Communication Design Research 2016

1. Follow-up on lecture 2. Write a sample paragraph around one theme, with a particular focus on structuring the paragraph to focus on key ideas. 3. Expand research to follow up aspects that came out of your tutorial – remember to take notes, reference, and put in Endnote 4. Narrow down key themes 5. What big ideas are emerging?

2. Sample Paragraph

Second-wave Feminism

During the 60s and 80s, the ideas of suffragettes in the USA and the UK trickled into mainstream feminism. This second wave of feminism moved away from the-the right to not be discriminated against, while it still stood by these ideals it became much more focused on seeing the flaws in the political system, the saying "The Personal is Political" became somewhat of a figurehead saying during this time. Females were now focused on fighting for their right to vote as they felt as though the fact that they were currently unable to undermine everything that they stood for (Gilligan, .n.d.). Resources:

Gilligan, C. (n.d.). History and Theory of Feminism. Retrieved 3/5/2016,  from http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:6b7Am6qp3ZIJ:www.gender.cawater-info.net/knowledge_base/rubricator/feminism_e.htm+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=nz 4. Key Themes

The growth of Ideologies,  Feminism/The Glass Ceiling The rise of the working woman, Changing of technologies; the rise of design as a profession 5. Big Ideas 

Design Research 1

Week 11

24.5.2016 First we started by looking at when we should try finish things at certain times in order to allocate our workloads

- Make dummy deadlines

- Look at PDF to see the images from the previous weeks lecture

- Look at the design journals in order to see what jounal my article could be posed towards

- Notes on writing essays have a look at in order to check and remind yourself of things

- We then went over what journals we were going to use for our paper. Peter suggested leaning toward using a design journal if you have no particular lean toward any journal. We then looked at the structures of all of our journal articles. There are differing types of referencing throughout different journals. Anna’s had journals that referenced throughout whereas others has ones that listed at the end. Throughout the class this was the general feel. Need to figure out the structure, make sure it is clearly defined. The west have a linear model whereas the eastern is more like a flower in its structure.

Peter then asked how we previously set up essays- Breaking up the themes and then putting them together helping you to compact them together, Peter suggested having three of four themes that you use. Also assume that your audience is intelligent but ignorant in your area, set the context first, then look at what order should the themes go in. Figure out what sort of weiter you are. How can you make writing interesting for you. Think about writing as design, look at the abstracts, and then look at how have these been written. We then went into a Elevator Pitch, pitch the idea to the boss in the time that it takes the elevator takes to get to the destination.  This is similar to the abstract, asking the ‘so what?’- why should people be interested in my topic.

Writing an elevator pitch in five minutes:

Females and their role in design has been turbulent throughout history, their roles have changed throughout, from a design world ruled by men to that of today. The question is how much has the design profession changed? With 95% of galleries having an imbalance in artworks done by each gender; these galleries on average having as many as 70% men within the showings. What is a female's role in an design world where, although theoretically equal amount of both genders graduate, men will still for the most part come out on top.

 Have to be able to break it up into Attenborough worthiness, can you say it in the shape, design the sentence around where is the emphasis? How can I vary the type of these sentences? How can I use language to throw emphasis on to particular words?

For next week learn some David Attenborough, a little voice that would enjoy reading this

1. Introduce problem/topic

2. Introduce context, is my topic needed in the world of writing about my topic

3. Summarise main points

4. Resolution of problem/ Significance

Abstract get down to the core points. 150-200 words, differing from an introduction as an introduction introduces the problem and context of the subject, you can suggest what way your arguments and thoughts are going whereas within the abstract you don’t hold anything back.

The best way to do this is to read the abstracts, look at whether not they do a good job, did it work, what can you learn.

Develop plan for the structure of the paper

Go through the learning outcomes and check that you’re on track

Design Research 1

Week 10

17.5.2016

We started off half an hour early as last week Peter was feeling under the weather when we came into class and went over our research journal.

We then went around the class and discussed what interested us out of the lecture from week 9

- The Internet is a propaganda battlefield

- Peter likes to show us things in the past so we can think about how this applies to us now

- The idea that is our profession that does the manipulation, Peter pointed out that we are not the only ones who do this and it can be used for both bad and good. Ie, propaganda trying to convince people to drink or smoke less

Thinking about ideology, what’re the ideologies that you’re aware of, what are things which I and societal value

- New Zealand is obsessed with sport, why? Because the rest of the world knows us by this, but do they? Would we be better to focus on handball as more nations play the sport and would, therefore, know this then? Nationalism for New Zealand is something that we are built off

- What do I value? What should we all think is important?

