Branka Kovacevic Final Major Project Proposal

Fina l M a jor Pro jec t Prop osa l N ame:

Branka Kovacevic

S t u den t I D:

21230016

M o d u l e C o de:

AD60148E

M o d u l e Leader s:

Brian Whitehead / Ben Dunning

1

Ta k ing ow n ersh ip o f your p erson a l econom i c wo rld

P ro jec t B ri ef:

For my final project I have decided to focus on the theme of economics as a visual campaign to inform students about the ‘real struggles’ in todays economy.

I believe economics is the least touched upon area of awareness towards informing the younger generation about their future plans. Within economics I will be focusing on the issues of cronyism in todays societies.

Whilst making a list of some of the issues that students face when graduating I found that nearly more than half of the topics were effected by cronyism therefore this is going to be my main topic of concern. The list consisted of issues like housing, Income, Job opportunities, Student loans and many more. I also want to change this idea that individuals have on economics just being about finance as it covers a whole range of topics and social issues affecting everyone whether we know it or not.

Cronyism exists as a foundation within our economy that benefits some yet affects many. Being a student myself it is all to easy to think that with a degree you will get a job and have a house straight away within six months of graduating.

However the reality is much less of a fairytale and even with a strong degree, students are finding it harder now than ever to get employed and buying a house is almost impossible for anyone earning below £45,000 yearly leaving the future only for only renting.

The reason I have chosen this topic is that I believe that graphic design is meant to communicate, whether it be promoting consumerism or raising awareness to important issues.

2

Therefore I believe with using the right execution of visual design and creativity my brief can be bought to life as a campaign for students bringing awareness of this issue.

In this project I aim to define cronyism looking at its legality and illegality and in doing so take humorous but clever approach to this subject. I also need to be sensitive about the issue as cronyism is in the heart of economics and in all aspects of society. I also aim to avoid taking a completely negative approach to this issue as the campaign is aimed to show students how to ‘Take ownership of their own personal economic world,’ not just highlighting the negative but giving a way to the positive possibilities.

The approach that I will take will be a visual graphic journey creating an identity for the campaign to communicate in its simplest form, the issues and any solutions to everyday economics and the problems/positives of cronyism.

If this campaign is successful in the future it could be used to show government officials in the education sector how to communicate to students in a visual manner putting more emphasis in using this campaign as an awareness to creatively help minimise stress and panic graduates face when looking for housing and work.

B ri ef a im s / Ta rg e t aud i enc e:

My target audience is students who are at collage/university and Government officials working in the education sector.

My first aim is to define the word cronyism looking at its legality and illegality and the effects on the economy mainly surrounding students. In doing so to also providing possible solutions to this issue through (illustration/ typography/guide or manifesto? I am not sure at this stage how this will be visualised but I hope though my research and experimentation that I will have a strong idea for a visual)

the specific target audience without being too negative and making it clear but interesting to understand. (Visuals through mixed media experimentation traditional/technological, illustration and typography) Lastly my third aim is to create a strong but simple campaign successfully informing students as well as teaching government education sectors how to use this campaign further in the future.

My second aim is to experiment creatively using a humorous but clever approach though Illustrations, humour (if appropriate) and minimal typography to explain economics and cronyism to

K e y D efini t ions:

C a m paign : An organised course of action to achieve a set goal used by political, business, or military groups. Campaigns come in different mediums and ways of promoting themselves to make them stand out therefore the final artefacts for this brief can be anything as long as it appropriate to the theme and that it communicates clearly the right message understandingly to the target audience.

C r o n y is m : The appointment of friends and associates to positions of authority, without proper regard to their qualifications, favoritism is frowned upon in many cases and it is often hard to determine what is or is not cronyism.

Definition by BusinessDictionary.com

3

E c o n o m ics: A broad meaning usually associated with ‘finance’. However economics is a study of how individuals manage scarce goods and how they respond to incentives. This definition covers a whole ground of issues within economics from unemployment to trading. All affecting our daily lives in one way or another.

Ly nchian : ‘A particular kind of irony where the macabre and mundane combine in a way to reveal the former’s perpetual containment within the latter’. Definition

by Mike Hartmann. Its origins started with David Keith Lynch born (1946).

American director/filmmaker of surrealist films characterised by dream imagery and meticulous sound design.

M e t h o d ology:

Ly nchian : The reason I used this within my definition is because this is an approach I am considering experimenting with and maybe even using further into my final artefacts as a way of driving the themes of my topic to life to life.

Q u es t i o nnai r es: A tightly structured questionnaire where the requirements are short answers to a couple of questions set by myself to understand the field that I am working on. However the questionnaire has problems in terms of bias and ambiguity therefore I need to come up with a questionnaire that is not personal sided nor favours a particular answer that will correlate with my questions.

I will also have to keep the questions to a structured plan only allowing straight forward answers e.g. yes/no answer.

This will make data easier to collect and make it faster to transfer visually in an overall information graphic piece.

Resea r ch : Researching in general using all mediums from field work (questionnaires) to reading books and looking at online resources. This is to gain a higher understanding of my chosen theme.

Also to be able to create my campaign I need to cover all areas that are possible within research to give me a better understanding of the topic and how I will then use this information to create my campaign to communicate clearly my findings to the chosen audience.

4

T r adi t i o na l / t echn o lo gica l m edi u m s: Experimenting with traditional printing techniques and hand methods as well as technological approaches to the same ideas to attempt to see whether or not one method appropriately communicates the campaign and influences the style of the final outcomes clear than the other.

R es e a rc h a nd P ossibl e ou tcom es:

My research will consist of gathering information around the topics of economics and cronyism. I will also look to compare and contrast the weaknesses and strengths of campaigns and awareness advertisements around this issue to understand the tone of voice that I need to communicate across.

I will also like to compare and contrast other well known campaigns outside of this issue to give me more inspiration of all the different approaches I can take to make a successful campaign.

Furthermore I will like to research into some design movements to help me understand how they became very successful in getting their ideas and voices across. An example of one of the design movements I will look at is, DADA. To examine how they became such a strong voice along with many other design movements.

I also want to look into any competitors and to research strongly into different campaign strategies to underrated how campaigns work and what aspects

M a ndato ri es:

of good design makes them strong/ memorable and efficient.

I am leaving possibilities to my final artefacts open. This is due to the fact that as I research and explore I will naturally be experimenting with different mediums and outcomes and will only then physically see what will/ wont work to get my campaign across appropriately.

However some of the finals that I MIGHT produce may be anything from two demential posters, leaflets, stickers to three dimensional objects such as newspapers, badges and animations.

The possibilities for outcomes are endless however I do not wish to state what I will have as a final artefact as I believe there is so much to research and test out that the outcomes will naturally fall in place and therefore I will not be restricted to force myself to do an outcome I have stated that could potentially not communicate my campaign clearly or appropriately.

B lo g: Regular blog uploads of research, ideas, development and evaluations though the project to see the strengths and weaknesses as and how to keep pushing my ideas to strengthen them.

ideas, works I do that has got me to the final outcomes in reaching my goal.

Almost like a book of the journey to my outcomes and how I achieved my campaign as well as why I chose the steps I did in coming to the outcomes.

Resea r ch develo p m en t book: A sketchbook or journal. This would be a physical hand written collection of research collected with all my drawings, findings, analysis and absolutely any

B ib l i o g r a p h y: A personal collection of all research that I have looked into for information about my topic e.g. news articles, books, videos and inspirations that have guided me to my final outcome.

5

6