SOCIAL MEDIA MOCKUPS

Social media accounts will also be set up to make it easier to spread and promote the idea. The hashtag #Hongkongcultureisnotdead is also created. This is inspired by the contemporary propaganda way of distribution. People made use of social media platforms to spread news. Especially the #eye4hk campaign, the information spread really fast after the hashtag was made.

Twitter

IG

• instagram 
• twitter 
• tag #hongkongcultureisnotdead 

FINAL POSTCARDS

The following are the final designs of the posters/ postcards. Hong Kong culture is being categorised into 3 main sectors, food, architecture and city.  They are meant to be distributed in flights to travellers to promote Hong Kong culture and to prove that #HongKongcultureisnotdead. Qr codes were added to all of the postcard designs for easier access to information. 

FOOD

Food1

Food2

Food3

Food4

CITY

City1

City2

City3

City4

ARCHITECTURE

Architecture1

Architecture2

Architecture3

Architecture4

NEW BANNER IDEA

I also came up with the idea of making a banner as a part of the campaign. It is planned to be put up in the Hong Kong international airport, to gain exposure from travellers who would like to know more about Hong Kong. With the postcards that they have received in their flight, it could definitely help to promote Hong Kong culture. The banner turns out to look really well on the billboard. The background makes it really eye catching and the simple design is straight forward enough for passerby to scan through at first glance. 

a banner mockup

billboards in HK international airport

I am planning to make an Instagram account with the design work that have made. A #tag will also be created like the #eye4hk campaign, to further spread the designs.

PLANNED OUTCOMES

• banners 
• postcards 
• #hkcultureisnotdead
• instagram account 
• twitter account 

POSTCARD MOCKUPS

Mockups of postcard collections are made to put the designs in context.  They were planned to be made as posters, but after considering the target audience, postcards were thought to be the most appropriate and applicable in terms of maximising its exposure to people all around the world. 

first attempt

Two different series were being placed together, however, this way of presentation looked a bit messy  and distracting. Therefore,  placing 2 design of the same series would be the final way of presentation of the outcome.

DEVELOPMENT

I further developed the idea of categorising HK culture into food, architecture and city. Using the 3 initial designs that I have made, I tried putting them into context. I photoshopped them onto pillars. I realised that the colours might be too bright to put on the street and might be distracting for drivers. 

pillar mock ups

From peer feedback, I was told that the aesthetic of the designs look really oldish style of Hong Kong. I thought that this could be one of the design directions apart from China propaganda. In order to make them look even more vintage, I decided to add some texture on the background to make them look more washed out.

The design definitely looked more visually pleasing. The old design was a bit too digital and flat. After texturising with the brush tool on PS, depth is added. 

I also added QR codes onto the design. There are links to the detailed information of each category. This idea is taken from the contemporary propaganda in Hong Kong during the anti-extradition protest. Most propaganda designs have QR codes on them and are being distributed at the airport.  

textured backgrounds

background transformation

I then looked at different landmarks of Hong Kong and drew them out on AI. I tried using faded colours to match the. illustrations with the background. The results turned out really well. 

illustrations

MY THOUGHTS

overall my progress today is really good. I almost finished the illustrations. I also came up with an idea of making them into postcards and having flight attendants to give them out on flights. This is to further omit Hong Kong culture. Travellers can choose to keep them as souvenirs or send them out to friend call around the world. This can definitely promote Hong Kong culture and spread the culture around the globe so that more people is going to know about this city. 

OLD PROPAGANDA MANIPULATION

I am trying to use a sarcastic way as an approach to promote Hong Kong culture. As Hong Kong could be seen as part of China, its culture is somehow derived from China's traditional culture. I want to try manipulating old China propaganda in the Maozedong era and add a little tweak on them to kind of using a "china way" to promote Hong Kong culture. It could be a gimmick, or a way to even highlight the uniqueness and the difference between the two cultures. 

CONSIDERATIONS
It might be difficult for foreigners who have no idea about the background of Hong Kong to get the gimmick. Therefore, this idea might not be used as a final outcome. Maybe in the future, I will further develop the idea, cuz I feel like it would be quite visually fascinating and a quite. interesting topic to touch on among Hong Kong citizens. 

