March 30th, 2008 ethereal
I tried to build a bit of a categorical list of the types of images, mainly photographic, that are used to communicate the “unwritten” cultural laws of dress in the workplace. My question when I started looking for the images and information that led to this list was where in the media do women get there information on how to dress for work? I have a strong, but untested, suspicion that most of the final decisions are made based on peer evaluation and what is in our immediate circles, but what if we are leaving our circle to go to a new place but want to avoid that feeling of being completely out of place (like a new job)? And the construction of fantasy absolutely comes into play in terms of what we see in the media outside of our peer group. Anyway, here’s the list. Images to come.
Visualizing Corporate Dress Codes
Communicating this type of information to a job seeker is difficult. If there are no concrete rules yet the margin of acceptance seems so narrow, feelings of hopelessness or backlash may result. Visual strategies to demonstrate attire vary. However, a survey of what to wear books, internet sites and magazines produces several basic categories of image type:
Runway Fantasy
Few runway photos are used to illustrate what to wear to work, but they are used to construct the seasonal fantasies that set the trends. Shots of ultra-thin professional models wearing something that carries the “essence” of what will eventually be clamored for on the ready-to-wear racks may be used to inspire a look. This also holds true for celebrities on red carpets. However, celebrities images carry their own myths, and can be used as a visualization technique. If a job seeker is asked to visualize her image of success and she conjures Oprah, images of the media empress can be utilized to entice the job seeker to divulge why she chose that person. This provides a foundation for her own image. What Oprah was wearing could very well be part of that.
Catalog Model
The catalog model is the fashion model with flawless features, idealized body and carefully posed form. This image type is shown either in context or on a white background. Online or in print, catalog images form a strong presence in creating fantasy when considering what one wants to look like. Photographs of catalog-like models that demonstrate what to wear may work when designing the conditions for fanciful imagination, but when asking the audience to think realistically, the skin color, size and features of the model become an obstacle. “This does not look like me.”
Bodiless Outfits
Photographing clothing without the wearer in a slightly but not obscenely wrinkled arrangement on a white background is a popular technique used in magazines such as InStyle, books such as the popular Chic Simple series and on what to wear web sites like wardrobe911, a style blog hailing from the San Francisco area that often posts advice on office attire. This technique eliminates race, modesty issues and size from the visual equation and invites the viewer to imagine themselves in the clothing. In instances where fantasy does not include imagining the self as someone else, this is a highly effective tactic.
Average Jane
What to wear web sites that are sponsored by universities or non-profits that seek to help with the specific issue of finding employment such as Washington State University’s “Dress to Impress: A Guide” (http://amdt.wsu.edu/research/dti/index.htm) have taken images of women in example outfits. Whether for content, copyright or budget reasons, this technique serves to strip the “selling” out of the task and feature the clothing as anonymously designed articles that represent a prototypical clothing category rather than a name brand item. In addition, the home grown quality of the image communicates that these women are every day job holders and not celebrities or fashion models. The connotation this imparts is that these looks are attainable, and not part of a fantasy.
Piece of Me
Working with the visual principle of metonymy, images of part of the body substitute for the whole. This image type is rarely a stand alone and is most often accompanied by captions or explanatory text. Rules about office dressing are shown by using the section of the body that applies to that specific rule only. This method succeeds in suspending the “that’s not me” reading by forcing the viewer to draw conclusions about the rest of the image, or to dismiss it as unimportant. The focus is only on illustrating the point the accompanying text is making. When this technique is used in popular media, it is often to highlight a part of an outfit for accolades or to point out a fashion “don’t”. In either case, it reinforces this image style as a way to show a clothing best practice.
Virtual Goddess
The last category in this short inventory is a more recent addition. The company My Virtual Model has made quite a splash in the online shopping world by selling clothing via avatars assembled in the likeness of the buyer. The size, skin color, features and hair style are all manipulated to assist in constructing the fantasy that the virtual model is a stand-in for the user. Then, the user can try on clothes and rotate the model in space to see the fit. There is potential to use this method for communicating what to wear codes and best practices, but it also faces some of the hurdles that looking at catalog models faces—the construction of the fantasy leads to disappointment when the real version fails to live up to the hype. However, it can be beneficial as a “goal” image if taken lightly and with a dose of humor.
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March 29th, 2008 ethereal
I read a chapter of Critical Cyberculture Studies titled “Overcoming Institutional Marginalization” by Blanca Gordo and then went off on this tear:
Much of my time in working on thesis “artifacts” has been spent in the production of diagrammatic expressions of how the system would work. This seems to be necessary in order to show the viability of such a system. The next step is to demonstrate what the objects themselves look like and how they visualization supports the stated objectives of the system and the objectives of the individual components.
