After collecting all the photos I thought I would make sure they portray the message wanted once editing them.
Photography tells a story and once adding black and white the photographs taken the story became more personal and real. When show casing the word to people, they said the photos portrayed poverty well due to the angels used within the photography and the subject used within. I made sure each photo told its own story, therefore hardly any text would need to be used.
When designing for a subject that is so sensitive like poverty, portraying imagery that is not stereotypical is so key. When I research, there was so many stereo typical imagery and it almost made people resent these ‘sort of people’ when in actual fact thats not what everyone in poverty is portrayed like in real life. I think the imagery portrays normal working day people struggling and this is reached out to the audience well.
I thought I would look into exciting posters out there surrounding the idea of poverty within the UK to get inspiration but also create something slightly different.
What I noticed when typing this into google was that the majority of poverty posters are in an infographics format. When typing it into google I could not find much; therefore I compared the two different styles that are out there.
This one displays a more simple graphics design. They have used the idea of portraying just type over the poster. Then used a hashtag to make people aware and actually take a stand. The only thing that I dislike about this is the colour choice, if you weren’t to read this and happened to just be scrolling pass it I would off thought it had something to do with period poverty, due to the pinks used. I think they should used a more collective choice colour. This design displays that you can have such a simple design aspect and get the message across, however I think having a photographs enables people who aren’t in poverty understand it more where as this design is just speaking to you directly. How can we solve poverty then?
The majority of the designs are about child poverty not much about family poverty. This is an example of these infographics displaying child poverty. They are very simple, they do give the correct information and they portray what it is like however it might be too simple. it does only focus on child poverty, I personally do not think infographics portray poverty well, I think you should display what it is like to design for the good.
This is the only poster that I thought was slightly advertise due to the photos used and the way it represents UK struggling with it. I chose this because it was displaying what it is like to be in poverty, and the type really catches the readers attention making you want to make a difference. It is an awful design due to the layout but having type that catches the eye and images that portray what it is like is what poverty advertisement should be like.
I could not find a lot on google, therefore began to look into companies and their idea of advertising as I then had the idea of creating an entire new company. The first poster I advertised in this blog post was by JRF who are a comapny who want to change UK poverty.
I then found some on google that I thought would be great to analyse with the iPad to pick out key things that could inspire me in my designs. There was design that sin pried me so much and stood out in comparison to the other designs. This poster below is about child poverty but the way in which its designed is what inspired me so much. The way in which they have used a black and white photo of a child that portrays emotion, and this is black and white creating a deeper meaning stands out more and portrays a story of life in poverty. They then use a bright colour of hope which is the yellow, and this makes the writing not only stand out and catch the eye against the black and white but also allows the page to have hope and happiness through a negative design and meaning. They then have a child like type and this makes it more personal and connects with their audience in portraying poverty.
The final poster I looked at was this one below. This to me showcases that poverty can be designed and portrayed sometimes without any imager. They have managed to add the words poverty and over highlighted within one word which makes it powerful to the reader. This displays that simple is key sometimes on senstivie topics.
when we got home after the first crit I wanted to take more photos to portray poverty within homes. Therefore I used jack as an extra model and gathered some mor photography symbolising home poverty.
From experience, in our home we have a change pot you use it for bread and the basic essentials, however sometimes this is actually what people only have to provide them with the basic needs.
The first photo I took was this one below. This displays someone looking for lose change. I did not want to look like begging so he isn’t sat on the street, he is trying to collect lose change for bread and milk (as an example)
I wanted to photograph someone holding the money but not begging for money, to indicate people living on lose change. Therefor explains the next photograph. Within this photograph the subject displays him holding some loose change, and this spreads over both his hands. this indicates looking for loose change for essentials, and not begging or really asking for help.
I then like the other photographs decided to make these images turn into black and white as this then portrayed a continuous meaning through the designs. I used the same PS app on my iPad to make the black and white theme so I knew there would be consistent through the deigns. At this point I was unaware of what photos I would use but to me they all portrayed life of poverty in the house gold and portrayed emotion through the colour choice and subject choice.
I then decided to take photos of gas and electric. From personal experiences this was something that happened a lot at home, and gas and hot water was an issue. I remember coming home when little from my nan and grandads and we would have to wear our coats until the boiler would heat up providing us with heating. This is something you do not think about when suggesting poverty therefore I thought this would be beneficial for my design as its all about making awareness. In the living room there was a gas box and jack was sitting near it I turnt my head after taking the first set of photos and thought “this could be a perfect way to capture life in poverty to people”
The first image displayed at the top shows the subject fixing elements of the metre. I wanted it to look like he was trying to fix a problem with it. Therefore I think this showcases that well.
