk of disappearing altogether due to lack of funds, decreasing advertising and newsstand sales.
...read more...

TASK 2: The Cummunity Need - The Market Niche

2009-11-04T11:36:00.000-08:00

There is a strong distinction between supermarket publications and other local magazines.

The first ones exist primarily to sell various products. They are used as marketing tools and, even if given away for free, aim to generate profits. But in order to get shoppers interested some publication offer other editorial content, such as lifestyle features, recipes or interviews with celebrity chefs, food critics, wine experts etc.

Local magazines claim to serve communities through news and features about local issues and events. However, being sponsored only by advertisement, they tend to be perceived more as the advertising platform for local businesses than a platform for objective editorial.

It seems that one publication cannot serve all communities by providing interesting editorial content, news, features, as well as advertisements and special offers on supermarket products.

I wonder why not...?

Towards designing a logo

2009-11-04T10:45:00.000-08:00

Out of the company names listed in previous post I selected two and started working towards designing a company logo.

Unfortunately, there seems to be an existing design company named Spread. Therefore, I will have to concentrate on an alternative name - Coverline.

Naming a Creative Business

2009-11-04T10:26:00.000-08:00

This is my list of ideas for names for creative business:
1. Vistula Vision UnLimited - The name I used for my previous project. It incorporates the reference to the country of my origin ('Vistula' is the longest river in Poland) as well as the statement that my 'Vision' is not limited to the boundaries of any single country or discipline.
2. UnLimited - Shorter version of the previous name.
3. Fusion - It draws from the notion of fusion and blurring boundaries between journalism and design, between Polish and British influences, etc.
4. Studio DX - This abstract name does not carry any specific meaning other that the one you create in your mind for yourself. What does Studio DX mean to you?
5. Studio 44 - The number 44 carry very enigmatic meaning and has been often referred to in Polish mythology and romantic literature.
6. Design 44 - As above.
7. Punch Design - The name referring to cutting age, contemporary design.
8. Impact Design - Self-explanatory.
9. Absolute Design.
10. Total Design.
And finally...
11. Spread - The name obviously pointing towards designing magazine spreads and other forms of editorial design.
12. Coverline Design - Yet another reference to editorial design.

TASK 1: Design Idols 2

2009-10-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

The second designer I often refer to for inspirations is Scott Dadich, a Creative Director of Wired magazine - the publication that not only reports on the front lines of technology but also leads and inspires in magazine designers around the world.

"Honestly, I don’t think too much about it," he says. "We try to be aware of what has and has not been done in terms of magazine design, photography, printing, production, but it’s not a driving force in the day-to-day nuts and bolts of what we do. We have some ideas of projects and covers that we want to be the first to do, but we’re waiting on the tech to catch up to our ideas."

Scott Dadich came to Wired in 2006 to oversee design, photography, illustration and typography as Creative Director. In 2007, the magazine won the prestigious National Magazine Award for General Excellence and followed up in 2008, winning the National Magazine Award for Design, the magazine industry's highest design honor.

His August 2006 cover with Stephen Colbert was named Best Celebrity Cover by the American Society of Magazine Editors, and his 2007 redesign was hailed as elegant and provocative. He has received more than 100 national design and editorial awards, including 35 gold and silver SPD medals.

In 2008, he was awarded SPD Magazine of the Year and elected President of SPD. In 2005 and 2006, the City and Regional Magazine Association named him Designer of the Year, and Print magazine named him one of its 20 Under 30 breakthrough visual talents in the world.

To see the entire archive of Wired covers go to...
http://www.wired.com/wired/coverbrowser/

TASK 1: Design Idols

2009-10-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

Since I am interested in magazine design I look up for inspiration to big names of editorial designer. One of my favourite designers is David Curcurito, the Design Director of Esquite magazine.

Since September 2006, Esquire has been defying the principles of Coverlines 101. It went against traditions of magazine cover design, against few easily readable coverlines referring to contents of the magazine by introducing type-heavy and largely illegible copy barraging almost every cover. This concept of "Vietnam Memorial" approach of Esquire is believed to originate from the editor David Granger's, but Curcurito is the one who has been executing the design and refining the style month after month.

According to DNR News, Esquire saw a 6.1 per cent increase in newsstand sales in the first half of 2007, which clearly indicated that the innovative approach was working.

The copycats of this unique style have appeared in everything from flyers to city and regional magazines and others. But, according to Foliomag.com, Curcurito welcomes them:

"It's a form of flattery," he says. "At first it was upsetting because I would have to continually reinvent the concept to stay ahead of the curve. But it keeps me on my toes."

Curcurito says he doesn't look around much at what other designers are doing, preferring to follow his gut. "But the ideas don't come from a dark corner of my brain," he says. "They come from social interaction with smart and fun people. I surround myself with great people who are as good as me if not better."

He particularly works well with Granger, he says, and enjoys their collaborative back-and-forth. "It makes the product smarter in the end. If I had all the answers myself, I don't know how comfortable I'd feel."

His advice to other designers: "Be confident in conveying these ideas. Know when to fight and when to back down." Also, "Take chances. Be smart but put your butt on the line."

Below you can see the selection of my favourite Esquite covers:
1. July 2009 - featuring coverlines painted on the women's naked body;
2. December 2008 - 3D effect coverlines with George Clooney right in front of them;
3. September 2008 - with its funky handwritten coverlines;
4. May 2008 - with this text on the cover: "We shot this image to catch your eye so you will pick up this issue...";
5. December 2007 - when Curcurito experimented with the name of the publication making it too big to fit on the page yet easily recognisable for a regular reader;
6. November 2007 - Esquire's Sexiest Women Alive coverline with the sense of linear perspective.

To see the entire archive of Esquire covers go to...
http://www.esquire.com/cover-archive#