After Task 1A of information gathering through secondary research, I went on to do primary research through designing of questionnaire in the form of an online survey.
I made sure to make some questions that were slightly more subjective to be open-ended so that users taking the test could make their own choices as to how to answer the question. It also allowed me to gain more insights to their thoughts instead of static yes/no answers.
There were also some opinion questions that I made optional to give users the ability to opt out of answering if they were not comfortable with it since it was a sensitive topic.
Given the above, I designed my questionnaire to make it very objective instead of subjective. Therefore, my questions were straight to the point and precise. I had a total of 16 questions and I provided context for certain terms or words that I used that may or may not be familiar to the people taking the test
After receiving a few feedback from my peers and some users who took the tests, there were a couple of people who felt that the questionnaire was borderline targeted to “demean” the majority race. Although that was never my intention, moving forward, I will take that into consideration to offer warm up questions first before touching deeper into the subjects for the upcoming deliverables. Having said that, I do want my deliverables to be highly objective and slightly controversial to provoke thought and spark conversations.
I discovered that not many were aware regarding the SAP school rulings of bonus points for Higher Chinese students. Quite a large number of people shared their sentiments regarding that and discrimination & ethnic privilege in general. There were some who do admit that racism is prevalent but not acknowledged by many and termed as racism, rather, a stereotype.
The responses of being underrepresented or being a victim of covert racism divided the respondents by almost half which was a little surprising as I thought those numbers would have a significant difference. I am assuming it’s because I did not oversample the minority races who took the test.
Therefore, in general, I’ve learnt that people are generally open to discussions in regards to this topic, especially so for the younger generation which is going to be the targeted group for this project campaign as they are the future of Singapore and will be able to make major differences in the coming years.
Briefly share your experience going through Dialogue with Time. What were some of the feelings, thoughts, challenges and insights gained while role playing an elderly person?
Dialogue with Time was an exhibition at the Science Centre Singapore to embrace ageing. It was a very insightful exhibition in that everything was kept minimal but the visuals such as coloured zones that are associated with conditions that are related to the consequences of ageing were nice details that added to the exhibition visually. For example, one of the zones was coloured yellow and we were told that it was to represent the vision that becomes slightly yellowish that an older person gets as they age.
I enjoyed the fact that the guides were seniors which made it that much more impactful and we got to hear firsthand experiences and thoughts from them which we would otherwise not be able to hear based on daily encounters.
Checking Blood Pressure
Testing reactivity timing
Testing reactivity timing
Information Boards
Information Boards
Tremor Simulation in daily tasks
Simulation of how elderlies capture and process information for memory
I am a very visual person in that I get attracted to visuals and simulations very easily. Therefore, personally, I feel like one of the most effective form of communications were the simulations that they had such as the tremor simulation where the simple everyday act of slotting in a key into the key hole to open the door to your house is already a huge challenge for elderlies experiencing tremors. There were times such as during the focus groups where everyone shared what “Happy Ageing” meant to them and the senior shared hers as well. I thought that was pretty engaging but it was not as eye opening as the last section where we had to do a quiz. During this time, I learnt a lot of facts regarding ageing, life expectancy, potential problems that may arise due to higher ageing population in Singapore, etc. Apart from that, the sharing session by the seniors really opened my eyes to be ready not just financially but skill wise as well for the future so that we can remain useful.
Sharing session of what “Happy Ageing” means to us
Our guide
Drawing on your experience, can you think and list some of the benefits inherent in the design research technique of role playing?
I think there are a lot of benefits of role playing as a technique of design research.
User-Centered Approach
By role-playing, with proper and well-thought about simulations, users would be able to participate and have a glance at how, in this case, the elderlies go about their days having to deal with these challenges such as retaining information, opening doors, even eating, going to the bathroom, etc. Simple daily tasks that any able-bodied person may not even think about as a struggle or potential struggle as they go on about their lives on any normal day. In a way, this would allow for deeper understanding and generation of empathy. It would also create a diverse thinking sets and push individuals to act upon their thoughts to potentially help and attempt to be more aware of the situation. Another benefit to a user-centered approach is that the ability that would allow users to feel ownership of their feelings and thoughts rather than being bombarded with information without substance, which could potentially push people away sometimes when trying to convey a message. In other words, it feels less forced.
Problem-Solving & Ideas for Improvement
In these role-playing technique, designers would be able to analyse the users more effectively in that they would be able to gather a more insightful and accurate data. They would be able to see how different users would interact and handle the same simulated situations that were given to these users. Hence, potential problems, risks or ineffective implementation could be detected and improved earlier on. Inputs from users are also highly useful for designers to keep in mind when designing for intended purpose.
Can you think of some contexts where role-playing can be useful to help discover and define design challenges or contribute to the development of design solutions?
Due to my topic chosen for my assignment, I am going to focus on ethnic discrimination in this context.
The two videos above were ones I’ve found a few years back and felt like the impact it had really opened my eyes further and made me realise that I was not the only facing this problem and I was not the only one who was aware of it. These are perhaps not role-playing but it is kind of a social experiment that is simulated to help participants to be more socially aware of the existing of privilege and how far it can affect one’s opportunities, way of thinking, etc. Therefore, in a way, role playing for this particular topic that I’ve chosen would be extremely tough but beneficial in some ways.