I then thought that the first photo did not show the emotion that comes along things like this not working. Some of us take gas and electric and heating for advantage and do not actually think about the cost and the issues that some people face. The top image displays a problem with the metre and the subject trying to fix it, then the bottom one is almost displaying the after effect it has on the subject because it cannot be fixed. I made jack put his hand on his head as this indicated a sense of struggle and desperation. I wanted to portray through my photography the sense of alone and the need of help and this was going to be continued through all the photographs I would off taken.
Again, it was time to make these images black and white. When I made them black and white it enhanced the emotion of struggle and desperation. You could still see al the elements but the black and white made it more depressing and created a atmosphere around the design.
Out of the two, the bottom one had the biggest affect with adding black and white personally speaking. You could feel the emotion pouring off the rage, indicating desperation and being tired of living like this. With the subject leaning on the floor, with his hand to his head, with his head down made this photo tell a story without any words needed to be presented and that was the aim of all my photographs together.
I then decided to take a few outside, to be featured in the magazine and show a link between the posters. (this is when I took the photograph of jacks eye used in one of the main posters) All these images below were taken in the garden, and the camera was angled a certain way to make sure you caught the right elements that portrayed poverty in the UK.
Few of the non edited photographs:
Below are just a few that I took to give you an understanding of the type of atmosphere I was going for within these designs. When I took the first set of pictures there was one of my brother with a fake cigarette and it was angels up so you could just see the cigarette and the background was blurred creating depth of field. I then wanted to continue this through some of the designs and use this as sort of an act of boredom displayed. the cigarette symbolises boredom, and wasting money on the not so important things in life. I shot different photographs in different scenarios to display this, I made sure it looked rough in the background. I wanted to create more photos that displayed objects and materials instead of emotion in faces of what life was like, and these would then feature within the magazine aspect of the campaign.
Some black and white edits
Again, the cigarette was part of the photograph and some of these are from the non edited images above. I shot it from alternative angles, and I wanted to showcase that not everyone in poverty looks like they are and this stereotypical aspect has too stop. This boy has a coat and has a ring on, but his home income makes him sit on the poverty line, And I hope these photos all showcase this some how or another.
Where would these photos feature?
I wanted all these photos to feature within the magazine. I did not want to use them for posters just because personally did not think they were as powerful with emotions compared to the poster designs. I wanted photos that indicated poverty in house hold and I think these photos achieve that well.
I took my own photography for this project as I wanted it to become personal and a certain message through my designs. My brother does acting therefore using him for a model seem appropriate for this as he likes the camera. I did use jack on a few also after the experiment of the first set of photography.
When researching different photography either global or uk the street paid a big impact – in the uk the main purpose in the background was the graffiti and this is what inspired me for the photography I took at first.
Within an area near my house there is a graffiti wall and is where the photography took place. All these photos are un edited therefore they are bright and bold at the moment. The graffiti wall is huge so we took photos in different aspects and angels to portray alternative images
I tried to make my brother look as ‘rough’ as possible he had a fake cigarette which we used in this is… we made him wear old clothes and covered in mud to portray the stereotypical idea that covers poverty. Below are a variety of images with this background – some feature Danny sitting on the floor, others standing up to portray a variety of lights which create alternative meanings etc.
Photos:
Sitting on the floor | smoking | looking sad
All these photos represent poverty in alternative aspects. I got photos of his face up close, with the background blurred to show some depth of fields which are similar to the photographs I had researched. I photographed, shoes that had holes in, muddy clothing. The purpose of these photographs was to show the stereotypical like of poverty, and these photos represent that, it’s not about being on street asking for money it’s about finding things to do and go on about your day despite the issues you face. These photos to me work so well for poster ideas as they show emotion throughout the persons face.
I wanted these photographs to look depressing as the photographs originally taken were way to bright to portray life through UK poverty. I used an app of my iPad and just made each photo that I was going to use in black and white. Automatically making the photo black and white gave the photos a meaning and through the photos it portrayed an emotion of being in poverty. I think that because the photos had elements of sunshine it made the photos stand out more when adding the black and white and gave them more depth.
