Printing, Propaganda, and Martin Luther

Journal Entry 6

     There are two different kinds of design there is the advertising marketing side of it and then there is another side where it is a little bit more real. I kind of equate it to music where you have an underground genre like punk in its pure form. It becomes a little bit more popularized and then it becomes watered down when it comes to the masses. There this tight knit culture that was created by people and it becomes part of the greater culture but as it becomes more popularized, pop, it becomes more watered down. I feel that advertising is a form of watered down culture. It depends on the stereotypes, schemas, and euphemisms that were created a long time ago based on the underground culture that I feel is eroding away and all we have on top is all this massive noise. 
     Advertisements are trying to stand out in the visual clutter by creating more clutter.Everyone in the advertising business is using the same tactics to compete against each other. This way of advertising is not creating a diverse visual language for the consumers. When different advertisements are using the same techniques and mediums they all look the same to the consumer. When bombarded with the overflow of visual pollution from ads the average consumer will just stick with buying the product that they know, in most cases that would be the most established brands of major corporations. Visual pollution must make it even harder for smaller companies to be seen. It is inappropriate to be considered as a consumer all the time.

     Unless you live in the middle of no where you cannot go anywhere without encountering some sort of advertisement. Ads have penetrated into our daily lives. they have been customized for us based on our demographic, what we search online, the credit cards we have and more. We have to remember that our public space is for everyone not just for the use of advertisers. People truly identify themselves with brands. The images and messages sent in ad campaigns shape and mold the identity of the consumer. Advertisers should be acting responsibly with the consumer and viewer in mind when creating ad campaigns. Advertisements are in a way role models for the consumer they idolize the lifestyles portrayed in these ads. Imagine if we didn't have advertising to idolize, how would that effect society? Would it make us more self assured about our own identity's not feeling like we have to live up to the ideals portrayed in advertisements?

     In our society if something is not profitable it is not valuable. We as a society need to learn to value things other than money as valuable. Money is really a placeholder that eases the exchange of goods and services. Somehow money has become the goods, we spend money to advertise profitable goods (not necessarily quality goods) in or der to make money. Ridiculous. 

Journal Entry 5: Public vs Private

Paint My House

"We're looking for homes to turn into billboards. In exchange, we'll pay your 

mortgage every month for as long as your house remains painted"

This advertising stunt blurs the line between public and private. The fact that someone came up with this idea and actually thinks it is ok shows our numbness to the inundated nature of advertising in our culture. Its sad that this company claims they were inspired to do this to help people in our bad economy. If they have enough money why not just pay their mortgages out the goodness of their heart instead of using the private home of others for their own profit and economic gain. 

Branded For Life

*Tattoo must be permanent and provided by a professional third-party tattoo artist operating in accordance with applicable laws. Multiple tattoos does not entitle the consumer to more than one 20% discount. Not valid on bulk buys. Offer valid only in Marc Ecko Cut & Sew and Ecko Unltd. store locations in the United States and Puerto Rico. Open only to individuals 18 years of age or older. Employees are not eligible to participate in this promotion. See store manager for details. Other restrictions may apply.

I think the Huffington Post says it best for this one, "Lesson to be learned here: even if you go so far as to literally brand yourself, you'll spend the rest of your days buying $29.50 hoodies for $23.60 to cover up that bad decision on your arm." This shows how people truly identify themselves with brands. The images and messages sent in ad campaigns shape and mold the identity of the consumer. Advertisers should be acting responsibly with the consumer and viewer in mind when creating ad campaigns. Advertisements are in a way role models for the consumer they idolize the lifestyles portrayed in these ads. Imagine if we didn't have advertising to idolize, how would that effect society? Would it make us more self assured about our own identity's not feeling like we have to live up to the ideals portrayed in advertisements?

Journal Entry 4: This Space Available

"Billboards and commercial messages dominate the public space like never before. Can we reverse this visual pollution? This Space Available looks at diverse activists from the worlds of advertising, street art, and politics. Influenced by the writing of Marc Gobé ( Emotional Branding ), his daughter Gwenaelle directs with tremendous verve in her depiction of New Yorkers and others around the world who want to reclaim the integrity of their cities against an onslaught of visual pollution."

Trailer from This space available on Vimeo.

This Space Available is a documentary film that recently came out. It is so new I could not view the film in it entirety because it is not available yet, however there was plenty of clips and interviews and written material on their website to fully understand their message. In my research I came away with a few key points.

- Advertisements are trying to stand out in visual clutter by creating more clutter.

Everyone in the advertising business is using the same tactics to compete against each other. This way of advertising is not creating a diverse visual language for the consumers. When different advertisements are using the same techniques and mediums they all look the same to the consumer. When bombarded with the overflow of visual pollution from ads the average consumer will just stick with buying the product that they know, in most cases that would be the most established brands of major corporations. Visual pollution must make it even harder for smaller companies to be seen.

- Protecting the identity and image of a city is crucial, advertising taking over public space destroys that image.

