2nd International Illustration Research Symposium in conjunction with the Writing PAD network. North Wales School of Art & Design, Glyndwr University Thursday 3rd November 2011

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Symposium Doodles

Salaam all, I know my absence has been longer than I intended but I had extremely full two months. Just returned from a conference that I was invited to present at "Manchester Metropolitan University". 

It was an interesting experience and was well arranged. 

The objective for the conference was described as :

" We focus widely on illustration’s primary intentions: the visualisation of concepts, poetic and rhetoric expression, the elaborative encoding of information and memory through analogy, metaphor and marginalia. This conference intends to explore the synergy between word and image, word as image, the subversive interrogation of text, and the telling of stories through imagery.Illustration and Writing looks at illustration as visual language, and reflects on the role of the image within, around and in place of writing. We hope to explore the ways that purposeful images can augment, clarify or problematise meaning in relation to text".

You can check out abstracts for the papers presented here:

http://illustrationresearch.co.uk/secondsymposium/

It was a brilliant experience as I had the opportunity to meet a blend of artists' , illustrators, designers and typographers from across Europe, Middle east and South Asia. Meeting so many researchers from different but connected disciplines, and discussing and connecting our individual researches broadened ideas and knowledge for each one of us I am sure. It was amazing to see common directions and connections with different disciplines within the context of my research. 

My paper presentation  titled 'Visual reflections' talked about Pakistani Lollywood  Billboards and their interpretation, generating a narrative based on  knowledge that has connections with allegory and interpretation of meaning. I shall be uploading the paper as soon as I get some breathing time.

Defining emerging TERMINOLOGY; visual literacy, visual narratives, visual story telling,visual rhetoric and visual allegory

 While I construct and then deconstruct my case studies my focus is on the question; How are the indigenous social-cultural influences reflected through design? I feel that in exploring this question I shall be unearthing answer to other questions that I outlined in the ‘mapping post’.

As I review visual communication literature and practices, the terms that I come across continually are visual literacy, visual narratives, visual story telling, visual rhetoric and visual allegory.

 

Articulating my case studies, I find myself depending more and more on these terms to define the phenomenon I discover, and to further investigate my claim i.e. identification of a context specific a visual grammar (that the audience associates with and understands) based on the context the visual appears in.

For example in my case studies, the point of focus in Pakistani truck art is its iconographic rhetoric; The visual icons illustrating the historical as well  as contemporary influences in Pakistani socio-cultural context through strong iconography. Icons based on indigenous subjectivity reflecting indigenous worldviews. To contend Pakistani truck-art as a popular art form, we can deconstruct it as a comprehensive knowledge archive about the prevailing local beliefs and attitudes. For example, the strong spiritual influence in truck art reflects the role spirituality plays in the common man’s life in Pakistan, at the same time influential political figures denote the power structures in this context. Favorite actors and actresses painted on the back of the trucks reflect the colorful nature and choices in the Pakistani visual context. Similarly the visual treatment of Lollywood cinema billboards as well as political advertising billboards reveal a strong message about beliefs and attitudes in Pakistani social and political context. These are a blend of exaggerated visual depiction of fantasy and local mindsets. Their purpose may be publicity design but when visually deconstructed the elements revealed are self-explanatory of the political structures, power structures and socio- cultural structures in the context they are created and viewed in.


Here the question that surfaces is; what are the terms I rely on to explain, explore and deconstruct the communication implication of these popular mass cultural productions; visual literacy, visual narrative, visual story telling, visual rhetoric or visual allegory? Looking at these terms and wanting to employ them within the context of this research I realize a strong need to define them generally and specifically as I refer to them in my  graphic communication design research.

