In this essay Barthes seems to be investigating the idea of linguistics and coding in advertisements. He proposes the idea that cultural ideals and environments act as a catalyst to a successful advert.
Barthes often talks about the "semiotic theory"- the study of signs and symbols. He also discusses "epistemology"- a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin of human knowledge, thus exemplifying his thoughts that an advertisement cannot be directed at a broad audience, to achieve a successful campaign or advertisement it has to be taken into account where a person is from, their age and their background.
He asks us of the connection between words and images, should one be more prominent than the other? Or if we use words does that detract from the image?
He discusses the idea that people will look at the same image, yet their interpretation of it can be polar opposites depending on their background. There can appear many connotations from the same image, leading is into his discussion of polysemy.
Barthes essay addresses the idea of design conditioning, the audience you are creating for and the brief. He suggests that you'll never be able to satisfy everyone with a single design as people, no matter how similar, will always develop their own individual interpretation of the image. Barthes then goes on to consider the ways in which linguistics can help guide the viewer, or even manipulate them into seeing the image in a certain way. For instance his example of the fruit and veg at the bottom of a ladder with the quote "as if they were" picked in your own back garden. Although this isn't directly lying to the viewer, by putting the vegetables in a natural, healthy environment with the statement "as if they were", the produce has been glorified and made out to be something a lot healthier and organic than it actually is.
This is where Barthes idea of using language along side and image is demonstrated. Although the main strengths of the advertisement may lie in the image, by using words to glorify the item the viewer can be manipulated into believing that they would benefit from buying it.
How does this essay affect me as a textile designer? Barthes seems to be adressing all areas of design in his essay. Although the content may be different the context and structure seems to be similar though all aspects of design. As Barthes explains a design has to be well considered as with the viewer. Background, age, culture and upbringing are all aspects which need to be explored in order to create a successful design.
Monday, 15 February 2010
Sunday, 14 February 2010
Photo Analysis
Our first assignment of this semester was to gather images of ourselves growing up and swap them with someone in the class who we didn't know well, or not at all.
The task at first seemed quite daunting as we were forced to analyse each other on their surrounding, family and style. Through doing this we were expected to establish a general idea of the way they were brought up and discover aspects of that person that wouldn't necessarily be brought up in conversation.
I did my photo swap with Stephen in Graphics. I found analysing the photos a bit awkward at first as i didn't want to appear be judging or making inaccurate assumptions about his life. Once i finally got into it i managed to let my guard down a little and felt i achieved some sort of understanding of his likes and influences when growing up.
This is the feedback i wrote for him...
One of the photos features what could be your gran and two sisters. On looking at the decor of the house, for example the fire place and arm chair, it seems that you are maybe visiting your gran and that you have quite a close family.
Another of the pictures shows a baby, this could be that you have a much younger sibling or relative.
Two of your photos depict what looks like you and your friends at different stages of your childhood. Sport seems to be quite a strong link between the photos telling me that you were quite active as a child. You and your friends are gathered on a playing field wearing football shirts, possibly part of a team?
It seems as though you had quite a close group of friends growing up and that you maybe influenced each other with hobbies and the way you dressed. By choosing photos of you and your friends i get the impression that you value friendships and enjoy being around other people.
Only one of the pictures seems to have been taken in your home, judging by the wrapping paper this could have been on your birthday. Its quite hard to tell what sort of home you grew up in but the overall impression I get is that you weren't particularly materialistic and that you maybe enjoyed more to be with your friends and take part in sports.
...
After the swap i got some feedback from Stephen, it seemed to be fairly on the mark in that he's influenced by his friends and seems to have quite a big family although he said he wasn't so much interested in sports anymore.
After reading back my analysis from him it was quite interesting to see the points Stephen picked up on about me. He noticed that i was quite outdoorsy growing up and a bit of a tomboy. Also that i have a very close family and extended family who i spend a lot of time with growing up. From my most recent photo taken on my 17Th birthday Stephen noticed that I'd become a bit more girly and preferred standing out in bright colours.
All in all its been an experience, its not often these sort of questions or assumptions jump into casual conversation so to be able to analyse someones childhood gives us an insight to the different sort of backgrounds people come from and what helps them develop into the person they are now.
