CTS//Dissertation//Innocent Research.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/apr/09/coca-cola-innocent-smoothie-stake

Doing a quick bit of research before submitting my dissertation proposal in order to develop a little more key information, data and facts about the Innocent company to help give gravitas and a detailed insight into my intentions for my dissertation, and the direction I intend to follow.

CTS//Dissertation//Book Sources.

Researching publication sources to use for my dissertation as well as for the dissertation itself, looking for useful information, quotes, facts, statistics and data to help support my topic and subject matter throughout the essay.


The title I have chosen, combining my interests and subject matter of the Innocent brand, sustainability, ethics, and globalisation, I have decided upon:


"Using the Innocent brand as a case study, evaluate whether companies within the food and drinks industry can be truly ethical and sustainable in contemporary, Capitalist cultures."

Germain, D (2009), 'Book About Innocent', London, Penguin Group.

Simmons, J (2011), 'Innocent: Building a Brand from Nothing But Fruit', London, Marshall Cavendish Business.

Lester, D (2007), 'How They Started: How 30 Good Ideas Became Great Businesses', Great Britain, Crimson Publishing.

Klein, N (2001), 'No Logo', Great Britain, Flamingo.

Klein, N (2007), 'The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism', London, Penguin Group.

Marx, K (2000), 'Karl Marx: Selected Writings Second Edition', New York (USA), Oxford University Press.

Harrison, R (2005), 'The Ethical Consumer', London, Sage Publications Ltd.

McNally, D (2006), 'Another World is Possible: Globalization and Anti-capitalism', Canada, Arbeiter Ring Publishing.

Bauman, Z (1998) 'Globalization: The Human Consequences', Cambridge, Polity Press.

Patel, R (2009), 'The value of nothing: How to reshape market society and redefine democracy', London, Portobello Books Ltd.

CTS//Globalisation & International Perspectives Seminar.

CTS SEMINAR//GLOBALISATION & INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Notes from today's seminar with Richard this morning.


- Deep relevance to Western Graphic Design.
- Relevance to practice.
- Cultural and Economical- Spreading one culture across the world (US over the world), forced expansion and domination of one culture/The spreading of an economic system to the world, forced economic expansion of one country to another.
- Innocent and McDonalds- 'McDonaldisation', the logo of American culture (G. Ritzer).
- Globalisation, Neo- Imperialism, Neo- Liberalism (new form of Capitalism).
- Expansion of American cultures and economics.
- POLITICS- struggles are fought and lost.
- The designer's role is an interesting one, we are part of the Western system.
- FIRST THINGS FIRST MANIFESTO... What should the designer do in response to this? Should we be more ethical? Anti- capitalist.
- AdBusters design should be doing something to counteract capitalism.
- Perpetuate the expansion of capitalism.
- END OF HISTORY (Fukuyama)... Argued after the fall of the Soviet Union (Communism), history has ended- the process of society developing had finished. Capitalism was now perceived as the "perfect solution"- no other social system forever.
- Post colonialism (West vs East), The colonised are fighting back to the colonisers.
- Che Guevara, giving a voice to the repressed.
- Anti- Capitalist movement, eco activists.
- Mechanism put in place after WWII- WTO/IMF/G8 (Organisational bodies secure capitalism as an economic system to spread throughout the world)... International Monetary Fund, G8, Bail out weaker economic systems.


- Is there such a thing as non-Western Graphic Design? (Inverse of this same argument)
- INTERNATIONALISM
- New typographic style
- Sans serif, neutral (one language for all)
- FAST FOOD LIVING, we want everything and we want it NOW.
- Destruction of difference.


Definitely thinking of taking my dissertation in more of a capitalist/ethics direction now. I feel it's something I could get really interested, and passionate about, as well as having a lot of academic sources and theorist to refer to, which weren't quite as evident in the sustainability subject matter I focused on beforehand. Really looking forward to getting started now!

CTS//Dissertation Lecture II//Dissertation: Library Research with Chris Graham.

