Introduction
In assignment 5a and 5b i am asked to write about methods that i have learned through the year that i would use to gather information for certain topics.
For assignment 5a i will be writing about what methods i could use to gather information on paranoid thinking.
In assignment 5b i will be talking about the methods i would and wouldn't use for one of my previous projects this year.
Assignment 5a
Paranoid thinking and gathering information:
Paranoid thinking is a wide range topic, it can effect anyone anywhere. Taking this into consideration, the method i would find most useful to gather information would be interviewing people. By interviewing people it would allow me to speak to a wide range of people and not just one targeted group. I would target all kinds of people such as old, middle aged, students, mothers and fathers etc. This would let me into a wide range of information about paranoid thinking i don't even know about. I would target these people because these types of people always have things to think about and there for paranoid thinking may come into place. I would use a base question of, Do you get worried easily?, but instead I would actually ask questions such as, What really bothers you? , Are you worried about something?, What kind of things do you regularly think about and why?. By asking these questions they would be telling me the answer to my base question which is what i want to find out. If i asked them the base question straight away i wouldn't be able to find out the information properly that i want because it would be a yes or no answer. If i had to get any interesting answers and they were letting me into something i would ask the question, why? This would lead on to extra information that i would be looking for.
Why would this method be useful?
This method would help me to understand what people are actually paranoid about and why. Not only that but it may show that people that are in the same category may be worried about the same things.
E.g. Mothers may be worried about their children and how they are doing at school etc. Or even fathers may be worried about providing for their family. I find this interesting because it does kind of put people into groups and shows similarities among different people. Using this method would also be useful because it would let me talk to the people in person, either in a room or just by having general conversation. This would let me see how they would react to my questions and would possibly show if they are up tight or not. If they are compared to others then i may get varied answers.
Why would this method not be useful?
If i had to interview people i know it would not be useful, this is because the person would know me and may not take it seriously. It also wouldn't work properly if the people didn't give me their true, honest answers and there for this wouldn't give me an accurate look on the subject.
What other methods can be used?
For this particular topic i feel that mind mapping would be a good method to use. It would help me to categories people and who I am asking questions to and what about. For example, who?, There would be parents, pensioners, students and middle aged people etc. I would write down that students would be paranoid about course work, getting bullied, money and so on. Its good because it will help me pick and choose what questions to ask. It would show me that i might have to ask different people different questions or just use the same questions for everyone. This method alone can trigger things in my mind and set off information that i already know, about what different types of people think about. Using this method would be a help but would only get me so far. It doesn't help me look deep enough and only helps me write down what i already know. It doesn't give me the true information about the topic I am trying to look into deeply.
Assignment 5b
The methods i would use to gather information on a previous project:
One of my previous projects was designing packaging for an alcoholic spray in which you spray in your eyes. I would use the same method for this project of interviewing people. The spray was aimed at young adults and there for this is the people i would target. To help me form this packaging to be attractive to this particular audience i would ask questions such as, What attracts you to alcoholic drinks look wise?, Would you drink alcohol that has unattractive packaging?, What alcoholic drink has good packaging?. This will lead me to find out if the young adults see the drinks as just being "cool" or they drink them for the flavour. If it turns out to be that they are just attracted to the look then this method would be of great use to point me in the right direction of designing my packaging. This is because i will have found out what looks good and what doesn't and whats good or bad to do. Because i would be interviewing my targeted audience it would help me to see what they would want and not just what i would design. There for I am in contact and really getting to know these people just by asking them questions which would help me to produce something that is more aimed at them. For this project I feel the information would be greater if i interviewed them in a room and in groups. This is because they would be with friends and would be more likely to speak up and tell me what they think. Also i would be the only interviewer so that they feel more relaxed about the interview which would get me more accurate answers. I would also have in the room with me a very wide range of packaging for alcohol and ask them what looks good or bad so i could see myself what my audience would want.
Why would this method be useful?
Speaking to the people in groups in person would let me see how they are reacting to the questions, this would tell me if they really would like a certain thing or not. It helps in general because i would be getting to know my target audience which would help the whole situation of being interviewed and not make it so up-tight. I would generally find out what is good and what is bad from them which would point me in what to do or what not to do. Using this method would possibly help me to think like them because i would be able to see how they're acting towards my questions.