The task at first seemed quite daunting as we were forced to analyse each other on their surrounding, family and style. Through doing this we were expected to establish a general idea of the way they were brought up and discover aspects of that person that wouldn't necessarily be brought up in conversation.
I did my photo swap with Stephen in Graphics. I found analysing the photos a bit awkward at first as i didn't want to appear be judging or making inaccurate assumptions about his life. Once i finally got into it i managed to let my guard down a little and felt i achieved some sort of understanding of his likes and influences when growing up.
This is the feedback i wrote for him...
One of the photos features what could be your gran and two sisters. On looking at the decor of the house, for example the fire place and arm chair, it seems that you are maybe visiting your gran and that you have quite a close family.
Another of the pictures shows a baby, this could be that you have a much younger sibling or relative.
Two of your photos depict what looks like you and your friends at different stages of your childhood. Sport seems to be quite a strong link between the photos telling me that you were quite active as a child. You and your friends are gathered on a playing field wearing football shirts, possibly part of a team?
It seems as though you had quite a close group of friends growing up and that you maybe influenced each other with hobbies and the way you dressed. By choosing photos of you and your friends i get the impression that you value friendships and enjoy being around other people.
Only one of the pictures seems to have been taken in your home, judging by the wrapping paper this could have been on your birthday. Its quite hard to tell what sort of home you grew up in but the overall impression I get is that you weren't particularly materialistic and that you maybe enjoyed more to be with your friends and take part in sports.
...
After the swap i got some feedback from Stephen, it seemed to be fairly on the mark in that he's influenced by his friends and seems to have quite a big family although he said he wasn't so much interested in sports anymore.
After reading back my analysis from him it was quite interesting to see the points Stephen picked up on about me. He noticed that i was quite outdoorsy growing up and a bit of a tomboy. Also that i have a very close family and extended family who i spend a lot of time with growing up. From my most recent photo taken on my 17Th birthday Stephen noticed that I'd become a bit more girly and preferred standing out in bright colours.
All in all its been an experience, its not often these sort of questions or assumptions jump into casual conversation so to be able to analyse someones childhood gives us an insight to the different sort of backgrounds people come from and what helps them develop into the person they are now.
Monday, 7 December 2009
Assignment 4
The first book I have chosen to discuss further is "Alcohol Problems and Alcohol Control in Europe" by Phil Davies and Dermot Walsh.
One thing that is important to note is that concerns over the over-indulgence of alcohol are nothing new, "Robinson (1977:63) notes that an inscription near the stadium at Delphi, dating from 5BC forbids the carrying of wine into the stadium on pain of a 5 drachma fine." [Page 1]
Different cultures and different times have tried various methods of dealing with the problem: in 1920s America alcohol itself was demonised which resulted in the total prohibition of it. As history shows, this did not eradicate the problem, only hide it under the carpet and produce more problems besides. I found this book helps to demonstrate the ways in which alcohol can be identified as a main instigator for the acceleration of crime rate, particularly in Europe.
[page 49] "About one third of all deaths from road traffic accidents in Belgium each year are attributed to excessive alcohol use." This is a significant problem across all European countries and in France alcohol is thought to be a major factor in 40-45% of all road accidents. This suggests the importance of warning people not to drive after they have been drinking and the extent to which it affects people. It is a common misconception amongst drinkers to underestimate the adverse effect that alcohol has on our physcial reflexes and the speed at which we react. By presenting these facts to the drinker they may think twice about driving a car after drinking. It would be worthwhile for the government to finance an advertising campaign to try and reduce alcohol consumption and binge drinking because of the money they could potentially be saving if it was successful as there are hundreds of millions of pounds spent every year treating alcohol related illnesses and alcohol related injuries from crimes and traffic accidents. Therefore not only would we be improving our health, the economy would benefit as well.
Norway can be used as an example of how strict measures controlling alcohol consumption and rigorous health education have been effective in both reducing the consumption of alcohol and reducing alcohol related problems. Strict government controls have directly reduced alcohol consumption in Norway, hence proving that a combination of education and government measures can affect people's drinking habits. This book is full of interesting and informative facts and the authors have made a fascinating comparison of drinking patterns, legislations and health policies implemented in various countries. However, much of the information is presented in a dry, scientific and not terribly user-friendly manner. Also, the information is not completely up to date and patterns and policies will almost certainly have changed since this work was written.
