What I Have Learned from this Project and My Manifesto

In this term, I have formed my own opinions on a variety of topics including Politics, Futurists and the Bauhaus.

From the Futurists, I have learnt that I believe we shouldn't burn down libraries or museums. We should embrace the past, regardless of if things have gone to plan. We should learn from our mistakes and happy accidents as well as things that deliberately go well. I believe that, in this modern day and age, wars are outdated and we should all be feminists, we should all strive for equality for everyone. Everyone should have equal opportunities and should be treated with the same respect.

The Bauhaus' lack of politics is inspiring to me, it is surprising how they believe that design can be separate from any kind of politics. I believe that without any sort of rebellion, or statement, there will be no depth to the design. A piece of work should say something, otherwise it's just there and doesn't change anything. When approaching the subject of politics, I will ensure that my work reflects my views. I hope to not make anything prejudiced or stereotyping without correct research and will support positive change through my work.

EB White's quote about how dissecting humour is like dissecting a frog made me realise that the same can apply to design in general. If you study something too closely, you become close-minded and get tired of it. I need to regularly stand back from my work and look at it from another angle to prevent this from happening. I must try to consider all possible points of view. Furthermore, like humour, design is subjective. If I don't like my work, I need to remember that someone else will and that if I do like my work, someone else may not. I need to take both compliments and criticisms with grace and always try to improve.

From story structures, I have learnt that characters in a story must learn something, otherwise they will be inert. The same applies to the storyteller, the designer must also learn something, I should continue to learn even after completing my studies. I will try to learn something from everything I do.

In conclusion:

• I will embrace the past, learn from my mistakes and appreciate the happy accidents in life.
• I will strive for equality for everyone support positive change through my work.
• I will not support: violence, prejudice or stereotyping.
• I will regularly step back from my work and look at it from another angle to keep it fresh.
• I will happily take on criticisms and compliments and try to improve on them.
• I will keep learning after I complete my studies. I will try to learn something from everything I do.
• I will look at other illustrators and both be inspired by them and do something completely different to them.
• I will make my own style and be nothing like others to stand out from the crowd. 

Politics

It is becoming a growing trend that people use design as a form of politics. From portraits of Royals to the 2nd World War propaganda, design has been widely used to portray political statements.

Design has been used to make many different statements. Anthony Burrill's work "Oil and Water do not Mix" is a political statement against the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill in 2010. Burrill screen printed posters using oil washed up on the beaches from the Oil Spill, he then sold the posters and donated the money to a charity devoted to cleaning the beaches.

Judy Chicago's piece "The Dinner Party" was a statement to recognise the achievements of women in history. It included Georgia O'Keefe, Emily Dickinson and Virginia Woolfe. She said

“Do I still hope that feminist art can make a difference in the world? My answer is yes. I continue to believe that we need an art that can help us see the world through other people’s eyes and thereby lead us to a future where the world will be made at least a little more whole.” I think that, since 1979 when the piece was created, feminist art and the whole feminist movement has become more prominent. More people are aware of feminism and agree with equality now. 

In terms of politics and my own work, I hope to ensure that all of my work reflects my own views, I hope to not create anything which is prejudiced or stereotyping people without correct research and will support positive change both through my work and my own life.

Ethics

Ethics are "the rules or standards governing the conduct or members of a profession" and "a set of principles of right conduct." Ethics are the ethos of a person or company, what what they will or won't support and what they believe in.

Ethics can be discussed in three ways: morality, legality and integrity. Legality is to do with the law and what is legally right. Morality is to do with moral students a person or company's responsibility to others and the environment. Integrity is to do with a company's principles.

An example from recent media is Urban Outfitters. They have made offensive products to get attention from the media, these products include: a "Kent State' jumper covered in bloodstains which could be a reference to the 1970 massacre; a shirt covered with the word "depression"; and a shirt with the words "Eat Less". This shows that Urban Outfitters have very little moral compass and are more concerned with whether the products will make money for them and bring in more custom. They probably believe the term "any publicity is good publicity".

Another example is PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) who, as it has recently come to light, do not treat their animals ethically. PETA euthanises animals if they are too ill or injured to continue living, which would be ethical, as they would be put out of their misery and pain, however they also kill animals purely for the reason of lack of space or because they believe that their owners were treating them badly.

In my opinion, companies that do not have good ethics are not responsible companies. I will refuse to work with or use a company unless they are ethical and treat people and animals as they deserve to be treated.

Story Structures

In his book "The Seven Basic Plots, Why We Tell Stories", Christopher Booker explored the seven archetypal plots of all stories. He wrote that all stories fall into one of seven basic plots:

• Overcoming the monster e.g. "Legend of Zelda" games, "Hansel and Gretel" and "Star Wars"
• Rags to riches e.g. "Cinderella", "Google" and "Puss in Boots"
• Quest e.g. "Indiana Jones", "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Lord of the Rings"
• Voyage and Return e.g. "Alice in Wonderland", "The Wizard of Oz" and "Narnia"
• Comedy e.g. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and most Romantic Comedies
• Tragedy e.g. "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", "Romeo and Juliet" and "A Picture of Dorian Gray"
• Rebirth e.g. "Sleeping Beauty", "ET" and "A Christmas Carol"

In John Yorke's book "Into the Woods, How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them" states that characters must change and learn something from the story. If they do not change, the audience will be dissatisfied and the characters will be inert. This allows us to recognise what people expect from a story. They expect the story to follow the basic plots and they expect the characters to learn something from the story. 

However, some stories don't fit into these archetypes and some fit into more than one. Booker goes on to state in "The Seven Basic Plots, Why We Tell Stories" that these are merely different perspectives of the big picture, the same drama.

In my own work, I will recognise that there are these basic plots, however stories generally do not fit into only one. I will try to cover multiple plots in my stories to make them more appealing to the reader. Furthermore, I will ensure that all of my characters learn something in the stories as they will be more interesting to the reader and not inert.