Subverting the Narrative

It won't come as news to most of us that Photoshop and the multitude of photo apps that alter images have led to unrealistic views of ourselves. Women and men alike face body image issues in an era when taking selfies at every possible moment has become the norm. The objectification of women in advertising is a serious problem that has been hotly debated for years. Showing flawless and anatomically impossible bodies is harmful on many levels, and unfortunately it has become even more ubiquitous.Many of us consider it a welcome sight when advertisers challenge this narrative. The Dove Real Beauty campaign was among these. Their efforts to show women as they are were widely praised, though some critics felt that ad campaigns for products like Axe and Slimfast should be altered or cancelled as well if Unilever (the owner of these brands) was genuinely concerned.Justin Dingwall is a commercial photographer from South Africa who is using his skills to make work that subverts the standard narrative of what beauty is. In his fine art series Albus, Dingwall tackles the stigma associated with albinism. Worldwide, it's estimated that 1 in 20,000 people are born with albinism; in South Africa, the estimate is 1 in 4000. Those who live with albinism in Africa are often discriminated against and subjected superstition and violence.In a series of over 40 portraits featuring Thando Hopa and Sanele Xaba, Dingwall uses lighting and styling to question traditional ideas of femininity and masculinity and accepted standards of beauty. He includes religious symbolism; butterflies to convey transformation and The Madonna to convey comfort, acceptance, provision, and compassion. His beautiful portraits set a new standard, while also challenging us to consider how we perceive beauty.What have you seen that subverts the stereotypical narrative of beauty?Sources:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/21/dove-real-beauty-campaign-turns-10_n_4575940.htmlhttp://www.designindaba.com/articles/creative-work/albus-photo-series-challenging-established-standards-beautyhttp://www.justindingwall.com/https://www.thebalance.com/advertising-women-and-objectification-38754

Fashion Week: It’s Complicated

New York Fashion Week kicked off this past Thursday, and with it some complicated topics graphic designers are very familiar with:

Design Plagiarism

High fashion brand Saint Laurent is showcasing a dress with graphic lipstick prints that retails for $3,490 - but looks a lot like a dress from Forever 21’s 2013 collection that sold for $23. Saint Laurent is most likely safe from being sued for copyright infringement because copyright law prohibits the protection of a design if it can only be depicted in a limited number of ways— tubes of lipstick may fall into this category. However, it doesn't protect them from being called out for it.

Social Awareness

As New York Fashion Week Live reports, “one of the great ironies of fashion is the disconnect between the beauty of the products, and the way the materials are often sourced.” Consumers are increasingly demanding more humane treatment of animals and people, as well as the use of more eco-friendly materials. Fashion designers are responding and young designers like Max Gengos, are embracing the concept of “responsible luxury” when deciding on which materials to use and the conditions in which their products are produced.

Sustainability

We live in a culture of disposability. This extends to “fast fashion,” where cheap garments are produced quickly to keep up with trends. America buys 20 billion garments a year, 1 item per person per week. This results in 12.7 million tons of clothing thrown away each year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that textile waste occupies nearly 5% of all landfill space and 85% of textile waste is not recycled. Ultimately this leads to overtime, overcrowding, and unsafe conditions for overseas workers employed to keep up with the demand.

Cultural Influence

Celebrities like Emma Watson and fashion designer Stella McCartney are speaking out in campaigns like this recent one for British Vogue on Fashion and Gender Equality, demanding empowerment for women and a better message for women of all ages and sizes, allowing them to feel good about who they are.As we enjoy the glamor of New York Fashion Week, we may also do well to consider the complicated relationships surrounding beauty and image.Sources:http://newyorkfashionweeklive.com/http://www.thefashionlaw.com/https://www.notjustalabel.comhttp://www.ecouterre.com/http://www.elle.com/http://www.weardonaterecycle.org/

Censorship: a sign of the “Times?”

This week Time magazine reported that last week's story “The Two Faces of Anxiety” elicited the most mail. Readers wanted to “Why is anxiety the most pressing issue in the U.S. while the Egyptian revolution gets front page treatment internationally?”Time said that they are glad to be held to high expectations. Some readers were not so happy and called the cover treatment censorship.David Airey posted almost a dozen examples of different magazine covers printed over the past several years on his blog. His readers debated the ethics of the issue including the practice of using selective data to push an agenda.The covers were also hotly debated on Reddit, reaching close to1800 comments with more than one of them saying that the practice is “terrifying.”Business Insider stated that while there is nothing new about magazines using different covers to drive sales, (one reader posted that this is done about 80% of the time) the bigger question is why the covers for the U.S. market differ so much from the rest of the world.What do you think? Is it censorship, or merely Times' right to serve their markets what they think will drive sales? Or is it merely a reflection of the insulated world in which Americans live?Sources:Time, December 12, 2011http://www.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601111205,00.htmlhttp://www.davidairey.com/time-magazine-covers/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CreativeDesign+%28Creative+Design%29http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/mp5cz/time_magazine_cover_depending_on_country/?limit=500http://www.businessinsider.com/these-time-magazine-covers-explain-why-americans-know-nothing-about-the-world-2011-11

Un-hate, or unethical?