The second book I have chosen to discuss is "Alcohol Problems in the Community" edited by Larry Harrison.
[page 5] "The fact that it is possible for front-line professionals to succeed in influencing the smoking habit (tobacco is, after all, the most addictive substance on earth) suggests that there is considerable potential to modify high risk drinking behaviours at a local level". This suggests to me that giving advice on alcoholic drinking and warning of the dangers of alcohol abuse should result in the same reduction in alcohol consumption as tobacco consumption. We have already been familiarised with the effects and dangers of alcohol consumption and therefore if the same measures taken to reduce tobacco consumption were enforced on alcohol companies I believe we would see a dramatic reduction in alcohol related crimes and deaths. By depicting graphic images of alcohol related diseases etc. on alcohol bottles people would become more aware of the risks they are putting themselves through and therefore may be more sensible when in pubs and clubs.
The source I am looking at stresses again the extent to which crime can be a direct result of alcohol consumption. The majority of violent crimes are committed by males between the ages of 16 to 24 years and the majority of victims of violent crime also fall into this category. Although alcohol is not necessarily a constant in all those crimes its prevalence is such that the importance of reducing alcohol consumption cannot be overstated.
[page 66] "Evidence from Sweden (Lenke 1990) has indicated that rates of homicides tend to change in accordance with fluctuations in alcohol consumption in Swedish society." Again the point is exemplified that alcohol is one of the main instigators of numerous crimes. Hence I feel that is is very important to implement a system or means of advertising which is going to educate communities and individuals on the potential risk which they are putting both themselves at, and the people who surround them.
[page 62] "The survey by Marsh et al (1986) indicated that youthful intoxication was commonplace. Amongst 13 year olds in England and Wales 39 per cent of boys and 40 per cent of girls reported having been drunk before; 24 per cent of boys and 14 per cent of girls have been drunk more than once."
Although the age group I am predominantly looking at is that of students and people who are more likely to use pubs and clubs as a social scene, I feel that this again demonstrates the severity of the problem in Britain and the importance to begin educating youths, perhaps at a younger age, about the dangers that run parallel with binge drinking. Schools do not tend to offer much advice about drinking and the majority of children tend to learn from older siblings or parents. This way, if a shocking depiction of someone affected by alcohol abuse was used on alcohol bottles, this would more likely scare younger children away from the idea of binge drinking, and therefore cause them to think more responsibly as they grow older.
Although this book helped me in researching statistics and facts about alcohol abuse, I feel that I would also have benefited from looking into the publicity surrounding alcohol and where the media stands in promoting it. The book was written in 1996, although fairly recent it is possible that statistics may have changed as a result of changes in the licensing laws which have been enforced since September 2009. These laws forbid the sale of alcohol on a one day promotion : a promotion now has to be on-going for at least 3 days, which would probably cause businesses to lose money and therefore I would expect promotions to be drastically reduced which would be a good thing in combating binge drinking.
However, at the other end of the spectrum, pubs and clubs who do run 3 day promotions could be seen as encouraging the binge drinking ethic amongst students. This is why I feel further measures should be installed not just in an attempt to cut down on binge drinking but to educate people of the dangers of it.
Overall, both sources were helpful but I feel I would learn more about the subject by looking more in depth into the legislations passed, news articles and more up-to-date books on the subject.
Bibliography
Davies, Phil & Walsh, Dermot "Alcohol Problems and Alcohol Control in Europe" Gardner Press Inc. N.Y. 1983
Chafetz, Morris E. & Demone, Harold W. "Alcoholism and Society" Oxford University Press 1962
Harrison, Larry (ed.) "Alcohol Problems in the Community" Routledge, London 1996
One thing that is important to note is that concerns over the over-indulgence of alcohol are nothing new, "Robinson (1977:63) notes that an inscription near the stadium at Delphi, dating from 5BC forbids the carrying of wine into the stadium on pain of a 5 drachma fine." [Page 1]
Different cultures and different times have tried various methods of dealing with the problem: in 1920s America alcohol itself was demonised which resulted in the total prohibition of it. As history shows, this did not eradicate the problem, only hide it under the carpet and produce more problems besides. I found this book helps to demonstrate the ways in which alcohol can be identified as a main instigator for the acceleration of crime rate, particularly in Europe.
