OUGD401: Study Task 4 - Branding & The Consumer Self Summary

After having read an lengthy extract from the Naomi Klein's book 'No Logo', I couldn't help but realise how much branding has taken over not only the media, sports and also the consumers, yet we don't realise it. Not all brands, but a large selection of them seem to consume everything in their path, for example Nike is referred to as a Super-brand. 'They're a company that swallows cultural space in giant gulps'. 'This is a shoe company that is determined to unseat pro sports, the olympics and even star athletes, to become the very definition of sports itself.' The way Naomi narrates the book makes it seem as though she, herself, has been sucked into the brands and has fallen victim of their ways. This is down to her very informative way of talking about the issues at hand, as it appears as though she's talking from a personal standpoint, backing up her points with past on goings that happened during her lifetime.

A point that Naomi mentions in the beginning of the excerpt is that branding grew with people both physically and mentally. More and more people wanted brands and started to care less about the clothes, which in turn meant that brands grew exponentially over the years. So much so that it sparked a merger between media and catalogue which reached a new high in 1998, with the launch of Dawson's Creek TV show. All of the cast members of the show had been kitted out with J crew clothing, whilst coincidentally enough J crew advertisements were based around the Dawson's Creek show theme, including, of course some of the cast members as models. A quote that ties in well with this point is that overtime other companies caught onto this idea of merging media and catalogue so much so that all sorts of different areas of the internet wanted to be in on it. For example, after reading Globe reviews, readers were able to click to order books directly from Chapters chain of which had just been reviewed. Also on the Teen People site, readers can click and order cosmetics and clothing as they read about them". The biggest and most important part of the excerpt is how nike are essentially a human branding company. Selling every piece of clothing imaginable, all of it with their branding on it. Some Nike employees even have a swoosh tattoo on their calves, not only that but tattoo parlours all over North America have said that the swoosh has become their most popular item.

OUGD401: Study Task 3 - Branding & The Consumer Self Points

"In an era in which people are brands and brands are culture"

After having read an lengthy extract from the Naomi Klein's book 'No Logo', I couldn't help but realise how much branding has taken over not only the media, sports and also the consumers, yet we don't realise it. Not all brands, but a large selection of them seem to consume everything in their path, for example Nike is referred to as a Superbrand. 'They're a company that swallows cultural space in giant gulps'. "This is a shoe company that is determined to unseat pro sports, the olympics and even star athletes, to become the very definition of sports itself."

The way Naomi narrates the book makes it seem as though she, herself, has been sucked into the brands and has fallen victim of their ways. This is down to her very informative way of talking about the issues at hand, as it appears as though she's talking from a personal standpoint, backing up her points with past on goings that happened during her lifetime.

Key Points & Quotes

From the extract I selected a mixture of quotes and points that I think exemplify this idea that there is a very strong link between branding and the consumer self.

Branding grew with people both physically and mentally. More and more people wanted brands and cared less about the clothes, which in turn meant that brands grew exponentially.

The merger between media & catalog reached a new high in 1998, with the launch of Dawson's Creek TV show. All of the cast members of the show had been kitted out with J crew clothing, whilst coincidentally enough J crew advertisements were based around the Dawson's Creek show theme, including, of course some of the cast members as models.

A quote that ties in well with this point is that overtime other companies caught onto this idea of merging media and catalogue so much so that all sorts of different areas of the internet wanted to be in on it. For example, after reading Globe reviews, readers were able to click to order books directly from Chapters chain of which had just been reviewed. Also on the Teen People site, readers can click and order cosmetics and clothing as they read about them"

'Sure, manufacturers will launch noisy interruptions if they are locked on the wrong side of the commerce/culture divide, but what they really want is for their brand to earn the right to be accepted, not just as advertising art but simply as art.'

'What has become clear is that corporations aren't just selling their products on-line, they're selling a new model for the media's relationship with corporate sponsors and backers.'

'These are not sponsored events: the brand is the event's infrastructure; the artists are it's filler, a reversal in the power dynamic that makes any discussion of the need to protect un-marketed artistic space appear hopelessly naive.'

'Brands and stars have become the same thing. But when brands and stars are the same thing, they are also, at times, competitors in the high-stakes tussle for brand awareness, a fact more consumer companies have come ready to admit.'