• sarcastic 
• imitate 
• font 
• textures 

original version

manipulated version 

I replaced the portrait into a traditional Hong Kong food, eggtarts. Then, I thought that changing the meaning of the text would be more entertaining to the audience. 

text changed version

I then used a similar font and replaced the original caption with a funny one. The original one is translated as "Lets celebrate the 4th state leader election" . And I replaced with "lets celebrate the freshly baked eggtarts of today". 

Actually I really like the idea and the outcome of this, however, I would still like to target the audience as travellers and foreigners, therefore, I decided to put aside this idea and there might be a chance that I will develop this into something more in the future.

INITIAL DEVELOPMENT

MAIN APPROACH

I wanted to apply elements used in propaganda and create a campaign to promote Hong Kong culture. There are a lot of unique and special elements in Hong Kong culture that no where else has. This is also to prove people that Hong Kong culture is not dead. 

PROMPT

Hong Kong has always been said to be a cultural dessert. People love saying that Hong Kong culture is dying. I would like promote Hong Kong culture and strengthen it through advertising and branding.  This is to pass on the culture to future generations. I hope that I will be able to reach foreigners to let them know more about our culture. 

IDEA 1 

[FOOD]

I manipulated pictures of dimsum. I desaturated the pics and colourised in order to imitate old propaganda designs. 

IDEA 2 
[FOOD, ARCHITECTURE, CITY]
I categorised 3 most significant element of HK culture and made each a design, using old propaganda elements. English is used to broaden the audience and cantonese pinyin are also included to briefly show foreigners the pronunciation of the Chinese characters. I think this could be developed into a bespoke design and be transformed into a campaign. The designs can be put onto pillars, billboard, or even into printed flyers. 

CONCEPTUAL RESEARCH (TALKS AND INTERVIEWS)

It’s all graphic #2: Activism and graphic design 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY5Lp8eg3ds )

Visual communication as a tool for making change and transformation in art society 

Guest1: Lies Ros (collaging design style) 

• Era of late 70s, beginning of the 80s (Amsterdam)
• Integrated political activism and graphic design 
• She was angry because the society was unjust (Rich-poor gap)
• Ambition to improve the world using GD
• Started off by making a poster for an upcoming activism event within a few days 
• Her work is like an execution of political issues, addressing them
• Worked for communist party, women’s movement 
• Housing shortage problem (biggest event) (beginning of the 80s) 
• Goal: fight something, change the world 
• Mass production of her own work was exciting 
• Never work for advertising (campaigns) 

Process

• Verbal ideas 
• Look at books with photographs 
• Make a detailed sketch 
• Texts and image 
• Cut letters out 
• Start collaging 
• There must be a difference between the initial sketch and the final outcome 

Production 

• initial mock ups 
• brainstorming 
• Production 

• Texts in a diagonal way (comes in communism, Russian style of layoutting) 
• Influence by Punk (ripping method) 

Introduced to the digital world 

• Forced to used a computer, was against it at first, couldn’t do physical work 

Style of work 

• happy, colourful 
• Sarcastic humour as a way to communicate in design 
• otherwise, it wouldn’t work if you are too serious, people wouldn’t relate to the message 

Tips for young activist designers 

• “Think for yourself”
• “Don’t get too influenced by Facebook, Photoshop” 
• “ Use your hand, brain and maybe scissors” 

Guest2: Raul Balai (contemporary artist) 

• co-owner of a creative agency 
• Expressed in graffiti, painting, illustration, photography 
• Brought up in Amsterdam during the 80s, 90s
• Heavily influenced by the graffiti hiphop and house culture of that time 
• Do installation pieces, themed “identity”
• Worked for GD company 

Came across with this client, hiphop rappers (cavemen mentality) who wanted go into politics 

• Took idea of their lyrics to make their a campaign 
• Stencil font (DIY style, idea of hiphop) 
• Made hashtag #metoo 

Protest against blackface traditions 

• Made a new logo out of the old typography 
• Made a campaign for a party for kids 
• Played with imagery
• Need more aggressive stuff 
• Stickers 
• Different vibe, same message 
• Make it into an inclusive party for everyone 

Q: always being against the government?