Mass cultural productions as Vernacular Visuals ; A contextual knowledge base tool

Traditional arts and Mass cultural productions as vernacular productions can be a direct tool for an indigenous knowledge base. The vernacular is ascendant in how and what we see today. This discussion is a move away from what we know as  classical art, towards exploring the communicative ability of the artistry of the everyday. Helmer [1] observes that 'in many ways, the place to begin when discussing the work of art may not even be within the exhibition space itself, but in the mall bookstore, the campus poster shop, or the parking lot of the museum, places where the meaning of art is negotiated and where art is transmitted as a commodity such as a calendar, poster, or billboard and where the initial idea of an object as ‘fine art’ is apprehended'(Pg.77)

Ads are what some critics call ‘specific representational practices’ and produce meanings which cannot be found in reality. To understand the role  that advertising plays in our society, there is a need to understand how advertising organizes and constructs reality, how ideology and meanings are produced within the advertising discourse and why sonic images are the way they are, how they are been constructed[2].The billboards that I am analyzing in my research (Lollywood billboards) concur with this statement. These billboards reveal an explicit communication influence that can be proven be ideological in essence. Exploration of technique involved in their design and production can provide insights towards developing context specific graphic communication design principles.

My focus therefore is not on so-called classical art productions but mass cultural productions that we are exposed to everyday. Lollywood cinema billboards, Pakistani political posters and Pakistani truck art is identified as as mass cultural productions in Pakistan that represent the allegorical plurality of popular arts as vernacular visuals and cultural productions.


Discussing the visual allegory of Lollywood art, we are looking at how vernacular  establishes a visual content/context and  how allegory is establishing a visual rhetoric.

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[1] C.H. Helmer. Defining visual rhetoric.

[2] George D. Chryssides, John H. Kaler.1993 An introduction to business ethics. Pladstow,Cornwall. TJ International.

Mapping the inquiry

To map out the areas to be looked and define the allegorical construction,I come back to the questions I asked in my earlier post regarding the visual media I am investigating.( as communication)

• The purpose of the artifacts under-discussion?  
• Geographical location?
• The dimensions;size and materiality; Is it 2D or 3D?  
• Static or in motion?  
• What media are involved?  
• What colours and forms are involved?  
• Construction; How is it made and by whom?  
• What images are used, and where are they sourced?  
• How are the images treated, e.g. heroically and larger than life and why?  
• What patterns or other enrichment is used, and where are they sourced?  
• Who makes them, where and how?  
• What qualities are seen in the images and other enrichment?  
• Who is it designed for and is visible to, and in which circumstances? 
• How these media relate to the Pakistani audience? 
• How the knowledge about the target audience impacts the designs created? 
• What are the factors that influence the visuality, popularity and influence of these visual media? 
• How are the  indigenous socio-cultural influences reflected through the designs?

So basically what I am  looking at is;

1. The composition and construction
2. The location ; The level of context involved
   
3. The type of audience invoked
4. The cultural cache it carries
5. And its relationship to commercialism within the communication context hinting at the process of production and reception.

Lack of visual culture discourse in Pakistan; a barrier in communication

A most surprising realization is that in a culture that is extremely visual there appears to be a lack of visual culture discourse.Pakistan’s 63-year-old visual history has lacked tools that can help explore/interpret its vibrant visual artifacts as representative of an autonomous visual ideology … a visual identity.  The visual material world in the broad sense (production, reception and practices) also remains ambiguous when defining or appreciating their rhetorical role in the Pakistani visual culture. 

Therefore it is not surprising that the image-saturated Pakistani culture is lacking  a visual culture discourse. Exploring the allegorical nature of Pakistani visual media intends to change this state of ambiguity. According to Foucault [1] “discourses are ways of referring to or role of discourse in a culture: it can be a cluster of image ideas, images and practices which provide ways of talking about forms of knowledge and conduct associated with a particular topic, social activity or institutional site in society”.

The visual media selected to be explored as case studies are looked at as Pakistan’s authentic vernacular expression. The illustrations are claimed to allegorize an indigenous Pakistani visual identity and ideology, and is rhetorical in composition and construction. The production, distribution, and consumption of these visual artifacts (as media texts) can be positioned as an allegorical literacy practice  -  one that can lead towards understanding reading and writing, albeit with a visual medium other than traditional print.This will help understand the idea of literacy in relation to the larger social and cultural context rather than the traditional understanding of literacy as the ability to read and write (as being formally educated in schools)

This brings us back to the question:Can visual be so powerful as to convey meaning without depending on the verbal?