The biggest and most important part of the excerpt is how nike are essentially a human branding company. Selling every piece of clothing imaginable, all of it with their branding on it. Some Nike employees even have a swoosh tattoo on their calves, not only that but tattoo parlours all over North America have said that the swoosh has become their most popular item.

OUGD401: Study Task 2 - Finding research sources

Our task for the duration of the session was to find four definitions for the word 'Branding' but using only the internet, no books or other outside sources. This was somewhat problematic at times as there is the question of whether or not these websites are viable sources to take information from.

After doing individual searches of our own we then regrouped afterwards to put together the definitions we found. Some of them we ruled out due to them not appearing to be a feasible source, but the four definitions we ended up with are as shown below.

- 'A particular identity or image regarded as an asset' (Oxford Dictionaries)

The main reason why Oxford Dictionaries' website is a trusted source to take information from is because they are renowned for making dictionaries for well over 100 years. One quote to back this up is that supposedly "More than 250 language specialists research the language as it changes and develops every day" which just proves that it is constantly updated to ensure it is as accurate as possible.

- 'A trademark or distinctive name identifying a product or a manufacturer' (Definition.org)

Domains that end in '.org' are, for the most part, very viable source as their content is monitored and edited on a regular basis. Although the company has only been around since 2013, I can see that this is relatively reliable source as their definitions appear very accurate.

- 'Branding is convincing that voice in someone's head to be on your side' (The School of Visual Arts - Veronica Parker-Hahn)
One thing that straight away made this definition seem viable was how The School of Visual Art refer to themselves on their website as the 'Masters In Branding'. Not only that but these definitions come from 100 different people in various industries such as: marketers, designers, strategists, authors and more. Which makes it, to some extent, reasonable to assume that this definition could be seen as relatively accurate.

- 'Taking a piece of $hi* and spray painting it.' (Urban Dictionary)
This is a prime example of an unreliable source as proven with the definition itself. Urban Dictionary, more often than not, do not have accurate definitions and are instead definitions based more around humour than anything else. Their website tends to have terms on there that have just come about or that are used by a certain group of people that could be entirely made up or used in the wrong context, not actual words that for example would be seen in the Oxford Dictionary.

This task proved that not everything on the internet is always accurate nor reliable as shown with the differences between Oxford Dictionaries and Urban Dictionary. To some extent, this made it a struggle to find plenty examples of accurate definitions for certain words but as a whole, our group managed to complete the task within the allotted time.

OUGD401: Visual Literacy - Lecture 2

Principle One: 

Visual Literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image.

A few examples that were presented to support this principle are:

The main point behind these examples is that although the figures within the pictures do not at all even closely resemble a human being, it can said that we fully understand the message or meaning behind them; that being that it represents both male and female toilets due to the poses/stances that the figures take within the pictures.

Principle Two:

Visual Literacy is based on the idea that pictures can be read.

Principle two is somewhat similar to principle one in the sense that you can understand what is being put across in an image with little to no words. For example within the image above, although there are practically no words within the image, it shows clear instructions for medication and how it should be taken and what not to do with it.

Principle Three:

Visual Literacy: All that is necessary for any language to exist is an agreement amongst a group of people that one thing will stand for another.

The main example that was used to support this was a picture of a + sign. Without context this can be linked with a range of different meanings such as positive, medical, religious or even mathematical.


For example within the first image, the + is surrounded by other mathematical symbols and so a person's first thought might be that it's linked to maths.

Whereas within the second image it can be seen as a medical sign with the only difference this time being that it has been placed against a green background.

With the last image, again the difference is only minor with the cross having one section extended slightly, but it now appears as a religious symbol representing christianity.

Principle Four:

Visual communication is made up of presentational symbols whose meaning results from their existence in particular contexts.
The conventions of visual communication are a combination of universal and cultural symbols.

These two images are good examples to explain this principle. Within the first image, it's clear to see that the figures are one female and one male with the only difference between the two figures being that one has a triangle attached to it to represent a skirt and also the divider down the middle to separate them. This helps for people to differentiate between the two figures without having to have words involved. Within the second image, this time the two figures are separated by different colours, the female being the pink one and the male the blue one. This is because people tend to associate the colour blue with men and pink with women.




