Alternative Packaging: Sanitary Products

Some Pun-tastic Period Products!

From my recent research into aesthetic impact on packaging, I'm going to continue to try out some more fun and light hearted approaches to packaging of healthcare/cosmetic products from the packets that I have been collecting. I need to decide pretty quickly whether I'm going to take this forward in a more professional sense for my final practical outcome or not...

Practical Response: Peer Review Two

Reflection of Progress

I went into todays session feeling extremely stressed about my practical work. This is because I was having a hard time trying to write my essay and submit a full draft yesterday, and still didn't manage to finish it. As well, I couldn't find my practical proposal and brief that I spent ages writing out last week, so I have to do it again which is super annoying!
Getting the balance correct between practical and written work for COP is something that I urgently need to make sense of if I am to progress any further. I was aware that I haven't made the most of the opportunity to exhaust my ideas through practical experimentation, so this is something that I will prioritise this week and try my best to put all of my energy into. I can summarise the progress on my COP so far as 'patchy'...as Fred would say. 

In all honestly I'm frustrated that I feel like I didn't utilise the session today to the extent in which I could have done if I would have spent even a few more hours just getting my practical ideas onto paper, although I was able to keep my head above water holding onto the faith I have in the re-branding of contraceptive medicine  that I tested last week. 

In these situations, where I am struggling to stay afloat with my work (and sanity), I sometimes find it easier to make sense of prompts and suggestions from others. This is helpful when I'm stuck in a tunnel-visioned anxiety ridden state of mind, an external perspective helps me to piece my ideas together in a clearer sense, giving me the confidence to make decisions in terms of my work.

Peer Feedback

6A1: Knowledge & Understanding/Critical Awareness

• Looked in depth at advertising in the contexts across a range of historical dates
• Perhaps look at adding shock and empathy to the final outcomes-link back to earlier research
• Research more into the wording in adverts
• Research into the current NHS issues- funding, diet pills etc?

6A4: Knowledge & Understanding/Innovation

• Strong connection- making a product that would be featured in the advert
• Perhaps focus on how you would market and advertise it as that is the main focus of the essay

6B1: Cognitive Skills/Problem Analysis

• Lots of reference imagery clearly guiding work 
• Look at moving image adverts and perhaps and what features they include to engage the audience
• Look at audience and context- where would this pill be displayed/sold?

6C1: Practical & Professional Skills/ Research

• Media experiments and thumbnails needed
• Select quotes from essay/theorists and align with practical work

Key Transferable Skills/Visual Quality/Resolution

• Well organised and planned- you can see the logical steps made to make the proposed outcome
• What is the context/how would you present the final piece?

Online documentation and evaluation of the project

• Strong understanding of what I'm doing
• Asking questions- giving depth to work

The proposed outcomes to the project

• What exactly is the final piece, is it adverts?
• Is it a product? For a gallery?
• What is the tone of voice and its purpose?

Task: Make a mind map plan with a clear idea of what to do:

This is much as I could do before crying (again). I'm just filled with dread about the whole thing. It seems like I'm so far off from where I should be in all areas of COP that I don't see myself submitting a body of work that reflects the amount of work and effort that I'm trying so hard to put into this project.

I haven't made a detailed plan from now till the deadline because I just can't bring myself to think that far ahead at the moment. I've given myself the rest of this week to solely focus on my COP practical, and just getting to a stage where I'm more grounded with a clearer sense of direction.

~PLAN FOR THIS WEEK~

This evening: Calm down. Breathe. Do some yoga/eat loads of chocolate and just get my head straight.
Tomorrow: Get my blog up to date, get every thing that I have done on there
Wednesday: Practical day (I cancelled my ambassador shift because I'm stressed and this comes first)
Thursday: Practical day
Friday: Practical day
Saturday: Day off (my Ma is visiting)
Sunday: Practical day

Second Peer Feedback

My group were so supportive and helpful, and gave me some great pointers.

• I could look at a utopian/dystopian world and how drug use intertwines in different ways
• I could do more of a fine art approach/instillation with the happy pills idea
• DON'T JUST SETTLE FOR AN IDEA TO TICK BOXES, DO SOMETHING AMBITIOUS, BECAUSE YOU ARE CAPABLE
• I can use digital application for the pills; I don't have to make the whole thing
• Make a list of ideas and cross off the shit ones
• "Let the pen be your guide"
• Look at Louise Lockhart- mimic vintage styles with mono print textures/collage

LETS GO!

