OUGD401 Evaluation

This module has helped me to understand graphic design at a deeper level and gain knowledge on how it has effected past political and social events. I really enjoy looking into the history of design especially WW2 which has always been an interest of mine. A weak point of mine has always been writing essay's critically however this module has made writing an essay a more easy task through study tasks. I found the Cop lectures in this module both interesting and important to my development in this module and my others. I really enjoyed the practical aspect of this module because I could use my research and essay to help inform my design decisions which I believe made my outcome better than what it would have been prior to writing the essay. I also was able to screen print my outcome which worked better than digital print and I found this was also good for mass production. Next year for cop I will explore more to do with my interests in publication design.

Final Outcome and Evaluation

Overall I think that my final outcome is strong as a piece of propaganda, I used influences for WW2 propaganda to make a modern day design be strong and powerful. I picked a topic that has been a focus in the media and a subject that is controversial as my subject as I wanted to focus or a current affair and make a poster that can help people be safe. My choice of image stands out and represents that true person who is behind the culture and religion. I experimented with colour until I found the blues that represented the message I wanted to put across. I put my statements in the font Avenir Next Bold as I wanted it to stand out and be easy to read from afar. I also wanted my statements to be straight to the point and not take much attention away from my image along with the use of white space. The production method of screen printing also means my poster can be reproduced in mass at a lower cost on any paper or material. Overall my modern day propaganda poster turned out as planned and I would work well in modern urban environments.

How my Poster links to WW2 Propaganda

There are many links in my propaganda poster to the propaganda used in WW2 England and Germany. Something that I found in my essay that I found important to include in my own propaganda was a memorable slogan, propaganda's purpose is to put across a strong message. The statements tell you what is expected and what you must follow and never seem like an opinion. Thats why I made my states 'Syrian Refugees Welcome' and 'Everyone deserves a home' as if they are true facts, when it is known that everyone in the UK does not believe in this or want them in the UK.  WW2 Propaganda could also be controversial in its purpose, this was something I targeted when showing the Niqab and the girl behind it. This meant that my poster was not just showing immigration but about the UK's problem with muslim headwear.
Something else that stood out in WW2 propaganda was the use of people on the posters usually of leaders, soldiers or more interestingly Aryan Children. I decided to use the image of a muslim to mirror how Germans used the image of a perfect Aryan child. This is how I used my essay and research into WW2 propaganda to inform my design choices on a modern day propaganda poster for a modern day cause.

Screen Printing My Posters

I made my design into two layers for the two shades of blue and printed them as Key Black ready to expose onto my screen.

I mixed my inks to make a light and dark blue. I thought it best to print the light blue layer first as I did not want to print over my dark blue text. It was my first time print screening and I did come across some problems of printing the niqab first so when I lined up and printed the second layer the text would not fit on the paper, However some of the posters did turn out as planned. I choose quick thick white stock and printed around A3 as I wanted to create bigger prints. I could also print in other sizes if I need to.

Development and Final Crit

Taking on board the comments from the last critique I developed my poster ideas. The main problem I had to think about was colour and what it represented.

I looked into colours that represents certain things I was trying to put across.

Olive Green is the traditional colour of peace.

Aqua is associated with healing and protection

Light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquility and understanding.

I decided to keep my image of the girl as I thought it worked well but I changed the words to say 'Everyone Deserves A Home' so it is not implying that the image is a child but just a women and that it is more broader.

The first of my poster ideas was to create it completely out of black to create a hight impact feel.

My second Idea was to use the colours of the Syrian flag

And my final idea was to keep the layered technique and use blues as in my research I found they were calm colours that resembled healing, protection and understanding.

I made a presentation for the critique and asked some final questions

1. Which is your favourite design?
2. Do you have any other suggestions?
3. Shall I produce this in multiple sizes?

A majority of the feedback was that people liked the 2nd and 3rd poster but mostly the third. They liked the idea of seeing the girl behind the head dress and that it focus's the eye. There was also comments that the third looked the most friendly and welcoming. I got a few suggestions and many people said that the print would work at many different sizes however large would be the most impactful.

After this critique I knew I wanted to go ahead and produce my blue design.

