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Elusive Portraits

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Page 1: Elusive Portraits

ELUSIVEPORTRAITS

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The first step I took to thesis was to create a clean a blank slate. With the ever-present concern that I would have to decide on a thesis topic

within the first few weeks, forced me straight into research.

With no goal, or direction, I opened my mind and scoured blogs, magazines, papers, books and other information outlets to find trends

and any spark of interest that I could base my thesis on.

1choosing a perspective

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first few ideas

thesis idea, as well as getting me lost in choosing a single idea.

I looked into past years and examined courses and pieces that I could of done better or expanded upon. I looked into an illustrative thesis that could correlate with graphic design; an exploration on QR Codes and Mobile devices; a look into possible future cross disciplinary professions and fields; and so forth. Although many of these options lead to some promising conclusions, they lacked a substantial interest and drive to convince me to pursue them.

To me, back then; the idea of the fourth year thesis was the single most important and final statement I could say as a student. Although views have changed since, the first few weeks of thesis became an exploration in both what is expected and what I wanted to take from OCAD. I initiated my exploration by deterring from what I knew. I had given myself two choices: go with what you know or learn something new

Throughout the first two weeks of thesis class, I explored the latter. I delved into the unfamiliar and looked to thesis as a means to learn and improve skills that I did not have. It has always been a habit where I strived to be know a little about everything opposed to being very good at one thing. This very nature is what guided me towards what would be my finalized

2.1

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web, technology has had an effect in altering the way in which the political campaign is run. The current use of web and social networks is the latest application American running candidates’ are using. The web offers the ability to develop content that could in fact go viral. This thesis will explore the use and exploitation of next technology used by political advertisers, and find opportunities where strong design and branding has been used to promote a candidate.

THE NEEDThe need for this research is that although the political marketing is something that typically becomes only apparent during election times, every four or so years, it is a on going process that lends itself many

QUESTIONHow can technology new to poltical marketing, primarily the use of web and online applications influence and effect the branding of a politican and the electorial process?

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this thesis is to explore how political marketing has changed due to the introduction and proliferation of technology as well as the focus on heavily branding a candidate. Technology has always had a hand in changing the way politics has been marketed, from the use of the first television spots, down to the recent election’s wide use of the

2.2political marketing proposal

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the need design work ranging a wide scope including: web, editorial, motion, branding and so forth.

Political advertising is a form of branding that can combine cross disciplinary skills, and ties back to the strong focus on creating and maintaining a brand. In addition, political advertising continues even when the election is done, and constantly grows and changes due to technology and competition.

My goal for this thesis is to observe the trends that occur in political marketing, and find opportunities where design or new technology can be used to benefit a running candidate. Another goal is see what new technology is, or can be used to provide an advantage for a candidate, whether it be the creative use of online applications, or some other forms of current communication technology. Lastly I wish to develop ways to improve on the current tactics that political marketing has, such as the political television spot, poster campaigns, etc. Not only do I plan to see where new technology can help a campaign, but also see where strong design can be used to improve existing tactics.

AUDIENCEMy target audience will be the voting public, yet I plan to make a concentrated focus on targeting the younger voter. Since my thesis will involve using technology new to political campaigns, such as social networks, and the internet, it would result in much of my audience to be the younger, computer literate generation. REALIZATIONI plan to spend my time researching the wide range of existing political campaigns, not only in North America, but various campaigns in other countries. The plan is to develop a strong understanding of what is being done, and where the political campaign can be improved. I will be looking into areas such as: • History of Political Marketing • Online Political Marketing • Cultural Political Marketing • Internet phenomena such as social networks, viral videos, etc • Statistics on voters • Interactivity found online w/ politicains

My goal is to ultimately develop a political campaign or brand for either a real, or fictional candidate. It will involve creating a image for them, and then carrying out that image in various outlets, both traditional

(television spot, posters, buttons, logo, etc) or non traditional (viral videos, web applications). The idea to develop a body of work that can demonstrate a solid campaign based on the strengths of older campaigning tactics, and finding the potential in new innovative forms of political communication via technology.