Why would this method not be useful?
This method wouldn't be useful if it was in an unrelaxed environment and the person who is being interviewed aren't comfy with the situation. It would make it harder for me to get more accurate answers. This is mainly the only point that would make this method fail. As long as the correct questions are asked and the people are in groups in a relaxed environment then i would get the answers i need.
Over all view
Using this technique of interviewing people really helps and gives you more information than what you could produce on your own. It gives you a wide range of information from a wide range of people which really helps with projects and collecting information about anything. In the future i will definitely use this technique again, it will help me to produce better work as a graphic designer in the sense that i will e designing for other people and not myself and this is why this technique is very useful as a designer.
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Monday, 22 March 2010
Asking the questions
I found it interesting tht in assignment three i brought up the question of are people attracted to big brand names such as nike, adidas, and then shops such as topman and new look etc.
my base question for asking people is if they were actually drawn to big brands or not.
without asking the direct question i was askking questions suh as
where doyou shop for clothes?
why do you buy your clothes from there?
what attracts you to that particular shop?
Do you thinkyou have your own style? why?
where wouldnt you buy clothes from?
Askin these questions to random people brought up some same and different answers.
For example
Do you think you have your own style and why?
person #1 : "No because i buy my clothes from a multi nation store"
person #2 : "who knows, I've never put much thought into it, i just buy what i like at the time"
Both of these coments were from males at around the same age.
I find this fairly interesting because i thought people that were around the same age of 20 would most likely be drawn to big named brands.
I think this because people at around this age would probably want to make themslves look the best they can probably for social reasons.
What gave me a good answer to my base question was,
where wouldnt you buy clothes from and why?
"value stores, because they usually have poor quality materials and rubbish designs"
The question that comes to mind when i read this is what if they did have good quality materials? would this person then buy clothes from that shop?
When i asked person#1 where he buys his clothes he answered, Topman, River island and new look. This told me straight away he was into big name brands.
I also asked him the question,
why do you buy your clothes from there?
"because i think the clothes look good, its the kind of style I like"
But is it the kind of style he likes because everyonelse is wearing it?
Through my research i basically found out that, yes people are drawn to big brand names and i think it is because they are dearer so it will maybe make them look better and like they have more money
my base question for asking people is if they were actually drawn to big brands or not.
without asking the direct question i was askking questions suh as
where doyou shop for clothes?
why do you buy your clothes from there?
what attracts you to that particular shop?
Do you thinkyou have your own style? why?
where wouldnt you buy clothes from?
Askin these questions to random people brought up some same and different answers.
For example
Do you think you have your own style and why?
person #1 : "No because i buy my clothes from a multi nation store"
person #2 : "who knows, I've never put much thought into it, i just buy what i like at the time"
Both of these coments were from males at around the same age.
I find this fairly interesting because i thought people that were around the same age of 20 would most likely be drawn to big named brands.
I think this because people at around this age would probably want to make themslves look the best they can probably for social reasons.
What gave me a good answer to my base question was,
where wouldnt you buy clothes from and why?
"value stores, because they usually have poor quality materials and rubbish designs"
The question that comes to mind when i read this is what if they did have good quality materials? would this person then buy clothes from that shop?
When i asked person#1 where he buys his clothes he answered, Topman, River island and new look. This told me straight away he was into big name brands.
I also asked him the question,
why do you buy your clothes from there?
"because i think the clothes look good, its the kind of style I like"
But is it the kind of style he likes because everyonelse is wearing it?
Through my research i basically found out that, yes people are drawn to big brand names and i think it is because they are dearer so it will maybe make them look better and like they have more money
Monday, 8 March 2010
assignment 3
Place: overgate shopping center
Who: me (alone)
Time: 12:45
The place
Im sitting outside optical express upstairs in the overgate. It is an eating area with many tables.
Its a busy time and people are most likely on their lunches from work etc.
Theres people all around me and not one table is free, I can smell subway and its making me hungry!