[page 49] "About one third of all deaths from road traffic accidents in Belgium each year are attributed to excessive alcohol use." This is a significant problem across all European countries and in France alcohol is thought to be a major factor in 40-45% of all road accidents. This suggests the importance of warning people not to drive after they have been drinking and the extent to which it affects people. It is a common misconception amongst drinkers to underestimate the adverse effect that alcohol has on our physcial reflexes and the speed at which we react. By presenting these facts to the drinker they may think twice about driving a car after drinking. It would be worthwhile for the government to finance an advertising campaign to try and reduce alcohol consumption and binge drinking because of the money they could potentially be saving if it was successful as there are hundreds of millions of pounds spent every year treating alcohol related illnesses and alcohol related injuries from crimes and traffic accidents. Therefore not only would we be improving our health, the economy would benefit as well.
Norway can be used as an example of how strict measures controlling alcohol consumption and rigorous health education have been effective in both reducing the consumption of alcohol and reducing alcohol related problems. Strict government controls have directly reduced alcohol consumption in Norway, hence proving that a combination of education and government measures can affect people's drinking habits. This book is full of interesting and informative facts and the authors have made a fascinating comparison of drinking patterns, legislations and health policies implemented in various countries. However, much of the information is presented in a dry, scientific and not terribly user-friendly manner. Also, the information is not completely up to date and patterns and policies will almost certainly have changed since this work was written.
The second book I have chosen to discuss is "Alcohol Problems in the Community" edited by Larry Harrison.
[page 5] "The fact that it is possible for front-line professionals to succeed in influencing the smoking habit (tobacco is, after all, the most addictive substance on earth) suggests that there is considerable potential to modify high risk drinking behaviours at a local level". This suggests to me that giving advice on alcoholic drinking and warning of the dangers of alcohol abuse should result in the same reduction in alcohol consumption as tobacco consumption. We have already been familiarised with the effects and dangers of alcohol consumption and therefore if the same measures taken to reduce tobacco consumption were enforced on alcohol companies I believe we would see a dramatic reduction in alcohol related crimes and deaths. By depicting graphic images of alcohol related diseases etc. on alcohol bottles people would become more aware of the risks they are putting themselves through and therefore may be more sensible when in pubs and clubs.
The source I am looking at stresses again the extent to which crime can be a direct result of alcohol consumption. The majority of violent crimes are committed by males between the ages of 16 to 24 years and the majority of victims of violent crime also fall into this category. Although alcohol is not necessarily a constant in all those crimes its prevalence is such that the importance of reducing alcohol consumption cannot be overstated.
[page 66] "Evidence from Sweden (Lenke 1990) has indicated that rates of homicides tend to change in accordance with fluctuations in alcohol consumption in Swedish society." Again the point is exemplified that alcohol is one of the main instigators of numerous crimes. Hence I feel that is is very important to implement a system or means of advertising which is going to educate communities and individuals on the potential risk which they are putting both themselves at, and the people who surround them.
[page 62] "The survey by Marsh et al (1986) indicated that youthful intoxication was commonplace. Amongst 13 year olds in England and Wales 39 per cent of boys and 40 per cent of girls reported having been drunk before; 24 per cent of boys and 14 per cent of girls have been drunk more than once."
Although the age group I am predominantly looking at is that of students and people who are more likely to use pubs and clubs as a social scene, I feel that this again demonstrates the severity of the problem in Britain and the importance to begin educating youths, perhaps at a younger age, about the dangers that run parallel with binge drinking. Schools do not tend to offer much advice about drinking and the majority of children tend to learn from older siblings or parents. This way, if a shocking depiction of someone affected by alcohol abuse was used on alcohol bottles, this would more likely scare younger children away from the idea of binge drinking, and therefore cause them to think more responsibly as they grow older.