LEARNING OUTCOMESWhat I imagine to gain at the end of April is a strong understanding of the history of political marketing and the opportunities where strong design can be used to innovate the process. Although political marketing is not as large as other areas of design study, it is one that involves as much planning and research as a company rebranding. My thesis will allow me to explore how a person is branded, and how I can take advantage of technology that is new to the area of political marketing

LITERATURE REVIEWThe success of political campaigns re-lies on the candidate and their stance, as much as it does its branding and market-ing. Political marketing use strong brand-ing techniques to help create awareness about their candidate. However a trend that countinues to grow, is the use and proliferation of new technology, most no-

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for Eisenhower with the use of the “We like Ike” television spot. The success of the political commercial as well as use of television brought about the concept of a candidate on screen image.

Technology continues to play its part throughout the history, and voters are introduced to the first smear campaigns, televised political debates, all the way up to the use of online applications and digital media. As it stood since the 1980’s, television has become the principal me-dium in North American political commu-nication, when nearly half of the federal campaign funds are allocated to television airtime (Marrek 18). However, the most recent presidential election has shown a transformation of the campaigning pro-cess. The shift to online campaigning has dramatically increased in the past decade, where in 2004 the 81 percent of the major party House Candidates and 92 percent of the Senate candidates have created a po-litical website. This jumped from only 35 percent and 72 percent from 1998 (Pana-gopoulos 22). In addition to the use of websites, Internet has also allowed can-didates to connect with voters via social networks and blogs.

This ties back to how a brand can

incorporate a personality, which can then be expressed through these online applications. The branding of a person is not anything new (Twitchell), but the use of online applications such as social networks, blogs, viral media, etc is something that has only begun being tapped into. The recent 2008 American presidential election shown this, as the candidates all used the internet resources (social networks, blogs, youtube, etc) as a mode of communication and is outlined in the book Politicking Online (Panagopoulos).

This proliferation of technology has had its criticisms though. This focus on image however good it is for the running party has been critiqued to have negative repercussions on the political process (Biocca 133). Political commercials opt to spend their television spots on catchy slogans, various forms of humor, or slick stylish advertising at the expense of key issues. This issue may possible be solved with the new uses of technology.Campaigning that is targeted to create a parasocial interaction with voters, the illusion of an interpersonal relationship between the candidate and voter (Thorson 37) can be used to omit this criticisms.

Online campaigning has developed a kind of interaction creates a connection between voter and politician at a seemingly personal level. This concept is similar to television spots, in that it further develops the image in which we view a candidate.

With research on the mentality of voters, new technology and especially the history of political marketing, a brand can be developed that encompasses traditional campaigning techniques, and opting to see what new forms of communication technology can improve the electoral process.

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thinking Big,all By yourselfthesis proposal

2.3

trends in company redesigns and makeovers. This thesis will explore how a strong focus on design and guerilla strategies can be used to rebrand a company.

THE NEEDThe purpose of this research is discover how rebranding or starting a company with a focus on guerilla marketing can effect the development and implementation of the brand. This is relevant to my design practice and design in general since guerilla marketing is beginning to break the

QUESTIONHow can graphic design take from traditional business strategies as well as contemporary guerilla marketing to rebrand a small business?

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this thesis is to study, explore and develop business strategies around guerilla tactics to rebrand a small company to become more competitive. The research will cover business strategies with a strong focus on design, and look into the business and marketing side of design. This study will find common ground in business and design, and acquire

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QUESTIONHow can graphic design take from traditional business strategies as well as contemporary guerilla marketing to rebrand a small business?

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this thesis is to study, explore and develop business strategies around guerilla tactics to rebrand a small company to become more competitive. The research will cover business strategies with a strong focus on design, and look into the business and marketing side of design. This study will find common ground in business and design, and acquire trends in company redesigns and makeovers. This thesis will explore how a strong focus on design and guerilla strategies can be used to rebrand a company.

THE NEEDThe purpose of this research is discover how rebranding or starting a company with a focus on guerilla marketing can effect the development and implementation of the brand. This is relevant to my design practice and design in general since guerilla marketing is beginning to break the boundaries of communication, and by being able to brand a company with that methodology in mind, will allow for

the creation of many unexpected and unorthodox design solutions.

