OUGD401- Chronologies (Type- Production & Distribution)

Within this lecture type as a form of design was introduced as "what language looks like", this theory is based on a need to express language from what is spoken. 

“The written word endures,

the spoken word disappears”

Type as a whole is how language can be expressed and ideas can be shown to others through letterforms. Typography is the "craft of endowing human language with a durable visual form"- Robert Bringhurst (The Elements Of Typographic Style). Language and expression has been present and relevant in a vast amount of years and so the lecture chose to begin with 3200 BCE in Mesopotamia where groups of people and cultures were moving and this created a need to communicate with each other.

Each typeface has a set of origins and can mostly fit into a classification of typefaces which include either; old style, transitional, modern, slab serif, humanist and gothic (blackletter).

Classical/ Old style: 1450-1700

Transitional: 1700- 1790

Modern: 1790-1870

Swiss Modern: 1870-1960

Contemporary: 1960-Present

In 1450 Johannes Gutenberg created the "Gutenberg Press" which was seen as an innovation due to the new ability to print type rather than hand render it. The press allowed for more type to be printed and the for the movement of type. 

The importance for a need for text to be created and printed was enforced by William Foster who created and put into practice the Elementary Education Act of 1870. This meant that all children were taught to read and it became a requirement that all children must be educated between the ages of 5 and 12. This need for text and literature to be used by all classes and not just the upper classes meant that mass production of text was needed and therefore there needed to be designers to create type and print for books. Without a need to read there would be no need for type to exist and therefore this is the fundamental need for type, the ability and want to read. 

In 1919 the Bauhaus was formed by Walter Gropius which was a forward thinking design school which combined all the arts and described art as a single creative expression. The Bauhaus also challenged the original ideas of type being for form, and looked heavily in the idea of function. (Beauty vs Need). 

Function was fulfilled by Max Miedinger, in 1957 he created the typeface Helvetica.

As stated above, the aim of helvetica was to create a neutral typeface which had no cultural connotations, the idea of great clarity and simplicity meant that it could and still is one of the most heavily used typefaces.  

In 1990 Steve Jobs created the first Apple Macintosh computer that was worth $1,000 and was available to the general public. This improved the making and use of type to a larger audience as more people could create and view type on screen. 

As through these examples shown within the lecture, type resembles certain ideologies a company or person wants to represent. Such as the example of the poster of Obama the typeface Gotham is used which represents masculinity and is also used by GQ. Type can also be used with and as image which are modern uses of type such as in editorial design.

This theory poses the idea that many people can create type but the "sense of community and integration" has been lost. Therefore perhaps influencing and suggesting the idea that the need for type and its original messages have been lost. 

In 1990 Tim Bernes-Lee created the internet and gave it away for free, this has now evolved into a platform which is highly important to society as well as artists. Web 2.0 which was developed after the introduction of the internet allows users and anyone to upload their own content, therefore allowing for a democratisation of design and art. Now anyone can download typefaces and use type to express feeling and thought.

Typography as a whole is the communication of a message that includes "sociology, linguistics, psychology and aesthetics". 

OUGD403- Brief 3- More Research

This book contains diagrams and photographs of modern architecture using both thick and thin lines which could be applied to typography by changing line weight and using these diagram patterns into the typeface. These photographs and diagrams also show structure and patterns which would also translate well to a typeface created in illustrator. These book pages reflect Joe's love for geometric shapes and architecture and therefore would reflect him as a person through being clean and minimalistic/ precise. 

OUGD403- Brief 4: Online Research

http://www.psfk.com/2013/10/shark-coffins.html/shark2

"Shark fin soup may be a worldwide delicacy, but shark fishing is a worldwide scourge. Since the only desirable part of the animal — its fins — comprise just 2% of its body weight, fishermen need to kill over 73 million sharks per year to keep up with demand, and eliminating so many large predators can be detrimental to the world’s ocean ecosystems. And all for small bowls of soup.

