Group 4: Abby Fenn, Ivan Reyes, Mariana Velasquez, Morgan Recker
Project Description: In your group, select a project from the website of design and innovation studio Hyperakt that inspires you. Expand on the content and/or formal aspects of the project your group selects through research and iterations focused on form. Finally, each group member creates a book or video showcasing their iterations and research.
Step 1: Picking a Project
We started the project by taking the time to go through Hyperakts website to find projects that peaked our interests.
Each of us wrote the projects and topics that interested us in a shared Google Doc. We also responded and commented on what each other had written. This allowed us to see which projects we were all interested in and find a common thread.
All of us were interested in the project Design Resistance; a platform which allows creatives to express their political views through poster design. The posters are posted on a website and are available for the public to use.
Mariana had also shared a project by Pentagram called ‘Dear New York…’ It is an online experience New Yorkers’ feelings about the impact of COVID on the city via virtual “sticky notes”
We liked how both projects were growing libraries full of thoughts and opinions sent in by people. This made us want to try to combine these two projects into one (outlined below).
Step 2: Refine Topic
After presenting this idea to the class we found that we had jumped too far ahead in the design process. Our idea was somehow too specific and too broad at the same time.
Too specific because we were thinking of essentially rebranding these two websites into one. We were also thinking too much about how the project would reach the public without fully knowing who our audience was.
Too broad because we were thinking about creating any kind of protest poster, any topic, viewpoint, or cause. It was suggested that we find topics that were more connected to us, whether through interest or personal reasons, to focus in on. Our crit group also noticed that we seemed to be interested in different production methods of protest art and brought up the idea of exploring those methods through our iterations.
From here we decided to do just that. Each of us chose a political topic/movement and production methods and began researching.
Step 3: Research
We showed a summary of our project and research thus far in a PechaKucha style presentation. Abby focused on the general definition and practice of protests. Morgan explored handmade protests art through mediums such as graffiti, wheat paste, and handwritten signs. Mariana researched the use of lithograph and risograph printing in poster making. And Ivan focused on silkscreening and how social media can be a protests medium.
Abby’s Notes:
- We first have to understand protests before we can understand the importance of posters and other media in them
- started research by finding this book (Protest. The Aesthetics of Resistance)- explanations of what protests are and why they are important
- Protests are extremely creative. They deploy signs and images to create new aesthetics and meanings in order to grab attention and evade control
- Protest is a collaborative resistant practice used by members of society who believe they cannot otherwise be heard, but who have an idea for a better future and the energy to stand up for it.
- Using media that ranges from cheaply made posters to social media posts
Morgan’s Notes
- modern graffiti first appeared in Philadelphia in the early 1960s
- often either spray paint or posters pasted with wheatpaste, a mixture of starch and water that adheres well to both wood and concrete
- both are super easy to quickly apply in largely accessible public spaces
- however, they are both illegal so they often must be done with great care and at night with someone to watch for authorities
- handwritten posters are often seen in peaceful protests
- made from materials that most people have in their own homes, usually out of construction paper and magic markers
- the posters themselves are not concerned with aesthetics but rather are trying to state a message
- the handwriting on each poster ties a person behind the written words so it becomes very personal
Mariana’s Notes:
- Litho
- Printmaking process that resembles painting, no etching is required, which makes it a faster to produce, it is also easy to replicate which is why it is often used for protest art
- Printmaking process in which a design is drawn onto a flat stone and affixed by chemical reaction
- other printing methods require etching and other forms of imprints, lithography resembles painting.
- Process is faster and easy to be replicated, why it is often used to create protest art
- The paper will retain whatever was drawn by the crayon, creating a perfect replica that can be repeated as often as needed.
- Riso
- Were created as a low cost means to create color reproductions
- Uses its own vibrant color system
- Because it’s a fast and cheap way for reproducing art it’s a popular form of protest art
The other side of our research was focused on our political protests topics/causes. Abby chose Disability Rights, Morgan focused on the LGTBQ+ community, Mariana investigated capital punishment and the wrongfully condemed.
Step 4: Iterations
After doing research together, we each began working on our own iterations. Though our project is connected in the themes of political protests, protest production, and protest art/posters, most of the iteration work was done separately with each person focusing on their chosen topics. Because of this we have decided to show the rest of the process in separate posts in order to give each one the attention it needs:
Creating Resistance, by Abby Fenn
Save Me, by Ivan Reyes
Broken System, by Mariana Velasquez
Love, by Morgan Recker