Pros:
— Able to put things into perspective by minority & majority groups
— Majority groups would be able to be more empathetic when faced with this role-playing
— Minority groups will feel that they have a voice and feel empowered
Cons:
— Might be generalised and this could be a potential problem in understanding the situation in addition to the possibility of underrepresentation
— Extremely sensitive and therefore differing opinions might spark negativity
All these pros and cons are extremely useful for designers when they do decide to come up with campaigns, collaterals and sorts as in this context, they would be able to see the disparity between the different users and are able to more sensitive when designing. Elimination of biasness might also be a challenge but could be learnt through role-playing as you would be able to get a better understanding as to the reasons people react a certain way. Designers will be able to approach this with a fresher mindset. In addition to that, race topics are very much controversial in Singapore and are kept at bay in terms of having conversations due to the potential to upset one person or the other. Therefore, through role-playing users and designers will be able to experience and understand each other better and this would create a more critical design that would deem more effective. On top of that, having role-plays allow for more intuitive decisions for designers when designing and have a clearer picture and retain their observation better.
Ethnic Discrimination/Colourism/Racial Stereotypes have been a part of my life since the day I was born “coloured” in this multi-ethnic country in Singapore. It has become a norm and something that could sometimes be passed of as casual racism and other times, led to more serious issues like the ease of finding a job due to preconceived notions of my racial stereotypes. This happens with my other minority counterparts as well. Though admittedly, in Singapore, it is not as apparent as other countries, it is still an issue that exists but hidden. I would love to shed light on this matter and attempt to take a step to make a difference.
Singapore is one of the leading technologically advanced cities yet faces an alarming sustainability problem, in this case in particular, I’m more interested in food wastage. Undeniably, Singaporeans love food. However, food wastage here increases our carbon footprint tremendously, especially for a small island that is already in scarce of land.
A huge part of a sense of belonging is a sense of cultural identity that you associate with. Not entirely your own ethnic culture, but also a sense of national culture. Due to the influx of foreigners and consumption of western media, Singaporeans are on the brink of losing our cultural identity which is of importance as it can actually provide a sense of pride that unifies the country. The warmth of a culture should not be underestimated as a nation as it does affect the way policies are shaped and the way we communicate and treasure living here.
Nonconsensual Intimacy/Outrage of Modesty/Image Based Assault
These things are getting out of hand in Singapore and cases are growing by the numbers. It is a problem that has to be brought up and actually talked about because as a woman in this digital society, a safe space is needed for one to feel empowered. Singapore prides itself in being safe but unfortunately, things like these still do take place and reason being that there needs to be stricter punishments put in place to deal with it. For example, the recent case of the NUS student getting away with the molestation case (last link) due to his “potential to excel in life” is downright upsetting for the victim and also the public. More often than not, when the public do hear about these cases, they would be quick to judge and form questions like, “What was she wearing?”, “What was she doing at out at night?”, “Why was she drinking at night?”. These are unsound judgements and shows the lack of empathy and ignorant mindsets that the public do have and needs to be tackled. Support needs to be provided for victims. In addition to that, people need to be aware that this also happens to men. Regardless of the gender, there are many cases that still go unreported.
It’s weird how in the Western countries, the beauty department stores are filled with tanning products whereas in Asia, it’s filled with whitening products. Living in Asia all my life, I have had more than several comments growing up about being tanned, either from my family, relatives, friends, colleagues or strangers. Many of my other tanner skin friends do experience this as well, regardless of race. The obsession with being fair in Asia generates a multibillion dollar industry of dangerous whitening products that contain high levels of unsafe bleaching ingredients such as hydroquinone and mercury. A lot of these preferences resonates from colonialism, backward culture and lack of representations in advertisements which distort beauty standards.
After much thought and research of reading articles online, I was more drawn to the issues relating to Ethnic Discrimination (Inclusivity/Inequality/ Ignorance) as well as Nonconsensual Intimacy/Outrage of Modesty/Image Based Assault due to the reasons below. I am torn between two at the moment but will make a decision after consultation.
2. Why is it important, who does it affect and how?
I’ve been living in Singapore for all of my life and have been a minority for all of it. Hence, I’ve a few sentiments through experiences growing up and day to day occurrences that I do deal with and a lot of my other minority friends deal with that I feel can be brought to light. This was heightened as I delved deeper into reading online articles and forums during my research.
As much as things are slowly changing now, it’s not changing fast enough and ignorance still largely exists, intentional or unintentional. Especially with recent racial tensions, I feel like this topic would be of relevance to dive into to shed light to the underrepresented and under-appreciated minority groups.
If this topic is not addressed, I feel like I’m being of disservice to my fellow minority groups. My intentions is definitely not to create more division but to unite all ethnic groups and reduce colour discrimination and racial stereotypes. Though it might be something that people see on social media from time to time, I feel like in Singapore context, it is not being celebrated as largely enough as it is in other countries where racial discriminations are more transparent. In Singapore, it’s very much hidden, hence why ignorance do exist and still largely practiced or believed my many. The purpose I’m focusing on is not to change immediately or to have everyone agree to disagree. It is, however though, for people to acknowledge that this is a problem and not just something that happens occasionally that makes the media. Just hearing people out can make that much of a difference. Having a voice = Empowerment. Addressing this issue may or may not lead to any changes but any step is better than taking no steps at all.
Nonconsensual Intimacy/Outrage of Modesty/Image Based Assault
This topic has always been on the radar for me. However, recent headlines that made the official papers in Singapore have become a real concern or rather, they were based on more solid facts. It is upsetting that it had to come to it making the headlines before it having a real impact.
