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Author: Adela Julisova
The resource I was reacting to in this brief is an extracted text from “Under Surveillance: Being Watched in Modern America” by Randolph Lewis – The author speaks to people who share their experience with surveillance, and the social and emotional implications of living in such a society. For my experiments, I extracted 4 quotes of people talking about their experiences.
Extracted Text from the book
I’m always aware that I’m being watched, even when I’m just walking down the street. It’s like there are eyes on me all the time, and it makes me feel like I don’t have any privacy.” (p. 53)
“These cameras are supposed to make us feel safe, but they just make me feel more anxious. I don’t know who’s watching me, or why. It’s like I’m always being watched, even in my own home.” (p. 102).
I felt like I was being watched all the time, and it was affecting my behaviour. I was paranoid and anxious, and it felt like the cameras were judging me. I felt like I couldn’t be myself.” (p.72)
“I don’t know what they’re looking for, but it feels like they’re always watching. It’s like being in a fishbowl.” (p.96)
Experiments 1 – Posters
Experimenting both in digital space and through publication to follow my iterations.
1st experiments and iterations – digital space. Using the extracted quotes, I created a set of digital posters.
Iteration: Moving posters
Creating gif and recreating the designs into moving, engaging posters
Experiment 2 – photographs + 12-pages long booklet
A few days before the tutorial, I started collecting photos of surveillance around me, later on I also started using the “fish eye” lens to mimic the characteristics of CCTV cameras, to give the viewer the 360 degrees feeling, later on I used the photos in a combination with the chosen quotes to create 12-pages long publication.
The Publication:
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2.1 – Written Response
Find the written response for the Unit 2.1 Positions Through Iterating brief below:
WEEK 1: In the first part of my iterations I was trying to use graphic design to communicate a narrative that was exploring individualism, identity, and a sense of belonging to a society, living under the feeling of being examined, judged.
W1 FEEDBACK + NEW DIRECTION: Following the week 1 the feedback, I got a new thread to explore regarding the idea of being watched in the modern society. My research opened up interesting topics about surveillance in everyday life and how that impacts individuals and the society as a whole.
W2 ITERATIONS: In this weeks iterations, I tried to use my established visual direction and create designs that communicate the life in the surveillance culture in which we engage in our everyday life, being a part of surveillance society and how that can affect individualism. I tried to focus on detail of being watched and how little details change under the impression of being watched. I used the iterations to create stop motion video and also publication.
THE RESEARCH
Surveillance culture (A concept / term founded by David Lyon)
= A culture where surveillance is integrated into everyday environment. Daily use of surveillance technologies and practices in modern society.
We as ordinary citizens constantly ad routinely make sense of / respond to / initiate surveillance through technologies. That can lead an individual to a suspicion, fear of control, it can affect a sense of belonging, security and safety. (Lyon D., Surveillance Society: Monitoring Everyday Life, 2007)
NEW ENQUIRY
Exploring the use of graphic design tools to understand the role of identity in the modern society, exploring the social and emotional implications of living as an individual in a technology and surveillance culture, to draw attention to the presence of surveillance in everyday life and to challenge viewers to rethink their assumptions and attitudes towards surveillance culture and rethink their own role in this society. The focus is put on the social and emotional impact of living in such society and the way it affects their everyday lives and minds and how to visually represent that.
Future exploration: Using the right tool / method to explore the topic. I can imagine working with people and their own experience of living in such society, exploring their stories, opinions and experiences.
The snippet of my work, that I decided to explore further was from the methods of iterating brief. In the brief I was exploring how I can challenge the flat narrative of Risograph by effectivelly using it’s characteristics to bring an engaging design, and create an illusion / revealing effect. I chose to work with blue and red as they don’t only bring physical features such as the red light being the major balancer for blue light, but for me it raises the questions of contrasts, emotions (blue – calmness, positive emotions / red – anger, heated emotions) and tension.
How can design be used to reveal something? The truth / the other side / the unspoken / the unseen / important messages. What kind of topic can be revealed?
After the first explorations, I wanted to expand the visual direction, and I added another photo/s, to continue my exploration, and using the person as an object, I started realising there is a shadow of narrative being created behind the iterations.
I started thinking more into depth about next steps, and started revealing questions connected to individuality, working with the idea of one’s identity being in the “ocean” of other identities. More I was leaning towards the 100 iterations, I realised I was (unintentionally) making the iterations more personal. After finishing the set, I realised I was slowly revealing new questions and started giving the iterations some meaning. During the process I got from exploring the shapes, colours and how they interact together into reflecting my personal narrative exploring individualism, identity, and a sense of belonging to a society, living under the feeling of being examined, judged.
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1.5 Written Responses
The Methods of Contextualising written response was divided into two parts.
- Individually written statement on the project
- A set of 6 references developed as a group
For the fifth brief, me and members of my group (Rada, Shavonne) decided to work with a collection of stamps issued by Finnish postal service in 2014 featuring illustrations from a Finnish homoerotic artist Tom of Finland.
To start the process, we begun exploring the stamps, researching on the V&A website and taking notes. We had an active discussion over our opinions and positions.
For my position, I was not surprised that the idea coming from one of the North European countries, as it is viewed by Czech as a developed, modern part of Europe. In my opinion, Czech could potentially once see this as a possibility, but in the future, maybe a few years. I personaly think the timing of Finland’s project was a bit inconvenient for the rest of the Europe, and that it came a bit “too soon”. I think the time for such project would be now as my generation is the loudest and keen to fight for change and raise the topic on social media.
I wondered what the “affect/reaction” would be if such stamps were produced now? In 2023 when people openly talk and share topics of sexuality and gender.
Find the whole process below:
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