So, in collaboration with China’s International Fund for Animal Welfare — one of the country’s largest environmental awareness organizations — Y&R Shanghai introduced a campaign to draw attention to the problem of shark overfishing. The public exhibits feature shark-sized coffins with fins protruding sinisterly, while small plaques nearby offer an explanation and ask visitors to sign a petition pledging to stop eating the animals. "

This powerful campaign has been successful so far as it has gained 50,000 signatures. Rather than using graphic images of sharks fins being cut they have used a coffin which signifies death to make the viewer think about the subject matter and by reading the facts they begin to understand the seriousness of the campaign and cause. 

Ecosystems can also be affected by the lack of sharks due to over population of other species. As predators they are at the top of the food chain and are vital to maintaining stable sea/marine life.

http://teacheratsea.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/marine-food-chain-from-encyclopedia-britannica.jpg

"Sharks have evolved in a tight inter-dependency with their ecosystem. They tend to eat very efficiently, going after the old, sick, or slower fish in a population that they prey upon, keeping that population healthier. Sharks groom many populations of marine life to the right size so that those prey species don’t cause harm to the ecosystem by becoming too populous. The ocean ecosystem is made up of very intricate food webs.  Sharks are at the top of these webs and are considered by scientists to be “keystone” species, meaning that removing them causes the whole structure to collapse.  For this reason, the prospect of a food chain minus its apex predators may mean the end of the line for many more species.  A number of scientific studies demonstrate that depletion of sharks results in the loss of commercially important fish and shellfish species down the food chain, including key fisheries such as tuna, that maintain the health of coral reefs."

https://www.sharksavers.org/en/education/the-value-of-sharks/sharks-role-in-the-ocean/

Through further research I have also discovered that shark fishing in other countries has affected other species such as dolphins.

"The demand for shark fins as a pricey delicacy in China and other Asian countries has been devastating enough for shark populations, but a new investigation in Peru reveals that it’s been devastating for dolphins as well. At least 15,000 dolphins are killed off the coast of Peru each year by fisherman who use them as shark bait, according to  watchdog group Asociacion Mundo Azul after a months-long investigation."

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2013/10/22/_15_000_dolphins_illegally_killed_each_year_in_peru_as_shark_bait.html?wpisrc=burger_bar

China is also not the only culprit of shark finning, these countries have loose laws around the cutting of fins on sharks:

American Samoa
Argentina
Australia (most States & Territories)
Brazil
Canada
Cape Verde
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador

European Union
India
Mexico
Namibia
Nicaragua
Oman
Panama
Seychelles (foreign vessels only)
South Africa (in national waters only)
Spain
United States

http://www.seashepherd.org/operation-requiem/is-shark-finning-illegal.html

This is a campaign for Singapore and Hongkong on the "Shark Savers" website which includes photographs of many famous celebrities known from both cities to promote shark conservation and stop people from buying and eating soup which contains shark fin. The celebrities used within these campaigns are vital to the message being transferred to people about the importance of stopping sharks becoming extinct. 

"Reducing demand for shark fin soup is the most important thing we can do to protect sharks from being driven to extinction. This demand has created the unsustainable, virtually unrestrained killing of sharks. Tens of millions of sharks a year are killed for the shark fin trade.

A survey conducted by our PR agency Grayling in Singapore confirmed findings of a 2011 Bloom study in Hong Kong indicating a significant number of people in Chinese communities are aware of the problems associated with shark fin soup. They want to stop or curtail their consumption. But our study also found that despite their willingness to stop eating shark’s fin soup, they continue to eat and even serve it because of the strong social pressure to do so. More cultural reinforcement is necessary to show that now is the time to act on your convictions and reject shark fin soup."

https://www.sharksavers.org/en/our-programs/i-m-finished-with-fins/about

Another reason that it is much harder to campaign against the killing of sharks is that people are scared of them and cannot form an emotional attachment unlike mammals who are extinct and can gain sponsors through looking "cute". Greenpeace posted a report in August 2013 about the shark finning within New Zealand. 

"There’s nothing defensible about shark finning. It’s the marine equivalent of the poachers who kill rhinos to hack off their horns or kill elephants to hack off their tusks. It’s not dissimilar to killing bears or tigers for spurious ‘traditional’ cures either. But it happens out at sea, to animals which don’t have big brown eyes, and which aren’t usually touted as cuddly toys or ‘adoptable’. They rarely win public polls on favourite animals, yet they fill column inches every silly scaremongering summer season in the tabloids.