Although this book helped me in researching statistics and facts about alcohol abuse, I feel that I would also have benefited from looking into the publicity surrounding alcohol and where the media stands in promoting it. The book was written in 1996, although fairly recent it is possible that statistics may have changed as a result of changes in the licensing laws which have been enforced since September 2009. These laws forbid the sale of alcohol on a one day promotion : a promotion now has to be on-going for at least 3 days, which would probably cause businesses to lose money and therefore I would expect promotions to be drastically reduced which would be a good thing in combating binge drinking.
However, at the other end of the spectrum, pubs and clubs who do run 3 day promotions could be seen as encouraging the binge drinking ethic amongst students. This is why I feel further measures should be installed not just in an attempt to cut down on binge drinking but to educate people of the dangers of it.
Overall, both sources were helpful but I feel I would learn more about the subject by looking more in depth into the legislations passed, news articles and more up-to-date books on the subject.
Bibliography
Davies, Phil & Walsh, Dermot "Alcohol Problems and Alcohol Control in Europe" Gardner Press Inc. N.Y. 1983
Chafetz, Morris E. & Demone, Harold W. "Alcoholism and Society" Oxford University Press 1962
Harrison, Larry (ed.) "Alcohol Problems in the Community" Routledge, London 1996
Sunday, 6 December 2009
Assignment 3:
Cecile A Marczinski, Estee C. Grant, Binge Drinking in Adolescents and College Students, April 2009, Nova Science
This book is a successful source in drawing the distinction between social drinking and binge- drinking. It highlights the realities of drinking in exess and informs us of the dangers of teenage drinking as it can be more damaging to the brain.
The book provides us with hard facts and statistics so is therefore very informative. It is also a recent book, published in 2009, suggesting all the information should be up to date. The source seems to base itself in America, this may be irrelevent in that the medical information e.g the consequences binge drinking has on our brain and our body would be the same, however, to be helping the problem of binge drinking in Britain it may be more effective to use examples closer to home. Quoting British doctos etc so we can gage an aqurate estimation of the severity of the problem in Britain.
www.oxfordreference.com. concise medical dictionary.
Fetak alcohol syndrome: " A condition of newborn babies that results from the toxic effects on the fetus of maternal alcohol abuse. Babies have a low birth weight and growth is retarded; there may be head and facial abnormalities and possibly mental retardation. The greater the alcohol abuse, the more severe the fetal manifestations. "
Although this is not the most substantial source being a dictionary definition, I found it one of the most successful at familiarising me with the problems surrounding alcohol abuse. Despite being simply a definition, it informs us of the facts as they are, and reminds us that by abusing alcohol we could potentially damage the life of another. Although this source mainly addresses women, I feel that informing us that alcohol has the potential to disfigure aunborn child, it obviously isn't doing us any good. The main downfall to this source is the length but otherwise i found it very informative.
Mark Sweeny, Guardian Newspaper, Sep 2009
This article discribles the coalition of 45 companies in order to campaign against binge drinking. It describes the action needed to be take to begin to control the problem. It talks about the British drinking culture in a way that doesn't just describe the issue and deaths caused, but shows that companies are working together and taking the initiative to do something about it by bringing light of the subject to the public eye through imagery and slogans. Althouh this article is usefull in providing us with various solutions to the drinking problem in Britain, it doesn not show us any examples which makes it more difficult to envisage how successful their campaign will turn out.
Mark Sweeney, Brown: Drink Industry Must Learn Lessons, Guardian.co.uk, Wed 21 Nov 2007
This article mainly discusses Gordan Browns motives for reducing binge drinking in the U.K. It describes it as a "cultu issue" which exemplifies the emornity of the problem. The article shows the ways in which Brown questions the alcohol industry and gives us examples on ways in which we could begin to control the situation e.g. no alcohol advertisments on the television before 9pm. The article mainly talks about a meeting which was held "examining the role of marketing in underage alcohol consumption", which is uful in informing us who surrounds the problem and reassures us that steps are being taken against it. However the source is mainly an account of what happened at the meeting and who attended, it does not present us with many facts relating to the topic nor do we get a full insight into the steps planned to be taken. Another problem with the article is that it is from 2007, meaning it is not up to date.
Cecile A Marczinski, Estee C. Grant, Binge Drinking in Adolescents and College Students, April 2009, Nova Science
This book is a successful source in drawing the distinction between social drinking and binge- drinking. It highlights the realities of drinking in exess and informs us of the dangers of teenage drinking as it can be more damaging to the brain.
