Evolution

Describe your idea and concept of your work in relation to the festival outlines:

When faced with the term "Dialogue", I personally became very confused. What did it mean? Was it like communication?
The more i looked into it the more it became clear, and the dumber I felt. How could such a simple term be lost to me? This got me thinking, and I ended up exploring the points in time "Dialogue" began to fade away in everyday conversations. What I was faced with was an evolution timeline. The figures i used to depict this idea capture the main six points in communications history, which were:
- Cave drawings and drawing in general
- Writing
- Talking - the peak of the evolution timeline
- Talking via phone
- Texting and devices
- Via a computer (social media, gaming, virtual life simulators etc)
Inspired by "March in Progress" by Rudolph Zallinger, my aim was to gain the publics attention through delivering them a design which was familiar yet different. So used to the evolution of man, the similarities and differences draw people in, as they want to understand what the image is reflecting. The use of no text or written elements make the concept that much stronger, making people discuss their view on what the image is reflecting and what they personally draw from it. The design has become a conversation piece, successfully reversing the timeline back to its highest achievement, people talking face to face.

What kind of communication approach do you use?

Wanting to express this concept in a way everyone will understand, i had to take away all text and written elements. In todays society, logos and imagery is the forefront of communications, meaning i had to address the public in a way that would gain their attention, through imagery. Being inspired by "March in Progress" by Rudolph Zallinger, and those family car stickers, i created a timeline made up of simple stick-like figures. This illustration depicts the highlight and the downfall of dialogue, expressing the idea that to understand and prevent our future, we have to understand the past. The Illustration design is able to be recreated and applied on multiple surfaces. Being placed on a T-shirt, stubby holder, and on the back of a car, are only a few examples of the way the design can be applied in todays society. As shown in the comparison of the T-shirt print and on the car, the timeline can be redesigned in multiple colours, not limiting the design to certain surfaces and applications. The simplistic design allows the figures to standout on almost any surface, allowing it to be easy to read and understand. The point is to have it places on surfaces which spark conversation the old fashioned way, though face to face, verbal talking. The image has become a successful conversation piece, as i wore the tshirt around for a day, and sparked over 23 conversations about my design with strangers, family and friends. All conversations were instigated by the other person, not myself, which led to over 23 people walking away with a greater understanding of dialogue and making them reflect on their own lifestyle and the ways they personally communicate.

What are in your opinion concrete benefits to the society because of your communication?

Working mainly as a conversation piece, the design makes people reassess the way they communicate with others as well as think and observe the history, and downfall of dialogue in todays society. Making people think and talk about the timeline, should hopefully make the viewer want to make a change in the way they engage with others. Showing my Aunty the design, she later told me she made the family eat tea around the table with no TV or outside devices present. She described the event as "the best dinner her family has had in ages" because they were forced to talk to each other instead of becoming engaged and overrun by technology. This is the effect i hope to see more often, reversing the timeline back to its peak.
Although my desired message from the design is to capture the evolution of dialogue, others have seen their own message. Messages of technology overrunning our lives, as well as the way people and shutting off, may all be different reactions to the design, but all achieve the same goal; Each opinion makes the viewer rethink whats important, and causes a ripple effect, making people want to communicate on a more personal, face to face, level. Based on this alone, I personally believe the community and public are/would benefit to seeing this design in more locations, as it causes a positive reaction and thought process in most viewers, and should hopefully change the way dialogue is applied everyday.

What did you personally learn from creating your submitted work?

This design has opened my eyes to the way people converse everyday with each other. The downfall of dialogue is so obvious, but until I explored it, I had no idea. Before approaching this assignment, I myself spend majority of the day either on Social media sites of looking down at my phone. I would have conversations with the person next to me, completely online instead of verbally.
Since creating the timeline, i still use social media and spend a lot of time online, but i no longer talk to people i can easily approach face to face. Many conversations i would have with people, have been delayed till i see them, causing my relationships with friends and family to become stronger and more personal. Hopefully I'm not the only one who learns this lesson from my design, as it was a lesson well learnt.

Why is your work, GOOD communication WORK?

I believe my work is a successful design as it first draws people in with in simplicity and familiar design, before making people think and talk about what they drew from the timeline. The application of the design is so broad, it can effect and reach people from all walks of life. With the nonexistent use of text, the design can also be easily understood by people all over the world, despite any language or culture barriers.

Where and how do you intent do implement your work?

One of the points of my design is that it can be applied on any surface or product. The simplistic nature of the design, non-existent text and ability to change colour, makes it diverse in its application, allowing you to implement the design on anything from T-shirts, car windows, and Stubby holders, to grander applications like, posters, TV ads, and Billboards. The possibility are endless.

Did your intervention had an effect on other Media. If yes, describe the effect? (Has other media reported on it- how? Were you able to change other media with your work- how?)

No. My design is yet to be applied on social media, but will be in the near future.