Sure, some shark-human encounters don’t go well for the humans, but that’s equally true of lions and tigers and bears. Mutual respect goes a long way when it comes to dealing with large predators."

Simply by typing "shark" into google images, varied amounts of photographs cropped at these angles do appear. Sadly, not only photographers but also films do have an affect on the way sharks are perceived as a species. The film Jaws is a clear example of how fear can be used to create entertainment but also confirm these ideologies people have of sharks, that they are dangerous killers who attack unprovoked. 

"Each year there are about 50 to 70 confirmed shark attacks and 5 to 15 shark-attack fatalities around the world. The numbers have risen over the past several decades but not because sharks are more aggressive: Humans have simply taken to coastal waters in increasing numbers."

"Over 375 shark species have been identified, but only about a dozen are considered particularly dangerous. Three species are responsible for most human attacks: great white (Carcharodon carcharias), tiger(Galeocerdo cuvier), and bull (Carcharhinus leucas) sharks."

"While sharks kill fewer than 20 people a year, their own numbers suffer greatly at human hands. Between 20 and 100 million sharks die each year due to fishing activity, according to data from the Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File. The organization estimates that some shark populations have plummeted 30 to 50 percent."

http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2005/06/0613_050613_sharkfacts.html

Here are a few examples of films which include sharks and dominant ideologies that sharks are highly aggressive and deadly animals.

"When the film Jaws (1975), about a rogue shark that terrorised a small seaside island community was released, it had an unprecedented paranoia effect on its audience that became entrenched into the psyche of bathers around the world; a fear that media hyperbole exploited. At the same time, the film was also responsible for a surge in scientific interest in sharks and the media responded by giving more attention to the important role of sharks in the marine ecology. In the long term, social perceptions of sharks, changed from fear to conservation, influencing local, national and international government conservation and management policies. Nevertheless, there persists the initial media frenzy after any shark attack and Jaws remains the touchstone for media reporting."

http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/9471/

Even in finding nemo and shark tale which are films with a target audience of children portray sharks to be highly aggressive and scary however in some parts of the film they do break dominant ideologies and portray some of the characters as friendly, such as in finding nemo there is a quote which states "fish are friends, not food" and also in shark tale  there is a shark which is vegetarian. 

http://i.imgur.com/5a1CIop.jpg

"The process of shark finning is as cruel as it is wasteful.  Captured at sea and hauled on deck, sharks are often still alive when their fins are hacked off.  Because shark meat is not considered as valuable as shark fin, the maimed animals are tossed overboard to drown or bleed to death, with 98% of the shark going to waste."

http://www.wildaid.org/sharks

The way in which sharks are killed for their fins is entirely inhumane and can be compared to how Elephants, Rhinos and other animals are killed for small parts of their body such as ivory, and all for human greed. The rest of a shark's body is not used for meat and is discarded into the sea for them to die in an inhuman way, these sharks can also be eaten by other sharks and with no fins cannot swim away they are defenceless.

BLACKFISH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ou5DqfkZ8

"Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity. 

BLACKFISH tells the story of Tilikum, a notoriously aggressive orca that killed three people while in captivity. Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite uses shocking footage and emotional interviews to present a convincing case against keeping these wild animals for human entertainment. "

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2545118/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl

This links to the shark finning debate because both of the stories include devastating affects of human intervention with a powerful species. 

http://shimworld.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/save-the-sharks-save-the-world-stop-shark-finning/

This image plays on the ideologies that humans know of sharks being aggressive and high in the food chain. This poster portrays the idea that humans are disrupting the food chain and destroying it by killing sharks and becoming the predator. 

After my initial research online I began asking people on facebook and on blogging websites their opinions on shark finning, here were some of the replies:

"Okay so, my understanding of this is that the sharks are fished out, have their fins cut off

 for one reason or another. Then they are thrown back in, barely alive, to die or be eaten by

 other predators. I’m not really sure on the reason why people would want sharks fins. But 

I’m sure there must be profit and money involved.

