Experiment 4 – Petri Dishes

For my fourth experiment I want to source a couple of petri dishes which i can use to contain bacteria. The thinking is to place one of the dishes in the fridgeto keep it cool, the other will be placed by the boiler to keep warm. This experiment will provide an interesting visual reference to how living organisms change depending on their environment.

5 Experiment Ideas

Some more thoughts on some experiments I can undertake.

1/ An experiment based around plants eg. buy two plants and treat both differently and see how they fare

2/ Something based around the pychology of things, such as peoples outlooks and perceptions focused on the Graphic Design industry

Experiment 3 – Graphic Design Industry Antidote

For my 3rd experiment I wanted to alude that the Graphic Design Industry is sick and needs a cure. My first visual representation of this used a syringe and bottle that features the antidote for the Graphic Design Industry.

The original image was found here.

My second image uses a Defibrillator, the reasoning behind this is to create a visual metaphor of the Graphic Design Industry and indeed our economy needing to be jump started back into action. In this instance the Industry is the living beating heart that needs a sharp electrical shock to kick it back into action, the original photo used was sourced from here.

Experiment 2 – Dart Board Visual

Here is a visual to represent the percentage of times I hit one of the three numbers. The percentage of colour used symbolizes the amount of times the number was hit.

Experiment 2 – Dart Chance

For my second experiment I developed a game of chance using a dart board and 150 darts thrown.

The intention was for me to throw 150 darts and try and hit the number 20 as many times as possible, of course i’m not Phil Taylor at darts so several went astray and hit the numbers either side of 20 which are 5 and 1. This experiment is based mainly around chance and a little bit of skill on my part but I wanted to see if at the end of the 150 darts if the number of times i’d hit 20 outweighed 5 & 1 combined.

Number 20 = The Design Industry will flourish and I will gain employment

Numbers 5 & 1 = The Design Industry will collapse and I will not gain employment

Here are my Results . . .

20 = 82
1 = 41
5 = 27

According to my results then the Design Industry should be ok as I’ve got more 20’s than 1 and 5’s combined. Next I want to visualise my results using a dart board Image.

Responses to my Survey

My survey has only been live for the last 18 hours but I have already had 19 responses which is encouraging. I have also had a couple of fantastic responses from a couple of girls that graduated from BA Graphics summer 2008.They are in the position that all of us impending graduates will be in 6 months time.

The responses are enlightening but also quite worrying for any impending graduates in the Graphic Design field.

Jody Poulter wrote . . .

“Dan I completed ur questionnaire, but I don’t think there was enough to explain all situations so I have decided to write here:

The recession has most definitely affected the Graphic Design industry, maybe not so much for existing companies dramatically but for graduates and people wanting to be emnployed for sure.

Small companies that maybe 2 yrs ago would go ‘out on a limb’ and say come in to the studio, work for a coupla weeks and then take u on permanently, just won’t risk it at this moment in time, it is too high risk to spend money on someone, or really want to take some1 on if they prove themselves and then not be able to. I know of one graduate who is at a company that desperately want to take him on but won’t until they land a big job, its frustrating and very difficult to struggle through.

However, the recession does push you if you let it. I am currently awaiting a job in Dubai, of which I have been shortlisted down to the final 3 after a long interview process. An achievemnet I am proud of no matter what the outcome, and possibly would not have even considered abroad, had the recession not been present. “

My other response has been from Jessica Roberts . . .

“Hey Dan, I’ve completed your questionnaire, however thought you might want some reasoning? After working in a small studio in Bournemouth, I left to look for work in London in January. Although it has only been a couple of weeks, I have noticed a serious decline in jobs being advertised for graduate and junior positions. Almost all jobs displayed in Design Week, Creative Review and The Guardian are requesting mid-weight or senior designers that have worked for several years in the industry. As you can imagine this problematic for graduates! A recent article in design week also demonstrates the belief that graduate designers are ’simply not needed’, as companies would rather risk creative innovation to ensure that experienced designers complete work for deadlines effectively. By writing to and hounding design agencies, I have been lucky enough to be invited to interviews at some successful companies. However despite the few replies, it has been extremely difficult to attract attention, as many companies have written to me to decline my application due to lack of experience, as they require people that have worked in the industry for 2 or 3 years. I’m hoping that sheer persistence will determine my success in the future. You guys might find it easier, as statistics (again Design Week) show that creative industries should recover in the last quarter of this year, so good luck! As you can probably tell, I’ve done far too much research into this! I hope this is useful.”

Both of these responses were sent to me via my Facebook account.

Experiment 1 – Graphic Design + Recession = ?

As one of my 5 experiments I have made a survey using the ‘SurveyMonkey’ website. I have based it around the global recession and how it may affect the design industry. The questions are orientated around recent or impending graduates, the survey can be found here.

I’m aiming to get atleast 50 people to participate with the survey so that I can draw some useful conclusions from the survey.

What is System Theory?

“System theory is the transdisciplinary study of the abstract organization of phenomena, independent of their substance, type, or spatial or temporal scale of existence. It investigates both the principles common to all complex entities, and the (usually mathematical) models which can be used to describe them. A system can be said to consist of four things. The first is objects – the parts, elements, or variables within the system. These may be physical or abstract or both, depending on the nature of the system. Second, a system consists of attributes – the qualities or properties of the system and its objects. Third, a system had internal relationships among its objects. Fourth, systems exist in an environment. A system, then, is a set of things that affect one another within an environment and form a larger pattern that is different from any of the parts. The fundamental systems-interactive paradigm of organizational analysis features the continual stages of input, throughput (processing), and output, which demonstrate the concept of openness/closedness. A closed system does not interact with its environment. It does not take in information and therefore is likely to atrophy, that is to vanish. An open system receives information, which it uses to interact dynamically with its environment. Openness increases its likelihood to survive and prosper. Several system characteristics are: wholeness and interdependence (the whole is more than the sum of all parts), correlations, perceiving causes, chain of influence, hierarchy, suprasystems and subsystems, self-regulation and control, goal-oriented, interchange with the environment, inputs/outputs, the need for balance/homeostasis, change and adaptability (morphogenesis) and equifinality: there are various ways to achieve goals. Different types of networks are: line, commune, hierarchy and dictator networks. Communication in this perspective can be seen as an integrated process – not as an isolated event.”

This was found here.

Intitial Ideas for the 5 Experiments

So for the next week I’ve got to come up with 5 different experiments based around my EMP theme. This is able to range from a questionnaire to visual experiments.

My first thoughts for this is to create a series of visuals that work as a visual metaphor. My EMP is based upon the recession and the tough task Design Agencies are having staying afloat, this lends itself nicely to abstracting out the reality and applying it to something else.

The main focus where I believe this can work is by looking at nature and biology as a good grounding. I think it will be a good starting point to begin by brainstorming some ideas around natural organisms and how they react to their environment.