Creative Report - First tutorial

The considerations I had prepared for the tutorial included a selection of collective groups or individuals working on sharing the stories and creative work of those who come from underrepresented backgrounds. This can include the list of individuals I had previously mentioned in the blog post before this - Daikon, Shy Bairns and BENI. 

I had also prepared additional information for the discussion within the tutorial including why they were relevant to my own practice which had developed from me meeting some of these individuals at print fairs and whilst talking to them I discovered that some of the things they included within their work, I was also passionate about myself and found it really interesting the way that they formatted and displayed this information. The format of having zines and publications used by both Daikon and Shy Bairns was something I found particularly interesting as this kind of format is seen mostly at small press events like print fairs and they tend to include more traditional formats of printing which adds a nice quality to the overall finish of a print in comparison to a lot of books in mainstream stores which are mass produced and look the same as every other book out there. 

Using printing methods such as Risograph which was encouraged by Erin from Shy Bairns and having an internet in this process myself is something I would like to learn how to use as it emulated the screenprinting process into a much quicker format of printing - similar to a photocopier and produce more copies of a piece which has been used in this printer. The only issue with this is that they are quite difficult to locate and the university doesn't have any facilities with a risograph printer. 

Erin did mention that Footprint in Leeds was a good place to use if I did want to use risograph printers so this is something I will need to consider further into the production process of the Creative Report.

Some comments from Peers and Dom based on the information I had told them about these different groups includes:

• Testing out different methods which don't conform to typical design approaches 
• Including the use of exploitation of Asian culture into Graphic Design as its currently trendy to do so although the implications are that the designer themselves may not be aware of the cultural significance behind using a certain aspect which they have used - e.g copying and pasting a quote from an Asian language for it to actually translate back into something they were unaware of . 
• Going against these stereotypes somehow in the design of my outcome
• Need to look at these collectives and find out what is it that they do that I want to incorporate into my own design practice.  
• Crazy Rich Asians - the use of gold for the colour of the typography and fans - playing into stereotypes associated with Asian people. 

I spoke to Georgia straight after the tutorial as I felt as though I was a bit confused as how to respond to some of the feedback I was given - Looking at how to incorporate aspects of the people I have looked at and how this will influence my own design practice.  She said that the reason why this was mentioned may have been that I had focused too much into the contextual material that these collectives had produced their zines on, rather than the actual design element of them. This made more sense to me after she had explained this so after the session I had gone home so I could refocus on the task and look at the questions which had been provided prior to the tutorials. 

I had done this in the format of a mindmap and by doing this, I was able to easily visualise and make connections with the questions which had been set :

SB1 - Initial Research: Beni

I had come across this as a youtube channel a few years ago covering personal topics of Nadir ( who owns Beni Space) in a long format documentary style which has gained traction and popularity across various communities which were one of their initial aims.  Their manifesto includes :

BENI is a journey. An experiment. An intention. 

BENI hopes to join old with the new, giving space to the generation-Y millennial who has an appetite for meaningful aesthetics.

BENI steers away from narcissism, consumerism and superficiality. We believe in an action grounded in good intentions.

BENI aims to devise beautiful visuals that reflect and define youth culture - global, cosmopolitan, beautiful - and enrich it with value. Whatever that might be.

Nadir releases episodes every few months or so which have been very well edited and makes them accessible on sites on youtube. He documents his travels across various countries - including those which have some kind of personal connection to him through his family/friend or cultural upbringing.  

SB1 - Initial Research: Shy Bairns

Another group which I am interested in looking into can include Shy Bairns. I had heard of their work briefly through Instagram as well as being aware of Erin's work with Nest Magazine at the university. When I heard that they were going to be at strange perfume I thought that this would be a nice opportunity to interact with their work and see what they have been working on since they've graduated as well as talking to them and got some advice about the university as well. 

This collective is a multidisciplinary group which specialises with DIY workshops and publications. One of the main reasons why I was attracted to their work was the evident DIY nature of the way that their work has been produced: whether its screen-printed tote bags, using collage and mixed media within their publications to incorporating print methods which produce really nice textured results like Risograph. 

As well as this I like the fact that some of their work explores topics within the LGBTQ+ community as I am a part of that community myself, I appreciated the fact that they have some more educational zines to help those wanting to learn a bit more about appropriate terminology to use when speaking to people as well as things which aren't that well known. I would like to be able to discover and learn more things about the LGBTQ+ community within the area that I live in as well as find people who share similar values and upbringing within Asian communities as well and I think by talking to Shy Bairns, I would be able to get a good start into where I should start looking as well as finding out some information about their processes as well. 

