OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 [SB1] - Final Note Designs

OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 - Module Evaluation

On final evaluation, this was an interesting brief because I was able to allocate all of my time towards it which definitely helped me in the research portion of my work. I took my feedback from previous briefs into account and tried to generate more outcomes than I usually would, and found that it helped me diversify the my final idea and create a concept with more than one concept. The idea of creating work for an ethical cause rather than simply commercial work made this brief more interesting for me, because I felt like I was committing to a real change in the world (or my local community at least.)

The element I enjoyed the most about this brief was being able to create my own stencil and paint (using temporary paint) on a wall. I've never physically created anything like that before and going back to a more authentic protest method felt right for this brief. The idea of creating a number of stencils for people to print and use themselves communicated to the idea of community and a sense of community is paramount to come together to protest an idea.

I found creating work about anti-gentrification hard as it has only come to light in the media in recent years, which left me with a limited amount of research and I had to create my own research through asking my target audience and communicating with people in my local community.

If I could improve my project, I would try and actually put my posters up across London and generate a genuine following to the cause. This would be an interesting idea as there's an opportunity for the community to come together and build on my initial concept, constantly evolving with the problems that arise.

OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 [SB2] - Final Designs

Let's fill this town with culture

Tube Posters

Logo

Stencils

OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 [SB2] - Design Choices

With my designs for this project, I have made sure that every design choice has a clear reason behind it. I have tried to merge the boldness and direct approach that action groups usually take and simple, effective design to highlight the character that culture imprints into the areas it touches. My intentions behind this are to take a different stance on the fight against gentrification, and instead of fighting gentrification directly, I intend to educate and showcase the culture and character that is developed through close-knit communities that are being torn apart.

For example, the Westway23 logo that I developed:

I tried to create a logo that could be easily recreated at any time using DIY tools (such as for picket signs etc.) and an iconic logo that would be recognised on first sight. The icon is meant to represent the tower blocks that are stereotypically related to impoverished areas, and to transform it into a symbol of strength. A tower block represents foundation, stability and community, three things Westway23 agreed are parts of their core values.

The thinking behind my publication was to showcase the best anti-gentrification protest pieces as works of art, instead of seeing them as violent responses to gentrification itself. With this approach, this would shed a new light on the community and hopefully achieve a positive outcome. I feel like I have done this, but it was difficult to find any pieces of work due to councils quickly removing any works of an anti-agenda. The legality of creating my own work however, is questionable. 

I also created a series of stencils to be used for picket signs and protesting banners to be used by the group, that are easily read and directly address whoever they are put forward to. I tried to maintain the same conceptual thinking throughout my project keeping my collateral simple but effective, and trying to remove the corporate stigma to minimalist design by incorporating spray painting was a good idea to do that. 

I had a similar idea for my tube posters, in which I would directly address whoever was reading it and challenge their perception. From personal experiences, adverts that are able to relate to you on a personal level are the most effective so I tried to emulate this with my advert. In order to abolish the corporate element to the poster, I created a stencil with the typeface and spray painted it onto a wall (A layer of cling film was added to make sure no laws were broken). I think this was really effective because it related to the campaign itself, and synthesised the advertising material with the actual protesting.

OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 [SB2] - Design Development

Typefaces + Logos

OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 [SB2] - Historical Action Organisations

In order to further my research, I will be looking at some of the most effective action organisations of the past and their manifesto's and how they achieved their aims.

Take back the Night

Take back the Night is a foundation founded in the early 1970's and still operates today. Take back the Night involves a nighttime march by women and men alike to protest against sexual assault and harassment. The marches began in 1975 with towns coming together to condemn sexual assault and spread to many different reaches of the world. The simplicity of the protests meant that everyone could come together for a single cause and walking through the night gave the protesters a sense of empowerment you wouldn't usually have so late in the day.

In the context of design, the protest collateral seeks to empower and directly address the audience, in order to create a sense of urgency towards the audience to act. The use of contrast and bold imagery/typefaces definitely coincides with most of the collateral created over the foundation's existence, and I think creating such design is a tried and tested formula with protest material.

Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter is an organisation formed in 2013 to combat the police brutality towards black people in America. There is slim chance you haven't heard of this movement before, meaning the movement has definitely succeeded in raising awareness of the issue going on in America and even other countries today. The key to the Black Lives Matter movement is the fact that the organisation is decentralised and has no clear hierarchy. This creates an opportunity to empower everyone freely and the lack of hierarchy means the movement becomes much more democratic, reaching more corners of the earth than any other movement. This is also one of the first global movements in the digital age and it clearly takes advantage of this with the hashtag BlackLivesMatter amassing hundreds of millions of uses throughout their operation.

