Final Concept

After discussion with and suggestions from Neil McCann, I have finalized my concept and am now satisfied with both my intended design, intended visual language and the connections between them.

After generating numerous concepts (thumbnail images in my sketchbook) I have turned away from the "puppeteering", "strings-attached" idea that was my previous primary concept (and which, despite all the sketches and alterations I was never 100% happy with) because of its limited visual language options and lack of confronting impact.

FINAL CONCEPT:
My final concept is AUSTRALIA (the geographic representation) made out of skin and blood, hooked up to tubes injecting/withdrawing various life-supporting substances into the country. (Life-support-tubes idea was from Neil, based off my strings/puppet ideas)

The tubes trail off the image in different directions, with Australia as the centre; probably the background looks very much like the globe (seas, surrounding nations etc. -- Photographic!Globe rather than Map!Globe). The tubes are pumping in imports and pumping out exports -- represented by images and statistics(? still not completely decided on how to represent this). Where an "import" tube plugs in the skin/country "bulges" outwards. Where an "export" tube is sucking stuff out the country "contracts" inwards.

There will be a tagline to the effect of: "International Trade" with the word trade striked out and DEPENDENCY written over the top. I think I could do more word treatment but I'd kind of like to leave it very basic with more impact in the simplicity (always one of my favourite design elements) than in over-saturation of opinion. This leaves room for people to develop their own interpretation based on what I've already thrown at them. I think this is still definitely propaganda; it's a little bit more subtle but still has the "YOU SHOULD THINK THIS WAY" general theme.

I really like this whole country-life-support idea because it links in a real world "dependency" (hospital "tubes" -- life support) with my propaganda issue of too much world trade, and how this has left us in a pracarious, dependent situation (what happens if you start unplugging the tubes...).

Also the blood/skin/living entity sort of personification makes my depiction of Australia more personal as it's almost as though I'm not saying the COUNTRY is dangerously dependent on international trade I'm saying "YOU" (audience) as part of the country are. (AKA, the feeling that Australia isn't a place it's a collection of people).

Plus it's got the disturbing blood-skin-hospital impact that will draw people to look at it!

HOW I'M GOING TO DO THIS:
I think photographs of skin, meat, blood (from meat or some fake gluggy liquid etc..), tubes, maybe needles.. all that stuff shouldn't be too hard for me to do (I have a very good SLR digital camera with which to take the photos, and a couple of macro filters to do closeup texture shots).

The background is a little harder -- I want it to look realistic like the earth but I obviously don't have any of my own images from space. I could just "suggest" at the earth background - using water texture or a plain, slightly textured dark blue bg in photoshop.

The shape of Australia I could trace out in Photoshop using map reference images.

Neil and I discussed the use of Illustrator's bulging/warp tools to get the sucking/expanding effects where the tubes enter the country which I think would look awesome; I could also make the whole thing look more 3D/curved like the earth using some of Illustrators tools.

Colours would initially be deep reds (blood) skin tone colours (browns, peaches, creams) and dark blue (ocean). I'm thinking a sort of desaturated background (so more grey-blue than blue-blue) would draw attention to the central image as navy is such a strong colour it might need to be somewhat washed out. Can do various colour combination tests in Photoshop during production.

The text will probably be textured in the same skin-blood as Australia, but I could also make it out of gluggy tubes? Or something a little less ostentatious and simple. If I do the strike through TRADE/DEPENDENCY over the top thing the fonts have to be completely different. Maybe the underneath font can be more "safe" and boring and "dependency" can be all "bloody" (textured somehow).

This whole project is definitely a photo-manip image; heavily texture based and with lots of merging of seperate images. I'm feeling pretty happy with the concept & how I'm going to go about making it though. I think I can make several simple alterations on the main image for the final selection of images; all with the same fundamental tube-blood-life-support-australia image.

I'm not sure about the vessel though: will probably be a newspaper ad; although it would be really cool to make stickers designed to go over the top of existing maps or something like that. Not media-y enough though.

More impacting idea..

I was just thinking that my ideas aren't really aggressive enough - my original plan was to do something with aversive stimulation or really vehement threats but my images don't really do that. They're a little passive.

Maybe I could do something really offensive involving perhaps an Australian cow -- Aussie meat is a major export -- so I could have an image of like a cow sitting in a paddock with bites being taken out of it by the "trading partner" cartoons or something. This would probably look better as a photograph manipulation (more confronting) but that's not the style I've been investigating and it would clash with my other image designs. I could do it in the cartoon vein; just maybe make all the cartoons a little more realistic?

The image of a cow being eaten alive could have so many connotations so I'd have to have strong "negative effects of global trade" link in the image too -- which might be in text treatment or in the use of some "import/export" stuff or money connections.