Anyway, dealing with the situation as of now, upon reading many comments from netizens and eavesdropping on conversations amongst the older generation along with sentences for these criminals, it is rather discouraging. More often than not, the headlines or angles taken in these articles do not shed light to the horrific situation the victims went through, rather, the focus is more on the accuser(s)/criminal(s). Arguably, that is what the public wants to know and that is what the public shall get right? However, this very much so leads to comments and judgements being passed that accuses the victims instead. Though everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I feel like we could be more sensitive and have more empathy to victims. Furthermore, sentences passed on to these criminals should be more strenuous and not have a qualified state judge to consider the qualification as part of the decision to sentence the criminal. That is an injustice. A crime has been committed and it should he or she should be treated as any other criminal, regardless or race, religion or qualifications. Those things SHOULD NOT matter. Furthermore, outreach programmes or readily available schemes should be offered to victims. I want to give them a voice because a lot of cases do go unreported and this could lead to potential problems such as mental health.
Target audience would be the younger population in Singapore because the the mindset of older generation is pretty much impaled and deep-rooted. However, the younger generation is the future and can make a bigger difference. Regardless of race, religion, social group, location, this caters to the masses, but will have an inclination to be received better by the minority groups. I think this is very much a needed movement for me as a millennial to take a stand in what I believe in and to provide a platform for communities that are discriminated against, intentionally or unintentionally. I do anticipate a backlash as I intend to experiment with controversial ways of communication but I do hope to do it in a tasteful manner.
Nonconsensual Intimacy/Outrage of Modesty/Image Based Assault
Target audience would mainly be the victims to provide them with a voice but also aiming at the large population to respond to the issue to spark deeper conversations rather than having mindless comments passed on the internet by ‘keyboard warriors‘. I hope to offer empowerment to the voiceless victims who have had to suffer the consequences with or without support and this is largely needed to at least attempt to give these victims a helping hand if they were made to believe that their feelings were invalid.
4. How has visual communication contributed to address the cause?
With racial campaigns, it can go south really quickly. For example, a Serie A anti-racism campaign where the artwork was produced by artist Simone Fugazzotto to speak against the racism in Italian football. This happened in 2019 which is just in December last year. Serie A chief executive Luigi de Siervo was leading the campaign with the artist mentioned above. The campaign was released during a news conference via a series of images on screen for the Serie A anti-racism campaign. This created a major backlash. The reason why I featured this was to remind me to more mindful when making decisions or artworks so as to not offend the majority.
Shortly after President Trump signed off to close borders to refugees, Airbnb released an ad during Superbowl called, “We accept” in 2017 where it showed montages of difference nationalities with words, “We believe no matter who you are, where you’re from, who you love or who you worship, we all belong. The world is more beautiful the more you accept.”
I strongly appreciate the representations of multiple ethnic backgrounds and the way Airbnb stepped forward to provide support for the refugees in a way that did not divide but rather, to unite. I personally believe that campaigns that are inclusive garner better engagements and are generally well accepted compared to those who are targeted at a specific group of people as it may potentially lead to division.
Appropriateness: The images were clean and subjects were strong which brought out their different features which then highlighted their differences which further emphasised their campaigns that at the end of the day, we are of the human race and should be seen and treated as such. Fonts were clean and matched Airbnb’s minimalistic aesthetics and general branding font.
Clarity: Format, coherence and legibility of the video was clear with minimal text which made it easy to understand. Although the logo at the end is always a branding PR tactic, I strongly feel that this also helped the public to recognise organisations that do support and embrace everyone.
Engagement: 30 second video was perfect, it was quick, easy to follow. However, in terms of innovative quality, I feel like it was a more general and common way of showing how these representations are normally done. So in that sense, I feel like it is not very innovative but I do have to acknowledge that human portraits usually do make bigger impacts, at least according to what I understand and how some of my fellow peers consume media.
The particular movement I wanted to highlight from Amplifier is the, ‘We the People’ nonpartisan campaign, launched in 2017. It aims to spark conversations regarding American identity and value via art and sharing of stories.
I really appreciate how they produce images that challenges the norm and what most may consider, controversial, to shed light to the topic and the rising hatred, bigotry and intolerance in America. Images speak volume and in this digital day and age, many people do consume art easily and controversial art garners the most attention, both by people who agree and people who don’t.
Appropriateness: Therefore, given the above, this campaign definitely reached their aim of igniting debates and starting conversations regarding this topic, both positive and negative. Granted, that in Singapore, such campaigns might never be approve as the freedom of speech is not appreciated here as it may create racial tensions, however, the idea could still be applied in my project. The artworks were very stylistic and style was accredited to Frank Shepard Fairey.
Clarity: The images used strong, clear and made use of semiotics such as visual metaphors, analogies etc.
Coherence: The images produced so far has been consistent in terms of stylistic approach which is essential to create coherence and create impact and longevity.
Issues in relation to ethnic discrimination that I may want to highlight:
— Work Opportunities & Discrimination
— Ignorance to minority cultures, celebration, stereotypes, archetypes (especially in advertising)
— Having to conform unknowingly sometimes due to things like “Chinese speaking candidates preferred” or having to fit in a majority race dominated environment
— Inclusivity and not Exclusivity
This is a concept that means that minority races want to feel included and it should not feel like a favour through exclusivity.
