Supercrit Feedback and Reflection

A piece of my display wall. Some of the posters and the t-shirts weren't up when I took this picture.

Here are the notes I took from today's supercrit about where to go and what to do next:

Talk to the Toystore about using augmented reality for the posters - could you make them even more immersive?
Virtual reality is certainly immersive and impacting, but I'm not sure how I could use this on a street poster – they aren't that accessible. If I moved my space from physical posters to a virtual form it could work, but where and how would they be viewed, and how would that relate to the other aspects of my project?

Look at the Starbucks Race Cup promotion, an epic fail.
The-inside-story-of-starbucks-race-together-campaign
Starbucks was attempting to weigh in on the racial conversation happening at the time, by having their baristas write 'Race Together' or a number of questions on the cups, with the aim to start discussions around race and equality for the positive. Unfortunately it was seen as a thoughtless act weighing in on an issue from a privileged white point of view, and the company got a lot of anger for it. They had created the widespread discussion they were aiming for, but not in the way that they expected.

Actual shirt, just one symbol, key word, hashtag, QR code. Twitter handle? This way the people become the posters, which starts conversation.
This could be a good way to start discussions with people anonymously – perhaps if people knowledgeable on the topics on their shirt also had hashtags or Twitter usernames displayed, then people could tweet them questions and create an online discussion database through physical medium of clothing. It's a good way to spot local people in your area who you could discuss things with, either in person after arranging a catch-up through Twitter, or in an online environment.
I'll need to make the shirts more interesting and eye-catching, they also need to be appealing for people to buy, and if this idea written above goes ahead, personalised for each person with their Twitter handle. They'd also need to be verified somehow that they're knowledgable on the topic. Perhaps a hashtag would be simpler because it works for everyone.
I like the idea of people becoming the posters. There's something interesting in that.

Mon - Friday t shirts for each day
How many people actually do that? I'm not sure if that idea would fly so well.

Why will they wear it?
They will wear it because it looks cool and they're passionate about the issue. Can we make them more passionate about the issue through educating them, or through cool-looking t shirt designs, perhaps?

Do you want to make it political? Remove Trump from them, perhaps. Having politics in there makes it an argument.
This does make it a bit easier when talking about overseas problems or tapping into the US market. He was my favourite first illustration though! :)

How can you use them to start conversations?
Make them engaging and original through designs on them, and perhaps the way that they interact with their environment?

Needs a label name.

For now it's this little guy, but I think the designs on the shirts will influence the final label name.

Ethical (local?) fashion vs Fast Fashion?
This is a tricky one. The issues are current and have a quick turnaround, but clothing these days is favouring slower fashion that is worn and lasts for longer, as this benefits our planet (and I agree). Particularly when talking about issues such as climate change, it makes sense that the shirts are ethical and sustainable with a small environmental impact. How can I make them sustainably while still having a fast turnaround, or do I have to sacrifice one of those options? Could I make shirts that work across a range of different topics (and does this lose the cool factor of current and in-the-know)?

Change the background colour of the t shirt. Make hundreds of iterations.
I've got some books out to help me with doing creative and different ideas for t shirts. It's a simple and often-used medium, so I want to make it stand out as best I can. Here's an early example I've found by Fed-Ex.

Patterns can hide the information.
Patterns are a current trend that means I can get a lot of information in there at once, and people can use the pieces to get an idea of an overall topic, but I tend to agree. I'll look harder at other options.

10/5 Reflection Document

After class we were tasked with writing a quick summary of what we learned that day through critiques, amongst other things.

What critique experience you found useful and why:
I found it useful to get multiple perspectives on my work from people doing a variety of topics. The different things that they were doing for their major projects meant that they approached and problem-solved my work from various different angles, giving me new ideas. I also found it helpful to get ten minutes of un-interrupted lecturer critique and next-steps so that I know how far along I am, how on track I am and what I should focus on in the next few weeks.

What you intend on doing and showing after the break:
I’ll be showing lots more t-shirt designs – I’d like to explore how to make a t-shirt design unique, fun, and original, as they are so overdone and need to be interesting and new to be effective. I might also show any new ideas I think of for spreading the reach of my project in an experiential way, because I don’t think that my current idea has quite hit the mark. There’s nothing particularly special or exciting about it right now.

A short summary opinion of what you saw at the supercrit:
The supercrit showed that people were at all different stages of their projects, but those whose projects seemed to be the most successful and the furthest ahead were the people who had done the most experimentation and iteration. I find that so difficult to do, so another holiday goal is to do a new iteration every day for a week, and see how it goes. Likely the answer to unlocking this puzzle that I’m currently stuck in is to create, create, create.

Making a Poster

I started with a QR code generator, and the website address of 'newsbusters.com' from here: www.qr-code-generator.com

I've found some examples of QR codes being used in really effective ways to elevate the level of experience and interaction that viewers have with the poster. It takes them from being passive 'viewers' to active 'explorers/advancers' of the digital space that is created, giving them a sense of wonder, discovery and satisfaction.

This video CV is of particular interest and inspiration to me, the talking mouth shows fun, personality and makes a memorable piece of media that certainly won't be overlooked or forgotten by potential employers.

Incorporating the image into the QR code

Incorporating the QR code into the image

I took my template for a plain white shirt from www.ascolour.co.nz.

The idea with these posters is that scanning the QR code will start a video playing in the background, behind the shirt. The video will show fiction vs reality on the world issue related to the shirt on the poster. The t-shirts on the poster will be real shirts, stuck on at the corners, that people can grab off the posters if they are the first one to find them. Underneath is a photograph of the shirt, so the posters will still make sense.

Option 1: This first option has a bottom bar that stays fixed throughout the video, and focusses entirely on the shirt with it's white background. On a crowded wall of broadsides, or simply in city life, there isn't much white or empty space to look at, so although it's simple, in juxtaposition it is bold and eye catching.

The video plays behind the shirt, and the bottom banner stays fixed to anchor the information.

Option 2: Having the text of the poster on the empty background space. This does mean that it needs to be moved/removed when the video plays though. The answer is a top-of-the-page banner, which might have headlines related to the video scroll across it as the video speaks. The video itself is split down the middle to juxtapose the fiction from the reality about the issue.

These videos would be about a minute in length, as people on the street do not have much time as they pass by in which to engage with advertising.

Of these two options so far, I prefer the first one, because it is more cohesive, but I like the idea of the split video in Option 2. The poster still needs work, but for tomorrow's showing this gives a good enough idea.