Assignment Two (Part 2 of 4) – Talk To People

For the first part of assignment two I asked people to look at the three images (Assignment Two - Select Random Images) . Asked them to make up a story connecting them in any order they like. Here are my results:


1. Male, Age 21, Art Student.
Gypsy travel to the remote island. When they get there they can’t believe that all tigers on the island are carry guns.


2. Female, Age 21, Criminology Student.
We all live on an island and out of the blue we all have been kidnapped by tigers how all have guns.


3. Male, Age 21, AutoCAD Student.
A group to male gun carrying hunters traveled on a boat to an island. They are planning on hunting the tigers to make a rug from it, to make money.


4. Female, Age 20, Art Student.
People went to a dessert island on holiday to shot some lovely looking tigers.


5. Male, Age 19, Art Student.
A traveler shot himself on his island holiday. A few days later a tiger was really hungry and eat the dead body for a meal.


6. Female, Age 20, Speech and Language Therapy Student
There is a tiger that escaped on an island and the police looking for it where carrying dart guns, ready to tranquilize the beast.

Assignment Two (Part 1 of 4): Select Random Images.

Disney

Honesty did it ever cross my mind while watching Disney Film that there was an underlying message - for example sexism,domestic abuse, undermining women’s independence and much more. Even thought the past two generations have grown up watching and love Disney movie, such as ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Snow White’.

Assignment One - You are my Friend, but do I really know you?

We are finally back at Art College from the Christmas holidays. It's time to get back to some serious blogging.

Our first assignment is to pair up with someone we barely know ("another student who you do not know well"), switch personal pictures of their childhood, and analyze those pictures to understand the other student.

For this assignment, I chose a fellow Interior Design student, Karen Lyttle.In Interior Design we spend a lot of time with each other, but how well do we actually know them and their past!

Karen Lyttle is 21 years old. She was born and bread in the countryside of Northern Ireland. But three years ago she moved to Dundee to study, and she is currently in second year Interior Design after leaving Architecture.

While I was analyzing her pictures, I was looking at every detail such as environment, possessions, influences and taste.

I started by analyzing the youngest photo of Karen. This looks like a school photograph, because Karen’s sisters look like they are wearing school uniform. Karen is wearing a very formal outfit. Karen is located in the middle of her older twin sister, which illustrates that there is a close bond between her and her sister from a young age. Karen’s facial expression makes me believe that this was the first time that photograph like this was taken, and still must mean a lot to Karen as this was the first image she gave me. I could imagine this photography being in a frame in a prime location for everyone to see.

As I am going through the rest of the pictures. I discovered that this was the only formal photograph. This is noticeable due to the background and the formal poses.

This photograph was taken on the beach at Castle Rock. This is a place where Karen and her family used to and still go on their caravan lodge holiday every year. In this image you immediately know that she is with her Mum and Dad. Karen is the focal point here due to the body contact that her mum and dad are giving. From this photo I felt that Karen was closer to her dad rather than her mum. This is very interesting because Karen feels she is closer to her Mum. Karen is wearing casual clothes here that are suitable for the beach.

The next image is taken at the same place as the one before, Castle Rock beach. In this photograph, Karen is with her twin sisters and one of her younger brothers. They had just completed making a rowing boat out of sand. Karen is once again located in the middle. In front of her is her brother who seems to be excluded from the girls or maybe he is just excited to have the photo taken because of his smile. Her sister at the back of the boat also seems to be excluded, this may be due to her thinking that she is too old for all this or maybe she is just trying to get herself into the photo because Karen is in the way.The sister to the left of Karen appears to be the closest to her because of the way she is leaning towards her. It was interesting to find out that that sister is also studying in Dundee even though Karen said she was really close to both of her sisters.

This is Karen 13^th birthday. There are six girls in this image, who all lived on her street, outside a house. Two of the girls are Karen’s best friends and they still are today. This is a very posed photo as they are all in height order holding one another’s hips. It was really hard to pick Karen out of in this because she has dark hair.