This thesis will explore how beneficial this new trend is to businesses, and how guerilla marketing will change the way we see communication in business. The main goal is understand how business can design work together, and how this can be used as a starting block for post-grad

AUDIENCEMy audience will be divided between be younger business owners or entrepreneurs and the older more experienced business-men. This idea is to compare and contrast how guerilla marketing can effect both small and large businesses, forcing them to change their methodology and practices, to better compete with stronger communication and brand awareness. RealizationI plan to spend my time studying the business end of companies, to better understand how my design can effect them effectively. Understanding how businesses are run, the needs of companies and how finances work, will better prepare me to develop feasible and effective guerilla marketing solutions. I plan to study:

• The current guerilla/out-of-home industry• The structure of existing companies• How the term design is being more prev-alent in business• Business Analysis (SWOT)• How to start a company

With this research I plan to create brand for a start up company. This will include a business plan which involves pricing, marketing, strategies, etc. I will then put a strong focus into developing a brand based on the research I gathered from how business works. I will develop tactics and strategies outlining out a small company can become completive through the use of guerilla marketing.

LEARNING OUTCOMESBy the end of April, I plan to develop a feasible business plan that has enough grounding to launch by post grad. I will also develop a body of work that showcases the application and effect that guerilla design has on companies. This the.sis will not only be beneficial for myself post-grad, but allow others to understand how business works, and how they can create and develop their own companies with the research into current business trends as a

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investments (Levinson 5).

Michael Gerber’s book which outlines principles to starting a small business, which outlines a brief background into starting, provides an understanding of what is needed apart from design.

The information in this book correlates to that of Levinson and creates an ideal image of what kind of company would need guerilla work.

This ties back to the need for this thesis. The idea is to create a starting block for small business, and act as a prototype project to develop into a functional feasible operation post grad. The focus of this thesis will be examine past companies,

but also looking towards the future. The market will always be competitive, and even with a focus on innovative marketing found in outdoor/ guerilla advertising, one will still need a strong brand and design.

Gavin Lucas’ book showcases both large and small companies utilizing strong design and a guerilla mentality to develop solutions. This is where the thesis plans to go, taking from what is done, learning business strategies, and combining them with design principles to develop a fun- ction business plan to leave school with. This links back to the need of this project, and how many graphic design opportunities are the ones you make yourself.

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stand talllive longthesis proposal

2.4

The high impact, short lived stunts are able to attract a large amount of attention, but falls short in terms of permanence and efficiency. This thesis aims to develop alternative methods and strategies to guerilla marketing, exploring materials, integrating disciplines, tactics and technology, which a strong focus on improving the resonance and lifespan of guerilla marketing.

QUESTIONHow can the integration of interdisciplinary methods be incorporated into outdoor advertising to create engaging communication with a focus on longevity?

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this thesis is to explore old, current and innovative forms out outdoor advertising, observing any trends and linking those trends back to the practice of graphic design. The thesis will primarily focus on the issue of longevity and waste that exists in forms of guerilla marketing.

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paper Birdproject

special was that the professor gave the students two opportunities. One to create the awareness campaign I choose, and the other to create simply an appealing poster. To me there was clearly definite distinction between the difficulty in both projects, and I felt almost forced to pick the one that was less chosen. It was around this time my completive attitude begun at OCAD. My need to have to expect more and more of myself opposed to the complacent attitude I used to have.

The project ended up taking me to unexpected results. I was my first experience in creating a design that can communicate outside the classroom, and have the ability to grow and change.

t was not until I looked back and reexamined what I did well. This brought me back to one of the most successful projects of my student career: The Paper Birds Project.

This project has been the one most influential pieces that I had done during my time at OCAD. It has shaped and changed the level in which I perform. I also consider it the project that inspired me to think like a designer.

For some reason I choose to invest nearly all my energy into this assignment. It was the last of the semester and like all projects, the final impression you impart with your class and professor. What drove me to do something

2.5

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messaging. The idea that a campaign, installation, street teams or event will reside and affect the area it placed in exclusively. There no wings. No room or effort to grow.

This issue is what drove half of my initial thesis, and continues to drive it. Exploration and experimentation. Understanding, the limits, social issues, legalities to guerilla messaging is something that I knew I had to look into if I were to use guerilla style messaging as a carrier for a voice.

shouldn’t let this be the last way we see them (on paper). The birds were also accompanied by a poster campaign that simply showed blank poster with a physically cut out bird. The birds linked to a website that showed pictures of other birds in the city, as well as the opportunity to make your own birds and place then in your own city.

