Chuah Kwai Pin / 0348376
Design Principles / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Project 2: A Sense of Place
LECTURES:
How does visual analysis work?
1) Observation
- Closely looking at and identifying the visual elements of a design
- Describing them carefully and accurately in one's own words without reading any background information beforehand.
- All about looking, thinking, and finding good language to communicate what has been noticed.
2) Analysis
- Requires one to think about their observations and try to make statements about the work based on the evidence of the observations.
- Think about how the specific elements identified in the work of design and how they are combined together to create a whole, what effect it has on the viewer.
- Observations, description, and analysis of the work are fused with facts about the design work (or designer) and historical context that is found in trustworthy published sources.
- What is the meaning of the design? What was the purpose for it be created.
INSTRUCTIONS:
A recap of Project 3 brief
- Students are to assess, investigate, document and analyse a design material (billboards/television commercial, movie clip, work of design) of their choice.
- After the 3 phases of observation, analysis and interpretation, students are required to produce a work of design, inspired/influenced by the one they studied on.
Your design process:
- visual analysis
- idea exploration and description
- final outcome in PDF and short rationale
- feedback given by the lecturer
Project 2: A Sense of Place
Visual Analysis
After watching the pre-recorded lecture, I had an idea of what I
would like to focus on for this project. I went onto Pinterest to
look for some design works that would reflect on gender inequality
and found this illustration by Nahid Zamani who creates a lot of
meaningful cartoon illustrations. I have picked this one out of
the many others that she has created because it left a strong
impression on me the moment I saw this artwork. I believe that
this simple illustration on its own speaks volume about the gender
inequality faced by many others in this world.
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Title: Career Perspective
Artist: Nahid Zamani
Year: 2021
Size: 2480 x 3154 px
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This design work has been illustrated in a portrait format. In an
overall look, it is a colourful design with bright colours like
red, yellow, green and blue which stands out from the dull
background. There are 2 main subjects, a girl and a boy featured
at the centre of this design. In addition, the space is divided by
subtle lines to show a clear separation. Within the divided space,
there are more visual elements illustrated and they seem to be
uniforms commonly worn by professionals in a specific career. On
the left of the design, there is only one piece of clothing,
whereas on the right, there are more pieces of uniforms being
displayed.
Phase 2: Analysis
This design is asymmetrically balanced. The weight of the visual elements are in the ratio of 1:2 where
it is heavier on the right side compared to the left creating contrast in terms of space. An emphasis
has been given to the 2 subjects, the boy and girl in the centre,
by increasing the light and lowering the shadows so that it looks
the brightest compared to the rest of the elements. The direction
at which the 2 subjects are facing (movement)
also leads one to focus from the left to the right of the design
where the girl is looking towards the right, and the boy is
looking up. As the focus shifts, one will be able to see the repetitive sets of different uniforms aligned symmetrically. There is a good sense of proportion
between the boy and girl and the uniforms being displayed on the
walls.
Phase 3: Interpretation
This is an illustration created by Nahid Zamani, an Iranian cartoonist, near the eve of November 25 which was also the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (Zamani, 2021), I find that the illustration highlights a very important topic that relates to the inequalities faced by the 2 genders when it comes to career opportunities. In the composition of the design itself, there is a hint of inequality implied in the difference in space for the girl and the boy. Seeing how on the left side where the girl is standing, her side of the wall only has one lonely piece of clothing which does not reveal any specific type of career. On the other hand, the right side where the boy is looking is filled with recognizable career uniforms such as astronaut, doctor, firefighter, chef and more.
Not only does this design relate to career options, it also
touches on the topic of education. As we look into the details of the 2 subjects, boy and girl, the
girl is dressed in simple, loose clothings whereas the boy is
dressed neatly while carrying a schoolbag and some books. This
shows that the boy is given a chance of proper education unlike
the girl who can only look towards the boy's direction in envy.
The main purpose of this illustration is to remind the world that
there are still many girls who are deprived of their right to
education. According to Zamani (2021), the right to education is
not just about going to school but is about the right of having
dreams, being able to imagine about a better future, and trying
hard to make those true. Which is why in the illustration, the
wall on the girl's side had no career uniforms because their lack
of education restricts them to have a dream for their
future.
