Week4: Literature

My initial research this week was to look into the creation of my Phase 1 pdf – I’m aiming to cover all bases here and utilise as much research as possible to ensure the development phase is as detailed as possible.

I really need to focus my research question – How far do I go? How much research do I do into the topic as a whole before chipping away at the question at hand?

The above excerpt taken from Robson’s book Real World Research, it’s clear that taking an idea or project brief from something you’re already interested is a good start – and I’m definitely doing that! At the moment my research question is fairly tenative but that’s ok. So long as I accept it’ll change over the coming weeks, it’s ok. It’s also interesting to read Mckenna, quoted in Robsons book:

Considering this closely, it reflects with Alec’s lecture, that fact and fiction both are written from a viewpoint, that even documentaries are written with an agenda in mind. Personal opinions and viewpoints can sometimes outweigh the objectivity needed for a project based around facts and data.

My research question needs to be framed carefully, it needs to be clear and central to it’s purpose but it also needs to be quite succinct albeit a tad ambiguous in order for my project to have flexibility and be able to develop.

I’m going down the route of looking at how graphic design can bring communities and specialists together under one roof to appreciate the issues surrounding climate change and the effects this will have on future generations. Because my main focus is accountability and recognising the changes that need to happen, the question needs to reflect this.

I looked into Ethnographic research but I don’t yet know if this is something I’ll be looking into – I’m not aiming to understand a specific culture or community group,. but I will be observing people discussing this topic at length, observing intergenerational discussions around Climate Change.

Robson had some really interesting chapters about Surveys and I’m just making a note here so I remember to go back tpo that information when I begin to formulate questions to put to the different groups.

I’m panicking slightly about not having a Graphic Design specific focus – as in I’m not really creating any branding, or doing much design work, but perhaps as the project continues this will just be an organic process and my design work will fit in nicely. I’m more looking toward “designing for change” or to make a difference within communities.

But on the other hand, look at Forensic Architecture and Dunne&Raby, their work isn’t primarily Design focussed in the traditional sense, but focussed around exhibitions, shows, observational situations. Design doesn’t just have to be branding etc, it is looking at Design as a cultural, community focussed tool to help improve our lives.

Take the Guardian Weekly cover in Feb 2019, Kids Vs Climate Change… This rode on the back of Greta Thunberg making her mark and it’s about the kids. Kids who marched and protested, kids who didn’t go to school for the day to help the world understand that they mean business. Kids who didn’t feel it necessary to go to school and invest in their future if therre is no future to be had. I think a lot of my work will predominantely work towards children and their opinions on the matter, I want their voices to be heard, it’s this generation that will have more to worry about as the years progress and at the moment, they’re not the ones who get to make decisions.

Glimpse is another amazing source for positive design that’s not specifically or traditionally typical design. They are a collective of creatives who work to make the world a better and mroe positive place. The sheer amount of work they do together is incredible and I’ve added their details to my contacts list to see if I can have a chat with them about their work and the premise of designing for good.

Another example is the Tedx Countdown – this is acting as a consistent countdown that never changes, the onus is on us, and we need to be accountable and make a change. It’s also a vast and rich resource for Climate Change information.

Manzini wrote that to get people actively involved in making a change, makes a difference. This isn’t just static design telling people what to do, it’s getting them invovled and hands on in the process. Make people see that they’re directly affected and you’ll see changes happen. Social Innovation. it’s a process where collectively, communities work together to makea change.

Social innovation based scenarios were also covered in Manzini’s book and I found it really fascinating to read about the successes on community based work by creating semi-truths/hybrid-realities and involving communities to create these exhibitions. It’s storytelling and it’s an enabler for social conversations, it gets people involved, in the same way situational art gets people involved. It’s not jsut exhibitions or good design, they’re conversational prompts and that the bit that makes a difference.

There is a lot to unpick here and it’s a lot of seriously helpful information to inform the creation of this project brief. I want it to be correct and I want it done right, with the right resources, information and references to make a strong and compelling brief.

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As with last week, I’ve been constantly looking at how I can improve my own knowledge of climate change and I spoke to my sister who, as an Investment Advisor at Investec, she’s working with predominately “green” companies to advise large corporations where to invest their money. There’s a huge issue currently looking at pension pots that are funding inappropriate businesses and majrity of people don’t know what their pension pot is funding. Again, this accounability is vital – it’s reminding people that they have a choice. That we don’t just have to sit back and accept that a huge amount of money is being invested in the wrong companies, fuelling palm oil production, funding coal manufacturers etc.

The first thing she told me to read was the latest Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector – this PDF is dense with data and facts and detailed information about the changes urgently needed to be net carbon zeero by 2050. This NEEDS to happen, it’s not a best case scenario, it’s our only way out of the mess we’ve got ourselves into.

Another resource recommended was the podcast Outrage+Optimism. This podcast looks at the dire situation we find ourselves in but takes this depressing reality and injects some hope of all the new changes that are being made. I’ll be listening to this over the next few weeks and perhaps get involved in someway or (again) add it the list of contacts to attempt to speak to!

On another note, I’ve emailed Dan Baines at the York Design Week to get more information about how I could get involved with YDW and perhaps set out a framework for future exhibitions… Watch this space!

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Bibliography

Dunne, A. Raby, F., 2013. Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming. Cambridge, MA: MIT. Website: www.dunneandraby.co.uk

Forensic Architecture: https://www.forensic-architecture.org/

Manzini, E., 2015. ‘Part 1 – Social Innovation and Design’, in Design, When Everybody Designs: An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation [ebook], Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp.7-74. Available: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/falmouth-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3339947

Robson, C., 2002. Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner researchers (Links to an external site.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishers

http://www.itsnicethat.com. (n.d.). Welcome to Response and Responsibility, a look at creativity and climate change. [online] Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/features/response-and-responsibility-introduction-miscellaneous-260619 [Accessed 21 Jun. 2021].

http://www.itsnicethat.com. (n.d.). How documentary can make the world better – and Greta – again. [online] Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/response-and-responsibility-make-the-world-greta-again-film-030719 [Accessed 21 Jun. 2021].

Ted.com. (2020). . [online] Available at: https://countdown.ted.com/.

http://www.itsnicethat.com. (n.d.). This week’s Guardian Weekly is a climate change special designed by children. [online] Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/guardian-weekly-climate-change-cover-print-150219 [Accessed 21 Jun. 2021].

Glimpse. (n.d.). A creative collective for the new culture – Our Philosophy. [online] Available at: https://weglimpse.co/our-philosophy/ [Accessed 21 Jun. 2021].