Primary Research: Healthcare Consumption Questionnaire

I decided to write out a primary research questionnaire to gain an insight on how influences from the media in terms of marketing healthcare/cosmetic products can alter the perception of self.

I initially wrote out 20 questions in hope of gaining a more qualitative response, but then I realised that you have to upgrade to premium on survey monkey to ask more than 10 questions...rightly so though, as people probably would have lost interest after a while.

The highlighted questions are the ones that I chose to put forward:

What is your age?

What is your gender?

What is your occupation?

Scale of 1-10, how would you rate your general health? 1 being extremely unhealthy,10 being extremely healthy:

Scale of 1-10 how would you describe your outlook and attitude in terms of positivity? 1 being extremely pessimistic, 10 being extremely optimistic:

Do you have any long term health conditions, or have you had any long term illnesses/injuries that have disrupted your day-to-day ability to function normally? If so, please state:

Do you currently take any prescribed medicine? If yes, please state (including contraceptive pills):

How much on average do you spend per month on health care/cosmetic products?

List three of your favourite health care/cosmetic products and state why they are favourable:

Would you say that your choice of brand reflects on your personality/values?

When trying out a new product for the first time, what is likely to be the main persuasive factor? Word of mouth/recommendation or influence from advertisements?

In a scenario where you experienced a bout of short term pain such as a headache and decided to purchase an over the counter painkiller, would you be more likely to purchase a well known brand such as Neurofen or a supermarket/pharmacy own brand?

Have you ever been in a situation where you have felt disinclined to buy a particular healthcare products due to its aesthetic appearance? 

Do you remember any of healthcare/cosmetic products that you had as a child, or remind you of your childhood? e.g. ‘l’Oreal Kids’ shampoo, ‘Calpol’ etc. Please state:

Please state the most memorable television advert that you have seen which promotes healthcare/cosmetic products, e.g. ‘Aquafresh family song’, ‘Gaviscon- what a feeling’: 

Do you have any idols/celebrities that influence the way that you style yourself? If so, who and why?

Are of these icons are associated with any brand of healthcare product that you regularly purchase?

Have you ever experienced feelings of self-consciousness or insecurity in response to advertisements in the main media?

Have you ever received negative comments about your health or general appearance? If so, please state:

Do you currently use any products that you would classify as being ‘dependant upon’? e.g. wouldn’t leave the house without taking/applying it? Please state:

I figured that the more lengthy/qualitative questions would be more appropriate for a one on one interview or something. Nevertheless, I gained 52 responses that were really valuable. 

(I plan to read through these in more detail tomorrow as I need to submit my essay by midnight!)

Critical Incident

Discontinuation of researching children

I have reached a point in my research where I feel that placing as much emphasis on the child as a motif as I initially intended, is no longer relevant in my direction of study.

Although it has been really interesting to see how children are used within advertising to create shock, empathy, and more 'black and white' responses from audiences, I have realised that it doesn't align with my search into self-actualisation ideals on such a grand scale. 

The research I have undertaken so far on this area will not be completely dismissed, and I won't see it as wasted time in hindsight because it has been extremely helpful. It is just one of those constricting actions that you have to take to really get to the root of something, and in this case, the way that children are used in advertising is not my root.

Tutorial Four

Todays tutorial mainly consisted of discussing the problems I'm having my with my essay, i.e. getting the structure correct and narrowing down to a conclusion that aligns with my practical work.

I'm struggling a LOT with the essay writing just because my research so far has been really broad and I'm finding it difficult to narrow it down and conclude everything to a relevant point. Additionally this is making my anxiety worse meaning getting into a negative cycle of worrying about work, having no confidence in it, getting overwhelmed, getting behind, and worrying even more. AHHHHHHHH!

But its fine, everything is under control...sort of. I'm just going to try my best to bash out all of the content I have researched into my essay draft that is due in for this Sunday, and go back and make adjustments later on, rather than being so meticulous about it now.

On a positive note, Pete really liked my practical work!! I'm so relieved I've actually taken a step in doing some good work, finally. He agreed that I should expand on what I have already done , and really exhaust the process. But I'm still unsure of what the final outcome will actually be, but it is something to think about.

Exploring Imagery in Cosmetic/Healthcare Marketing

To gain more ideas for my practical response, I put a request around at college for the disposal of any medicine/cosmetic/cigarette packaging to look at how the language and imagery has the power to persuade and influence.

The majority of the responses consisted of cigarette packets, but I did find some packaging for the contraceptive pill, antidepressants etc, which is a good place to start.

So what now?!

Make art from it of course! (when I'm not spending all of my time doing my essay)

Where to start? I've already looked at the use of children in anti-smoking campaigns, and how the aesthetic of the packaging is becoming standardised across all brands in the hope of discouraging the habit. 

I decided to work from a different viewpoint by taking the contraceptive pill as a starting point to explore the ways that it is marketed and campaigned about:

• The contraceptive pill was introduced in the UK in 1961 for married women only. In 1967 it became available to all women, married or un married.
• In this mid-century period, women were expected to get married and start a family in their twenties; sex before marriage was heavily frowned upon
• In the US, birth control was illegal for married couples until 1965, and 1972 for single people
• During the great depression there was an array of absurdity into products that were used for contraception. For example, women used Lysol cleaning products to prevent pregnancy because it killed male sperm, but was also extremely dangerous to women health, in some cases resulting in death

• Adverts and campaigns for contraception are less mysoginistic and oppressive towards women today, thankfully. Many are lead by the NHS, FPA (family planning association) and condom brands such as durex.
• Some modern advertisements and campaigns take more of a 'tongue and cheek' approach to communicating with and informing audiences about safe sex, not forgetting some of the heavy text based 'straight to the point' ads produced on mass.

FPA Campaigns; using fashion trends as a metaphor

Heavily text based NHS ads, clever leaflet design though!

Humorous Durex Ads (condoms are cheaper than children)

How is this relevant?

Having just spieled off a number of different approaches to marketing contraceptives with visual imagery, if you're reading this you're probably wondering how this relates to my research question...?

The pill was first introduced in 1961, but was still exclusive to married women. In this time, women were very much still victim to oppression, having the blame placed on them if they became pregnant. 

WHICH ISN'T OKAY!

The synthesis here, is that women may have perceived themselves to be doing something 'shameful', 'unfaithful', or 'inhumane' if they were to take the pill in the 60's/70's as a result of being victimised by the way that it was marketed. Women wouldn't have had a leg to stand on in that era if they were labelled as being non-conforming, therefore wouldn't have wanted to be associated with such brands of pills.

Today, marketing of contraceptives isn't as sexist and demeaning, and taking them is deemed as a responsible and safe action for women. BUT, I believe that this doesn't really reflect in its dull, clinical packaging. I'm aware that medical packaging does't always have a purpose to be beautifully crafted and designed by a graphic designer or illustrator, but what if it was?! People should't be ashamed to take medicine that has, or has in the past had a stigma attached to it; 

I wonder how people would perceive themselves and others judging by the way that drugs are actually packaged?

When I think of a healthcare/cosmetic brand that glorifies femininity, I immediately think of 'Soap and Glory'.

• It has that 50's pin up girl, dainty charm-BUT WITHOUT BEING SEXIST
• Celebrates being a woman!!
• The packaging is hilarious, full of puns and euphemisms

I spent the afternoon trying to come up with some fun 'soap and glory-esk' names and packaging ideas for the contraceptive pill:

I actually had a really fun time doing these! I definitely want to have a go at doing some more designs and concepts around the theme of different medicines, and as well apply them to mockups of packaging and methods of advertising too. It will be interesting as well to maybe look more into how different people perceive themselves in relation to medication they take, and record it in a sort of social documentary style.

But now, back to essay writing! (send help)

I'm Stuck...Again!

Here I am again shedding tears over my exhausted/confused mess of a research project that I am struggling to even write 1000 words about (updated word count: 433). I've been sat in one of the cosy study rooms in the library for 4 hours now just contemplating the whole reasoning behind my research over and over again until I have reached a point where I'm thinking that I'm not actually that interested in what I am doing... which is not good news.

I've done a lot of thinking over the last week about why I actually want to be an illustrator and what I want to say, which has been somewhat unclear within the last few months. I've realised that I have been going along with many ideas and prospects of briefs and projects that I think I should be doing instead of trusting my gut, and worryingly I believe that COP3 is now becoming that. I can't explain how frustrating this is and how much it is knocking my confidence even further, but I am so so determined to keep going with this! Yet I am aware that time is ticking by. ARGH!!!! 

One of the reasons why I am feeling pretty anxious and kind of upset about COP is that I don't really feel that it is very 'me', which is ironic because I've spent the last two weeks fretting over not knowing what I am good at or clearly interested in within my creative practice.
But relatively speaking, I feel like I am taking on more of a creative advertising project, which is fine because it is something that interests me, but the output is looking more of a graphic design solution(which isn't me at all!).

There is only two weeks left until the next peer review, which means only two weeks left of research, and two weeks left to figure out what on Earth I am actually doing! (Wish me Luck)

Tutorial Three

In today's tutorial Pete and I went over the structure of my essay plan, to refine the strength and purpose of what I intend to write.

Chapter One

• Theories of self-actualisation
• Theories of communication
• Look at the way that health care is consumed; e.g. vitabiotics, yakult etc
• Communication design of ads and packaging
• How these ads influence self-actualisation and the perception of self, and wanting to be your best self

Chapter Two

• Packaging communicating actualised self
• Smoking,(counter argument) 
• Painkillers, self medication, amphetamines
• Choose three images to talk about
• Relate these images to theories in first chapter. Also relate to theories against so that it creates a counter argument/critique

Chapter Three

• SEMIOTICS; discuss the weird and the wonderful
• Use of certain symbols, e.g. glasses and a white coat=clever
• Start with questionnaire
• Start with self-actualisation
• What motivates people?

Practical

• Re-brand some products
• Say what they do
• Use the message to present method and products honestly
• What is actually in some things?

RELATE ALL OF THIS TO HEALTH CARE!

Conclusion/Plan of Action

I'm feeling more confident with the content of my essay, and more reassured that it actually makes some sort of sense and links together. As with the practical, I am still a little unsure of where I am going with it, but the best solution is to continue experimenting with child-like making processes and language to come to an informed conclusion on the connection between imagery and perception of self. 

Research: Children in Advertising Campaigns

I've been asking myself a few questions in terms of using the child as a motif to create empathy.

Would people have different opinions to controversial ads if they were created from a child's perspective/used children within them? (images on the right were recreated by me)

Does the use of children in Government campaigns create an increased  sense of guilt? Do they actually get people to change their behaviour e.g. driving safely?

In the last few weeks of my research I have been looking into whether the use of children within advertising creates a more empathetic impact on audience viewers. But I am finding it hard to connect the dots with this and self actualisation, I just see them as two totally separate topics, and it doesn't really make sense to try and write about, and continue investigating both of them.

I'm currently trying to write out the main bulk of my essay before it is due to be submitted as a draft in three weeks time. Perhaps I'll figure things out along the way through practical research, but I think this is one of those points in the development of my research that I have to choose a more narrow path to focus on in order to come to a more realised and appropriate conclusion.

Eureka Moment!

I typed up my evaluation of yesterdays peer review before I went to bed, so naturally I couldn't sleep for ages because I was contemplating what I could do to resolve the problems I was having in terms of where my research was going. Focusing on the most fundamental questions, 'what do I care about?', 'what am I interested in?' and 'what do I want to find out', I was able to clear the fog a little and have a solid reflection on everything that I have been doing so far.

I got my notebook out and literally just jotted down everything that came into head and tried to piece things together, and I think that I have finally made sense of things!

Refined Essay Structure

Title: (rough) Investigating into how the interpretation of imagery can create a subconscious shift in the perception of the self.

Subquestion: How illustration and methods of visual communication used in the mainstream can inform and shape personal behaviour, attitudes and goals. (This will need tweaking though)

First chapter: Existence and behaviour 

• Maslow, motivation, self actualisation
• Herzberg
• Skinner (pain avoidance)
• Freud- ego, id, superego
• HOW DO THESE SIT IN MODERN DAY?! : Consumerism, elitism, reason for being

Second chapter: Analysis of images from the early 20th century to today. Looking at the differences and highlighting key themes

• Beecham, Holloway (all images from Thackray)
• Smoking adverts vs stop smoking adverts
• Images used today in advertising campaigns and product sales in relation to maintaining good health
• Identify how children are the common theme

Third chapter: The child as a motif

• Human centred design; use of children inform learning, understanding, development and reflection
• How a child perceives topics of difficult/misunderstood nature. Raw and honest, highlight how powerful this is
• Sensitivity, nostalgia and empathetic connection with audience

Practical investigation: designing from a child's perspective Concepts for packaging and advertisements for products which supposedly boost our perception of self (and often exploit adults)

For example:

• Medical packaging 
• Beauty products?
• Cigarette packaging
• Alcohol

So my idea will need refining between now and my tutorial on Tuesday, but I'm SO relieved that I am starting to make sense of things and feel motivated to drive this project forward.

Practical Response: Peer Review One

This has been the week that I have hit a hard brick wall and literally burst into tears whenever I think about COP. In hindsight this has probably been due to the pressure of being asked to submit 3,000 words today (which I didn't manage) when I was still so unclear of what I was actually aiming for within my research, and reflecting on my practice as a whole after my tutorial with Matt yesterday, (see Studio Practice page).

Having this dip in mood and productivity has increased the awareness of my flaws so far and how I need to address them. It's frustrating, but feeling as if 'I haven't done enough', or 'I'm going in the wrong direction', and just generally having doubts about the work I am doing is just in my nature, as well as an impending fear of the unknown. Although strangely, in the periods(the almighty two hours) where I have focused on practical work I have 'let go' a little more for once and just been more expressive and confident on my visual thinking and recording process. Perhaps the drawing and visual exploration is the side of my research that is flashing red and telling me to pay more attention to? (Going with my gut feeling is something that I am working on!) 

Today's peer review was difficult as I was feeling so deflated and grumpy, to the point where I just wanted to pack my bags and go home and sulk. But I stuck it out and found it really helpful, thankfully! Yay for small victories! 

Amber and Naomi gave me some really positive constructive feedback which put things into perspective and pushed me in the right direction.

 

Tomorrow I will try and discuss with Pete about what I have been thinking about this week, although I'm not sure this will be possible as I have bombarded him with emails entitled 'HELP', 'COP STRESS' etc...sorry Pete! 

It's important too that I take breaks from thinking about COP, because I know that I will end up running myself into the ground again if I sit at my desk and try to make magic happen with it. Here goes!

HELP!

So I'm meant to have 3000 words of my essay done for tomorrow. Out of the 738 I have attempted to squeeze out, none of them are remotely good/make any sense, and I only have about 3 practical drawings. Also it might be a good time to mention that I don't really know what I'm actually writing about and whether I actually care about it. In other words I have hit a huge brick wall and have no clue how I'm going to resolve it and just feel like I'm not getting anywhere with COP in general.

I've just ran myself into the ground trying to think of areas that would make a good essay and my brain has turned to mash potato, and I can't even think of what else to write!

Introduction (so far)

Clearly outline the topic you are investigating and explain to the reader why this is an important area to study

Within this dissertation the researcher will discuss the implications of using children as a powerful tool within advertising campaigns to achieve a more hard-hitting impact on a mass-scale audience.It will also consider the level of effectiveness in advertisements designed to create a sense of empathy with the aim of changing consumer behaviour. The overarching theme of this study is to explore the extent to which social responsibility impacts on the role and function of illustration, which has lead to a development of interest in how the use and structure of imagery can be used to serve a persuasive purpose. 

Clearly state the overarching research question of the project

The relevance of identifying the level of audience response is important in recognising effective methods that could be applied to future campaigns aimed at tackling a variety of social issues. It also highlights the effectiveness of past campaigns that have implemented behaviour which shows within comparative statistics, often showing a substantial level of improvement.

Outline how you are going to investigate this project (your methodology). This might include highlighting key primary and secondary research methods, including visual, practical, and textual research methods

Reference will be made to texts relating to consumer behaviour, empathy, powerful imagery as well as above-the-line advertising campaigns, often in the form of television commercials, that use children to manipulate and guilt-trip the audience into taking a specific course of action. 

Identifying key persuasive methods used in visual advertisements through the early 20th Century in relation to promoting health care products has stemmed the investigation into the history of social and self-perception, and more specifically looking at drive and motivational factors that individuals aim to achieve a level of self-actualisation. 

The research methodology is centred around the relationship between illustration, advertising and achieving self-actualisation, and how the role of children can act as a vehicle to shift audience perceptions in response to a social issue.