Summative Statement

The practical work for this project investigates the morality of working to a brief which commodifies a social issue. It aims to cause a conflict of priorities between professionalism and personal morals. The brief is to produce a body of imagery that raises awareness of dementia but the imagery also needs to correspond to the vintage trend to ensure the final products are commercially viable. The brief is purposefully ambiguous about which aspect is the most important and it therefore forces the practitioner to make their own decisions, conscious or unconscious, about whether to prioritise the social issue or the marketability of the outcomes.

It could be argued that the intentions behind this project are dishonest but the real intention is to demystify the dishonesty of the commodification of social issues in our everyday lives. The process of applying imagery relevant to an issue onto unrelated products that we use every day provides an insight into how simple it is to persuade consumers to buy products purely because they have a ‘socially responsible’ message. Consumers surround themselves with products they feel represent their own values and this is why the products that display these values are increasingly popular. They help people to show that they are a good person, without having to actually do anything good at all.

The message for sale here is ‘I care about people with dementia’ whereas the action of purchasing these products actually displays the message of ‘I care more about products than about people’. 

Presentation Boards

Visual and Conceptual Development

Final Book

(The physical copy of this has been submitted.)

I think the decision to make a final product instead of just proposing my product range on presentation boards has worked well to finalise the project and bring it to a conclusion. Putting a price to the image makes it clear that these products are for sale and the inclusion of the text on the back ties this in to the selling of values which synthesises with my essay. 

I think the mockups themselves look professional although I wish I had given myself more time for the printing and binding process. The rush in the print room meant that the pages were printed on thinner stock than I would have liked and I think this hindered the binding process and made the stitching looser than I had wanted it to be. Although I feel my time management for this project has been okay, I didn't take into consideration how busy the college facilities would be towards the end of the project - this is something to consider for future modules, especially when the digital print facilities are concerned. 

Time Management Reflection

I have to say I have really struggled to stick to my time plans for this module, mainly because my project was so uncertain at the beginning that I didn't really know what to plan for. I understand that it is important to plan ahead, and I have been able to use my time plans as a vague guide for where I should be at certain points, but I find it much easier to plan out my workload on a weekly basis. This usually happens after a tutorial or crit when I have a clear sense of direction and I can plan to achieve what I want to for the next check-in point. 

I think my organisation overall has been better than usual for this module, especially considering past experiences of context of practice. This is a module I often found hard to feel motivated for and therefore key putting things off, but this year I have actually been interested in what I am investigating and this has meant the process has been overall more enjoyable. Doing my research over the summer helped me so much because I could actually spend the time properly reading what I needed to read instead of skimming books under pressure. I can't believe I'm saying this but yes, cop has been moderately enjoyable. 

Anyway, improvements for time management for future modules...

• Use a long scale time plan to mark out mini-deadlines to stick to. 
• Make separate time plans on a weekly basis or whenever appropriate to make sure these mini targets are reached. This allows the planning to be more adaptable and takes into account a change in direction of project or unforeseen circumstances. 
• This will also help me to avoid feeling like I'm going off track or I'm falling behind just because I'm not meeting those initial targets I set for myself which are no longer relevant. 
• Use time effectively! Don't sit staring at a computer screen with a mind blank for hours when I would much rather be drawing. And when I do actually feel like writing/blogging, make the most of it! 

Final Mockups

Project Impact

I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on this module and how it has influenced my practice and also how it has affected my view of illustration as a whole. 

I spent the first half this module totally confused about what I was going to make at the end of it. I understood the theories I was looking at and how this related to illustration but I just couldn't put pen to paper. I needed to research more and more before I reached a point where I knew what I was doing with my practical work. This rut helped me realise the value of research. I was so frustrated with myself that I couldn't just start making work but I knew it would be meaningless until I had reached a point where I fully understood what I was doing. I am keen to have a few research driven projects as part of the extended practice module because it keeps me on my toes and makes me think about my work in a different way. I feel that it improves the value of my work and I feel so much more comfortable presenting it as mine when I know I have the knowledge to back up all the decisions I have made. I can see how the research process has really driven my work for the whole of this module. 

The topic of social responsibility has made me think a lot about my future practice. I always thought to myself that whatever work I do professionally I want it to be for the right reasons, I want it to be authentic and true to my own morals. Whereas now, the idea of a moral practice is a bit of an alien concept in my mind. This project has made me realise that there isn't this fantasy job where everything you produce makes the world a little bit better and everyone is always happy and nobody is ever trodden down. It's just not true, it's just the way the world works. I don't mean for this to sound harsh but it has made me open my eyes to the industry I am entering and made me screw on a professionally focussed head. Yes, positive things can be done with creativity but at the end of the day I will need to make a living and I will have to do things I maybe don't want to do. I just hope I can also do things I am really passionate about as well. I will also be careful to give consideration about who I want to work for and who I allow to use my work. There are some companies who, at this point in time, I tell myself I will never work with, but it would be interesting to see whether I stick by these morals in five years time. 

This project has opened my eyes to the deception of advertising and I now find myself being more aware of the techniques used to target me everyday. Obviously I am still influenced by adverts, most likely more than I even realise but I feel hope that I am now slightly harder to entice than I was before.