Visual Communication II

Task 4: Cigarette Dispenser (Deliverable 2)

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Purpose of product:

  • A gift to give your smoking friends
  • Cigarette Dispenser (makes it a hassle to dispense cigarette sticks)

3D Model on Maya:

Process (Main Product):

One of the hard part was actually putting a hinge on the cover and connecting it to the main body. Initially, I thought it would be easier to create a slide-in cover but it was quite tedious to make that. Therefore, I watched a video online on how to create a DIY hinge and I was not disappointed with the outcome.

For the visual aspect of the product, I’ve decided to include a sticker/label on it as a way to indicate the purpose of the product.

However, the feedback given was that it was too clustered with information and that it should be minimal. And also, the sentence “smoking hot” doesn’t really link to smoking as it has a more sexual tone to it.

FINAL STICKER:

I’ve decided to include only the ingredients of the cigarette on the design, with an additional of “lung/heart cancer” and “death” to indicate the risk of inhaling something toxic.

FINAL PRODUCT:

        

FINAL PRODUCT PUT TO USE:

Once again, I am very satisfied with the craftsmanship of the product. The purpose of it could be made better, as a sense to make smokers reduce the amount of cigarettes they light and dispense. The creation of this product has been very fulfilling.

Task 3: Smoker Poster (Deliverable 1)

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Purpose of poster:

  • To raise awareness regarding the negative impact of smoking
  • To attract attention from far
  • To give a brief information of the severity of smoking/second-hand smoking

Sketch:

Draft 1:

For the first draft, I was trying to include family members (in silhouette) to show an image that the smoker is feeding his family members exactly what he is consuming. Specifically, the contents of a cigarettes. However, feedback was given that the poster was not impactful enough to the audience and the silhouettes could not be seen amidst the dark background.

Draft 2:

After the first consultation, I decided to make the poster as scary as possible. In a sense that it triggers the audience at how the severity of smoking is depicted. I’ve decided to include an image of a prayer table, with an image of a dead man covered in a skull of smoke. There are joss sticks replaced with cigarettes, to show how the man actually passed on due to smoking.

Draft 3:

 

During the second consultation, I also introduced a whole new poster concept. Michael indicated that the new concept was more appealing as compared to the stereotypical dark posters. I have decided to go with the latter design.

Draft 4:

For the final consultation, Michael also gave feedback regarding the placement of the words. It was too centralized and he told me to include a brief description of the poster in it. He told me to make use of all the space in the poster. It was important to play with the white space but to make sure the words are not fused into the visuals.

FINAL POSTER DESIGN:

For the final design, I’ve played with the placement of the joss bowl and placed it in the far corner. The stream of smoke stretches across the poster on the opposite side. By doing so, it has given me sufficient white space to fill in my texts and the poster is more well-balanced and not centralized.

I’ve enjoyed the process of creating this poster. What I’ve learnt through my years in visual communication is that less sometimes can be more. It’s okay if the work has minimal elements in it, as long as it brings out the message of the poster.

Infographic Poster | Second-hand Smoking

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Information to include on poster:

  • The risks of second-hand smoking
  • Who they are affecting
  • Percentage and numbers on the severity of smoking
  • Solutions to smoking (second-hand)

I have used information collected from the survey collected and input in the poster. The colours I have chosen for my poster is orange, a colour used mostly for warning signs (road signs) which indicates the seriousness of the situation.

I have used mostly icons and minimal words to bring out the fast-reading process when looking at the poster. At the top of the poster, I have included a very well-known cigarette design, Marlboro Red. Smokers (or maybe second-hand smokers) would know this cigarette brand at first glance and they would be interested to read the poster.

Final Outcome of the poster:

Feebacks:

  • The header looks too separated from the poster. The poster can be cut into 2 pieces and still look good on its own. The header is not infused with the infographic.
  • Try to play with the skull from the infographic and blend it into the header
  • Some words are hard to be read (red on orange)
  • Infographic may look too stagnant, try to play around with the placement

Despite the constructive feedback given, I felt pretty satisfied with the outcome of the poster. I was really thankful for the information given by family and friends through the survey. It has made it easier for me to get specific information to include in the poster. I agree with how the header looks separated from the body. I felt like I was too much in my comfort zone for this assignment. I will try to explore more with the spacing in the next project. :3

Exploratory Research Part 2 // Visual Communication II

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I’ve conducted a survey amongst friends and family in regards to smoking on a daily basis in Singapore (and also Malaysia, since some of my relatives stay there).