Im also sitting at a table right beside the stairs which means its even busier.
The people
Theres mainly people in groups at the tables, no one is sitting alone apart from me. This is probably because people are with workmates or friends or family. At this time of the day people are pretty much in a rush to do things before they go back to work. (we've all been there)
At this time in the day its pretty much a meeting time as well. People will be here to catch up with others for lunch and thats probably why there isn't a free seat around.
Where im sitting there is the main walk way of the shopping center up stairs. Some people are pretty much running past and others look so chilled out.
There plenty of business people roaming around and when i say business people i mean people that are in suits. Thats what i suspect they are. They look all fancy in their black suits whites shirts and black shiney shoes. It just kind of tells me that they have a decent or high paid job. They're dressed like that to look really presentable to the public.
I've found that theres many different kinds of people walking around that i would never usually pay attention to.
Teenagers seem to be in group and are never usually walking around on their own. Maybe thats got something to do with "looking cool".
"The business men" are usually alone or are maybe with one person, iv noticed that its very rarely even three people that are together.
Then you get the grans and grandads, they are usually either own their own with a long life carrier bag or with their partner. Its weird how iv noticed all this and i find it interesting. Why aren't the grannies in groups? Why are they alone?
Apart from this theres people in wheelchairs, people in crutches, blind people etc.
i never usually pay attention to these people and just do my own thing in town.
Theres a man beside me. He is standing at the barrier bit beside me, he just sneezed and never covered his mouth. He doesnt look too clean. He has really long hair in a pony tail and is mainly dressed in black shabby clothes. He looks around 30 and has quite a beard. The way this man looks tells me that he maybe doesnt have a well paid job, he maybe still lives with his mother and father, he doesnt look after himself properly and he probably doesnt care what people think about it because of the way he is dressed.
Hes been standing here for a while, he stands still and lkooks over the barrier for about 2 minutes then he'll turn around and look around. Maybe he's waiting on someone. He's done this plenty of times. Now hes on the phone, it tells me he's definetly waiting on someone. Uther than that he finally got a seat and sat around for a while then left. someone stood him up.
Im getting frustrated at people just walking past and staring at me. people probably just want to know their surroundings.
Theres so many people on mobile phones around here. I thinks its because of the time day. Its kind of a time for talking and sorting some small things out. Suppose mobile phones are probably the way to do it.
Although this is a public area people seem to be pretty relaxed. This is maybe because its a well known area to them.
I've found this experience fairly interesting and i think I'm not going to start paying more attention to the general public now because of it.
Sunday, 21 February 2010
random photo stories
Brogan21
cashier
Fernando, a small, green, slimy, rubbery frog, longed for a new adventure and a new direction for his life, one that would send him far, far away. After numerous ideas from his friends and family he suddenly had an epiphany! He was going to become a sailor! For many months he sailed the seven seas, he couldn't be more happy. Until one day, upon the boats' regular inspection, Fernando discovered a vast amount of rust covering the bow of the boat. To his sadness, Fernando had to return home.
Alfie
19
sales assistant
There was once a sailor called rusty who sailed the seas in his rusty boat in search of his best friend jerome the toy frog.
Jonny
19
Student
There was a rusty toy frog who lived on a boat sailing the seas fighting monsters who kept stealing his jam.
Amy
17
school pupil
Patrick the toy frog jamp on to a boat and sailed it for a long long time and there for the boat started to rust and it fell apart.
Patrick had to quickly jump off the boat and swim to an island where he was then stranded.
Chaznay
20
sales assistant
Last summer i was taking my anual boat trip in jamaica when i discovered a catostrophic amount of rust that had decayed the whole right hand side of the boat.
A wave came along and threw me off the boat into the water. i started to sink because of the shock i forgot how to swim. At the bottom of the water i met a toy frog called rodrigo who came to life and swam me back to shore.
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
To her loved one
15/02/2010Me and my friend dave took a walk up the law hill just to take random pictures and just for something to do
There was nothing much going on and it was the usual sight from the law hill.