Production and Critique

 I began to produce the posters by using my photographs and the photoshop filter Torn Edges. I really liked the effect this gave and how it made the image look bold and eye catching. I knew that I wanted a slogan on the poster that put across a strong message.
I added 'Syrian Refugees Welcome' as I thought it was straight to the point and bold. I then added 'All Children Deserve A Safe Home' as that is an issue with the refugees at the moment, fleeing from there homes due to danger and not having anywhere to go. My initial poster ideas is that I wanted the colours to relate to Britain including red and navy blue but I also wanted the image to be bold. I also wanted to use bold and easy to read fonts. My second idea was to use a layering effect to show the person underneath the Niqab as in my research I saw that people felt uncomfortable not knowing who was behind the scarf and the idea behind the poster was to show that it is just a child who needs our help.

I had a group critique where I showed the posters that I had done and the photographs I had took to create them. I wrote down my essay question, what my essay was about and what my idea for my practical work was. I wrote about how I wish to use screen print as the printing method as it would work well for mass production. I also asked some questions such as,

• What colours could I use to screen print?
• Can you tell the image is a child?
• Would it be better to work digitally with photography?
• Should I create a more hard hittingg slogan or keep it simple so people focus on the image?

I got a lot of feedback such as,

• The poster that shows the girl behind is more powerful
• Really nice idea to address both the issue of immigration and of muslim headwear.
• Id avoid the colour red as there can be negative connotations
• Black and white gives a very serious feel.
• Black, white and red makes me think of blood which is obviously not what you want, try more positive colours
• I like how it shows that refugees are people that have their own rights.
• Maybe try use green for syria
• I thought the girl looks in her 20s not a child
• The girl looks a lot older
• looks more like a young women
• I think screen printing is a good style to use
• A screen print will look a lot more effective then a digitally rendered image.
• you could consider illustration
• screen print with a opaque overlay to achieve style.
• Im not sure if the 'Syrian Refugees Welcome' is needed
• The slogan is needed to understand the image

I will use this feedback to further adapt my posters.

Tutorial and Final Essay Draft

After I handed my draft of my essay in and it had been marked I had a tutorial with Richard to talk about how my essay could be improved, 
We talked about the idea of adding more citations for the history I mentioned rather than just for the design.

I also could do with more depth into the intro and conclusion and if possible I could add more quotes and references. 

I took this feedback and used it to help improve my essay and this is its final draft.

Discuss the role that Graphic design can play during periods of political and/or social upheaval

Graphic Design can, and does, play a pivotal role in propaganda through reinforcing political ideologies, controlling the masses and influencing artists around the world by its use of image, text and design choices.

“There are two kinds of propaganda — rational propaganda in favor of action that is consonant with the enlightened self-interest of those who make it and those to whom it is addressed, and non-rational propaganda that is not consonant with anybody’s enlightened self-interest, but is dictated by, and appeals to, passion”. [Internet] Available from http://reasontostand.org/archives/2010/07/12/aldous-huxley-on-propaganda-and-why-we-fall-for-it [21/04/16]

This Huxley definition seems especially true of World War 2 propaganda and propaganda leading up to World War 2 with the rise of Nazism and the alienating of many social and cultural groups highlighting non rational propaganda and appealing to passion. The former; rational propoganda in favour of action and self-interest seems to mirror the Allies propoganda machine of building spirit, pride and a patriotic sense of duty from the home front.

Graphic Design in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s main purpose was to propagandize the war, and a main facet of Nazi propaganda was made to force Hitler’s political ideologies upon the German people and political establishments around the world; and was importantly used to form Hitler’s cult of personality. This was due to Hitler blaming propoganda supremacy amongst other nations leading directly to Germany’s defeat in World War 1. Hitler even commissioned a book titled  Das Politische Plakat: Eine Psychologische Betrachtung by Erwin Schockel as a handbook for German propgandists.

“ Schockel’s message was clear: powerful propagandistic graphics must be simple and memorable”.[Internet] Available from http://guitynovin.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/chapter-29-propaganda-posters.html  [21/04/16]

This was chillingly followed thr­­ough many media outlets; but posters, prints, leaflets and advertisements were crucial in their role of supporting the relentless propoganda machine.

“ If one is involved in understanding the power of design, the power of symbols, the power of typography to alter behavior, to influence behavior which it does everyday on a corporate level, on a nonprofit level, on a benign level, on a malicious level, you have to understand what went on with the Nazi practices.” [Internet] Available from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hitler-as-art-director-what-the-nazis-style-guide-says-about-the-power-of-design/# (21/04/16)

Graphic design also was a massive and key aspect of the Allies role in using propoganda to support the war effort, particularly from the Home Front perspective. In Britain graphic design was used and implemented to support many influential poster campaigns focusing directly on encouraging all men, women and children on the Home Front that they had a vital supporting role in making the Allies victorious. Graphic Design was also used very effectively to keep spirits high and patriotism at the forefront through wartime difficulties.