I think it’s vile! Why would you do that to an animal? Surely this must be illegal.

I read that they are often thrown back into the sea and left to die. Think about that poor 

animal suffering, bleeding to death, barely alive and probably being attacked by other 

sharks. And in all honesty struggling to get away from its attackers.

I’ve been hearing a lot about animal cruelty recently. I watched the Blackfish documentary 

online a few days ago. And it makes me sick to think those killer whales were and still are 

being kept and treated in such a poor way/conditions."

"The practice of removing sharks fins from their bodies.. disgusting, I hate capitalism"

"Sharks are really scary, but they do not deserve to be used for selfish purposes, It 

absolutely disgusts me as a human being to be in the same family as those who harm 

these creatures"

"Inhumane. Disgusting. Sadistic"

"I think it's horrendous, any form of animal abuse is revolting and it should be stopped"

Out of all the replies I received I have only mentioned a few because many were repetitive 

with using the words "disgusting" and other phrases. However the amount of replies I did 

receive which stated "what's shark finning?" was surprising and proves that more 

campaigns and conservation should be created to educate people.

OUGD403- Brief 4: Story Chosen (Shark Finning)

My story of choice after much deliberation and a wide range of choices I have finally chosen the storyline about "shark finning", this is due to my already existing passion for animal welfare and conservation. This story I extracted from "i" newspaper which is a condensed version of the Independent, this story appeared within the international section of the paper identified as "china". As "i" newspaper contains content from the original independent it therefore contains the same origins of the same political background.

"Political allegiance: Takes a centre-left stance, but does not traditionally associate with any one party, hence its name. If it does take a view in 2010 it is probably more likely to back the Lib Dems - or even a hung Parliament - than support Labour or the Tories."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8282189.stm


Quotes extracted from the Independent newspaper:

"It is a myth that people in Asia don't care about wildlife. Consumption is based on ignorance"

"Consumption of shark fin, the key ingredient in the pricey and extravagant banquet staple shark-fin soup, has dropped by 70 per cent since the end of last year, according to Ministry of Commerce data."

This could be due to the raise of awareness internationally about shark finning and what actually happens, far from the luxury and "extravagant" way it is viewed in meals. 

"More than 95 per cent of the annual harvest of shark fin worldwide is consumed in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Wang Xue, a member of a Beijing-based environmental NGO which runs the China Zero Shark Fin project, told the China Daily that her organisation was witnessing a general downturn in demand for shark fin."

“Less demand will lead to less poaching,” Ms Wang said. “We wish to see the declining demand last a long time, instead of being a short-term response to government policy. It needs a transformation of ideas in people’s minds.”

"Aside from the sheer numbers being caught, sharks are often “finned” –  meaning they are caught, their fins are cut off and they are returned to the ocean alive, where they will inevitably die, a practice that has angered animal rights activists for many years."

The photograph on the Independent states: "The roof of a Hong Kong factory building is covered in drying shark fins. Consumption has fallen faster in China than in Hong Kong, suggesting the anti-graft campaign is having an effect."

"The party leadership launched a campaign in December, vowing to target extravagance and waste, and demanding austerity from cadres and military officials as a means of curbing graft."

The story therefore explains that the reduction in shark finning is largely due to the lack of demand along with conservation projects run by charities. The lower demand by the higher classes has resulted in less poaching of sharks, charities are wanting these numbers to further decline from the 50/70% decrease. 

OUGD403- Brief 4: Message Delivery Research

This brief states that the news must be taken from the 22nd October 2013, so to receive a varied amount of news I purchased a range of broadsheet and middle market papers.

