Studio Brief 1: Quote choice

The aim of studio brief 1 is to demonstrate the ability of triangulation and referencing within an essay. The essay is to be based on a quote which will spark ideas and form the theme of the essay. I have chosen two out of the twelve that were most interesting to me and then I will decide which one to continue with.

Malpas, S. (2005) The Postmodern. London: Routledge.

'We now live [...] in a knowledge-driven economy in which technological innovation and the ability to access and manipulate ideas rapidly is a key means of surviving, flourishing and making profits. As a result, we become consumers of a knowledge that has been transformed into a commodity…’

Research into how knowledge is the primary driving force of culture and social exchange would be important to consider, showing animalistic traits or having to have knowledge as a means of survival. The manipulation of ideas would be an interesting subject to explore as it closely links with graphic design. It would be interesting to see how this could generate profits and survival. 

Mass communication and mass media may influence what we think we should buy and how we should approach different situations depending on what level of knowledge we have.  

Key terms: Postmodernism, postmodernity, information age, knowledge-driven economy, internet, mass communication, mass media

Jansson-Boyd, C. (2010) Consumer psychology. New York: McGraw Hill Education.

'Many studies have found that both women and men do not believe that their current body form is attractive... Research has repeatedly found that physically attractive individuals are perceived by most to be socially more desirable than those that are perceived as being unattractive, something that is likely to have been reinforced by consumer societies…'

To approach this quote, the research would need to be based on gender representations in the media, advertising and branding. This would make evident what is seen to be attractive and then the links can be made to why people are left to not feel attractive. The self would need to be explored so that it could be concluded as to whether or not this has an impact on how we view ourselves as either attractive or not. The comparison to others is a large factor influencing how we feel about ourselves because if we do not much those that are shown to be desirable in a number of adverts and social media, then we would begin to feel inadequate.

Research into the consumer society and how this influences what products people buy, to make them look and feel a certain way about themselves. 

It would also be important to consider the difference between genders in the media and how it portrays each gender to be to be deemed attractive. Health magazines, adverts and websites would be interesting at revealing this as there are a lot of strong opinions on how we should lead healthy lifestyles - is it for the image of our bodies, or the health of our minds?

Key terms: Gender, body image, gender and advertising, gender and the media, gender representation, gender and branding, gender and consumer society