HOW DO BRANDING AND ADVERTISMENT INFLUENCE CHILDREN?

In Fridays lecture with Jonathan Baldwin we discussed how branding and advertisement influences shopping decisions. Advertisements don't make people want to buy the certain product, they are shown so that when you go into a shop and are wondering which product to buy, you always buy what is recognisable to you, which most of the time is something which has been advertised.

We also watched a panorama programme which highlights the issue of how influenced children are on branding. It was astonishing to see young children only picking clothes which are branded as they wanted to fit in at school and not get bullied for being different. For me when I was growing up I didn't care about branding I was more interested in being a kid- climbing trees and playing in the back garden with my siblings.

We are now living in a very materialistic world where the pressure for parents to buy expensive brands is sky high. To accommodate to there child's needs they are working more hours to buy brands but is it really worth it?

Here's an article from the Daily Mail about how branding effects children:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1043473/School-children-called-geeks-wearing-cheap-clothing.html

SOUTH AFRICA

After leaving school in 2006, at the age of 18 I travelled to Johannesburg in South Africa for 8 months. During this time I taught children between the ages of 7-14 art. In my spare time I used to meet up with one of the other teachers and paint and draw different african scenes.

 South Africa for me was a very inspirational place- full of colour and culture. It was such a huge leap for me to go from a very secure, ordinary day to day student life to becoming a teacher and living in a place that didn't seem the safest and without any recognisable faces around. During my time I travelled around the coast of South Africa back packing and went on safari.  Looking back on this experience I'm so glad I had this time to grow up, become independant and learn about the world. You can only learn so much from books but by far the biggest learning experience is when you have to imbrace a different culture and way of life.

ABOVE- My art classroom!

ABOVE- The school I taught in :)

ABOVE- Drumming class, when I first arrived in S.A.

HOW TELEVISION AND BRANDING BECOME STICKY- ASSIGNMENT 3

For this assignment I firstly started my research in the library, using both cross search and by browsing the shelves. For this assignment I focused on the book The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell I researched into how brands become more popular and become sticky. I started to browse the product design shelves then by reading the blurb on the back of the books was able to find the books which are with most relevance for my subject. I also researched online into different academic journals using the library database.

Bramston, D. (2009). Basics product design idea searching. Switzerland: AVA Publishing SA.

Explores subjects such as why we are drawn to certain brands and noticing certain target groups and how taking risks is an ideal part in searching for new ideas. This relates to back to the stickiness factor and how Sesame Street had to relate both to children and adults, therefore having to take risks.

Clarke, P. McAuley, A. (2010). Parental evaluation of popular brand names given as christmas gifts and sources of information used in these decisions. Journal of consumer marketing. 27 (6), p534-542

This article looks into what both parents want to buy children for Christmas and what the children really want for Christmas. While parents want to purchase traditional non branded toys for there children, children want the branded products as these are recognisable from toy advertisements. Children see branded products as a positive thing not only are they functional but they have a symbolic and emotional connection for the child. This explains why Sesame Street is not only a television programme but a brand as children feel a connection therefore crave these products.

Gulari, M. (2008) Killer products in the market ecosystem: the role of design in killer products, The Design journal, vol 11(3), Berg publishers: Oxford, pp239-254

Explores the similarities between killer weed and killer products. Examples of iPod, QWERTY keyboard and PCs are evaluated and there is a greater understanding of the designers impact on products. This refers to Sesame Street as they produced a wide variety of different products which became sticky. 

Jones, J. (1992). Design methods. 2nd ed. Canada: John Wiley & sons, Inc.

Using creative and scientific techniques this book explores methods that suit certain design situations so that it is easier for designers to associate well in different areas of the industry. This refers to Sesame Street as many scientific experiments were done to see what children where interested in on the television and what wasn't relevant for them so they could cut parts from the show. 