“Propaganda posters were, in reality, sales tools. Their aim was to sell the citizenry as a whole on the war, and to get them to participate actively in the war effort in various ways. Study the motivational tools they use: pride, fear, patriotism, and a sense of duty”.

[Internet] Available from http://design.tutsplus.com/articles/inspiration-80-amazing-wwii-allied-propaganda-posters--vector-3376 (21/04/16)

Both Germany and Britain used graphic design as a key tool for reinforcing their message with very different outcomes; but although clearly very different angles on propaganda were used, some graphic design techniques and strategies were similar to achieve their impact. War Propaganda also influenced artists from around the world in creating politically driven art pieces that have given them and name today. These pieces, in turn, can be seen as propaganda tools and use graphic design elements and influences themselves or go against political party’s they are meant to follow.

The design choices in aspects of the Nazi propaganda, such as posters, were of almost vital importance, and became a weapon in itself though the messages projected onto the masses.

‘Propaganda is a truly terrible weapon in the hands of an expert’ (Luckert,Bachrach,2011:1)

Propaganda can be positive in some aspects, however it is commonly associated with Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler due to the success it played in World War 2. Graphic design was instrumental in the propaganda successes. Hitler was indeed an expert of propaganda and used it for many varied and horrific means. This can be clearly demonstrated in his use of Graphic design to support his horrendous portrayal of the Jews leading up to and during the Holocaust.  This can be clearly shown by the propaganda poster ‘whoever Wears This Symbol Is an Enemy of Our People” Munich 1942, (Luckert,Bachrach,2011:129)The poster includes the Star of David with the word Jew in the middle to show the symbol that would have been sown onto all Jewish peoples clothes. The typography is in a bold sans serif font made to be straight to the point and easy to read. Posters like this are made to isolate Jewish citizens and turn people against them.

This Propaganda encouraged violence against Jews and was seen as being made to show that the Nazis were stepping in to ‘restore order’ to Germany. With out this Nazi propaganda it could be argued that the Nazi party would not have gained so much power. Nazi Propaganda was essential to victimising Jewish citizens and executing mass murder. Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels knew propaganda was vitally important and worked relentlessly to create an unwavering and ruthless propaganda campaign which reminded German citizens of the ‘enemies’, i.e. the Jews and Great Britain and in fact any distinct group not falling in with Hitler’s and Nazism’ ideologies.

‘Adolf Hitler as orator became one of the Nazi Party’s most important propaganda tools, reflecting his belief that the mass meeting, as a means of exploiting the dynamics of crowd psychology.’(Luckert,Bachrach,2011:32)

Hitler demonstrated his hatred for anyone not ‘Aryan’ by his use of relentless propaganda, street violence, rallies and film. His oration skills were the fundamental basis for the Nazi propaganda machine but Hitler also purposefully, intentionally and directly used all means at his disposal-Graphic Design, through visual representation, unquestionably sustained and also proved essential to the propoganda thrust upon German citizens supporting and also exploiting the dynamics of crowd psychology.   This was successful in increasing their support base and forcing his ideologies on the masses. The Nazi party saw the youth as the future and crucial to Germany prospering, they did this by various indoctrinating means such as the abolishment of other youth groups that did not adhere to Nazism, and altering school curriculums to suit there ideology. This was also reinforced using graphic design through propaganda.

‘When Hitler took over the party he wasn’t particularly interested in German adolescents because they could not vote. Yet propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels saw Germany’s disenfranchised youth as the key to the Nazi’s future.’[internet] Available from http://designobserver.com/article.php?id=6957[28/12/15]­

Hitler Youth posters such as ‘Youth serves the leader: All 10 year olds into the Hitler Youth’ [Internet] Available from http://www.master-of-education.org/10-disturbing-pieces-of-nazi-education-propaganda/ (28/12/15) demonstrate Hitler’s impact onto Children’s ideologies. This popular poster showed a boy with Blonde Hair and blue eyes in a uniform gazing up and Adolf Hitler who is made to look powerful and important by the size of the image compared to the boy and by the serious look on his face. The large text reads ‘Youth serves the leader’ and is shown in sharp lettering to show the severity of it. It also has the common theme of dark shadows and dull colours which was a typical design choice on Hitler youth posters as they were made to be orders and not to be considered lighthearted.

These design choices Romanticised Adolf Hitler as a great leader and one who is deemed so great that he must be served.