DISSERTATION LECTURE II//DISSERTATION: LIBRARY RESEARCH WITH CHRIS GRAHAM
Notes from today's lecture programme


*SEE LECTURE NOTE PACK FOR MORE INFORMATION*


FOCUS
RELEVANCE


- Choose your topic, very important. The choice of title will define the research which is carried out.
- Understanding both what is relevant, and what is irrelevant.


Dissertation title ideas, (previous titles)


- "The role of costume within the film "A Taste Of Honey""
- "Did Western society ever need cars; are they a necessity and how have they contributed to the formation of the urban environment?"


The simpler you can keep your focus, the easier it will be for you.


More title ideas...


"The importance of colour in design" 
A little too vague and wide, "design" covers a whole range of mediums- needs to be more defined and specific.


"Helvetica: what is it that made this typeface so successful and dominant within a large market of sans serif typefaces"
"How were female singers represented on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in the 60s and 70s?"
"Through case studies, what advertising strategies result in increased donations within charity advertising?"


- Last three are well defined, focused topics which are well suited to a dissertation format.


PRIMARY & SECONDARY SOURCES


PRIMARY RESEARCH


Gathering your own original data


SECONDARY RESEARCH


Making use of the research and findings of others for corroborations, disagreement, triangulation, theoretical underpinning, etc.


RESEARCH METHODS


- Visual practice, experiment, interest and enquiry (research and critical diaries).
- Questionnaires (statistical data), be well prepared to get all of the information that you need (PILOT IT FIRST, THE FIRST DRAFT TO A FEW PEOPLE- SEE WHAT YOU NEED, GIVE A TIME LIMIT FOR THE RETRN OF THEM).
- INTERVIEWS
- CASE STUDY(/IES)
- SITE VISITS


LITERATURE SEARCH 1


- Books (Academic & Image- based)
- Journals (largely text-based)
- Websites/Blogs/Online forums (not necessarily very accurate)
- Videos/DVDs
- CDs/Tape Casettes/Vinyl Records
- TV/Radio
- Newspapers/Maps/Reports
- Printed Ephemera (printed, with an intention of short-life span...flyers, mailouts, etc)


(SEE RADIO/TV INTERVIEWS WITH RICHARD REED)


*NOTE TO SELF- LOOK AT ENTREPRENEURSHIP, WHAT MADE INNOCENT IMPORTANT*


LITERATURE SEARCH 2


- Knowing where to look most effectively
- Effective use of catalogues:


// Narrowing and broadening search terms
// Using related terms
// Browsing using Dewey Decimal Classification


- Use of contents page and index
- Reading the introduction or abstract (used with journals)
- Using a book's own bibliography to inform further reading
- Library can order in books!


BOOK SEARCH


- Leeds College of Art Library
- Leeds Metropolitan University Library
- University of Leeds (SCONUL) (leeds.ac.uk/library)
- The British Library in Boston Spa (www.bl.uk) > Buy LAW The British Library has to own every book ever published within the UK
- COPAC (http://copac.ac.uk)- All the Universities in the UK combine their libraries to see if your local University has the books you need.


JOURNAL SEARCH 1


- InfoTrac, a store of online magazine articles (http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/leedscad  - Full text information, biliographic details when you print, free service)
- If at college, click "Proceed"
- tryinformarks (password for home)


JSTOR, a store of online magazine articles (http://www.jstor.org)


- Only avaiable on college computers


ATHENS, a store of password protected sites.
Each student who wishes to access this site will need to ask the Librarian for a login and password, athens.ac.uk




END NOTE


- Don't bite off more than you can chew (keep the topic focused and manageable).
- Create a sense of momentum (note taking, writing a draft section when you can, keeping your bibliography up to date).

CTS//Design & Social Change Seminar.

Notes from this morning's seminar with Richard, discussing potential topics and subject matter for my dissertation and dissertation proposal.

PROPOSED TITLE:

"How the ethical manifesto and production of the Innocent brand and it's retail products has helped to evolve the food and drinks industry within the United Kingdom."

