COP Seminar, My Notes, Discussion Notes, Simon Thoughts

Decolonial Design in Practice: Designing Meaningful and Transformative Science Communications for Navakavu, Fiji

Case study exploring how design practice in western world controls the aesthetic, functional and cultural values of non-Western design by looking project in Fiji where researchers, designers and local community designed initiatives to promote the environmental conservation of their protected marine area. 

Design contributes to coloniality by replicating a culture of mass consumption, a view held by the western world, which oppresses cultural values and aesthetic of non-Western design, craft and art traditions. 

In 2000s design for the "good of others" became popular, along with human-centred design. However, further calls for change are needed in design practice, this isn't enough.

Design should go beyond designing artifacts and services, we should promote cultural change involving direct or indirect participation. Moving away from market-based or human-centred perspectives and incorporate decolonial concepts. 

Little evidence of decolonial design as it could transform into a tokenistic activity, so it is kept within the realm of philosophical and academia. 

Decolonial thought is a political project and proposal that questions the universality of eurocentric knowledge.

Decolonial Design emerges from this and seeks to understand and practice design from an alternative standpoint. One that is critical and reflecting, as it aims to stimulate the ability to imagine non-European-desified ways of being in the contemporary world. 

DD goes beyond designing new interventions or stimulating social, developmental or economic change the aim is to trigger submersive transformation which changes not only participants but the design itself according to each reality it is applied to. 

DD accepts potential uncertainties and acknowledges the process of designing as an outcome in itself. 

One of the defining elements of Decolonial Thought (DT) are its questioning of the universality of Eurocentric thought and it question of the pattern of Modernity. DT posits that Modernity did not start with the Industrial Revolution but in the 15th century when the 1st europeans reached Abya Yala (the Americas) a claim reveals that coloniality as constitutive rather than derivative of Modernity. DT also states that colonial heritage models the forms in which Modernity is expresses, this redefines Modernity as a social and cultural project that normalises and perpetuates the lower ranking and inferiorization of the other.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Graphic Design for the Real World? 
Visual communication's potential in design activism and design for social change.

What is graphic design's role within design activism? 

Papanek believes designers should be advocates for users rather than work to accumulate prestige or wealth for themselves or others. The designer has to understand the consequences of their design in relation to politics, health, income and biosphere. 

Papanek criticises design's alliance with neoliberal economy through his book Design for the Real World. 

Boekraad states that the view of design presented to the public is market related, aiming to meet the desire of the consumer. Therefore it works as an instrument to accelerate production and consumption of goods and services. Design activists challenge this idea as it favours economic gain over the interests of others, thus becoming socially insensitive and economically destructive. However Marttila states design is able to change these assumption patterns to sustainable ones. 

Julier believes design activism isn't separate from design culture or neoliberalism as it may appropriate techniques from commercial design. The surge of design activism can be seen as a consequence of the crisis of neoliberalism. 

Jorge Frascara (2006, p. 27) has stated that the main reason for the existence of any piece of graphic design is that “Someone has something to communicate to someone else.”

Ann Tyler (2006) describes the communicative process as the designer’s attempt to “persuade the audience to adopt a belief demonstrated or suggested through the two-dimensional object”.

Jorge Frascara (2006, p. 29) proposes that quality in graphic design should be measured by how it affects the audience.

Therefore it can be argued that in most cases the job of the visual communication designer is to persuade the reader of the commissioning client’s message by providing peripheral cues and visual arguments that make the message content more attractive and adoptable.

He distinguishes design activism from design culture as a practice that is not reactive, but more self-consciously and more knowingly responsive.

Design activism without persuasion allows the user to be more empowered in their decisions and have a self-determined role. 

Either way it is crucial that visual designers are aware that apart from communicating a clients’ message or voicing their own agenda, they can create design that is a service to the reader.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Graphic Thing
Ambiguity, Dysfunction and Excess in Designed Objects

Thing - “Somewhere beyond or beneath the phenomena we see and touch there lurks some other life and law of things, the swarm of electrons”.

Object: “... there are codes by which our interpretive attention makes them meaningful, because there is a discourse of objectivity that allows us to use them as facts”.