Throughout the process of gathering information from fields outside of design, I have discovered that there is little to support that a system such as the one I am proposing would have a positive effect on the population it is meant to serve and the overall economy of the areas that it would be implemented in because there is very little quantitative research that shows how this population uses technology or how the introduction of a Community Technology Development program would work.
In a society that places value on empirical proof through statistical data, how then can the funding and support for such a project be procured? There is clearly a need for it, but designed responses to that need cannot currently be backed with quantitative studies that show the outcome path.
Perhaps then, the role of the graphic designer in this situation then is to speak about the culture by using the tools of culture to tell a convincing story.
The rules of the story:
based on research
show a path of viable action
reveal the possibility of predicted outcomes
It becomes a task of persuasion. The graphic designer plays a role, with team members who are experts in their own field, in convincing funding bodies and policy makers that an underrepresented area deserves their attention and support.
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I have been a “designer” for ten years and still am not sure where I fit in.
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March 27th, 2008 ethereal
sometimes i will post things merely because i find them beautiful. like this:
thanks fffound community, for lots of inspiring eye candy. mmmmmmmm.
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March 27th, 2008 ethereal
i think i busted someone watering their outdoor plants tonight on my ride home. i was pedaling up the long hill and saw someone in the bushes by the house that has the fake dog statue on their porch that always freaks me out when i am tired b/c i think its a real dog, a real large dog. anyway. so i catch this movement in the bushes out of the corner of my eye and i kind of go into “on guard” state, unsure at first of what’s going on. then i see they have a watering hose and i think, that’s odd, well maybe they just got home from work and this is when i do yard work. well as i pass, they kind of shrink back against the house and let off the water pressure. very suspicious. then i think, hey wait! they are suspicious! they are watering their yard against the ban policy! huh. not that the lone cyclist at 11 pm is going to say anything of note to anyone, but that just made it funnier that they hid from me anyway.
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as an addendum: yes, the ban is still on and once a week lawn watering will not be allowed until falls lake is at 100% full. we are now at about 80%.
3.26.08 / news & observer
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March 27th, 2008 ethereal
whoever reads this article and believes it, is my nightmare boss/co-worker.
Hiring a creative genius
March 26, 2008 12:10pm
‘WANTED:
creative genius. Prima donnas need not apply.’ Tom Dawkins examines the
common perception that the more creative the skill-set, the more
complex the personalities of the individuals who possess them.
Plenty of business managers have a story about working with a ‘creative genius’ who was both dazzling and difficult.
It’s a common dilemma - do you outsource your creative work (such as new
strategies or designs) and deal with lateral thinkers, artists or
innovators on their terms, or do you bring them into the company and
try to persuade them to work to your terms?
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with quotes like:
Ruby Blessing from Kinetic Media explains: “You will need to give them their freedom to create but if
you hate where they are going stop them early before they get too invested in their concept.”
after all, heaven forbid i am invested in my work. disaffected garbage-in garbage-out is really the better attitude.
Feedback is the key. “‘It looks great, however…’ is my favourite thing to say,” admits Mr Gravina.
yes, let’s taunt the bear. let’s stir the bees nest for the sake of it, the fun of it and then BLAME THE DESIGNER WHEN ITS DONE AND LOOKS LIKE CRAP (AND DOESN’T FUNCTION IN A SYSTEM)
ok. i’ve had my rant for the evening.
wait a minute … am i an unstable bipolar creative type? am i the prima donna? [insert dramatic music here]
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March 26th, 2008 ethereal
I found this short interview between a blogger and an “actual architect” pretty darn humorous. I saw the ad a few days ago, somewhere online and dragged the image to my desktop for my miscellany archives. Its just too funny. I wonder if Banana Republic also has “graphic designers”? How about “middle school teacher”? I think both would be good to idealize. Ah, the endless debate and discussion surrounding truth, fantasy and advertising.
Addendum: Amber pointed out the title-less spines of the mystery books on the table. Very amusing. What DO those crafty and stylish architects read?
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March 25th, 2008 ethereal
scrunch face steve
val ponders
the type ninja is hiding in mattcom
i am a reflection in the glass
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March 25th, 2008 ethereal
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March 23rd, 2008 ethereal
yesterday i made a map of how a wardrobe planning journal would be used in the relationship between a mentor and a job seeker. i am hoping the map is usable in my thesis, and i am not sure what the next step is with it. i am thinking that i have to select a few key pages from the journal to design, and then to fill them out as demo and photograph them.
“The WearToWork journal isolates
the issue of how to create
a professional presentation of
self for the workplace by providing
a journaling tool to the
job seeker to keep track of her
clothing choices and options in
the process of obtaining and
keeping a job for 6 months.”
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