31215a - Progress challenge 01

on

31215a - Progress challenge 01

Researching your presentation

This challenge will help you generate new ideas for innovative presentation solutions for your own work, based on the work of other creative industry experts. Throughout this unit, each progress challenge will help you build towards the creation of a professional portfolio that you can use to present your work to future clients or employers. Write a short response to the following points:

a. Conduct research into the presentation methods of the leading designers in your chosen industry and present your top three by writing a short profile of each (100 words each) with an image/images to support your profile. Highlight the formal design elements you find inspirational as well as the conceptual themes.

b. Conduct research into the presentation methods of industry experts in other creative fields, such as fine art or other fields of design. Create a small profile for two by writing a short profile of each (100 words each) with an image/images to support your profile. Highlight the formal design elements you find inspirational, as well as the conceptual themes.

c. Seek out a creative peer to discuss your profiles and then list the key points of feedback your discussion provided.

d. From this discussion, summarise the emerging trends, formal and conceptual elements of design your chosen research subjects have demonstrated that you would like to incorporate into your own presentation. For example, ‘clean lines and a neutral background colour’ or ‘the way their website used a different transition theme from one image to another’.

TIP: Navigate to the student forum to engage in the discussion with your peers.

Now that you have completed the Progress challenge, you may submit your work for feedback and discussion.

Instructions

• Write 700 words and complete as a PDF.
• Navigate to the self-check page to submit.
TIP: If you choose to complete each progress challenge as you work through the module, the process of completing your assessment tasks will take a lot less time.

Answer

Research topic – symbols;

Particular symbol – the swastika.

Part A:

Chosen Industry – The media (the press or the screen) via my cartoons

Journalist, artist, art director – Steven Heller

The date of birth for this ‘Design Writer’ is the 7th of July 1950.
He has, by his own admission, a ‘guilty obsession’ with this symbol. I stumbled across this YouTube video titled ‘Designing Graphic Design History’[1] you can see a more thorough explanation of Stephen Heller’s ‘obsession’ with the swastika here at 7.30 (7 minutes into a 14 and a ½ minute YouTube video).
He is an American Jew, whose parents had survived the Holocaust in WW2, and this probably spurred on his interest in design history and totalitarian regimes (probably to the point he began to see swastikas in everything, much like Sarah Silverman did recently when she thought that roadwork symbols were swastikas, and ‘tweeting’ about it on Twitter).
As well as YouTube, he uses Keynote to make presentations:
*          Steve Heller, Typo2007 Keynote (video): »Das Auge hört mit«[2]
*          Steve Heller, Typo2008 Keynote (video): »Iron graphics: Branding totalitarian states«[3]


Picture: 1 Heller, S (2011): My Guilty Obsession with Swastikas[4]

Here are the screenshots below (these are from my iPod Touch) of Sarah Silverman’s tweets:
Picture: 2 'Swastika' Markings - originally by Sarah Silverman on Twitter[5]

Picture: 3 Retweeted by Paul Joseph Watson[6]; and Shared on his Facebook[7] profile


Part B:

B1: Industry – music: Impaled Nazarene – Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz

Musicians – Impaled Nazarene

Impaled Nazarene was a NSBM (National Socialist Black Metal) band from Finland who formed in the early 1990s, and embraced Finnish Nationalism[8].  The cover features a red on black colour scheme.  It incorporates the Baphomet goat horns, and inverted crucifix symbols.  The presentation methods this band uses are through social media (YouTube, MySpace, and Band Camp), online databases (Discog) and e-commerce (eBay).
Picture: 4 Image c/o eBay[9]

Artist - John Heartfield[10]

John Heartfield is the original artist whose work the band used for the inner cover of the Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz album[11], a CD I purchased in 1994.  The graphic below depicts Jesus carrying a cross in the shape of a swastika.  Had I not bought that album, would I have known who he was?
His original name was Helmut Herzfield (19 June 1891– 26 April 1968), making a name for himself by using art as a political weapon. Some of his photomontages were anti-Nazi and anti-fascist statements. He studied at the Royal Bavarian Arts and Crafts School in Munich, moved to Berlin and then to the UK (via the Sudeten Mountains in Czechoslovakia).  He later changed his name to John Heartfield.  His works appear in many museums in Europe, the UK and the USA[12].
Alongside his numerous works appearing in publications and exhibitions, they appear online courtesy of his grandson, John J Heartfield[13].

