Looking forward to the year of this course, I was advised to reflect on what my hopes, concerns and thoughts are in the view of getting the most out of it and producing the most effective work.
I hope to achieve a strong grade from this academic year, but perhaps more importantly a portfolio which puts me in a good position to appeal to people and bodies relevant to career progression. I need to do this by tailoring my work towards a specific direction, and I may use my time most effectively by putting some of the research I undertake for the dissertation into informing some practical pieces. I feel no decisive pull towards a specific limited field of design but am inclined towards digital design in terms of what I feel comfortable with producing, interested to produce better work in than I can currently display, and see some career potential in. The digital design may likely be web design, or potentially design for social promotional platforms. I am also establishing a theme with my written pieces research to be considering the social global impacts of design, critical of its use as a tool for unnecessary, deceptive and harmful commercialism. The way to reconcile this critical view with my intention to produce design work may involve producing work which could be understood as socially positive and still effectively promotional to given needs. I need to use projects this year to design with these things in mind.
Prior to this consideration of the course of this year, a team-building group exercise was arranged to build a tower out of dry spaghetti and banana, with the aim of producing a tower which was tall and aesthetically pleasing. The group of 3 I was a part of did not produce what was recognised as the most effective tower, but the exercise raised some valuable considerations. Working as a group was an important change from the largely independent design work on this course, and saw planning begin with brainstorming sketches on paper before actually handling materials and recognising that plans would need to change. The banana was not as effective as holding things together as hoped, nor was the spaghetti as strong as would have been ideal. As a group we improvised and changed the concept during the building process, reminiscent of how in design one must respond to changing circumstances or client requirements and pull through in the limited time provided. I did not contribute as much to the group as may have been ideal, which raises the ongoing thought of improving my communication, ideation and intelligent fast failure abilities when in a situation in which a new challenge is presented suddenly.
Blue-green colour palette may suggest the natural and pure
The diagram uses a full circle, suggesting there is a completeness to their positive action, no gaps.
Models are consistently outside, typically among nature. This puts forward Primark’s positive place in the world and respect for nature. This also stands for Disney which it closely associates with here. The design keeps quite simple with a lot of white, suggesting honesty and clarity, rather than being stylized and somehow superficial.
“Thanks to the rise of fast – or throwaway – fashion in the UK, we’re now buying twice as many clothes than we did a decade ago, and more than any other country in Europe.”
This outlines the key issues with fashion retailers such as Primark, driving harmful consumerism in general. Leading to an incredible amount of clothing in landfill. As a leading retailer with a significant portion of the UK’s clothing market. Primark is certain to have a part in this without knowing specific details about Primark.
“For fashion’s most successful coup is to distract us from the devastation and waste that lay in the wake of its beautiful designs. The stats of environmental damage are staggering….
…This year, the UN reported that fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world. Despite this stat being highly controversial, the impact of the industry is in little doubt. It is responsible for more carbon emissions than all international flights and maritime shipping combined…
…It takes between 7,500 – 15,000 litres of water to make a single pair of jeans. At the lower end, this is equivalent to the amount the average person drinks over seven years, yet we keep our clothes on average for just two years…
…To fulfil our insatiable demand for new garms, more than 100 billion items are produced each year, most from virgin sources. And yet, 73 per cent of the 53 million tonnes of fibres used to make clothes and textiles are burnt or sent to landfill annually.”
The first part touches on how vibrant life-affirming visuals of the fashion itself and associated designs work to distract the consumer from any negative implications. It continues on to give valuable statistics on the huge scale of the fashion industry’s impacts which through environmental impacts, press on economic and social issues in less developed areas. Another issue outlined is how quickly some people dispose of and continue to buy clothing.
“So-called natural materials are not as harmless as we have been led to believe. Cotton, a thirsty crop grown with huge amounts of pesticides, is one of the primary causes of Central Asia’s Aral Sea – once the world’s fourth largest sea – drying up.
This touches on the issue of how branding appealing to the “natural” for well-intentioned consumers, is misleading in that natural materials cause significant harm.
“Leather has been accused of being one of the causes of the 41,000 fires to ravage the Amazon so far this year. Synthetic – or vegan – materials, derived from the oil industry, fare no better for reasons of production and upkeep.
Washing synthetic clothes leads to 500,000 tonnes of microfibre, equivalent to three million barrels of oil, being dumped into the ocean every year. That’s harmful for the fish.”
Other materials are certainly problematic; animal cruelty is associated with leather, as well as these rainforest fires which have environmental and human impacts worth looking into.