— Cultural insensitivity
Statistics Research in Singapore:
These were findings from Channel NewsAsia – Institute of Policy Studies on Race Relations by Matthew Matthews, a Senior Research Fellow at IPS Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy National University of Singapore.
Sample obtained through stratified random sampling of dwelling types (Malay & Indians were oversampled to ensure sufficient minority representation)
“Drop-off pick up” method (predetermined prospective household having eligible respondents to complete questionnaire on their own, which was available in all 4 official languages)
To eliminate biasness, envelopes were sealed before passing it over to surveyor
Only Singaporean residents (citizens of PRs) above 21 years old
Is success meritocratic in Singapore?
Nearly 90% agreed that hard work equates to equal opportunity to be rich despite race
53% believed that being majority race was advantageous (perception more acute among minorities)
1/3 believed interests of majority race should be looked after
30% felt races were getting too demanding about their cultural rights
Race & Policy
70% found various policies to safeguard racial & religious harmony to be helpful in building trust between races & protecting minority right
85% acknowledged Racial Harmony Day fostered inter-racial trust
2/3 did not favour race-based public information when it came to crime, educational performance or social problems
Multiculturalism
90% endorsed respect, equality & value for people of other ethnic groups
“Most respondents report interacting with those of other races in a variety of settings such as attending an ethnic celebration, taking an interest in understanding the culture of those around them and making friends from other races. However it is impossible to judge the depth of these interactions.”
Nearly half agreed with statements that have associations to people of different races with negative characteristics (44% agreed to, ““People from some races are more violent than others” & 46% agreed to “People from some races are not friendly”)
Racism
53% viewed racism as problem of the past
74% viewed themselves as hardly/not racist
40% have close friends that were at least mildly racist
70% found outright discrimination to not be acceptable and saw it as racist
48% felt that not having friends of other races was racist
Racial Preferences
Across races, racial preferences exist in finding partners, business partners or to share problems with, political leaders
Respondents were more open to a Singaporean Chinese President compared to smaller number who accepted Singaporean Malay or Singaporean Indian President
AMONG MALAYS: 94% Malays would accept a Singaporean Malay President, 84% would accept a Singaporean Chinese President
AMONG CHINESE: 96% would accept a Singaporean Chinese President, 59% would accept a Singaporean Malay President
Differential Treatment & Experiences
2/3 of Malay & Indian respondents who experienced ill treatment claimed race was the basis of it.
AMONG MALAYS: 44% felt that they were negatively treated based on religion & income/education
AMONG INDIANS: 62% felt negative treatment due to colour of skin and race
“While many minority respondents attributed the negative experiences they had encountered to race, comparatively fewer felt that they had experienced racial discrimination. Possibly, the notion of “racial discrimination” connotes a much more negative experience which surpasses the types of differential treatment they perceived. “
Discussing Race
2/3 noted that discussions of race were unsettling in that it could be offensive and lead to tension
Half (incl minorities) agreed that minorities are being over-sensitive about racial issues
My views:
In light of this, I went to read up on forums on different experiences of minorities from different ethnic background and tried to also find comparable experiences of the majority race in Singapore.
Obviously we are all protected by overt racism in Singapore. However, covert racism is what’s causing the harm and the “less-than” feeling as minorities in Singapore. Yes, I do agree that the government do take racism very seriously and that those who do shall be punished for it. However, what people in general lack to acknowledge is the impact that it brings to the victims of these covert racism. Identifying explicit racism is generally more agreeable by most but Modern Racism may not be detectable or outwardly recognised, especially by the majority race. This may come intentionally or unintentionally. According to the survey conducted above by Matthew Matthews, racial biasness such as the example of a much higher percentage of Malays being accepting of a Singaporeans Chinese President in comparison to the Chinese respondents having a lower percentage in acceptance of a Singaporean Malay President are proofs that covert racism do exist whether people realise it or not.
I am more concerned in regards to the impact it may have on job opportunities, the racial tension, ignorance, insensitivity and the prejudice that comes attached to a person’s ethnicity.
Why?
Because continuity of this would amplify racial disparity and create separation between races rather than unite them for a more harmonious living condition. Silence is still ignorance.
— SAP Schools & Conformity
Before research, I was not aware that an advantage was given to students taking Higher Chinese to enter into SAP schools that are deemed to be the more elite schools in Singapore. I was however, aware of SAP schools being predominantly Chinese and are based on Chinese values and traditions.
Hence, upon research, I discovered that:
These were screenshots from an article by Straits Times. It is understandable and respectable that the purpose of these schools are to preserve the traditions, values and language of the Chinese community since less and less youths in Singapore are in touch with their roots. However, the underlying problems of such schools are deeper than just the fact that it is only a small percentage of the schools available in Singapore.
Firstly, these SAP schools have high admission requirements and are very selective in nature. They are also given the advantage with government policies that celebrate their elite status. For example, when the government introduced educational streaming, only nine schools that were placed in the “Special” stream, the top educational caste, were SAP schools. Another example was that SAP schools were pilot schools for Integrated Programme (IP), such that of the 18 IP schools in Singapore, seven of those are SAP though they only make up 7% of secondary schools.
Other examples of advantages gained by SAP school students were the targeted government resources available where an example would be the Bicultural Studies Programme introduced. It included trips to China to profit from rise of China. These programmes were made available to SAP schools only.
Disparity in ethnic representation in Public Service Commission (PSC) is evident in that 90% of them are Chinese. All President’s Scholars and Uniformed Scholars were Chinese. SAP school students managed to get the scholarship almost every year without fail since 1978.
