Summative Statement

"It is now recognised that for a large number of the elderly, the positive effects of a longer life span have been voided or clouded by the prospect of loneliness, social exclusion and increased vulnerability to physical and psychological abuse. A cultural revolution is necessary in the concept of old age, challenging its degradation as a fiscal burden on the state and younger generations." Silvia Federichi, 2013

My dissertation focuses on the negative effects that current social attitudes towards the elderly population have on the quality of lives, and how this can be challenged using creativity. Western capitalist society disregards the older generations as a nuisance and burden, yet ignores the fact that the ageing population is rapidly increasing and won't go away any time soon. As a result, the quality of their lives is often highly undesireable. Social attitudes need to be changed before the United Kingdom is left with an increasing amount of unhappy and ignored citizens. 

Creative therapies and activities have a positive effect on the older generations lives. They provide productivity, relaxation and purpose. Both dissertation and practical move on to explore various examples of how creativity can challenge this stigma, improve their quality of lives and benefit society for the better. 

The practical project takes form as a proposed campaign for the charity EqualArts, a key case study and part of my primary research. Three A2 digital posters have been created, mocked-up onto various platforms to explain the context of the campaign. Three simple animated versions have also been created. Screenprints of each design have been made to support the themes of the personal creative process and creative responsibility. Design boards display the final brief and outcomes.

This module allowed me to explore screenprinting techniques in depth and help me expand my skillset, as well as working on a more conceptual and thought out brief. It has brought to light my own personal values and shown me the responsibility I have to use my illustrative skills for the better. It has pushed me in ways I never have been before, in terms of research, theoretical understanding, writing, evaluation, time management and organisation (to name a few).

Key Points

Final Design Boards

The final set of design boards. I have tried to keep them as smart and professional as possible by limiting the amount of type on each board, by having an introductory one to get most of the explaining out of the way. I am treating the boards as if I was submitting a real proposal to EqualArts. 

Mockups - Putting the images (static and animated) into context

Printed Postcards

Electronic Billboard - moving image

EqualArts Webpage

Printed Poster Ads

Static Billboard

I have created these mockups to try and give a better visual representation of where the poster designs could exist if the campaign was real. The most important of them is public billboards; I feel as if they would receive the widest audience, even more than on the web. Web banners are great, yet a person is more likely to stare at the image if they are waiting for a bus and it's stuck to the bus stop, as neither of them are going anywhere or focusing on anything else important. 

The combination of print and digital platforms gives the posters the widest window of opportunity to be viewed as possible; there are fewer limitations for where they can now be displayed. I especially love the animated billboard version - this is what would catch my eye the most if I was out and about. 

Mock Webpage for EqualArts

I have created a rough design to show how my illustrations would work on the EqualArts webpage. As they are good at keeping up to date with news of their new projects, they would make a new page for the campaign I have created.

It is based off of the template they currently used and I tried to make it as similar as possible. I'm definitely not a graphic designer but it's a good way of showing the designs in one of their potential digital contexts. 

EqualArts actual current web layout

Final Gifs

The three final gifs. I decided to keep the animation simple, as time is fairly tight now and I didn't want to set myself to big a goal before the deadline. I achieved the animated effect by switching on and off layers, or moving elements slightly in a pattern, saving it each time as a new jpg. - so easy! 

Although the animation is so simple, I think it has it's desired effect on each three of the posters. They have instantly become more eye catching, grabbing the attention of the viewer with the little changes of colour and movements. 

They can act either as web-page banners, or as animated posters on the newer electronic billboards often found in busy shopping and travel hubs. By animating these posters, the campaign has found a way to keep up with advancements in technology and stay young - exactly what I wanted to achieve with a charity supporting the old! If it can stay current and relateable, then there is a higher chance younger generations will want to engage with it. 

Final Posters

I am so happy with the three designs when they are laid out next to each other. I think the colour, type and shape work really well together. The characters do exactly what I wanted them to; to communicate a positive and energetic message, to challenge the negative stereotypes the elderly currently carry. Hopefully it communicates the themes of creativity as well as it does empower the elderly. 

The most successful is "The Non-Conformist"; I think the overlays make it the best design. It's clean, yet still eye catching. The "creativity" type jumps out the most in this as well. I really want to work with overlays like this in the future, especially with screenprint (as they worked so well physically as well!) 

Final Screenprinted Versions

The decision to screenprint supports the theme of personal involvement with a creative activity/process. The prints act as a tangible, hand crafted section of the campaign; flyers in different eye catching colours, ready to stick up on walls in public places. The colour overlays were slightly different to that of the Photoshop tests, but I like the slight difference; they are brighter as screenprint. They also feature textures that couldn't be recreated digitally; they are their own independent pieces.

By screenprinting, I feel like I have finally gotten involved with the argument at hand. To see the finished pile of prints was so satisfying. They have such a lovely feel to them, especially when bunched together in multicoloured piles. I can personally recognise Amabiles "small wins" theory myself; it felt like a big win!

None of the prints are technically perfect, with various smudges and blobs of ink where it didn't expose properly or I printed badly. However, I don't really mind. The digital versions act as the 'perfect'' version, so it's good to get something different. That's how the creative process works! Mistakes are made to be learned from. 

I would love to continue screenprinting using shape and colour overlays in future projects. This has definitely expanded my printing skillset, as I now understand how ink overlays work.

"The Painter" final digital version

The third and final A2 digital version of "The Painter". I tried to incorporate similar overlays to that of "The Non-Conformist" as they were so successful in the previous screenprints. I think this is a good design in the sense it isn't overworked. If I had more time, I would go back and tweak "The Gardener" to be a bit more minimal and considered like this design and the second design. However, they do look great as a set (post to follow!)

Talking some more to EqualArts about my posters