Reference:
Reference:
Zamani, N. (2021). Career Perspective.
https://cartoonmovement.com/cartoon/career-perspective
Visual Research
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| Fig. 2.1 Gender Inequality in Working Environment, Source via Pinterest |
After doing the visual analysis of the artwork by Zamani, there were 2 main focuses of gender inequality which was gender inequality in working environment, and gender inequality in educational environment. For this project, I have decided to focus on gender inequality in working environment. To start off, I have research a few visual representations of gender inequality relating to both genders. What these 3 illustrations have in common is the differences in how these 2 genders are treated in the same workspace. The male gender seemingly has an easier and less struggling way of getting to the top, whereas the female gender has to put in a lot of hard work and effort to climb to the top.
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| Fig. 2.2 Gender Inequality in Wage Gap, Source via Pinterest |
As I was researching on the gender inequality in working environment, I
realise that there were also some illustrations that highlight the differences
in wage gap between both female and male employees. However, I also notice
that there are not as many artworks specifically covering the unequal pay
given to the genders compared to the artworks highlighting gender inequality
in working environment. To back up my understanding, I did a quick research on
the gender pay gap especially in the US.
According to Barroso and Brown (2021) and the Pew Research Center analysis,
in the year of 2020, women earned 84% of what men earned. This percentage
has been measured based on the median hourly earnings of both full and
part-time workers. Looking at this estimate, it has been said that women
would have to work for an extra 42 days to earn what men did in 2020. Hence,
with this evidence, I have made up my mind that the focus of my artwork will
be on Gender Inequality in Wage Gap.
Reference:
Barroso, A. and Brown, A. (2021).
Gender pay gay in U.S. held steady in 2020. Pew Research Center.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/05/25/gender-pay-gap-facts/
Idea and Exploration
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| Fig. 3.1 Inspiration for idea |
For my idea, it was inspired by one of the visual research image (Fig. 3.1)
where the figurine of the 2 workers, male and female are being sold at
different prices. That illustration itself highlights the differences in
wage gap especially in the part where both selling items have similar
components, just that the figure sold is of different gender. In addition to
that, the prices for both items have a difference in $3 as well where the
female figurine is being sold at 30% off the price of the male
figurine.
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| Fig. 3.1 Idea 1 |
With a similar concept in mind, I wanted to show the 2 working genders as figurines in a claw machine. The idea with claw machine is that it is sometimes very difficult to fish out what we want from the pool of items. In the first sketch idea, I have split up the 2 genders into 2 claw machines. On the left side where there will be male figurines, each playing chance costs $30 whereas on the right side with female figurines, each playing chance costs $25.
Although it costs less to fish out the female figurines, the claw machine
is still very much filled with them. On the other hand, the claw machine
with male figurines is so much emptier. This shows that people who have
played the claw machines favour the male figurines more than the female
figurines even though they costs $5 less.
In a more implicit context, it actually represents our current working
society. To explain gender inequality where most people would favour the
male figurine more, part of the reason is actually due to gender
discrimination as well. According to Coffman, K.B. and Exley, C.L.
(n.d., as cited in Gerdeman, 2017), employers favour men not because they
are prejudiced against women, but because they have the perception that
men perform better on average at certain tasks. Hence the reason why
people would still offer a higher salary to hire male workers compared to
female workers.
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Fig. 3.2 Idea 1, variation 2 |
In this second variation, I have combined both the male figurines and
female figurines together. The only difference between the second
variation and the first is that the price for a chance to play is the
same. This further highlights the gender inequality and discrimination
faced by the female workers as in the artwork, the male figurines are
still much more favoured compared to the female figurines.
After Week 13's Feedback
After Week 13's Feedback
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| Fig. 4.1 First sketch idea |
In my first sketch idea, I have split the artboard into 2 sides to show the
differences between the 2 genders. On the left side where the female worker
is working late until night, she earns way lesser than the male worker on
the right side who is seemingly establishing a strong bond and trust with
the boss. Although this idea does show the wage gap between the 2 genders, I
felt that it does not show enough of the workforce to justify the
inequality.
For my second idea, I thought of showing inequality in wage gap literally by using a dollar bill since it is after all related to money. I thought of portraying this in a tug of war concept where both genders are on each end of the dollar bill. On the left side, the male worker can be seen tugging the dollar bill with ease as he is wearing a relaxed expression. On the other hand, the 4 female workers on the ride side can be seen struggling and pulling with all their might only to get a smaller portion of the dollar bill compared to the male worker. I felt that this idea conveys the gender inequality in wage gap in a simple but straightforward and literal manner.