Noble, C. Kumar, M. (2010). Exploring the appeal of product design: a grounded, value-based model of key design elements and relationships. Journal of product innovation management. 27 (5), p640-657

Highlights that there is much more to design than function and form. One of the key factors to successful branding is to have many people behind the scenes to look into research and marketing. Many elements of Sesame Street were looked through by researchers, product designers, costume designers, interior designers, etc.

Lambie, M. (1997). Brand identity for television with knobs on. London: Phaidon Press Ltd.

This book provides an insight into television design and how popular scenes including certain identities, sequences and symbols. It also discusses how the programmes must create a relationship with the viewer. Researchers from Sesame Street looked into how the children interact and engaged with the programme.

Mittal, V. Walsh, M. Winterich, K. (2010). Do logo redesigns help or hurt your brand? The role of brand commitment. The journal of product & brand management. 19 (2), p640-657

Examines the impact that brand logo's have on the consumer. When changed committed customers mostly respond negatively to this as most people dislike change to products they already react so positively towards.

ASSIGNMENT 3B ONLINE RESOURCES

For part of my assignment I have produced a top 5 list of websites which are related to interior & environmental design. I found this very useful, some are websites which have helped me through the past couple of years to find research and interesting information on interiors and others are websites which I will most definitely use in the future.

TOP 5 INTERIOR DESIGN WEBSITES

http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/

Greatly interesting website full of British architecture.

http://www.archdaily.com/

Exciting imagery, really creative, contemporary work, architectural news, products, projects, events and interviews from architecture around the world.

http://www.treehugger.com/

Is the leading media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream, green news, design solutions and products.

http://www.dezeen.com/

This website shows the most popular and influential architecture and design blogs on the Internet. Wide variety of content and always updated.

http://www.architecturesdesign.com/

Explores emerging practices within architecture that aim to merge digital technologies and virtual spaces with tangible and physical spatial experiences.



I also created a top 5 list of other sites which are a mixture of interesting blogs & news reports, which I also have interests in.

TOP 5 NEWS WEBSITES

http://www.nexis.com/

This website is great for accurate and reliable information for research and news.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/

BBC is the largest broadcasting organisation in the world there programmes inform, educate and entertain.

http://www.esciencenews.com/

Keeping up to date with fast evolving science. Fascinating look into science subjects such as the environment, climate, health and medicine, psychology and sociology.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Great news website keeps you up to date on news culture, environment in both the the UK and around the world.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Updated constantly, full of news, travel, technology and fashion.

SELLING WAR LECTURE

In yesterdays lecture by Jonathan Baldwin we were discussing how visual language communicates to the viewer. We looked into war advertisement in Germany and Russia and compared this to the British advertisement. It was made clear from the images of  German & Russian advertisement that they used visual artists to design there posters and were aimed at a certain target audience were as the British were very direct in there approach to communicate to the viewer and there posters were simple and more effective as they were aimed at everyday working class people. 

                                                               

 We were also shown artwork in which war artists were sent out and embedded with the troops and painted what they saw there, these for me were very powerful. You are shown a glimpse of what it's like to work in those situations in Afghanistan where photographs are not allowed. For me this lecture made me understand how much impact advertisement and artwork has on viewers.

DESIGNINGMAKING- RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

For my latest project my brief was to in a group  research, develop, design and make a piece of furniture or object reflecting contemporary culture and domestic life. I firstly started by looking at contemporary furniture, product design and sustainable materials. Through brain storming we became interested in flat pack furniture and found some interesting approaches to this.

 We also agreed that we wanted to design a multi functional piece of furniture. This image is probably what started our flow of thought:

It's sleek, contemporary and can be used in multiple ways. We started to think about what we could design which is multifunctional, not only can it be moved but is also easy to put together and small enough that it can be useful in small dwellings. We researched into Ikea and the types of furniture they sell, who there target market is and sales statistics. From this we got a better idea of what route we should go down for our design. Through much development we eventually came up with quite an interesting design:

It is a desk, storage, bookcase and seat so would be suitable for any working individual in either a small dwelling or office. We have decided that we would use glossy laminate formica sheets in lime green and white as these are very fresh, funky and contemporary colours. To hold all the finger joints together were using cable ties as this is a different approach from using glue and is easier to transport the furniture as cable ties can be removed easily and are so widely available.

