Blog Post 3-Group Project outcome-Fashion Activism
Now that I have completed the Better Lives project, I can reflect on the many elements that I have learnt throughout this unit. Initially I found the unit quite overwhelming and confusing but as soon as I started my Fashion Activism project it had become clearer and things started coming together. I came out the other side of this project with a deeper understanding and knowledge of the three main themes throughout of sustainability, diversity and social responsibility.
For our project, we explored how we can creatively communicate about the brands that our group was assigned in a way that would inform, inspire and motivate audiences. In our first lecture, we were spilt into groups which were assigned a brand and our goal was that we had to deliver a moving image content that was suitable for social media. This moving image needed to be in alignment with the brand that we were given which was ‘Lazy Oaf-Time To Change’ collaboration.
It was extremely beneficial that my group came from all different backgrounds of study. I was the only PR student in my group. This allowed us all to bring different elements and approaches to the task along with learning new aspects from our peers which had a nice impact on our final outcome. As a group we all really liked the brand concept and aesthetics and how it was in collaboration with a mental health charity which all of us could resonate with. The brand Lazy Oaf relates to the three better lives themes.
Originally, we had plans to film our moving image in a unique place in London using diverse models and a projector which would project words that the models would use for describing their own mental health journeys but due to the impact of the pandemic this idea was no longer possible. We therefore aired our ideas by coming together through video calls and WhatsApp and we decided to identify and express our own mental health journeys and how the pandemic has affected all of us in both different and similar ways and how we are finding ways to cope with its impact on how we lead our lives. We designed our video in a square format that would be suitable for an Instagram advertisement. Our communications with one and other were very consistent and everyone remained motivated and enthusiastic despite the difficult circumstances we have currently been facing.
Overall, it is evident to me that the Better Lives themes have influenced and informed my way of thinking and will continue to do so in the future. I believe that the final outcome of this project that my group and I have produced will demonstrate that we were immensely influenced by the Better Lives themes. We were very proud of it and won awards in our final lecture of Fashion Activism.
Here is a link to view the final outcome of our moving image project.
https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/a4de2caa-d871-4abb-8f33-7e777761a8f7
9th May 2020 @ 12:34 am
https://1920betterlivessmc.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2020/05/09/blog-post-4-peer-review-11/
11th May 2020 @ 2:30 pm
In this blog I’m going to review and discuss my peer’s blog post and explore to what extent they have reflected on the themes of sustainability, diversity and social responsibilities. Having read a few different ones from various groups, I chose to reflect on Victoria’s post. This is because I feel as though it has a great structure, it’s coherent and easy to read. I also thought that her approach to writing is different from mine and I appreciate that as it showed me that there are many ways to write blogs and they all work.
By reading her post I can see how she has grown to appreciate this unit and understood the themes of sustainability, diversity and social responsibilities. She’s in fact been able to explore and apply them to this project.
For example she has evidently absorbed the theme of diversity in her creative practice, as she reflected on her blog post “It was extremely beneficial that my group came from all different backgrounds of study”. This shows that she is aware of how diverse her group is and how that is helpful to her, and it shows a true appreciation for inclusivity and diversity. I can sense that she genuinely cared for the group when she speaks about Whatsapp calls and mental health during the pandemic, which also links to the theme of social responsibilities.
She also mentions the idea of using diverse models and how they changed that idea due to the current health situation, that to me shows that she has considered how to apply what she learnt about diversity and also adapted to the new circumstances using her problem solving skills. This to me shows a great understanding and practice of the Better Lives unit.
The one theme that I thought wasn’t as clearly evident in this blog is sustainability. If I had to make any comment on how to address it, I would suggest to give a few clear examples of how she incorporated sustainability in this project, or how it impacted or contributed to the overall outcome. For instance, if the group had decided to use or make props, she could have expanded on that explaining why they chose those materials and if they considered any other more sustainable options. On top of that if during the research part she encountered anything to do with sustainability and the brand Lazy Oaf, it would’ve been nice to mention it in this blog post so that all three themes are clearly covered.
In conclusion I think Victoria has been able to show understanding of the Better Lives Unit and the themes and I hope that she carries these on throughout her creative career.