To Graphics or Not to Graphics?

Syed M GCD Unit 5: The Long Context

By the same author Anemoia The stories of thesse four walls The Corner Chronicles Reading long, lol Checklist³

Contents Introduction..............................................................1 Objects.................................................................2-15 The Monopoly Chronicles...................................16-21 Environment......................................................22-27 Conclusion.........................................................28-31 Bibliography.......................................................32-33

Introduction Lately, I’ve been questioning the significance of graphic design in my practice. Is it truly necessary? Does it add value or amplify the story? Is it distracting from the message? Am I merely following the motions to satisfy assessment objectives?

My practice merges three disciplines. I aim for the illustrator’s “show, don’t tell” mindset, considering my work successful if it communicates a narrative without relying on type/exposition.

Graphic design anchors my work, bridging gaps for the audience when a piece can’t stand alone. I leverage objects and product design to tell stories, recognizing their absorption of narratives in our capitalist-centric world.

“Beyond Scarcity, what happens if instead of adding more stuff to the world, you redistribute what is already there?”

- “Design beyond the object” by Jeremy (Till, 2018) I’m currently occupying the extreme end of the less is more design philosophy, questioning if generating new graphic design is helpful in the over-saturated visual climate, we find ourselves in.

To streamline this critical report and maintain my sanity, I’m adopting a historic/purist interpretation of graphic design; defining it as the 2D application of type, icons, illustrations, photography and graphic elements.

In this critical report I will be exploring the relationship of 2D graphics and 3D interactive objects within my practice.

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Objects Objects possess untapped storytelling potential. The tactile interactions between objects and people offer a ubiquitous and authentic advantage in constructing worlds and narratives. In our capitalist, consumer-driven society, objects dominate daily life.

While currently thematically irrelevant, it’s crucial to recognize when justifying my visualization preference. I’m leveraging the most innate and widespread form of communication—everyday objects and their encoded connotations.

Consider the layout of this report—I’m adopting design language of printed/published books. Despite the archaic nature and selectivity of printed publications, it’s touted as gospel in academic circles; lending borrowed legitimacy to my educated speculations by appropriating what the target audience deems credible.

Due to my autism spectrum disorder, touch sensitivity compels me to explore narratives through objects, materiality, and textures.

This wiring aids in compressing my imagery into efficient, bite-sized narrative chunks. For example, conveying the idea of density was achieved by appropriating the heavy, small metal top plate from an old 2.5” hard drive. Before opening the “Data Density” publication, the concept was conveyed through touch and sight alone.

During I&S’s “B O X” brief, I’ve curated a series of objects (similar to the “Data Density” publication) to convey ideas beyond my verbal capacity. Creating serves as an escape from words, my weakest form of communication. Intriguingly, embedding craftsmanship into communication grants even the most radical ideas respect and consideration. Visual communication, arguably, emerges as one of the most liberating methods for delivering radical ideas.

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In the design field, my work is best described as appropriation— remixing existing objects to articulates myself. “[...] the practice of artists using pre-existing objects or images in their art with little transformation of the original” - “Appropriation” by (Tate, 2017)

- “Lobster Telephone” by Salvador (Dalí, 1938) While I don’t fully align with the ethics of appropriation, it’s the closest existing relative to my practice. I prefer to navigate appropriation through the lens of U.S. Copyright laws. “[...] transformative uses are more likely to be considered fair.

Transformative uses are those that add something new, with a further purpose or different character, and do not substitute for the original” - “Fair Use Index” by (U.S. Copyright Office, 2023) Personally, I feel my work needs to be transformative in good faith if I intend on using existing designer’s labour. Everything not natural (like objects) is considered design, as such if I have to use another designer’s work, I feel it’s an obligation to build upon stories instead of using them as crutches.

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If we take the gospel of media studies, Stewart Hall’s theory of representation and semiotics, and apply it through a modern lens like Marshall McLuhan’s “The Medium is the Massage” where he predicts the online sphere as a “global village”, it helps establish the reasoning behind my preference of visualization. This perspective supports my preference for visualization. In our interconnected web of culture, visual tropes are becoming globally recognizable.

