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Be a Conscious Consumer

This is "Be a Conscious Consumer" by on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

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For my final part of the stop motion I really wanted to showcase my own perspective that I explained in more detailed in my written manifesto. I think it has a strong message that will provoke deeper thought for the viewer when exhibited. 

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I am really happy with the finished product of my promotional flyer. I think it supports my stop motion and gives more in depth meaning to my critical perspective by clearing stating the desired response from the viewer; which is to become a more conscious consumer. I also wanted to create a strong synergy with the key design elements in the stop motion, which I did by utilising the colours, fonts and images again in the flyer.

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Promotional Material - flyer

I wanted to incorporate synergy from the stop motion - such as the oneise, and message from my written manifesto for the viewers to get a better understanding on my critical perspective.

On the front of the flyer:

#DesignReborn

Choose Quality, Ethics, Design, Before Brand

On the Back of the flyer:

Be a conscious consumer

Say Yes to great products

Say No to Brand Brainwashing

Choose Quality, Ethics, Design,

Before Brand

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Further Progress

I wanted to incorporate a baby sound effect in the beginning to reinforce the image message to the viewer and establish that the onesie represented a new born.

Logo

As the voices get louder (which are representing the marketing, slogans and billboards), the hand drawn logos turn to the graphic global logos we are all familiar with. This indicated that from clever marketing these multinational corporations do create power and we as consumers do give in to this power. Above is the screenshots of the stop motion of the logos turning from hand drawn to graphic images and I will create this motion transitioning from left to right very quickly for dramatic effect.

Reference

pfly.(2006). Gurglecry01. Retrieved from https://www.freesound.org/people/pfly/sounds/14268/

Logopedia. (2016). Images. Retrieved from http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/Logopedia

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I have started editing my animation on Adobe Premiere Pro. So far I am really happy with it and will begin to add in sound, text and more motion in order to make it clear for the viewer what my critical perspective is 

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This is my finished image that I will work on creating motion for my stop motion. I am really pleased how it has turned out so far and am pleased that I hand drew them to give more of an impact and further enhance my critical perspective. 

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Soundtrack

For my soundtrack, I wanted to use the sound effect of more and more urging voices representing marketing slogans, commercials, and billboards that are manipulating our thoughts and seducing us into buying our brands.  I also wanted a negative sound effect on the words “consume, profit, control” to enhance the negative impact these brands are having on our society. 

References:

DigiZoo. (2013). Dubstep Simple Beat Cont. 140bpm. Retrieved from https://www.freesound.org/people/DigiZoo/sounds/182326/

Leady. (2005). Reverse fill effect. Retrieved from https://www.freesound.org/people/Leady/sounds/12742/

spt3125. (2006). timp_superball_mallet_. Retrieved from https://www.freesound.org/people/spt3125/sounds/24798/.

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Baby Onesie

Reference:

Wholesale Organic. (2016). Classic Baby Bodysuit. [Online image]. Retrieved from https://wholesale.coloredorganics.com/wholesale-organic-classic-baby-bodysuit-short-sleeve#139=60&140=79.

Further Reasoning:

I want to start my stop motion off with the baby onesie - that is representing us as consumers by utilising the first garment we would wear as newborns with it being completely blank. As babies, we are not influenced by marketing and brands and the blank canvas becomes proliferated with logos. 

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For my creative manifesto, I want to create a stop motion that changes the perception of these glorified multinational brands and makes the viewer be a conscious consumer that chooses quality, ethics, and innovative design before brands. I will use visual elements and words from my written manifesto along will appropriate  sound that effectively communicates my critical perspective. 

Firstly, I will draw about fifty well-known logos before I start creating any motion for the video. I will use felt pen to draw them then scan them onto the computer to edit on Adobe Photoshop. The reason why I will hand draw logos is that I want to take the power out of the brand, to show it as its original idea - merely a hand drawn concept produced by a designer; it’s origin before massive marketing campaigns made it a globally recognised brand.