Nazi propaganda became worse by not just persecuting the Jewish citizens but also black people. Hitler separated Black people from white and they were marginalised. The poster ‘The Result! A loss of Racial Pride’ [Internet] Available from(http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005479) Shows the friendship between a ‘Aryan’ and black women through a black and white photography of the two women with their arms around each other smiling. This poster was designed to put shame onto Germans who were friends with black people. The words ‘The Result!’ is positioned over the German girl to show this is what it looks like to go against the Nazi party rules.

British propaganda had more of a positive impact on Britain with posters such as ‘Dig For Victory’ which was made to encourage citizens to make their gardens into allotments and grow vegetables due to a lack of imported food coming to Britain. This form of activism was key to helping Britain get through its tough times. The ‘Dig for Victory’ poster (Aulich,2007:168) had a simplistic design using bold sans serif fonts and a single black and white picture. The Design was produced in bulk and was seen on many scales from billboards to shop windows. It needed to encourage citizens and make them feel like they were helping their country. The photograph used on the poster was of a foot pushing a spade into a pile of dirt. This image was taken front a low angle making the person look more power and although it was simple by 1943 over 1.4 million people were growing vegetables in their own allotments.

‘Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival’ Winston Churchill[internet] Available from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4196084/Churchill-asked-for-victory-at-all-costs-but-the-reality-was-worse.html [29/12/15] British Propaganda purpose was to create a good vision of England and usually includes slogans that relied on patriotic belief. A particularly famous slogan said by Winston Churchill was used on a propaganda poster that inspired citizens to unite. ‘Let us go forward together’(Aulich,2007:185) was by an unknown artist but was a successful piece of propaganda. It showed a powerful looking image of Winston Churchill in black and white with fighting planes and tanks behind him. The image makes people want to listen to him and trust him because it displays him as a powerful and authoritative person who is doing the best for his country. This type of design can be seen as similar to the Nazi propaganda due to there being a strong political figure that is shown as being a leader and looking important through design choices. A similar Nazi poster is, ‘one nation one empire one leader’ (Rhodes,1975:23) The poster shows the German leader Adolf Hitler in a strong pose, and has the slogan ‘one nation one empire one leader.’ However there are strong differences between the two being that the British poster shows positivity through the use of colour and theme of unity. Whereas the German poster uses dark colours, a sharper more harsh font and stronger less positive image.

A common theme in British propaganda is unity, many propaganda posters were made and distributed to show citizens working together to make it through the war and become victorious. However Britain felt a somewhat cut off from other countries and therefore felt like they were fighting alone so propaganda was made to reassure people that Britain is not alone in this war. The poster ‘Together’ [Internet] Available from http://www.world-war-2-diaries.com/british-world-war-ii-posters.html (10/01/16)  The poster showed soldiers from Canada, Australia, India, South Africa and more marching with the Union Jack. The word ‘Together’ is uppercase in a large sans serif font which is bold and stands out. The purpose of such propaganda was to prove to citizens that the British Empire and Common Wealth would work together to become victorious and that was what was going to be successful.

‘Posters today are not pictures to sell pills, but to save civilization however clever, are a waste of paper unless they kill Germans’ (Aulich,2007:166) was wrote in a Art & Industry magazine by J.B.Nicholas of the British Advertising Service. The country was going under paper shortages but they knew it was still important to have forms of propaganda. Propaganda in Britain during World War 2 was also used to inspire and encourage everyone to have a part in helping Britain through the war. A successful poster during this time was ‘England Expects National Service’ which was inspired by Lord Nelson’s speech ‘England expects that every man will do his duty’ during the battle of Trafalgar. The poster shows service men and women who are helping in the war. They appear to be soldiers, nurses and other important civilians that play an important role in the war. They are made to look heroic standing tall and proud in the smart uniforms, this romanticised their jobs and made it look easier than it really was. The main aspect of the poster is the silver statue of a woman who is dressed like a soldier and holds a shield, which has the Union Jack upon it. The people look noble and like they are serving the statue and this encourages citizens to want to help the country.

