OUGD401: Study Task 6 - Establishing the requirements of your practical investigation

1. TECHNIQUE(s)

I plan to use a range of techniques within my practical piece to ensure that I have explored most if not all possibilities when creating my work. These will potentially include a range of techniques including letter press, screen print and digital printing.

2. CONTENT

The content of the practical piece will be based around my question, but more so will be a branded object to support my question.

3. COMMUNICATION / MESSAGE

The underlying message of my piece will be that brands hold the power within the relationship between them and the consumers and that they can essentially convince us to buy products we think we need.

4. RESEARCH / ANALYSIS

My research for this piece will be varied from relevant books, some of which have been used within my essay, but also self driven research through the likes of questionnaires etc.

5. EXPLORATION / EVALUATION

Evaluating my piece will useful as it will depict whether or not I was successful within proving my hypothesis and this will not be evaluated by just me, but will also include the opinions of other fellow students who will critique my piece.

1. What is your research question?

What is the relationship between branding and the consumer self?

2. Do you have a hypothesis (an assumed conclusion that you will endeavour to prove)?

My hypothesis is to prove that brands hold the power within the relationship between them and the consumers and that they can essentially trick/convince us to buy products we believe we need due to their clever ways of advertising and packaging of the products.

3. What are the contexts of your research interests (politics, advertising, consumerism)?

Contexts of my research include consumerism and also branding, which links into advertising given advertising is a large part of how brands become known and show off their products.

4. Sources of primary/secondary research.

Books:

- Klein, N. (2000) No Logo. London: Flamingo.

- Olins, W. (2003) Wally Olins: On Brand. London: Thames and Hudson

- Miles, S. (1998) Consumerism: As a way of life. New York: Sage

5. How will your practical work answer the research question?

It will answer the research question through providing evidence of how consumers can fall victim to brands ways of advertising and packaging products to make them believe that this particular product will in some way improve their lives by making it more luxurious etc.

6. What methods will you use to research, develop, create and test your work?

Research will come from online sources, books but also questionaries of fellow classmates, family and also friends. These questionnaires will be aimed at proving my hypothesis by providing the work I've designed along side some relevant questions. This in turn will help me to further develop my designs and overall concept, in the hope to ensure I can fully prove my hypothesis from my practical work.

As for the creating and testing side of my practical work, I will aim to use a range of mediums throughout the different development stages of my investigation and adapting my designs to fit with feedback on my work along the way.

7. Provide a proposed timeline for your work to completion (consider carefully whether you will need access to college facilities).

All practical work to be completed by the ~20th April.

OUGD401: Essay Research (John Berger: Ways of Seeing - Episode 4)

I came across a documentary that I thought would come in useful in supporting my point of how brands are consuming us and manipulating us into thinking we need more than what we actually do, ultimately forcing us into buying products that aren't necessary.

John Berger makes a point within the episode of how ‘publicity of these brands, in a way, forces us to buy more and more products as if it would in some way improve our lives and will make us in some way richer, even though we will be poorer by having spent our money’. This is done by companies showing off models who appear to be living an ideal lifestyle because of these products, which results in consumers envying these people and wanting to buy the product thinking that it will do the same for them.

He also mentions how it ‘forces consumers into this vicious cycle of wanting more and better products, needing more money to buy these, taking out loans and spending that money on more and better products’. This all ultimately leads to the big name companies leeching off the consumers who are naive  and are just wanting to obtain these ‘dream’ lives the portray in their adverts, all because of people feeling insecure about themselves.