The design and idea was simple. I wanted a campaign to have wings, literally. Something could exist in more than on place, and evolve accordingly. This opened up the large issue I had with current guerilla

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the carrier

The message is purpose. It is what makes a thesis meaningful and what drives the creativity of the carrier. This was and

currently is the most challenging part of my thesis. Deciding on what exactly everything is about.

The carrier however was focus on my thesis this semester. To be honest, I worked in reverse. You cannot create the way

a message is carried if you are confident of the message. However working backwards allowed me to create without

restriction, and embrace the possibilities and redefinition of guerilla messaging.

2

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redefining the term2.1

Early on into my semester I made it clear that I would define what Guerilla meant to myself as well as to my thesis. Guerilla Marketing can be defined as “any activity that uses a means other than traditional media to communicate a brand’s name and position to prospects. Also called extreme marketing, grassroots marketing, or feet-on-the-street marketing, a guerilla campaign has no present rules or boundaries” (Zuo)

This definition essentially covers guerilla marketing is the most broadest scopes. Therefore it a suitable position to start examining how I can further

explore and expand the definition to include the resonance that this form of marketing can create.

Guerilla Marketing sprouted from a form of Out of Home or Outdoor advertising. Outdoor advertising is a large industry, which includes everything from advertising outdoor billboards, street furniture and wall murals, to non-traditional applications such as street teams initiatives, performances to even airborne ads (Lane 357). The industry is constantly breaking ground in communication, especially in an area

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known as guerilla marketing. Guerilla marketing is an unconventional form of promotion, which relies on creativity, intention, energy and interactivity, opposed to large marketing budgets (Levinson 5-10).

This need for this form of marketing is growing, as companies are differentiating themselves from traditional media and intro more creative forms of advertising (Lane 371). This connects back to graphic design due to the fact that the field is growing out of simply what is defined as a graphic designer, to one that relies of alternative mediums to communicate ideas. Levinson in his book Guerilla Marketing outlines the numerous ways that guerilla marketing ca be used to communicate differently from traditional forms.

Guerilla is an outlet for designers to make focused, high impact communica-tion solutions that can affect the viewer directly. Outdoor marketing is success-

ful in the fact that it is able to reach a mobile consumer closer to the point of transaction, and is a localized approach to campaigns (Sissors 273).

However the issue with guerilla mar-keting is that although it is unexpected and interactive, it comes at the cost of being short-lived, and possibly waste-ful. This raises the issue of how guerilla marketing can be changed, to increase longevity. If it were possible to develop solutions that shifted away from the out-doors, or have a counterpart digitally. The digital industry is one that provides not only a means to exist online, but can be used to further develop a relation-ship that is crafted on the guerilla side (Himpe 9). Using online technology in one of few possible ways to commu-nicate with others at the level guerilla does, but increases the life span. There has been a lot of success in online appli-cations noted in Himpe book Advertising Next, but it is also be stated that online

applications can produce viral videos where their success can be measured, and calculated (Brown).

By incorporating various disciplines, a marketing campaign will become more successful and multifaceted. The idea is to see a solution from various angles, and look to different areas to communi-cate each angle. However research is still needed to fully understand how outdoor communication such as guerilla market-ing can gain a longer shelf life and still be successful. Research into the psychol-ogy of how people look at ads are being done (Pieters) as well as the mentality of commuters (Byrne). It is important to ob-serve this issues as solutions are being developed.

The need for improvement in this suc-cessful form of communication is neces-sary. With its growing popularity it will need to evolve to have traits of longevity and sustainability to become comple-

tive in its own field. Guerilla Marketing is already moving into the future, but as it grows it will still need to be competitive and different from others trying to copy.

In addition to discovering what others say about guerilla marketing, I also wanted reposition the term. Suggested to me by Keith, I chose to use the term guerilla messaging opposed to Marketing. Because I am not selling an idea, I am planting the seed of one into the public, and inviting them to share it.

I took books and articles to examine what has been done, what has been accomplished, and what opportunities were left on the table. Many articles explore how this form of messaging creates a strong sense of accessibility, yet few instances provide the opportunity for growth.