Bottom-up processing is starting at nothing known and working towards object, what happens in the middle relates to thingness. The filling in of the unknown until we end at object. 

Top-down processing is the reverse, we start with the object so we are able to have visual conception of the object already. And again thingness is the anticipation or interpretation. 

The article is presenting examples of graphic design that evoke, in different ways, the thingness of graphic objects.

The body and brain influence our experience of reality, the structure that we think exists of objects independently actually comes about from our bodies and brains (according to embodied realism). So we make the external world useful to us as a species.

Both thing and object, therefore, should be approached as embodied mental constructs rather than features of a noumenal world. As Johnson observes:

What I object to in the objectivist metaphysical picture is not the idea of objects of experience, but rather the failure to recognize that these objects are mind-dependent and individuated relative to our conceptual systems and structures for meaning-making.

Brown (2001: 4) notes that we tend to look through objects, “to see what they disclose about history, society, nature or culture – above all what they disclose about us.” Things, on the other hand, are more opaque and can

only be glimpsed. “We begin to confront the thingness of objects when they stop working for us.”

Bill Brown, and active network theory. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WHAT WE NEED TO DO:

Theoretical framework - each uses a theoretical approach to make sense of what they're using. What approach is this? How would we summarise this? What are they looking at how are they framing the extent of their project. 

Argument, what are the solutions to the problem? 

Structure - do any of the articles have a structure we could use for our own essay (maybe not decolonial design as it is based around one case study). 
What are the authors talking about in one section, how does it move on to the next section etc. 

How might the article lead to a visual investigation? What might it explore? 

Write 150 word summary of the article, can do individually or as a group.
IT should focus on the points of the discussion, what they see as problematic, what the main article is, what sources they use to establish their approach. 
Use harvard referencing in the summary, if quotes need to reference the quote, and bibliography there also. 

Simon video upload at 1pm.

Post summary onto blog. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GROUP MEETING

The Graphic Thing.

Discussion points form group call:

Theoretical framework - what theoretical concepts, texts, authors do they use to frame the discussion of the article? These will often appear at the start of the piece and the author(s) will continue to refer to them throughout the discussion.

• Abstract, introduction, perception vagueness and ambiguity, excess, dysfunction and contradiction, namelessness, conclusion.  
• Using cognitive theory within the text, gestalt is also presented, embodied realism, image schema 
• Could the layout of the article be reflective of the idea of a conscious reading?

What is problematic according to the authors? Does the article attempt to resolve or identify issues/problems? This is where the authors will show their criticality.

• The grey area between object and thing.
• Looking at issues of perception and attention in relation to “thingness”.
• You have a preconceived idea of what a book is like, but there are alterations that can be made so you’re aware that something is a book but it is unconventional to what you originally thought.

Main argument - what contribution does the article make to the field? how do they resolve any issues/problems identified?

• Proposes an idea, and way of thinking. Isn’t necessarily an argument.
• Discussing the extent of thingness and object in accordance to cognitive theory. 
• Main theory of graphic design, how the theories of typographic constructs show that type can be made, objects can be reflected into type as a camera Obscura. Being presented with an item and the audience's mind being progressed into something with meaning. 

Structure - review each of the sections together considering carefully the structure of the piece and how the authors progress their discussion/argument.

• Structure is based on the understanding of the audience, changing the way in which the article is written to the audience showing what is written progresses. 
• Questions are asked and answered throughout the essay to further progress the points made
• Constantly refers back to the term thingness as a constant discussion topic point with further evidence

 How might the article lead to a visual investigation? This may be implicit so think carefully about how you would use this theoretical discussion in practice.

• Stereotypes and outcomes that are expected within the conventions of graphic design, looking at layout, composition, colour, type and many more solutions and elements that make the process of design. Process and reflections “more of a thing” than a finished outcome. 
• Looking at more research based investigations, presenting this in a way that relates to the audiences showing more of an understanding as practical responses are shown. 
• The research and understanding of asking audiences questions of what they see an apple, an cat ect. Something they have experienced to be reflected then asking on other ideas such as what is a… 
• Changing and rechanging an object into being recognised to unrecognised. 