What does I/ society value?

- Friendship

- Kindness

- Fun

- Building relationships, groups, and individual. This is linked to individualism  

- Love

- Learning

- Thinking

- Education, cultural status, bettering you as a person; lots of societies don’t place much emphasis in this, Protestantism has the idea that people are built imperfect and you can build yourself to be a better person. This used to be shown by handwriting as it showed how much time people committed to learning a skill

- Health

- Social status, portrayed through social media- the like is equated to social status

- Consumerism, Materialism, our status and being is defined by what we have, Capitalism, Collectivism

- Image, botox puts and idea up about youth. Youthfulness is better than age. Somewhere along the line (10-15 years ago), everything swapped for people wanting young people, our culture does not value age, we are the most flexible and least committed. Peter pan syndrome is becoming greater, uncommitted, unattached and spending lots of money- a consumers society

- Going to the gym makes you feel good, it is important to feel good in the now, people started to break lives up into chunks. We now feel as though we have to actively improve.

- In the end of the 19th-century, people stopped looking at character and started talking about personality. It is not a moral thing, it is actually an expression

- Certain types of sport bring out character, others bring out something expressive

- We have shifted from a religious to a material view of the world  

- Ask ‘why’

- Gender, the patriarchy, the feminist views- an important way to see the world. It is important to be empathetic, what’re their values, important skill set as our clients will have different views to us

Reading images and finding ideologies.

We are looking at an image of a truck with men going to war| Patriarchy

- It is a mans job to go to war

- You have to protect your wife and your family

- You are the stronger gender

- Man up

- Stop being a girl

- Are you a wimp?

Liberals

- Plays on peer pressure, you have the freedom of choice but you don’t really

Feminist

- Women are discriminated against as only men are in the truck, the typography is harsh and strong

- Colours are not stereotypically female

- R stands for royal, the glory of our nation.

- The British lead the world in every factor of engineering

Communist

- It is presented as a collective thing, idea that it is being replaced by the capitalist regime, it is not the revolution

- Image of a bank website, bank of Etihad - Liberals

- Says ‘right’ choice

- Not many options to read into typography

- Feminist look at people banding together for the trade union

- Not gender specific hands

- Skin tones are good for being together

- Harsh, strong font without serifs, the blue that is used

- The rings mean that everyone can get married no matter what gender

 Looking at an anti-feminism- Communism

- Everyone is meant to be equal and ruled under one power so females should be rising up and having these rights, but only to the point where they are equal, and not to the point where they’re over anyone

- Why’re they not talking about class

Design Research 1

Week 12

31.5.2016

Looking at how to turn in our paper

1. Make two tabs

2. Course notes, referencing powerpoint

3. Citing is what you do in the text.

4. Download the cover sheet and fill it out, this is because the marking scheme is triggered by this cover sheet

5. Turnitin, follow instructions to upload- you get a reply email that gives you a percentage, the little colour box triggers a text email that has a highlighted details as to what is plagiarism.

- The research paper and journal have this as a requirement. There are two of these cover sheets needed as these are two  

- When you’re writing you need to acknowledge where you got your ideas from, this is to avoid plagiarism. Makes it easier for Peter to figure out what is your own thinking. Am I simply following one source or am I pulling together many. Paraphrasing is better than quoting as it means you fully understand what it is saying, compared to just going along with what it is saying. - Quoting needed to make sure you have the page number that you got the quote from.    - Long quotes need to be indented into the text - List of references is what is actually quoted within the text. - Bibliography is everything that I looked at for the paper- need notes of what I looked at - Need 5-6 sources within the paper

- Change the order that the you give the paraphrased quote in order to avoid plagiarism

Design Research 1 Week 12 1.6.2016 The Mongrel Profession The word ‘Meme’ A unit of culture that is transmitted from person to person like a virus “Memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation”

Richard Dawkins - Memes differ from ‘signs’ in that they don’t require interpretation, you just ‘get’ it How to Meme’s grow?