Perhaps what is more concerning is the fact that SAP schools get access to activities like, “Political Leaders Attachment Programme” for students to build rapport with politicians. Special resources and “Scholarship Day” are available for SAP school students to also prepare to be leaders of the nation.
These advantages are great for these students. Hence, these opportunities should be extended to minority groups as well. However, since they barely are, it is clear that students from SAP schools do get a higher advantage and lead when it comes to being part of the elite system and educational and networking opportunities. In turn, this leads to underrepresentation in the system in terms of ethnicity also due to the lack of access to equal opportunities.
In addition to this, SAP school students are more than likely to be less aware and exposed to students from other cultural backgrounds which can lead to insensitivity and this is highly concerning, especially when some of these students are more than likely to be future generation leaders of Singapore that are not able to grasp the point of view of minority races.
— Inclusivity issues in representation, celebration of festivals by different ethnic groups are not as grand as CNY
— Casual Racism
The act of passing slightly racist remarks, more often than not, not directed to hurt the other party of the receiving end. Fitting people into archetypes is also a form of casual racism and having prejudicial mindset towards a race or being unintentionally or intentionally exclusive based on race, covertly.
Growing up a person of colour in Singapore context, I feel like I was opened to these types of casual racism. There were times where I had to prove my worth to educators just because I fit into a certain box other than the majority. I felt bounded and felt that I had to work twice as hard sometimes. Apart from that, I have been tailgated by shop employees and it felt physically uncomfortable. I was also made aware of the unequal opportunities that exist due to the colour of my skin in certain fields. There are a lot of experiences that I do wish I could share with my Chinese friends which I sometimes do, but most times, there is a lack of understanding and acknowledgement in that sense. There are times too when I have encountered firsthand racism but I just have to keep mum about it to not aggravate the situation and this is extremely common in most of my minority friends which brings me to the point below, desensitisation.
— Desensitisation of casual racism & its impacts
Due to the years of experiencing these situations, I learnt to be outspoken in situations where I felt like the race card was played amongst my friends and I also have tried my best in giving voice to my friends who were victims of casual racisms during conversations etc. However, when it comes to formal settings, a lot of Singaporeans find it tough to voice out due to the backlash that may come with it. But more importantly, I feel like the minority race have just accepted the severity of the situation and are often victims of, “Eh don’t be overly sensitive.” Although these “harmless” comments may be in the name of jokes, these more frequent remarks thrown are more harmful in the long run as compared to overt racism as this could create a plethora of problems:
> Lower self-esteem & confidence
> Racial Segregation
> Hostility
> Loss of trust in government and leaders
> Prejudice and hatred
The list can go on and on. What is alarming is that when I was younger, I remember the lack of representation in the media, in times where social media was not present, led me to feel lower than what was being represented in the media. I strived to fit into the stereotype of beauty standards. Up until now, in advertisements, there are lack of racial representation. The ones that do exist, are more often than not, to fit a racial archetype and that is not okay. Beauty advertisements in Singapore and around East Asia for that matter, largely represent, fair-skin, east-asian centric features and silky straight hair. Another example would be the beauty industry in Singapore in drugstores, specifically. If you take a trip down to any Guardian, Watsons or Sasa in Singapore, you’ll realise just how lacking it is in terms of diversity of options. The foundation shades are very much so catered to lighter skin individuals and the darker skin individuals have to result to purchasing more expensive options such as Bobby Brown, Estee Lauder and Fenty Beauty.
All in all, I feel like there is potential to strive for a more inclusive nation and we are generating a current generation who are more mindful but there are largely still flawed systems in place and mindsets that have room for improvement and I plan to attempt to make efforts to do so in this project. As I said in my previous post, my plan is not to create division but to spark conversations and create awareness in a tasteful manner but controversial enough to actually be attention-grabbing.
This week, I am focusing on two things: International Typographic Style & Psychedelic. The former is an impactful movement that shaped Visual Communication heavily in terms of organisation of information. The latter is a movement that I’m focusing on purely based on aesthetics and the message behind it which intrigued me.
International Typographic Style
- Traces back to Neue Grafik
- aka Swiss Style
- Emerged in Russia, Netherlands & Germany
- Further developed by designers in Switzerland
- Emphasis on readability & objectivity to communicate ideas effectively
Characteristics:
- Usage of grids & Sans-serif typefaces
- Style is associated with preference for photography instead of illustrations/drawings as a primary design in addition to text
Reflection:
The emphasis on clarity for this movement paved the way for universally understood way of communication through visuals. It creates a sense of order and control in my opinion. This allowed room to play more with the graphic element be it photography or illustrations etc since the texts are more structured using compositional grids. It is also laid out better to create a better eye flow that is natural so that the message comes across more clearly.
Psychedelic
- Art, Graphic or Visual Displays related to/ influenced by Psychedelic experiences & hallucinations form psychoactive drugs
- Visual Arts were a counterpart to psychedelic music
- Evident in concert photos & record album covers
- Generated controversy due to its links to illicit substance
Characteristics:
- Kaleidoscope swirling/spiral patterns
- Strong colour palette
- Concentric circles & repetition of motifs & symbols (eg. Paisley)
- Art Nouveau & Victorian influences
It also had an influence on comic book artists who created undergroudn genre of comic book known as “underground comix“. They were often satirical in nature.
