Chosen Font Style

I have collected a range of fonts from well known brands as these are some of the brands that fashion models are made to model on the catwalk. It is from this collection that I have chosen to use a font similar to the Gucci font because the Gucci font is simple, but also possess an old, elegant feel to it. The font is called ‘Goudy Old Style’.
Another font style that is similar to the Gucci font is ‘Goldenbook’. From my research, the font type is based on the logotype of a literary magazine from the late 1920’s called the Golden Book Magazine. However, to use the font I would have had to purchase it. The Goudy Old Style font is already available for use via Word, Illustrator and Photoshop, so is clearly the better option.

Final Visual Concept

I have decided to use none of previous concepts that I posted up earlier, because none seem to fit the issue that I am targeting. Instead I have decided to go with a similar concept to the Diesel ‘Fuel for Life’ advertisements. I have decided to use the elegant Victorian style throughout my series with a grey theme colour to add to the style. I have also decided to use this visual concept as it is as reflection of how these models are portrayed in the media, that is, as ideal and beautiful. The text will also be of a classy, elegant (but simple) style to fit with the visual concept. By placing an image of an extreme size 0 model in this visual style, I am able to create a contrasting effect and hopefully evoke some sort of emotion from the viewer regarding the issue.

Diesel Ads:

Elegant designs (iStockphoto):

Visual Concept 5

For this visual concept, I used movie posters that were based on a true story as my inspiration. From the breakdown of these posters, I would use dark colours for the background to establish the fact that the poster is conveying something serious and real. I would then place the image in the center in a position so that it would guide the readers’ eyes to the tagline. Rather than placing the tagline straight, I would place it on an angle so that it would provide as a lead down to the additional quotes or facts at the bottom of the page. The tagline would be in a larger font size that the text at the bottom and I would use a primary colour to colour the tagline as I noticed that posters incorporated primary colours to highlight certain aspects. The tagline and the image would both be placed in the center of the canvas.

Visual Concept 4

This visual concept uses all colour as opposed to the previous one, which is all grayscale. However I would have to limit the colour palette to 3 colours. I would have one colour for the text, one for the background and use the natural skin tone of the body part. Mainly because of this last colour, which is something that I cannot change, I would have to choose colours that either complement or make stand out the skin colour of the body part.
The body part would be placed in the center of the canvas, framing the tagline which would be the only text used. I would place the symbol/icon next to the tagline, similar to how Nike places it’s swoosh symbol next to the tagline ‘just do it.’

Visual Concept 3

In this visual concept, I thought to put the image and background in complete grayscale with the image on one side of the canvas and the text on the adjacent side. I would keep the text block in black and have only the tagline in a chosen colour from my colour scheme. For this visual concept, I also thought to develop a symbol or icon that relates to or gets associated with my issue and I would place this next to my chosen tagline.

Visual Concept #2

My second visual concept incorporates more gray-scaling.  In addition to using it on the body part, I would also use a little in the background.  By this I mean that I would use a very dark shade of the chosen colour for the background.  This would allow for the complete message of my propaganda to be conveyed.

I would place the body part in the center of the page so that the image stretches the entire page (from top to bottom or side to side).

For the text, I would place it on angle similar to the style used in the 'dark side of tanning' campaigns and have the body part framing the text.

Visual Concept #1

For my first visual concept I have thought to use gray-scaling on the image of the body part incorporated in the picture.  I noticed that many campaigns targeting serious issues use this effect to promote the seriousness of the issue in question.  Also, by using a particular body part, this will put more emphasis on how it looks as opposed to having an entire person where the eyes scan over the body and focus on what appears to catch the viewers' interest.

In this concept, i thought to lay out any text according to the shape of the body part used.  I derived this idea from the Nike ads where the text is injected with some personality and reflects the adjacent image.

Finally, I would have minimal text or, if there were to be a lot, have it significantly smaller as opposed to the size of the image.  By doing this, the image appears to be more magnified and therefore more confronting to the viewer.  Ideally, the background would use a block colour if not white or black so as to not distract from the overall message.

"Based on a True Story" Movie Posters

"Chick Flick" Movie Posters

Eating Disorder Campaigns

Dark Side of Tanning Campaign

Nike Woman Campaigns

Magazine Cover

Breast Cancer Campaign

Showing Parts of the Body

Silhouette/Outline

Visual Concepts

For my range of visual concepts, i have been looking at other campaigns and advertisements that deal with the issue of body image as this relates to what i am doing.  I have looked into campaigns such as those for breast cancer, skin cancer and tanning, eating disorders and Nike's new one related to body image.  I have also found an ad that uses parts of the body as their visual rather a whole person (How to look Good Naked with Carson Kressely).  With each collection, I have broken the images down to what all images incorporate to promote the same or similar message.  It is from these that i have come up with some visual concepts.

