Assignment two for 'Issues in Publication and Design' required each student to create a 'pack of three' artefacts containing a textual, visual and/or audio component, based on Emily Posts's Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home (1922).
The purpose of this assignment is for each student to demonstrate their creativity based on the theoretical principals learnt from Kress, Walsh, Reep and Parker. One artefact from the 'pack of three' is an etiquette and artefact the student has created themselves. Whereas the other two are using Posts's original work.
On a personal note the three artefacts are now finished. And the exegisis is in it's drafting process and I have attached at the conclusion of this post. The 'pack of three' features (as previously mention) my original "house-sharing etiquette.' The textual component of this is the etiquette itself written on a tenancy agreement. And the audio/ visual is a short film featuring sock puppets whom play the role of two flatemates discussing the etiquette of house-sharing on receipt of the tenancy 'house rules' in the post.
The second artefact is an adapted version of Post's 'Travelling at Home and Abroad' chapter, focussing on languages and accents. This is a voice recording of myself and a friend (whom speaks in a french accent) reciting Post's etiquette. With the following song in the background http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wavpWRK6IX8 as I felt it was ironically relevant.
The third multimodal artefact is of a segment of Emily Post's 'communication' chapter titled "The Gift of Humor". This has been typed on a poster with Roger Hargreaves ‘Mr Men’ character ‘Mr Funny’ (1971) in the background. Again as I felt this is relevant. The follow is an example of this artefact. However it would not load correctly to the blog. But in the final product. The 'Mr Funny' image is the background to the text, which is situated on top.
MR. FUNNY
“The Gift of Humor
The joy of joys is the person of light but unmalicious humor. If you know any one who is gay, beguiling and amusing, you will, if you are wise, do everything you can to make him prefer your house and your table to any other; for where he is, the successful party is also. What he says is of no matter, it is the twist he gives to it, the intonation, the personality he puts into his quip or retort or observation that delights his hearers, and in his case the ordinary rules do not apply.
Eugene Field could tell a group of people that it had rained to-day and would probably rain tomorrow, and make everyone burst into laughter—or tears if he chose—according to the way it was said. But the ordinary rest of us must, if we would be thought sympathetic, intelligent or agreeable, “go fishing.””
(Emily Post 1922)
The exegesis draft:
Issues in Publication and Design
Assignment 2: Exegesis and Artefacts
By Rochelle Craker
The major project to be completed by students participating in the ‘Issues in Publication and Design’ course was to create three artefacts based on Emily Posts’ 1922 book entitled Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home. Design principles learnt throughout the course by theorists such as Reep, Walsh, Kress and Parker were to be applied to these artefacts. In the following exegesis, multimodality, the communication of images and texts, genre, decoding, semiotics, graphics, prose and the context of language will be explored in relation to these artefacts, and how they effectively deliver their message to the token audience
Emily Post was a well-known author and praised for her passion and knowledge on manners and etiquette, she stated, "Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use." (1922). These artefacts seek to promote Post’s passion and ideal of etiquette using textual interventions to make them better understood by the digital and media age we live in today.
The first artefact, dubbed ‘My baby’ is an etiquette based on house-sharing. This features a tenancy agreement with basic house sharing etiquette printed on it. This is the textual aspect of the artefact. In combination with this is a short film featuring sock puppets who discuss the etiquette on receipt of the tenancy agreement they receive in the mail, which is the visual and audio component of the artefact.
The second artefact is based on an abstract from chapter 37 of Post’s book entitled ‘Travelling at home or Abroad’ titled ‘Foreign Languages’(1922) and ‘To Improve one’s Accent.’(1922) This artefact focuses primarily on audio featuring a taped recording of the text and the commercial pop song Yolander B Cool and DCup “I No Speak Americano” (2009) playing in the background.
Finally, the third artefact is an abstract from Post’s book, chapter 8, entitled ‘Conversations’, subtitled ‘The Gift of Humor’ (1922) and features a poster of
Roger Hargreaves ‘Mr Men’ character ‘Mr Funny’ (1971) with the abstract written in the forefront.
This ‘Pack of three’ artefacts demonstrate the visual, audio and textual components used in publication and design in modern society today. However to effectively grasp viewers’ attention, the designer must be aware of the audience’s meaning-making process. A reader will interpret a text based on their own cultural experiences, and, as stated by Walsh, therefore decode the message based on their “background knowledge of the world, of how language works and of how texts work as well as the recognition of discourses and ideologies.” (2006, p 24).In semiotic terms, the signifier must endeavour to deliver a message in collaboration with the audience’s preconceived knowledge or ideals.
