I found Research and Communication very useful this semester and it has taught me many new skills which will be very helpful to me in the future.

The first task, Online resources I really enjoyed as I was able to research in to a subject area I found very interesting. It also made me realise what a useful webpage and online resources are and how important it is to find reliable information to use within my work. I found the session gave me good idea of what to look for when researching and how to figure out whether it’s a reliable source or not. I found it similar with the Harvard referencing as it made me look for information within webpages and articles I did not look for before.

I found I struggled with the visual research, as I could not find the exact sources that my chosen designer used. However, this then made me look further into the artists work and analysis it further and try and figure out what they were inspired by. This then made me aware of how the development process worked and how I could reflect this upon my portfolio projects.

When completing the reflective writing task, I struggled as I found it hard to write and give such a personal response. I believed I would find it hard to find other texts that related to my own argument and Barnard’s in Fashion as a Communication.  Although, I did struggle to understand the academic writing, which made less confident that my argument made sense, which is why I think that is why I found it hard to use other texts at first. However, after finding text which related to my points, I enjoyed completing the task and found it more interesting and is an area I would like to complete more research in the future.

I also found the ethics task very interesting as I disagreed strongly with Duncan Quinn’s advertisement, because of this I found the task easier than others, which could also be due to the broad range of similar arguments I found online. It also made me more aware of how there is ethical decisions to be made in all areas of work, which will be very beneficial to me in the future.

Throughout the module I did struggle as in some areas such as the reflective writing I found it hard to form my own points and physically explain them in written work. However, throughout the semester this has become easier for me and I know with further practice throughout the course I will improve.

In conclusion, I believe that this Research and Communication module has been very beneficial to me as it has taught me about how to analysis both visual and written work, which before I did struggle with. It has also given me more time management skills and made me more organised as I had work out how to fit in the work around the portfolio modules. Overall, I have really enjoyed this semester and look forward to continuing this further in semester two.

Duncan Quinn Advertisement 

The image that I selected is the Duncan Quinn Advertisement for suits which involves a man standing over a body of women in her underwear, with a necktie around her neck which he is holding. This advertisement is unethical as the man is intended to appear superior and stronger than the women, it appears that Duncan Quinn wanted to use the advertisement to appeal to man wanting to appear and feel more masculine, however, by doing this he has created a sexist advert that implies the only way for man to be masculine and strong is to weaken a female.

It glamorizes domestic and sexual abuse, as the the women maybe considered a sex slave, this has is unethical and should not be a message promoted in a positive light within the media. Another message which could be put across is that it is encouraging men to value and want control over the sexuality of a women, as in the picture he has full control and there is a lack of consent seen from the women due to her body laid out on the car and her unconscious state.

This is irresponsible to have in an advertisement campaign as many consumers are highly influenced by advertisements they see in the media, so having this platform Duncan Quinn should have more consideration for what he published to the public. As media can have a great impact in the behaviour of consumers. And due to the high volume of subtle similar graphic messages within the fashion media it has become more acceptable to involve these ethical issues within advertisement campaigns. Therefore, affecting the view men have of women and this view has been considered by the Dr. Shari Miles- Cohen from the American Psychological Association (APA) who ‘explained that the inappropriate portrayal of women and girls in the media is not only negatively affecting women, but is also contributing to the misperception many men have about the female gender’. (Womenleadingchange ,2014) Overall, these messages are working against the steps towards full equality between sexes, and therefore should not be portrayed in a positive light.

The promotion could also affect the Dunn Quinn’s brand as from the public’s reaction to the campaign was not liked by many and having an offence message related to their name could reduce their customer base, as consumer will not buy from them due to what they perceive the company stands for because of their advertisement campaigns.

In conclusion, I believe that the aim of Dunn Quinn’s advertisement was make the man appear strong and masculine, by emphasising his power over the women within the photograph. However due to the strong influence advertisement can have it was irresponsible and unethical to promote a message. Overall, big brands such as Dunn Quinn who have the large platform that reaches so many consumers need to be more considerate when producing campaigns such as this as it can send negative messages and ideas into society.

Womenleadingchange (2014), The Sexualisation of Women and Girls. Available from: https://womenleadingchange.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/the-sexualization-of-women-and-girls/

Accessed-  01/12/2017

American Psychological Association, Dr. Shari Miles-Cohen. Available from:

http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/leadership/shari-miles-cohen.aspx

Accessed – 01/12/2017

After reading a chapter from ‘Fashion and a Communication’, by Malcolm Barnard one of the ideas that stood out to me the most is how it made me realise how much fashion affects and is affected by our society, “people have to be both part of a larger social group and yet not bound up in that group that they posses no identity” (M. Barnard ,2002). He continues to discuss that fashion wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for these two factors as those societies not in the western world do not have fashion because their clothing suits the environment they live within not to represent identity and the need to belong.

In my opinion I do agree with the points that were made within ‘Fashion as a communication’ as I believe that consumers including myself have a desire to be individual in order to represent themselves but also do not want to stand out too far from the crowd. This is a significant aspect of fashion to me, as I feel being aware of these factors will allow designers to focus on a particular target market of pulling out the individuality of each customer but at the same time keeping a one constant identity within their products which the consumers aim to achieve and what will create their brand.

Another text I read which supported this argument was from the ‘Psychology of Fashion’ written by Michael. R. Solomon, as it had similar points that fashion is how ‘we discover new, different aspects of our personality every time we try on a new garment’ (M.R. Solomon, 1985). I agree with this point and feel that is also agrees with the points of Georg Simmel that Barnard uses as when trying on the garment it allows the individual to discover something about themselves and still stay part of the union as they will be buying clothes from retail stores that suits the majority, therefore staying within the union. Solomon also makes the same point of the consumers wanting to be part of a union which contributes the creation of fashion within a society, “staying in the race” (M.R. Solomon, 1985).

I then referred to another text ‘Adorned dreams’ which states that the self promotion which is now used within fashion in the western world to show wealth and identity happened after the industrial revolution when there was enough wealth and people could afford to consume more therefore “dress became a vehicle for the display of the unique individual personality” (E. Wilson, 2009). I believe that this change is what led to the fast fashion of today, as increase and efficiency of production within the industry, led to products becoming cheaper and consumers having a constant change of identity and as they have the ability to represent themselves differently all the time.

In conclusion, I believe that after reading these books it will change the way I move forward as a designer as although being a consumer myself I did not realise my own behaviour when buying clothes or any product at all. Therefore, I will aim to design products that can represent multiple personalities.

Barnard,M. (2002) Fashion as a Communication, New York, Routledge

Solomon M.R. (1985), The Psychology of Fashion, Massachusetts, Lexington Books

Wilson, E. (2009) Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity, London, Virago

The Collection and designer I have decided to research is Noa Raviv Autumn 2017 Collection was inspired by computer glitches and digital errors. She was also inspired from areas and places that have no identity or history such as air ports and shopping malls.  Also places that do not physically exist such as websites and the internet. (Raviv,2017)

Images from: Farra, E: 2017) – Photographer Ryan Duffin

The image I have chosen from the inspiration of Noa Raviv’s designs was created by Kim Asendorf, who is a conceptual, visual artists who takes data, codes and computer signals and edits them, to create his work. I could not find the exact sources of which artist inspired Raviv’s designs however, I know that she took inspiration from artists that work in this way.  (German: Kim Asendorf)

The piece created by Asendorf is a portrait which has been digitally edited. It splits the image apart causing it to become out of focus, but still allows facial features to be identified. With the use of pixel sorting it has brought forward some hidden colours that make up the piece.

Image created by Kim Asendorf -2011. Accessed from – (Menkman, R, 2012 )

When comparing Asendorf’s work to other work that he also created in 2011, we can see that he was inspired by both movement and structures, as he created this dynamic digital piece that is made up of multiple layers and changed direction of movement. The structure is transparent so has the sense of not being a physical structure, or place, similar to a webpage and the internet, this is similar idea to the inspiration that Raviv used within her collection.

ani-gif.com/1.3/

Another artist that works in a similar way to Kim Asendorf is Sergio Albiac who is an artist that combines traditional media and coding, whose work is inspired by places that we create in our own minds. (Albiac ,S)  I found the connection between these two artists because they had similar formats and layouts, both being portraits and using coding and manipulation of the photograph pulling it apart.

Although, the pieces are similar they have big difference too, such as, in Albiac’s “You Are Not the News” is based upon a newspaper which is a physical object that we can hold and touch.  Where as Asendorf was inspired by the places that are not physically there such as a webpages or the internet. The pictures also seem obviously different as Asendorf emphasised the pictures being pulledapart, by pulling out the colours within the piece.  Where as Albiac can do this with black and white and the viewer is able to feel this movement more because the piece is based upon a tangible item, we can touch and feel.

You are not the news

Sergio  Albiac

Overall, the digital influence has lead to the creation of work that has movement and transparency, and adds depth due to the different layers created by the digital affect.

Raviv, N, (2017),Noa Raviv, Available from:

http://www.noaraviv.com/aboutnoaraviv/ (Accessed 31/10/2017)

German, B (Date unknown), Kim Asendorf – 2 Artwords, Bio and Shows on Artsy, Available from:

https://www.artsy.net/artist/kim-asendorf ( Accessed 31/10/17)

Albiac, S ,(Date Unknown), Sergioalbiac.com, Available from:

https://www.sergioalbiac.com/about.html (Accessed 31/10/17)

Farra, E, (2017) , Noa Raviv Fall 2017 Ready-to- Wear Fashion Show,Vogue, Available from:

https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2017-ready-to-wear/noa-raviv\ (Accessed 31/10/17)

Menkman, R (2012), Glitch for Dummies (English Translation, Rosa-Menkan.blogpsot.co.uk.., Accessed From: http://www.citethisforme.com/cite/website/autocite