OUGD501 - Study Task 6

Name:

Jessica Johnson

Email:

JJ99098@students.leeds-art.ac.uk

SUBJECTS OF CONTEXTUAL RESEARCH ALREADY UNDERTAKEN

Level 4:

‘Advertising doesn’t sell things; All advertising does is change how people think or feel’ (Jeremy Bullmore) Evaluate this statement with reference to selected critical theories.

Level 5:

Compare the evolution of branding in relation to the emergence of the Gestalt Principles in the mid twentieth century; how did they have an impact on design?

AIM AND/OR OBJECTIVE OF YOUR PROPOSED C.O.P.3 PROJECT

Concentrating on one of the dominant principles of Gestalt; explore in depth the use of symmetry within logo design, compare this with the use of asymmetry from a graphic aesthetic.

1.     What research needs to be undertaken into the general and specific contexts of your practice? My general research should cover all the basics of symmetry and asymmetry, from definitions and examples of what they are to who discovered them and applied them to design. In terms of specific research I will look into case studies of symmetry and asymmetry individually and how the human brain perceives and reacts to seeing it in a visual format. I will explore similarities and differences in response to both and find other case studies that will both back this up but also show a contrasting argument. I could consider historical art movements and see how these influenced the use of key principles within design. Has the age of new media affected logo design on the whole, if so why and how? Book: Aesthetics and Subjectivity: From Kant to Nietszche Looks at recent historical research and contemporary arguments in philosophy and theory in the humanities, following the path of German philosophy from Kant, via Ficthe and Holderlin, the early Romantis, Schelling, Hegel, Scleimacher, to Nietzsche. Develops the approaches to subjectivity, aesthetics, music and language in relation to new theoretical developments bridging the divide between the continental and analytical traditions of philosophy.

2.     What approach(es) will you take and what processes, methods, materials and  tools  are to be involved in research into your practice?

I will begin with secondary research in the form of books, journals and published case studies, this will give me a base knowledge of what is on offer and what has already taken place in terms of experiments and results obtained. I will spend some time exploring the results and comparing what I have found on the whole, sourcing books or articles that either back this up or contrast this. My primary research will take place in the form of extensive tests on a range of participants using symmetrical and asymmetrical logos to get an in-depth collection of quantitative data that can be analysed. I will visit exhibitions and find designs that encompass this principle to back up some of my findings and research.

3.     What preparation or investigations do you need to undertake for your creative practice to take place?  Generating a list of ideas will be an important first step to give myself the best opportunity of coming up with the most beneficial investigation I can. I need to research into the comparison of symmetry and asymmetry to see where is appropriate for each method to be used and why. I will come up with ideas about how I can test and trial both aspects to see if I can either backup what I have found in my essay or find a contrasting response.

4.     What research do you need to undertake regarding who your creativity is for? As my question is based around the design of logos using symmetry and asymmetry I feel that my audience would be graphic designers, those who are mainly focused on branding. I will look at symmetry and asymmetry in design on the whole but my more specific research and tests will be concentrated on logos and so therefore the results of my study would be used by the creative student or professional. It could be a guideline to seeing when is appropriate to use what approach, my research will look into times when it is necessary to use one over the other, or if there is a certain style that requires one over the other.

Primary Sources of Information
1.         Description	Interviewing designers who have created logos that are symmetrical/asymmetrical
Location	Within uni/ over Skype/ Via email
2.         Description	Visual comparison test of both styles to see which is the most ‘successful’
Location	Within uni/ in a test environment
3.         Description	Exhibition analysis, design on the whole, symmetry or asymmetry which is the most common?
Location	Various cities.

Secondary Sources of Information
1.	Aesthetics and Subjectivity: From Kant to Nietszche – Andrew Bowie
2.	Elements of Japenese Design – Boys De Mente
3.	The Split and the Structure – Rudolf Arnheim
4.	Design by Nature: Universal Forms and Principles in Design – Maggie Macnab
5.	Marketing Aesthetics: The Strategic Management of Brands, Identity, and Image – Alex Simonson
6.	Journal of the American Statistical Association – Volume 100 p1 – p357

Perceived problems or difficulties: My question may be too specific, this could limit my research options but then at the same time I also have good constraints to work under. I could come across people who have already undertaken this study, I would like to do something original, I could possibly incorporate another of the Gestalt principles and look at combinations within logo design, I am fairly sure this hasn’t been widely researched and could make my CoP3 more interesting.