Picture: 5: Image c/o John Heartfield


B2: Industry – textiles: Whirling logs (Navajo)

The Artist – Melissa Cody
Her specialty – weaving, textiles and folk art; the symbol is called a ‘whirling log’ and in Navajo (Dine) iconography, it denotes ‘Abundance, prosperity, healing and luck’[14]. 
Like many other Navajo women from previous generations, Ms Cody made her living selling her handicrafts at local markets.  She studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts at Santa Fe, and exhibited her works in Museums like the International Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe and the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC.  There was also a connection between Cody’s work and the Germans in Pennsylvania[15]. 
The presentation methods she uses are through Social Media: Instagram, Tumblr, LinkedIn and Facebook[16].

Picture: 6  Melissa Cody - Whirling log textile (featuring a swastika)


Part C

Peer feedback

The below graphs are for Checkpoint C.

Figure 1: Line graph showing the numbers of views of my Presentation on SlideShare[17] (this number peaked on the 25th of March)
Figure 2: Pie chart of the source of referral

For Checkpoint D, there has not been much of this to date on LinkedIn[18] (as of Saturday, 1 April 2017)

Facebook[19], however, tells a different story with Checkpoint D (which is possible, because I know more people on Facebook than on LinkedIn or SlideShare):


Part D

Emerging trends

Historical trends, history of the swastika – Europe, the Middle East, the Americas

Formal and conceptual elements of design of those chosen research subjects

1.    Use of geometrics e.g. crosses, triangles, Symmetrical vs. asymmetrical images
2.    Colours – black, red, white, greyscale, multicoloured; hue/saturation; tone – light and dark, colour combinations.
3.    Repetition, symbolic of history repeating itself?
4.    Direction – right facing or left facing swastikas?  Is it a move towards prosperity, supremacy or demise?
5.    Geopolitics perhaps?  E.g. the modern day ‘Rez culture’ for Native Americans – what is it reminiscent of? 
a.   Neo-fascism in both the UK and Europe?  Do the Natives form gangs like the skinheads and Chavs overseas?
b.  How much does the Rez slang sound like other forms of slang around the world e.g. the Chav[20] words like ‘Innit?’ (The UK), the use of the word ‘bro’ in New Zealand by the Maoris or ‘bra’ by surfers? 
c.   Native Americans taking an interest in punk and heavy metal?

How can I incorporate them into my presentation?

Present as a historical timeline

1.    Ancient – Finland; recent – (versus Russia and Sweden); modern – National Socialist Black Metal Movement (the 1990’s Counter Culture, like British Punk)
2.  Ancient – Navajo (USA) – whirling logs (ancient symbol); recent – association with the Germans and place of the Navajos in WWII (e.g. Code talkers); modern – reclaiming that symbol and prosperity (e.g. through the casino).
3.  Ancient – Israel (Promised Land); recent – WWII and Germany; modern – prevalence of Judaism in the USA and the media.
4.   Ancient – Australia – Aborigines, European settlement; recent - Australia’s part in war (esp. WW2); modern – National Pride and identity, the flag, our attitudes towards new migrants.

What do these people have in common?

Use Venn diagram to illustrate the common traits and influences:
1.    Artistic;
2.    Cultural;
3.    Religious;
4.    Geographical;
5.    Political;
6.    Musical tastes

What personal interest may I have in this (and other) symbols?

Contributing factors (Timeline, correlational, mind map):
1.    Ethnicity
2.    Heritage
3.    Faith
4.    Geography
5.    Linguistic background
6.    Socioeconomic background
7.    Music preference
On the other hand, perhaps I should be using Marty Two Bulls as an example[21].
Anyway, I have probably included more political art than I should, but the three main political artists are art writer Steven Keller, the Finnish band Impaled Nazarene, and textile artist, Melissa Cody.

