miajacques

[miajacques]

Reference list 2

[miajacques]

Reference list

[miajacques]

Evaluation

As a whole I think that this module has been quite successful and has allowed me to develop my skills and interests, which I can use and apply to the rest of my Fashion Branding and Communications degree. However these experiences have really made me think of elements which I could improve and which could be beneficial in future projects. 

I really enjoyed the research segment of this module because it has really helped me understand the concept of escapism and how various artists, fashion designers and photographers, design and create their ideas of escapism. Researching the escapism topic also allowed me to look at how it has impacted social changes within the past and present; for example investigating the hippie subculture and how escapism massively impacted it. Looking at a wide range of sources allowed me to broaden my knowledge on the concept which I chose. 

One of my key objectives was to develop my CAD skills, which I can confidently say I have done. Doing samples really pushed me to learn new Photoshop techniques and resulted in me finding various Youtube Photoshop tutorials. By constantly creating samples I learnt how to use tools like, ‘Distort’, ‘Warp’, ‘Wave’, ‘Fill’, ‘Camera Raw Filter’ and many more. As a result of learning these basic techniques, it will help me in the future of my degree. 

Improvements and changes

Even though this module has been mostly positive there is still some room for improvement. As the circumstance were very different due to Covid-19, there are certain things that I could have done to improve if this wasn’t the case. For example if we were not in lockdown I would have wanted to take picture of other people to avoid my zine becoming repetitive. I also would have liked to scan in more materials and objects to give the zine more texture and a somewhat 3D effect. This might of enhanced my zine giving it more depth and a more immersive experience for the viewer/consumer. 

Another thing which I think I could have done to improve my outcome was to do some more planning. Even though I am the type of person who likes to just start and create; I feel like if I created a plan or a list It may of gave my outcome and process more structure. One other aspect which I should focus on in the future is layouts as when I got feedback from my tutors they said my layouts were becoming repetitive. Therefore In the future I will try to develop more interesting layouts. 

Overall this module has been really fun and has allowed me to find and develop my skills and interest. It has also made me think on the future of my education and career. Making me think about job roles which interest me (like creative director and fashion photographer) and giving me things to aim for in the future.  

[miajacques]

Front and back cover

 Symbolising my escapism concept was very important when it came to designing and creating the front and the back cover of my zine. I wanted to make sure it fit with the narrative of my pages within the zine and really encapsulated the digital element of escapism. Initially I had the idea of using an enter password screenshot from my phone, therefore I decided to start editing it using Photoshop. Here are pictures of the process and the outcome: 

To create the front cover I used a photo of street art for the background and distorted the channels giving it a 3D glitch look. Then I overlaid a screenshoot I took of my phone, I also edited this using the ‘Square Wave’ tool. I also change the effect of the image to ‘Overlay’ to make the image more transparent to make sure you could see the background. 

I really enjoyed how it turned out and the message it portrays, making the consumer feel as if they have to enter a passcode as if they would log into their phone. I also feel as the front cover does meet my objective of incapsulating digital escapism through the imagery and editing used. 

Back cover

I wanted my back cover to be similar to the front and make the viewer feel as if they are login out of the digital escape zine. So therefore I decide I was going to use a similar background of street art except I wanted it darker to symbolise the logging off of a device. The back cover was quite simple to create; I just overlaid images. Here is the process and the outcome: 

Overall I liked the outcome of the page as it matches the front page and the theme I was going for. I also think it meets one of my objectives I stated within my personal brief because it makes the viewer think and adds an immerse element to the zine (through the use of text “enter your password” and “are you sure you want to log out?”). 

[miajacques]

Zine pages

To make sure I had images to use for these pages I went on walk at night to get some primary images of my surrounding. I focused on taking images of empty streets and roads to possibly explore the after hours narrative which I discussed in my ‘Planning My Zine’ post. Here are the primary images:

Process images:

After doing multiple samples in Photoshop for these pages, I realised that my layout was repetitive so I decided to slightly changed the layout by layering the images. To create these pages I edited the background images (of graffiti) by using the .TXT to . JPEG method which I have previously explained on my blog. for the image of the head I distorted the channels and added grain. Then I cut out an image of Instagram likes, comments and follows; then layered it on top of his eyes. 

The message which I am trying to display on these pages is that even when people are not on social media they are always connected. Im also trying to connote how social media can blind people to their actual reality and become more focused on taking photos/videos, instead of just enjoying the actual moment. 