Underground Comix
Posters/Visuals:
Reflection:
I think this movement stood out to me visually due to its association with Art Nouveau influences, which in my reflections before, I did highlight my interest in. The contrasting colours were refreshing to see and although jarring at times, it somehow created harmony as colours were carefully curated to complement one another and placed with thought. In this art form, in my opinion, the text came secondary to the image shown. I believe this is due to the fact that since they were attracting controversy, through this manner, they were still able to attract their targeted audience and those who were interested in the scene. It created almost a, “camoflouge” for them to continue existing and to spread their movement/style/message.
Lecture 3 was pretty insightful and there were many styles/art movement that really intrigued me. However, for the purpose of this reflection, I am going to focus on two of them which is Cubism as well as Surrealism.
Cubism
- Invented around 1907-1908
- By artists Pablo Picasso & Georges Braque
- Very much focused on the different perspectives of human figures
- Resulted in painting that appeared fragmented and abstracted.
2 different styles of Cubism :
First Stage: Analytical – Muted, earthy tones were used
Second Stage: Synthetic – More colourful and used mixed media
Juan Gris
Portrait of Josette Gris, 1916 Juan Gris
My favourite artwork shared during the lecture was one by Juan Gris, called Portrait of Josette Gris. Between the two styles of Cubism, I much rather prefer the Analytical style. Although Juan Gris was more known for his works in Synthetic Cubism Style, this particular painting stood out to me. The earthy tones and the form of the figure created a sombre feeling. The depth was created with shadows in various rigid shape form.
Though the shapes used in Cubism were angular, it’s interesting to still be able to see movement and life in the paintings.
Pablo Picasso
Better known for portraits
Georges Braque
Better known for landscapes
Surrealism
- Founded by Andre Breton, a poet in Paris in 1924
- Artistic & Literary movement
- Played with irrational and subconscious mind
- Possessed dream-like visuals, symbolism, unexpected juxtapositions & collage images
Andre Breton
- Advocates that artists should bypass reason & rationality by accessing unconscious mind to create art
- These techniques were later known as automatism
- Allowed artists to embrace chance when creating surrealist art
Sigmund Freud
- Influential works, esp book called 'The interpretation of Dreams (1899)
- Legitimised the importance of dreams and unconscious as revelations of human emotion & desire
Salvador Dali
- Influenced by Renaissance masters
- Had a bizarre surrealist style
- A skilled classical painter and illustrator
- Works often include ants or eggs
Final Reflections:
I thoroughly enjoyed this week’s lecture as it encased quite a lot of information that were interesting to me. Surrealism was the first art movement that caught my eyes, back when I was in secondary school as I was intrigued by the peculiar style it has and how it was able to convey a message that was individualistic, subjective and very personal.
It also played with the subconscious mind and was able to capture the essence of what the artists’ minds looked like. In my opinion, due to their renaissance-style, technical paintings, that contrasted with it’s almost “psychedelic” or a state of mind that was a daze etc, it created a sense of believability that could still resonate with a lot of viewers or followers of the art.
During the sharing session in class, Desmond reintroduced us to the art movement called, Art Nouveau. The works that were classified under this particular style really piqued my interest. The organic and expressive lines in the design was something I really identified with and fully appreciate. Hence, this reflection is going to cover that!
Here is some history that I read up on.
Generally, Art Noveau was generated by enthusiasts who were in the decorative, graphic arts and architecture throughout Europe and beyond, including the United States. It was also known as the Glasgow style or more commonly known by the Germans as Jugendstil. The movement lasted between 1890-1910.
This movement began as an effort to break free from the eclectic historical styles with an aim to modernise design. Inspirations were drawn from organic and geometric forms which formed elegant designs that created visual movement with the flowing lines. Art Noveau reflected transformations of the modern age at the time in an exuberant style that emphasized nature, beauty and optimism. Muted colours of greens, yellows, blues and browns were popular in this art style.
Unfortunately, the style ended before World War I which then led to the development of Art Deco.
Now that the history has been established, I’m going to move on to the artists and works. Although the movement existed in furniture, products etc, I’m going to pull the focus onto the graphic design as that was something that stood out to me most. Perhaps what attracted me to Art Noveau was the emotions that the art provoked.
A Czech artist who drew influences from Japanese Ukiyo-e artist, Utagawa Toyokuni. He birthed the ‘Style Mucha’ where he was established as the pre-eminent exponent of French Art Nouveau. He came to popularity from the commissioned work of Sarah Bernhardt.
Works by Alphonse Mucha
Jules Chéret
He was a French painter and lithographer but was also known as the father of modern poster from Paris.
Aubrey Beardsley
A British artist who was notable due to his impressive impact on illustration art. He was able to make a name for himself in a short span of 7 years and one of his most popular works were his illustrations for Oscar Wilde’s play, Salome. Unfortunately, his career was cut short due to the onset of tuberculosis.
Reflection:
This art movement was something I connected with as I’ve always been a fan of muted tones in graphic designs as well as clean, wavy lines. Hence, Art Noveau was a movement that was not only visually pleasing but also able to evoke an emotion that rested well with me. It communicated a sense of freedom and expressed delicate yet bold statements with its intensity in visual metaphors and expressions along with its flowing lines.
This week, we learnt about the Evolution of Communication from Writing and how it led up to Typography.
First and foremost, let’s differentiate the terms, ‘Petroglyph’, ‘Pictograph’, ‘Hieroglyph’ & ‘Ideograph’.