Searching for answer to this question there is a need to explore the existing visual media in Pakistan. In case of this research, the identified cases of Lollywood Billboards, Political posters and Pakistani truck art with the frame of production and consumption as media texts.

How they are positioned in the Pakistani visual culture within the frame of production and reception,  and why should they be specifically chosen to be explored and not any other genre' ?

Background/Context

 

My research is conducted in a low-income area named ‘Dhok Chaudrian’ in the city of Rawalpindi,Pakistan. Pakistan is a country with a rich cultural heritage and traditions. These traditions are immensely vibrant and exotic in visuality.
On one side Pakistani traditions are cherished and valued, on the other it is acknowledged that it is a developing country struggling to survive the issues it faces today.

In a developing country like Pakistan one cannot separate ones self from the surrounding issues. The list of the social and civic issues is long and ever increasing. Being a capitalist economy, socio-economic factors, lack of infrastructure, a patriarchal society and lack of education are the root cause of the issues we face today. Low literacy further escalates lack of awareness towards the prevalent issues as problematic. People have become desensitized and have learnt to co-exist with their problems. I noticed this attitude of desensitization towards issues, through a personal experience. And that was the exact starting point for my research.

I, as graphic designer feel that a solution towards minimizing this problematic situation, if not eradicating it can be creating mass awareness about the issues. This is not trying to change the world but trying to initiate positive behaviour of self-sufficiency and community participation in the local population, by informing, encouraging and educating them.

As Frascara says (1997. pg1)[1] 
‘Visual communication design by itself cannot eradicate crime drug addiction, injury accidents or unfair discrimination, but concentrated strategies, including communications can significantly reduce the intensity of these problems’.
But this is not so simple.  In a country with a population of 180 million[2], the percentage of Pakistanis’ living below poverty line is 24%. The adult literacy rate in Pakistan is under 50 percent, while less than one-third of adult women have a functional reading ability.[3] These conditions of illiteracy concurrent with poverty further aggravate the difficulty of communication.

Having studied and practiced in different facets of graphic design, I found a great opportunity in attempting to use my expertise as a tool to initiate change in this problematic situation.

The idea is to research 'graphic design' as as 'contextual design' and 'visual' advocacy communication tool, primarily  focusing low-literacy populations.The objective is to generate a user-centered graphic design methodology that can be adaptable to other issues in Pakistan and similar environments in other parts of the world.Maybe this can be a step towards making a positive change in the present scenario faced by Pakistan today. To make my research focused and measurable I have selected the issue of hygienic household garbage disposal in low-income low literacy communities to test the designed methods.  

The questions that I ask from the platform of my research how can we make graphic design effective as visual communication in low- literacy contexts like Pakistan? Can visual be so powerful as to convey meaning without depending on the verbal? What should be the right design approach and what principles should be employed for  user-centered design generation?

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[1] Frascara,J. 1997.User Centred Graphic Design: mass communication and social change. London.Taylor & Francis.

[2] https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2119.html

[3] Hathaway ,R,M. (eds). 2005. Education Reform in Pakistan: Building for the Future. Washington, DC. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. ISBN 1-933549-04-1.Available at: www.wilsoncenter.org[Accessed 12 February 2010] 

"Mapping with graphic probes method"

THE INTERVIEWS:

After presenting my pilot project at the RNUAL conference at the University of the Arts London, it was time to get back to the second half of the ‘mapping with graphic probes method’, the interviews for the case studies.

The case study entails analyzing three Pakistani indigenous art case studies; Pakistani truck art, Lolly wood cinema-art and political posters. Visual material about each case study is assembled and analyzed to identify what is being communicated and how this operates in the Pakistani visual culture? The aim is to investigate the engagement of indigenous art forms as indigenous visual representation within specific contexts. 

