My Coursework Blog

This is a comparison between the initial final versions in both A4 and A3 to compare how the sizing affects the pixelation of the image. This was good as it showed me the image could be recreated in A3 without too much hassle. 

This is to note the comparisons of the new versions (left) compared with the initial final versions (right) 

I chose “are you doing your job?” because I felt it recognises the feeling that she is postponing Brexit talks by many people.

I chose “were they given a choice?” as it hi lights that he pushes his views on the young people by ignoring those who wished to remain by calling leaving an “opportunity”. 

I feel as though this version better links into the quote in the poster regarding anxieties.

Anna suggested that I print off the posters in A3, after testing this out I felt as though it would benefit my presentation and decided to do so, however this led to pixelation when the images were resized. This then prompted me to recreate the posters from the ground up on a larger scale.

Anna also suggested I put subtitles after Brexit to make it clearer I was against them.

Again I decided to stick with Bell Mt, though I decided to use a quote found from

https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/real-life/boris-johnson-brexit-telegraph/, where Johnson talks about young people and his perception of them betraying the UK against his false proposal to “remedy” the remainers situation as a way of hilighting his lack of care for the concerns of those who lost the Brexit vote, particularly those with no choice in the vote.

Source:

I kept the Bell MT font and the similar background and text layout to help keep the posters look part of a set. 

I added the quote regarding younger people to contrast how he talks about the supposed extortion towards the UK within the EU against how Mogg regards taking the control away from the younger people by not allowing them to vote to point out the hypocrisy within Moggs own rhetoric.

For this experiment I used the font Bell MT to help create a much more professional look to the poster. I also played with the sizing more, making the quote” I got us into this mess and I will get us out” in a larger size to make it more focused upon and to give the poster more verity. I also made sure to give the hellish background more tonal verity so that more of the painterly aspects would come through.

At first I experimented with having black and white then a mixture of both but the lack of a contrasting drop shadow made the text look too flat and took away from the layered look that I wanted to go with.

I loved how the drop shadow turned out, it makes the poster look more stylised after a magazine or a newspaper that helps to reflect the wide spread of the Prime ministers campaign.

I decided to experiment with colour to help link into how May has said one thing and done another throughout the Brexit campaign. I rather like how the yellow turned out as it signifies danger without clashing like the blue or blending in with the background like red.

As another addition I felt the yellow sections of text were a touch too small to be read coherently, so I decided to enlarge them to make them have a more immediate impact when you first see the image.

I decided to make the “You” larger, alongside moving the first block of text down slightly so the eye has less work to do when connecting the three words.

I decided to make the serene looking hills overlaid with red tones to make it seem like Theresa May has destroyed Britain. 

Font: Desdemona

Font: Ariel Rounded MT Bold

I feel as though this connection is nowhere near strong enough to be recognisable and would only hinder the overall feel of the design, as the rounded text hints as a softer atmosphere that clashes so much with the background imagery and the meaning behind the quote the entire design becomes incoherent. 

I decided to keep the border as I feel the connotations of nostalgia helps strengthen the ideological aspects of the poster, however I absolutely love the clean cut look of the edge of the poster alongside how the darkness of the font contrasts against the background and helps to focus the poster. 

In this earlier set of experimental work, I had used the initial iteration of my project proposal during the creation of these collages, leaving them to have hints of focusing on the wider issues regarding Brexit, in particular that of the refugee crisis and how the Brexit vote helped to create an atmosphere in which xenophobic opinions were much more widely spoken, alongside the spike in hate crimes after the vote. I decided to try using a remain campaign poster to help illustrate the point of the medias control over the coverage of the vote and the powerful people that push for the vote out of their own benefit as opposed to genuinely believing they are pushing a political agenda for the benefit of their own country. 

Overall I felt this one was disjointed and lacked clarity, taking too much from the poster in terms if focus. It is for that reason I dislike this one so much, however I will say it did make me far more aware of the traditional poster formatting found within older posters as a design choice to run with. 

This one was much more blunt in that the “attempts” of the Tory party by deceiving the general public will lead to a future of isolation for Britain.  

This was a series of quick compositional experiments to see what worked and what didn’t.

I decided to take a step back from the previous format with the politician in the middle with young protestors at the bottom with an accompanying quote. 

I like the use of scale in this version and the abstract looking cut out section leads the eye quite nicely up to Mogg.

I decided to move Borris next so that he would overlap Mogg and make the image look less disjointed.

