The brief is as follows:

Examine graphic design outputs relating to social, political and ethical change. Aim to increase your awareness of historical examples plus contemporary practice that is responsive to 21st Century issues. Be sure to note the relationship between medium and message.You should then produce a body of research work that explores the connections between these concepts and their respective design outcomes prior to your own practical and conceptual exploration of possible products, ranges and methods of distribution that may be suggested by your preferred content or, indeed, those that reflect your own ideologies, concerns and/or ambitions. 

Part 1:  Based on the introductory workshops, develop a practical, visual and contextual investigation of a specific subject. You should aim to develop research from a range of primary and secondary sources in order to fully explore the opportunities for informed creative development. Your research and development of this part of the brief should be documented on appropriate blogs and will be presented as part of your interim concept pitch.

Part 2:  Devise and develop a body of practical work that both distils your knowledge of an identified issue and demonstrates your ability to tap into the market potential for socially, politically and ethically-driven design. This output should still work within the broader creative and professional contexts of graphic design but could be based around ideas of awareness or protest. Examples of potential deliverables include (but are not limited to):

• materials relating to an issue-led campaign (this could be one affiliated to an established organization or a more ‘guerilla’ approach)

• a poster series

• a booklet/publication/manifesto

• a web/digital platform

• placards, banners or a set of badges

• a range of products or merchandise that communicate your identified core message

Your contextual research, critical observations and reflective evaluations should be documented on your Design Practice blog and summarised within reflective content that supports your design submission. Your response should explore the relationship between product range and methods/media of distribution as well as specific audiences, contexts and appropriate tone of voice. 

This project allows for a variety of creative outcomes. Looking at some of the examples of design outcomes to raise awareness of political and social change, I can tell straight away that the tone of voice is extremely important.

Here are some examples of WWF ad campaigns which are known for being controversial or thought provoking as is their goal. The tone of voice varies throughout their ad campaigns. The ones below are a mix of comical, sad and thought provoking.

The Puma inspired ad campaign was aimed at teenagers and relied on their common shared knowledge of the well known puma logo of a puma leaping over text. The campaign puts a realistic twist on the unrealistic puma logo. The collaboration of ideas is called a 'mashup'. Mixing two very diferent things together can often create something new. The technique can be used to create unique visuals.

A similar technique has been used here to collaborate the imagery of something nice and fun (ice-cream) with something more serious (planet earth). The image uses another advertising technique called a visual metaphor. Just as an ice-cream melts in the heat, the earth is overheating.

There is a slight dark comical tone of voice to these adverts. The idea is comical, but in reality the viewer would strongly disagree with what is happening on frame. They use comedy/shock to grab the attention of the audience.

Here are a series of books designed Dana Tanamachi-Williams for a few classic childrens books for Puffin.  She used coloured chalks to draw the covers at A1 scale and then scaled them down once scanned in. The coloured chalk is much more apropriate for a childrens book as displayed above, but I believe a black and white cover design is much more subtle in this aesthetic and more apropriate for an older audience such as the audience for 'Dream Psychology'.

Lucy Stephens uses silhoette styled illustrations of the authors as well as hand-rendered type to create quite striking images really stand-out on coloured backgrounds. This style may be suitable due to the fact that Sigmund Freud's image is quite iconic to him. The glasses, beard and nose are very unique to him.

Methodology is the systematic, theoretical analysis of the methods applied to a field of study. It comprises the theoretical analysis of the body of methods and principles associated with a branch of knowledge.

Types of research

Controlled experiment

Observational research

Desk research (books and web)

Primary questionnaire research

Survey

My Methodology

My own approach to methodology is very narrow. I tend to have a set general outcome in my mind before even researching. This causes my research to be very specific but also not as broad as I believe it should be. I tend to not stop research when I believe it is not as very appropriate. I believe I should research broader and let my research influence my practice instead of the other way around. My design decisions are often influenced by my research or through thought process, but not to an extent that really reinforces the design. The aesthetic, content and tone of voice is influenced by my research. My research is almost solely desk research, although I do conduct undocumented observational research. I should document this as it an often get forgotten and thus not analysed in depth.

Taken from module feedback:

'works shows an acute sense of detail and style'

'research has been somewhat limited'

My hobby convention needs to aimed at a wide audience range of all ages. Due to this, I felt it was appropriate to choose a vector icon based aesthetic as it is approachable by all audiences and has a professional, clean and fun feel to it. As this is a large scale event that is run by the government, the aesthetic needs to be clean.

I began producing a series of icons that represent the hobbies that I found were most popular in my survey.

A multicoloured brand will manage to keep the icon based imagery interesting without breaking the brand aesthetic due to the consistent use of icons and type. I experimented with the use of icons to see how they could be displayed alongside type. I found that filling them with a lighter opacity dulled the impact, whereas a black line stroke would draw too much attention away from primary information.