The survey has been directed to 3 different groups of people:

1) Smokers (first-hand)

2) Non-smokers (second-hand)

3) Non-smokers (no contact with direct cigarettes smoke)

Out of the whole survey, I’ve received a response from 49 people. 67.3% of them females, while the remaining 32.7% were males. And out of the 49 people surveyed, 77.6% (38) of them were non-smokers where as 22.4% (11) of them were. In regards to the answers received, I can infer that majority of the smokers were male.

From the remaining 38 people, 57.9% (22) were second-hand smokers whereas the remaining 42.1% (16) do not have any contact with smoke.

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For first-hand smokers, I have asked the following questions.

1) Have you experienced any chest/heart pain due to smoking? (Yes/No)

2) How many packs/sticks do you smoke on a daily basis? (eg. 3 sticks, 2 packs)

3) When did you start smoking? (Age)

4) Why did you start smoking?

5) Do you move away from non-smokers when you are lighting a stick? Why or why not?

6) What would you like to say to non-smokers?

Answers:

From the answers given, I can see that being a first-hand smoker doesn’t affect any of their health as only 2 people indicated that smoking has caused them pain in the chest. The amount of sticks smoked starts from as little as 1-2 sticks per day, to as much as 20 sticks per day, with an average of 10 sticks per day. The age range for when they started smoking starts from as young as 12 years old, to as old as 21 years old. With 12 years old having the highest number, followed by 18/19 years old. Majority of the response indicated that the reason they started smoking was due to peer pressure/being cool/curiosity. All of the responses also mentioned that they do not smoke in front of others and move away when non-smokers are nearby. Lastly, the message given to non-smokers were mostly to “stay away from cigarettes/smokers” and some with the “that’s your problem” mindset.

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For second-hand smokers:

1) Do you move away when someone lights a stick near you? (If no, why?)

2) How often do you inhale second-hand smoke? (eg. Hourly, Daily, Weekly)

3) Who are the ones who smoke around you? (eg. partner, family members, friends, public)

4) Has the second-hand smoke caused you any sickness or illness? (If yes, please state.)

5) What would you like to say to smokers?

Answers:

Majority indicated that they would move away when someone lights a stick near them as they hate the smell of it while some indicated that they stay as to not come across as rude or to not want to be left out amongst friends. Some has even grown immune to the smell. More than 50% of the responses indicated that they are victims to second-hand smoking on a daily basis. About 40% of the answers, weekly. While the remaining 10% were monthly or “depends on situation”. The most shocking answer I received was how 100% of the reason for second-hand smoking was because of their family members. Some indicated partners, some relatives. A few mentioned “public” as they can move away once they smell smoke. Out of 22 responses, 8 people mentioned how smoke has caused them various diseases/illnesses such as asthma, sinus attacks, cough, dizziness, chest pain and nauseousness.

Messages from second-hand smoke victims to smokers:

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For those with no contact with cigarette smoke:

1) What are your opinions on smoking and second-hand smoking?

2) What would suggest to reduce/stop excessive smoking?

Answers:

For these group, I’ve decided to ask them for their opinions on smoking as a third-person POV.

Lastly, I ended the survey by asking the respondents whether they are aware that second-hand smoking is more lethal than first-hand smoking.

42 people mentioned that they knew it was more lethal, whereas the remaining 7 didn’t.

Conclusion:

Second-hand smokes happens more around us than we can ever imagine. Most of the smokers are aware of what they are doing to the people around them. Children whose parents smoke are also likely to pick up smoking, as seen in the Student Health Survey where 6 in 10 youth smokers have at least one parent who is also a smoker.

Target Audience:

Youth/Teenagers.

