OUGD401 - Study Task 06 - Establishing The Requirements Of The Practical Investigation

Practice-based research is a form of research methodology that uses “practice”, alongside other forms, as a means of discovering or generating knowledge. While the emphasis is still very much on establishing a critical understanding of the issue, practice-based research acknowledges the role of making and visual communication in establishing this understanding.

To create a physical body of work to accompany my essay I will pose the question 'How Can Traditional and Digital Print Coexist'

I will consider each of these points in relation to my chosen research question:

Techniques

Digital production vs physical production

Digital print vs physical print

A combinations of the two > using one to create the other

Content

A focus on Postfordism and the nature of Postfordist art > the decrease in the value of physical production, an increase of immaterial labour

Communication / Message

Production and consumption of all medias has changed, but do producers need to change how they produce in order to keep up with demand?
Traditional and digital print methods do compete but they can coexist

Research / Analysis

Printing methods - how traditional influences digital and vise versa 

How the concept of immaterial labour is effecting (young) creatives today

Testing

Examine the extent to which the work answers the original question posed, looking at the reactions from creatives, non-creatives, peers, tutors, and the public is applicable

OUGD401 - Postfordism and Its Parallels

A brief look at the notion of Postfordism and the connections that can be made between this movement and our work ethic today.

Fordism was a concept pioneered by Henry Ford in the early 20th century, founder of the Ford Motor Company. His model or work was unique, in that his factories consisted of a chain of workers, all highly skilled in one particular area of engineering and construction. This provided a 'convey belt' system of working, allowing cars to be produced more efficiently and at greater speed. This factory model also relied on a strict time schedule, with workers clocking in at nine and clocking out at five, creating a clear distinction between work and home hours. This is a model we often see today among large corporations, across many sectors.

However, during the Postfordist era there was a break down of this strict schedule. Workers began to re-skill themselves, becoming proficient in a range of areas within their profession, allowing for a greater diversity of work to be performed by just one individual. We can see this re-skilling today, as the younger generation advances with technology to become knowledgable in a range of areas, some online and some offline. Postfordism greatly informs how we work today - a generation of online workers do not have an office to work in, and so can work from home, at any time of the day or night, depending on the need for output.

We can also see an increase in immaterial labour - labour that does not produce anything physical as such. This can be found in the output of workers who labour online, as website designers etc. They still work and earn money for their labour, and have a reliable job, but the end outcome is just not a physical one. Digital technology has pushed the way we worked into new realms that were not possible before.

http://www.generation-online.org/c/fcimmateriallabour3.htm

OUGD401 - Why Print Newspapers Remain the Dominant Media Power in Britain

An interesting article from The Guardian written by Ed Amory, a noted journalist and writer. He makes many interesting observations on his experience working as a journalist during a time when many of the largest newspapers were beginning to seek out online readership. He states that between 2005 and 2012, over 242 local newspapers were forced to shut down due to a decline in sales. He touches on the statement made by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg , who is quoted as saying 'Facebook will become the perfect personalised newspaper for every person in the world'. To follow this, recent figures show that 24% of us say that our main method of accessing news is through our mobile phones, and 16% of us share a news story on social media weekly.

Despite this, Amory seems confident in the future of print. According to last year’s Deloitte report on media consumption in the UK, half of all Britons still buy print newspapers and a further 10% read papers bought by others, compared to only 31% who read stories online on newspapers’ websites daily. Of course, the long-term trend for print is irreversibly downwards, but in the UK at least, print media still dominates much of people’s media consumption.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2015/feb/16/why-print-newspapers-remain-the-dominant-media-power-in-britain

OUGD401 - Made You Look Documentary

'Made You Look' is a documentary exploring the challenges artists, illustrators and graphics artists face in a hyper-digital age. Interviewing a handful of artists and design studios from across the country, it provided a fascinating look at the views of both younger and older creatives and their opinions on traditional analog medias over digitally produced methods.

Some interesting arguments for analog production were made, the most poignant of which was by artist and illustrator Hattie Stewart. She made the obvious statement that when lifts were invented, stairs were not replaced. Both continued to exist and people just used whichever one was more convenient to them at the time. Therefore digital medias will not replace analog. Artists will simply use the method which applies most to their work, and will ultimately have more options as to how they create (which is no bad thing).