• “ I don’t see the Covent as a bad thing I thin you should be is critical to watch your government, when they could get access to all your personal datas from everywhere, because the government makes mistakes” 

Q: Is activism/ activistic campaign should also be with a negative message? Must it be from a negative perspective? 

• Digital world 
• to piss people off to use negative perspective 

Q: Decreasing in privacy standpoint? 

• Bring up a potential issue 
• Now that people know about the issues
• Getting the message across with enough people is becoming the most important part 

Q: When is an activist campaign is successful? 

• See it as a campaign 
• Reach a lot of people = success 

Q: Are you always paid for your activism? 

• Need sponsors 
• Working round the clock 
• Reach the goal= reaching a lot of people 

Guest3: Roosje Klap 

• Owns a studio for visual comm 
• Mainly works on GD and typography
• Works on numerous projects for museums, galleries… 

Amsterdam political election 

• BREXIT n Trump period 
• Algorithm to speculate a little bit of what would happen if they would come into power 
• Predicted a dark reality and became the fact 
• Elections made them worried about their future 
• Not all people would go out to vote even youngsters have got the rights to 
• Do something to call people out to VOTE
• Made 12 poster re-procreating Madonna’s song: Vogue
• Called out via social media channels, hang them on the streets, on their window, in classrooms and spread the news through all ways 
• Printed them out, share diff posters each day to ask people to vote and spread the news 
• Made a lot of things for social media, cover photos, for twitters, instagram, diff platforms… 
• Might be good to wear it out on the streets (made designs on sweaters), promoted on social media, asked who wanted them (to signal and gain supporters with same stance) 
• Everyone shared selfies with the sweaters online 
• Made films to share 
• SO THAT EVERYONE COULD SHARE 
• Actually stick posters every where on the streets EVERYWHERE PHYSICALLY 
• Gained new followers 
• ALL ABOUT SHARING AND SPREADING 
• People printed them out by themselves 
• One woman campaign became a many people campaign 
• Result in party favoured are leading the race (WON) 
• Make people aware of the importance of AT LEAST DOING SOMETHING
• RAISE AWARENESS

The Universal Declaration of the human rights  

• Was invited to make a contribution in South Korea 
• 3 flags to share principals (wearable)
• Could be folded into a kimono 
• Have people wear the flags on the streets
• Give out the kimono to famous people
• Have them sharing their story with the kimono on
• Made photoshoots
• have them reposting with the kimono 
• Important to realised ignorance is a reform of tolerance 
• Designers must show the truth, the negative and painful truth 
• Show solidarity and should be done NOW

PATTI SMITH (1978) interview with the Japanese TV

• “Im not there in the past, I’m not there in the future, I am right here.”
• “This is the time to make it great, its our golden age”

Q: your campaign was mostly against infamous dutch politicians, how to reach their followers? 

• Language is important (english is a universal language) 
• Make a reach to every sort of way of the society 

Q: is your activistic work always politically related? They are mainly focused on politics. Do you also find social or ethical issues something you make work about? 

• Not only focussing on political issues 
• Get angry about a lot of things 
• Just express yourselves 

Guest4: Yuri Veerman

• independent artist and designer 
• Words, objects and images 

2006 (2nd year)

• Was still studying and was doing a workshop 
• Assignment: can you use your influence as a designer to comment on a social issue 
• Theme: the free newspaper (the spits and the metro) 
• Make people wouldn’t normally read, read 
• Put effort in pleasing the advertisers 
• Basically a way to advertise, with news as a by product, bad standards for young people 
• Created a scenario where advertisers will push it too far 
• Metro true or false edition 
• Editors of metro made up 3 false articles
• Spot them and send them in to win an iPod nano 
• Put stickers on metro newspapers to false lead people to spot the fake news 
• Could influence the way that people view their environment with simple ways 

2008 

• Quit uni for 1 year
• Formed design collectives
• Can we be our own client? Can we see our environment as a brief? 
• Bought a van and drove to a new environment 
• Saw a lot of advertisement that covers the size fo big apartment complexes
• Gave the environment some colours, however they have no relations to the environment 
• Wondered if they could do the same in a diff way 
• Bought 1 side of an apartment complex 
• Interviewed residents 
• Made designs based on their stories 
• Asked theirs views on the giant ads 
• Quote “whatever you write on a wall, people won’t care” 