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limits and forewarning

these bylaws are often pushed, yet it should be noted that the larger the campaign, and stronger the message, the more permission needs to be gained.

This is something I still need to look further into, and discuss with professionals in the field on how amateur stunts can be pulled off. Depending on the size and scale of a project, I need to tread carefully. Although publicity and controversy are strong means to get a message across, I personally would prefer my academic safety and criminal record to be unaffected by my thesis.

Not everyone is partial to support the messages that guerilla design openly expresses. There are many issues as well as laws preventing guerilla applications from taking root. One such event was the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Fiasco. The use of light boards and cartoon characters were mistakenly taken as a terrorist attack on Boston downtown.

Although there were those who acknowledged the light boards as an art form and advertisement, others took it in very as a threat. This misinterpretation and invasion on private property is an occurring issue in guerilla messaging and shouldn’t be taken lightly. The Toronto bylaws have strict rulings against illegally placed posters or ads. The limits of

2.2

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be found in the general outdoor populous, or online, where communities and voices gather in bulk, from locations all over the world.

The idea of reaching out to communities to help grow an idea and message is inspiring, however the issue of regulation and maintenance of a message comes to mind. A message or advertisement has to regulated and controlled to keep in the standards in check (Boddewyn). This brings the concern of the limitations to that of guerilla tactics.

Something I wanted to do with guerilla messaging was create methods in which campaigns can replenish themselves after its initial distribution. This was something I cared strongly about. In a society that is coming in terms with more social conscious as well as fiscal returns, the opportunities for a message to be maintained by the community it targets appears to be the next step.

Paper birds touched this topic, as well as other campaigns that urge a kind of activism to spread awareness opposed to creating a call for action. I want to explore how various guerilla messages can use communities to enhance and expand the seed of an idea. These kind of communities can

2.3how to get the community involved

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hoW Do YoU ensUre YoU staY Big

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When the citY MaKes

YoU FeeL so sMaLL

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the Message

Working in reverse became my excuse to avoid committing to an idea. When I hit roadblocks in research I would shift the focus back to learning

more about guerilla messaging as well as pushed my experimentation process. Although work was getting done, without a core message,

guerilla design quickly is becomes a useless attention seeker.

Avoiding the message was also my way of stalling, hoping for a strong enough idea to appear on my doorstep. Things are not always that easy,

and about mid semester the pressure to decide on an idea and stop playing grew larger.

3

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exploring the message

Committing to an idea suddenly makes your thesis that much more real. The feeling of fear I felt in the beginning of the semester does not hold a candle to the feeling of being so far deep into your first term, knowing that the decisions you make now will affect the entire outcome of your thesis.

Playtime was over, I knew already I wanted to explore unrepresented majorities but it was time to discover what I was really talking about.

3.1

Influences from new relatives arriving to Canada had a huge impact on me shifting my focus to explore the possibilities in examining the loss of experience, knowledge and most importantly potential when individuals come to work and raise a family in Canada.

Being a second-generation citizen from Philippines, I was fortunate to have my parents go through the trouble so I could be raised in a country like Canada. I was provided with food, safety, comfort and most importantly my own education.

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offering to me. My dad was lucky enough to have Nursing diploma, which Canada honored at the time. However my mom’s education was not honored and the concept of raising a family whilst adjusting to a new country left getting an education here in Canada here almost impossible for them at the time. My mother’s only regret is the fact that all the work and education she received had gone to waste.

Stories such as my mother’s is not an isolated incident. There are countless immigrants coming to Canada, only having to lose so much and take up survival jobs. “There is discrimination, complications around accreditation of foreign degrees, and an isolation that leaves many out of the loop on

3.2immigration issues

job openings. The recession is now making things worse” (Lupick).

It is not difficult to search online to find stories of educated and excited individuals coming to Canada for a “better life” to only be discouraged and have their past experiences mean little to nothing.This was a group I spent a most of my time with. Since it included the lower class individuals, having to work the low end jobs that make our lives easier. I took this as an opportunity to discover the unsung potential of this large group of individuals.

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on the commute

Public TransitI made an effort to find the stories that people haven’t heard of yet. My thesis and guerilla messaging was meant to skew perspectives, so I chose to dive into conversations with unlikely citizens and discuss how their came to Canada and if it was what they expected.

The following are events that share a common voice and are based on paraphrased conversations I had with various immigrants.

3.4

Weekend’s Professor I was once sitting beside a middle-aged man on the bus home from the subway. He appeared friendly enough and I knew I was close to home so if the conversation went south, I could easily get off the bus and go on my way. The gentlemen beside me was reading a textbook in what appeared to be a language I did not recognize. So I took a breath, smiled and asked him what he was studying.

Taken back at first, he responded said something along the lines of social studies. I asked him that is what he does currently. He sighed and said

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was what he learned back home. He said the job he does now has no connection with her prior education. As I continued to talk with the gentleman I discovered that although he works six day weeks, he still attempts to teach at a local school what he learned back home at least three days a week. I quickly complimented the fact that he is determined to keep the education he had been given, and share it with others.

The manner and passion in which the man spoke felt very similar to that of my mother. Although they were not able to continue their initial education, they don’t want to lose it. The man went on and spoke about how important it was to never forget, and gave off the impression that his education was as vital to him as his hands or feet. This kind of charisma and passion is the unsung potential that people don’t see, and almost would never unless you asked, and listened.

Coming in TermsI was once having a conversation with a woman working in a nursing home. I had asked her if this is what she expected from Canada, and to my surprise she nodded. She appeared to be a very rational thinker. She had said in school she had top marks in economics and she had financed herself since she was young. I had no reason to be skeptical about her story, since I was more interested in a specific characteristic of hers. Hearing about her studious behavior back home, and watching her work so diligently with the elderly on her floor, you can assume she is just naturally a hard worker.

She knew that this was a survival job, and by her old age, one that she came in terms with a long ago. However she wasn’t discouraged. You can tell she wasn’t in love her job, but it didn’t stop her from doing it, and doing it well. However stressful or mundane times would be, she legitimately cared about

the quality of work she was doing. It appears to of just been something innate in personality. Coming to Canada is not an easy thing to do. Leaving family, friends, comfort, and security, solely on premise that you will have a better life here, or at the very least, your children will is something many would not be able to swallow.

It is just ironic that the kind of professional attitude and determination needed for high-end jobs are found in immigrants who are not even considered.

It is not difficult to hear stories such as these, especially in a city of Toronto where 23% of all immigrants heading into all of Canada end up. Many are fully aware of these situations and stories, yet just like all the ones before, they go undiscovered. Exploring how I can make people see all these stories, and put a face to the millions of immigrants in the same situation is where I want to take guerilla messaging.

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synthesing an idea

my thesis. After my exploration into various individual stories, stereotypes, and visual barriers, I began to understand a common theme. I thought I was initially trying to help a specific group, or subculture, but I slowly realized that I had been going about it in the wrong direction. The very notion that I could “help” them already raises issues of prejudice and misconception. I learned through my conversations with various individuals that although some may not be proud of their work or current situation, they were at the very least proud of who they were. They all had different talents, levels of intellect, and interests that not only crafted who they were, but also helped them make them better at

I learned quickly by the second semester that I can’t do it all. I learned that although it is good to have big ideas, and to understand the bigger picture of a concept. It is more important to be able to focus and create a scope that is feasible. I realized that although we have two terms to work on an idea, very little of the time will be forward progress, as opposed to many lateral ones.

We can take ten steps forward, only to have to take eight steps back. However, what is more important than the two steps of progress is the foresight and experience we gain from taking a far enough leap. With this mentality I begun to change the way I worked and thought about

2.6

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i Begun tolook in allthe nooks& crannys

wasn’t out to better these people’s lives, but rather unearth and expose their potential to the world. This is when my thesis then begun to focus and solidify. I started to work on exploring how to see the potential in people, by first finding ways to get the idea that there are thousands of people who contribute to running the city, standing in plain view, yet often go unseen.

The woman at the nursing home, though displeased with management and quality of work, she was proud that she could do her job well. Although she often reminisced about studying other fields in her youth, she acknowledged the fact that this is what she had to do, as was content that she did a good job at it.

These kind of stories and outlooks on life slowly came up more frequently in conversations and started to make me understand that I

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Defining Guerilla Design was not limited to books and journal articles on the subject. To conduct real research into guerilla design,

a more visceral approach was required. I needed to go out and see how people look. These experiments later influenced three

campaigns which challenged the way we see messages.

4pLaYing With

gUeriLLas

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experimentation

to the standard process of thesis (research then design). And although I have spent less time on a message, I knew at this point, at the very least I wanted to deal with public perception, and unrepresented majorities.

With this semblance of an idea, I went outdoors to explore what I could do with guerilla design, and develop new ways of perception.

The opportunity to simply “play” had to have been the most beneficial and rewarding parts of my thesis. It is not often where I can discover and explore methods of guerilla communication outside the guidelines of a project brief. Few projects during my experience at OCAD allow me to immerse myself into such an unconventional form of design.

Up to this point I have been intentionally avoiding research into my core thesis’ message. I have been working in reverse up to this point, dedicating this semester to following my passion and inspiration, opposed

4.1

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acknowledge their existence in our own lives.

This by no means is a vice, and I am not placing any judgments. However it did inspire me to want to find a way to skew onlookers’ perspective of something as common as a homeless person or blue collar. And with a simple tweak to scale, TheLittlePeople campaign was born.

The Little PeopleTheLittlePeople campaign was inspired on a subway ride. Having the tendency to observe how people interact with each other, I couldn’t help but notice how far some people go to ignore each other. It has once been explained to me that we recognize and see people first. A photo of a forest was once shown to me, and then quickly removed. Although brief, I spotted the person standing, quite small in contrast to the large trees. It then begun to bother me that we constantly take notice of those around us, but make a considerable effort to avoid them.

This becomes more evident when we choose to ignore those we deem lower than ourselves, or in need. We always see them, but often refuse to

playing withpaper dolls

4.2

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what if we saw them as small as we treated them

The premise is simple. Why would we take notice of a small piece of rubbish in the shape of a person, more so than that of a real full scale individual?

It begins to raise questions about how we CHOOSE to see. Would we walk over these images the same way we walk by those in need? Why do we suddenly take notice when something is as small as a business card?

The idea of this campaign is simply to put a frame around an issue. Just like the common perception of art, people only know its important when it is incased in a frame.

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how oftenwould we walk over

them?

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time Based posters

dirt, slowly revealing the message. Placed in pedestrian traffic crossings, people will begin to understand the message only after multiple visits.

The invisible poster urged onlookers to reconsider what they have been avoiding, and look at things they chose to since ignore.

This idea was inspired by the need for more unconventional time based posters. I wanted to create some kind of time stamp on a poster that would shift and alter its perception as time passes. This idea was inspired by the question, “How long does it take for us to notice something is there?”

The invisible poster functioned by spraying slow driving adhesive onto a surface via stencil. The idea, although not fully realized technically was to create a time based poster. The poster would after days gather dust and

4.3

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how many times do we need to walk By to see

what right infront of us

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foldingtypography

Keeping an analog style and most importantly the view of the hands I wanted to show the work behind an animation in its rawest storyboard form. Paper folding as an animation technique has so much potential, yet it is something that has not taken speed. It allowed me to express kinetic type in a fashion that people are unfamiliar with, and plays nicely into the concept of my thesis.

This motion graphic was inspired heavily by the animation style created by Serene Teh and Noel Lee. I wanted to take my hand at their animation style, to describe what Guerilla Messaging meant to me. The animation style in itself is meant to show the viewer the familiar in and unfamiliar fashion.

4.4

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refractedsilhouettes

wanted to show how many individuals pass us everyday in plain view, yet we are still incapable of seeing them, let alone acknowledging their potential. I utilized what I learned from varying perspectives as well as viewing messages from multiple viewpoints. Hidden Faces forces the viewer to actively look for these hidden people for once. To make an effort to change or own perspective to identify with someone.

It’s not what you are looking at that matters, it is what you see.

Moving techniques learned from experimenting and evolving current optical illusions to outdoor spaces I begun to explore different possibilities in making the invisible, visible.

This is the culmination of the various ideas and techniques I explored. I

4.5

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exploring how much i can replicate and distort real environments

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It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”- Henry David Thoreau

5eLUsive

portraits

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ellusiveportraits

that surround us each day in the people we pass. However we do not often give the time to stop and slow down to communicate and connect with a stranger. We often look generalize other in the same monotonous forms.

However when these forms are taken out of context we begin to see them differently and notice how many of them surround us each day. This guerilla stunt relies on magnitude and volume to demonstrate how many people we interact with in our daily lives are all constantly around us, except we need to just change our view a little to really appreciate them.

Elusive Portraits is the culmination of all the various outdoor experiments I conducted. It relies on forcing the viewer to make an active change in their perspective. The series uses optical illusions and transparent messages to both tease the viewer to see how the dots connect.

Elusive portraits portrays the fact that much like these images, people too are as elusive. The images are meant to reflect the stories and potential

4.6

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why do we only pay attention now?

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we are all capaBle of

seeing in some form,

But we often refuse

to look.

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6What i

tooK aWaYOut of all the things I learned this year about people,

design, marketing, and relationships, I never imagined how much I would learn about myself. The following is what I

took away after this rollercoster of a year.

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Defining Guerilla Design was not limited to books and journal articles on the subject. To conduct real research into guerilla design,

a more visceral approach was required. I needed to go out and see how people look. These experiments later influenced three

campaigns which challenged the way we see messages.

7resoUrces

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Biocca, Frank. Television and Political Advertising. Vol. 2. Hillsdale, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1991. Print.

Boddewyn, J.. “ADVERTISING CONTROL WITH EMPHASIS ON SELF-REGULATION AND INTERNET ADVERTISING. “ American Academy of Advertising. Conference. Proceedings (Online) 1 January 2007 ABI/INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web. 15 Apr. 2010.

Brown, M., R. Bhadury, and N. Pope. “THE IMPACT OF COMEDIC VIOLENCE ON VIRAL ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS. “ Journal of Advertising 39.1 (2010): 49-65. ABI/INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web. 15 Apr. 2010.

Byrne, Eileen. “Getting the message across. “ Business Mexico 1 Jul 1994: ABI/ INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web. 15 Apr. 2010.

Canada. Planning and Growth Management Committee. City of Toronto Council. http://www.toronto.ca/ legdocs/bylaws/index.htm. City of Toronto Council, 23 Feb. 2010. Web. 13 Oct. 2010.

Frutkin, A.. “Out-of-Home. “ Mediaweek 31 Dec. 2007: ABI/ INFORM Global, Pro Quest. Web. 15 Apr. 2010.

Galt, Virginia. “Immigrants in ‘survival Jobs’ Look for More - The Globe and Mail.” Home - The Globe and Mail. 3 Dec. 2007. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. <http:// www.theglobeandmail.com/archives/ article801424.ece>.

Gerber, Michael E. The Most Successful Small Business in the World: the Ten Principles. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Print.

Himpe, Tom. Advertising Next: 150 Winning Campaigns for the New Communications Age. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle, 2008. Print.

Lane, Ronald, Karen W. King, and Thomas Russell. Kleppner’s Advertising Procedure. 16th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Pretice Hall, 2005. Print. Levinson, Jay Conrad., Jeannie Levinson, and Amy Levinson. Guerrilla Marketing: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Print.

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Works Cited

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billboards. “ Brandweek 1 Dec. 2003: ABI/ INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web. 15 Apr. 2010.

Maarek, Philippe J. Political Marketing and Communication. London: John Libbey, 1995. Print. Michael M. Smith, and Leslie J. Reynolds. “The street team: An unconventional peer program for undergraduates. “ Library Management 29.3 (2008): 145. ABI/INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web. 15 Apr. 2010.

Naomi Klein, “The Brand Expands: How the Logo Grabbed Center Stage,” in No Logo: Taking aim at the brand bullies (Toronto: Vintage Books, 2000), 27–61 [CR]

Panagopoulos, Costas. Politicking Online: the Transformation of Election Campaign Communications. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 2009. Print.

Pieters, R., Wedel, M., & Zhang, J.. (2007). Optimal Feature Advertising Design Under Competitive Clutter. Management Science, 53(11), 1815- 1828. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1393441591).

Thorson, Kjerstin, and Shelly Rodgers. “ Relationships

between Blogs as eWOM and Interactivity, Perceived Interactivity, and Parasocial Interaction.” Journal of Interactive Advertising (2006). JIAD. Web. 18 Mar. 2010.

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