Reflective Practice

Beginning the context of practice module I had little understanding of the effect theoretical practice could have on design, of course I understood that research is vital in order to produce an informed piece of design although I hadn’t previously looked in depth theoretically before starting the practical side of a brief.  I became aware as the course progressed on how theoretical research can change and shape a design in to a new, more advanced and informed piece of work.I found  the depth of research challenging, beginning the course I wasn’t aware of how much theoretical research was needed and I feel as if I didn’t go as in depth as I could of done, however having learnt this as the course proceeded, I feel confident that in the next module I can begin research with a clear understanding of what is needed in order to produce the most well thought-out design.

Carrying out research and producing a design based on a subject I’m interested and feel passionate about; body image, really engaged me throughout the course of the module.  Following on to the next module I will continue to base theoretical research on subjects I am interested in as I feel as if I create my best designs when I feel like they have a purpose and are tackling issues people face today. In addition to this, in the next module I feel it will be beneficial to gain opinions on the designs during the development process from the people who are part of the target audience the design is being produced for rather than just opinions from other students and tutors.

The final outcome I produced derived from the theoretical research I carried out beforehand. I ensured I chose a brand which had core values apposing against the mainstream ideas of beauty I discussed in the previous essays. The brief I wrote, specifically aimed to create a print which celebrated more than one form of beauty, I chose to tackle the brief by looking back at the theoretical research I conducted. From the image analysis and triangulation essays it became apparent that a specific type of body was projected to consumers, a slim, toned, in proportion body with no signs of cellulite or stretch marks.

Stemming from this realisation came the final design outcome, the design intends to show all bodies as equal. As the Monki brand is specifically for women, and from the research essays mainly focusing around women I chose to utilise a feature of the female body (breasts) which so often comes under scrutiny of the male gaze but present it in a way that isn’t sexualised, and isn’t about comparison between women rather the print intends to communicate to the female viewer a message of acceptance, and celebration no matter the physical appearance.

We, as women in today’s society, are expected to aspire be the mainstreams definition of beauty perhaps it’s down to us supposedly being ‘the most narcissistic, individualistic and self-absorbed generation in recorded history.’ (Stephanie Pappas, 2016) however I’ve come to believe that it’s taught from a young age due to the toys young girls play with. This is where the inspiration of adding elements of a Barbie figure to the print design came from, a saw Barbie as a symbol for the mainstream ideal; blond, tall, slim, long hair, smiling, and thought it would be an effective element of juxtaposition and bring an element of humour to the print. And so the design was created, digitally illustrating a print which resembles a variety of real breasts; ones with stretch marks, ones which are odd, ones with uneven colouring, both big and small in block tones of purple and pink (in keeping with the Monki brand colour scheme), with elements of an image of a Barbie doll within them in order to communicate that aspiring to be like a Barbie doll (a metaphor for the mainstream definition of beauty) is not realistic, and people are aware it isn’t realistic, real is imperfections and individuality. The brief could have been approached in a number of ways, one idea I had as I was finishing the design for this project was to create a print using photographs of women to show a diverse range of bodies, however I feel like the illustration approach I took to the brief was the most appropriate for a print design as it’s adaptable for the different platforms the brief specified the print would need to be appropriate for.

The theoretical research I carried out throughout the module was not only beneficial in terms of creating an informed piece of design, but I also found the research interesting which pushed me to want to research more.  The Victoria Secret ‘perfect body’ campaign was a source of inspiration for the design, as the campaign features a row of eight women all with very similar body shapes, and they’re being labelled as ‘perfect’. This narrow view is something that my print hoped to not only challenge but diminish, showing a variety of women not eight women with the same unrealistic proportions.

Completing a brief centred around a subject I’m interested in engaged me both practically and theoretically, more so than having a brief stemming from I subject I had no prior interest or awareness of.  For this reason I’ve decided to begin the next module with the theme of misogyny.