I utilize existing imagery to assist the audience in interpreting my work, striving to communicate my thoughts to the outside world as clearly as possible. “[...] semiotics being the study or ‘science of signs’ […] first, descriptive level, the level of denotation: the second level, that of connotation […]

Semiotics seemed to confine the process of representation [...] as a closed, rather static, system ” - “REPRESENTATION, Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices” by Stuart (Hall, 1997) “We now live in a global village […] Information pours upon us, instantaneously and continuously” - “The Medium is The Massage” by Marshall (McLuhan, 2005) Hall’s media representation theory relies on audience cultural knowledge. In 1980, media interpretation was tied to cultural upbringing and geography. McLuhan predicted the internet in 1967, envisioning a “global village.” Now, an international visual language is emerging with diverse media like K-pop, Anime, Nollywood. My work aims to join this global visual language, connecting diverse audiences and overcoming cultural barriers, contributing to a universal visual dialect.

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For the prompt “Caged” in the BOX project, I visually conveyed the endless loop of scrolling by appropriating a bird’s cage, bevelled gears, and the Twitter icon(s). The mechanical nature makes the concept more digestible, like you’re screwing cogs into your head, causing Twitter birds to circle endlessly. This plays on the western cartoon trope of “Circling birdies,” expressing the frustration of being drawn into the rabbit holes of online platforms.

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My language takes on a physical form, sparking interaction from human curiosity. The appeal of my creations lies with 16-25-yearolds, possibly influenced by the digital shift in services and media.

“Eurocentric Pigeonhole”, final project for “BOX”, explores the repercussions/responsibility that come with designing objects using a youthful language. This critique focuses on the implicit damage caused by Barbies, originally designed by Ruth Marianna Handler for her daughter. Whilst there’s nothing inherently malicious in this act, the mass production and universalization of this ideal as the sole right answer for decades had unintended consequences. Although I’m not currently mass-producing or selling my objects, I’m aware that even at the scale I create, there are added connotations. As I contemplate moving into the commercial space and aiming to make a living from my work, I remain cautious of the unintentional meanings that may accompany the intended distribution of my creations.

Version 1 (on the right) and 2 (next page) of “Eurocentric Pigeonhole” are of particular interest to the of this report. Ignoring the subjectivity of aesthetics, version 1 is objectively a more durable box; demanding more from me as a creator. In my opinion, having a toy box with holes and blocks shaped/painted like they are, portray how beauty ideals are set narrow from a young age, is communicative enough. My peers felt it lacked context so I made a flat packed version 2 (its more comfortable to read standard paper sizes than a square box). This also gave me added surfaces to embed context in the form of research data, analytics and pull quotes; properly branding and laying out my idea. I can’t help but compare the two and to me version two just proves I am a student with easy (and legal) access to Phd papers, research documents, studies and publication. Is being a good designer having access to academia?

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“[...] all design comes down to communication and the real question is the communication clear […] you see this bowl you see this hole you see this track you get; oh okay I see this and there’s nothing here but that. The wood has nothing broken on it there’s no logo on it, it is just a clear set of objects in perfect continuity with each other [...] I think a lot of designers, especially with things like this, tend to add something at the end because they think it needs more and I really appreciate the austere refinement of this design” - “Review of ‘Perpetual Motion Simulator’” by Adam (Savage, 2023)

- “Perpetual Machine Simulator” by William (Le, 2022) Granted the story of the product in question is extremely simple, I still agree with Adams stance on design. If I am able to make my designed objects communicative enough on their own, graphics and branding would arguably be hinderance and distractions.

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The Monopoly Chronicles The turbulent development cycle of the cultural juggernaut now known as monopoly resonates with me and my practice. Someone had strong beliefs and to communicate this they designed an interactive boardgame to engage in otherwise dry political small talk. But ironically…

“They monopolized Monopoly” - “MONOPOLYGATE” by Ralph (Anspach, 2007) “To Elizabeth Magie […] it seemed impossible […] easing society’s ills with something as trivial as a board game […] centred on the economic theories of Henry George […] a proponent of […] the ‘single tax’ […]” “[...] new concept of hers, which she called the Landlord’s Game. ‘It is a practical demonstration of the present system of land-grabbing with all its usual outcomes and consequences,’ she wrote in a 1902 issue of the Single Tax Review.”

“In 1904, Lizzie Magie patented her Landlord’s Game, the forerunner to what millions of game players would later know as Monopoly.” “[...] Lizzie created two sets of rules: an anti-monopolist set in which all were rewarded […] and a monopolist set in which the goal was to create monopolies and crush opponents” - “The Monopolists” by Mary (Pilon, 2015) To cut a long story short(ish), for the sake of the word count, Lizzies game was used to demonstrate the pure frustration of being monopolised.

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- “Landlord’s Game” by Lizzie (Magie, 1906)

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Her core game mechanic was passed down withing intellectual circles which then bled out to the general public through DIY handmade versions of the game and word of mouth. Essentially it went through 20+ years of user testing and iteration with tweaks to the more popular “Monopolists” rule set, now informally known as “Monopoly” among the players who had long lost the creators ideals and story.

“Franklin Alexander was a political cartoonist (working under the name F. O. Alexander)” “[...] Darrow asked Alexander […] a favour […] to jazz up its design a bit” “[...] Darrow and Alexander played the monopoly game, with Alexander slowly adding illustrations to the board” “On December 31, 1935, Charles Darrow received his Monopoly patent” “Lizzie and George Parker signed a deal. She received five hundred dollars. And no residuals.” “[...] players had no clue that the game was a protest against capitalism, not an endorsement of it. “I conceived the game of Landlord to interest people in the single-tax plan of the great economist, Henry George,” Lizzie said to a reporter.”

“In 1936 […] in the pages of the Washington Evening Star […]

Lizzie went on to tell the reporter that if Darrow’s Monopoly spread the notion of how the single tax worked, then her work would ‘not have been in vain.’ ” - “The Monopolists” by Mary (Pilon, 2015) I share the same tendency as Lizzie to create multiple versions, in her case this backfired. The rule set she constructed as a critique of a system became more entertaining than the ideology she intended to convey, leading to its dilution.

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- “Monoply” by Charles (Darrow, 1933) I should be more decisive, avoiding multiple finalised outcomes of the same idea, like my final “Box” project outcomes. Lizzie’s design is critiqued for being too heavy-handed with her “single tax” philosophy, with an abundance of references to Henry George on the board. I realize my desire for efficient communication can make my designs appear ham-fisted. It’s evident that people don’t enjoy being preached to, and I should respect the audience’s cultural capital and visual library if I want them to genuinely interact with my work.

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Monopoly has evolved significantly since Lizzie’s original design.

The hierarchy of information in her version was unclear, highlighting the impact of mild inconvenience on audience engagement.

Wanamaker’s, a Philadelphia-based department store, chose to stock Darrow’s game after rejecting all his predecessors. Darrow’s investment in generating clean visuals, organizing information by color, and using random everyday objects as counters based on previous players’ contributions, along with F. O. Alexander’s simple yet descriptive illustrations (some of which, like waterworks and electrical company, remain unchanged), paid off. The appeal of timeless graphics is evidently a desirable trait within the commercial space.

Attributing the success of these games solely to visuals would be unfair. The historical context, including World War One, the threat of communism, and the perception of Georgism as collectivism/ un-American, played significant roles. Lizzie’s challenges were compounded by being a woman in a period with few female designers; people rarely took her seriously. Darrow eventually found success with powerful toy distributor Parker Brothers backing him after previous declined collaborations. The Darrow family’s financial pressure, exacerbated by their son’s long-term brain damage during the Great Depression, raises ethical questions about plagiarism justification. These compounded social factors are beyond the scope of this critical report and any one designer. However, the undeniable element under a designer’s authority and responsibility is the visual communication of the games.

Lizzie didn’t create for commercial success, but both she and Darrow desired their games to reach as many hands as possible.

Lizzie deserves credit for devising game rules and a user experience that remains engaging, as evidenced by Monopoly’s continued dominance as a cultural icon. However, the absence of appealing graphics to anchor her ideas has led to her concepts floating into obscurity…

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- “The Anspach Archives” by Ralph (Anspach, 1973) (evidence from sucesful lawsuite against Parker Brothers)

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Environment My practice concentrates on small interactive objects, to push myself I attempted an installation for E&E. “Camp Skeuomorph” was made as a celebration of online communities; constructing a digital campsite physically to demonstrate how digital spaces bring people together. I dabbled in spatial design, communicating inclusivity and community by arranging the make-believe cuboid logs and screens in a square; inviteing people inwards to comunicate a warm/cozy comunal space throguh 8bit pixilated fire and toasting marhsmellows for bonding. Whilst spatial design and art direction have huge potential, They play very little role within my practice, considering the hyper fixation on object; it comes down to human interaction.

“I’ve been watching The Office [...] the setting consisted of tan plain walls and uninspiring architecture [...] if you removed all the furniture and office supplies you probably get something similar to one of those back-rooms [...] little stories and characters [...] exist in real life” - “Liminal Spaces” by Solar (Sand, 2020)

- (“The Office” 2005) by NBC

- “The Backrooms” by (BetterPay5749, 2019) 22

Building off of Solar Sands’ ideas, objects make the enviroments.

Inadvertently, my practice has become human-centric by focusing on inanimate objects. My practice hyper-focuses on texture, interaction and experience to the point where the surrounding becomes bokeh; a reflection of my introversion and OCD, keeping my head down and polishing every potential surface and interactions.

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Conclusion Even if graphics in my practice serve as sprinkles on top of an exceptionally well-made cupcake, if it’s able to reel in potential audience and convey my thoughts maybe it’s worth sprinkling on.

Maybe “it just looks cool” is a valid reason for graphical choices if it means someone is more likely to pick up an object and by extension engage with the ideology of the designers. So far, I would describe my graphics as tame/utilitarian as I am unable to justify daring uses but maybe every design decision doesn’t need a grandiose purpose for existing. Everyone has the right/freedom of expression, and if a combination of graphic/product design can communicate my thoughts then I believe it’s a valid enough reason for my practice to exist.

Whilst personally the end goal for me is to polish my objectbased communication to the point where it can stand on its own, for the time being I am content with anchoring my ideas into my creations through graphic design.

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Bibliography Anspach, R. (1973). THE ANSPACH ARCHIVES COLLECTION DOCUMENTING THE TRUE HISTORY OF MONOPOLY® AS AFFIRMED BY COURT FACT FINDINGS. [online] Available at: https://landlordsgame.info/articles/Anspach-CollectionDescription.pdf. [Accessed 21 Jan. 2024] Anspach, R. (2007). MONOPOLYGATE. Xlibris.

BetterPay5749 (2022). The origin of the backrooms was a post on 4chan [2019]. [online] Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/ backrooms/comments/xn7e0j/the_origin_of_the_backrooms_ was_a_post_on_4chan/ [Accessed 21 Jan. 2024].

Hall, S. (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: SAGE. Le, W. (2022). Perpetual Machine Simulator - Etsy. [online] Available at: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1253569674/perpetualmachine-simulator-perpetual [Accessed 21 Jan. 2024]. likemoonvs.live. (n.d.). MONOPOLY DARROW, An early Monopoly “White Box” Game - Online Store. [online] Available at: https://likemoonvs.live/product_details/45318999.html [Accessed 21 Jan. 2024].

McLuhan, M. and Fiore, Q. (1969). The Medium is the Massage.

Bantam Books.

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NPR. (2022). The story of ‘Monopoly’ and American capitalism : Throughline. [online] Available at: https://www.npr. org/2022/06/29/1108728257/do-not-pass-go [Accessed 21 Jan. 2024].

Pilon, M. (2015). The Monopolists : obsession, fury, and the scandal behind the world’s favorite board game. New York: Bloomsbury.

Sands, S. (2020). Liminal Spaces (Exploring an Altered Reality). [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=N63pQGhvK4M&t=1s&ab_channel=SolarSands [Accessed 21 Jan. 2024].

Savage,A.(2023).Adam Savage Reviews a‘Perpetual Motion’Machine! [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJvCP8qSI0&t=239s&ab_channel=AdamSavage%E2%80%99sTested [Accessed 21 Jan. 2024].

Tate (2017). Appropriation – Art Term. [online] Tate. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/appropriation [Accessed 21 Jan. 2024].

The Office (2005), NBC, 14 April, 21:00 U.S. Copyright Office (2022). Fair Use Index. [online] Copyright. gov. Available at: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/ [Accessed 21 Jan. 2024].

UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. (2018).

Jeremy Till: Design beyond the object. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eF2c8CNmUY&ab_ channel=UCLInstituteforInnovationandPublicPurpose [Accessed 21 Jan. 2024].

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