I am happy with the outcome as it relates to my concept of digital reality and visually communicates that, through the use of social media icons and pixelation. 

[miajacques]

Zine pages

As I previously mentioned in this segment of my zine I wanted to focus on my actual reality incorporating photos of my surroundings like nature and buildings. So for the next two pages I decided I wanted to use primary images of buildings. Here are some primary images:

Here is the outcome: 

To add to the digital reality concept I manipulated the image In Photoshop, using ‘Square’ and ‘Wave’ tools. I also used some text which I had photographed in the projector shoot and edited using the effect ‘subtract’ to give it more transparency. I used the rhetorical question ‘Is it real?’ because using rhetorical questions was one of my objectives at the start to ensure my zine provokes thoughts for the viewer. The message which I am trying to convey within these two pages somewhat relates to the ‘Simulation theory’, is our reality real or is it a simulation. The purpose of these pages is make the viewer think about their reality and question reality. These pages could also be interpreted as how social media and technology lead to people questioning whether everything is real; as the virtual world is so exaggerated and most often a fake representation of how life actual is. 

In conclusion I feel like the outcome of these pages was successful as it relates to my concept and research. This is because of the visual message which the pages convey through use of text and glitch effects, resulting in the outcome showing the digital escapism (and life simulation) concepts. However I’m not sure whether these pages are too abstract for the viewer to understand the meaning behind it, this is something I could possibly improve on in the future by add more text to give more context.  

[miajacques]

Zine pages

For the next few pages I wanted to capture some images of my surrounding and nature. To give the narrative more context of the actual reality by using photos of building and the sky. Also within these pages I wanted to add more of the dream-like concept, to showcase a message of how escapism can feel like your in a whole different reality. As I stated in the planning process I wanted to carry out the connection to the digital world in all pages of the zine so to ensure this I will be distorting images to give them that glitch and surreal outcome. 

process pictures and outcome: 

For these pages I chose to do a double spread using projector images I had taken previously. I wanted these pages to reflect dreams, to visually communicate this I used clouds ( as cloudy skies are often used to connote daydreams and dreams). I also found a photo which I had taken using my projector which I used a similar image reflecting on my model. Therefore I edited this image on Photoshop using tools like ‘Distort’, ‘Square’ and also distorted the channels to give the image the 3D glitch effect to showcase the digital aspect of my concept.

I wanted to add some text to these pages as they looked blank, so overlaid projector photos I had took which had phrases in like ‘Never Sleep’ and ‘I am in a dream’. I thought these phrases were quite relevant to the dream topic and escapism. To me by using both the juxtaposing phrases it conveys the conflicting feelings escapism (digital escapism) can create. Using technology can give people the feeling of being in a dream and feeling like they’re in a different reality. However the digital world can have negative effects making people addicted or obsessed resulting in them getting a lack of sleep or a bad night of sleep. 

Overall I am pleased with the outcome of these pages as it closely relates to my ideas and the concept. To improve this I could’ve used more text to ensure the viewer gets the message that I am trying to visually communicate, ensuring that the narrative is clearer. 

[miajacques]

Zine pages

In the planning process (of my zine) I stated that I wanted to add escapism through nature but also intertwine technology. So my inspiration for the next pages in my zine was to convey the message of log off and go outside. So to prepare for this narrative I went on a walk and took some primary images of nature. Here are some of the photos I took: 

After collating images I started to edit them on photoshop. I also screenshot some ‘log off’ buttons of various apps, to communicate the message.

As you can see above this was what I started to create however I really didn't like the contrast of each side. I also got some feedback from my tutors and they told me to combine the images. 

Therefore I edited the image of the flowers, distorting them and editing the channels giving the image a 3D. I decided I was going to create a double page spread and use the edited flower image as the background. I then cut out and overlaid the ‘slide to power off’ button on to the background. I edited the image using the pixelate (‘crystallise’) tool, to give the image a blurry and distorted look. Here is the outcome:

I really like the outcome as it visually communicate the message of log out and go outside. I also think it’s a good transition to the nature side of escapism. The outcome meets my objective of intertwining both digital and nature, by the use of images. This also meets my personal brief of creating and immersive and interactive zine as the power off images makes the viewer want to turn (or touch the page) as if their turning off the phone. The blurriness of the pages connote to me the feeling you get when you look at a screen too long, forcing your eyes to get dry and your vision starts to blur. This creates an immersive factor to the zine really making the viewer feel like they are digitally escaping.  