In this photograph there are seven girls including Karen. This image would have been taken at Christmas time as there is a Christmas tree in the background on the right. Speaking to Karen, I found out that this group of friends are family friends and also church friends .The dress sense in this picture has changed to much more formal party clothes which makes me think that they are having a Christmas get together.

The last photograph Karen gave me was the most recent. The image is of her and her friends three years ago at Caste Rock in the caravan lodge. The last three photos that Karen has given me have the same friends except they look older in each image.

I feel that this has been a really interesting exercise, trying to analyze people though photos. By analyzing Karen Lyttle I have learnt a lot about her and her past so much so that I feel that I was there. I felt that that these images were a good range of photographs even though there are only six. To analyze her more in depth I would have to see more images of her growing up to more recent photographs, as the most current one was three years ago and she has changed a lot since them.

Edinburgh Culture

Back in Edinburgh to see in the New Year with friends. Once all the snow had fallen I decided to start 2010 with some culture. My favourite gallery ‘The Gallery of Morden Art’ was covered in snow, making Charles Jencks Landform look other worldly. I have never seen it like this before, it was beautiful.

‘Everything is going to be alright’ is in fluorescent lights on the front of the building. This is to promote the current exhibition, ‘ What you see is where you’re at.’ This is a celebration of 50 years of the gallery.

‘The display will reveal the richness and range of the Collection in a series of rooms which aim to delight and surprise.’

I have seen some of these exhibits before but re-hung they took on a new meaning for me. ‘ Nightscape’ by Louise Nevelson is a 3 dimensional piece made up of wooden boxes assembled to reflect the New York nightscape. At first glance if looked a bit random but on reading the description it all made sense and when viewed from a distance I was drawn into it, wanting to touch it. The imagery of a city developing randomly with new and old buildings side by side and the evolutionary nature of a city, old building coming down and new building being built.

Hamish Fulton’s framed poster type text ‘ No talking for Seven Days’ had a big impact on me. It was hung in a prominent place; although very simple it told a story of a journey that a photograph or painting of the remoteness of the Cairngorms could not have told.

The Dean Gallery is exhibiting the BP portrait award 2009. These are the work of amateur artists from all over the world. This is a highly reknowned portrait competition. There were 1900 entries and 56 were selected. The quality is outstanding and some are very realistic and have a photographic quality, but also capturing the essence of the subject perhaps in youth or old age.

A cultural trip is never complete without a trip to Harvey Nichols not for shopping but to look at their window displays. They are in the process of changing their displays. Spiraling wood structure from floor to ceiling of the 4^th floor but as yet unfinished made quite an impact. I think the power tools on the floor were not part of the display but you never know! I will revisit to see the finished outcome.

The Portal eco- shop, St Mary’s Street was closed but I had a nice browse in the design shop in Jeffery Street. Here they had great designs – cool chairs, hot lights, quirky dishes and funky cushions. When I am rich I’ll shop here.

My Designs on Sweden- Christmas Holidays 2009

I was fortunate this year to spend Christmas in Sweden. In the beautiful Arctic town in Åre in Northern Sweden, 630 km from Stockholm. The mountain air has attracted visitors to Åre since the end of the 19th century. At that time the village was primarily a health resort that also attracted people for hunting and fishing. Eventually, hotels were built and the first lift was opened in 1910. The downhill race, “Årebragden”, was held for the first time in 1921, but it was another ten years until alpine skiing was regarded as a leisure activity, after some enthusiasts visited the Alps and imported the concept to Sweden.

Today, Åre is famous as a world-class ski resort with an extensive slope system However, it has also preserved its authentic charm which, along with its mountain location, gives the village an atmosphere that few other places possess. The beautiful mountains, a rich cultural history and a great variety of activities and events, winter and summer, make Åre a living village – all year round.

It was beautiful to see such an unspoilt part of the world. In fact, the local church dates from the 12^th century. I now know what its feels like when the innkeeper said ‘there is no room at the inn’ We tried to go the midnight Christmas service only to be told that the small church with capacity for 120 was full – we managed to squeeze in the back to listen to the service – all in Swedish.

