I think she uses her desk as a place to read and do her work, a psychology book is lying on her desk which i can tell she has been in the process of reading as her glasses beside it.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Assignment 1: the consumption of design...
I think she uses her desk as a place to read and do her work, a psychology book is lying on her desk which i can tell she has been in the process of reading as her glasses beside it.
Friday, January 22, 2010
New Year... New project's!
Just been given our first brief of 2010!! (scary!)
Been asked to focus on natural design and over the course of the week, join with a few people and find out what it is!
Natural building materials and facts that are quite surprising...
-Straw bales used in buildings, easily shaped, assembled, cheap AND 3 TIMES MORE FIRE RESISTANT THAN A CONVENTIONAL HOME! (Because the bales are so tightly packed there is so little oxygen so if a fire breaks out it'll take a lot longer to burn than you would think!) Also can be treated with fire resistant chemicals and things...
I remember watching 'grand designs' where a straw bale house was built in the woods. It is totally energy efficient and runs off solar? and wind power? (i think...). At the time i thought it was a bit hippy-ish! but after reading and researching more and more Ive become fascinated! I think its amazing! So simple... Yet effective and cosy! (has very good insulation! + thick walls). Usually plastered with natural materials like lime and cob.
-Adobe! [A-do-bee] (NOT photoshop!) ... In fact it is a very substantial material made from clay, water, sand and straw to strengthen... Usually used in the African continent. Seen usually in poorer countries where bricks and other resources aren't available financially and physically. Adobe involves the mixing of these materials, it is then poured into square brick shaped moulds then left to dry in the sun. Some people say that the amount of clay in the mixture effects the strength... and that it could break up... this wouldn't be ideal for building if the wrong mix is produced...
There are so many more natural materials such as - Rock, Cob, Earth Covered Roofs... etc...
__________________________________________________________
The next project involves working with a client! I am really looking forward to this project as it is something different and new skills can be gained. The brief is pretty broad and asks to make and design a book out of natural materials... it has to be handmade and can be in any format. For example it could be a physical book? or even a piece of jewelry or clothing?! (Could be anything really!)
So what makes something a book?! is it the writing? is it the cover...? is it the context? The Vocabulary? What is it?!
I really want to make something physical that i can keep and cherish... Particularly something i can wear and use! almost as a talking piece. I really like the idea of recycling coke cans/ bean tins and creating a really nice broach or even bracelet? What it is... is up to me.
But if it is a piece of jewelry or clothing... what can then turn that into a 'book'?! Is it bit opening like a book cover and revealing hidden text?/ Pictures?
I'm quite looking forward to how open the brief is and what i can produce in the short period of a week!
Updates to follow!!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Assignment 4
Positive and negative word of mouth is an effective way of marketing for companies and individuals to influence and engage potential clients. It is dependent on trust and social networking. People are generally more inclined to listen and be targeted subconsciously by family and friends within their social network. This could be for an exhibition they have visited and found interesting or even a new product on the market. Word of mouth communication happens a lot in or society whether it is to introduce something which makes life easier or more exciting, it doesn’t matter
Recent research indicates that people are likely to trust resources outside of their comfort zone, in the form of online reviews and blogs. This is known as electronic word of mouth or online word of mouth. People read these blogs and reviews online and trust the reviewer’s opinions and comments. People assume the reviewer has more knowledge then they do, for example product reviewers have insight into these products, as they own them already. In comparison would you listen to a random stranger on the street talking about a product he has had that was good/poor? Probably not. Would you listen to a salesman? Yes but you are inclined to think he is just trying to make a sale and is brainwashing you, in a way. Whereas a reviewer has nothing to gain or loose from the situation, they are just pointing out pros and cons.
Miroblogging is a new type of electronic word of mouth, which involves social networking sites such as twitter and facebook. Microblogs are only about the length of a newspaper heading plus its subheading. Short and snappy lines draw attention as people are more inclined to read them over a bulky text. Microblogs contain exciting snippets of information that expresses attitudes and opinions. This is a modern form of word of mouth.
Companies are so concerned about this type of electronic word of mouth as it can affect the branding of their company in a good light or a bad. Research has indicated, “Over 19% of microblogs have some form of a brand”, only half of this 19% gave the company a positive outcome.
Microblogging could have influenced the way we as consumers feel about branding. We all have brands we recognise and trust. word of mouth communication is involved and to blame for this kind of brand dis-satisfaction/satisfaction. This diagram is taken from the journal and explains why branding is so important. firstly people have a brand attachment and awareness which by word of mouth then becomes brand trust. This is because you hear people in and out of your social network drawing you to this brand. Over time you learn that they are trust worthy which then is in turn passed onto someone else which creates a future purchase of these products or service.
Word of mouth marketing
Primary word of mouth marketing begins with a marketer who puts an idea into the public domain. This is 'business-consumer-consumer' marketing. The consumer then hears what this business is about/producing and passes it onto a friend or fellow blogger.
This form of word of mouth marketing is relatively new. Word of mouth marketing is a natural progression of speech between people, what is new is how marketing have used this connection for promoting their business/ products. It is a new way of getting your views heard in a subtle way. This form of marketing has occurred from 'anecdotal to actionable', something that has occurred recently to something you can change. Word of mouth marketing has become popular as we have the opportunities to use it, in social networking and blogs. With this comes customer service. If a customer is happy with the experience you gave them they might advertise your business to friends or write a review about you.
People spread word about new exciting, interesting products that attract the eye. Boring things don't draw enough attention you have to be up to date on your competition and technology. Good customer service leaves happy customers who in turn might recommend you to a friend who will then pass the information onto the next person, almost like a huge game of Chinese whispers! This word of mouth progression doesn't happen overnight, you need to start the trend by providing good service and produce to your customers.