PS. I have removed some of the pictures and diagrams but you will see them in in my slide shows


[1] Heller, S (2011): Designing Graphic Design History, in Rock Paper Ink, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkFkb1ghwWo –; accessed Friday, 17 March 2017 at 12:28:22 PM
[2] Font Shop (2007): Stephen Heller – Keynote: The Eye Listens, in TYPO Berlin Video blog | Oversight | Beitrag, in Typo Berlin, http://www.typoberlin.de/video/index.php?node_id=9&lang_id=1&ds_target_id=775
[3] Font Shop (2007): Stephen Heller – Keynote: Iron Graphics, http://www.typoberlin.de/video/index.php?node_id=9&lang_id=1&ds_target_id=847
[4] Heller, S (2011): My Guilty Obsession with Swastikas, in Salon http://www.salon.com/2011/07/21/swastika_fascination_imprint/
[6] Watson, P J (2017): These are surveyor’s markings and you’re a hysterical moron, retrieved from Liberalism is a Mental Disorder, (c/o Facebook), https://www.facebook.com/groups/394523860751477/
[7] Watson, P J (2017): Paul Joseph Watson on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/paul.j.watson.71?fref=nf
[8] The Encyclopaedia of Popular Music (2004): Impaled Nazarene Biography - Music Artist Band Biographies - Artists Bands Bio - FREE MP3 Downloads in Wayback Machine https://web.archive.org/web/20120308003745/http://www.music.us/biography/artist/29205/impaled_nazarene.html[17/03/2017 4:19:15 PM]
[9] Modern Invasion Music (1994): IMPALED NAZARENE - Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz LTD ED CD NEW COPY! 1994 pressing!, in eBay, http://www.ebay.ie/itm/IMPALED-NAZARENE-Tol-Cormpt-Norz-Norz-Norz-LTD-ED-CD-NEW-COPY-1994-pressing-/122041468903?hash=item1c6a3d07e7:g:r34AAOSwYSlXgiqh[17/03/2017 5:15:52 PM]
[10] Heartfield, J (1974): My Dreams Your Nightmare, in Dirty Harry, http://www.dirtyharrry.com/1974/08/john-heartfield.html[17/03/2017 5:33:36 PM]
[11] Nuclear War Now Productions (2014): Impaled Nazarene – Vigorous and Liberating Death, http://www.nwnprod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=826530&sid=41ddedf5cf867a4b72c077e6a0718ed4
[12] Wikipedia (2017) John Heartfield, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Heartfield
[13] Heartfield, J (2017): John Heartfield Biography by Grandson, John J Heartfield, http://www.johnheartfield.com/John-Heartfield-Exhibition/john-heartfield-art/political-art-posters/heartfield-posters-aiz/heartfield-aiz-hitler
[14] ICNM Staff (2013): Melissa Cody's Whirling Logs: Don't You Dare Call Them Swastikas in Indian Country Median Network, https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/culture/arts-entertainment/melissa-codys-whirling-logs-dont-you-dare-call-them-swastikas/[25/02/2017 9:17:32 AM]; Whirling Log (2017): Whirling Log – The Swastika in Navajo Textiles, http://www.whirlinglog.com/home.html[25/02/2017 9:26:20 AM]
[15] Lovelace, J (2015): Clear Focus – Melissa Cody, https://craftcouncil.org/magazine/article/clear-focus
[16] Cody, M (2017): Melissa Cody on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/melissascody?fref=ts
[17] Sedgwick, C (2017): Analytics for Checkpoint C, in SlideShare, https://www.slideshare.net/ColleenSedgwick/insight#summary/73619059/%3Frange%3D1m
[18] Sedgwick, C (2017): Analytics for Checkpoint C, in SlideShare, https://www.slideshare.net/ColleenSedgwick/insight#summary/73843569/%3Frange%3D1m
[19] Sedgwick, C (2017): Sedgie Art – Insights, on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/SedgieArt/insights/
[20] Wikipedia (2017): Chav, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav
[21] Two Bulls, M (2017): Native American Studies 101 – The Rez Accent, in Indian Country Media Network, https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/author/marty-two-bulls/

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your feedback. The moderator will soon moderate your comments and say 'yay' or 'nay'. Any posts that aren't relevant to the topic of this blog will be rejected immediately.