Integrative Studio 2

Planning:

I had changed my idea from my previous one after attempting to 3D print a phone case. I realized that I’m more of an artist than a mechanic (obviously) so I shifted my focus to more of an installation piece. I was inspired by Dadaism, so I decided to use found objects as a means to broadcast my message.

My Research Paper focused on the effects that makeup application had to ones self-image in the long run. From that topic there were a lot of sub categories that came with it. When answering the question of why is it that girls wear makeup, topics like cultural differences and influences like social media and advertising were brought up. I chose this topic because I think the cosmetic industry plays a huge role in society today, and we never realize the implications from such a simple everyday task as putting on makeup. I decided to go with the Dadaism idea because that movement is known for protesting against societal norms. A protest “against this world of mutual destruction.” I wanted to touch on all the topics I mentioned in my essay but also have some sort of focus. So I decided to go with concept of enhancement. The constant need for self improvement, in this case through cosmetics and social media. The extra lighting and the selfie stick for adjustable angles. The colored paper on the box below to represent usage of filters. And the box above with the broken triangles to symbolize a distorted self-image. Since this project was about Prototyping, I would want this installation piece to be much bigger and more interactive if I had to build it. I would want the objects to be much bigger than its regular size. I would want my audience to be able to walk through the boxes. Almost like an animation movie, when the characters shrink and all the objects become larger than life. Because thats essentially what is happening, not literally but symbolically.

Creative Brief (updated) :

My initial idea was to create a 3D printed phone case and install the LED lighting myself to portray the concept of enhancement. Although that didn’t work out after printing out the first time. I also realized that it wasn’t doing justice to all the topics I had talked about in my research paper.

PROJECT SUMMARY: (Brief description or overview of the project, include research topic and research question)

“Have commercialism and societal expectations damaged our self-esteem so much that we rely on makeup as a necessity rather than an accessory?”

RESEARCH SUMMARY: (Include your research sources in a separate sheet—working list):

• “Cosmetics”. 2010. In The American Beauty Industry Encyclopedia. Westport: Greenwood.
• Clay, D., Vignoles, V. L. and Dittmar, H. (2005), Body Image and Self-Esteem Among Adolescent Girls: Testing the Influence of Sociocultural Factors. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15: 451–477. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-7795.2005.00107.x (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2005.00107.x/full)
• Richins, Marsha L.. 1991. “Social Comparison and the Idealized Images of Advertising”. Journal of Consumer Research 18 (1). Oxford University Press: 71–83. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2489486.
• “Cosmetics History and Facts.” History of Cosmetics. Accessed March 15, 2016. http://www.historyofcosmetics.net/.
• Woman putting on her lipstick in a park with union station behind her, Washington, D.C., 1943. (Courtesy of Library of Congress)
• https://www.tinkercad.com/things/jTVlO06M10t-copy-of-iphone-6-blank-case-for-free-download-93014-for-3d/edit

PROJECT OBJECTIVES: (What are the main goals of the project? List the key goals of the project—most projects will have 3-5 objectives. List any requirements that must be incorporated)

1.  I want to create a personalized phone case for people, well specifically for me in this project so I can use it. One that has a mirror for makeup application and has a quote at the bottom (something cheesy but motivational) like “you’re beautiful.”
2. So its a reminder to appreciate your natural beauty but also makeup is a huge part of most girls lives and if it gives one confidence than why not use it?
3. My paper for Seminar is more focused on specifically the topic of make-up and how it ties in with the not just the psychology of being effected and why but also with the trends and current perceptions of beauty.
4. My Thesis (so far):

   We are constantly surrounded by advertisements and social media which inform us of the current trends and what is considered “beautiful.” However we’ve reached a point where these standards are simply unrealistic and we begin to see how this has a negative affect amongst the youth. In this essay I am going to focus specifically on the topic of make-up and it’s over-usage. Yes, wearing make-up boosts a ones confidence but so much so that they can’t seem to accept their natural beauty anymore.

PROJECT SCHEDULE: (List the milestones and critical dates for the project)

Finalize overall sketch + visit 3D printing lab (April 4th week)

Get the materials required (physical + make the graphic) (April 12th week)

Go to 3D Lab (April 19th week)

April 18th – Go to 3D Lab after class, get the phone printed.

April 19th – Try to finalize design on the phone case.

April 23rd – Buy materials (Plexi glass) needed for the design from Canal Plastics. Get any sort of engraving done.