A3 Poster Proposal

I am basing this idea on an email that I received a while back in 2007. The images are quite graphical and the tag line is simple yet effective. I think that this style would work well for the poster because the majority of people walk past a poster and have a brief glance at it. In the short period of time that a persons’ eye’s make contact with the poster, the message of it has to be made instantly, or is otherwise lost.
Basically the images are of incredibly stick-thin models that make your stomach churn and want to eat for their sake. I think these images would be effective in the poster style because they would grab a viewers’ attention and really make them look at the images. These images would also work well because, unlike the anti-smoking campaigns with which we have been bombarded with and have now grown immune to, they are not constantly shown to the public. By showing them to the public, I think that the images will have a big impact on the way the viewer perceives really thin models, and reiterate fashion’s debate on the issue. Additionally, society hears about the “size 0 models” issue without much visual confirmation and this poster would provide that confirmation.

Re: The French Rethink Thin

1) http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/15/the-french-rethink-thin/
2) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/world/europe/16france.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

I think Frances’ decision to legislate against extreme thinness encouraged or promoted by others is a good decision because it would mean that they would have more control of how models and women in general, are portrayed in the media. In addition, it would mean that the fashion industry would have to change significantly in order to comply with the laws and I think that the result of the change would evoke a more positive response from society as opposed to how we negatively perceive the industry today.
However it needs to be taken into consideration that there is a part of society that bring extreme thinness upon themselves, maybe as a result of influence but there could be other contributing factors, and this is something that the government cannot penalise.

As for advocating such a law in Australia, I would be behind it because it would have a serious impact on our society. Young girls wouldn’t feel such pressure on them any more to look a certain way and they could finally be happy with the way they are. The local fashion industry would change as well and this would be beneficial to those who are influenced by what happens within this industry.

Design Statement

“The emergence of size 0 and 00 is a negative result of vanity sizing that more and more women are aspiring to.”

A series of images will be created to draw awareness to the issue of size 0 and 00 clothing and deter women (and girls?) from wanting to become size 0/00 through techniques such as comparison and contrast, negative connotations, humor and parody. The messages that I want the images to convey are 1) size 0/00 is not pretty/ beautiful and 2) to make the female viewer more confident about their body/ clothing size. Naturally, the target audience are those who want to become size 0/00 – self-conscious women (and teen girls?)

Vanity Sizing Cons

After coming up with as many ideas I could think of that were related to vanity sizing, I have decided to portray the consequences that arise out of vanity sizing as my propaganda. This is because I feel that the positive side of the issue is felt more by society and the negative aspects are generally disregarded.
In a bid to further crunch the broad issue, I created a second mind map based on all the cons and broke each one down further. From doing this I have decided to look at “The Introduction of Size 0 and 00 for Grown Women” and the issues that stem off it, as this is an issue that directly affects society today.

Victimisation

What happens to those who fall victim to vanity sizing?  Those who are naturally thin?  Well, manufactures have come a with a solution for that.  Sizes 2, 0, and 00.  And there has even been speculation about negative sizes.  It's as if they are trying to single out the thin, like it's completely abnormal and that being big is a good thing.  Could this mean that the retail companies and other clothing manufacturers are trying to mask the true cause of this phenomenon? 

Pretending

Women are always satisfied to find that they are a smaller size than previously but that's the whole point of vanity sizing. Clothing manufacturers deliberately make bigger clothes and put smaller sizes on them to make their customers feel good about themselves. And the retail companies are loving it. Keep producing bigger clothes with smaller sizes and keep the customers coming back for more.

Visual Thinking

Vanity Sizing

Ever heard of the term ‘vanity sizing’? Well that’s the reason why clothes have gotten bigger over years. Basically, clothing manufacturers are putting smaller sizes on the tags of their garments that are actually a size or two bigger. And it’s all a ploy to make the customers (especially women) think that they’re smaller than they actually are when in fact vanity sizing is actually masking the growing obesity of society. How about this for proof: Marilyn Monroe wore a size 12 in the 1950’s during the peak of her career. Today she would be the equivalent of a size 6.

Shopping around recently, I have noticed that all my favourite stores now carry size 8 as the smallest size. And unfortunately, size eight doesn't fit me well. In some places that hold size six, it's just a size 8 garment disguised as a size six. And I can tell just by looking at it on the hanger. 'That'll never fit' I think to my self or sometimes say aloud, in which case I tend to draw looks from those standing near me.

The Dilemma

I can't stand it when people say that I'm lucky to be so thin and skinny. It really annoys me! As does people who complain pointlessly that they have "unwanted fat" when they are a normal size (that being a full figure). They're the ones who are really lucky. Maybe they can't fit into a size eight, but at least there is a size that they can fit into and it falls nicely on them. They can walk into any shop and find a garment that will not only look good but will fit them perfectly in that it's not loose. And if it is, then that's good for them because we all know that women get excited when they fit into smaller sizes. But even then, a smaller size would still fit them so well. That would never work for me. Not until I found a classic size 6 or lower. And were can I find these sizes? No idea.