"The five T's of word of mouth marketing", Talkers, topics, tools, taking part and tracking. These are the basic factors needed for a business to spread through word of mouth. You need someone to start the link of by spreading this information, this can be done by having a microblog which is very precise and to the point. Topics are impoartain also as they have to involve a certain age range? and also the kind of person to be browsing the internet, you need a target market. The author Andy Sernovitz has studied a vast amount of word of mouth successes and every success leads to these five T's.
Opinions on both texts.
Through reading both my journal and my book I learned a lot about word of mouth progression and how it affects branding and marketing. I found that Bernard Jansen’s journal was very factual containing relevant resources backing up the ideas he was trying to put on the table. I found it really easy to read as it is clearly laid out into relevant sections. I think his research is very interesting because he is explaining how electronic resources influence businesses through electronic word of mouth. Although a lot of the information in my journal was irrelevant I found it was a very good source as it contained mention of word of mouth that has been taken from "the law of the few" in "the tipping point". I found it interesting seeing how much of branding is connected to this progression and how influential and crucial it is for business and marketing. It was shocking to me how 19% of blogs contain a mention of branding, branding which makes or breaks a company or business. If there is negative comments about your products or your opinions that isn't good in the business world. Microblogging is interesting as it is actually more effective than a full text of information. It is short and to the point and draws attention. I found this interesting as people are less inclined to read pages and pages of complicated articles when they prefer to read a short and to the point snippet.
Through reading word of mouth marketing by Andy Sernovitz i found it was more of a self help book than a heap of irrelevant information. I found it odd at first as he was almost directing me into how i need to achieve success in my future career. the five T's of marketing for example almost tells you how to become noticed. you need to have these skills and be able to achieve certain thing to get people talking about you and that is what he is trying to achieve. I find the book good as it relates well to the tipping point and also interior design/ design in general.
I find that both texts are easy to relate to and contain a lot of factual and opinion based evidence and resources to back up their points. As i couldn't find a book during this process as someone had mysteriously taken out all the books i had wanted to use! i stumbled across this book and i feel like it really worked well in explaining how word of mouth works and how to get noticed. Both books explain how everyone is a connector, a maven and a salesman In how people pass on information to friends and also people outside of their network range over facebook, blogs or twitter.
Biblography
Duana,w.,Gub,B & Whinston, A,B (2008).' Do online reviews matter?'
Jansen,J, Bernard, 'Twitter power: tweets as electronic word of mouth', Journal of american society for information and science and technology, volume 60 issue 11 pages 2169-2188, 2009.
Sernovitz, Andy, ' Word of mouth marketing: how companies get people talking', Chicago : Kaplan Pub. , c2006.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Higher design unit.
Just thought id show off my higher design piece which i deigned myself and made from scratch by hand. The mask is a theatrical costume piece which is half animal and half nature. This link between the natural world and climate change made me think about what we are doing to the animals we live with on the planet. This was the main inspiration behind my piece as i designed the animal to be dead (skull) with this beautifully coloured horn (symbolising life goes on...) and the nature side is almost like a contrast between life and death.
I think this achievement of being selected out of thousands of students across Scotand made me really want to continue my success at Duncan Of Jordanstone. What a small world...
He was the only person in the library researching at the time when a man and a woman walked in and sat at the same table as him. My dad continued to study birth certificates, death certificates and records. He heard the woman speak to the man about a Myles and he sort of didn't click it at first but as he overheard her speaking to the archivist he realised that they were researching the same person! He introduced himself and found out that they were distant relations. To top it all of they were both from Massachusetts on a holiday in the area. My dad couldn't believe it as not only were they both researching the same person, but they came all the way from America!
This just shows how small the world is and how close everyone is. You don't realise it but the person sitting/standing next to you could be a long lost relation...
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Assignment 3: Secondary Research Skills...
Market mavens are consumers who are highly involved in the marketplace and represent an important source of marketplace information to other consumers. This explains how mavens are importaint in the retailing of products and the advertising.
Jansen, BJ (2009), 'Twitter Power: Tweets as Electronic Word of Mouth' (article), JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 60 (11)
Shows how social networking and in particular twitter is important in selling yourself and spreading the word, good or bad. shows facts such as 19% of micro blogs contain a mention of branding/advertising. Word of mouth is spread by people writing thoughts and feelings and advertising products and sending them to potential admirers. Spreading the word of good design/ bad design!
Karmarama (2003), 'Karmarama's T-shirt hits Charles Saatchi's trendy artcredentials', (Article), Campaign (UK) 10/24/2003, Issue 43, p32-32
This article explains how graffiti is the thing of the moment. Explains how banksy is an anonymous character who is considered a vandal by some but a genius by others. A man wore a t-shirt claiming he was banksy ("arrest me I'm banksy") this created unwelcome attention and false advertisement. It also shows how this man is a connector as he is passing on information for his benefit? either that or he just liked the t-shirt!
LaTour, KA (2009), 'POSITIVE MOOD AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TO FALSE ADVERTISING', (Journal), JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING 38
This relates to the effectiveness of advertisment and how you portray yourself. selling yourself in the wrong light?/ right light? also relates to the mood advertising convays.
Rosenberg, Scott, (2009) 'How blogging began, what its becoming, and why its important' (Text), New York : Crown , c2009..
How blogs are influencing design, social aspects and self expression. Why we use blogs and why they are very important for new designers and artists. Discusses privacy of blogs and plagiarism.
Vaudrey, Charlotte (2005) 'Wake up call', (Journal) Design and applied arts (CSA)
This journal explains how graffiti artists are hip, cool and modern designers. Reviews the controversial view 'is graffiti art? or crime? Charlotte's view is that they are the future and explains how graffiti artists were commissioned to take on an interior design project by designing rooms in a hotel.