Petroglyph:
Engraved carvings/images on rock surface in prehistoric times. While they can be found in literate culture, they’re more commonly practiced by illiterates.
Pictograph:
A symbol for a word/phrase and were the earliest writing system created by the Sumerian. This is often painted onto rocks, not necessarily engraved, using natural pigments.
Hieroglyph:
Characters of the ancient Egyptian writing system, discovered in the Rosetta stone. At the time, only those who were privileged with extensive education were able to read, write and understand Hieroglyphs. (Pharaoh, priests, etc)
Use the ‘rebus‘ principle where they use a combination of pictures that mimic the sound of the word.
Ideograph:
A symbol representing an idea or a thing; graphic representation. It is not made up by suggesting sounds of word and required an educated individual to create ideographs. This was more so influenced by culture.
Petroglyph in Nine Mile Canyon, Utah
Pictograph of animals and humans, Libya
Hieroglyphs on the Temple of Kom Ombo, Egypt
Ideograph
Given that, I was intrigued by the Book of the Dead, which used Hieroglyphic illustrations to communicate the word or phrase with the rebus principle. They were written on papyrus; made from the pith of the papyrus plant.
This is how papyrus is made, though this is a more modern technique:
Really interesting mind boggling how they were able to figure out a way to create what we have today as paper!
Moving on, Book of the Dead! It is essentially a compilation of religious, magical texts of the ancient Egyptians that illustrates the spells for souls of the deceased to navigate in the afterlife through the Duat (underworld).
They have 4 chapters which are as follows:
A Book of the Dead were commissioned by those in preparation for their own funerals or by relatives of those that were recently deceased. This was something that could only be afforded by the rich, royal and the elites.
Karl Richard Lepsius was the first translator of the book.
Karl Richard Lepsius, first translator of a complete Book of the Dead manuscript
To get a better understanding of what the Book of the Dead is about, here is an easy-to-understand animation that I watched which gave quite good insights for laymen.
In summary, what the Book of the Dead is, is the compilation of spells on a papyrus scroll that the deceased need to pass through the underworld and into the afterlife. One’s soul must be equipped with the spells that they have commissioned or have been commissioned to have.
The Egyptians mummify the body of the deceased and remove every organ of the dead. They left the heart and top it with an amulet as the heart is thought to be the seed of memory, intelligence and emotion.
In order for the spirit to reunite with its body, it must first pass through the Duat, a realm guarded with scary creatures where the soul used the customised scroll to get through these creatures and reach to Maat; Goddess of Truth & Justice. It is judged by 42 accessor Gods that judge whether he had lived a righteous life. After passing this test, with the help of the amulet, the soul has to pass the test of the weighing of his heart against a feather. If deemed heavier, he will be devoured by Amet; a monstrous creature made of crocodile, leopard and hippopotamus. If it is lighter, it is deemed pure and is then being transported to the afterlife.
How to read?
What we learnt in class was that it was read from left to right, right to left or top down and this is purely based on the direction of the hieroglyphs. They’re written in rows or columns and the direction can be distinguished by the direction as to where the human or animal figures are facing towards the beginning of the line.
Another thing to note is that the upper symbols are read before the lower.
REFLECTION
I found it really interesting on how writing systems evolved throughout the centuries and how it transformed to what it is today to create a way of reading and writing that is vastly understood by many around the world. It was an eye opening lecture, though intense with the bombardment of information. I really enjoyed learning how Serifs and Sans Serifs came about and the insights shared by Desmond. Looking forward to Lecture 2!
For this final project, we were tasked to design an installation structure that consists of a reclining or seating element in a we chose based on an aural memory or a heightened Aural experience from the site.
SITE CHOSEN: LOCATION C
We had to do a site analysis and I did it with Sylvia.
After analysing the site for measurements, circulation path, gathering point, sun direction, etc, we proceeded to the research and development of our installation.
Research & Development
At this stage, we had to design our ideas using only paper cup and at most, one other element if needed. To me, this was probably the most challenging part as I found it tough to develop ideas based on paper cup forms. I decided to just experiment without any drawings nor ideas in mind and just started creating.
Here are my developments:
After consultation, I settled on a particular idea. My lecturer mentioned that the curvature of my installation should be expressed better and hence, instead of straight lines, I decided to go ahead with the twisting element of the sticks.
Attempt 1
Attempt 1
Attempt 1
Attempt 1
Attempt 2
Attempt 2
Attempt 2
Attempt 2
I chose my materials to be: Balsa Wood, Skewer Bamboo Sticks, and Art Card
Upon attempting my final model, it became clear that I could not go ahead with Balsa Wood as the nature of the wood is too fragile for an expressive curve as it broke.
Hence, I attempted my model with Basswood. I wet this for about 4 hours and shaped it. I made sure to clamp it down and use concentrated heat to shape it into place.
Here is the process through pictures:
Failed experiment
Another thing was that I wanted the grills to the seat to be able to slide so that during the day, one can block out the sun whereas during the night, they may slide it open.
While designers bank mostly on the capitalisation of mass production, critical thinking is rarely involved in the making of their designs. This disregards the very need for emotional and personal connection to the average consumer. Our dark object aims to provide an immersive, emotional experience for viewers while telling a narrative, in an attempt to portray the multifaceted feeling of loneliness and abandonment.