When researching into the news I found that newspapers contain a certain political identity and opinion on events and social issues. Such as "The Sun" which usually supports left wing politics (Labour) and values, this is due to the fact that the paper's target audience is the working class and as a tabloid newspaper it targets this audience by using shocking headlines, large pictures and minimal text. This ensures that the audience gains interest from the larger imagery rather than heavy blocks of text which they would not want to read. The Sun's content also includes a larger portion of sport and celebrity gossip and the use of sans serif fonts which are not usually found in broadsheet newspapers. Papers such as "The Daily Telegraph" support right wing views (conservative) and opinions which tend to support the middle class, this is also shown by the heavy amounts of text and usually smaller images. The header text on the front of the newspaper is also in black which contrasts the tabloids "red top" bold headers. The content of these newspapers also varies due to including political, scientific and environmental debates which would not be seen in tabloid newspapers, therefore appealing and targeting a middle class audience which would stereotypically be interested in these subjects. 

Due to television and now online resources there are many formats news can be viewed and read other than traditional forms of newspapers. When discussing as a group we found that as 18-25 year olds we were more familiar with television and websites which report news and as a whole very little individuals bought newspapers. Websites which were mentioned included; BBC news, Google News, Reddit, BING, Yahoo!, Sky News, Fox, CNN, ESPN and versions of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. 

Tv programmes that were mentioned included a range of traditional news reports and also comedy versions of the news which would attract young people to be aware both nationally and internationally. A list of those that were mentioned included; BBC news, ITV news, Sky, The One Show, ESPN, 6 o'clock news, 10 o'clock news, This Morning, Daybreak, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Loose Women, Mock The Week, Newsround, Have I Got News For You, 10 o'clock   Live, Russell Howard's Good News and also Question Time. 

OUGD403- Brief 3.. Visual Research

Joe showed me his own blog which he had on it Graphic Design which he likes and finds inspiring:

I found that within this work were elements of the traits we had discussed from answering questions on his likes and dislikes such as geometric patterns as well as modern designs which all include sans serif fonts. 

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Kodak-re-brand/5504959

After looking at the work he likes and finds inspirational I searched online myself at work that I think demonstrates similar ideas which I have researched. This design (rebranding) for kodak would represent the geometric modern patterns which Joe likes. 

http://www.behance.net/gallery/MEM-AN-INTERACTIVE-TYPE-SYSTEM/5358317

These designs also express geometric patterns and shapes with a mixture of line weight including a contrast of thick and thin. As well as repeated patterns and abstract shapes. 

http://www.behance.net/gallery/BREAKING-ALPHABET/8252785

From further researching I encountered this typeface which reminded me of movement and therefore the drift cars, the visual communication of "breaking alphabet" shows that subtle changes into the typeface by moving parts of the letterform.

http://www.behance.net/gallery/TJ-Evolette-A-Designed-by-26plus/6852719

http://www.behance.net/danhprt

Dan Hoopert (Behance)

This typeface showcases the idea of architecture and structure/form through its use of material (thread) its intricate designs also enhance the fonts personality through clearly showing what it represents. Within this design I also like the thick and thin lines where the thread has been repeated, by adjusting line weight within a letterform could represent structure within architecture which I could experiment with.

Fonts I have chosen to look at:

I have chosen to experiment with these fonts because they are all sans serif and contain straight angular lines which also enhance what Joe stated he likes, maths, geometric shapes, angles and Swedish architecture.

I will start to experiment with CODE because this one of Joe's favourite fonts however for my final designs I will use Avenir Next Ultra Light because this would best suit his personality and love for neatly/ modern crafted design.

In 1988, the Swiss typeface designer first presented Avenir to the public, which already at that time marked an excellent alternative to other well known typefaces such as Futura® or Avant Garde®. Compared to the mere metric construction of other typefaces, Avenir was convincing because of its optical construction which lent it a more humane appearance, as seen, for instance, in the classically drawn “a”.

In 2004, Frutiger, together with Linotype in-house type designer Akira Kobayashi, reworked the Avenir family to address on-screen display issues. The result was titled Avenir Next. The typeface family was increased to 24 fonts: 6 weights, each with a roman and italic version, in 2 widths: normal and condensed. Frutiger’s numbering system was abandoned in favor of more conventional weight names.

The glyph set was expanded to include small caps, old style figures, subscripts and superscripts, ligatures.

http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/avenir-next-pro/

I have chosen to use this font because I believe it represents Joe in that it is clean cut, simple and modern (represents future) and could possibly link to the idea of modern design in buildings/ shapes and grids.