It was also interesting that many of the younger creatives still believed in the future of analog methods. Analog medias are still just as relevant today as they were yesterday, if not more so as many are looking for fresh approaches to their work. In the way that Photoshop is new to the older generation, screenprinting is new to the younger generation - there will always be an old method of creating that younger artists haven't tried before, and that they can reinvent to comply with todays demands. I think that whatever older creatives argue, analog is here to stay.

When asked about their personal opinions on using digital platforms to promote their work, many said it had left them feeling that 'it's like a million people putting their hands up at once' in terms of being noticed. But there are actually many more opportunities for an individual's or company's work to be seen when it's online, and for it to be seen globally by people who might otherwise have not seen it at all. Digital promotion has the huge benefit of allowing anyone anywhere in the world to be kept up to date with any artist, at all times, and it is a hugely useful tool that has been responsible for the launch of many artists careers.

However, I was disappointed to hear that when asked how they would feel if the internet was turned off many, if not all, of the artists replied that it would be of great benefit. They felt that many aspects of communication would improve and content production would increase because everyone would have the same level of artistic output and expression. I have to disagree with this, and not only because I am part of the digital generation, but because turning the internet off would ultimately have the same effect as turning it on - people would learn adapt to their conditions, learning how to use the recourses they have, but I don't personally think production or even the quality of work would improve. The internet and digital media as a whole has given artists a new freedom of expression that they would never have been able to find otherwise and has been such a valuable tool in the evolution of the art world today.

OUGD401 - Study Task 05 - Planning and Structuring An Essay

After some consideration I have chosen to explore the essay question 'What is the Role of Print Media in the Digital Age?'. Traditional print methods, such as screen printing, are a medium I typically like to use within my own personal work and I am interested in exploring this relationship between traditional and digital, the old and the new, and if they can coexist.


Essay map:


Introduction
Thesis - print as a medium has evolved dramatically since its conception, and traditional and digital printing methods compete against each other as each evolves independently.


Argument
Print Media - the way ‘information’ is presented through a physical format (newspapers, magazines, zines, posters, flyers/physical adverts, business cards)

Digital Media - the way ‘information’ is presented through a digital format (websites (social media, blogs, information websites), phones / apps, TV)

Brief history of traditional print (letter press then screenprinting) and the rise of digital printing methods > digital overtakes traditional printing as technology evolves to adapt to societies wants and needs

Look at printing in two separate, distinct terms - print for information media (newspapers etc) and print used with the broader arts (fine art, graphic design, visual communication)

Look at the changes in terms of the way people produce print media - newspapers and magazines go digital, a noticeable decline in traditional art printing methods, digital technology has allowed the consumer to also become the producer

Look at the changes in terms of the way people consume print media - higher consumption than ever before means costly, slow printing cannot keep up with the demand, art is also produced in a more disposable way thanks to technological changes

Look at the way print vs digital has allowed people to market themselves, both businesses and artists - digitalisation has allowed globalisation

Links to postfordism - due to changing technology our work ethic has shifted, production has shifted and consumption has shifted

The roles of print vs. digital in society - print is traditional, historic, heritage. Print is a luxury, in terms of both producing and consuming. People take more time to physically screen print a poster than they would if they just pressed print, people take time out of their Sunday’s to read the paper, people spend money on making physical items, people spend money on buying physical items. Digital is easy, fast to produce, update and distribute, often free, widely accessible, international

Conclusion

Traditional and digital methods will always be distinct from one another, neither will ultimately become redundant, they may always compete but they will always find a way to coexist

Starting References

Davis, M. 2012. A New Paradigm. In: Graphic Design Theory (212-213). London: Thames and Hudson.

Peters, A. Look and Yes. Made You Look. 2015. Documentary. Available at:

http://www.madeyoulookdoc.co.uk/

7 Ways the Digital Age Has Changed the Media Landscape, 2015. Available from: http://www.hellostarling.com/7-ways-the-digital-age-has-changed-the-media-landscape/

Rozendaal, R. 2015. Internet + Money + Art + Work + Labour, Rafael Rozendaal in Conversation with Himself, in No Internet, No Art: A Lunch Bytes Anthology. ed Bühler, M. Ram Publications and Distributions, The Netherlands. pp 214-215.

