Flora Searle

Mark gave me great advice regarding both my LINK and vent project. I felt stuck on my concept for LINK and Mark helped me with ideas. The idea of a participatory element to advocacy is a consideration I will take into my work.

For vents:

Either make outline on procreate and upload to Illustrator OR draw directly using the illustrator app on iPad.

Create artboards on Illustrator

Ensure all people are the same size

Leave the back of the vents a block colour

For LINK:

Think about expanding on the stickers for LINK (rethink the food ones, think about more community and messages of advocacy

Look at Google HTMC D&AD Briefs for inspiration

Think of avatar banners/borders for profiles-such as on Facebook, to show alliance to a cause

Think of how the advocacy can exist outside a digital space-perhaps people participate in writing a letter to North Korean friends

Maybe highlight how NK people are no different to us

Image of someone breaking away from conforms of NK

Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea is a black-and-white graphic novel by the Canadian Québécois author Guy Delisle

Advertising agency Part Time Lab, wanted to find a way to 'break through the noise coming out of North Korea', switching from the focus of their militia and leader to the refugee crisis. They used Kim Jong-un as a internet personality, cultivating applications for fake jobs in NK on sites such as Linkedin. These applications were fake and led people to the Liberty In North Korea site instead. Donations to LiNK went up by 427%, with new visitors contributing 42% of the total.

The filter has been up for an hour and has already reached 936 people. My friends and family have contributed photographs to the cause. Unfortunately I am unable to view strangers who have reposted with the filter. However, it was interesting to see that the the people who engaged most were my targeted audience, Gen Z.

I made digital stickers that people can share on social media and via IOS. The intention was that the stickers would spread awareness, create community and celebrate culture. Celebrating positive aspects of culture is important in forming defectors identity and this is especially relevant to food: I made dishes associated with NK with the kimchi, dumpling and noodle bowl sticker. If I have time I will make more stickers, but this is a starting point.

Unfortunately my anxiety is so bad I wasn't able to present my pechu but during one-to-one I will recieve feedback. At the moment I am just doing whatever I think is best.

LO1: Supports research into anti-sadvertising as well as LINK's intention to create a strong community and bring awareness

LO2: Different approaches-this is one of many ideas to bring awareness

Liberty in North Korea, or Link, are a charity organisation that works to help defectors from North Korea cross the border into safety. Link also expand their aid into the resettlement process of defectors.

Every year it is estimated that 1,000 North Koreans escape from the oppressive authoritarian regime. Most cross at the Chinese border and face dangers such as trafficking, imprisonment and the potential of being sent back to North Korea.

The Western ideology centred around North Korea is one that is critical of Kim Jong Un (and rightly so), but Liberty in North Korea cites this as counter-productive to the aid of its citizens.

Liberty in North Korea takes a ‘people over politics’ focus and advocates through fundraising events, as well as educating the general public through their tabling service. They are active on social media also, sharing their achievements, as well as sharing stories from defectors.

In a Statista 2023 UK report, it was found that those aged 65-74 were the most likely to donate to charity, with 16-24 being the least. This is most likely due to the financial issues this generation face, but it certainly doesn’t stop us from advocating for change. This is evident in online social movements as being almost always ignited by Gen Z.

The visual language of Link aligns with the fresh and trendy imagery associated with the younger generation, but this is not reflected in their merchandise. My belief is that integration of these fun visuals would encourage younger audience to buy and sport the merchandise-killing two birds with one stone, by generating both awareness and money for the cause.

As we are inherently a digitally-driven generation, assets to aid the promotion of the charity would be beneficial to the cause. I am proposing the creation of digital stickers that can be used on social media, or shared via IOS messaging. An Instagram filter would also benefit this promotion and the imagery I design can be applied to a variety of material, such as Instagram posts or even the banners used at tabling.

I jotted down some concepts for my visual responses. I thought to making a typeface based on the bordering between the North and South, which could be used on LINK's merchandising, as well as exist as a digital type asset people can use on photo editing apps such as Picsart. This would allow users to create personalised posts in support of the cause. LINK can also use the typeface for their information assets on Instagram.