Walking round the top of the law hill i found a rose tied to a fence, i never thought anything of it and took a few pictures because i thought it would make a good picture.
i looked at my feet to find a valentines card and it read...
"colin
happy valentines day
sorry i cant say it in person
i will love you till i die and forever
love
pat
xx"
i took a picture of the card and i thought it made the rose seem a whole lot more meaningful
seeing the picture of the rose on its on may tell a story
but when you know the real story behind it its a whole lot more meaningful
obviously someone had died or had been murdered and a loved one has been left behind.
Monday, 15 February 2010
Photos - Design studies
In one picture Louise Thorburn is fairly young at the age of around 6 or 7
She is painting a picture and is wearing a red coat
Louise studies at Duncan of Jordanstone so i suggested that she was possibly artistic from an early age and was probably quite a messy child.
She seems like she was quite a happy child and possibly quite energetic just by looking at her.
By looking at the picture louise looks like the kind of child that is always doing something and is never bored.
This photo was most likely taken by a family member as it is in a house.
Not only that but it looks like it has been taken around the christmas period because there are some decorations on the walls. This means that the paints and paper that louise is using are probably christmas presents.
In another photo louise is probably even younger and is with two family members by looking at the photograph. The are sitting in a park together and this looks like it may be a day out.
Looking at the picture, the people who are sitting with louise look like family members which are maybe her aunty and uncle.
They all look happy together and im guessing that louise has a very close family life.
The people with louise looks really happy and they look proud to have louise in their lives.
In the third photograph Louise is sitting with her mum in what looks to be a pub or restaraunt.
They look tanned so they may be on holiday at this point.
Louise is now a teenager and is a bit more grown up. I can also tell from this because she is smiling and has braces. (which quite a good percentage of teenagers have)
Once again it looks like louise has a good family life and looks like she has been brought up well by har mum and dad.
In the last photo Louise is with a friend or cousin by looking at the photo.
Louise looks even more grown up again and looks like this photo could have been taken around last year.
It looks like there is drink involved because her friend/cousin looks aa little bit drunk.
Both girls looks happy together and this maybe suggests that louise also has a lot of friends and is a party person who is always up for a night out.
Speaking to Louise after having taken notes on these photographs it appears that i was fairly correct with them apart from minor things.
I think its interesting that how people can tell a lot from just one photo of someone that you hardly know.
Through these photos i found out a lot and it was fun to see what i got back.
She is painting a picture and is wearing a red coat
Louise studies at Duncan of Jordanstone so i suggested that she was possibly artistic from an early age and was probably quite a messy child.
She seems like she was quite a happy child and possibly quite energetic just by looking at her.
By looking at the picture louise looks like the kind of child that is always doing something and is never bored.
This photo was most likely taken by a family member as it is in a house.
Not only that but it looks like it has been taken around the christmas period because there are some decorations on the walls. This means that the paints and paper that louise is using are probably christmas presents.
In another photo louise is probably even younger and is with two family members by looking at the photograph. The are sitting in a park together and this looks like it may be a day out.
Looking at the picture, the people who are sitting with louise look like family members which are maybe her aunty and uncle.
They all look happy together and im guessing that louise has a very close family life.
The people with louise looks really happy and they look proud to have louise in their lives.
In the third photograph Louise is sitting with her mum in what looks to be a pub or restaraunt.
They look tanned so they may be on holiday at this point.
Louise is now a teenager and is a bit more grown up. I can also tell from this because she is smiling and has braces. (which quite a good percentage of teenagers have)
Once again it looks like louise has a good family life and looks like she has been brought up well by har mum and dad.
In the last photo Louise is with a friend or cousin by looking at the photo.
Louise looks even more grown up again and looks like this photo could have been taken around last year.
It looks like there is drink involved because her friend/cousin looks aa little bit drunk.
Both girls looks happy together and this maybe suggests that louise also has a lot of friends and is a party person who is always up for a night out.
Speaking to Louise after having taken notes on these photographs it appears that i was fairly correct with them apart from minor things.
I think its interesting that how people can tell a lot from just one photo of someone that you hardly know.
Through these photos i found out a lot and it was fun to see what i got back.
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