Task Six: Theory into Practice

Look at the CTS blog that Garry Barker has been writing to complement the lecture programme this year. Write a short response to one of the posts on the blog. Use the ideas that Garry is discussing to mount a short critical evaluation of one piece of Graphic design that you have produced on Level 5.


For the purpose of this task I have chosen to analyse my design for print module in which I designed a piece of packaging aimed at children, intending to promote the traditions of the Mexican holiday known as 'Dia de los Muertos'. Below is an image of one of my presentation boards that displays the key aesthetics of the design.

I have chosen to analyse this piece of work in direct relation to Garry's post about about surveillance, Foucault and how all graphic design is centre around communication. In the text Garry suggests that Michael Barnards theories of graphic design helping in the formation of social and cultural identities is not only common, but most designers are guilty of using stereotypical designs at least once within their career. It turns out I am guilty of this before my career even gets started.

In this particular case I have altered typefaces and colour choices in order to appeal to my desired target audience. The package is ideally marketed at 5-10 year olds and their parents, so in order to satisfy both these age groups I combined bright, bold colours and minimal type, but quite a complex design that hopefully can be appreciated by both young and old. In keeping with the aesthetics of traditional Mexican design I used geometric shapes and a repeated pattern around the exterior of the package. I took inspiration from the paper art known as 'papel picado', in which incredibly complex banners and various other paper decorations are crafted through a single sheet of sugar paper and someone who is skilled with a craft knife. This, initially, would not be clear to a child as traditional Mexican visuals are not as engrained as other cultures, such as Chinese or Greek as Garry mentions in his post, however the intention of the package was to educate and inform.

The purpose of the package is to get kids into the kitchen, baking traditional sugar cookies in the shapes of skulls. Why skulls? Well the holiday known as the 'Day of the Dead' is a celebration of lost loved ones, when families from all over the country spend the night in graveyards trying to tempt back the souls of departed friends and family members. It takes place on November 2nd and therefore has strong connotations with halloween, an insult rather than a complement. Nevertheless I took the traditional visual known as a 'sugar skull' and turned my whole package into a celebration of its design, with bright colours and flower motifs.