- Works both side- both "Innocent" and suspicious. Look at the integrity of the Innocent brand in terms of their deal with McDonalds and their sponsorship of the 2012 Olympics.

- Profit sharing/sustainability/ethics.

- 8,000 words- 4 chapters, 1,500 words each, introduction and conclusion.

- The integrity of food and drinks brands after Innocent.

- TOPICS TO DISCUSS:

* Consumer Psychology

* Profit sharing

* Sustainable product sourcing

* Company brand and identity

* Sustainable methods of production

- READING MATERIAL:

* V. Papanek, Design for the Real World

* Cradle to Cradle

- DISSERTATION NEEDS: 

* Methodology

* Content approach > Ecological/Communication theory?

- PRIMARY RESEARCH

* Interviews

* Designers

* Study archives

* Imperical study (an observed study undertaken by yourself... Innocent packaging?)
* Our own interpretations of academic texts

- SECONDARY RESEARCH

* Books about topics/research

* Approach

* Primary research

- FIND AS MANY BOOKS ON THE SUBJECT > FIND WHERE THE PRIMARY RESEARCH WILL COME FROM > SPECIFY CHAPTERS FOR DISSERTATION

- Literature search- 20 books (ish?), journals, periodicals, essays, TV interviews, Radio interviews, etc. 

DESIGN FOR SOCIAL CHANGE (SPECIFIC INFORMATION)

- Design activism/political

- Baldwin, 'Visual Communication from Theory to Practice'... "All design is political".

- Graphic Design always supports one side of society.

- SUPERSTRUCTURE/BASE

- Balance of power and influence within society

- Dialectical materialism

- Economic measurable relations

- Superstructure is the higher power, Base is the economic reality

- FEMINIST STANDPOINT: 

- Men have control over the mass media. Various aspects of the media reflect their position of power (e.g. Page 3 in 'The Sun' objectifying women, within films... women are rarely the dominant figure).

UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE

- Who are these products aimed at? AUDIENCE THEORY.

- ECO POLITICS

- Ideology (get critical definition!) = Political programme (personal beliefs)//False consciousness (MARXIST theory... created by the dominant classes, naturalised by the entirety of society (cements itself as the culture of everyone)... False way of thinking about the world).

- Klein, N, 'No Logo'- seminal in it's publication, activist summary of the system of American consumer culture. "No logo generation", led onto the OCCUPY movements, 1%/99%, "WE ARE THE 99%"... generated class consciousness.

- AdBusters, culture jammers... Intervening in the superstructures/base cycle.

CHAPTER IDEAS (From Richard...for generalised social change subject matter)

- Historical context

- Dominant ideology of this time

- Communication theory (messages to reveal society reality)

- Case study

SUBCULTURE/CULTURE

- What are the differences?

- CULTURE is produced by the dominant classes in production.

- SUBCULTURE by the lower classes in production.

SEE LAST ESSAY for inspiration, sources, etc.

//

Discussed my proposal idea with Richard and the rest of the seminar group, and was really happy with the response I got, which seemed very positive. Just time for the research now!

CTS//Dissertation//Ideas for dissertation.

Brainstorming a few ideas before the CTS Dissertation seminars I will be attending next week to get a few ideas about my dissertation, and some of the subjects I may want to discuss/analyse. However, before researching a great deal more into the subject areas, and writing my proposal, I hope to go to the seminars with a reasonably open mind in the hopes that it may inspire more ideas towards my existing ones, and enrich my current thought process.


GENERAL IDEAS/INTERESTS//NOTES


- Existentialism (may prove difficult to link back to GD, a tenuous link, though philosophy-rich).
- Be specific and FOCUSED.
- 8,000 words (100 a day for 80 days, 200 a day for 40 days).
- Design and social change- V. Papanek, sustainability- particular interest, looked into during my pre- dissertation essay for this year.
- Social emancipation.
- Eco- politics.
- Ethics and sustainable companies.
- Sustainable print and manufacturing.
- Ethical companies, profit sharing.
- INNOCENT SMOOTHIES (Case study).
- In case studies, very broad questions can be asked, yet bought back down to a centralised focus (in balance).
- Social change/Philosophy/Psychology/Branding/Identity/Sociology/Consumer Psychology.