Regarding future developments, I want to continue the nature theme on the next pages whilst still visually communicating the dream-like and digital elements/concepts.  

[miajacques]

Zine pages

For the next pages of my zine I started to try and create a typography style which matched my concept of digital escapism. My main inspiration for these pages were my projector photos which I used for the styling task earlier in the module. The ‘no signal’ background, made me want to communicate the unreliable side of technology. Through imagery and text I wanted to connote the negative side to this escapism by using; glitched text, overlaying images, contrasts of bright colours and blank/black backgrounds. As you can see below, these are some screengrabs of the process and the outcome. 

To create the text I used a normal font on Photoshop called ‘Arial Black’ and started to distort the text to get a glitch effect. First time I edited the text didn’t have the glitch effect I was looking for so I continued distorting and using the ‘Wave’ tool until I was happy with the outcome. To give the text a more virtual feel I overlaid a glitch image which matched the colours of the photos I used on the other page. Overall I was happy with the outcome of this page and the text. I like how the text uses bright colours and contrasts with the black background, I also like the repetition of the word because it reminds me of when technology devices like laptops, glitch and break. For the second page I decide to overlay two similar projector images, I set the image on top to ‘Exclusion’ to really make the ‘no signal’ text stand out, and also give the image a luminous effect. I love the outcome of this image, even though it was quite simple to make it still works well with my digital concept and really complements the other page because of the blue and yellow colours. 

In conclusion I like the outcome of these two pages as it fits my concept very well. However to improve this I could of made the text page more chaotic to really communicate the overwhelming out of control side of technology. To do this I could of used a variety of fonts, different sided fonts and overlaying the text. This is something I could possible develop in the future within other pages of my zine.   

[miajacques]

Creating the first pages

One of my objectives for the zine was to incorporate key words and rhetorical questions, to make the viewer think. Therefore on my second page I decided I was going to display the question ‘Do you need an escape from reality?’ in a text message bubble. The reason I did this was because I wanted to really communicate my concept of escapism, using the text bubble was a way of visually communicating the digital side. To create the background for this page i used my projector photos to add the glitch element. In my personal brief I also stated that I wanted to convey an immersive dreamscape, the rhetorical question really adds that immersive element getting the viewer to have a personal response. I also added, ‘yes’ and ‘no’ selection options as if the viewer was looking a screen.  

The eye page was supposed to display a message of our technology consumption and how it is becoming a part of us and our everyday life. I wanted it to symbolise how social media/technology blurs the line between real and fake (reality and fantasy). 

Here some images of the process and the final outcome: 

I really like the outcome as it incapsulates my view of a digital dreamscape, through the intense colours and warped visuals. The bright colours and glitched background give the pages a psychedelic feel due to the distortion of the images which was one of my objectives when creating these pages. Using Photoshop to produce these has really helped me develop my editing skills via using tools like ‘channels’ and ‘pixelation’. 

[miajacques]

Planning my zine

Tone of voice & target audience 

In the magazine lecture which Susannah Jones presented she explained that establishing the tone of voice for your magazine/zine is very important. So to start my planning process I thought about what I wanted my zine tone of voice to be. Since my main inspiration for this project has been photography, I want my zine to mainly visual with not many words. I also want my target audience to be teenagers and young adults ranging from roughly the ages of (17- 28). Therefore I feel like my zines tone of voice should somewhat be fun and trendy, to draw in my demographic. Additional as my concept is escapism and heavily relates to technology and the digital world, I think this would be very suitable for young adults as social media is extremely popular amongst this demographic. 

Zine Narrative and Ideas  

My zine is going to consist of 16 facing pages including the cover and back. I am going to visually displaying three forms of escapism; digital, nature and night life/after hours. Each page is going relate to technology and the virtual world, through the use of distorted, glitched and pixelated images and text. I want the zine to be immersive and something the viewer can get lost in; I want to symbolise that each individual concept is its own unique alternate world.

I am going to create three pages for each concept and possibly merge all of them on the last page or have a message/quote relevant to the escapism on the last page. The three digital escapism pages will consist of projector photography, digital text, glitch/distorted effects and images of technology devices. These pages will symbolise the digital world and how easy it is to get consumed by it, showing how the online world isn't actual reality and is exaggerated and abstract. 