I liked how the image began to feel more complete at this point, I especially like the hi lighted negative space below Johnson and May as the dark tones help to showcase the brightness of the background, subsequently making the three seem far more prominent. 

I then slanted Borris so that his hair would cover the gap between Mogg and his arm so that the three would look more interlinked against the background. 

I decided to upscale May in order to make her seem more imposing, slanting Borris to give off a more uneven looking negative space as he splits up the background quite nicely. Overall I feel as though this does look more interesting, but docent work as the image overall lacks much focus with how split up the image is, alongside the overpowering red tones that come through the skin.

I decided to gather a range of quotes regarding Brexit that can be used to help contextualise my posters, focusing on three major politicians in favour of Brexit, especially as they can be used to help focus on the fact that young people have not been treated fairly both during and after Brexit. 

Theresa May

“the next generation should always have it better than the last”.

“I understand the concerns raised, particularly by young people, during what was a disappointing election for my party,” 

“So my determination to act on those concerns, and crucially, to fulfil the promise of my first speech on the steps of Downing Street, is greater than ever.”

-May on Millennials walking away from voting Tory

R.Merrick, The Independent. 2018. Theresa May vows to help millennials after admitting youth vote made her lose majority | The Independent. [ONLINE] Available at:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-young-vote-millenials-policies-pledge-housing-economy-a7974851.html

. [Accessed 16 May 2018].

May told BBC Radio 4 she believes it is "right" to maintain the current minimum age of 18 at UK-wide elections.

"This is one of those questions where you have to draw a line," 

"You have to pick a point at which you think it is right for the voting age to be. I continue to think it is right for it to be 18."

-May on not lowering the voting age to 16

N.Puffet, www.cypnow.co.uk. 2018. Theresa May says no to votes at 16 | Children & Young People Now . [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/2003655/theresa-may-says-no-to-votes-at-16. [Accessed 16 May 2018].

“As Conservatives, we have a vision of a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few — precisely the direction I set when I became prime minister last year,” May said in the released statement.

A.Dickinson, POLITICO. 2018. Theresa May’s pitch to young voters – POLITICO. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.politico.eu/article/theresa-mays-pitch-to-young-voters/. [Accessed 23 May 2018].

“What we are doing with all European countries in the European Union is sitting down and talking to them … Spain included. It’s definitely jaw-jaw.” — Theresa May tries to defuse tensions with Spain over Gibraltar, dismissing the notion of military escalation and hinting that a conciliatory approach would be matched by British goodwill on security issues. 

“The country is coming together, but Westminster is not.” — Theresa May before presenting a motion in parliament to call a snap election in June.

“During the Conservative Party leadership campaign I was described by one of my colleagues as a ‘bloody difficult woman.’ And I said at the time the next person to find that out will be Jean-Claude Juncker.” — Theresa May tells the BBC how she plans to deal with Juncker in Brexit negotiations.

“Britain’s negotiating position in Europe has been misrepresented in the continental press, the European Commission’s negotiating stance has hardened, threats against Britain have been issued by European politicians and officials. All of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the [snap] general election [on June 8].” — Theresa May outside No. 10 Downing Street after formally dissolving parliament before the election.

“It was me that got us into this mess, I will get us out of it.” — What Theresa May told backbench Conservative MPs at a meeting of the 1922 Committee after June’s election.

“[Nervous laugh] You talk about Boris’ job, you talk about my job; I think what the people watching this program are interested [in is] what we are going to do for their jobs.” — Theresa May being an artful dodger on the Andrew Marr Show, when asked if Boris Johnson is unsackable.

POLITICO. 2018. Brexit quotes of 2017 – POLITICO. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.politico.eu/article/brexit-quotes-of-the-year-2017/. [Accessed 23 May 2018].

Jacob Rees Mogg

“For younger people, leaving is the best opportunity that they could have.”

“The Remainers are fighting a last rear guard action to try and stop Brexit.“They’re doing it in the House of Lords and there’s this group that’s come out today, if that doesn’t succeed then this is the last gasp of their efforts.” 

-Mogg on the young not getting to vote. 

LBC. 2018. Jacob Rees-Mogg Says Brexit Will Be Better For Young People Than Staying In EU - LBC. [ONLINE] Available at:

https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/special-shows/ring-rees-mogg/jacob-rees-mogg-brexit-best-opportunity-youngsters/

. [Accessed 16 May 2018].