SUMMARY

Throughout the article Jones (2014) discusses the relationship between "thingness" and "object" as two individual artifacts, and approaches this through a psychology lens. By focusing on specific cognitive theories, such as image schema, gestalt, and embodied realism "thingness" is presented as a multifaceted concept that occurs during mental processing. When discussing issues of persuasion and attention in relation to "thingness" a deeper understanding is presented, allowing designers to be aware of the audience's interpretation of "thingness" in relation to their work, allowing new meanings to be projected onto the work. Jones (2014) guides the user through their research by presenting an initial statement of "thing" and "object" and building upon this knowledge to diminish the grey area between the two. By presenting case studies physical examples of "object" and "thing" the audience can experience the processes mentioned in the article leading to a more developed understanding of the themes.

Bibliography:
Jones, P., 2014. The Graphic Thing. Ambiguity, Dysfunction, and Excess in Designed Objects, 6(2), pp.203-218.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SIMON'S THOUGHTS 

> Not a fan of structure of the article, doesn't seem the most logical.

> Is a great article and is an interesting way of thinking about design and how the analytical way of looking at design and how it's communications impact the viewer, how they read and understand them.

Theoretical Framework:

The idea of embodied realism, and the assumption is that the real world, physical object stuff, exists but is only made meaningful in our embodied, cognitive interaction with the object. Without our interaction, objects are just stuff, we give them meaning, colour, context, function etc. 

“There is an external reality; however, our understanding of this external reality is deeply influenced by the ways that our bodies and brains interact with it. Much of the structure that we assume exists independently in objects in the external world, according to embodied realism, instead arises from the combined functioning of our bodies and brains.”

“…we form “schematic images” of objects like cups (which we could extend to include graphic artifacts like books, posters, magazines, websites, and so forth). Such schematic images arise from recurring bodily and mental experiences of objects. Schematic images are themselves comprised of more fundamental image schemas. Grady proposes that the term image schema should be reserved for “mental representations of fundamental units of sensory experience” (2005: 44).”
 - How we make sense of the things that exist in the world.
 - Cognitive linguistics tells us that we're using these pre-existing framework structures to help make sense of the things around us. 
 - Objects, those with obvious meaning. Things, disrupt the schemas. 

“The external world – devoid of color, image, and schematic structure such as top and bottom or inside and outside – is the stuff with which we physically engage bodies and brains. In doing so, we make the external world meaningful in ways that are useful to us as a species. We cannot escape our embodied experience – and the language and concepts we would use to describe this noumenal world are themselves embodied. Both thing and object, therefore, should be approached as embodied mental constructs rather than features of a noumenal world.”

Main assumption is discussing objects, stuff we understand and things, stuff we don't understand. 

Main Argument:

Doesn't have a clear argument. It is more promoting the understanding of graphic artifacts based on this relationship between objects and things, and how we use cognitive processes ot place meaning on the things we encounter. 

Takes this idea of meaning-making and asking 'what does this mean in relation to graphic design?', and provides several examples of graphic "things" as they're somewhat recognisable but don't fit directly into our schemas of what we understand that thing to be. 

Interesting point: “In graphic design the experience of thingness can be detrimental to user experience – for example, in cases in which the reader’s concentration is broken by some badly set type. But designers can also use this experience of thingness to call attention to the designed object, to create impact, to suggest emotional and affective states, and to foreground certain attributes and qualities so that new meaning may emerge.”
- Good when thinking about user interface, the user should be able to navigate the design easily so when the audience is trying to deduce meaning from the work this can happen succinctly and easily. 
- Jones says trying to create graphic "things" can be a way of getting noticed and attention, as it's unusual and out of place. 

Structure:

The intro handles all the theoretical basis for the article, makes it feel less like an introduction. 

Feels there should've been a section acknowledging the theoretical approach to "thingness". 

Has provided a framework for how they assess visual things.

Practical Project:

Could establish strategies for creative project. 

Putting these different criteria look like in practice, seeing their impact, finding issues and barriers by doing so. Finding things out that you wouldn't from writing alone.