FURNITURE & TECHNOLOGY

After last weeks lecture on make things make sense I decided that I would research into how technology and furniture could work together as my latest project is to make a contemporary piece of furniture. I found some interesting pieces of furniture. One which is a rocking chair that comes with a built in speaker system that will rock your body to the sound of music stemming from your home theatre. This also has a concealed iPod dock along with dedicated controls and a display on the arm rest.Whats really interesting about this chair is that you can use it in a variety of ways for watching DVD's, listening to music or playing computer games.

Another great invention is this book light which works very simply- when the book is on the light the light goes off, when you remove the book to read it it lights up so you are able to read your book. I thought this

was a really great idea as it is very practical, easy to use and would work well in many homes.

Finally this  funky light seat which I found very eye catching by Kiwi & Pom, I could imagine this piece in a contemporary student space or at a funky disco bar. This illuminated piece of furniture is constructed from over 200 linear metres of elecroluminescent wire.

I feel that last weeks lecture has given me a greater understandment and a different outlook on design and technology working together. This is a great way of looking at design which I will carry on exploring through my projects in the future.

THE TIPPING POINT- HOW DOES SESAME STREET RELATES TO DESIGN?

For my mind map I looked into how Sesame Street relates to design. There is a vast amount of different designers that go into making Sesame Street from the obvious such as set designers who design the scenes which the show takes place, to the product designers who design the merchandise such as toys and games for the children who watch. 


 I decided to take this idea from my mind map and created an A2 poster which looks at how product design is a main part of Sesame Street as many products sell so well out there just because Sesame Street are branded on them. Through this assignment I have learnt how everything in life is designed from the chair we sit on to the food we consume. Absolutely everything!

V&A EXHIBITION WINNER

Recently I visited Abertay University where there was an exhibition showcasing 6 different designs for a new building which would be situated at the heart of Dundee's waterfront. Yesterday the winner was announced as Kengo Kuma & Associates. The museum which they have designed has a large interior space which the public can enjoy and surrounding this is a museum store, restaurant and cafe. I feel that this is a well worthy winner as it has a visually exiting impact both inside and out and will attract many visitors from Dundee and elsewhere.

MAKING THINGS, MAKE SENSE!

During yesterdays lecture we were asked to look at design and technology hand in hand and think about how this could integrate into our lives. There were quite a few interesting projects which Hazel White has been involved in. One which really interested me was the charm project in which she got a variety of individuals and gave them each a piece of jewellery, a pack of different charms and a book to log their responses. This was interesting how different people interacted in different ways to the piece of jewellery which they had and also the emotive response they had towards these pieces. We also looked into technology and the human form and how jewellery tells a story. Personally I feel that yes its an interesting avenue to explore for designers but also technology can be lost in translation and be hard to interact with without instructions which for many people such as the elderly who haven't always had technology around can find it hard to follow.

BRAINSTORMING SESSION!

Yesterday I met up with others from my course for some lunch and to chat about our brainstorming ideas. For each topic we got a large sheet of paper and post it notes and all added our ideas on how design relates to each topic in the book The Tipping Point, for my topic it's Sesame Street. We then all had a chat about what we had written, divided the notes into groups and went into more depth on how each topic relates to design subjects such as interiors, costume, etc.

 Our next activity is to produce either a mind map or an A2 poster for our chosen topic, which I will add to my blog in a couple of days!

COMMEMORATIVE SPACE PROJECT (1ST YEAR)

For my first project in first year I was to design a commemorative space for either the Tay bridge disaster or the jute industry. I had two sites to choose from the riverside waste ground or law hill. I decided to focus on the Tay bridge disaster and have my commemorative space on the riverside waste ground as this is closer to the Tay bridge and is a large space of flat land. 

