GROUP TUTORIAL WITH MIKE RYAN.

I am pushing the positive thinking idea as broad as I can manage. I need to really consider all the different ways I can present my design, for example: desktop, bus stop, phone box, projected, road signs, posters, postcards, screensavers, newspaper adverts, etc. 

As my research is ongoing throughout the project, I need to continue to gather all the relevant information I need, through primary research and looking at various other artists.

I will be looking into everyday life, elements that people may not notice at a first glance, but will sink in once it has been acknowledged. 

My primary research is gathering information from a wide scope of people, which I can then map and find common ground in order to produce my short snappy and memorable quotes.

On top of this to broaden my design even more, I am considering looking into designing my own typeface which will also help enhance this positive thinking.

To summarise:

• Look at Barbara Kruger and Andrew Weiner.
• Think of different ways to present.
• Continue to gather material.
• Research artists that work with text.
• Sift through magazines and newspapers.
• Research typefaces.
• Gather quotes.

NEXT QUESTIONNAIRE UP AND FACEBOOKED.

I have conducted a really short questionnaire which I have put across facebook as I thought this was an effective way to get primary research quickly.

Hey guys,

For my professional project I am looking into positive thinking.
Please can you answer the following questions?

Copy and paste, answer and send back!

1. What makes you happiest?

2. What can't you live without?

3. What advice would you give to someone who needs to think more positively?


That is all :) Thanks for the help!

xxx

So far I have had a really good response! I emailed to around about 70 people, so will gather the information once I have a few more replies.

LEARNING AGREEMENT.

LIBRARY SESSION WITH CHARLOTTE.

This morning we had a session to help with our research processes for our theory essay. I found it very helpful and used it as a kick start with my work. I understand I still need to seriously crack down with getting on with my research, and I think this is just what I needed.

Charlotte explained various processes, databases and catalogues we have available to us in order to do our research. We also had to write a list of keywords relevant to our essay. Listening to what she was saying I managed to make a note of things to consider:

• Define topic.
• Define further into the topic: eg. to a specific country, time era...
• Think of alternative ways of saying the same thing. (both when writing keywords and forming the sentences)
• Read and reflect on what you have read.
• READ information you find. Make notes.
• EVALUATE what you have read.

SCREENBASED RESULTS!

So after a long wait for the results, they finally came back.

I am pleased with what I got, as I was expecting a lot worse since starting to really dislike my website towards the end!

However I came out with a nice little 66 which suits me fine.

:)

BEGINNING PRIMARY RESEARCH.

I have now designed my reflection diary ready to distribute to a random selection of people.

I have asked everyone to write down 10 good things to happen in their day. This will encourage them to focus on the good instead of the bad and encourage positive thinking.

No matter how bad your day has been, something good must have happened!

This will form my first part of my primary research and can also be an ongoing thing throughout the project depending on how successful this first round is.

I have asked each person to take 5-10minutes out of each day to record the good things for a week.

My initial design was very bold and a little overpowering:

However, I had a re-design shortly after to come up with this. I really like it! :)

Anyone at all who is reliable and interested in filling this is POSITIVELY and properly day by day is more than welcome to have a go, just let me know and I'll get one to you :)

LEARNING AGREEMENT.

Today was the deadline for our Learning Agreement and it is such a weight off my mind! I finally have exactly what I needed written down and I can now focus on my research.

Synopsis of study

For my final major project I will be looking into happiness and positive thinking. I will be researching this through conducting surveys and experiments on a large number of people in order to get the best results. My primary research will be supported by material from books and the Internet. I will be looking into methods of relaxation and how colour effects people’s mood using perception and looking briefly into the psychology behind it.

My aim is to encourage people to think in a more positive way. From more positive thinking, I want to encourage people to become more self-confident and reconsider how they perceive everyday life, as well as other people. This can help in stressful times, or just simply change their way of tackling the day ahead. I want to divert people from being affected by negative thoughts and reflect on positive thoughts. An exercise I will be conducting will involve a group of people recording between 5-10 good things that happened during their day in order to bypass the bad. In addition to this I will record how they felt after the exercise to see if it helped in their positive thinking. From this information I will map people’s behaviors and thoughts, which will contribute strongly to my primary research.

My target audience can effectively be massive, however, I believe that young adults aged from 18+ will benefit from being able to think more positively and could potentially affect their outlook on life. It is this age group that find it hard to relax and manipulate their way of thinking, as it is a big turning point in their lives and are faced with a lot of different things. I am not trying to persuade people to forget their problems, but to consider there are other ways of dealing with them using positive thinking.

I am aware that there are a lot of self help books in existence already, however I aim to produce something in a different form, using the same technique. A simple quote or short phrase is something that can and will stick in someone’s head if it is effective enough. I aim to develop a small variety of these, which will be enhanced by the overall design and use of colour. I will produce a small collection of postcards, which can effectively be supported by other media to form my final piece. In order to put it into practice I will conduct one last survey from a separate group of people to gain some feedback on how effective my work has been and whether or not it has inspired positive thinking.