I always sketch some of my ideas before creating stuff just to get an understanding of the sort of images I wanted to take and how I could portray certain things within my design. I did some of these sketches before taking photos and some after but just to show the process of the inspiration before completely anything further.
Below are all the sketches I have accumilated over the course of these designs. I recently purchased an image and found a new way fo sketching a developing ideas. I have always enjoyed sketching on either illustrator or photoshop not always by free hand just because it never links with my finals. I found a new way of rotoscoping to make it easier for me to develop ideas. I found when is sketched from my photos it developed ideas further of layout etc. This allowed me to create more portfolio work than just photography.
There are photos here based on imagery taken and some from my head.
For this project I thought I would I create personas to enable me to understand what sort of characters and audience I would portraying my work towards.
Using an app online I decided to create two personas based on the subjects displayed within my designs to tell them more of a story to the audience. The first persona is Jack Freeman. (random name)
Below sits the image of the persona dedicated to subject one. The name is completely made up and the story but its an example of the types of poverty issues that are around there and what it means to fall into the poverty line. Within this person, the goals display that he wants to get out of poverty and feeling like he cannot afford things. The frustrations for a teenager with parents living on the poverty line are wanting to wear the next new thing in when in some cases this is not possible for the parent, and this is displayed within this discussion. Within the Bio, it gives you a run down of what its like for this boy Jack, living with a single mum and what its like for their family.
Danny harper
The next persona was based on the image of Jack, but did not want to give him his real name so gave him my brothers name with a fake last name. However from my experiences, I added this into this persona, so it became more personal, and my side of the story could come out more. The fact with all these people, is how their family in poverty affects them and their daily life, these two are about how it effects the younger people and below is a final one of a mum and dad and how thats effected them being on the poverty line.
Not only have I created personas to help me understand audience I wanted to create a blog post explaining it.
Poverty is all around us, and some of us have never even experienced it therefore wanted to show case it not only for those who have been through it but also those who have no idea what it’s like. I want this campaign to be for everyone no mater who you are, to understand life through poverty in the UK. The things you take for granted some people cannot even afford and every now and rhino you should remember that. Also this campaign is for families who need support when they have no one to turn to and hopefully poverty uk aid can be that extra support they need.
I decided to go towards photography within my designs to enable my message to come through … therefore I wanted to make sure I was analysing photo that was already out there to understand the techniques used within poverty photography.
Already looking at poverty photography the majority of the photos are portraying the most stereotypical idea of poverty. Poverty is known for the less fortunate countries however it happens right here in the (UK) and that’s where my idea sparked from. I wanted to analyse the stereotypical photography to get na understanding on the techniques used within the photographs and then narrow it downforce global poverty to (UK) poverty photographs.
This photograph display poverty using depth of field. The focus of the design is on the two people portrayed – they display poverty by the young boy (who seems quite young) holding a baby – the baby has snot running down their nose indicating the lack of facilities – the baby also has no shoes on indicating poverty and lack of materials. the young boy is half smiling, wearing a hat that is falling apart and a top that seems to be years old as its starting to fall apart. I think what makes the audience connect with this photo is the way in which the older boy is smiling despite the conditions they live in. In the background you can slightly see in the blur the muddy area , indicating a less fortunate town. I think its quite a stereotypical image but it does portray poverty the characters due to their clothes and appearances.
Taken from google
I chose this image to portray the idea of different generations through poverty, and portray the fact that poverty happens through whatever age, and can effect anyone. This photo below displays an elderly man his posture is the main focal point of him being in poverty. his clothes are not muddy but send to be slightly large for him, with a dusty hat. His hands are shaped sort of like when someone is begging for money,. The man is sitting on the edge of the pavement indicating no home or lack our place to stay. Again it sousing depth of field as mentioned and sits in. A lack and white format..,this I’d icates slight depression within 5e photograph and tells more of a story.
I chose this one because unlike the others it does not focus just on the persons face and appearance. this photo indicates no person but their feet. They are walking along the road (that’s quite messy and not clean) the fact that they are no trainers that they are sandals indicate it’s a hot country, maybe like Africa.. one of his feet is hanging out the shoe making it difficult to keep his foot in place. This shows you can portray poverty in other ways not just the face or person.
photographs (UK)
i then decide to focus just on photography poverty based in the uk as these photos do come across slightly different in comparison to the other designs. Some of them are in black and white and others are not therefore I thought I would analyse both and compare them. There actually is not a lot that represent Britain and it’s poverty very well.