OUGD501 - Study Task 5

Dissertations chosen:

1. How has Postmodern Theory Informed Graphic Design Practices and Aesthetics
2. A Psychoanalytical Investigation of Consumer Behaviour with a Specific Focus on Branding with Regards to the Value of the Community.
3. How Absolute is the Power of Brands? How Does Freud's Theory of Psychoanalysis Apply to Current Advertising? Are We Able To Think For Ourselves.


1. 

• Reading through this essay I found it really easy to see how the quotes fit into the sentences with fluidity and allowed me to understand what the point of each paragraph was backed up with numerous relevant quotes. Integrated quotes work well when trying to quickly and confidently get across a point, it makes the sentences concise and strong and allows for minimal unnecessary information. 
• Breaking down the essay into appropriate paragraphs is important for allowing the structure to take part as a way of breaking down each important point into its own section. This also means that the reader doesn't get bored and it breaks it up into more interesting and logical format.
• Using facts and statistics really helped in this essay to enforce the point she was trying to get at, this solidified her argument and backed it up with real life evidence.

2.

• Using more sophisticated language as is used in this essay makes it seem as though the student knew what they were talking about and were presenting it with confidence. 
• One thing I did pick up on was the quality of the images used, I believe it is important to use high quality images or at least don't scale them up so they become blurry.
• It is important to make sure that what you set out to investigate is what you really concentrate on, this essay linked the introduction to the conclusion really well and summed up what the entire essay had allowed him to establish and how his predictions had related to the end result. 

3.

• The images used in this essay showed a really wide variety, from diagrams to adverts and it was interesting to see how these all corresponded to the same essay question. Not only did they relate directly to the essay but they were also interesting to look at.
• One key aspect I noticed was that this person had done an extensive amount of first hand research, he had used in-depth questionnaires to gather information, this gave him a lot more to incorporate into his essay calling upon first hand research to back up his argument points. 
• How the questionnaire were phrased really made an impact on the answers that were given by the participants, the student had obviously spent time doing these questionnaires that provoked the best answer possible.

OUGD501 - Study Task 4

Technique
Grids
Content
Whats important, do/dont need to include
Communication
Issues, semiotics, gender, psychology, mass media

'Compare the evolution of branding in relation to the emergence of the Gestalt Principles in the mid twentieth century; how did they have an Impact on Design?'

Techniques

Layout - Use a grid, should it be simple or complex? Relate to most successful type of logo design. Include some of the principles that are relative such as symmetry within the grid? Should there be a Hierarchy? 

Which Gestalt principles can be applied to a grid:

- Symmetry (similarity)

- Continuation - There could be a pattern? 

- Proximity - The spacing of each section. 

Typography - Consider using a typeface that is successful in terms of the principles, this enhances the content and purpose of the publication and demonstrates this awareness of a range of relative design.

Content

Comparison of existing logos? Look into logos used in essay plus some others to show specific principles, either just successful or a comparison between successful and unsuccessful. Just successful would look more visually satisfying than seeing failed logos. 

Design a logo for a company in several ways, each encompassing different principles.

Has this already been done? See what exists in terms of this idea. 

Communication 

Who would this be appropriate for? Design for Designers, or design for audience? 

Consider visual perception, could this be incorporated into the way it is communicated:

Top down and bottom up processing, which one would I use? 

Hierarchies could play a role in communicating this visual perception theory. 

Audience: It needs to engage the audience, it needs to show something important and interesting. Should it present an argument or be neutral? Presenting an argument would make it more intriguing but allowing it to be neutral is unbiased and doesn't force my opinion on the audience. 

Research

Consider current ongoing visual perception theories that are being developed if there are any. Has this been done to any extent already and how or why is this. Research other key theories that contract and back up Gestalt, this could possibly be presented some how in my practical work. Branding guidelines are a key piece of research that I will do, logo design guidelines and layout/format. Historical context of perception, look at the development and how this has been beneficial to designers. Are there any brands that need a re brand that are relevant to Gestalt in some way? Research into grids, this will be important for the layout of my design, it needs to relate to the principles as does the typography, look at this also.

Analyse 

Why do I need to do it and how? To present an argument and show examples of what a logo looks like when Gestalt Principles are applied. Or to neutrally present facts? It needs to be engaging, could it be literally engaging the audience? How could they be involved; give options or decision making path.