Benetton's recent release of the "Unhate" ad campaign has caused a firestorm of controversy. The goal of their campaign is a worthy one—to contribute to a new culture of tolerance and to combat hatred. The UNHATE Campaign is the first in a series of initiatives involving community. In addition to the UNHATE Campaign, the UNHATE Foundation, founded by the Benetton Group, is planning a Global "UNHATE Day" with events scheduled for 50 different cities around the world, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Other initiatives include "Art for Tolerance," which will support the talent and work of young people living in areas where hatred has generated social injustice and conflicts.Unfortunately, one of the first efforts of their campaign has already been recalled. The photoshopped image of the Pope and Al-Azhar Mosque locked in a kiss caused the Vatican to respond with furious protests. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi stated, "This is a grave lack of respect for the Pope. We cannot help but express a resolute protest at the entirely unacceptable use of a manipulated image of the Holy Father, used as part of a publicity campaign which has commercial ends.” The Vatican demanded that the image be removed from the campaign and is taking legal action to ensure the doctored image isn't distributed.The White House also released a statement that they have a long-standing policy disapproving of the use of the president's name and likeness for commercial purposes. Despite this, Benetton ads showing President Obama kissing Hugo Chavez are expected to appear in upcoming issues of "Newsweek," "New York Magazine," and the "Economist." Sources say that Benetton did run it by their legal department, getting informed about the consequences they could expect to face when receiving complaints.Benetton has a long history of using advertising to promote social messages. In the 1990s Tibor Kalman created "The United Colors of Benetton," a product-based series of multicultural kids promoting ethnic and racial harmony. Next came the creation of Colors, a magazine produced by Benetton for which Kalman became editor-in-chief. The goal for Benetton was to suggest they had a social conscience. The goal for Kalman was to create a platform for socio-economic issues.What do you think about the UNHATE campaign? Did they intentionally proceed with what many view as unethical behavior through photo manipulation, ignoring image usage rights to promote tolerance and influence culture, or is it merely a means to a commercial end—and bad use of photoshop as many contend?Sources:http://unhate.benetton.com/foundation/http://unhate.benetton.com/http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/fashion/benetton-yanks-smooching-pope-ad-unhate-campaign-vatican-threatened-legal-action-article-1.979430?localLinksEnabled=falsehttp://www.missfashionnews.com/2011/11/16/unhate-benetton/http://www.aiga.org/medalist-tiborkalman/

Fish Tales

Y'see, most men, they'll tell a story straight through, it won't be complicated, but it won't be interesting either. —Edward Bloom (from the movie "Big Fish")

The fictional character from "Big Fish," Edward Bloom, spent most of his life as a traveling salesman. Known for his gift of storytelling, the statement that he makes to his son, a journalist in search of truth, nicely sums up the conundrum of graphic designers. Getting a message across by creating visual interest through unique and compelling imagery is our job. Is this possible when telling a story straight through without providing any embellishments?In an interview for Lucienne Roberts' book, Good: Ethics of Graphic Design, Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London, Anthony Grayling, says that he feels asking graphic designers not to persuade is like asking fishermen not to fish—it’s what we are trained to do.In the essay "Advocating Ethical Design" David Berman, graphic designer and author of Do Good Design, contends that on the contrary, it's a graphic designer's responsibility to take the time to understand the mechanics of persuasion and use it responsibly—he feels anything else are visual lies, and deadly.Berman believes people are much more influenced by things that look real as opposed to symbology and feels that the laws and rules of society and declared through words, not pictures, make it easier to get around a law with the vagueness of pictures.This debate is not new, it's a topic that's been discussed by graphic designers for years. However what Berman is particularly concerned with is how ethics apply to graphic design on the web. If the battle is being waged to make graphic designers more ethically responsible, how can this message be spread to the DIY population—those untrained in graphic design who write, upload, and create their own work and post it directly online? According to Berman, “Designers tend to underestimate how much power they have. They’re culpable.” He estimates that within a decade, the majority of humanity will be able to publish information on the web. And that’s why almost everyone needs to know something about ethical web design.Another essay on the Digital Ethics website, Digital Ethics and Kids, discusses the responsibility of teaching digital ethics in the home. They contend that children who are raised in families who have no moral or ethical knowledge will not make ethical decisions with their use of digital media and that they won't even realize if they are doing right or wrong.What do you think? Does the web make the responsibility of graphic designers any different and how much responsibility do they bear? Should the push for digital ethics be made at home, toward graphic designers, or both?Sources:http://www.finestquotes.com/movie_quotes/movie/Big%20Fish/page/0.htmhttp://digitalethics.org/2011/05/20/essay-advocating-ethical-designhttp://digitalethics.org/2011/06/14/essay-digital-ethics-and-kids/