However, it was the design and the care for the environment that really struck me. Sweden is the home to many interesting designs – none more so that the new Copperhill Mountain Lodge at Åre. (http://www.copperhill.se/en/). Copperhill was a copper mine in the 18^th century with the last mining taking place in 1919.

The Copperhill Mountain Lodge was designed by a renowned American architect Peter Bohlin. Bohlin has Swedish ancestry and is today regarded as one of the best in his profession. The architecture firm of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson was founded in 1965 and now has offices in Wilkes-Barre, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Seattle and Berkeley. It has received more than 290 awards. (http://www.bcj.com/). The villa owned by Microsoft’s founder, Bill Gates, is one of their most notable projects in the last few years, where twenty other firms competed for the job. Copperhill is Bohlin’s first project in Scandinavia.

“For me, the intuitive is as important as the intellectual,” says Peter Bohlin. “However different the jobs may be, the challenge is always the same – to succeed in sensing what is unique and suitable for each specific place, and understanding how people want to live or work there. Then you have to realise those needs in a way that fascinates and inspires and works.”

The care for the environment really struck me as well. Sweden does not import oil and is self sufficient in energy with extensive hydro-electric, wind and cogeneration plants which as 99 percent fuelled by pure bio energy from forests as well as nuclear power stations. Even the Swedish approach to airports is impressive with a ‘green approach’ – this means that an aircraft descends towards the airport in a so-called continuous descent approach (CDA) with minimal use of the engine throttle, in order to reduce fuel consumption, emissions and noise.

Sweden has held eco-driving courses with fuel consumption dropping by as much as 20 per cent.

We have a lot to learn in both caring for and using the environment sensitively.

Assignment 4 – Reading and Reviewing

Assignment 4 – Reading and Reviewing

A

Book

The Birth of Internet Marketing Communications – Dan Steinbock

This book is largely a descriptive book about Internet Marketing and is a good source of information on the history of the Internet within the context of marketing communications. It is 328 pages. Steinbock is an academic researcher and provides many observations based on real life insights and interviews with companies where he focuses on some of the key financial issues. The information is comprehensive and I think provides a good reference source.

Journal

Branding and Internet marketing in the age of digital media – Sylvia M. Chan-Olmsted

This is short journal article (4 pages) comparing two academic books – Steinbock’s The Birth of Internet Marketing Communications and Todreas’s Value creation and branding in television’s digital age. It summarizes both books and tries to distinguish between the two media. It is purely the author’s view and interpretation of these books based on their reading, observations, experience and thoughts.

B

The Birth of Internet Marketing Communications – Dan Steinbock

Steinbock is an experienced academic researcher and consultant and in this book he looks at in some detail what he describes as ‘From the Marketplace to Marketspace’. His book is focused on the USA and is a comprehensive reference source based on his real life insights and interviews. It is a history of the Internet within the context of marketing communication. He takes us through in considerable detail the history from the 1950’s to today. He builds on his experience as a ‘virtual professor’ and looks how the market place moves from a fixed location (Marketplace) to a global marketplace (Marketspace) – the World Wide Web. He describes in detail the challenges of this from the issues of location to the financial profitability where he compares the early days of television to advertising on the Internet - both faced difficulty in making money. It provides a summary of his work on Internet-related issues of competitive strategy, marketing management, valuation and industrial economics. He also describes how important the Internet is for technology and business marketing.

Steinbock describes “the disappearance of distance” and the “global reach”. Whilst we think of the global web, when it comes to product development of the buying of goods and services, these tend to be local. Most people in the UK buy their Amazon books in the UK and not Amazon US or Amazon HK. This is not only for convenience, cost effective delivery, but there may be tax or regulatory issues.

Branding and Internet marketing in the age of digital media – Sylvia M. Chan-Olmsted

This journal article compares two academic research pieces - Steinbock’s The Birth of Internet Marketing Communications and Todreas’s Value creation and branding in television’s digital age. It summaries both of the books and tries to draw out some themes - comparing and contrasting the two. Chan-Olmsted gives us a good picture o the Internet as a new medium that is changing the nature of the media marketplace. She discusses the importance of telecommunication and digital technologies and talks about the changing commercial aspects of the mass media

These were very interesting pieces. It really made me start to think about how technology, business and the World Wide Web interconnect with design. We have certainly seen how the Internet has grown and developed and we all now accept this as part of our life. This has had a huge impact on our society.