Similarly German Propaganda uses posters which include images of service men and women but in very different ways. A famous piece of German propaganda is ‘Germany Lives’ made in the 1930’s by K.Stauber (Rhodes,1975:44) Adolf Hitler is shown as the main focus of the poster which connotes that he is an important German figure. This is different to British propaganda as it tends to be about Britain as a whole and the civilians, whereas German propaganda seems to be centered around fighting for the leader. Within the poster there are many swastika symbols which are known in Nazism as the sign for Germany during World War 2, the symbol was powerful at the time because it resembled Germany and there views. This is why the poster includes Hitler carrying a swastika flag along with other soldiers. During World War 2 the swastika was use in a majority of Nazi propaganda to immediately show what its intended purpose was. The poster also includes thousands of soldiers behind Hitler doing the Nazi salute. This connotes that Hitler had many men behind him and showed them to be followers rather than heroic like in the British propaganda. The poster includes a bird in the sky which could connote freedom and that the message has a higher more important meaning. There is light shining through the clouds down onto the soldiers and Germany as if to symbolise that God agrees with their actions.

World War 2 graphic design has an impact on artists influencing them to make politically driven art that is now famous to the world. John Heartfield is an artist who is known in the artist movement of Dadaism. He was inspired by Hitler and the Nazi party when creating some of his photomontages. Heartfield was originally named Helmut Herzfeld but changed his name to go against the German movements. His anti-Nazi pieces were brave and meant he had to leave Germany during World War 2. This shows that Hitler’s Propaganda is not fully effective at getting all German Civilians to agree with his political decisions. One of Heartsfield’s most famous pieces was ‘And yet it moves’. The piece shows Adolf Hitler’s face put onto the body of a monkey, which is sitting on a globe. The piece was designed to be satire and to people laugh at Hitler and question him as a powerful leader. It implies that Hitler is trying to rule the world but people see him as foolish. Another one of Heartfield’s pieces was called ‘Adolf The Superman: Swallows Gold And Spits Tin’ [Internet] Available from http://www.actingoutpolitics.com/john-heartfield’-1891-–-1968-two-photomontages-–-the-role-of-money-in-political-discourse/

 (10/01/16) It is a photomontage of Adolf Hitler and a x-ray. Inside the chest is a swastika acting as a heart and gold coins to resemble Hitler’s interest in financial power. He created this piece in 1932 and took influences from propaganda and turned Hitler into an undesirable leader. This use of photomontage was an interesting use of making propaganda due to most propaganda at the time being more illustrated and realistic. Furthermore there is no use of typography within his designs which is a key part of Nazi Propaganda. A common font used in Nazi design was Fraktur, the type was seen as legible and was used on many publications. It has sharp edges and spikes which is good for putting across the harsh and powerful words of Nazi propaganda.

Propaganda in World War 2 although vital globally Nazism and Britian’s propaganda was very different due to the design choices and purpose. Nazi propaganda was used for evil to brainwash citizens and victimize the masses. Whereas Britain’s propaganda was used for good, inspiring and rallying citizens to help the country and encouraging people that we as a nation would be victorious. Although the impacts of the graphic design is different, some of the design choices were similar in many ways from using an idealised images of political leaders and service men and women. To the use of symbols, colours and thought provoking slogans.

Graphic design, in the form of mediums such as posters and campaigns, was absolutely essential to supporting and continuing the messages relayed to civilians, armed forces and marginalised groups in lead up to, and during the Second World War Both Nazism and Britain relentlessly used Graphic Design elements to ensure their ‘messages’ made the largest impact possible. Nazism used images of Aryan citizens, Hitler and his troops to marginalize, enforce ideologies, threaten, and ‘inspire’ German people to follow Nazism to the patriotic and misguided extremes.

British propoganda used many of the same elements, such as images of service men and women and Winston Churchill to promote a  very different message, patriotism through supporting the war effort by doing ‘their bit’ ie, growing their own vegetables in the ‘Dig to Victory’ campaign through posters and adverts.

“the tactics employed in many of these posters and adverts were wildly successful in building national pride and support for the war effort”. [Internet] Available from http://design.tutsplus.com/articles/inspiration-80-amazing-wwii-allied-propaganda-posters--vector-3376 (21/04/16)

It is clear how Graphic Design played a crucial, clear, and at times, brutally dangerous role in the propoganda approaches. This was evidenced with the persecution of the Jews, enlisting of the youth and marginalizing of any group not pertaining to the Nazi ideologies noticeably evidencing the ‘terrible weapon’ of propoganda from the Nazi perspective. The same Graphic Design features, paradoxically, also had a massive impact in the seemingly gentler message of inspiring Home Front support and inspiring civilians by ‘doing what is right’ rather than threatening and aggressive messages and Graphic Design forms.

Graphic Design, through its usage and clever integration with propaganda, is absolutely vital in supporting and delivering ideologies, messages and intentions to the masses. Its impact is massive, defining and cannot be underestimated.

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