For the nature escapism concept I am going to incorporate photography of plants, clouds, the sky, projector images. I am going to try and add more textures of nature within these pages to convey a more physical side of escapism, symbolising that nature is actual reality which you can touch and interact with. However I am still going to distort and glitch some images to communicate the message of even when we’re not in ‘the online world’ we’re still connected to it. When social media gets too much we normal go outside (or find another way to escape) however we always end up return to the digital world by taking our phones out.

The last concept I will be showcasing in my zine will be after hours/night. These pages will take a more urban direction and really contrast with the nature concept. To make these pages I will uses images of street lights, street art, empty streets, roads and shops. This narrative is about when people travel home from work and stores start to close the chaotic urban streets become redundant and empty.  When the night falls realities feels altered, conspiracies say that there is a shift/clash of dimension. Night-time is also when the dark side of escapism is unveiled with activities such as; crime, drug and alcohol abuse. In these pages I will being showing night time as a different reality but also carrying out the digital theme, with adding glitches. 

In conclusion I want my zine to have a clear narrative of the connection to the digital world throughout shown by distortion and glitch, I will do this by using tools in Photoshop and Indesign. I also want to connote a dream-like reality/dimension by using key phrase and words. My overall message is how digital escapism leads to people questioning their reality, making the viewer think about what is real and fake.  

[miajacques]

Eye need to escape

Here are some more samples I have created. To create this sample I used some primary images from photoshoots I have done previously. I layered the images and then erased parts of the image so you could see the text in the background image. After finishing that process I changed the effects of the top image to create some interesting outcomes. Here are the screen-grabs of the process and the outcomes: 

Overall I am pleased with the outcomes and feel like the techniques I used whilst creating it, I can apply when it comes to creating my zine. This sample has really pushed me to enhance my CAD by using tools like ‘erase’ and ‘heal brush’. However I think that the outcome could be improved as the text looks a little messy and next time I will focus on being more precise and pay more attention to detail. Nevertheless I think the outcomes are very relevant to my concept of escapism as they visually communicate the desire to escape everyday life.  

[miajacques]

Collage Samples

Visual communication 

When it comes to creating a magazine/zine, it is important to think about what each photo (used within the zine ) represents and what each page is displaying to the reader. One of my goals for my final outcome is to create an immersive journey for the viewer. In my personal brief I stated I want “to create a psychedelic digital dreamscape”, so this is what I want to visual communicate throughout my zine. To me visual communication is key to my zine being successful as I am not planning on doing an interview and I only want to use key words, phrase and rhetorical questions to get the viewer thinking.  

Therefore to get some visual ideas for my final outcome I started to create some samples on Photoshop with my primary images. 

Here are the outcomes:

Sample 1

Sample 2

I am pleased with the outcome of the samples as I think the both visual communicate the ‘psychedelic digital escape’, through the glitching backgrounds, projector photography, digital text/pop up tabs and the bright overwhelming colours. Another one of my objectives which I stated in my personal brief was the narrative of positive and negative connotation related to social media and technology. I feel like these sample do display both negative and positive elements of the internet by phrases/words seen throughout. For example in the first sample you can see the words ‘hopes’ and ‘dreams’ which you could visually interpret as how social media can motivate people into having hopes and dreams. I also used a projector image within sample 1 which says ‘delete yourself’, this could be interpreted in many ways, to me it displays the negative side of social media. Overall these samples has made me think of ways I can visually communicate my concept through imagery. 

[miajacques]

Primary images

Projector photography

I think it is beneficial for me to gain some more primary imagery for my zine and samples as photography is something which interests me and has been a main focus within my research. I also think it will enhance my work making it more personal to me. Therefore I decided that I am going to do various photoshoot which hopefully accurately display my perception of escapism. Previously when doing the white t-shirt styling task I used my projector to get some interesting visuals, I got this idea from the photographer Dennis Auburn which I have also mentioned throughout this blog. I am going to be using my projector and projecting images on to surfaces and people. Here are some images I already taken: 

As you can see above I have used various digital/glitch images and reflected the on to walls and the ceiling. I have also used images with digital text to really connote the concept of digital escapism. Overall I think all of these images will be good to use in my zine and samples, the images can be edited to further communicate escapism. Taking these photographs has really helped me think of photoshoots I could do to produce more images which communicate my narrative; such as escapism through nature and technological devices (like TVs and computers) and street art. 