I also want to incorporate a white baby onesie as the motif for my stock motion. The reason for the use of the onesie to represent new birth - like a better model for the design process that is counter to the current brands model. It represents mankind before brands came along, then they come with all their noise, then if we stop paying attention to them the noise stops and new and better ways can evolve - DESIGN REBORN. 

Reference:

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DESIGN REBORN

QUALITY + ETHICS + INNOVATIVE DESIGN = GREAT PRODUCTS

Yet as consumers, seldom are we offered this winning combination. Instead we are being controlled by the power of global corporations – the power of the BRAND.

Say NO to the implanted ‘idea’

Multinational Brands have an agenda to control our minds and therefore our credit cards. Brands have us all figured out: they generate an emotional attachment; they implant an idea and construct a wanted lifestyle from their product. They control our consumer choices by convincing us our lives will be better with their sparkly, sexy, slickly marketed products. Once seduced, we happily buy into those implanted ideas and purchase.“Companies are switching from producing products to marketing aspirations, images and lifestyles” (Zoock, Smith, 2016, p. 63). 

Say NO to being controlled by implanted ideas - look carefully at what a Brand is really selling you.

Say NO to repetitive manipulation

Brands are inescapable – broadcasted on billboards, magazines and commercials, they are omnipresent and omnipotent in contemporary society. Repetition is powerful and the recurrence of Brands is a successful way to keep that Brand active in the consumers mind.

This repetition by cleverly marketed Brands, persuasively captures our attention and creates the illusion of Brand superiority. We are being brainwashed through the “use of subliminal perception to get the desired response from the consumer” (Kaptan, 2002, p. 46).

Say NO to being manipulated by repetitive marketing – remember that exposure does not equal product superiority.

Say NO to Brand over ethics

The elite Brands are omnipresent in society due to their massive advertising budgets fueled by even larger profit margins. High profile Brands are outsourcing their products “to nameless producers kept on a tight leash”, (Bello, 2000) with the economic strategy being to save money in order to invest more into marketing the Brand. This industry model means many of our most glamorous and well known Brands are produced without ethics in poorly paid sweatshop conditions.

Say NO to unethical profit gains – refuse to support Brands who use an underpaid, over worked and abused work force to increase their empires.

 Say YES to consumer awareness

As consumers we are all guilty of making purchases based on the “brand name, its logo, design, packaging, advertising or sponsorship, image and name recognition” (Anttiroiko, 2014, p. 58). We need to take control of our consumer choices, buy with purpose and say YES to great products rather than being manipulated by influential branding. We need to educate consumers to look beyond the tinsel of advertising and to analyse the products quality, design and company ethics. We must dismiss the hierarchy of the ‘superior’ global Brands and refuse to continue making uneducated choices based solely on persuasive propaganda and a printed logo. Collectively our consumer behaviour can force change that could see ethical design reborn.

Say YES to consumer awareness - choose quality, ethics and innovative design before brands, choose DESIGN REBORN.

  References:

Anttiroiko, A. (2014). The Political Economy of City Branding. London, United kingdom: Routledge.

Bello, W. (2001). Book review: No logo. Retrieved from http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/technology-who-chooses/book-review-no-logo/

Kaptan, S. (2002). Advertising, New Concepts. New Delhi, India: Sarup & Sons.

Zook, Z., & Smith, P. (2016). Marketing Communications: Offline and Online Integration, Engagement and Analytics. United States: Kogan Page Limited

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Manifesto Draft

I’m NOT lovin’ it

Say NO to the Brands

We call for consumers to think – not be controlled. The hierarchy of products is ubiquitous and inescapable; broadcasted on billboards, magazines and commercials. The power of large advertising budgets and the persuasiveness of campaigns is creating the illusion of brand superiority.

Consumers are being fooled – buying into the ‘brand’, not the product. We need to change our mindset and challenge the power of these brands, as the most recognised and prolifically market product does not necessary equate to the ‘best’ product. The product we consumers collectively choose to identity as the ‘best’ should be about innovation, well– constructed, ethical design, and not due to manipulation from self-promoting brand exposure.