Title idea...


"How the ethical manifesto and production of the Innocent brand and it's retail products has helped to evolve the food and drink industry within the United Kingdom"


Very vague, needs refining, though potentially a good starting point (discuss with Richard on Monday in the seminars?) Looking more towards ethical profit sharing and branding/it's effects on the retail consumer as opposed to sustainable print/packaging.
Whilst this is still an interest, I believe that my interest will be far more easily maintained with the issues of consumer psychology and evaluating brand and identity within the sector. However, this may be a little scant in terms of sourcing theoretical/psychological theories... definitely one to discuss further!

CTS Lecture//Dissertation seminar.

All information for the dissertation, and forthcoming details can be found on Moodle- such as binding guidelines, more general information.
G06 Yasmin Coggins (Dissertation administrator)


CONSTANTLY check college email to pursue links sent by Yasmin which are of importance during the dissertation programme.


Directly after the lecture, Yasmin will send us a link to the dissertation proposal form.


*CONSIDER- WRITE ABOUT THE ETHICS OF FOOD AND DRINK COMPANIES- CASE STUDY OF INNOCENT SMOOTHIES. HOW DOES BEHAVIOUR AND THE IDENTITY OF A COMPANY INFLUENCE THEIR RETAIL PROFIT AND GROWTH WITHIN THE INDUSTRY*


G23- Academic Support for all students
Academic Writing Course available, run three times- G23 to sign up (back wall packet sign up- first one is next week, two more opportunities in the Autumn term, September- first come, first served basis).


* Arguing for the subject that you are looking at- persuasion.
* Informed, structured, coherent.
* Choose area of interest, start collecting information which is relevant to this area of interest.


* RESEARCH a philosopher who discusses the ethics of design.


* See appropriate marking scheme on moodle, IMPORTANT CONTENT:


// A BREADTH OF SOURCES (Exhibitions, films, galleries, books, internet, journals, magazines, newspapers).
// DO ALL OF YOUR RESEARCH OVER SUMMER- photocopies, leaflets, cuttings, disks of information.
// HOW YOU HAVE SELECTED EVIDENCE FROM THESE SOURCES.
// ACADEMIC QUALITY OF WORK (NOT PERSONAL).


GET TO MOODLE INFORMATION...


Cross- College > Level 6 Dissertation


THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION IS THE KEY TO A STRESS-FREE DISSERTATION


You can't begin to write without the information to base it upon!


GOOGLE SCHOLAR for references


Spend 30 mins a day (for around a month or two) collecting information and sources towards my Dissertation- breaking it up will make it far easier to digest.


Write letters/contact companies who can help with information.


VISIT FRUIT TOWERS (SHEPERD'S BUSH, LDN)


The FIRST STEP is to fill in the dissertation proposal form


- Add working title


Thursday 7th June 2012, 4pm SUBMISSION DEADLINE


Working title can be changed, feedback given after submission.
Issues/Questions can also be written down- things you want answered, things you want to know more about.


What theoretical perspectives will you use? Sociological explanation, psychological, etc? Signifiers, semiotics?


NEED a theory/perspective that will compliment the perspectives.


SOCIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTALISM
CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY


Anaologies- John Stories (looks at visual culture, accesible way to establish certain perspectives).


Disucss PRIMARY sources of inspiration... interviews, gallery showings, photography- first-hand interaction with people and objects


Discuss SECONDARY sources and discuss


RELEVANCE to main area of study- why it is relevant to me as a practitioner, and my interests. 


PERCEIVED PROBLEMS/DIFFICULTIES- Availability, constraints, etc.


***


IDEAS


* BRAND PSYCHOLOGY
* IDENTITY
* BRANDING
* SUSTAINABILITY & GLOBALISATION
* INNOCENT SMOOTHIES V MCDONALDS
* ETHICAL DESIGN
* CHARITY PROFIT SHARING