[miajacques]

Sample

To develop more ideas for my final outcome and enhance my CAD I am producing samples using photoshop. Today I decided to try and use typography to really develop my concept of escapism. 

Here are some screenshoots of the process: 

For the background image I choose a picture which use the method of gel photography. The reason why I wanted to incorporate gel photography is because of the neon lighting which contrast with the dark background. The image really has a virtual feel to it and is something which I have seen throughout my research of photographers. 

When it came to the typography for this sample I wanted to try various effects and layouts. Here are the final outcomes: 

My main inspiration for the typography style is Matt Serif. To create the typography style I used a font from Photoshop called ‘Arial Black’ and then used the ‘Distort’ tool and ‘Wave’ tool. I then started changing the ‘wavelength’, ‘amplitude’ and ‘scale’ to create a warped/wavy effect. After creating the typography style I started writing the word escape in various layouts. I also duplicated the words layering them and using different effects like ‘Exclusion’ to make parts of the font transparent; resulting in a different colour when layering the words on to the image. 

I am quite pleased with the final outcomes because I think the warped typography really connotes the digital escapism I wish to develop in my zine. This task also helped me focus on possible typography styles which I can create in the future. Another aspect which I need to consider is what quote and sentences I want to include in my zine which will allow me to visually communicate my concept.  

https://weheartit.com/entry/300778738 (Accessed: 06/05/2020)

[miajacques]

Typography Zine

Whilst doing research into popular zine’s which would help inspire my outcome I stumbled upon a typography zine. Typography is something which is really crucial when creating a zine and it is important to consider what fonts will attract your demographic and fonts which will visually communicate your narrative and concept. I found a graphic designer Matt Serif on Behance which created a zine called ‘Type Scans’; ‘Type Scans’ is “an ongoing side project celebrating imperfection through typography warped on a flatbed scanner”. The zine explores depression, hopelessness and anxiety; these feeling/mental health conditions are strongly related to my concept of escapism as the feelings are normal a catalyst for the need to escape. Also these disorders/emotions are link to the use of social media as I have previously spoke about on my blog. 

Here are some images from Matt Serif’s zine: 

https://www.behance.net/gallery/81056417/Type-Scans-Zine-Vol-1 (Accessed:06/05/2020)

I really like the zine as you can the typography style and words which he uses  communicate the feelings which he is trying to convey. The warped and scattered words really sets the tone of the narrative, making the viewer visualise the feelings. I also like the way he creates shapes with the words turning them into art. Theses warped, scattered and flatbed typography styles are something which I want to design and incorporate into my zine. 

[miajacques]

Sample

To help me continue working towards my zine and develop more ideas, I decided to start creating a moodboard on Photoshop. To start the moodboard I found an image of persons eye after taking drugs (as drug use is an aspect of escapism which I have previously done research into). To create a psychedelic type glitch effect I duplicate the image of the eye and the cut out a smaller section, then I layered it on top of the original image and changed the effect from ‘Normal’ to ‘Exclusion’. As an outcome of doing this it gave the eye a more Inverse/X-ray colour effect.  After that I want to add some text into the centre (pupil) of the eye. To display the technology/digital side of my escapism concept I decided to us the ‘loading’ sign and text. I also added a pop up ‘error’ banner to really symbolise the virtual theme. I then went on to edit the ‘loading’ and ‘error’ images using the ‘Distort’ and ‘Wave’ tool on Photoshop to really enhance the glitch effect. To complete the moodboard I used a warped pixelated computer screen for the background. Here are some screen grabs of the process:

Final sample outcome:

This is the final outcome of the sample. I am pleased with the outcome as it clearly shows my idea of a ‘psychedelic digital dreamscape’ through the images, digital icons and my use of warping and distort editing. In this moodboard I think I have created a narrative/message that visually communicates the addiction of social media/technology and also of how unreliable technology is. This has really helped me gain more ideas for my zine and also helped me improve my CAD skills, by exploring new tools. 

References of images used in the sample:

https://wallpapers.tahmino.com/details/loading-wallpaper-darkwallpaperiphone-loading-blackart-b/X5X3N936403070G2/3760(Accessed:05/05/2020)

https://www.mixcloud.com/Digitalbil/the-dilated-sessions-mix-vol-2-by-digital-bill-nickolas-x/

(Accessed:05/05/2020)

https://blackartsviper.tumblr.com/post/57143187502

(Accessed:05/05/2020)

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/error-message (Accessed:05/05/2020)