OUGD401 BRAINSTORMING FOR PRACTICAL OUTCOME

Idea generation for practical outcome for Context of Practice.

My initial ideas was to produce images for the cards in match boxes, as these were a medium that pin-up girls were used to advertise in the 40's when they were at their peak and I thought this would be a simple and small way to incorporate this imagery into a medium. I wanted to add a contemporary twist into my imagery though, rather than just copying the original pin-up style, I want to what the present day pin-up girl looks like, a strong, independent woman who is making a difference in the world, and is beautiful because of her strength. I thought about what I wanted to promote, and in what style as well. I thought about selling cigarettes, as if I produce images for match boxes, this would be appropriate. However I thought about the other side of the spectrum as well, and fruit and vegetables and a healthy lifestyle, as this is more of a positive outlook. I thought about having women in sports gear with pin-up hair and make-up, perhaps the girls in their own sports gear, showing off their individuality, or a specific style gear, for example shorts and sweat bands, to create a unified look. This would open opportunities for collaboration between photography students and someone who is able to do do pin-up make-up and hair, or just normal pin-up and hair as well. I could use one girl or a few girls to model, although this may not be possible with the time that I have, and I also may not be able to organise as many models I want for the dates and times that are available, however this would allow me to create varying poses and clothes and different styles, to show different women's style and personality. I then thought about what message I was trying to promote, perhaps showing the power of women in society, that they're not just there to look pretty. I could have these women in powerful clothing and pin-up hair, or in small, sexy clothing and pin-up hair, which is more the traditional pin-up style. I think that the women in powerful clothing and pin-up hair though may be more the image I am trying to convey, as it is more contemporary rather than copying the pin-up girl style, and just putting a slightly modern twist on it. 

I had all these ideas so I thought I should start thinking about what kind out medium I could produce with these images, so that I can match the two up. Again I thought about cards in match boxes, as this is one of the mediums where pin-up girl imagery originated from, and I thought this would be a god link between the modern day and traditional pin-up girl. I thought about calendars, as again this is another medium pin-up girls were used on. I'm not sure about this though, as I feel I would have to have 12 different styles of women or 12 different models for each month, and this may pose tricky to get a cohesive appearance. I considered magazine covers as well, as this is where pin-up girls were featured on and distributed most broadly. If I produced a magazine cover this would also mean that I would only have to have one final image, rather than a series of images, which I think may be easier to produce. Another medium I though of producing was one or a series of say 3 campaign posters for powerful, independent women, which I feel the modern day pin-up actually is, she's more of an icon who has spoken out and achieved great things different to other people, and I thought a campaign poster would suit this nicely. Post cards were another medium I thought of producing, as I thought this would be something used in the 40's for soldiers to pin up in their quarters, and something that is also contemporary as well. Playing cards was the final thing I thought of producing, as pin-up girls are associated with luck, and you need luck when playing card games.

I then thought about what message I wanted to convey, as I could think of imagery to produce, but not what I am trying to get across or promote. To help with this I searched for powerful women on Pinterest, and found some inspirational images which have inspired some of these designs. Photographs shown below. The main thing I think I want to convey is that today, the pin-up girl isn't what she used to be, looks alone, but she is fierce and independent, and stands up for herself and her beliefs, and I wanted to show how women are judged, or the initial impression you get from them based on their looks, which is what a lot of people do, judge women based on their appearance or the way they dress. Audrey Hepburn I feel is a great example of this, as although initially she was famous for help looks and her role in "Breakfast at Tiffany's", she went on to achieve many inspirational feats, which nobody remembers her for. Figure 1 was an inspiration for this idea as it shows the impression women give to other people, just based on their skirt length, which is not a representation of them as an individual, yet they get judged on this nonetheless. This lead me on to creating campaign posters of women whose poses they are doing in the images are determined by the length of their skirt, for instance a woman wearing a short skirt will be in a slutty pose, as by looking at you you think she is 'easy' and dumb, and for long skirts the woman would be in a reserved pose, as typically women who wear longer skirts are more reserved and aren't going to fling themselves at every man they see, of course this is very stereotypical and not true of all women at all. I went back to my initial idea of powerful women, because of Figure 3, which shows a scantily clad woman, perhaps from the pin-up era, holding a sign saying "NOT YOUR BITCH", which for those times I feel is a really strong message. This shows that women shouldn't be dictated by what other people may think of them or perceive of them for what they wear, and shouldn't be seen as a possession, but an individual. I could perhaps have women dressed powerfully but having pin-up style hair and make-up, still keeping this link. I also thought of slogans for this campaign, such as "You don't own me" or "Not your right", similar to both the sign and the "THIS GIRL CAN" campaign that's running at the moment, and receiving very mixed opinions of it, showing the world that women can do or wear whatever they want and shouldn't be held back by what other people think. I think this campaign will be a great influence for this outcome, as this is the kind of thing I want to produce I think, posters for a campaign such as THIS GIRL CAN, showing the power of women, however I mustn't forget to relate it to my essay theme, pin-up girls.

Figure 1. "Rosea Lake, a first-year university student at Capilano University in Vancouver, has created a powerful image showing how the world judges women based on their skirt length."

Figure 2. "Justin Bartels, Impression. ‘The series focuses on the clothing that women think they should wear, or are told what to wear, to impress someone in a sexual manner. There is a physical mark that is left from these clothes, showing the discomfort women go through.’"

Figure 3.

Figure 4. "Rapists are the cause of rape. What a woman wears, says, drinks or does is not a factor. The common factor in all cases of rape is the presence of a rapist."

Figure 5. "Human trafficking is a bigger international business than the drug trade, and it shows no signs of slowing. Women and children are NOT goods. Stop the inequality and inhumanity."

This Girl Can.