Advertising is encouraging the consumer to buy into the ‘best’ brand due to the technique of “brainwashing by marketers who are making use of subliminal perception to get the desired response from the consumer”(kaptan, 2002, p. 46). McDonalds, Nike, Apple – these brands surround us with clever advertising on a global scale, which creates positive perceptions that give an undeniably elite status.

Controlling the consumer market through brand loyalty and the façade of superiority requires a disproportionate advertising budget that is often generated through the use of unethical manufacturing and labour practices. These brands are outsourcing their products to third-world sweatshops that are underpaid, over worked, abused and live and breathe in what would be considered illegal work conditions in the developed world. They are choosing “to let workers die in Bangladesh so that we can have our lives cluttered with ads, junk mail, and celebrity endorsements” (Wilson, 2013).

We need to take a stand:

say NO to unethical sweatshops

say NO to underlying chemicals harming our body

say NO to well recognised logos and brands that mask the quality of the design

Instead, say YES to the product and say NO to the brand. Consumers are making purchases solely on the “brand name, its logo, design, packaging, advertising or sponsorship, image and name recognition” (Anttiroiko, 2014, p. 58). We need to educate consumers to look beyond the tinsel of advertising – and analyse the product quality and company ethics.

We need to #GETREAL – expose the reality of these ‘superior’ global brands and encourage consumers to make purchasing choices based on more than persuasive propaganda. Instead let’s buy because the product encompasses REAL design innovation, REAL quality, and REAL ethics – GET REAL.

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Initial brainstorm of Manifesto:

Consumer culture:

Perception of brands that are seen as superior and how the consumer is controlled by creative advertising to create this illusion.

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Final essay PDF for CCDN331 Project 3 (sorry please click on images for it to expand and focus)

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Final PDF Sew far so good

[url=http://www.pdf-archive.com/2016/05/03/ccdn331-p3-milla-novak/]pdf document: CCDN331_P3_Milla_Novak.pdf[/url]

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Interim submission

Globalization + Design

Argument:

Globalisation is a fluid concept apparent in all areas of contemporary design. However, this process is creating a westernized homogenous society and is decreasing cultural diversity, which could ultimately have a negative impact on humanity.

Scholarly source one: Globalization, Nationalism, and Design

This source is a very good starting point for my argument of stripping cultural identity through globalisation and how this ongoing process is going to affect our surroundings and diversity. It is our role as designers to make that choice to help sustain and incorporate cultural identity through global designs. Aldersley-william states “there is no doubt that design that pays closer heed to national cultural identity is growing in importance as designers begin to voice their concern that global design is not all to the good”. Perhaps globalisation as a whole is creating the wrong mindset amongst the public and designers, as “it would seem that in stylistic terms global design is nothing more than good old-fashioned functionalism decked out in softer shapes and brighter colors”. Is this the way that future society should be heading, where the creativity and culture associated has minimal contribution to many global designs.

Scholarly source two: Globalisation: Promises and Dangers

Globalisation has become a very controversial topic over the years and has come to many designers attention whether society as a whole is benefitting or hindering our current situation and the possible future. This article supports my critical perspective of the ‘promises and the dangers’ of globalization. Jan-Erik Lane states ‘globalisation makes possible a huge increase in world output, it presents such challenges to the earth’s ecosystem that mankind may end up destroying the conditions for the survival of this biological species, if the worst environmental predictions come true” (Lane, 2004). Globalisation is creating a huge increase in supply and demand and I will talk further about this topic in my essay on whether globalisation is causing danger for the future.

References:

Aldersley-Williams, H. (2009).  Globalism, Nationalism, and Design. Design studies: a reader Clark & Brody, Ed., Oxford: Berg  

Lane, J. (2004).  Globalisation: Promises and Dangers. Comparative Government and European Policy, 2(4).  Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH.

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Although I used words that are part of my Haiku throughout the photo essay, I wanted to leave the full Haiku to the end. 

As this is my strongest picture I wanted to end on this. I thought only showing parts of the photo displaying the Haiku in three segments made it more unexpected for the viewer that there was a woman sitting on a ledge so high up from the street.  I thought this would be a different finish to my photo essay as it would create impact, and clearly express the idea I wanted to portray.