“The problem is, although all brands have ‘Codes of Conduct’ these are rarely worth the paper they are written on. This is because factory owners will sign, but not necessarily follow, the international labour agreements.”
Human issues are known in factories producing the clothing; the retailers keep little control over working conditions.
“The study suggests the likes of Nike, Primark and Adidas are duping shoppers. An impressive 17 out of the 20 leading fashion brands investigated claim to have a commitment to living wages. But the report concluded these are worthless…
…Consumers are purchasing products they may believe are made by workers earning a living wage, when in reality, low wages continue to be the status quo across the global garment industry,” said project leader Professor Genevieve LeBaron, professor of politics.”
Claims of an essential living wage for workers are questionable.
The design associates the brand (its logo and associated colour for the website) with a diverse, happy group of young women in this instance. There is very positive communication here, raising the idea of authenticity in a very inclusive way.
Here Disney brands itself with known LGBTQ+ symbols – most prominently the Pride flag – in a very up-front surface level way of supporting an important cause.
“More than 25,000 current and former employees of Disneyland have entered into a class action suit against the Walt Disney Company, alleging that they’re being underpaid.”
A large-scale and credible complaint against Disney for its workers may be understood as contradictory to their positive image affirming people’s ability to reach their potential – if being held back by improperly low wages. The importance of a living wage is well-documented and opportunities for those disadvantaged without such are significant. Citation gettable.
“Ticket prices at Disneyland and Disney World have been skyrocketing over the past decade, while workers’ wages have remained mostly stagnant”
This suggests an increasing gap of inequality between the workers’ wages and the profitability of the Disney company, whose riches go to an elite few.
“Last year,, Disney earned $14 billion in profits and the company’s board gave Iger an 80 percent boost in his compensation to $65.7 million. His annual compensation was 1,424 times what the median Disney worker earned—one of the widest CEO-worker gaps of any American corporation.”
The wealth gap present here undermines any idea that people can achieve in ways that Disney like to positively promote for a diverse audience including disadvantaged people who, even in the employment of Disney themselves, would not be earning wages for a good quality of life.
“Iger and these other top Disney executives live a world apart from the workers—mostly young women—who produce the toys and clothing adorned with Disney figures that are told at the resorts and in retail stores around the country. The company has an appalling history of worker abuse around the world. Since the late 1990s, human rights groups have reported that many of Disney’s consumer products have been made in sweatshops in Bangladesh, China, and Haiti.”
The campaign supporting young women would certainly be contradicted by this source’s claim that young women are facing poor working conditions under Disney.
“Despite its vast resources, Disney’s monitors have routinely failed to uncover the inhumane conditions that human rights groups, which operate on shoestring budgets, have exposed year after year.”
The source continues to make clear why the responsibility for such poor working conditions should go back to Disney.
Starbucks communicate a positive warm image. Aside from the actual word content expressing a kind relationship with all employees, other aspects communicating this start with the logo featuring a smiling face with the colour green.
“At first sight, the Córrego das Almas farm in Piumhi, in rural Minas Gerais state, seems to be a model property. “No slave or forced labor is allowed,” reads one of several signs that display international certifications — including one linked to the U.S.-based company Starbucks corporation.
But investigators have found that laborers on the farm’s coffee plantations were working under degrading conditions and living in substandard housing without sewerage or drinking water. A Ministry of Labor team inspection conducted at the site rescued 18 rural workers in conditions analogous to slavery.”
This provides an example of Starbucks’ message, even in a non-public facing context, is contradicted by business workers’ conditions found in this case. Contributing ingrediants needed for Starbucks coffee, these unethical working conditions do not come close to the image of warmth for employees present on the website.
In what ways does the design of: _________ communicate and have potential to affect socially positive change?
find a social designer with a body of work that I can give info on
identify a range of issues that in their work that I can go into why they are socially positive
alternatively simply don’t base it on any one person and just give a variety. or do multiple people as the cases.
In what ways does modern graphic design in campaigns communicate and affect inclusivity
In what ways does modern graphic design in campaigns communicate and to what extent accurately reflect contribution to ethical working issues?
In what ways does digital graphic design in ethical business campaigns communicate positive ethical contribution, and to what extent does this communication accurately reflect contribution to ethical working issues?
Cases to include “positive” – where ethical communication generally reflects output well, “negative” – where it largely does not, and more evenly “mixed” examples.
Luke Whatley Design BA (Top-Up) 