In any event I think I need to make the images more brutal. Like maybe the puppet image could have Australia as a dead puppet -- murdered by the future collapse of the global market..

But that whole vein's a bit out there and I'm not sure people will really "buy it" because they don't like to believe that sort of thing is possible.

Concepts

(To be further updated)

(ADD NEWSPAPER COMICS COLLECTION)

I want to incorporate a sort of "newspaper political comic" style to my "nation" characters - which I've more or less decided to use for all my concepts. As I'm making a political/economic statement, and the "opinion" cartoons from newspapers are heavily associated with political satire, I think this provides a stronger link between my visual style and the theme/message. I have several ideas on different scenes/different "comics";

The main idea I've been working on to kick start my concept creation is the "puppeteering" image (which I don't feel needs any further connection to the theme, I'm just using the visual as a "power/control" representation) as seen below.



This first image is a preliminary sketch I made of the "puppet" idea -- this is not an example of composition really; just the straight content and a vague idea at layout. This sketch brought me to realise a few things -- the expressions of the top characters would need to be very important -- I'm thinking aloof/ignoring "Australia" or whatever. I also think there definitely needs to be a stronger connection with trade and the image needs to be more powerful.



In the above sketch I was testing out some "angular" character eyes and styles, trying to go for a cartoon that was sort of "hard" and mean; and also testing what the "OWNED BY" "MADE IN CHINA" idea could possibly look like.



Testing style of characters (China above and U.S.A. below)







This sketch (above, very poor photo my apologies) was designed to give me more of an idea of expression of what the above countries could be feeling; from the initial sketch I'm not sure it has very much impact at all, which would mean I need stronger instant imagery but also something a little more tangible between the characters..

THE CHARACTERS: At the moment I have a number of options in how to personify each nation.
I could use iconic characters/images from each country (such as animals or historical figures); I could use political leaders (which would fit more along the lines of the political cartoons theme); I could use anthropomorphism with the flags of the countries; or I could do generic characters with "traditional" or "iconic" outfits from each country.

As the idea evolves..

At the moment, my primary visual idea is to use cartoon personifications of India, Japan, China and The United States weilding power/dominance over Australia because of trade/economies (but not really being too bothered about us).


So far to represent each country I have come up with:

India: Currently I've got a Hindu Goddess (Kali) and I'm fairly sure I don't want to use this image, as whilst it looks good and is very recognizable as being "Indian", it's too religious when I'm trying to make a political, economic statement -- not to mention the Goddess represents death and destruction and I feel this could make my message misinterpreted. Whatever figure I eventually choose needs to have a face and I want to use the Indian flag colours (Orange, White and Green) with the character in some way.

Japan: Samurai warrior with Japanese Flag influence.

China: Red "Chinese" dragon with yellow stars on it somewhere.

United States of America: Uncle Sam -- but I'm not sure about this either as it's a symbol for the military rather than a distinct cultural/symbolic representation of the nation.

(((Maybe I could simply do each country represented as a single hand? E.G. have bits of the flag or cultural bracelets/rings with iconography etc.. making each hand recognizable)))

Australia: Kangaroo/The shape of the country/Green & Gold etc.



IDEAS FROM THIS:

• The 4 countries as puppeteers of the "Australia" character; who is dangling helplessly beneath them looking deminished/forgotten. The trading partners would be completely ignoring the puppet below and talking to each other instead.
• The 4 countries dragging Australia along behind them; as above but without the puppets.
• The 4 countries (possibly heads of state?) sitting around in luxury (think big armchairs, smoking jackets and glasses of expensive liqueur -- although this sounds a little too "James Bond villain") being waited on by Australia, who is shelving up trade items like coal instead of drinks, but still generally being ignored by the big states. Maybe in the background there's a "resources bag" that has a "wont last forever/running out.." sort of hint to it.
• For a pamphlet: featuring Australia as the geographic shape, accompanied by the caricatures of Japan, India, China and the US on each seperate panel with the words (e.g. only) "Ordered By: USA" "Sold To/Shipped In: India" "Bought In: Japan" "Made In: China".. the last panel could be just the country by itself, or with a kangaroo or whatever character I use to represent Australia in the poster/card/etc. standing next to the country, pulling out empty pockets and the words say "Owned By?"

Most of my other compositional ideas revolve around the four trading partners; Australia ignored/ powerless and some sort of tag line that asks a direct question/makes a cold threatening statement/induces reflection.

On my idea evolution...

As I investigate different visual languages, experiment with styles and generate the aforementioned ideas for representing my issue, I've found that the message and the central idea itself has started to alter. My design concept/statement states that my theme is: Australia relies too heavily on global trading & this is going to cause problems in the long term.