The visual analysis also entails interviews with respondents. Engaging participants shall illustrate contribution of stakeholder engagement in participatory/collaborative processes towards sustainable visual design solutions. The case studies are intended to discover and understand audience perspectives and social phenomena in descriptive and interpretive ways.

The interviews were organised with the professional in the genres under discussion in Pakistan. 

The interviewees  were selected due to their high level of involvement in the identified fields. This method presents a broad view of the past and present Pakistani visual media (design market), and enables to gain a broad-spectrum insight of a ‘Pakistani vernacular design philosophy’.

The intention is to generate primary and first-hand information about the discussed cases. The aim of the interviews is, firstly, to distinguish the cultural influences in the design and production processes relating to media under discussion, through interviewees’ professional experience. Secondly, to classify indigenous visual preferences to be an effective way of understanding the local audience within the visual communication context, and, thirdly, to identify the impact of knowledge/understanding of the intended audience/client on the skills of the designers and the designs generated. 

Conclusively the interviews were employed to discover and understand audience perspectives and socio-cultural phenomena at mass level in descriptive and interpretive ways. So that this knowledge can facilitate development of effective graphic design for advocacy communication in a low literacy context. Semi- structured interviews were conducted and entailed answering questions like:

• What is its purpose of the artifacts under-discussion?  
• Where is it found?
• Is it 2D or 3D? How big is it?  
• Static or in motion?  
• What media are involved?  
• What colours and forms are involved?  
• How is it made and by whom?  
• What images are used, and where are they sourced?  
• How are the images treated, e.g. heroically and larger  
• than life and why?  
• What patterns or other enrichment is used, and where are they sourced?  
• Who makes them, where and how?  
• What qualities are seen in the images and other enrichment?  
• Who is it designed for and is visible to, and in which circumstances? 
• How these media relate to the Pakistani audience? 
• How the knowledge about the target audience impacts the designs created? 
• What are the factors that influence the visuality, popularity and influence of these visual media? 
• How are the  indigenous socio-cultural influences reflected through the designs?

The interviews with the film, truck and political art professional revealed interesting insights. Locating participants whom might be useful, getting in touch with them arranging meetings and then the process of interviewing them, trying to extract relevant information, was challenging but rewarding on conclusion.The whole process involved a lot of organizing and creating links that connected. Interviews were conducted in the city of Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Lahore. During the process of locating the relevant participants and organizing meetings unexpected but interesting insights were gained.

 As I am not working in collaboration with any organization, I found myself on my own when trying to locate and contacting the relevant interviewees’. But once in touch, it took on the snowball effect. All the interviewees' were very accommodating with their time.Their opinions, impressions and experiences were narrated candidly and generously.And they put me in touch with other professionals that they knew in the field that could help get further in-depth insights. Some of them were even kind of enough to arrange my meetings with other relevant people and personally escorted me to them. I found the whole experience to be very encouraging, refreshing and rewarding.

The interviews left me with thirteen hours of data that I am in the process of transcribing. The aim is to transcribe the data, identify themes,triangulate (connect /compare) the themes, draw conclusions and generate design briefs, based on the insights, for the ‘Graphic interventions’ to be developed and tested in the built environment in Pakistan.

 

Brief Introduction to the research

Welcome to my blog!

I am a graphic designer/ practitioner and researcher.I am based at Central Saint Martins in London, UK.  My research is concerned with ‘graphic communication design’ and it investigates the communicative capacity of vernacular art in indigenous settings. This is a practice led research.
that can be used to design context specific/user centered graphic communication based visual interventions as advocacy communication low literacy contexts.

I aim to explore Pakistani vernacular visual media within user centered graphic communication design context.Research findings will be used to develop a 'graphic communication design' schema of practice. I hope to develop this schema as a method.  

Here is a brief introduction to the questions I am addressing in the research.

I am investigating sign systems located within indigenous visual media (art forms), exploring the influence of content and context on the reading of these signs. Graphic-communication design is suggested as a paradigm in which indigenous art , as graphic communication tools, can be critically located and discussed.