Now when typing into google poverty uk photography I noticed a common ground. These images below are all based in the UK when typing into google. They are all black and white. They all display house hold poverty. They could off easily displayed these photos in non black and white but it would not have the same meaning behind the design. Adding the black and white portrays the idea of alone, isolated and struggling like there is a black cloud always above you. Each one touches you, makes you feel compassion towards people and make you want to help them, they are all normal families and kids and thats what makes these photos so powerful.
I then thought about understanding the effects black and white photography have on the eye. When looking into poverty there was something that stood out to me and that was migrant mother. I am currently writing about this in my dissertation and thought it would fit in so nicely here.
The photograph popularly known as “Migrant Mother” has become an icon of the Great Depression. The compelling image of a mother and her children is actually one of a series of photographs that Dorothea Lange made in February or March of 1936 in Nipomo, California. She captured this horrific time, and making it black and white made it more powerful and told more of a story than if it was in non black and white. You can feel the sadness of the mother, the surrounding being horrific and you feel that from this image, and thats what I think should be portrayed when displaying a sensitive topic such as this.
Effects of black and white imagery:
Black-and-white photographs comprise only highlights, shadows, and the shades of gray between. In contrast, each hue in a color photograph adds an element to the image, which can distract viewers from the subject. … As a result, black-and-white is more likely than color to create an abstract visual.
From researching into black and white photography, I thought it would be interesting to see what people say. on one website someone said they they get distracted when the photo is not black and white meaning their focus goes all over the place where as if its just black and white you focus on the one subject the camera has tried to portray. Which explains why a lot of poverty and depressing photography is black and white so people
I then found this article above that was so interesting and felt it was appropriate to discuss here.
Black-and-White Photography
Has Reductive Simplicity
There’s a reason so many students learn to photograph (and draw, for that matter) in black-and-white first: a monochromatic palette is simpler, with fewer elements.
Black-and-white photographs comprise only highlights, shadows, and the shades of gray between. In contrast, each hue in a color photograph adds an element to the image, which can distract viewers from the subject. By reducing an image’s elements with black-and-white, there’s less for photographers—and viewers—to contend with.
Composition can be seen more readily in a black-and-white image because structure and spatial relationships take precedence. A silhouette, for example, can be particularly powerful in a black-and-white image if it’s clearly separated from other shapes in the composition.
Similarly, shapes, lines, textures, and contrast within a black-and-white image are prominent. As a result, black-and-white is more likely than color to create an abstract visual.
The more complete the tonal range, the more dynamic the image. Black-and-white photographs with a deep black, a pure white, and lots of varying grays in between can engage the eyes and draw viewers in
“Black and white is abstract; color is not. Looking at a black-and-white photograph, you are already looking at a strange world.” —Joel Sternfeld
colour:
Colour plays a huge part in the story the photograph tells. So if color somehow detracts from the main point or subject of an image, the image has lost power. Ideally, the main subject is in a prominent hue while unimportant elements are in a less dominant hue.
The complexity that color invokes needs to somehow be resolved in an image. To make an image that coalesces, all of the colors need to establish some sort of relationship with each other.
One way to achieve color harmony is to photograph complementary colors. In the traditional color model of red, yellow, and blue, complementary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel: red and green, yellow and purple, and blue and orange. Pairing them can create a very satisfying visual experience.
Researching more into this made me realise, ow much black and white can effect the emotion through designs and defiantly something to use for ht future of designing for good.
I thought I would look into some existing adverts that are already out there for poverty but for global issues and analyse them. I do want my designs to be slightly different but also follow the format that comes along with poverty photography and advertising . Before looking into adverts I thought I would look into some some sort of photography used and then this could lead into advertising posters.
Photography // poverty global photography
Tish’s images capture a raw picture of the struggles faced by the youth at the time. She would often photograph her family, friends and neighbours – people she spent time with every day, and whose struggles she shared. Capturing candid shots of youngsters on the streets, playing cards, building dens and fire, or causing mischief came naturally, because the subjects trusted her.
The first photo was this one below. I decided to annotate not before writing notes in my blog about it to make me have more of an understanding of the photography / story being told through the photo.
Annotation of image
Notes from annotation
At the top there are two boys jumping off the window. This shows the idea of the kids having fun despite not having a lot. Boys behind boys. Everyone is watching them and egging them on. On the other hand it could show the idea of them escaping but they have happy faces on so to me it displays them having fun and symbolising you cans have fun despite what you have.