At the moment, the majority of my image ideas have been more orientated towards representing the idea that in the big picture, Australia is controlled by/depends on our trading partners but they don't need us to anywhere near the same extent. This is definitely a viable economic argument which I can push as propaganda in images, but it isn't what I said I was aiming for.

I do feel fairly strongly about the image ideas I've come up with so far, so I don't want to do a back flip and change them too drastically just so I can strictly stick to the "Global Trade: Doomed" message --- but perhaps I can work on ways of incorporating trade and a need for long term solutions to a sustainable economy into my ideas.

Design Concept + Narrative (WIP)

(Work In Progress)

My propaganda images about global trading are intended to persuade through aversive stimulation/threat that nations rely too heavily on importing (and exporting) products; particularly those needed for the survival of the population (bare essentials).

Revised Design Statement

By using a sense of imminent threat I want to push the opinion that countries rely too heavily on the stability of global trading partners (especially for essential items like food), that we are very short-sighted when it comes to our economies, and this will all end up being a catastrophic problem.

Incorporating cultural images/icons and colours to represent different countries, I want to paint this threatening portrait of economic reliance and an eventual "implosion" (without being racist or too political). To appeal most effectively to my audience, I will probably use Australia as an example.

I believe very strongly in this issue because I feel it isn't being discussed enough and it's something we have the opportunity to address and deal with now, before it's too late.

(Initial) Design/Artistic Statement

Deciding on the final definition of my topic:

I investigated topical issues surrounding the political and economic relationship between Australia and China; the economic growth of both China and India and the impact this has on the current "Western" economic powers in the world (Europe and The Unites States). I think the current superpowers (in particular The United States) see China as this growing "threat"; already wielding eminent global power in business, cheap labour and mass production. As the "threat" continues to expand, and China outsources its labour to smaller, less developed countries and further increases productivity - it will develop an even greater stronghold of power, where other states will rely on China's business in order to grow themselves.

Australia is currently benefiting from China's continued expansion, so from a cultural viewpoint this is all a good thing. Personally however, combining the issue of economic expansion with the imminent "world recession" when the world starts running out of oil - I can see one big political and economic giant having so much control and power in so many different areas as being a major problem that will eventually implode with catastrophic consequences.

So therefore: what am I trying to push with my propaganda images? I want to use a sense of threat to say Australia, and in fact, all countries, rely too heavily on the stability of other states and powers, and this will end up slapping us all in the face. I think this is a topic that has many individual issues that tie in to the larger "global trade" issue -- because of this I think my images will have the potential to have more intricate, multi-faceted meanings.

Semi Permanent

On April 4 & 5 I attended the "Semi-Permanent" Design Conference at Darling Harbour. There are a lot of comments I could make on what I gained from attending, but the main point that relate to my studies in the Digital Design Studio class was related to:

• The different perspectives and attitudes people in the design, art and journalism industries have..
  

It sounds vague, but after sitting through two days of career wisdom and advice on what to do and what not to do both creatively and in business, hearing about and witnessing some of the amazing things people in the industry are creating and getting loads of free goodies - - my brain was pretty overloaded. What works well for someone doesn't necessarily work well for everyone, so the advice we received from various successful entrepreneurs was more interesting to me than fundamental to my design experience.

The central message I took out of the experience was all about perspective. As a designer or an artist or even as a writer or a journalist you have an opportunity to express messages or themes in ways that really make people think and consider them seriously. In our technology saturated society we've become numb to some of the truly beautiful (and truly ugly) things that take place in the world, and as a result we begin to ignore them. We see the news on TV; countless images of the depths of depravity in human nature -- all packaged up and thrown at us, commented on by a monotone news reader. Then, a minute later, something new, different; replacing what came before. Impact - absorb - ignore.

Expressive art forms can take the same issue or situation that we've seen on the news or maybe an issue we've never even considered before or didn't know about -- and really force us to reflect and think. With this kind of visual communication it seems a greater impact can be made through a smaller audience.

Mostly this perspective came out of Semi-Permanent's speaker Spencer Platt - a photojournalist from New York. He spoke about the impact of single images and about all his experiences in remote and war-torn parts of the world. For me, he was definitely the best speaker there, and I got the most out of what he had to say (and his amazing photographs).

The point I'm making is that I've never really thought about art in this way before, which is bizarre because now I guess I feel that being able to have this impact as an artist or a designer is what art is truly about. This gives me a lot more to think about with my topics, my visual language and what I really want to be saying when I display an image or write something.

It's very deep to have this awareness that as a designer (or as an artist or a writer) I can have the power to affect other people's view of the world.

India, China and... Australia?

My ideas for a propaganda sort of "message" have been building and changing as I do research into the cultures and economies of both India and China. I've been brainstorming visual interpretations of possible issues to choose, and at the moment I've been looking at a particular question/issue (see below).

