Studio project 2 - Roald Dahl Literary Estate- Character selection

I looked into some fantastical creatures that I could Illustrate. These included the BFG, Oompa Lumpa’s and the insects out of James and the giant peach. Out of these, I decided that going for the BFG. This is because it is seen as such a classic, and has recently made a comeback to the big screen which was an absolutely amazing film in my opinion. I think it is better to continue with the BFG as the younger generation of today will more likely know about the story because of the new film.

Out of the children I decided to go with James Henry Trotter as it was one of my favourite books as a child and I think that a really nice illustration can be produced with the peach in the background. I originally thought that charlie bucket would have been a good choice, however after picking the BFG because it is so well known, i thought that introducing a character that may not be as well known to those who have never been introduced to the Roald Dahl series would be a good way to peek the interest of perspective readers. 

Finally for the villain i decided to go with Miss Trunchbull, the headmistress from Matilda. I think that the plump, terrifying character will work well with the style that I intend to go down. 

Cybernetics: Research 6 (Typeface)

Typeface: 

Memphis:

I saw this font through a an email promoting Revolution Bars Plc, and liked what I saw. I used the website "Whatthefont.com" in order to find out what the font was. It turned out to be Memphis. I am going to use this font for headers. I chose this particular typeface because of the block printed style that i am going with. I think the sharp corners and the blocky style will work very well with this visual. 

Cybernetics: Research 5 (Fold MockUp)

I decided to create a small mockup of the folded booklet in order to get a sense of where each page will be situated when it is folded, as well as how i needed to set out the design work in order for the booklet to be printed correctly. 

The inside of the booklet

The inside will just be designed as one long piece of art. I added the letters in order to see where the other panels would be when folded.

This is how it will be folded

After folding the mockup, i realised that the D panel on the back would be situated next to the C panel on the front. This made me think about what design I would put on this panel. 

The main reason for the mockup was to see where the panels where situated on the back. It became clear that i would have to design the back from right to left instead of left to right. 

I am glad that i created the mock up as it has helped to get a clearer idea of how to layout the design. 

Cybernetics: Research 4 (Feedback 2)

New process idea:

When looking into the facts about technology and the effects on children, it came to the conclusion that instead of creating the the net based print that would have shown the decisions made by a person and how technology effects those decisions, i have now decided to go down another route.

I am now going to create a type of timeline that will outline the pros/cons and looking at a neural aspect of how technology is effecting people. This will be presented on a roll fold booklet, as i think this will give me a nice area to work on, allowing me to utilise the full work area and create some nice layout solutions.

Roll Fold Dimensions

Design idea:

In order to make the visual look more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, my intention is to create a digital version of wood block printing. This, with a vintage texture and a selected colour pallet in my opinion will allow me to create a beautiful visual, which will help me outline my concept in a visual way. 

Wood Block Effect

Texture

Jonny's Feedback:

— Got a few good starting points, you need to really think about your pro/against/neutral stance on social medias effect on our idea of social reality vs digital social network. You've talked today about the scary prospect of digital/social taking over more and more of our lives, the next thing you need to consider is whether this is good or bad and whether this affects people differently. Does living in a virtual social network—that may appear fake to outsiders—outweigh a more conventional network like family meals etc. Should we encourage children to embrace an even faster social network and communication network, or discourage them (either way they will probably opt in). Should we be attempting to speed up ahead of the curve or continue to exist in an outdate mode.

Network Ego
Your ego, disseminated through a network – virtual and real. What is being said and what is being hidden as we endlessly curate and control the media perimeters of our lives. How has the acceleration and integration of social media affected the perception of ourselves and our egos? 

The question the piece will make the person ask themselves:

How does the network ego effect the self? 

Looking at the positives/negatives/neutral
positive - escapism.
negative - lost in virtual world - loosing grip of reality.

Cybernetics: Research 2 (Impacts)

Social medias impact on children careers:

Children are now on social media at a very young age, and the new generation do not know what it is like to grow up without technology. This could cause problems for them when looking for a job, as the things that they post on social media as they are growing up could be something that ruins their chance of getting the job. Something that children don't understand is that actions have consequences, and something they post may have a ripple effect. 

Social media impacts the way teens see themselves:

Teens are now sending snapchats instead of written notes, and now selfie is a well known term in our vocabulary. 20% of students say that social media makes them more confident compared to the negative effects that only 4% of students feel. However, this can still be a problem as teens don't realise that their identity is not based on what they post on Facebook/twitter. 

The evolution of the mobile device:

An example of how mobile devices have become integrated into family life is the new baby bouncy seat that fisher price released that has a holder for an ipad. This is so baby's can watch cartoons on the tablet, however this begs the question; will it come to the point where as these children grow up, they need technology in order to entertain themselves? A recent study has shown that mobile consumption has increased by 133% in the last year. 

Cybernetics: Research 1 (Starting Point)

Cybernetic Self 

I thought that the key words that we were given in the brief would be a good place to start in order to come up with a strong concept that i want to take forward to create an output. A loose term for cybernetics would be "control of any system using technology". 

Autopoiesis -  

Definition: This is the self-maintenance of an organised entity through its own internal processes. Consider your Autopoiesis your ‘self making’ — ‘self poetry’, your identity and its subsequent interactions with others. What defines you? And how does interaction with others affect that? Redefine the self portrait, the selfie.

Personal Understanding: When reading up on the meaning of autopoiesis, the thing that sticks out to me is the phrase "self making". From a human aspect, we could think of ourselves as a system that can reproduce with our offspring. This is the deepest interaction you can have, when making another life.

However, a baby is a clean slate. It is innocent to the world and the difficult issues that it faces. It is when the child is growing up that these ideologies are engrained into their mind. This could be about who they want to aspire to. Who they don't want to be like. If they choose a good path, or steer down a darker, alternate route. This is through interaction with others and in a way, what in the long term, defines you as a person. 

Socio-material -

Definition: Technologies are socio-material assemblages, an ensemble of people, materials, equipment, components, and institutions. The idea being that the technical is not reducible to the social, nor is the sociable reducible to the technical. How does the self — yourself — circulate in the socio-material world? Is it circulatory, or rhizomic?

Network Ego -

Definition: Your ego, disseminated through a network – virtual and real. What is being said and what is being hidden as we endlessly curate and control the media perimeters of our lives. How has the acceleration and integration of social media affected the perception of ourselves and our egos?

Foundational principles of cybernetics

Foundational principles of cybernetics from paul pangaro on Vimeo.

This video helped me a great deal to get an understanding of what cybernetics are. The main things that i took from Paul Pangaro's speech was that humans live in emotion (hormones and nerves) where as technology is different. It is a system that is not controlled by emotion, but by facts and statistics.

He stated "We must be social to identify with our identity through language"... "Being human is to be a autopoetic system engaged in interaction which gives us a degree of autonomy, a degree of dependence at the same time to which we have our own responsibilities".

Autonomy: Freedom from external control.