Under 40’s access all their daily news from the web, most of which is free and not from paid newspapers. This is being hotly debated in media circles as newspaper circulation collapses - down nearly 30% with some newspapers having gone out of business – and the concept of ‘paywalls’ being considered by some and being implemented by others. Some newspapers require payment to access the news – the Financial Times is entirely behind an online paywall and their iPhone app is restricted to only 10 stories per month without a separate subscription. Even some of the local newspapers in the UK are moving in this direction. Rupert Murdoch (Chairman of News Corp) is in a fierce row with Google about removing the links to his newspapers via Google as a result of his agreement with Microsoft and their search engine Bing.

This brings into sharp focus the whole debate about free access to the World Web Web. Today if you have a computer and a communication link, then you can access a whole free world of the Internet. Both Steinbock and Chan-Olsted fail to tackle this issue. It could be argued this is now part of the evolution of the web, but it is a debate that will not go away as the early source of funding development was through advertising. We see this in particular through the social networking sites – Facebook and Twitter, which rely on advertising revenue. As we are now in a difficult economic climate, advertising revenue is falling away and the loss of revenue is challenging many companies. It is interesting to compare this with the early development of television as Steinbock discusses

“Interestingly, advertising agencies have also expressed concerns over the profitability of the new media, both in the 1950’s when television became a mass marketing vehicle and in the 1990’s when the Internet emerged as a new kind of advertising channel’

We are even seeing the check-in desk at airports disappear as people check-in online and print their only boarding passes at home. This development pushes the cost and the responsibility on to the individual and helps the airline to manage its cost base more effectively. This may even influence the future design of airports – are large check-in desks/areas required? This is only possible as a result of low cost access to computers by a significant number of the population and high-speed communication lines – the arrival of broadband has been revolutionary.

“Superbrands” (Cave 2009) discusses the Virgin Group and its brand. It charts the development of the brand and looks at the diverse areas it covers from trains and planes to multimedia and mobile phones. The group have been hugely successfully in embracing new technology and have now the status of being one of the most trusted names world- wide. As Cave comments:

“In line with its digital content, Virgin Media has been creative in the use of online advertising to drive consumer perceptions and brand awareness.

The business made its first foray into in-game advertising with the appearance of posters in online games. It also sponsored the web drama ‘Sam King’ which integrated into the plot key messages about its Mobile Broadband and V Festival Sponsorship”

Virgin has used advertising very effectively and intelligently to develop its brand and brand values. Virgin has from its beginning adhered to brand values associated with fun, value for money, quality, innovation and brilliant customer service. It was interesting to read about the development of the seatback televisions in economy class and also the full flat bed in business class – tipping points for the industry and the market place. It is truly where technology, innovation, brand and design all come together.

C

Steinbock and Chan-Olmsted’s work and research is very focussed on the US with little reference to the UK market. However, in order to understand the development of the UK market, it has been extremely helpful to gain a clearer understanding of the development of the Internet and the marketing in the age of digital media. The Cave article clearly articulates how Virgin has used this advertising very effectively to develop the brand, its clients and a diverse range of businesses where a core value has been on innovation. This is in contrast to the challenges faced by the newspaper. Further research into customer buying behaviours would be interesting to pursue.

D

Bibliography

1) Balk, A. (26^th October 2099). ‘ A Graphic History of Newspaper Circulation Over the Last Two Decades’. Available: http://www.theawl.com/2009/10/a-graphic-history-of-newspaper-circulation-over-the-last-two-decades

2) Cave, A. (27^th November 2009). ‘A Special Report About Superbrands.

Daily Telegraph Newspaper.

3) Chan – Olmsted, S.M (2002) Journal Tile: ‘Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media’,

Volume: 46, Issue 4. Article Title: Branding and Internet Marketing in the Age of Digital Media

4) Steinbock, D (2000). ‘The Birth of Internet Marketing Communication’. Quorum Books.

Below are Mind Maps of my thought process: