Critical Context: Stage 1 (Draft 1)

Based on 10 annotated bibliography, pick 5 which are most relevant to the context of your research.

Barnard, M. (2005). Graphic Design As Communication. New York: Routledge.

Nielsen, J. (n.d.). THE IMAGINATIVE POWERS OF THE USERS’ MIND. from Visual Communication to Visual Interaction, 2-2.1.

Abler, E. (Director). (2015). Content Design: What It Is and Why You Need It. Retrieved on May 30, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zII_CyBhq5c

TED@BCG, Q. T. (Director). (2020). TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat — and the rise of bite-sized content. Retrieved on May 30, 2021, from https://www.ted.com/talks/qiuqing_tai_tiktok_instagram_snapchat_and_the_rise_of_bite_sized_content

Lupton, I. A. (2011). Exploring Materials. Creative Design for Everyday Objects.

How is it important to your specific question/ research context?

Graphic design is all about communication in which designers can easily communicate the ideas with the client, other designers, and the target audience. The book is proposed as a contribution to the explanations and critical analysis of graphic design. It gives readers a better understanding of the functions of graphic design and explains the idea of communication. The author intends to point out that graphic design is considered as communication to convey an idea through a combination of words and images, and it is not limited in any way. Magazines, advertisements and illustration are among the examples of graphic design that will be used to show how images and words communicate with different cultural groups.

This has proved that graphic design can be used as a universal language to address information and provide instruction in different contexts. While graphic design and communication are used to indicate the relationship for one thing to another in terms of direction, position and scale, it can also catch a spectator’s eye and make the message more memorable. This supports the point to amplify and reflect my design in further practice of design in order to expand my knowledge and gain strength to bring values to it.

The imaginative powers of the users’ mind, a journal written by Janni Nielsen that presents different perspectives on visual communication all of which point towards the design of communication. This journal reveals the main function of visual communication which allows designers to express the intention in an art form. Throughout this journal, it mentions that visual communication is a way to address the information and facts, but it can also communicate attitudes and emotions at the same time. It shows how the interrelation between visual communication and visual interaction can be inspired by design and understand it through a creative art form. Using communication skills to present stories visually and selling ideas inspired by Tibor Kalman and it becomes arguable that without words, visual communication will not open for interaction. Hence, designers must do something with a design that makes a difference in the world. This journal is vital to my study as it can be further developed in my design work. However, the experience and process have made the designer’s ability to express and demonstrate in the design. The author has also discussed which may be an inspiration and experience for a designer to look at as it can be turned into a “user experience.”

Moving forward, the intent of my project also includes content creation. Whether the content is doing generally or implementing, but the content is playing an important role in every design. Content is an incredibly powerful force that can make a designer’s work more memorable and shines.There was a talk given by Erin Abler and it had impacted my research context. In this talk, she shared her experiences and some tips about creating content. She mentioned that bad content will affect the quality of designs as people may lose trust in the designer who cannot convey the message clearly and correctly. Through the talk, the speaker also shared her strategy on how to create a great visual design. There are few tips that she pointed out that the content must be specific, informative, keep to the point, and be clear about what comes next. This is an effective way to make the content clearer and more understandable. Therefore, understanding the context and design open are important for a designer, which further supports the statement that content can bring prominent influence and forms of context.

The short video is a powerful and persuasive storytelling channel that is expected to dominate content consumed on the internet. More than 1.5 million people around the world, over half of them the age between 18 to 25, regularly watch short video clips of 60 seconds or less using Tiktok, Instagram Stories and other smartphone apps. In her Ted Talk, Tai Qiu Qing shared short videos that are more accessible, inviting imperfection and authenticity and all these videos are a great way to attract new customers and expand the diversity of audiences. Qiu Qing also mentioned that the content producers should be more creative and concise that the video clip posted on these social media is short. Based on the research was done by Qiu Qing, the young media is rapidly changing a lot more than the way we spend our leisure time, and this is important to let short videos find their status because it allows viewers all over the world to see bigger pictures on short video platforms and make more videos. By looking at the designer creative video, it pushes the designer to reflect and show the best works, which ultimately prompts them to express from within and to produce creative output to benefit the world by doing what the designer good and passionate at.

In addition, media mix is the combination of communication methods in which more flexible than one medium that can reach their vision and point across. Advertising, print, social media and websites and with all these also can mix with other mediums to get the message across. Combining these mediums allows designers to communicate effectively to prospects at different stages of the audiences. Media mixing not only gets the designer’s offer in front of the audience, but it also allows the brand freedom to more confidently try on new things. For example, if a brand has always seen positive results from digital display ads but it may be more interesting in trying online video ads. Media mix allows the brand to test something new while keeping the same way to promote their service and product.

Therefore, designers are encouraged to engage with audiences through media mix as designers can present their way out in the world. The press Creative Design for Everyday Objects release exploring materials and different media mix invites designers to get inspired by physical and visual forms. It also provides an insight into how these methods enrich the design content as well as more design solutions that can be seen and expressed. Hence, as a designer, who needs to begin looking at design with new eyes or a new aspect. A designer needs to be curious and find out how media mix can yield surprising outcomes with unexpected functions, such as short video, advertising, materials, and so on.