“Mr. Juncker’s effort to extort money from us shows he is an amateur even at blackmail. He has nothing to intimidate us with and the British people always stiffen their sinews when threatened … Mr. Juncker is a pound shop Bismarck, arrogant and bullying but without the charm.”— Jacob Rees-Mogg responds to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s criticism of the U.K.’s handling of the Brexit talks. 

POLITICO. 2018. Brexit quotes of 2017 – POLITICO. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.politico.eu/article/brexit-quotes-of-the-year-2017/. [Accessed 23 May 2018].

Boris Johnson

“disastrous mistake”To reverse the decision of the referendum. 

“It is not good enough to say to Remainers – you lost, get over it; because we must accept that many are actuated by entirely noble sentiments.”

Boris Johnson will say he fears people are becoming “even more determined” in their efforts to stop Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union 

A.Cowburn, The Independent. 2018. Boris Johnson Brexit speech - as it happened: Foreign Secretary seeks to woo remainers but key address light on detail | The Independent. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-brexit-speech-live-updates-foreign-secretary-remain-eu-leave-talks-cabinet-theresa-may-a8209706.html. [Accessed 16 May 2018].

“It is only by taking back control of our laws that UK firms and entrepreneurs will have the freedom to innovate, without the risk of having to comply with some directive devised by Brussels, at the urgings of some lobby group, with the aim of holding back a UK competitor.”

“That would be intolerable, undemocratic, and would make it all but impossible for us to do serious free trade deals.”

“The British people should not have new laws affecting their everyday lives imposed from abroad, when they have no power to elect or remove those who make those laws," he will add.

“And there is no need for us to find ourselves in any such position.”

'HOPE NOT FEAR'

"We must accept that many [pro-Europeans] are actuated by entirely noble sentiments, a real sense of solidarity with our European neighbours and a desire for the UK to succeed," 

"If we are to carry this project through to national success - as we must - then we must also reach out to those who still have anxieties.”

-Johnson on the state of the people who voted remain

J.Ashmore, PoliticsHome.com. 2018. Boris Johnson 'reaches out' to Remain voters, claiming Brexit is cause for 'hope not fear' | PoliticsHome.com. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/foreign-affairs/brexit/news/92795/boris-johnson-reaches-out-remain-voters-claiming-brexit. [Accessed 16 May 2018].

“All the people I talk to, increasingly, can see that the emperor has got no clothes,” he says. 

“The case for leaving is now overwhelming.”

“The whole thing began with the Roman Empire,” he says.

 “I wrote a book on this subject, and I think it’s probably right. The truth is that the history of the last couple of thousand years has been broadly repeated attempts by various people or institutions – in a Freudian way – to rediscover the lost childhood of Europe, this golden age of peace and prosperity under the Romans, by trying to unify it. Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically,” he says.“The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods. But fundamentally what it is lacking is the eternal problem, which is that there is no underlying loyalty to the idea of Europe. There is no single authority that anybody respects or understands. That is causing this massive democratic void.”

The Telegraph. 2016. Boris Johnson interview: We can be the 'heroes of Europe' by voting to Leave. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/14/boris-johnson-interview-we-can-be-the-heroes-of-europe-by-voting/. [Accessed 16 May 2018].

“It would be a disaster. He would go into the negotiating chamber with all the authority of a smacked blancmange.”— Boris Johnson on what would happen if Jeremy Corbyn becomes British prime minister. 

“Go whistle.”— What Brussels can do if it thinks Britain is going to pay an “extortionate” Brexit bill, according to Boris Johnson. 

“You will recall the peregrinations of the man from Down Under, how he met a man from Bombay with not much to say; how he met the man from Brussels, 6-foot-4 and full of muscles, and he asked him ‘do you speak-a my language’ and he just smiled and gave him a [waits for crowd to respond] Vegemite sandwich.” — As well as the serious business of discussing post-Brexit trade with his Australian counterpart, Boris Johnson finds time to recite the lyrics of Men At Work’s early 1980s hit “Down Under” at a think tank event in Sydney.

“Supine protoplasmic invertebrate jellies.” — What Boris Johnson thinks of the opposition Labour Party in the House of Commons, saying they would pay the EU’s Brexit bill even if it was €100 billion.

“Caesar Augustus in Brussels has declared ‘Sufficient Progress.’” — Boris Johnson mocks Jean-Claude Juncker at a Foreign Office reception.

POLITICO. 2018. Brexit quotes of 2017 – POLITICO. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.politico.eu/article/brexit-quotes-of-the-year-2017/. [Accessed 23 May 2018].