SB1 - Initial Research: Daikon

 Designer and collectives I have been interested in at the moment can include those which are trying to do thing to shed a light on topics which aren't necessarily being talked about. Things which relate to myself within the work is something which encourages myself to include this within my own practice as well as wanting to find other things that creatives are doing related to this. 

Some examples of practitioners who I am currently interested in and are doing these things can include:

Daikon:
This is a collective of South East/East Asian women and non-binary people who create submission based zines including Asian voices which are often underrepresented and undervalued in mainstream political and feminist discourse. One of the key aims of highlighting issues that we face is to empower others by highlighting collective frustrations and nuances of our international nuances by building a wider platform for solidarity. 

*Aspects took from the Manifesto 

I had come about this collective via social media through other mutual accounts and I found their work particularly interesting as I haven't seen much in the media covering the issues that people in Asian communities face. Coming from a South Asian background, this was quite exciting to find others who also find this to be the case as well. I had found out not too long ago that they were coming to the North to take part in some print fairs and considering I don't live too far away from Manchester, I had to go visit - more to interact with the people behind the collective as well as being able to see their zines and interact with their physical work and talk to them about that as well. 

Something which was raised today in a talk by visiting professionals from Village bookstore was the diversity and evident community within the self-publishing bubble as it is a very close-knit group including people supporting other creatives.  This is already evident from one of the print fairs that I had attended that day I went to Manchester - Over Here  Zine Fest especially. 


This was the first event to be held in the North ( as far as I'm aware) to just solely be focused on providing exposure on those coming from BAME and working-class background including work focused on art, publishing, activism, and collaboration between communities.  This was a very interesting event to go to as I got in, I instantly felt comfortable seeing people from similar backgrounds as mine and it made me feel motivated in a way to see work that they had produced by more that one individual.  I was able to meet the second half of the Daikon group as I had visited the Strange Perfume Print Fair before this where some of the group had recognised me as at strange Perfume we had discussed a potential collaboration and they had shared my socials with their whole group over a group chat which I had found to be quite flattering ngl. 

At the time I wasn't aware of the Creative report brief so it was very convinced that I had this interaction and brought up the consideration for a collaboration as they liked the look of my work on my Instagram. I do also want to make the point that I haven't solely chosen this group as I interacted with them and we said that we could collaborate as I often visit print fairs in the north and south and I was quite lucky to have this interaction with this group. 

The Witworth - Manchester

One of the main exhibitions which had caught my attention was the one titled Thread Bearing Witness by Alice Kettle. This exhibition had been discussed quite a bit by a lot of my peers and I was really confused initially as to why there was so much popularity and interest over some 'textile pieces'. As I went round and viewed the various pieces and read the descriptions that had been put alongside these pieces I understand why a lot of people wanted to see these pieces of work because of the contextual meaning behind the pieces of work. I had also flicked through the publication which had been created by Kettle containing her findings with working whilst working with refugees and incorporating their accounts of culture and things that they have faced whilst migrating from country to country. 

I think this was something that was quite important to have included within the gallery as well as other accessible spaces to include work covering topics like this as although these topics are discussed and shown on news outlets and programs, they do sometimes present a one-sided view of what is happening with migrants but being able to immerse yourself in an environment like this exhibition where there are large scale pieces of work containing very sensitive topics and things that have happened including the Blue piece especially as it had highlights of neon orange in the sea which had been embroidered to represent the lifejackets which had been left in the sea whilst people were trying to reach for safety. 

I was only able to find out this information by asking one of the gallery staff to tell me more about the pieces of work and how they interlinked together. She had informed of the collaborative aspect of this work. This can include working with people across the UK to stitch a small tree which has been added to a picnic at the Whitworth to represent their solidarity with refugees 'binding them to a movement of people who care whilst thinking about rootedness'. Getting refugees in the north-west to take part in the drawing workshop.  As well as this encouraging a group that they have worked closely with called English Chat ran by Syrian women which have been meeting, drawing and stitching things which have contributed to a quilt they have made collectively as well as sending messages out to the resident of the Pikpa camp in Lesvos.

This collective of workshops, as well as others, have contributed to three pieces of work which was initially the aim in order to act as a starting point to build creative relationships between people and continue the development of exciting collaborations too. 

I was really intrigued by the publication which had been made alongside this so I had decided to buy it as I really liked the considerations which had been made to the finishing of the paper as well as considerations made for layout, imagery and binding methods. 

Designer Speed Dating

I thought that this was a really interesting task as this is something in our group which hasn't been emphasised enough. Although within our group when we are set into out smaller crit/induction groups we are fairly comfortable with each other but outside of sessions, these kinds of interactions don't really happen outside of our smaller friendship groups. 