But these colours shouldn't always directly depict which object is male and which is female as shown within the above images. In this case the symbol coloured blue would be presumed to be male and vice versa for the pink symbol, but in actual fact it is the opposite way around.

Principle Five:

Being visually literate requires an awareness of the relationship between Visual Syntax and Visual Semantics.

Principle Six: Visual Syntax

The syntax of and image refers to the pictorial structure and visual organisation of elements. It represents the basic building blocks of an image that affect the way we 'read' it.

These elements include: 
Framing, format, scale, colour, font, stroke, weight, shape, composition etc.

This can be shown through a few pictures of the same thing; a full english breakfast. All have the same contents, but yet all look very different which is down to the lighting, shading, layout, shape and manipulation of the pictures.

Principle Seven: Visual Semantics

The semantics of an image refers to the way an image fits into a cultural process of communication. It includes the relationship between form and meaning and the way meaning is through certain elements.

These elements include:
Cultural references, social ideas, religious beliefs, political ideas, historical structures etc.

Which of these would make you slow down?

Depending on who you ask this question will depend on what answer you receive, for example asking teenagers who have not long passed their driving test will probably respond with the speed camera sign simply because of the fact that they wouldn't want to be out of pocket due to a speeding fine and several points on their license.

Whereas if you were to ask people of the ages of late 20's+ then they are likely to respond with the school sign, this could be down to the fact they have kids and can therefore relate to the sign wanting people to slow down within the area to avoid accidents.

Principle Eight: Semiotics

This is the study of signs and sign proesses, indication, designation, likeness, analogy metaphor, symbolism, signification and communication.

Semiotics is closely related to the field of linguistics, which studies the structure and meaning of language.

Semiotics also studies non-linguistic sign systems, visual langage and visual literacy.

Visual elements of semiotics include:

Symbol, sign, signifier, metaphor, metonym, synecdoche.

Symbol: It symbolises an Apple

Sign: It is a sign for Apple products

Signifier: It signifies quality, innovation, creativity, design, lifestyle.

Visual Synecdoche:

This term is applied when a part is used to represent the whole or vice versa.

The main subject is simply substituted for something that is inherently connected to it.

This substitution only works if what the synecdoche represents is universally recognised.

Visual Metonym:

A visual metonym is a symbolic image that is used to make reference to something with a more literal meaning.

By way of association the viewer makes the connection between the image and the intended subject.

Unlike a visual synecdoche, the two images bear a close relationship but are not intrinsically linked.

OUGD401: Visual Literacy - Lecture 1

We had a seminar to discuss and compare a set of images, both that are many years apart. Each of the images that are being compared are informative posters that have a deeper meaning to them which isn't at first apparent. With further exploration into the posters, not only do you get a grasp of the full meaning behind it but you also get a good idea of how different everything works within each of those time periods. Both of the posters use a mixture of illustration and type to convey their message across to the audience.

The first image is a poster for 'The Uncle Sam Range' and can be seen as a very American themed poster simply by spending only a matter of seconds examining the poster. It comes across as patriotic, which is clearly down to the fact that the American flag is, quite literally, plastered across the entire room within the poster. It appears as though those who're sat around the table are wealthy, this is down to the way they're dressed but also that they have several people who are doing all the cooking for them. The globe figure holding the list suggests that global trade is involved in some way with The Uncle Sam Range. Within the poster the man appears to be presenting the oven to the globe, showing off how it works and how functional it is. This in turn suggests that 'The Uncle Sam Range' is a range of high class, high quality ovens that are made in America, more specifically New York. 

For the second two images it can be said that they're a form of propaganda that is aimed at white people. Within the first image it appears as though everyone in it is unhappy and angry with the way the current transportation methods work. This could be down to the fact that they are in themselves the transportation method since both women and children are also being used as mules in a way to transport goods back and forth.

But within the second image, it shows a 'New Style' of transportation in which no children or women are this time involved with having to move heavy loads of goods. Instead the supposedly more adequate men are made to do all of the heavy lifting and moving around of the items. The white man within the poster is physically above the rest of the working black men to show superiority and emphasise power over everyone else. This also shows how he is in control of the situation, as if he's improving the country through these methods of transport. These posters appear more genuine than 'The Uncle Sam Range' poster, simply because of how it doesn't appear to be set up.