Need to this… a kid is hanging from. This shows how unsafe this area is. However if you look closely he is standing on a window to reach up to his friends to chat. The kids just look like they are hanging out in this urban area.
Below this sits a bunch of old mattresses without any sign of a bed. This indicates that there is no bed around here, do these children sleep on these? It also suggest a bit of a “dump” as they look quite dirty and not well looked after.
There is loads more annotation to this and this is displayed in the photo the last thing I want to mention is the colour. I think for poverty the idea of black and white really makes it stand out and makes it more depressing and shows the sad side to poverty and this is definitely something I would use within my designs as it makes it so powerful and tells a story.
I thought I would look into some companies that specialise in helping poverty in the UK so I could get an understanding of some existing cases out there – this would than develop ideas towards the design aspect through poverty countries. I personally think there is so much out there for child poverty, and teen poverty etc but there is hardly anything out there for family poverty and if you don’t experience this sort of poverty do people even understand it. I decided to look into a variety of companies that specialise in poverty within the UK that is not just child poverty, or teen poverty.
The one that stood out to me first and one where I actually took a lot of the statistic from through my research, we’re JRF. However, they do not seem to create a lot of advertising campaigns its mainly all online.
They claim they can solve poverty in the UK… Have they tho? thats a big statement to say if you cannot actually achieve that goal. Their website displays a variety of characters and then stories and statistics follow this.
Within this website page, they have a PDF you can download which portrays way in which they want to solve poverty and this acts as their advertising campaigns. They display this PDF advert at the beginning and this then continues the theme throughout. WE CAN SOLVE POVERTY IN THE UK’ you automatically believe it you think ‘omg really how’ which makes you read on. the only thing for me is it looks like a poverty aid poster for periods and this is due to the colours they use. Why pink? They created a hashtag to then expand their audience and make it more aware to people.
The pdf is almost like an editorial design, therefore I chose pages that symbolised the meaning well and fitted in with the editorial aspect of the design . They first display a contents page the displays a completely different colour theme in comparison to the front cover therefore does not really show a link…` It indicates all the issues and questions that face around poverty, ad probably all the questions that formed around the big statement they portrayed on the front cover. They display facts and statistics from goverments investor etc and make the information seem so reliable and understanding.
On the third page, there is still no sign of any photography and as a reader it makes you just want to skip past this page. This is introduction but if you look the amount of writing that has been displayed here it makes it hard for the reader to pin point a certain key information therefore makes them skip to another page. The only thing that stood out for me was int he pink box as its bold and in your face, and this statistics followed me through the rest of the design and I remembered it. But did not remember the rest. Displaying its key to make the most important information large and bold for the readers to understand and take it in. Having an introduction allows the reader to understand their purpose, and by the looks of it they are displaying the reasoning bending their mission and ways they want to stop poverty.
I chose this page because they do not just focus on a certain fact or statistic they display a lot. On the right hand side they display in a bright pink a topic opener, they then display facts on how they will achieve their five-point plan to solve poverty in the UK. To make this so believable and actually have faith in them they then display facts in a purple so it stands out about poverty, and the facts hit you hard and make you want to help out.
They continue through this 50 page magazine to express what poverty is, how to define it, what it’s like in the UK, and ways to help it. There are os many pages, therefore thought I would only analyse a few more that I thought would be beneficial for my magazine design and the over all purpose of designing for poverty and the sensitivity that goes around it.
This page when together is portrayed like editorial design, with the advertising image on the right and the information bout poverty on the left. I chose this one because to define poverty in their own words, again they portray a lot of information but this time they show case it with alternative colours to make it stand out. This is the first page where we see an image being displayed. With the quote on the image “it is so hard that you cannot [provide for yourself” This allows the page to become more personal and you understand this women has gone through it. She does not look like she’s homeless or the stereotypical ‘poverty’ which some places advertise she’s a normal women that has worked but struggle and thats what I think is important with designs like this to make sure you are sensitive towards the images you display.
Overall this document makes you understand them, their values, and the ways to prevent poverty. This was an amazing inspiration for my designs, and allowed me to understand the sensitivity it that comes along with portraying a topic like this. Personal stories really sell it, and the personal quotes make you connect with the character. However I do think there should not be loads of type to inform people as there is a lot.
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