Project 2 “Combating Zika Outbreak” – Initial thumbnails + development

After the initial brainstorming, I chose a few ideas to develop into draft pieces:

Hit By The Bullseye

zika1

This piece hones on the idea of the mosquito bite looking like a bullseye – marking the victim as a target for Zika infection.

Personally though, I found this concept to be a bit too overdone and too direct, which might defeat the purpose of the poster as people will tend to skip over it.

ZIKA – Not a Love Bite

zika2

For this poster concept, I tried to go for a more interesting/ provocative route – love bite referring to the mosquito bite but feedback from the class was that the concept was too sexualised and might not convey the  intended meaning well.

Suggestions were given to focus on other parts of the body (e.g. the neck) to put more focus on the mosquito bite.

Human Slurpee

zika3

Personally this was my favourite out of the three – I liked the slogan as I feel that it was the most original out of the three.

However, feedback was that the image of the slurpee was not obvious enough to convey that the poster was about Zika – the viewer had to look closely to the smaller tagline at the bottom to find out.

Hence, the central image could be clarified to serve the message better.

Revisions

After the first session, I made some revisions on the last 2 concepts based on my peers’ feedback:

zika2_06zz

This was a variation of the “love bite” concept, but I tried to focus on the mosquito bites on the neck to simulate hickies/ focus on the bites to make it less sexual. I did a few variations on colour/ layout as well:
zika2_01zz zika2_02zz

 

zika2_03zz zika2_04zz zika2_05zz

I also applied the same treatment onto the image of a man to create the “guy” version:

zika2_07zz zika2_08zz

For the “human slurpee” concept, I tried to change the image of a slurpee cup to something a little more direct – a blood bag! I also tried to juxtapose the image of a mosquito head to make the reference more obvious. For this concept, I mainly experimented with the relative size and placement of both the image and the text as the combined image of the mosquito sucking on the blood bag became very long in shape and quite clunky to manipulate.

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zika3_edit-5 zika3_edit2 zika3_edit3 zika3_edit4

Project 2 “Combating Zika Outbreak” – Visual Research and Moodboard

Aim: Create awareness and call to fight Zika

Task 1A: Visual Research

For the initial brainstorming, I looked at a variety of health communication posters and awareness campaigns, ranging from the old vintage ones to the modern, current campaigns.

(Full moodboard is here!)

eyes_7

I like this poster because of its

  • Poster/Illustrative style
  • Visually interesting graphics
  • Usage of typography to drive the message home
  • Captivating slogan

Captura-de-pantalla-2014-10-06-a-las-10.46.32

instagram

I like this campaign because of its:

  • Use of publicly recognizable symbols  to generate interest and rapport
  • Interesting manipulating of graphics to echo the message, with provocative slogan
  • Simple and clean layout

foto7

I like this poster because of its:

  • Juxtaposition of imagery (candy/ icecream to depict wounds) – generates shock
  • Simple, effective layout
  • Interesting, thought provocative slogan

tumblr_nw8fw2Dkhp1r5vojso3_1280

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I like this campaign because of its:

  • Interesting imagery – not too direct but metaphorical to generate interest
  • Clean colour palette
  • Clear and effective layout

Also something a little bit more out of the way but I liked this infographic that I found:

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I like the illustrative style present in the infographic that makes the serious topic more approachable and human, instead of being too clinical and distant. The use of the handwritten typeface and textures also add a handmade touch to the illustration, making it more personal and human.

Task 1B: Slogan and Moodboard

After doing some research on both health awareness campaigns, I thought of three main points from which one can raise awareness about Zika:

  1. Zika as a mosquito transmitted disease – preventing mosquito breeding in homes
  2. Zika as being potentially harmful to fetuses – dangers of Zika during pregnancy
  3. Zika as a sexually transmitted disease – importance of adequate protection

Thus, I thought of 4 potential slogans for the Zika awareness campaign:

1

Sex – Hand touching naked torso (Too hetero-normative?)

  • Zika – Not a Love Bite (could refer to mosquito bite (point 1) or sex (point 3))
2

Mosquito “kissing” unborn child in pregnant mother?

  • Zika – Kiss of Death (for pregnant mothers (point 2))
  • Zika – Breed to Bleed (raising awareness against mosquito breeding (point 1))
3

Mosquito in pet enclosure – for sale in pet shop Surrounded by breeding sources

  • Zika – Breeding an exotic pet? (raising awareness against mosquito breeding (point 1))

Reflection – Art Nouveau and Orientalism

Out of the many different aspects of the Art Nouveau movement that we covered in class, one detail that stood out to me was the introduction of Japanese art and oriental elements into (up till then) a primarily Euro-centric narrative of graphic design history, and how it drastically changed the aesthetics and graphic elements for graphic design of that time.

Orientalism was not really new to art – in works from the Renaissance and Baroque era, there were already Oriental subjects present: from figures in Middle Eastern dress to scenes of Turkish, Greek, African and even Egyptian cultures, to suit the patrons with a more exotic palette. However, what really stood out to me in Art Nouveau was that artists did not merely copy (or attempt to imagine) Oriental subjects, but instead assimilated uniquely Japanese styles of expression to create a new approach to their work.

With the Meiji Restoration, the opening of Japan’s ports to Europe caused a large influx of Japanese art, culture and crafts into Europe. Among those, woodblock prints such as those from the likes of Hokusai proved to be the most popular and influential, with its flat, linear style and blocky colours greatly influencing the poster artists of the time (e.g. Beardsley and Toulouse-Lautrec).

To me, this was really interesting as it was the first time we see Asian art being put on the same level as its European counterparts. With the very Euro-centric narrative of graphic design, it is easy to toss aside Asian-style art and graphics as mere craft, with little to no individual aesthetic sense. Thus, it is fascinating to see Japanese work being appreciated and mimicked to the point where it helped to direct an entire art movement with styles and ideas entirely foreign to its origin.

Reflection – The Industrial Revolution

It was interesting to learn about the industrial revolution at a more in depth level – previously, I studied history but focused more on modern world history (1900-) and I could not help but see similarities between the industrial revolution and what later happened (again) with the industrialisation and urbanization in the States in the 1920s. Once again, with the advancements in technology and production, the worker is alienated from the fruits of his labour and is delegated to a disposable role in the spirit of mass production to satisfy the growing demand for cheap consumer goods.

Perhaps that is why even with the ever improving technology and means of production, many traditions and handicraft skills still live on – despite their relative inefficiency, the ability to return to the tactile nature of the raw materials, to feel, touch and work with the crafts is something that humans crave; the authenticity of the handicraft is something we all need in the coldly productive and competent era of the machine.

And perhaps that was what William Morris was trying to achieve – in the Victorian period where everything was loud and excessive, he yearned for a return to the simplicity of the medieval ages where things were carefully and preciously made by hand, and handicraft was at its peak.

It is ironic though, that in his pursuit for this utopia, William Morris recreated the assembly line, albeit in another form – while the workshops he created to make his work were meant to cultivate the camaraderie of the collective and the artist guild in spirit, his top down control of the work meant that any kind of autonomy held by them was probably lost.