To view the model click here

I conducted a survey and made a selective selection of girls to ask, ranging from the ages of 17-19, 4 girls of every race (western, african american, asian, southeast asian) However these are extreme generalizations and the girls I classified as south east asian some of them picked “asian” so that skewed my data a bit for that question. Also only 3 african american girls filled out my survey which also skewed my data because it wasn’t an even number of each race.

My Sketch plans:

Final Infographic:

I used the color pink to appeal to my demographic of girls. I used makeup products to help with data visualization. I used a face chart that makeup artists use as well to help with some more data visualization.

For initial research click here

I’ve decided to focus on the topic of make-up.

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Initial Questions:

How does a beauty trend come to be?

How does the current perception of beauty get defined?

How have the uses of makeup changed over the years?

Is the usage of make-up due to its long history of perceived beauty or merely commercialism and societal expectations or both?

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1. “Is the usage of makeup due to its long history of perceived beauty or merely commercialism and societal expectations or both?”
2.  “Has commercialism and societal expectations damaged our self-esteem so much that we rely on makeup as a necessity instead of an accessory?”

I decided to choose to focus on number 2.

effects of advertising on young women (psychology reports, past cases of teenage depression, pressure to be perfect)

– Secondary Sources: scholarly articles on how advertising affects us (specifically research done by Behaviorists)

makeup uses for a general teenage girl (annual spending, obsessive nature)

– Primary Sources: conduct surveys?

– Secondary Sources: Look at other people’s surveys.

current trends on makeup (what girls choose to achieve)

– Contouring (Primary Source: observation based off YouTube beauty gurus/girls in general)

– Extreme cover-up (desire for perfect skin)

– Eastern vs. Western trends comparison (Secondary Source: magazines like Cosmopolitan/ Vogue that determine beauty trends.)

big make-up companies (drugstore versus designer)

– slogans/ ideals/ the way they advertise (Primary Source: looking at their advertisements, from the past to now.)

It is general knowledge that advertising can have a negative impact on a teenager’s self-esteem. This paper is more focused on specifically the topic of make-up and it ties in with the not just the psychology of being effected and why but also with the trends and current perceptions of beauty.

I’ve previously made a magazine for my senior project where I’ve created “natural” makeup looks for different ethnicities that takes into consideration their cultural ideals of beauty and emphasizing their features that they’re blessed with. (http://www.a-subs.com/cakeface) I want to go deeper into the topic with this final project.

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I could perhaps use this to highlight different ethnic girls and their daily make-up usage. What they can’t leave the house without?

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Precedents:

Overall, I did get to experience a lot of nice galleries, a lot of them weren’t on the map but just in the general area. It was a lot of walking though because there were galleries everywhere around Chinatown, I tried to follow it based off the ranking but I ended up going to whichever one came first/in the same area. I think perhaps if it was focused on a smaller area in Chinatown or a specific genre of art it might have been more successful to navigate through.

Also for two of the galleries, the floor wasn’t specified so I had a hard time finding the gallery. And two of the galleries were closed by the time I got there, so perhaps include opening times?

Design Problem: Finding a creative way to make a map specifically designed for the people in the area or who have an interest/purpose to visit.

My area is the Financial District, tourism is very minimal I wanted to target the people who worked in that area.

Google Maps is the most convenient way my audience would navigate around the area, or anyone for that matter.

Any map that I would make would have to be electronic because no one carries a physical map anymore especially not businessmen or anyone working in finance.

Linked to my essay from Seminar, where I have my observations of the target audience and how there is a constant need to “promote productivity.” In my observations the stereotypes of business people always in a hurry, always working, constantly trying to be efficient is all 100% true. So I decided to focus on areas in the Financial District where one can sit down and work, so that would include bakeries/ cafes/ coffee shops where there are seats, Wi-Fi, outlets and of course good coffee because caffeine promotes productivity.

Secondary Research:

“Our Economy Is Obsessed with Efficiency and Terrible at Everything Else.” Harvard Business Review. 2016. Accessed March 04, 2016. https://hbr.org/2016/03/our-economy-is-obsessed-with-efficiency-and-terrible-at-everything-else

Donovan, Aaron. “If You’re Thinking of Living In/The Financial District; In Wall Street’s Canyons, Cliff Dwellers.” The New York Times. 2001. Accessed March 04, 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/09/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-living-financial-district-wall-street-s-canyons-cliff.html?pagewanted=3..

“3 Scientific Links Between Coffee and Productivity at Work.” Redbooth. 2015. Accessed March 04, 2016. https://redbooth.com/blog/coffee-and-productivity-at-work.