OUGD401 - Study Task 04 - Summarising and Paraphrasing

Analysis of Graphic Design Theory by Meredith Davis:

During this short excerpt from Graphic Design Theory Davis highlights many interesting points about the 'convergence of medias' in the design world today. Most notably is the idea that 'new' does not replace 'old', in that 'media convergences occur regularly and constitute an evolutionary process, not a fixed point in time when one medium instantly displaces another' [1]. New media's, such as the introduction of the Apple computer, or even the more widespread use of programmes such as photoshop, were each required to go through an adjustment period before being considered an essential part of the designers arsenal. 

Davis states that 'inherited forms and traditions limit and inhibit, at least at the start, a full understanding of the intrinsic or unique potential of emerging technologies' [2]. By this she means that old and traditional 'trades' such a printing and typesetting hold the basic skills needed to understand graphic design as both a discipline and a profession, therefore it is impossible to rule these out as non-essential when the computer is introduced as the same skills still apply, only this time in a digital format. However, these 'old' skills limit our initial understanding of new medias as with each new technology, more is possible than ever before in terms of design, production, output etc. It is only once 'old' and 'new' find a harmony that the technology can become fully integrated into the design world. Moreover, 'we must resist notions of media purity, recognising that each medium is touched by, and in turn touches, its neighbours and rivals' [3]. No particular media can exist by itself - all draw influences and skills from many other areas within both design and more broadly from art. Each challenges the capabilities of those it sits beside and this is the driving force behind the exponential growth of design medias we are seeing today. 

However, new medias should not be considered solutions to old problems, they are simply alternatives to the way we design and create. Neither is better or worse than the other, and 'the collision and convergence of old and new produces outcomes that often define particular periods in our technological history' [4]. It is the continuing evolution of the tools of design that push the boundaries of what is possible, and what defines us as both individual designers and as a generation.


(1) Davis, M. (2012). A New Paradigm. In: Graphic Design Theory. London: Thames and Hudson. 212.

(2) Davis, M. (2012). A New Paradigm. In: Graphic Design Theory. London: Thames and Hudson. 213.
(3) Davis, M. (2012). A New Paradigm. In: Graphic Design Theory. London: Thames and Hudson. 213.
(4) Davis, M. (2012). A New Paradigm. In: Graphic Design Theory. London: Thames and Hudson. 212.

OUGD401 - Study Task 03 - Reading and Understanding a Text

As a way of introduction to reading and analysing academic texts for our chosen essay question, I read an excerpt from the book Graphic Design Theory by Meredith Davis. Chapter: A Convergence of Media. 

5 Key Points that Davis makes:

1. New does not replace old, but integration happens over a period of time
2. Disputing that new technologies displace older systems with decisive suddenness 
3. No media exists purely by itself
4. Old formats can’t keep up anymore
5. We need more forms of media outlets

5 Quotes from the text:

1. 'The collision and convergence of old and new produce outcomes that often define particular periods in our technological history'
2. 'Media convergences occur regularly and constitute an evolutionary process, not a fixed point in time when one medium instantly displaces another'
3. 'Inherited forms and traditions limit and inhibit, at least at the start, a full understanding of the intrinsic or unique potential of emerging technologies'
4. 'We must resist notions of media purity, recognising that each medium is touched by in and turn touches its neighbours and rivals'
5. 'An increasingly intricate web of interactions among people, objects, and settings

The tone of voice was very formal and authoritative, naturally as Davis was a Professor of Graphic Design at NC State University and is a multi-published author. The text is factual and well researched, and references to designers, theory and other works and scattered liberally. 

OUGD401 - Study Task 02 - Finding Research Sources

When undertaking project research there are a variety of sources that could be used: books (or google books online) can come in the format of text/research books, documentation books, or even autobiographies. Information online can come from known establishments - such as galleries and museums, magazines etc - or even from blogs.