2013

• Dutch gay right organisation approached 
• Recent briefing: Russia passed a gay propaganda law, suddenly the rainbow flag is propaganda now, make something to respond 
• Made an image, website 
• putinarainbow.com (a platform to share) 
• Made a simple Tumblr website, have people submit their images 
• Many went viral 
• Some were strong that actually become famous 
• What does it help, what does it solve? 
• Get attention from a lot of press 

2014 

• How internet and media affect tour daily lives

Campaign about digital privacy 

• What it means to use your privacy? 
• fact: Someone accidentally posted a pic of their children and marked it as for commercial use only 
• Lack of knowledge 
• Took the idea, made a web shop 
• Someones kid on your favourite mug 
• Sell mugs with people’s children on them 
• An object that could be easily covered in any format
• Reframing popular images or subject, give them different meaning 
• Translating a complex subject into a simple image/ object

Q: a lot of your work are uploaded online, being spread online. Do you make fake online campaigns? 

• Never think about wanting to work with a certain medium 
• Look into subject first
• Interest: symbols —> links between a complex idea (red white blue) 

Q: every work is humoristic. Is it always needed when you do GD in activism? 

• That is how you reach people 
• Before you understand, you get the joke
• Universal language, easy to reach people 
• Arouse curiosity 

Closer: Ruben Pater 

• Geopolitical issues 
• Role of a designer —> active critical citizen who can communicate effectively through their work 
• Can designers save the world?
• Activism is back 
• Pressing issues 
• Protest posters 
• Flags 
• Activism in design? 
• = Combining text and images in ad, magazines and books to bring about political and social change 
• Not just brings attention to issues
• Brings solutions 
• Push boundaries of what designs is 
• How to fix the issue? Find ways to solve? How to make society more inclusive? 
• What design can do about these issues? Address problems? Solve problems? 
• Pin pointing the root of the issue 
• Solving the root of issue 
• What if a good intentions of a design can make bad and damaging  consequences 
• Design solutions: dangerous, negative outcomes are overlooked 
• Coming up with a design solution in a political issue is not what the new form of design activism
• Design industry= social designed industry 
• Make a change, you need to scarify 
• Stop using polluting techniques 
• Refuse to work for clients who do harm to people/ nature 

MY THOUGHTS

After watching the 2h long video of 4 guests speaking about their views on activism design. I realised that the intentions behind a design is really important and that they could be narrowed down into small sections. Whether or not they are used to spread and address the issue, to motivate people to take action or even to solve the issue. 

Using the method of elimination, as the direction of my practical work would be focusing on the ongoing protest in Hong Kong, I think that solving the issue would be least applicable. I do not think that it is similar to geopolitical cases where each and everyone of us as a role of a citizen could change the situation by solving he root of the issue. After researching on the case, it is believed that the root of the political movement is the political system of Hong Kong and how it is dealing its relationship with China. It is about how politicians are facing the disputes between the actual system and the citizens discontent. Therefore, either spreading news, or calling out people to take action would be the main intention and aim of the final practical outcome. 

Being an international student in the UK, it decided to take advantage of this and make this into a challenging project by actually combining the two. After thinking of what is the best and the most effective thing I could actually do as an international role, spreading brief information of the Hong Kong protest and calling out different people to even further spread the information that they took in. So the main aim is to spread information, and the secondary aim is to call out people to take action which is to further spread the news. This does not only educate people about the background of the protest, but also to make use of the power of verbal communication to make people further spread the news around. 

Is it appropriate to take a stance? 

• It is what activism designs are about, creating something that speaks for your stance and the party that you support, activism designers are not activists. therefore, I believe that taking a stance and creating something that stands for what I believe in would be the most appropriate to create a powerful outcome. 

What is the intention behind the final outcome design? 

• spreading the news? asking people to take action? or solving the problem? 

What are the possible outcomes? 

• Posters with words only? (with sarcastic humour?)
• A tiny zine? (provides brief background info, and ways that people around the world could do in order to help out)