Process:

Pictures I took (Put them up in the previous blog post + other research):

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Final Project: https://invis.io/KN6CFMNSA

Theres’s something “romantic” about the idea of studying in a coffee shop. It’s idealized in movies and books so of course we are all swayed by the idea of it. However coffee shops can really promote productivity, not just because of the caffeine but because of the environment that the shop creates.

“Teahouses are the oldest of the three. In ancient China, the rich might spend all day in tea houses, socializing and passing the time by playing parlor games. These activities would be possible at someone’s home, but a change of setting (especially somewhere where you will be catered to, as an important client) was valuable. The cost of the teahouse was an accepted part of maintaining their place in society and, in fact, the ability to spend so freely on something non-essential was a demonstration of wealth.

Cafes came into vogue around the time of the French Revolution. Cafes were a space where thinkers (i.e., people with enough excess wealth to be able to afford to spend all day drinking coffee as opposed to working) could gather to discuss philosophy, politics, sociology, or whatever other ideas might be in vogue. The caffeine stimulated discussion.”

“Why Do People like to Sit in Cafes Drinking Coffee and Using Their Computers, Rather than Just Doing That at Home?” – Quora. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-people-like-to-sit-in-cafes-drinking-coffee-and-using-their-computers-rather-than-just-doing-that-at-home

I sat in Gregory’s Coffee on Wall Street and tried to work there, I actually got a lot of accomplished I sketched and I finished a digital drawing and I had an amazing Caramel Latte. There were two people on either side all working by themselves. One was working on her LinkedIn profile and the man was working on some web design coding. Coffee shops attract all different types of people, doesn’t matter where you work you can still take it and work in a coffee shop.

Then I left and went to Le Pain Quotein, it was a bakery/coffee shop and restaurant. You can definitely work there if you wanted, theres ample amount of space. They have outlets on almost every table which is helpful for anyone working with their laptops or other technological devices.

I don’t know how to describe it but it just felt good to work outside the dorm, away from the clutter and distractions.

Final Sketch:

Research and Design Process:

Price: $1,200

While observing Dashae on Wednesday, I noticed the object that was most important to her was her camera. Of course for most people it is an expensive object and thats why it would be considered “precious” so to speak, but I think there was so much more to it than that. Our generation is so obsessive over the idea of updating their social media so there is a lot of importance on picture-taking in general. Picture-taking today has reached a whole new level where it’s more about “enhancing” what is in front of you, so your essential goal is to make everything look more beautiful, more fun or more appealing than it actually is. Its all just part of your social media identity. But going back specifically to the topic of the camera, which produces ultra high definition photos already gives that kick-start to the enhancement.

Dashae is very active on social media, she has her Instagram account and her fashion blog so she constantly has to update it to keep her existing followers interested and get more followers. Sure everyone has a notion that social media is directly linked to one’s vanity when it comes to taking selfies and photoshopping ones self to look perfect but it can also be an outlet to express ones creativity and ideas. In my personal opinion fashion bloggers incorporate both of those ideas, the one where perfection is key and the expression of creativity. There is a huge aspect of blogging that is all about the visually appealing aesthetic otherwise why would people view the blog. And in order to grab that attention, the photos on the blog have to be eye-catching and high definition and the actual thing that is being photographed has to be interesting as well. She not only photographs her outfits but she has a ‘lifestyle’ and ‘parsons’ page, she captures events that she attends and work she’s done and things that inspire her, so basically almost everything.

She told me she loves to “capture memories” which is a whole other aspect of social media and the camera is the tool that helps you do that. Its almost a crazy concept that you can take a snapshot of what you’re experiencing in the current moment and have a physical representation that you can look at in the future. That physical representation presents the person with the visual cues they need in order to be nostalgic and the ability to relive a moment. Whether thats in the form of a simple picture or a video, its the most effective way to recall a memory. Most humans respond better to visual cues than any other sensory cues when it comes to recalling the memory.

In my opinion, these are the reasons why the camera possesses such “mythic” qualities, because of its direct correlation with the usage of social media and capturing of memories. Its one of the most valuable features on our phones and tablets. There are so many different types of cameras, lenses, and photography equipment because we belong to the generation that is obsessive with documenting everything, whether its for creative or personal purposes or both.

Why do you workout everyday? Do you have a goal?

• staying in shape
• friend forces

Why do you blog?

• like taking pictures
• having a recap of all the memories created

Why do you watch Netflix?

• no cable access
• catch up on shows
• watch movies

Why did you design your mind map the way you did?

• line = subway lines
• circles = to organize the days

Why do you like fashion?

• all the different options/styles
• Casual/laidback/semi formal style