- There is a point where the meme  becomes something everybody knows in a group, whether that be everyone in society or a smaller group

- This then grows to become a cliche, if you use it you are old fashioned and outdated

Design terms grow in this way

- Printers started before the 19th century, as time has gone on the printer had become a lot less sexy

- The engraver had become superseded

- Designers are not those that we would think of, they do not make it to 20th cent

- Lithographic art printer ‘cool colourful stuff’ that type of art printing died at that start of the first world war

- Commercial artists were the communication design degree a century ago, did not carry the connotations of a cool person anymore

- Art director has had a long history, Peter thinks that it is in a limited time frame

- Information design has hit its stride in the 1980s and 1990s, people still consider it a useful term

- Graphic designers did not hit home in New Zealand until the 1980s

- Design took over from printing

- The web took over the ‘print and technology’ process thus web design became more apparent

- Web design has a dual crash and as a term it is also fading and other versions are coming through

- Communication design hit its stride from 2008 onwards, schools are starting to re-name graphic design schools communication design

- Brand strategist poses design as a strategic thing rather than just a creative thing

- Interaction designer is beginning to die off as people realised it was too narrow

- UX/UI designer how something works for an audience and the feel of a website and user interaction someone decides how something is going to look rather than feel

- It is worth being aware of this cycle in order not to become cliched

Communication designers

- Generators, craftspeople, creatives, strategists, communicators, technologists

Generators

- Photographers, illustrators, type designers, graphic novelists, filmmakers

- Communication arts suits this

Craftspeople

- Or finishers

- Typographers, mac operators, layout artists

- This course does not cater towards this type

Creatives

- Ideas that work immediately

- Young metaphor, people plan before the events and the creatives are on the boat making decisions

- Creative directors, design directors,

- In agencies, studio or film

Strategists

- Brand consultants, UX designers, design managers, account managers, production managers, print managers

- Our degree picks up with this in the form of branding

Communicators

- Information designers, graphic designers, book designers, interface designers

- Interested in making people interact

Technologists

- Web designers, coders

- Technology driven, people love the technology, are interesting in the strategic and the communicative aspects of it

What do I want when I come out of this degree. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Next semester it is important to start thinking about it. Usually, two areas that we can function in.

Need to know my strengths and my interests

- Am I interested in an audience, how people respond to my ideas, etc?

- Going and researching the options will be really helpful

- Test as to how much I have absorbed 

Answers to the test:

B *

C *

B

B *

C *

D

A

C *

B *

D *

B *

D *

B

D *

B *

A  

After the title ‘Becoming Networked’ came up as the topic of the lecture this week became quickly intrigued in the way in which communication had grown throughout the years. Because of the brief mention of the different connections between countries I have decided on looking at propaganda posters in North Korea as this is somewhere that I am not very familiar with but would really enjoy learning about.

As the two Koreas have been heavily divided throughout history, North Korea, and the propaganda it has employed to change the image of south Korea is expansive and intensive (Gabroussenko, 2011). From the years, 1945-2010, in particular, saw cultural traditions, and foreign influence changed the face of South Korea. Throughout this research, I aim to look into how the propaganda has dealt with these changes. 

Below I have listed some posters that I believe are particularly telling in the types of large, as well as small things that the North Korean people are influenced by every day. Note: I have used descriptions from the images site themselves as there is Korean script throughout them, so my ability to write an accurate description would not have been up to par as I have no knowledge of the Korean Language. (Jolla, 2013)

우리 당의 충직한 청년전위가 되자!

Join the young vanguard, pledge faith to the Party!

- 1999

- A young man and woman join together to hold high a flaming torch, the man also holds a hammer in his left hand. Behind them, a crowd with banners surges forward.

절약하여 더 많은 물자예비를 마련하자!

Help increase productivity by saving the things that will be needed! 

- 1992

- Three hands, one holding a piece of coal, another a length of thread, and the third a screw. In the background, the silhouette of a factory.

지구상에서 미국을 없애버릴것이다!

We will blast the U.S. from the face of the earth! 

- 1998

- A red missile streaks flame as it hurtles toward the United States, which is covered by the stars and stripes flag stretching across the North American continent.

정치가요축전

Political song festival 

- 2000

- At the top, the poster title in English. Centered, the silhouette of a red trumpet superimposed across the outline of a white dove. At bottom left, the seal of the Juche Tower monument, the venue and year 1989.

공화국의 존엄과 자주권을 튼튼히 수호하자!

Provide a strong line of defense for the Republic's honor and sovereignty! 

- 1991

- Standing at the top of a globe, a soldier holds a large Korean flag and a rifle. A large crowd of people from all walks of life stand behind him. In the front row, an athlete holds a trophy, a professional man has a roll of plans, a worker has a walkie-talkie, a woman holds a sheaf of grain. Behind them, more people wearing work clothes.

눈에 흙이 들어가도 잊을수 없다!

We never forget until we die! 

- 2000

- In the center, a single large eye. Reflected in its pupil, a threatening figure. He reaches out to grab with his right hand. At upper right, "COCOPA," the name of a U.S. Navy ocean tug on active duty off the Korean coast in 1953.