Will Australia be advantaged or disadvantaged by the economic growth of both China and India?

The answer to this issue is very murky ("YES" might say prices will plummet from Chinese and Indian products that are made more cheaply and Aussie products will be driven from the markets, causing job losses; "NO" might push that the Australian economy benefits as we sell minerals and products to these economically expanding states) - so pushing a point either way would be really interesting because there is no clear cut answer.

At the moment I kind of think it's both, and I can visualise a whole range of angsty pictures and posters and messages for both that I can "push" on people: so in my developmental work I think I'll explore both sides of the argument/issue further.

I'm not completely settled on this "Australia disadvantaged YES/NO?" issue, but at the moment it's one of my primary avenues of research!

Starting point..

The article that put me onto my India/China/"The West" economic topic was "Last Days of the West" by Kishore Mahbubani -- scanned copy seen here.

This photograph was above the article:

The image of Indian people & ATMs, the globalized world; it's a striking image for an article about the diminishing "West". Most of the visual ideas running around in my mind have been more orientated to a symbolic or artistic way of representing the countries/economic powers etc. so looking at a simple photograph is a good way of broadening my perspective on what is available for me to work with/draw inspiration from/do myself.

Wheedling out my topic..

After looking broadly at a number of topics under each of the themes; particularly at tiered government and consumerism..

I'm now hooked on something completely different!

India, China and "The West" -- three global giants competing for power.

[ECONOMY] themed -- as India and China are fast becoming two of the most important players in the world's economy; some sort of exploration into what future effects or importance this will bear could be really interesting and really visual. The whole area is just so topical at the moment (India VS Australia in the cricket -- all the politics and dramas that went on; China with the Olympics and America's fluctuating economic status), if I did something that tied everything together and made a statement it could be very effective.

I need to get a specific "propaganda" direction/issue in this area, but VISUALLY I can already see this working really well. There's so many issues (and existing images) to explore; consumer-idealism from "The West" culture, changes in Asian culture/art/attitudes, shifting political power -- just to name a few. It could almost end up being a combination themed topic as "The State" and "Citizenship" might also come into the issue, with cultural/global identity (and cultural pollution?) and political head-butting also weighing in on the rising-Asian-economy situation.

Typography tests..

I attempted to connect to the arch network from home (Sydney Uni Village) through the FTP client but I'm not sure I got it working properly so I'm going to drop the "font" i made today in Friday afternoon.

Here's a preview of the letters I made, complete with an ugly background designed to show that I did in fact cut out the backgrounds. Except the bits in the rice!

I definitely think the "M" looks the best. I've still got a bunch of other photos to work with that I didn't use, and I could definitely photoshop up something interesting using shape and texture suggestions from the letters here.

Consumerism Posters

CONSUMERISM images.

Anti-consumerism poster (left) that uses little images combined to create words from a distance.

This is a very clever and confronting poster that gets across the message quickly but also makes the viewer want to look closer to understand completely. Draws you in.

Christmas themed, religious, anti-consumerism movie: What would Jesus buy?

Advertising a product: Also Christmas themed, like the above film poster. Although Coke is a drink and not a physical object or excess, this poster emphasizes a strong message of pro-consumerism. "Have a Coke" it's a statement not a suggestion. Everything is positive -- screaming come buy the product.

Exploring Topics

I've started my "propaganda" design project by exploring various social topics under the themes of "Citizenship", "The State", "Economy" and "Body". 

As I will be spending the whole semester working on this project it's important that I pick a topic that really suits me, which is why I'm exploring a range of topics and ideas at this stage. Whatever specific subject I eventually choose would ideally be in an area that I am very passionate about, or on an issue that is very current and fiery!

So far I've been skimming over headlines in the newspapers and on internet news sites for issues that relate to the four themes.

Topics that I'm considering so far include:

[Economy]

• Consumerism (Where is your money going? Do possessions make people happy? The RISE before the fall -- what happens when there is a recession? Consumer Confidence)
  
• Economy Uncertainty
  
• Average family/citizens -- paying off mortgages, fighting interest rates
  
• Farming -- the staple of civilization & foundation of economy -- government support in drought & hardship, globalisation pressures etc.
  

[Citizenship]

• Cultural identity
• Sense of belonging within a community
• SOCIETY - what is Australian Society? (In what direction is Australian culture and society heading?)
  

((I've more or less decided that this is the one theme I probably won't do))

[The State] 

• Structure of Government (Should we have two Tiers of Govt. instead of three?)
  

[Body]

• Natural VS Artificial (Is there an unofficial line that is crossed with body and health improvements?)
  
• Individual perspectives and taste (Different measures of pain // What is beautiful? What is fashionable? What is repulsive? What is sexy? What is individual?)

These are my initial topics/potential questions to follow up with research.

UPDATED: 12-3-08