The imagery can be used in the same way, with Instagram stories allowing for the use of GIFS and stickers, even filters in collaboration with companies. The stickers can also be used in IOS messaging, merchandise and LINK's social media assets. Imagery can be converted into motion graphics to help elevate LINK's instagram posts. LINK also mentioned how the presentation of tabling was important to garnering attention and so imagery could be applied to the construction of banners/imagery around table.

The primary focus that this merchandise will appeal to a younger generation and so visuals must align with this and LINK's identity.

LINK's visuals as of now:

Identified Colour Palettes:

In their tabling tips, they talked of using traditional North Korean games to spark conversation. I am curious as to whether this is something I can apply to my project but was unable to find resources online that clearly stated what games are played in NK. To reach clarification, I emailed the organisation for some advice:

Wilson is an art director

Inspired by Sugar Water music video-I’ve seen this!

Studied illustration at Brighton originally

Project for uni was an astronaut mockumentary where he made the costume - Life As An Independent Astronaut

Used one of Metronomy songs for his final piece - this video gave him his first commission after uni. Knew one of bands girlfriends. Now intertwined in each others lives. The animation was drawn individually on paper and cut out on photoshop. Just worked with what he could do.

Blink and Partisan- were cool companies

Doogle Wilson director

YCN- an illustrative version of D&AD. Brief was to create a response under 4 minutes. Zoetrope - sat with a record player and drew 16 drawings around record. Won him best budget music video award

Life is like a rollercoaster-it’s more like a line at a theme park. He just is showing us the rollercoaster parts. Most of it is leaning into and pushing.

It’s all in the preparation for these types of project

Artic Monkeys-wanted visuals for their track Do I Wanna Know? Wanted animation similar to their album cover. First went to directors of Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared but they were too busy. He drew the storyboards and had a team of animators to create the animation.

Arcade Fire music video, featured Andrew Garfield

Did commercial works in-between, such as Rowse Honey

Royal Blood music video

Retro Futurist Daddies-played with AI over his break. What the world be like with masculine gay men who are seen as an important part of society. Gay imagery is shown as cinematic and not underground

Still does scrap drawings and uses his illustration degree

Pulls references from music videos he likes

Also showed us the Mastoor video without the visual effects

Deep Clean music video

When starting music videos they pitched endlessly for years to get their ideas accepted (talking of creators of everything everywhere all at once whose ideas all got rejected). Made music video for Sleigh Bells band.

Created advert for Facebook. Based around the idea of small business and the tool to personalise ideas

Artists Way- 12 week course where it recovers artistic burnout. Recommend doing it as a group or with a friend to help motivate.

Important to be real in this profession. Everyone should be communicating their bad days to each other.

Shooting animatics like in Mastoor really helps

Encourage other creatives to advance ideas

Fuck the system

What are the thought processes to taking risks?:

Usually pushing against something - subversive to the brief (makes it exciting to him)

Breaking things is a brand he has made for himself

Bigger risks of the Deep Clean-seeing what was happening to the appropriation of queer culture. Anything overtly sexual within this community is often rejected-leather culture, cabaret culture. This got him riled up and passionate about the project. In his he’s making peace with the world, not taking risks

Narratives aren’t chronologically based, how does he storyboard these ideas, such as in Artic Monkeys music video

Going back to his foundation course and and an excise he was taught. Taking lots of A4 sheets of paper and folding them up 3/4 times so you get a row of 8 set a timer and draw in each of these frames. They had a brief of drag racing and sexy girls but it was a stream of consciousness.

Be your own AI machine.

How does he merge a visual together?

Directors Daniel Wolf will shoot shoot shoot with various cameras and figure it out in the edit

Wilson was taught how to structure his work through being with Doogle Wilson who would meticulously storyboard everything

Every second on set is money and so time is a pressure, storyboards help but it’s also important for some leeway to help actors/dancers etc

Eliminates the unknown before he spends money

Uses anyone around to help visualise camera sequences

Networking is the most powerful tool you can have

Did music video for The Maccabees

Being a creative doesn’t get easier

Don’t imitate other people