Our narrative, essentially, depicts a story of an elderly man, suffering the loss of his son, daughter-in-law and his three granddaughters through an unfortunate accident that involved the negligence of his son when he drank and drive. They were on their way to celebrating his birthday. Every year since then, he gets reminded of that feeling of loss and abandonment as he lives by himself and celebrates his remaining birthdays, mourning their loss.
The purpose of this object is not to torment but for one to reflect on the importance of valuing what we have, at this moment in time. In this life, we can be too caught up on the riches of life yet forget the most basic of it all, love and family.
The images Lei shared during her brief regarding ‘Accessories for Lonely Men by Noam Toran from 2001 really stood out to us so we were inspired to create our project based on that. Emotional connection with the user was of the essential focal point when creating the narrative, audio and visuals. We also focused on creating an ambience physically where we played around with the scent associations of an elderly man. We also added an old tartan shirt to add to the connection of the user, playing the role of the elderly man.
As mentioned earlier, the intent of our object is merely to spark and tug on heartstrings of users. It is to allow for an immersive experience for users to remind them of their loved ones. We get too caught up with the happenings in our lives that we forget to treasure the people we have left. The very people who actually will be there for us regardless the circumstance.
Hence, this is to allow users to be able to connect with the art, though might not be from a first person’s perspective, they would still be able to follow through the narrative and feel affected enough by it to trigger an emotion.
Instructables:
What we needed:
6X White LED
5X Red LED
Multiple Resistors
1X Servo Motor
2X Photocell
1X Ultrasonic Sensor
Mulitple Male to Female jumper wires
1 Breadboard
1 Arduino Uno
PSEUDO CODE
With regards to the narrative, the sound was designed according to its association with the storyline.
Main character: ‘Ah Kong’
Rest of the characters: 3 Granddaughters, Son, Daughter-in-law
As the user approaches the frame, the ultrasonic sensor will trigger the WhiteLEDs to turn on.
Played through a bluetooth speaker, it starts off with the ambience sound of “Happy Birthday” being sung to ‘Ah Kong’ which also acts as Ah Kong’s reminiscent to his past birthday with his beloved family. This is meant to establish context and add atmospheric noise to the room.
A separate headphone plays the calling of Ah Kong by his granddaughters. It should be loud enough to attract users to pick up the headphones and create urgency for them to do so. This guides the users as to their next step.
As they pick up the headphone, the photocell will trigger the next audio to play. This audio is of the son, talking to his dad, ‘Ah Kong’, establishing that he it was ‘Ah Kong’s’ birthday but his son could not make it for dinner but is still planning to come over with his family to celebrate the remaining evening with his father. He skips the planned dinner to head out for an evening of beers with his friends before driving his family to ‘Ah Kong’ house.
The audio then switches to him driving, in the state of being drunk, and speeding in the car. The end of the audio triggers the servo motor to push the frame down, signifying the first death of the narrative, ‘Ah Kong’s’ son.
With this, the next audio is triggered where the audio of his granddaughters are played, calling out to him. This, like before, acts like an indicator to guide the user to pick up the frame.
Upon picking up, user should realise that one of the WhiteLEDs, the one of the father, that is, has been switched off where the WhiteLEDs on the rest remains. The next audio establishes the context that the rest of the family except ‘Ah Kong’, were in the car during the accident, while they were on the way to celebrate ‘Ah Kong’s birthday’. The end of the audio triggers the servo motor to push the frame down.
Once again, the indicator of the granddaughters calling out to ‘Ah Kong’ will be played to guide the user on the next step. As they pick up the frame, like before, the 3 other WhiteLEDs are switched off, indicating the death of the mother, and 2 of the older kids.
The user will notice the youngest child’s WhiteLED is still lit but will be blinking while her audio crying will be played and faded out. The audio will end with the switching off of her WhiteLED, indicating her death too.
After which, the RedLED’s of all 5 members of the family will be flashed at their hearts, signifying their death while ‘Ah Kong’s’ WhiteLED will still be turned on, conveying the idea that he is still alive.
HOW IT WORKS:
Step 1: Connection to Arduino
Step 2: Coding – Arduino – Servo Motor & Lights
Step 3: Coding – Processing – Sound
Step 4: Building
Step 5: Creating a physical ambience with scents and set-up
This project has allowed me to really understand the ins and outs of an interactive project. As a whole Experimental Interaction served as a platform for me to understand the culture of making, open sharing and collaborative art pieces, which are done to provoke and trigger emotions, conversations and debate. What we have learnt over the past few weeks during research critique have equipped us with the basis to create a hopefully, effective installation for users to experience. We realised that we were both very much drawn to the aspect of family and abandonment and most particularly, elderlies and how they are often under-appreciated. We wanted to dive deeper into that. If I am being honest, the coding didn’t come naturally for me and I struggled through the process of coding. I would definitely be brushing up during the holidays as I feel like it could be a hindrance for me to achieve a greater understanding of the subject matter. I am truly interested in the art of interactivity, in particular, if it involves social matters.
As for sound engineering, I felt like I have really understood the craft of creating an ambience and emotion with audio. This project allowed me to evoke emotions for users without visuals and that’s the biggest takeaway for me because it taught me the importance of sound and the ability of how certain elements could work with others for users to make associations and paint a picture in their heads.
All in all, this project was definitely one that was extremely challenging given the huge amount of complicated coding involved, coupled with the multiple elements that went into it such as the building of the object. This was very much important so as to simulate the proper installation and create a reality for users.
Recent Comments