Final Asylum info graphic

Click to enlarge.

I have added a little more info, making it (hopefully) easier to follow with out explaining it verbally.

Quotes from Selling Olga

I really need to think of something to do with these quotes, I feel it's a good thing to do, as quotes can be really powerful, I just need to find some kind of context to put them in.

Asylum Matters

A slow moving giff showing some interesting graphs from the Centre for Social Justice publication 'Asylum Matters'

Campaign Brief

I have been trying to come up with a name for the campaign that I am doing to encourage people to take a more responsible role as a British citizen.

Here are some Illustrator brain storm. Before this I had made a massive list of 'key words'.



Here are a few of my ideas for names and logos:






I think I am going to go with either Made You Think! or Think UK:






I need to do some research into people's opinions and level of education about the issues I will be discussing before narrowing it down further, I think. I don't really know the best way to go about getting this info with out patronising people.

New maps

Click to enlarge.

This is the new format for the maps. I have just finished the Colonisation Map and have started work on the War Map. After that I will do the Trade Map. Im still not sure what brief they will fit into though.

Annotated/updated Statement of Intent

Original SOI with annotation after each section in italics. Enjoy.

DESIGN PRACTICE / RATIONALE

Within the Final Major Project I aim to work as professionally as possible. To me this means: quick turn around of work, consideration of audience and context, appropriateness and legibility of fonts and imagery and environmental and social accountability.

I want to create work that is ‘real’ – work that is useful in its own right or answers some kind of need as opposed to work that main purpose is to develop my design skills. However, while I want my outcomes to be ‘real’ and ‘professional’, this may be the last chance I have to experiment relatively risk free, and I intend to capitalise on this opportunity.

I also want to try and get an idea of where exactly I fit in within the graphic design industry. Although I intend on getting a job in a design studio as soon as possible after I graduate, I fully intend to set up my own practise a couple of years down the line. My Final Major Project could be a good chance to get in touch with other designers to inform my practise (but also as an excuse to show people my work).

I wouldn't say that my rationale has changed very much. I would possibly add, however, that working as professionally as possible, I have realised, also means being versatile/adaptable. When working at UHC, I found that working with a low budget meant that you couldn't afford to be shy when it came to trying new skills––eg. if the client wants moving image you have to do it because costs more money to pay someone else to. 


CONTEXTUAL REFERENCES / INFLUENCES

I have just ordered a subscription to Creative Review, making it easier to follow the creative industries – as I often find it difficult to keep up with what’s happening. As well as this I need to make sure I check design blogs/websites.

Design wise, I would say my biggest influence would be Vince Frost. I can relate to, and look up to his intelligent and playful typographic approach to design, and see his work as something to strive towards. In terms of clients and design ‘ethos’, however, I would say that companies like The Ultimate Holding Company and The Ethical Graphic Design Company, who focus on pro bono and charity work.

I would say that UHC is now my biggest influence since doing an internship there. It has really influenced me but has shown how difficult it is to work within 'ethical' graphic design.

SUBJECT

I wish to do educational design that addresses the issues of asylum and immigration. I don’t intend for this to turn into promotion of one point of view, I just wish to show that these issues need to be addressed from an objective and educated point of view.

Alongside this I now wish to show how there is a series of issues that are all tied together––asylum/immigration/war/poverty/world-trade/etc––that are often considered 'not my problem', when they are often perpetuated by the over-consumption and general ignorance of the British public.

RESEARCH AREAS / RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

I wish to speak to other designers (possibly Frost) to ask how they went about certain briefs, print processes, etc. as well as speaking designers who have dealt with similar briefs to mine to ask advice.

Read design magazines and books, as well as current affairs ones – such as Adbusters, The Guardian, New Statesman, etc.

I aim to check design websites and blogs regularly – such as Type Neu, The Serif, Design Activism, Another Limited Rebellion, etc. As well as non-design websites such as the Guardian, Wikipedia, BBC News, etc.

To research asylum and immigration I will need to look at the limited informational material available, talk to organisations such as No Borders, Home Office, Refugee Council, Refugee Action, etc., as well as research the oppositional organisations such as the BNP. I will also need to find out how much the general public knows about the issue.

I have done an internship (which I have already mentioned twice), conducted some interviews with designers, and done some work for the Refugee Council. I am also in the process of quizzing the general public about their general knowledge of the issues I will be dealing with––I need to ensure that I do this without offending/isolating people.