This lead me to begin using them as secondary imagery within the background. This gave the icons less impact, but allowed for more important content to be seen.

The colour scheme began to take a much brighter style as it fit better with the theme of summer activities and gave the icons a much more upbeat feel to them. The tri-colour scheme can now be applied across multiple platforms once I narrow down my brand guidelines.

For Studio Brief 1 I have chosen to encourage more people to take on a new hobby, as I feel as though a lot of people do not have hobbies anymore and consider social networking as a hobby. Hobbies are a great way to meet new people and expand social groups as well as keeping active and can improve a persons overall mood.

In a survey 100% of people said that they wanted to have more hobbies.

Below are a few of the answers given as to why people did not try to have more hobbies.

The tackle these reasons for not having hobbies my campaign will have to be free or cheap to be part of and take place during a time when people have spare time. Maybe weekends or summer.

Here is a list of hobbies with percentages of interest within my survey.

I will use these figures to focus more attention on the hobbies with a bigger interest. The campaign will then have a more extensive list of hobbies for the audience to view.

The colour scheme for the series of designs is inspired by the American theme which runs throughout the bar. The aesthetic is inspired by the bars classy/underground contrast in aesthetic. The interior of the bar features dark woods which suggest a classy dining experience whilst the walls have been covered with graffiti. The contrast of aesthetic suggests class with a rebelious attitude which is communicated through the menus through the use of flourishes that fit this style.The branding is kept consistent through the use of the colour, boarders and type usage. The leaflet/menus (top left) differ in type usage to stand out and portray the cocktail list as quite loud and diverse.

As research, I began looking at some videos which have targeted the issue I am facing. The two below talk about how social media and technology take up so much of our time so much so that we don't do much anymore. I am targeting this by trying to convince people to take up a hobby.

 Found at: http://blogs.psychcentral.com/thrive/2014/05/the-value-of-hobbies/

It is well-known that eating habits, sleep, and exercise are important for physical and psychological health (information reminding us so is everywhere). Yet, we rarely hear about the value of leisure and recreation.

Although one may think that pastimes serve no other purpose than to (literally) pass time, hobbies are very beneficial and of great value. They not only add quality to our life but also contribute to our effectiveness and well-being.

Hobbies are food for the soul. They nurture our spirit, restore our physical energy, and renew our mind. Hobbies can be so stimulating, in fact, that they inspire those magical “aha!” moments.

While we may think that hobbies can interfere with our career, research has found otherwise. A recent studysuggests that people who engage in hobbies, especially creative hobbies, perform better at work. It seems that having an outlet outside of work can boost productivity and even creativity.

We are at our best when we are relaxed and in tune with ourselves. Only then can we truly thrive.

So if you think hobbies are a waste of time, think again. And if you’re thinking you don’t have time for hobbies because you just can’t afford to take time away from work even if you wanted to, then you probably need one more so than anyone else. Here’s why:

Recharge

When we engage in hobbies that we enjoy we’re able to disconnect from the everyday worries and recharge our batteries.

Hobbies and interests outside of work (any type of work, either at an office or at home) help counteract the emotional and physical exhaustion that comes with stress. By engaging in leisure activities that give us pleasure we’re able to recover from the demands of our busy (even hectic) lives.

Hobbies can be “therapeutic” and help us re-ignite our spark. They have a way of calming our mind and allowing us to escape from the outside world to connect with ourselves, making us feel refreshed and more energized.

When we have a passionate interest in life that helps us unwind we become happier and consequently more successful in everything that we do.

Learn

Our hobbies say so much about who we are. When we pursue an activity just for its own sake we learn a lot about ourselves.

Hobbies give us an insight into our likes and dislikes, our strengths and weaknesses, our fears and beliefs.

For instance, through meditation I’ve learned how anxious my mind can be and how much it needs a soothing and peaceful break every now and them. Biking has taught me that there is nothing I find more exhilarating than the combination of adrenaline and nature, while writing has made me confront face-to-face some of my biggest fears just as it has showed me how fulfilling I find introspection to be.

As they say, if you want to know where your heart is, look to where your mind goes when it wanders.

A hobby can help you discover a whole new side of you and unleash talents you didn’t even know you had.

Perspective

Our hobbies give us a balanced perspective on life beyond work. They show us how important it is to take time for ourselves and rejuvenate our mind and spirit. When our responsibilities become overwhelming, our hobbies give us something to look forward to.

Investing our energy is just as important as finding ways to recover it.

By disengaging from the pressures of life not only are we revitalized but we get to see the big picture. Instead of focusing on the trees we are able to appreciate the forest.

Plus, you never know where a hobby may lead you (new and interesting people, the time of your life, or maybe even a whole new career!).

Channel your passion into a hobby and a new world of possibilities will open up for you to discover.