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| Fig. 4.2 Second sketch idea |
For my second idea, I thought of showing inequality in wage gap literally by using a dollar bill since it is after all related to money. I thought of portraying this in a tug of war concept where both genders are on each end of the dollar bill. On the left side, the male worker can be seen tugging the dollar bill with ease as he is wearing a relaxed expression. On the other hand, the 4 female workers on the ride side can be seen struggling and pulling with all their might only to get a smaller portion of the dollar bill compared to the male worker. I felt that this idea conveys the gender inequality in wage gap in a simple but straightforward and literal manner.
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| Fig. 4.3 Third sketch idea |
In this third idea, it is similar to the second idea above as it also shows
quite literally the gender inequality in wage gap. From the top, there are
two hands that can be seen giving out the money. These hands represent their
bosses. Besides that, there are 2 main subjects featured in this sketch, on
the left side there is a female worker and on the right side is a male
worker. The male worker can be seen holding a basket that is almost triple
the size of the female worker, which will allow him to collect more money
than the female worker who is struggling with the small basket. Not only
that, there is also a difference in the ground that both genders are
standing on. The female worker can be seen standing on a lower and much
bumpier and steeper hill, whereas the male worker is standing on a flat and
steady plateau. This also shows the amount of struggle and effort that has
been put in by both genders to reach their current position.
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| Fig. 5.1 First attempt (Combination of 2nd and 3rd idea) |
After Week 14's Feedback
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| Fig. 6.1 Final Outcome |
Rationale: This artwork has been designed to portray the gender inequality in wage gap and further highlights the difference in
struggles and hardships of each gender in the working environment. In this
design, there are 2 sides illustrated differently for each gender. On the
right side, the female employees can be seen struggling to climb up to the
mountain top. In contrast to that, the male employee can be seen taking an
elevator on the left side to reach the rooftop with ease. I chose their
standing ground to be a tall stable building for the male employees and a
rocky mountain for the female employees. A tall and stable building usually
gives off an impression that it is secure and sustainable, which resembles the
jobs given to male employees. Whereas the rocky and steep hill shows that it
is unsafe and unpredictable, which hints at the journey of the female
employees in doing their jobs.
I kept the idea of using the dollar bill as a symbolism of "wages". On the
right side, there are more female employees tugging on the dollar bill than
the only male employee on the left. This is to show how difficult and how
small of a portion the female employees earn in comparison to the male
employees even though they are already trying so desperately hard. With just
one hand holding onto the dollar bill, the male employee still gets the larger
portion even when there is not much effort put into it. This is to show gender
discrimination and gender inequality in wage gap, whereby female employees are
paid much lesser than male employees for the same jobs.
FEEDBACK:
Week 12
Visual Analysis:
Remember to cite the author after the "International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women" phrase. Change "Iran" to "Iranian" and also change "career choices" to "career options" because career is given to them, not for them to choose.
Remember to cite the author after the "International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women" phrase. Change "Iran" to "Iranian" and also change "career choices" to "career options" because career is given to them, not for them to choose.
Week 13
Fig. 3.1: The research is well done but the claw machine idea does
not show the workforce between the 2 genders. Maybe can try to
explore with something else that represents "wages", could be
something like a suitcase. The second sketch idea (Fig. 4.2) has a
good portrayal of gender inequality through the tug of war with the
dollar bill. The third sketch (Fig. 4.3) could also work, the male
worker can even be lying down to show that he is very relaxed and at
ease.
Week 14
Fig. 5.1: Can add a small details to the suitcases that the male
workers are holding. Make the top of the suitcase bigger and add
some notes sticking out.
FINAL OUTCOME:
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| Fig. 7.1 Final Outcome- Gender Inequality in Wage Gap |
REFLECTIONS:
In these 4 weeks of completing Project 3, I have done quite a lot of analysis and learned so much about the topic of this project. While I was doing my visual research, I realised that there are so many existing artworks on inequalities that I have never seen before. It was quite fascinating to study how inequality was expressed through arts and visuals without needing to read a passage of explanation to understand it. It made me realise that pictures can really speak a thousand words. I have also done some external researches to back up my topic of interest which was gender inequality in wage gap. Although I have not experienced this gender inequality personally since it usually takes place in the working industry, I tried my best to express my artwork in a way that working adults who have faced this sort of gender discrimination will understand. Overall, it has been a very fruitful project as I have brainstormed and learned a lot throughout the process of creating my final artwork.
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