DESIGN PRACTICE

I imagine my outcomes to be a combination of information design and advertising design. The design will have to be completely focused around the audience.

I have emailed the Head of Media at the Refugee Council to see if there is any way that my work can be developed for the Refugee Council in the hope that the work I produce at college will be used in the ‘real world’. I am awaiting a reply.

I am working / have worked 5 briefs: a blog design for the Refugee Council allotment scheme, branding/stationary for Salvedge, End of Year Show competition; and two briefs I am just starting––working with Sally McGee from the Refugee Council to design an information booklet  for young people about Asylum Seekers, hopefully to be distrobuted in Refugee Week; and a cross-platform campaign to educate people about, and encourage people to question, the role that Britain plays internationally.

DESIGN CONTEXT

Obviously I will research the facts of immigration and asylum in the UK (such as laws, reasons for claiming asylum, what countries people come from, etc), but I will also need to find out what people already know or think they know.

I will need look at ways that issues like this can be addressed through design. How you can avoid isolating people, annoying them etc, and address them on their level.

Theories such as the Marxist/Post-Marxist ideas of ‘Othering’ and Carol. J Adams theory of the ‘absent-referent’ are important in explaining why people may be confrontational or stubborn when present with issues like the ones I intend on exploring.

I have emailed the Ultimate Holding Company asking if I can visit them to get advice, etc., and I have emailed the Ethical Design Company.

I completely misunderstood 'Design Context' when I first wrote this.

The outcome of my Design Context will be a book based around a fairly in-depth case study of UHC and a series of other smaller case-studies/interviews with designers or people involved in the promotion of charities. This will be broken up with second-hand interviews I have found in books, as well as design work and quotes.


PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Hopefully, I will be back at Thompson in Easter, but as this is the only place I have any experience of working, I would like to do another work placement. If The Ultimate Holding Company agree to meet with me I may ask them about a placement.

I also intend on entering my work into the ISTD competition and entering the College’s End of Year Show competition again.

I decided not to do another placement at Thompson, as I didn't feel I could take a week out of my FMP. I missed the ISTD deadline––kind of on purpose––as it would have been a lot of hassle  finishing my work and entering it, and I have decided that I would rather have less stress in my life than 'ISTD' after my name. I may regret that.

I have done two briefs (one for the Refugee Council, and one for Salvedge), and I intend for my booklet brief to go live, which means I need to research funding.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Frost – Sorry Trees
The Advertising Concept Book – Pete Barry
Guerrilla Advertising – Lucas and Dorraine
Good – Lucienne Roberts
Conscientious Objectives – Cranmer and Zapaterra
100 Habits of Successful Graphic Designers – Plazm
Print and Finish - Ambrose and Harris
Special Effects – Allrightsreserved
Citizen Designer – Steven Heller
The Layout Book – Ambrose and Harris

Selling Olga – Luisa Waugh

The Immigration Invasion – Arthur Kemp

Irrationality – Stuart Sutherland

Britain – Marl Leonard

The No Nonsense Guide to Globalization – New Internationalist

Dark Heart – Nick Davies

JOURNALS

Creative Review
Adbusters
Computer Arts
IDN
Guardian
New Statesman

WEBSITES

Typeneu.com
Theserif.net
Worldstudio.org
Frostdesign.com.au
Designactivism.net
ALRdesign.com

ffffound.com

knowmore.org

socialchangewebsites.com

socialchange.org.uk

ctrlaltshift.co.uk

labourbehindthelabel.com

planetoftheyates.com

Quotes from "They get mobiles..."

I decided to use a wall as the imagery in the bottom one, as it kind of seemed like speaker is 'screaming at a wall (its worth noting I had just been listening to Minor Threat).

I have also darkened this sea image as well, so it is a bit more legible.

Where I'm at

Ok, so I have decided that I want to involve more things in my FMP than just asylum seekers, as I feel that this is one issue of a few that are all linked together.

For this reason, I think that I will do one brief to do with asylum seekers - possibly designing a booklet with Sally McGee from the Refugee Council to be distributed in Refugee Week (which I believe is the week before the End of Year Show).

I will also do one brief that is to educate and encourage people to question the way that we treat the rest of the world as a wealthy Western country - this will look at issues like immigration, asylum, war, world-trade/capitalism and colonisation.

Ill write these briefs out over the next few days and post them up here (with the rest of the briefs that I haven't posted yet.)

Guardian Pants

I read this article yesterday, from Saturday's Guardian magazine. Basically they got a load of celebrities to customise their pants, which were then auctioned off to raise money for new underwear for destitute asylum-seekers. Smart.

The Star

I bought the Star yesterday, because it called that Post Office manager who refused to serve people who didn't speak English a 'hero'. While the dream of a more united community is not a bad one, there are better ways of going about it that just refusing to serve people. If he really cared, why didn't he do community work, or help people learn English?





They even gave him a certificate.... bless.




O yeah, they also ran a story, which at the start looks like the Guy that played Cat in Red Dwarf is racist - quoting him saying "I don't trust white guys." When you read the story, however, he says how he feels he has been the victim of racism, and that the police don't trust black guys. The actual quote was, "What would you think if I said I didn't trust white guys?"

Salvedge stationary directions

Me and Emma sent Steve some options for the stationary the other day. The headed paper and comp slip would be on ellie poo paper, and the business card on Cairn Straw:






He went for the second one—one of mine!

They get free mobiles... don't they?

I have just watched this DVD. Its made by a theatre company, and addresses the issues of asylum seekers. Talking about how the exploitation of the Third World by the First World is to blame for the millions of destitute people. While the production budget appears non existent, a few good points are made, and is worth a watch. 

I mean who knew that a certain type of metal that is needed in mobile phones nearly always comes from the DR of Congo, meaning that western companies take steps to keep the country in a state of civil war and poverty so it is easier to exploit it's natural resources?

There was also a few good quotes that I will design and post up here.

Well they're all the same aren't they?

The Sun had a story on it's website today about how some Post Office manager (who is Sri Lankan) is refusing to serve people who didn't speak English. To illustrate the story they showed the British public a photo of what an immigrant looks like.

Why did they need to put that photo in there? All it does is objectify other races, allowing the tabloids to get away with scapegoating them even more.

Go Ricky Gervais

I have just found this video on the PETA website, with the voices of Ricky Gervais and Pink. Smart. I don't think you can go wrong with a Ricky Gervais endorsement.


"Stolen for Fashion"—Learn More at PETA.org.

Be warned, I gruesome film plays afterwards. I couldn't watch it all the way through.

Quotes again

Here is another quote. Its taken from stupid Arthur Kemp's stupid book, The Immigration Invasion, in which, as I understand it, he attempts to justify the European colonisation of America, Australia, etc. by saying that they weren't conquored by foreigners, because before foreigners arrived they weren't known as America or Australia - ie the USA wasn't invaded by Europeans, because before Europeans arrived it wasn't known as the USA. I don't really get it...




I'll probably go for the top one.

Fuck the Border

Okay, so this might be going off on a bit a tangent here, but my last post inspired me to do a post about Propagandhi, as they are a big influence for me. It's partly their fault I'm a stinking vegan hippy.

These are the lyrics to what I believe is a song of defiance aimed at the USA's border vigilantes/racist rednecks, who try to shoot people crossing the USA/Mexico border. Its called Fuck the Border:

A friend of mine dropped me a line, it said,
"man, I gotta run to the USA. I got no money, got no job."
She skipped out of Mexico to stay alive.
You've got a problem with her living here,
but what did you do to help her before she fucking came?
What did the country do?
What did the people do?
I stand not by my country, but by people of the whole fucking world.
No fences, no borders.
Free movement for all.
Fuck the border.
It's about fucking time to treat people with respect.
It's our culture and consumption that makes her life unbearable.
Fuck this country; its angry eyes, its knee-jerk hordes.
Legal or illegal, watch her fucking go.
She'll take what's hers.
Watch her fucking go.
Fuck the border.

Amphibian Q&A

Derek Hogue, or Amphibian, is responsible for designing some awesome covers for my all time favorite band Propagandhi, as well as working with some 'ethical' clients in Canada. Check out amphibian.info.