Throughout my research of these posters I noticed a common theme emerging. There seemed to be almost a fixation of including certain elements within all of the propaganda posters. Eyes, hands (usually clasping something), down angles looking up onto the masses, bright punchy emblems and possibly the most re-occurring, which was the Korean people being represented in stereotypical roles. 

Although some may see the North Koren culture as unbending and unwavering in the face of change, the reality is quite different as the propaganda bends quickly to changes that make it through the barrier of their undeniable leader. (Gabroussenko, 2011)

The ‘Eternal President’ Kim Jong Il is recognised first as the secretary for his predecessor, his father. This role involved him organising the propaganda, agitation and organisation of the country. The information circulating about Jong is highly confusing and mysterious, so much so that information on his death is highly speculated in terms of the correct timeline. On record Jong II died on December 19, 2011. (Jong II, 2016)

Resources:

Kim Jong Il. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved fromhttp://www.britannica.com/biography/Kim-Jong-Il

Gabroussenko, T. (2011). From Developmentalism to Conservationist Criticism: The New Narrative of South Korea in North Korean Propaganda.The Journal of Korean Studies, 16(1), 27-61. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41490269

1. Develop structural plan for research paper

2. Decide on Journal paper will be published in

3. Go through learning outcomes on the brief and identify the ones that are not yet being covered

4. Write first draft of the paper

1. Plan

I will be following a heading and subheading layout in order to focus and tick off the main ideas of both the topic as well as the paper requirements. 

2. Journal to be published in 

After looking through a number of journals I have decided to publish my article in the journal Design Issues. This journal is an academic article jounal that has features and critical articles. It usually has a particualr focus and a set layout that is clear throughout all issues. Its main focus, as the title sugggests, is issues within the design profession. 

3. Learning outcomes 

Learning Outcomes  

- Discuss how design is influenced by, and responds to, changing ideologies, technologies and cultures

- Write an academic-style research paper by framing a research question, abstract, conducting a literature review, setting up a context, analysing the problem, reflecting, and providing an informed interpretation

I have decided to make sure that I keep on track with not just the research question, but the papers learning outcomes themselves, I will frame my points that I base my ideas off and veer my points off to explore more ideas within the research qustion itself. 

Design Research 1

Week 10

24.5.2016

Becoming Networked

“All humans, and not just postmodern ones, are nodes in complex technological networks; today they may include modems and motorways.”

Knappett, C. (2002). Photographs, skeuomorphs and marionettes: some thoughts on mind, agency and object. Journal of Material Culture, 7(1), p.98 Skeuomorph:

Referencing the look of something in the medium that it is not, visual metaphor  

The concept of connectedness

How the world is becoming increasingly connected

The term ‘social network’ as a metaphor and its alternative

How we visualise networks and its implications  

Connectedness

- Come into the world connected to our mother, thus, the idea of connectivity starts with the model of family, in graphic terms it is one of the earliest representations of people trying to graphically represent themselves, more and more people as you go back in the past

- When people started to become connected in c.7000 bc with towns starting to crop up, There are no roads in the earliest types of housing, provides safety and pushes the limits of organising socially

- Dunbar’s number proposed in 1992 that the largest social group one could comfortably maintain ties with is 160. Others have suggested this number could be higher- perhaps 230. Groups larger require a different form of organisation.  This is what the ancient world had to figure out

First world web

- Much of Europe, Asia and Africa were connected

- Connections via trade by land and sea

- Engineering and Architecture

- Political alliance and conquest

-  Language, latin was spoken all around Europe, Greek Also

- Religion found in Christianity

- Trade and economic ties strengthen continually as the web widens

Cosmopolitan World Web, First wave:

- Citizens of the world

- Immigration, NZ a beneficiary, the realities of immigration

- Postage was expensive and poorer families would never see their family again, others would take ages to get replies back from letter

- Steamships and steam trains aided this emigration, this is shown in a postcard which graphically shows the connection, the image of the globe as well as the map and their personal connection with their place in the world

- Post and the telegraph, Morse code came in the 1830-40s with dots and dashes however in the 1800s they used light, in the mid-1800s communication started to outstrip the human's ability to travel, telegraph wires has analogies with the internet, telegraph allowed communication of news as well as communication of feelings

- These technologies allowed people to envisioned the year 2000, no one has managed to nail a prediction of the future, 1902 predicted the idea of talking to people via moving pictures (skype)

Telephone

- The 1920s; Widespread use of telephone, radio, car, movies

- The telephone was treated as a sport in 1934 advertising, was very important as it got people closer and changed how people can navigate their network

- Also revolutionised entertainment as well as news and information

- Was a great tool for imagination as you had to fill in the blanks

Movies  

- Peter believes that the movies killed the postcard as they could not afford both

Land Transport

- In 1932 roads had to be shared by everyone, cars, horses, people walking

- German Autobahn 1936-9 - Hitler popularised the use of the roads

- The car becomes prioritised over other types of transport over the globe

Trains

- Cheaper access to rail travel, in leisure  people, needed more time to consume 1930-40 lots of advertising of travel

Television and aviation

- Airlines had to convince people to fly as it was not trusted

- Television kicked in in the 1950s Britain got it but the 1960s is when it came to NZ

- Privatise entertainment- middle-class audience was targeted

The birth of the teenager

- The teen hasn’t always been there, very 20th-century invention

- Children were recognised as individuals by law- inline by individualism

- High School attendance rises

- Firms started to target children as a discrete market- a market created by consumerism

- A demographic that has little commitment but money to spend

Cosmopolitan World the web

- Computer networking 1900s widespread use of networked computing

- The Internet develops during the 1960s

- Domain name system introduced in 1984

- Tim Berners-lee proposes ‘Mesh’ in 1989

- Renames it ‘World Wide Web’ in 1990

- Mosaic Web browser popularises the web in 1994

- Yahoo was a browser that really worked

- Personal computers and web users in 1998 had reached 1 mill

- In 2004, facebook came in

- 2005 number of web users reaches one billion   

What does the term ‘network’ involve

- A collection of entities that are connected

- Actor-network theory says these entities can be people, things and concepts

- Mechanism for connecting, the means of connection technologically as well as trade and creating a networked world

How a network works

- An initial definition of the issue that makes the group different as well as an ability to create interest

- A way for people to join this network

Shared ‘tokens’ to exchange

- A like is used as a token of exchange- the currency of a network, how else could we have framed it

- Alternatives words for network

The Web , community, group

- Is the web a different metaphor than ‘mesh’ or ‘weave’- are these different ways of thinking about this?

The concept of space

- Space is an artificial thing

- How do we graphically think about networks?

- Sociograms, this is a way to show connections between people- this is now used to show how we talk about social networking

- This means that graphically we are talking in a very different way

- Every man has a Property in his own Person”John Locke in Two Treatises of Government (1689).

Ancient Rome  - had most likely over 1 mil people, required a whole range of technological advances in order to organise that many people

- Ancient Rome developed aqueducts which pumped water from far away, the were also the first to make bonds in the aspect of sewers, they were masters of this

- Traders came in Via roads, they developed a very good roading system

- Greeks trade system was borrowed

- Development of the spice route meant that things from China could be brought over to the west

- Political alliance and conquest, this was achieved by Romans for the longest time in history- 400 years, a political alliance meant that people who had been indexed by the Roman empire then did not revolt

- People of the Roman empire did not move around very much

*Note, if these lecture notes seem disjointed or unorganised I apologise, I tried my best in the circumstances which meant that our lecture was left without any visual aids, thus I found it hard to differentiate between main points etc. * Design Research 1

Week 10

17.5.2016

Less is More, Modernism and the Backlash

Postmodernism and its relation to one another

Fundamental shifts between a pre-modern to modern world

Development of the idea of progress

- History is like a river moving upwards or downwards, having galls and peaks.

- The idea that history and people's lives get broken up into sections, you can see your life through different stages, a good life is one that is lived well overall. In the 18th cent people started to periodize their lives, am I happy now- consumerism and novelty. The ability of things to make you happy. Novelty, shock and sensation arose at this time.

- Resisting tradition. Tradition is downplayed, the Avant Garde idea from the military where they go ahead of the other troops. The innovators

- Trying to look for big explanations to things, why does life go in the way it does?- Modernism is the way of explaining the world

Industrialisation - The industrial revolution is not used as a term anymore, this term was reviewed as they did not want people to think that technology was something that changed the world in an instant

- We put faith into new technology, to make our world better, humanist, scientific, secular capitalism science could explain the world without having to resort to any other way of thinking. The power of the church started to wane.

- The structures that underlay this also underlay people's views on the world, how people saw the world

- Modernist trying to break things into little parts and piece them all together

- Gender, class, were discussed there was a huge rise in the middle class as people realised that they could change classes

- The was this move in the understanding of the principles of liberty and equality  

- This meant that when people should have the right to vote they meant that men should have the right to vote which slowly changed to women and men

- The canals in Britain were the backbone of a society being built and growing as a workforce

- Small groups became larger as people moved hundreds of thousands of miles away

- Communication with families became important to people, letters and postcards became the early forms of social media

- While we believe we are at the cutting edge of change, everyone throughout history, for the most part, had believed this

- Newspaper has become a daily

- Charles Dickens publishes things chapter by chapter- This was because they wanted to bring readership in consistency Transport

- Transport became better as people needed to and became more mobile

- Transport was a huge change

- Nostalgia was treated as a physical ailment, this idea has changed to negative connotations as we are needed to bow down to the characteristics to change.

- Two different ways of looking at the worlds, it was either the idea of the world being made up of single great leaders zeitgeist had the idea that

- People periodized by style fundamentally the lecture is about the individuals

- The design modernist way of thinking is one that relates to stripping things back “It is the pervading law of all things organic, and inorganic, of all things physical and metaphysical, of all things human and all things super-human, of all true manifestations of the head, of the heart, of the soul, that the life is recognizable in its expression, that form ever follows function. This is the law.” Louis Sullivan - Form follows function has become one of the key mantras to design, the function was more important than form.

- This became gradual strip away of ornamental things within design

- Less is more- compress function. One thing doing two things is better than two things doing one thing separately

- This culminated in the development of international style

- This is how people have chosen to write, understand these but don’t buy into them unquestioningly

- This goes into the 1960s the ‘black box aesthetic’ wrap things into something simple, strip everything back- not done very well by majority of people

- Revival of the international style was held in Switzerland

- This style is picked up in the states by people pulling corporations pulling people into

- Logos give a shape to the product

- Design terms have mentioned have only been mentioned as the high end

- Commercial vernacular- Las Vegas, learning from Las Vegas, less is a bore- opposite idea of modernism. He was responding to what was happening in the 50’s and 60’s.

- Start out with the idea that there is no meaning in life, you as an individual have to find your own meaning. Existentialists are about creating their own values.

- The idea that you only understand who you’re is bought by others' understanding of yourself

- “The gaze” for feminists was not a neutral thing, feminists crit of society.

- In the 60s people rebelled, this was fed by the new philosophical way of seeing the world

- Modernist design was powerful.

- Post-modernist looked under the surface under this

- A number of ideas came out of France, the death of the artist. The author isn’t ‘dead per say’ but the narrative did not like the

- The idea of only having one way to do something has gotten rid of

Language is a structure

- Postmodernism and deconstruction

- Often used as synonyms but they are not

- People started to pick whatever they wanted and put them together

- In graphic design, New Wave design is the introduction of noise, new things create busy things

- This includes the grid, this was seen as the grid being extremely fascist.

- What is important, what is design, what is happening around us, am I conscious of the design that is happening around me.

- What is being authentic?

After the lecture, I was really intrigued by the types of communication that were covered. The growth of both design and the ways in which people control others was what I was particularly drawn to. Thus, this week I have decided to look further into the ideas behind psychological manipulation.

To start my research I decided to look at what psychological manipulation was. Throughout many sources a common theme emerged, that of partially veiled aggression- this was seen as the most successful way to manipulate  There seemed to be many reasons as to why people manipulated, whether is be for personal gain or because they feel as though they cannot gain the friendship they want through un-manipulative means. The ways in which a manipulator uses others is wide ranging, but a key emphasis on guilt seemed to be an underlying factor.  (Together, n.d).

I decided to look into the type of manipulation that was present within some relationships between friends. When looking into what could cause manipulative behaviours between people the word ‘Machiavellianism’ popped up. When looking into this jargon I found that  ‘Men and women with high levels of Machiavellianism, characterised by emotional detachment, cynicism, and a manipulative interpersonal style’ (Abell, Brewer, Qualter & Austin, 2016). While this definition sounds as though people who have high levels of Machiavellianism would not be partaking in friendships, this is not the case. 

Within female relationships, it is much more likely for Machiavellianism, and the associated emotional manipulation to be present. This is because they place a higher focus on interpersonal relationships. These interpersonal relationships are often developed through gossip and rumours. Because of this, trust is needed within the relationships. Because typical elements of friendship building within female relationships are mirrored within Machiavellianism, often other, smaller signs will go unnoticed (Abell, Brewer, Qualter & Austin, 2016).

The manipulation of others using carefully constructed, derogatory language is also an element making up manipulation as a whole. The use of swear words, although it is expressive, it is less so than using personalised slurs. A particular slur (in certain situations) is the use of the word ‘Nigger’. Within the article an exchange within the Big Brother House (a tv show) is shown where the term was not used in the right context, resulting in offence and outrage by the public. This breakdown of communication really interested me as it showed that it wasn’t used in the context that the contestant was assuming (Archer, 2015)

Resources:

Abell, L., Brewer, G., Qualter, P., & Austin, E. (2016). Machiavellianism, emotional manipulation, and friendship functions in women's

Archer, D. (2015). Slurs, insults, (backhanded) compliments and other strategic facework moves. Language Sciences, 52, 82-97.

Within the Week 10 lecture, I was struck by a theme that seemed to underlie not just this lecture, but others within the series. The idea of authenticity. What categorises authenticity? How does one become their true self with so many distractions and influences surrounding oneself? Because of the wide range of influences we have within our lives, I decided that I would focus mainly on the ideas surrounding social media and the creation of the illusion of the ‘perfect life’ that some people manage to manifest. I realise that this research is mainly based on self-reflection, but I feel as though the aim of the paper is to make you think more about your role as a designer, and therefore my online presence. I also wanted to practice referencing skills in preparation for my paper, so I will use endnote referencing throughout.   Because I have had an Instagram since I was 13, I feel as though analysing my usage with my best attempt at being unbiased, would be a good measure as to my personal authenticity online.  I am Instagram obsessed. There I said it. It’s out in the open for the rest of this post and homework assignment. This being said I wonder how much of my own life I have decided to reveal within my online profile. As of this moment, the 26th of May 2016 my account @jemontoast has 609 followers. I am quite ashamed that I know this without having to get out my phone and check. I personally feel as though my age group really has been the tipping point for social media, I remember the rise of facebook quite clearly, I also was 13 when I got my first phone and 16 when I got my first iPhone.  Recently a youtube, blogger, and famous Instagrammer INSERT went viral for her video that she posted showing her ‘real’ Instagram. This ‘real’ Instagram had captions that she felt were reflective of the situation and feelings behind the picture rather than what she had usually been showing. This included images of her in a bikini that had previously been captioned with things such as ‘fun day on the beach’ or ‘summer’ replaced with the reality of the situation, her not eating before the shoot and taking ‘hundreds’ of shots and shouting at her sister to get the right angle to make her appear perfectly candid.  Although I don’t think my life is authentic online, I question if it should be as I have a public account. Would one really enjoy an Instagram that depicted my life in actuality? It would contain, for the most part, days sitting in front of the computer completing assignments, rather than the picture I uploaded within this time of uni work of a perfectly lit blue of the sea, that I had taken a picture of two weeks prior. 

When reading up on these ideas of online authenticity, I came across an academic article where in which it noted that “Achieving or gaining popularity is one of the important (social) goals one may seek to fulfill while (and through) using social media” (Lim, Nicholson, Yang & Kim, 2015). This for me sums up the ideas of authenticity, designing a life for oneself online always comes back to the idea of being appealing to others. My theory was supported by the article as it mentions age being a deciding factor in how authentic someone is online. This ‘strategic self-presentation’ (Lim, Nicholson, Yang & Kim, 2015) is something that can be found throughout history within paintings, however, because of this generation brought up with social media it is more readily available to many people rather than a select wealthy few- as mentioned by Peter a few lectures back. 

When reading a blog about being ‘too authentic’ online, one must question how we are now expected to develop our brand from such a young age. I follow many children from my dance school on social media, and at 12 or 13 they’re already leaving ‘digital breadcrumbs’ (Hutchinson, n/d) that can never be completely erased.  After all of this research, I am left wondering if in fact authenticity and preservation of ones character is actually possible online. I am sure it would be if you posted maybe once a month, but for my generation and our posts that are every day/every other day I don’t think it is possible to keep the balance right, one must decide where the line is for themselves. 

Resources:

Hutchinson, A. Professional authenticity: can you be too authentic online? Retrieved 3/6/2016, 2016, from http://blog.firebrandtalent.com/2014/09/professional-authenticity-can-you-be-too-authentic-online/

1. Prepare Journal for Formative Assessment (at your tutorial in week 9). 2. Decide on appropriate contextual arenas for the topic and research these 3. Start your initial primary and secondary fieldwork. Aim to locate a range of sources. 4. Create a filing system for your notes. Take notes, do not just assemble photocopies and downloads. 5. Start on Annotated bibliography – summarising the research sources your are finding

This homework (excluding 2 ) was completed offline, the annotated bibliography, however, can he found here. 

1. Follow-up on lecture 2. Write a sample paragraph around one theme, with particular focus on structuring the paragraph to focus on key ideas. 3. Expand research to follow up aspects that came out of your tutorial – remember to take notes, reference, and put in Endnote 4. Narrow down key themes 5. What big ideas are emerging?