Each city has its own individual identity through various things like the architecture of buildings, famous and historical landmarks, artworks, and more. These things make up the visual personality of the city an directly effect the personalities of the citizens. When the structures of the city are diminished by the advertisements plastered on them, the message in the ads influence the identity of the city and its citizens. 

- It is inappropriate to be considered as a consumer all the time.

Unless you live in the middle of no where you cannot go anywhere without encountering some sort of advertisement. Ads have penetrated into our daily lives. they have been customized for us based on our demographic, what we search online, the credit cards we have and more. We have to remember that our public space is for everyone not just for the use of advertisers. 

- In our society if something is not profitable it is not valuable. 

We as a society need to learn to value things other than money as valuable. Money is really a placeholder that eases the exchange of goods and services. Somehow money has become the goods, we spend money to advertise profitable goods (not necessarily quality goods) in or der to make money. Ridiculous. 

Studio Journal Entry 3: Anti Advertising Agency

Their Mission: 

Outdoor advertising has become unavoidable. Traditional billboards and transit shelters have cleared the way for more pervasive methods such as wrapped vehicles, sides of buildings, electronic signs, kiosks, taxis, posters, sides of buses, and more. In urban areas commercial content is placed in our sight and into our consciousness every moment we are in public space. Over time, this domination of the surroundings has become the “natural” state. Through long-term commercial saturation, it has become implicitly understood by the public that advertising has the right to own, occupy and control every inch of available space. The steady normalization of invasive advertising dulls the public’s perception of their surroundings, re-enforcing a general attitude of powerlessness toward creativity and change, thus a cycle develops enabling advertisers to slowly and consistently increase the saturation of advertising with little or no public outcry.

The Anti-Advertising Agency co-opts the tools and structures used by the advertising and public relations industries. Our work calls into question the purpose and effects of advertising in public space. Through constructive parody and gentle humor our Agency’s campaigns will ask passers by to critically consider the role and strategies of today’s marketing media as well as alternatives for the public arena. Our work will de-normalize “out-of-home” advertising and increase awareness of the public’s power to contribute to a more democratically-based outdoor environment.

Our work may result in traditional advertising formats – signs, posters, postcards, and stickers – or more conventional artistic formats – performance, installation, artists books – or some combination of the two.

Light Criticism

AAA Portable Sound Units

While researching this project I came across an interview with a teacher who showed her students pictures of various trees in their neighborhood that they see on a daily basis. The students could not identify any of the trees or their locations. However, when she showed them pictures of just one letter of the advertisements in their neighborhood they could name the product and the location of the ad. It makes me wonder how this visual pollution is polluting all of our minds, including the most influential minds of children. Advertising does not discriminate or use discretion we are treated as consumers everywhere we go, I wish I could go somewhere and not try to be sold something.

Studio Journal Entry 2: Art & Copy

I watched the documentary Art and Copy I really liked it. It gave me some incite into the advertisement business. Some points I took away were that designers and advertisers are very powerful people, pretty much 4 companies control most of the advertisement we see, there fore we see what they want us to see, and consume what they want us to consume. A powerful enough add can take a nobody and turn them into a somebody in a matter of hours. For example Tommy Hilfiger was no one before a risky add campaign basically saying that he is the next big designer. The risk paid off and he basically became an overnight success. Anyway there are tons of things I took away from this film but the one quote that stuck with me was, "advertisement is like air and water it is just around us." When I heard that I immediately thought of the quote I blogged about last week, "Helvetica is like air it is just there." These quotes just made me think about all the time spent into making advertisements and design eye catching and attractive. I don't know how to put what I am saying into words yet but its something like there is this contrast between consumers noticing advertisement and just tuning it out. There is a connection with advertisement and media and the natural elements. Is advertisement and media becoming a natural element to us? Will it continue to be integrated so much into our society that we consider it a natural element? We rely on it so much for communication, could it become some kind of life source? Will we eventually not know how to communicate without it? I think this could be an interesting topic to explore for thesis. I am just going to write down my train of thought for my own use:


Helvetica: "Helvetica is like air it is just there."


Art&Copy: "Advertisement is like air and water it is just around us."


earth, water, air, fire, media

Studio Journal Entry: Helvetica

I am doing an independent study in design and concentrating on typography. I had my first typography assignment due which consisted of hand drawing 17 different type faces. While executing this tedious task I obviously had typography on the mind and came to the realization I know absolutely nothing about it and as a designer that just seemed wrong. So I rented the movie Helvetica, I had heard good things about it. It was definitely interesting and one quote in particular really stuck with me, "Helvetica is like air, it is just there." It is so true it is everywhere, literally, we see it so much and so often we don't even notice it anymore. But now after watching this movie it is all I see it is even on my automatic lock and window buttons in  my car. This movie has now made me forever perceptive to the helvetica type face that has taken over visual world. And while I can appreciate it for what it was and is, helvetica is fast becoming to me that friend who at first was cool but is around too much and now I am sick of them.