Artwork for Propagandhi's new album - Supporting Caste (which uses the art of Kent Monkman, on the cover):





Any way, I asked him a bunch of questions and he was sound enough to get back to me with some answers:

How important do you think that design is within the promotion of charities/campaigns/social issues, and do you think that it is often overlooked (by charities, campaigners, etc)?
I think it's very important. The difference between a clear, communicative and remarkable design and an ambiguous, unremarkable design is the difference between attention and dismissal, donations and no donations, etc. On the other hand, I think charities and social campaigns should be wary of spending gobs of money on design, and instead find passionate and interested designers who are willing to work for very cheap or free for the cause.

How different do you think that your studio is from one that isn't as 'ethically' driven, in terms of both the practical running of the studio and the process involved in the actual design?
Well, I'm only a "studio" in as much as a desk in my living room with me sitting at it is a studio, hehe. But when I do work on more commercial projects, I don't think there's anything fundamentally different about how I approach it. No matter the project, if I took it on, it means it deserves my full attention and effort.

Do you find that this kind of design can be more 'restrictive'; for example, because of lack of funding, sensitivity of issues, etc?
Definitely around budget - or when there's *no* budget. As a tiny, one-person shop, it's harder and harder to find tome for pro-bono work for activist groups and the like, so when I do make the time, I am always wishing I had more of a chance to flesh out designs and do better work. A goal of mine is to slowly dedicate more time to to these sorts of projects, and to in effect come full circle to the amount of time i dedicated to these projects when I first started out.

Do you think that designers, in general, have any particular social responsibilities? Do you think that they should be held more accountable than the rest of the public?
More accountable? No. But at least equally accountable. I think every individual must be held accountable for the effects of the work they do. Doing excellent creative work for Exxon makes you, as a designer, partially responsible for the effects of that work. I don't believe in "apolitical" work ... it simply doesn't exist.

In a capitalist society, most conventional products are sold to us as commodities with personalities and human qualities, as opposed to 'things' with 'functions' As a lot of the today's 'problems' are the result of Western capitalism/consumerism, do you think that it could be considered unethical/unproductive to promote social issues in the same 'reified' way (as opposed to using facts, figures, logical argument), as it could serve to promote and enforce a consumerist mindset?
I'm not entirely sure we're in any position to use such abstractionist thinking at the moment, given the state of the planet. Right now my opinion is that whatever it takes to fix this shit we're in, let's do it. Certainly not unethical or counterproductive. Perhaps short-sighted. I'm trying to think of an example of this in a social/activist context, but can't so much. Er, next question!

Are there any social issues that you feel are more urgent/important than others, eg. environmental issues / human rights / animal rights / working within the local community / etc?
Well, I personally feel strongly that the state of the planet and the wholesale slaughter of its non-human inhabitants is of extreme urgency. But I also think that humanity needs to tackle it all, and that individuals should direct their energies towards the issues that touch them and motivate them the most - or indeed are of immediate consequence to them - as that will lead to the most work getting done.

Do you find it more personally satisfying working with your clients, that you would working with more commercial clients? Why did you decide to set up Amphibian?
Definitely. The few projects I've done of a more commercial nature have generally bored me and been tedious and unfulfilling. Amphibian just kinda grew organically from my interest in design, and then programming, and my eagerness to help people who I thought were doing good work, or who inspired me.

What is Amphibian's rationale/goals/intentions?
To do good work for good people, and eke out a living doing it.

Quotes

I have been 'designing' some quotes today.

The first was, I believe, said by a native American about the Europeans goals in the 17th Century. The second is what a police spokes person said after a trial that failed to prosocute 3 police officers for racist behaviour towards Notinghams Jamaican community in the 60s.

Design Context quotes

This is from Nigel Whiteley's 'Design for Society'.

Infographic showing how few asylum seekers Britain hosts

This took me quite a while to put together. But I'm really pleased with the visual outcome, however it is still a little complicated to understand. hopefully I'll figure out how to make it more undrstandable.

It's a pity infographics are so 2008, isn't it?

Click to enlarge:

Salvedge

Me and Emma have ben working on a brand identity for Salvedge, which is a sustainability consultants. Here is our 'design directions PDF'. The first (purple) idea is mine and the others are Emma's.



Here is the college brief I made up for it:

The Sanctuary Final?

This is possibly/hopefully the final design for The Sanctuary Blog. I done did some more potato stamping.



Here's the stamps I made for the various links:

Design Context quotes

Here's one from Papanek's 'Design for the Real World.'

Go Adbusters!