1. Lecture Research, as well as questions, asked in the lecture 

Question: What ideological approach informs our desire to have creative freedom? Why do we think grids are limiting?

I feel as though previously to the grid week I would have found the grid rather limiting, almost putting a mathematical equation towards something I consider to be very expressive. However, after attempting to design within one as well as becoming educated on them through both Karol’s tutorial as well as Peter’s lecture my mind was swayed on the matter. I now feel as though they are similar to the ‘think out of the box’ theory- if we do not have a box to think out of then this is not possible.  

Postscript: Did I notice that Peter had used the words ‘our’ or ‘we’

I noticed that Peter had these adressess as I have studied propaganda for two years preiovusly in highschool, however, I feel as though I would have been in a minority to notice this .  

Question: When is it right to use propaganda? When is it something that we believe in?

I think the defition of propaganda is needed to answer this questoin with accuracy. (see below)

Propaganda 1. Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view. "he was charged with distributing enemy propaganda" Synonyms: information, promotion, advertising, advertisement, publicity, advocacy ‘Biased’ is something that I would agree with using against things that we know are bad for us, such as ciggarettes, but yet the second of what I would think was synoynm of the word is ‘misleeading’ which makes me feel as though any use of propaganda would not be okay in this, nor any other instance, as if it is mis-leeading then the freedom of choosing when having all the correct facts layed out in fornt of you is taken away from you.  

Question: How much of what I do is propaganda?

I feel as though it is dependant on what aspect you look at it. As most people do, I lie to get out of situations that could end in reprecussions that would not benefit either relationships with people, our an outcome from by my or someone elses actions. Also my online presence would lead people to come to a conclusin about me that may not neccearily be true. In these aspects quite alot of what I do is propaganda. 

2. Sample paragraph

Design throughout time has developed and grown, from a trade and then a profession. This growth has been triggered by the social and cultural agendas caused by a changing society. Something that has not changed, however, is the professions fixation upon its purpose of creation to convey a message; by whatever means is the most accessible way possible and available at the time. This message is received by the consumer, 50% male and 50% female, yet the role of women in the design sector does not reflect this even split (McQuiston. L, 1988). Although females roles have become much more immersed in the last ten years “In ID Magazine in 1986 states: ‘According to the US Department of Labor Statistics, the percentage of female designers (defined as all designers but architects) jumped from 25% to 52% nationwide during the years 1980 to 1985’”(McQuiston. L, 1988).  Although these numbers may seem impressive, the number that it began with and subsequently doubled was not one that would’ve been considered noteworthy by any means. 

McQuiston, L. (1988). Women in Design, A Contemporary View London Trefoil Publications Ltd.

4. Key themes within my research topic include:

Feminism, Consumerism, Commercialism, Anticonsumerism and Marxism

5. Some ‘big ideas’ that are emerging from having quite an intensive look in through novels written in the late 19 throughout till the 21st centuries was the simple fact that women were, and are still extensively outnumbered by men in the design sector.  The fact that this is not really mentioned or addressed throughout everything I have read really worries me as I wonder if we are in fact ignoring the problem we have within our profession.  Resources:

1. Research a range of design journals and find possible venues for your article. 2. Analyse the structure of one article from a journal that relates to your research and could be a venue for your paper. Analyse how it is structured. 3. What are the headings. What is the argument? What are the key themes? Are there any ideological assumptions? Etc. 4. Continue researching your paper. 5. Write, in one paragraph, an overview (abstract) of your research paper’s content and argument – as the research stands now.

1. Design Journals 

MIT Press, Career Development International , International Journal of Design, Interactions Magazine, Design Studies 

2. Structure of the Journal  

I have decided that I am going to analyse the journal layout of the MIT Press as at this point I feel as though I am going to aim my paper towards being published in it.  - The document is in two columns, however, this will not work for my paper however as I have set margins. 

-  Title

-Sub-title 

- Introduction is introduced as a heading 

- Body text and argument 

- Next Main point is introduced 

- There is an indent before each new paragraph

- Bottom of each page has a page number as well as the name and issue of the journal 

- All references are on the page that they’re applicable 

3. Key points 

Headings will be somewhere around the region of:

Abstract  Introduction   1. The growth of Ideologies: The Glass Ceiling

2. Feminism

Second-wave Feminism Postfeminism and Third-wave Feminism   ‘The Gaze’ 3. The rise of the working woman

4. Changing of technologies; the rise of design as a profession

5. Quotes from Lonely Rufas Knight 

5. Abstract