Exploration & Evaluation

How will I use practical skills and what experiments? Memory tests; successful logos are always memorable for the right reasons, this could be part of my experiment with existing logos that everyone knows. Why do we remember certain logos? Is it because of how they are designed and what they look like or because of what we know they represent? Memory research, do certain people remember different things to others? Why?

Testing

How do you test whether they are effective, do they work? Show people, memory test again? Any primary research? Valid. more efficient. 
Potentially design a range of logos for one company, some using different principles, present this to an audience and see what the results are in terms of everything from memorising the layout to the colour and message that they communicate.

OUGD501 - Study Task 3

Notebook

I began by considering the theme that I would like to base my essay on, I looked in newspapers, on the news, social media and other platforms to give me some inspiration as to what direction I would like to take. 

New media was the general theme I chose to begin with but concentrated on new media within identity, my ideas spanned from identity roles changing to the uncanny valley. This lead me to specify further and research into the uncanny valley and Gestalt. Both of these are fairly psychologically based, this is something that really interests me and I find quite intriguing, having a question that I actually find exciting is important for me. Gestalt psychology is what I really concentrated on from here onwards. I found the six key principles related to this theory and began to think how they could relate to design. 

Considering how Gestalt applies within new media was my first research idea, I looked more into the therapy side and considered how it affected role identities. More in-depth research lead me to top down processing and bottom up processing. After my crit I came to the decision that looking at the principles of Gestalt and applying them to logos.

Comparing the theories of Gestalt, Gibson and Gregory and applying them to logo design is not something that has been fully explored, as an experiment this could be really interesting to do all the research and tests myself. Gregory's theory backs up Gestalt whereas Gibson's contradicts it, these will play a part of my argument and considerations. The six principles can all be applied to design and narrowing it to logos gives me more of a constraint to work within.

OUGD501 - Study Task 2

Triangulation

David Carson - Pepsi

Pepsi is one of the most famous fizzy drinks sold throughout the world with billions of litres created and sold each year, owned by PepsiCo, a multibillion pound company who also own the likes of Gatorade, Tropicana, Walkers crisps and many others. Over the years and especially recently it has become headline news how the side effects and contents of fizzy drinks can be detrimental to our health, yet sales figures still continue to rise and products are continually expanding.

            These designs for a Pepsi Ad campaign designed by David Carson are a prime example of how conscious advertising and manipulative design can convince and suggest of a beneficial and desirable lifestyle to the audience. On both bottle designs, the phrase ‘I wanna be young’ is clearly visible at initial glance as it is the larger of the typography displayed, however studies have accurately shown ‘that sugar-sweetened soda consumption prematurely ages white blood cells.’ (Leung et al, 2014) It has been confirmed that as a result this ages the skin, just one of the negative health affects that Pepsi has on the consumer, therefore this makes it a product that is sold on a basis of lies through visual form. Backed up within the 1964 First Things First Manifesto it is pointed out that ‘we have reached a saturation point at which the high pitched scream of consumer selling is no more than sheer noise.’ (Garland, 1964)
            This is enforced again in the revisited First Things First manifesto of 2000 where it is explained that ‘The profession‘s time and energy is used up manufacturing demand for things that are inessential at best.’(Lasn, 2000) I do question whether the most influential designers such as David Carson should be breaking these stereotypes of designing for meaningless purposes, using their status to create influential movement. When it is no longer for the purpose of making a living to get by, but to indulge in millions of pounds, when does it become greed?

Meanwhile, in the sensation-hungry design press, in the judging of design competitions, in policy statements from design organizations, in the words of design‘s senior figures and spokespeople (on the few occasions they have a chance to address the public) and even in large sections of design education, we learn about very little these days other than the commercial uses of design. It‘s rare to hear any strong point of view expressed, by most of these sources, beyond the unremarkable news that design really can help to make your business more competitive. (Poyner, 1999)

This quote from Rick Poyner in the First Things First (Revisited) deconstruction enforces my point of how designers seem to be unhappy about designing for unethical and meaningless products but those that are influential enough to change this seem to be the ones advocating it.

Leung, C Laraia, B Needham, B Rehkoph, D, Adler, N, Lin, J, Blackburn, E, Epel, E. (2014). Soda and Cell Aging: Associations Between Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Leukocyte Telomere Length in Healthy Adults From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. American Journal of Public Health. 104 (12), p2425-2431.