COP 3: 1st Tutorial

Discussing my project with my tutor was really useful in that it reined in my idea, and honed in on what I was actually interested in as I often go off on tangents and find it hard to decipher what it is that I need to focus on.

So originally my question; What is masculine design? 

It was far too broad and in my presentation I spoke about Chinese masculinity, the toxicity of masculinity and the effect it has on mental health, but little about packaging design which was supposedly my practical outcome. However I realised that I had little genuine interest in packaging design and it would make sense to play to my strengths and passions, which as of late have laid in film and animation.

Practical Outcome: hand drawn animation 

The reason for choosing this medium can be justified as its a metaphorical extension of the lack of understanding we have surrounding masculinity; therefore as if through sign language or mime, a visual representation of masculinity through hand drawn animation accentuates the break down of communication men often face as they're wrapped up in these masculine ideals which can lead to mental health issues and even suicide.   

With this I have a new essay question as I focus more on masculinity and the social and cultural factors: 

How can we raise awareness of toxic masculinity through visual design 

COP Presentation

This limited edition of Cards Against Humanity was coloured pink and sold for £5 more than the original box. This campaign was to highlight the inequality of gender specific products, most of the time which are literally just more expensive because they're pink. The extra money was donated to charity supporting pro choice women get into government. I love the branding, this 'uber-feminine' colours, imagery is a perfect example of injecting humour into politically or socially charged design.

I showed this clip from The Mitchell and Webb look sketch-show as a source of my inspiration, especially for the practical outcome.

I really want to highlight the toxic effect masculinity has on men, this campaign from CALM #ChangeThePicture highlights how pictures posted on social media don't always show the whole story and can leave viewers feeling isolated and pressured, however these 'perfect moments' shared online may well have not such a perfect backstory, are staged in order to uphold this persona of perfection.



In this final slide I discuss my practical outcome. Having originally wanting to explore an 'uber-masculine' contextual approach to design, I turned it around after having a one to one with my tutor as they made me realise it would be more appropriate and useful to me to focus on design I would like to explore upon leaving uni. Therefore I've chosen to do (possibly packaging design) that transcends gender, assumptions of 'masculinity/ femininity' and plainly focuses on the product, in essence, gender neutral packaging. This is very topical in the design community at the moment as we move away from gender assumptions throughout all social contexts, I'm furthermore passionate about this and instead of making something to mock masculinity, this seems to be a lot more progressive.


FEEDBACK

Feedback from my presentation was really positive which was brilliant as I was concerned I had fallen behind due to personal circumstances, however my interest in this project is spurring me on and I find I'm quite good at researching especially topics surrounding gender and identity as I've always been passionate about it. Focusing on the lack of data on minorities they found interesting as it is always a Western dominated perspective so I will definitely explore this in more detail and possibly use this book I got the wen-wu quote from on Chinese masculinities.

I need to think more about the practical outcome and it's relation to my essay, in terms of what purpose/ message do I want to convey and consider a different medium I'm more experienced with.

Cop 3 Proposal: Masculinity

Research Proposal 

For Cop 3 over summer I read up about masculinity, defining what it is I wanted to explore for my final essay I chose something I knew little about but not nothing at all. I've previously studied issues surrounding gender, feminism and the concept of 'femininity' but never have I looked at the the concept of masculinity.
Relating this to graphic design, I chose my research question:

What is masculine design?

Over summer I read through texts relating to masculine theory and looked into colour theory in the context of masculinity. Looking deeper into how masculinity is analysed I found most data I was looking at was related to Western men from a Western perspective. Highlighting a lack of research into minorities I found the 'wen-wu' masculine ideal prominent in Chinese culture fascinating, a term barely even documented as it's an ancient practice so engrained and assumed by their culture there is little written evidence of it's nature. In basic terms this refers to a man that is strong, committed to his country/ government and is capable of resisting sexual urges, a quality not shared within most Western cultures as men are often assumed to be sexual beings and women their sexual objects. The strength of man however seems a desired attribute shared amongst all cultures and contexts. Considering these differences I need to make it clear masculinity alters between different cultural backgrounds.

This assumption of 'masculinity' I find most interesting as like gender I already believe this is a social construct. Looking at this from a designers perspective I want to unpick what makes design 'manly', so conveying stereotypical desired attributes including physical strength, wealth, heteroeroticism and mental strength. All of which through mental health research has proved damaging to the point where the male suicide rate:




So, things I need to consider are

Masculine Construction
Race & Culture, different backgrounds (homosexual, ethnic minorities etc.)
Colour
Shape
Typography

Conclusion: highlighting the often negative impact the construction of masculinity can have on men from different cultural backgrounds and how design visually increases this paranoia, a summary of what is 'visual masculinity' in design.


PRACTICAL OUTCOME

For my practical outcome I aim to assess what it is that makes something 'masculine', gather all these elements and enhance them to ridiculous proportions, creating an 'uber-masculine' piece of design work, wether that be an over the top video advert promoting the manliest of razors or a package design promoting the most masculine whey powder, emphasising the need for men to bulk up.