We were given the task to research methods of 'protest graphics', finding at least two distrinct research sources and evaluate each accordingly:


Disobedient Objects, Catherine Flood (2014)

'The book explores the material culture of radical change and protest - from objects familiar to many, such as banners or posters, to the more militant, cunning or technologically cutting-edge, including lock-ons, book-blocs and activist robots'

This book was published alongside an exhibition of the same name that showed at the V&A in London from July 2014 to February 2015. It documents a broad range of materials used in protests and therefore gives a wide picture or protest movements through the ages. The book comes from a reliable source as the V&A has a known reputation.



'Beauty is in the Street: The Power of Protest Posters', Justin McGuirk, 2011

'Beauty is in the Street' was an article published on The Guardian website detailing the Paris Uprising of May 1968, and the role that street posters and flyers played to gather public and media attention. Again, the article comes from a reputable source, but The Guardian has known left-wing political views and so information they publish may have a biased attitude.

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/may/23/beauty-in-street-posters-protest

A 20,000 Year Non-Linear History of the Image

'A 20,000 Year Non-Linear History of the Image' was an introductory lecture on the history of the image. Detailing the start of 'visual communication' through the medium of cave paintings in Lascaux, France (approx. 17,300 years old), it drew links between these early examples and more contemporary artists such as Cy Twombly, stating that despite time and cultural differences, both exhibit the same act of pure mark making.

There were interesting points made about artists such as Rothko, and their ability to communicate emotions and/or physical feelings through the use of only one or two colours. It is said that viewing Rothko's paintings is like 'looking into a void' and that many people cry when surrounded by his work in the Rothko Chapel. However the question was then posed that people may experience these emotions simply because of the 'framing' of these paintings (the stories that surround them, the story of Rothko's suicide) - people subconsciously think they have been told to feel these emotions, and so do. We were then asked to decide if we thought these paintings communicated anything at all. Personally I think they do - they are a reflection of the viewer, and the subconscious knowledge of the 'framing' of his paintings only adds to the experience.

OUGD401 - Study Task 01 - Image Analysis

A session about visual literacy - comparing two images by analysing historical, cultural, political, societal and technological indicators to determine what era they would have been produced in. Other factors to consider include the choice and organisation of font and style of illustration, the purpose and meaning, and the potential audience of the images.

The first image (above), produced 1876, was from the time of the American war of independence, or just after. Societal indicators show that men were still very much in power at this time as there is only one woman present in the image, as she is serving the food. We also know that this image was produced within the era of the slave trade as a person of colour is featured cooking on the far left of the image. 

The image was actually intended to advertise a line of 'Uncle Sam Ranges', or cookers. The image dictates America, represented by the figure of Uncle Sam, in a meeting with it's allies (the three figures at the back of the image - England, the 'Dixie' South, and the West) and the rest of the world. It celebrates America as a generous nation who is extending a hand, and food, to other countries around the world. So in this sense the image acts as an early form of American propaganda. 

The second image (above) comes in two parts. Both are from the 1930's, and the typography and illustration style are typical of this era. They are more 'designed' than the previous image and the rich use of colours were intended to catch the eye, which is appropriate as these images were intended to be used as a form of advertisement for the East African Transport company. Historically, these images are from the time of British colonisation across many parts of the world, and the top image depicts the 'old style' of transport in a recently colonised area of what we could assume to be an African country. It shows a traditional method of transporting goods and/or livestock by carrying them long distances. There are a range of people included in this task, including men, women and children. 

The bottom image however depicts the 'new style' - the introduction of more advance 'technologies' including boats meant the transporting of goods and/or people could be done faster. In the centre of the image is a white man, standing proud with his head up, and surrounding him are people of colour. They are all male which could suggest that in this new era women and children no longer have to take on heavy workloads, but all the men have their eyes cast downwards, suggesting they are now submissive to the white man. Their outfits are also all the same which suggests they are no longer dressing in traditional clothes (as in the top image), and they may even be in a uniform of sorts.

Using a range of indicators it is possible to gain a lot of information about the history, social environment and the cultural context of these images. Many of these indicators are typical of the times in which these images were produced, making it easy to analyse this information quickly.