For my final idea I included the famous Tay bridge disaster poem by McGonagall which would be in the interior of my commemorative space. This would look quite abstract as it would be going around a cylinder shape so would be quite interesting for viewers. The main structure is based on the shape of the Tay bridge with many curved shapes which would look different from every angle. 

BOMB PROJECT

 For the 3 day bomb project we were put into groups consisting of people from all year groups and asked to  collectively create a 3D reinterpretation of a building typology, my group was given the heading SHOP. Firstly we had a brainstorm session in which we thought of what the word SHOP means to us. We then came up with the idea of advertisement and how the consumer is effected by this. We see something we want to buy in a newspaper, magazine, internet, T.V advert or shop window so as a consumer we are drawn into the shop. The majority of people come out of a shop with more than they needed or wanted therefore have spent more money.

To show our interpretation of this we firstly made a large cube which would act as a shop window for us. We then took a shirt and divided it into many sections and added receipts, printed money and advertisement from magazines and newspapers. We then positioned the shirt in different depths and heights of the box so that you are able to see the shirt as a whole from one angle and just in pieces at other angles. This for the viewer would be more interesting as they are intrigued at first to what it is then as they move around it is made clear that it all fits together. After putting the shirt into place, as a group we decided to make trousers and shoes as the rest of the display looked a bit blank. I feel that the final outcome has worked well and is an interesting view of what the word SHOP means to us.

DOMESTIC DWELLING PROJECT (1ST YEAR)

For my project I was asked to design a domestic dwelling 8x3x5m for the client of my choice. I decided to design for someone who has just came out of a brain injury rehabilitation centre so my dwelling must be wheelchair accessable and be a calming environment.

For part of my research I visited the brain injury rehabilitation centre at Victoria Hospital in Dundee. As I got shown around the centre I was aware of how bland and unpractical the centre was. For one the place wasn't designed for a rehabilitation centre but just part of the hospital. One of the staff who had shown me around was saying that a new building was going to be built which would be more practical for them but due to unsufficient funding this wasn't possible anymore. Two of the main effects of a brain injury are loss of sight and being disabled mostly due to road traffic accidents and strokes. After leaving I felt very motivated and more sure of what was needed in a rehabilitation centre.

In my design I have included a multi functional area which could be used as a computer area or an excercise area which are both vital in recovery- excersise the body and mind. The kitchen worktops all have an over hang so that wheelchairs can easily fit under them. At the stairs I have included a wheelchair lift which can be folded away to the side so that it isnt cluttering the area. In the bathroom the bath/shower has hand rails and a door to enter into for easy access for disabled. As rehabilitation centres are usually for a short period of time (3-6 months) I have included minimal storage facilities. There is a small area with double ceiling height so that the dwelling feels more airy. Overall the space is very easy to move around and has a calming environment.

JUTEOPOLIS PROJECT

Recently I have finished my project to design an exhibition space on the subject of Juteopolis. For my finished model I looked at how the population of Dundee went from being very fragile to being very over populated and quite claustrophobic and I also focused on the women of Dundee who worked in the jute mills and factories.

As you walk into the exhibition space you see smaller more fragile looking structures with a small amount of cubes inside and surrounding the structures as you walk through the exhibition the structures become more filled and overpower the space. This is showing the population boom and how quickly Dundee went from being a small village to becoming a huge city. The cubes on the first structure have questions on one side which only fits in with the right answer on the hollow structure. This is so the children and adults are interacting with the display and so that the exhibition is always changing making it more interesting for visitors. As you walk on you approach a large sphere object which is made from intertwining jute together. Inside the jute sphere there will be a short film about the history of juteopolis, the factory conditions and different stories from the women who worked in the jute mills. This will be dimly lit with light seeping through the gaps in the jute sphere. Overall I wanted to create an exiting and interactive exhibition which is educational and fun for visitors.