As seen from the statistics received, majority started from as young as a minor, even before they were of a legal age to purchase cigarettes. Most of them started due to peer-pressure and curiosity. Smoking happens mostly when people are influenced by someone else. The main objective is to stop/reduce the act of smoking from the root itself, instead of focusing more on the current smokers who has been smoking for years – as it is majorly hard for them to stop.

Statistics source:

https://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/450/environmentaltobaccosmoke

Task 1A Exploratory

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SMOKING:

Second hand smokers are getting a lot more worse than first hands. Some are too ignorant or oblivious to their surroundings. This happens often amongst family members and friends. Statistic shows that secondhand smoke has caused nearly 34,000 heart diseases each year during 2005-2009. Us secondhand smokers have a higher probability of death as compared to smokers themselves. 

IMPORTANCE OF RETAINING CULTURE/HERITAGE:

Newly renovated Wisma Geylang Serai which caters to Malay Muslim community. Retaining and sharing the Malay Culture despite Geylang having more people from other races moving in. 3-Day event with a theme of Past, Present and Future. 

ELDERLY LIVING ALONE:

Number of elderly living alone has tripled since 2000. Some of these elderly were either left alone by their family members, refused to move in with their children or have no one else to rely on. Some of these elderly may face depression due to the lack of interaction with the outside world. We may not know what’s happening at their home with no one keeping an eye on them.

PERIOD (CRAMPS):

-Some have it worst than others. The society tends to think that period cramp is nothing and will deem women as “weak”. It is important to raise awareness on how periods affect us women as an individual.

-Situation:

Having horrible cramps during training. Told coach I couldn’t train. Coach told me, “It’s just cramps.”

What am I focusing on?

SECOND HAND SMOKER.

Causes 7,330 deaths from lung cancer and 33,950 deaths from heart disease each year. Secondhand smoke contains hundreds if chemicals known to be toxic or carcinogenic. It can trigger a heart attack, even for secondhand smokers.

Example:

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Dialogue In The Dark: Reflection

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When I first entered the room, I thought it was all fun and games. But as we moved on further, I started to realize how serious it was to lose your sight. Being someone who relies a lot on sight, I felt suffocated and wanted the tour to end quickly. I kept bumping into the walls and my friends despite given the walking stick to find my way. The amount of “sorrys” heard during the tour was endless. I was getting tired and my eyes felt strained, somehow. Despite all those challenges faced during the tour, the guide taught us how to find our way by using other senses such as touch, hearing and smell. During the river boat ride, we can hear the engine roaring, the water splattering and the breeze in our face as we rode past different locations. I realized how we can still enjoy the things around us using our other senses too. As a sighted person, I realized that we have a major benefit in the world. Since we are the privileged, we should use it to take care of those who aren’t. For example, helping them board the bus, getting the blind around, and simply explaining/describing things to them such as the menu at a food outlet. I swear if the guide wasn’t there to describe our surroundings and guide us through, we would just be walking around in circles and tripping endlessly. 

By having a first-hand experience of something we’re not familiar with can change our perspectives and empathize more with the person who has to live with it everyday. We, as humans who are “perfect” (gift of sight, hearing, health etc), tend to underestimate, neglect and assume the importance of accessibility of those who were not given that privilege. It’s simple for us to think, “What’s so bad about that?” as someone who has ease in living a normal life. It’s the same concept as telling someone with no legs to “just walk”. Creating products/designs for the less-fortunate takes much more effort and research to get to the end product. Through the technique of role-playing, it helps us realize how the simple solutions we thought of as “healthy” humans, could result in so many “what ifs” for the less-fortunate.

As the Malay proverb goes,

“Berat mata memandang, berat lagi bahu memikul”

Translation: As heavy as our eyes see the hardships of other people, it’s even harder/tougher for the one who is going through it.

Sometimes, it may not be solely focused on physical disabilities. It could also be mental disabilities/impairment such as depression, dyslexic, dementia and so forth. We tend to overlook these health issues as it is something not seen on the surface. Though it may be hard to tackle this topic, I feel like it is a need to understand things from their perspective and to create awareness to the rest.