The book provides us with hard facts and statistics so is therefore very informative. It is also a recent book, published in 2009, suggesting all the information should be up to date. The source seems to base itself in America, this may be irrelevent in that the medical information e.g the consequences binge drinking has on our brain and our body would be the same, however, to be helping the problem of binge drinking in Britain it may be more effective to use examples closer to home. Quoting British doctos etc so we can gage an aqurate estimation of the severity of the problem in Britain.
www.oxfordreference.com. concise medical dictionary.
Fetak alcohol syndrome: " A condition of newborn babies that results from the toxic effects on the fetus of maternal alcohol abuse. Babies have a low birth weight and growth is retarded; there may be head and facial abnormalities and possibly mental retardation. The greater the alcohol abuse, the more severe the fetal manifestations. "
Although this is not the most substantial source being a dictionary definition, I found it one of the most successful at familiarising me with the problems surrounding alcohol abuse. Despite being simply a definition, it informs us of the facts as they are, and reminds us that by abusing alcohol we could potentially damage the life of another. Although this source mainly addresses women, I feel that informing us that alcohol has the potential to disfigure aunborn child, it obviously isn't doing us any good. The main downfall to this source is the length but otherwise i found it very informative.
Mark Sweeny, Guardian Newspaper, Sep 2009
This article discribles the coalition of 45 companies in order to campaign against binge drinking. It describes the action needed to be take to begin to control the problem. It talks about the British drinking culture in a way that doesn't just describe the issue and deaths caused, but shows that companies are working together and taking the initiative to do something about it by bringing light of the subject to the public eye through imagery and slogans. Althouh this article is usefull in providing us with various solutions to the drinking problem in Britain, it doesn not show us any examples which makes it more difficult to envisage how successful their campaign will turn out.
Mark Sweeney, Brown: Drink Industry Must Learn Lessons, Guardian.co.uk, Wed 21 Nov 2007
This article mainly discusses Gordan Browns motives for reducing binge drinking in the U.K. It describes it as a "cultu issue" which exemplifies the emornity of the problem. The article shows the ways in which Brown questions the alcohol industry and gives us examples on ways in which we could begin to control the situation e.g. no alcohol advertisments on the television before 9pm. The article mainly talks about a meeting which was held "examining the role of marketing in underage alcohol consumption", which is uful in informing us who surrounds the problem and reassures us that steps are being taken against it. However the source is mainly an account of what happened at the meeting and who attended, it does not present us with many facts relating to the topic nor do we get a full insight into the steps planned to be taken. Another problem with the article is that it is from 2007, meaning it is not up to date.
Design idea:
I've decided to develop a service design which would help reduce crime as a direct result of binge drinking. It is well known that Britain's "drinking culture" exeeds the majority of other European countries and i intend to look into why this may be and what can be done to reduce the present rate of binge drinking. My idea is to produce labels for alcohol bottles and posters for bars depicting shocking images of people who fall victem to alcohol abuse, crime and injuries as a result of drink driving. I would then juxtapose these graphic and unsettling images with slogans associated with alocol brands, such as the popular "my goodness, my guinness" which was used to promote the beverage. As well as this i would put facts on the bottles about the dangers of over drinking, similar to that of cigarette packaging. Although this is a somewhat simple design, i feel that it would be effective in bringing home to people the grim statistics and facts and therefore help to reduce the crime rate and the huge cost to the national health service.
I've decided to develop a service design which would help reduce crime as a direct result of binge drinking. It is well known that Britain's "drinking culture" exeeds the majority of other European countries and i intend to look into why this may be and what can be done to reduce the present rate of binge drinking. My idea is to produce labels for alcohol bottles and posters for bars depicting shocking images of people who fall victem to alcohol abuse, crime and injuries as a result of drink driving. I would then juxtapose these graphic and unsettling images with slogans associated with alocol brands, such as the popular "my goodness, my guinness" which was used to promote the beverage. As well as this i would put facts on the bottles about the dangers of over drinking, similar to that of cigarette packaging. Although this is a somewhat simple design, i feel that it would be effective in bringing home to people the grim statistics and facts and therefore help to reduce the crime rate and the huge cost to the national health service.
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