Whilst this task was happening I met a variety of people I may have passed by and not been able to have an actual interaction with them which I thought was really cool. I found out some info on misconceptions I may have had with certain people as well as finding out people with similar opinions on things I enjoy and do. This is something that I have tried to develop outside of the university as well as attending events held by the uni like when going to social events organised by the uni like the LGBTQ meetup at a Coffee shop a few weeks ago I had met a couple of Illustration and Animation students in their Third Year where we discussed out different practices and found things that we had in common which was really nice as I found listening to the different processes which take place on another course within the university to be quite interesting. As this interaction took place we had exchanged our socials afterward and they had offered some support on some things I was struggling on as well as offering help if I needed any help when it came to things I may be interested in doing outside of Graphic Design. 

This task reminded myself of the interactions I have had whilst visiting the Strange Perfume print fair as well as the Over Here Zine Fest. The reason why I found these events appealing to go to was that they included individuals from a similar background to myself so being able to talk to people about their work whilst and the context behind them. One group of people which I found particularly useful speaking to was the collective called Daikon. I was able to speak to all of them across the two print fairs and whilst I was flicking through their zines they were really encouraging with wanting to speak to me which I especially at the strange perfume festival, even though part of myself wanted to visit it for the content; I also wanted to go to see how people include and involve aspects of their identity into their work. This was quite overwhelming especially at Strange Perfume as I have hardly visited any events like that surrounding LGBTQ+ although the people at the stalls made me feel very comfortable whilst I was talking to them about their work. 

Whilst at the table for Daikon I had spoken about the struggle with being able to find representation or events locally for those from south Asian backgrounds who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. They had highlighted some of these issues that they had themselves and how they use their zines as a platform for Asian voices which can be quite often underrepresented in mainstream culture. As we were talking we talked about the kind of subjects they had also studied in their degrees and what I was doing as well. We had also exchanged our socials and they had invited me to contribute some work when they call out for submissions for their zines as they thought that some of the things that I had mentioned as well as the work I had posted on my Instagram would suit their publications. 

I think attending events like this as well as interacting with the people who are there is really important for myself as well as for my practice as well because sometimes viewing work online for research can often get quite boring and being able to actually interact with people and find out the contextual definitions behind their work can be very useful to know. 

Final Presentation: Process behind the creation of final outcome

Embarrasing Myself, Mental health crashing, No time

Haiku task

Throughout this brief I felt as though I was quite luckily to end up with a group where all the participants were willing to get involved and take part. Due to this we all had ideas to bring to the table which we discussed with each other and found a method of approaching this. Some ideas we had wouldn’t be appropriate for the time scale that we had so we had to discard those except one which involved representing our phrase which was surrounding the idea of anxiety and we wanted represent this in a visual format. The way in which we did this was by filling a balloon with strips of paper which we had quoted from the initial task when first set the brief regarding the feeling of those with anxiety as well as some balloons were filled with paint, glitter to add an extra element to emphasis this burst of negative emotions that people experience.

I feel as though our group managed to successfully carry out this brief and we explored the task which had been set to the highest standard we ere able to do this in. 

Initial Haiku Task:

OUGD402: SELF BRANDING EVALUATION

I feel as though answering the questions set by the brief allowed myself to explore in detail what I would like to do in the future after university. As this was quite a large question to answer I feel as though there were a variety of approaches I could have taken for this but in terms of where I am now and how I feel about what I could produce this is the first step into how it would be possible to brand myself. 

Due to the brand being based around the work I will be producing, it was difficult to create an aesthetic for this as my work does not currently follow a set trend so this was difficult to find a way top effectively communicate this. As the other individuals within my group wanted to primarily to design based work this was something that was quite hard to link back to my own branding as I would like to work indecently as this is where I feel like produce my best work as I can influence my own design decision although other people wanted to work as part of teams or companies which I was not able to relate over. People who had viewed my presentation had found that they enjoyed seeing my work and the hand rendered type that I had included on my slides which I appreciated but in when it came to presenting what I had to say alongside my presentation this is where I feel like I had suffered the most. The treason behind this is the anxiety that I have when it comes to public speaking as this is something that doesn’t come naturally to myself compared to other. As much as a rehearsed before the presentation this is something that I am unable to deal with, even within small groups.

I feel like this is down to the pressure I felt as I was presenting something which doesn’t directly or wholly link to graphic design. This was and is something that I find quiet dauting but although I felt like this was the best approach to my self branding presentation as it is still something that I am still trying to comprehend.