In the context of my project, the main take-aways of this movement is how powerful social media is in reaching an audience. The movement would have never become this large without the use of Twitter primarily, where people are able to share their experiences live. In order to create a viral campaign around gentrification, I would have to find a way to empower disgruntled individuals and make their voices heard. Below is some of the collateral the Black Lives Matter movement has created.

Scrap Trident

Scrap Trident is a movement dedicated to stopping the use of nuclear weapons as a deterrent in the UK. Trident is an operation consisting of four submarines with nuclear weapons, of which one is constantly patrolling the border as a deterrent to other countries. This operation is due to be renewed in costs of up to £25bn. With such an extortionate amount of money, you have to wonder if we really need such a deterrent in the world we have today. Scrap Trident is more of a classic protest group, utilising word of mouth to their advantage. They benefit from listing protests on their website and aiming to use analog advertising to attract fellow protestors. Below are some of the images taken at their protests.

OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 [SB2] - Existing Gentrification Protest Organizations

In order to begin my research into real-world gentrification, I decided to look for parties that opposed gentrification in my local area in London. I feel this is important as it establishes the similarities between different ideologies, even if the end goal is the same and allows me to understand what the main idea is that I'll be designing for.

Class War

Website

"There is a class war waging and we are losing it. The rich are getting richer and the gilded elite who have ruled us since Norman times remain in power and dominate land ownership just as they did when they first robbed it.

We live in a feudal society dominated by an oligarchy of privately and Oxbridge educated toffs who run not just the government, banks, diplomacy but the media, music. comedy and even the opposition.

We see no difference between any of the parties – we oppose Sadiq Khan with the same venom we hate Zac Goldsmith.

We don’t want to kick the tories out to replace them with Labour or any variety of failed Trots. We don’t want to kick them out at all – we want to kick them in!

Started in 1982 CLASS WAR was first a combative, funny, populist anarchist newspaper then mutated into a similar political organisation."

This is the manifesto of Class War, a political party against the gentrification of London we see today. Class War is an extreme version of left wing supporters that reject all existing parties on premise of corruption and deceit. They promise to level the playing field for everyone and introduce a national basic income that everyone receives (similar to some Scandinavian countries.) I believe Class War has honest values, but their execution is too extreme for my views and I believe in a more balanced approach. However, it is interesting to see how far the current gentrification policies are pushing people.

Westway23

Westway23 is an action group based in North Kensington (very close to where I live) to simply give a voice to the local community. Westway23 works closely with the local council to make decisions that are win-win for both the council and the tenants alike. 

The Kensington Green Regeneration Project

One of the projects they worked on successfully was the Wornington Green regeneration project, that is currently undergoing until 2021. The council and community worked together on the project from start to finish and both parties reached an outcome that worked for them. I believe this is how gentrification should occur, in a way that benefits both parties without driving out current residents.

Save the Curzon

The Curzon Cinema is an iconic building in the heart of Soho that has been in operation for over 100 years. It typically shows more underground movies and has been a hub for Soho's culture since inception. This cinema is now under threat of closure from the recent developments of the High Speed Rail proposed by former mayor Boris Johnson. This is a prime example of a negative effect of gentrification, something I am very opposed to. The Curzon has amassed a petition of over 40,000 signatures in order to save it thus far, but it is still uncertain whether it will remain. The Curzon released a video on the petition that aggressively called all supporters to action by 'Cursing for Curzon'.

The Save Curzon campaign has since been covered by influential news outlets such as The Independent, The Guardian, BBC and more. I feel that a viral campaign such as the one Curzon created is the best way to voice an opinion, mixed with protests and a clear concept for an ad campaign. Researching into these different groups has definitely given me an insight into the aims of these groups and how they go about gaining exposure for their projects.

OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 [SB2] - Jonathan Barnbrook

I attended a talk by Jonathan Barnbrook on his work and methodologies with his career. He talked about the work he did with David Bowie and the work he did for Dismaland, along with the work he does with his studio aptly named Barnbrook. I found this talk extremely motivating as Jonathan had a different approach to most of the corporate studios I have attended talks with, and I felt that he was more genuinely passionate about graphic design than most. This talk inspired an idea for my studio brief 2 project in which I am trying to campaign against gentrification.

If I am trying to fight gentrification, there's no point in trying to start a social media campaign where only like-minded individuals will join in. Instead, I intend to plaster the City of London and Waterloo and City line with content I produce against gentrification. I feel this will target the audience this is meant for much more directly which relates to the context of my project, direct address.

In conclusion, the talk with Jonathan was extremely rewarding and has taught me that the most complex design solutions aren't always the ones that generate the most exposure for a project.