Studio Brief 3 - Self Branding Crit on Concept

Things I need to work on:

• Add more quotes/opinions from others evaluating their work
• As the designers/artists that I have included work using mainly moving image/digital media - I need to find out how to link these into my presentation
• Show the progression of the individuals career up until this point to show where they started and what challenges they faced to get to where they are now (Past work vs Current/Newer work)
• Practice through what I'm going to say - for the next time I have a presentation to avoid speaking in a conversational manner

^ This should help gain a sense of rhythm e.g for some slides can spend more time explaining a certain area where as other may be more self explanatory and not need as much.

• Include videos eg showreels etc
• More illustrative elements - makes it look different from everyone elses work 
• self initiated work to show im trying to get to where i want to be 
• Mixed -Media / doodles 
• Consider how the presentation would sound like without the aid of visual materials like images include mind maps/doodles
• small segments of video to give the audience an idea of how they work. eg. Mr Bingo 
• Create a good first + last impression 
• Have the confidence to talk about the type of work l have admired for years
• include a range of creatives from different back grounds - digital/ traditional etc 
• Consider the order of the slides order of presentation - in order of the artist progression to where they one now and were they want to be 

 Things I did well on:

• Used lots of imagery- engages audience and gives them some background knowledge about a subject they may not be particularly aware about.  

Initial ideas and Conflict of how I should brand myslef:

As I was researching different artists work that I was fond of and that I could apply to my own self-branding I had found that throughout this process I was incredibly conflicted between whether or not I should present myself as a designer or as someone who 5would like to pursue something such as becoming an illustrator or a combination of a variety of roles. The reason for this is that throughout the past few years when I have thought about future prospects it has never been one solidified thing as once I have explored a certain medium or topic and found the parts that I was initially interested in I then move on to something new which has been a constant process when I gain interest in something.
So when it came to this brief, all that was going through my mind was that ' Do I comply and do something to solidify the fact that I'm studying Graphic Design even though I don't enjoy most aspects of it or do I go completely all out and do something which doesn't take into account the thoughts of others?' `

Self Branding Breifing:

After this briefing, I had made a list of things that I recently came across which gave an indicator to the kind of work that I would like to do in the future as well as making notes on the kind of work that I would not like to do as well to provide myself some kind of starting point of how to brand my self.

Studio Brief 3: Self Branding

SELF BRANDING:

TASK: Create a representation of what I see is important as an individual designer and learner based on what I have learnt on the programme.

Make sure that my design practice is informed by a wide range of social/ethical /creative and professional concerns.  (State what these are)

Type of information to cover:

The different formats I can use to effectively promote information about myself

Tone of voice which best suits me and my ambitions

Experiences which have shaped my opinion and views from the programme and outside of the programme. 

Creative concerns/opinions and beliefs – communicating these practically and conceptually – what has informed these decisions and contextual references that reflect my individual focus. 

Things that I am influenced by: ABSTRACT

Abstract: Netflix serieis which explores the work and lives of artists wihtin the world of design. This serires explores various artists work lives and their creative process. Some of the srtits mentioned within this series can include:

Christoph Niemann - Illustrator and Graphic Designer
Tinker Hatfield - Nike Shoe Designer
Es Devlin - stage designer
Njarke Ingels - Architeect
Paula Scher - Graphic Designer
Platon - Photographer
Ilse Crawford - Interior Designer

This series was suggested to me by a lecturer from illustration at the university and I had found watching this incredibly helpful to get an insight into process behind each of these different creative disciplines. As well as this, whilst trying to find some kind of idea into what 'i want to do in the future'  I had reconfirmed my beliefs that I don't want to have one fixed career as all aspects of this show in the different disciplines include aspects of things that I would like to explore.

This quote from the first episode is definitely something that stuck with me in terms of what I am actually getting out of studying graphic design and if the things that I have been learning here have been suppproting muself in terms of what I would like to do in the future?

Artist Research: Kate Moross

Initially created work for friends as well as contacts she had made whilst living in London.
Quite an avid music fan and used this as well as a simple DIY ethos which was inspired by riot grrrl +punk music.

Predominly music influnces from her teenage years where she was surrounded by the influnce of the internet, pirated music, going to gigs etc.

The key mediums and utilities had used invovled markers/photocopiers to encourage the idea of the DIY ethos to sell promotaional posters for musicians that she liked and wanted to see perform live.

Within the general upbringing, the family that she was surrounded by also big music lovers.
Each summer she went to jewish summer camp where she was immersed into a range of creative activities and free to create whatever she wanted to make.

By the age of 17 she had an involvement with creating things which were included within the school magazine.

As well as illustrating the cover for her yearbook whilst at school.
She had brought her love for music to Camberwell College of Arts where she studied Graphic Design - Here she had relished the opportunity of embedding herself into the London music scene