The Notion of Inspiration Derives from Constant Enquiry Based on Research, Observation, Recording and Experimentation.
In trying to discuss this principle, I wanted to focus on someone who I find inspiring either by the quality of their work or their commercial success. My choice may be unusual and possibly not “trendy” (Not obscure enough) but I’d like to spend sometime discussing the work of Walt Disney.
I have found that in his work we can find examples where inspiration can be found through research, observation, recording and experimentation.
There is possibly no better place to start than with one of his most famous and enduring characters, Mickey Mouse. The inspiration for the character came about from simple observation. Quite often, Walt Disney would work until late in his studio where mice would often come out at night to feed on the food crumbs on the studio floor. One night, they were caught and put in a cage which kept on his desk. He subsequently observed and analysed their behaviour. He noted that one of the mice was very timid and chose this mouse as the starting point for developing the Mickey Mouse character. Initially, he gave the mouse the name Mortimer but his wife thought it was “too sissy” and renamed the character Mickey.
When we look at the subsequent animation productions such as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”, “Cinderella”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Jungle Book”, “Winnie the Pooh” and the “Sword in the Stone” for example, we can see the roots of some of the characters and stories in European folklore, fables and history. Possibly some of these animation storylines were lifted almost directly from actual books as was the case with “Jungle Book” and “Winnie the Pooh” but others needed some research even if the comparison with the works of Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm is very close. In most of his work we can see the evidence of his research into the ancient stories of Aesop’s Fables. These were short stories which were written to illustrate a particular moral or to teach a lesson to children which used animals who talked like humans whilst still retaining animal like traits. This is something we can see in most of his animation works.
I have always wondered since my childhood how animators, cartoonists and illustrators had such amazing imaginations to create such wonderful work but through considering this principle we can understand how they found their inspiration.
An Understanding and Knowledge of an Audience can Enhance and Focus the Communication.
The subject of audience is possibly one of the most important issues a visual communicator must consider. The “audience” will dictate the direction of the work which may take into consideration age, culture, customs and religion for example.
Let’s visualize lets say….. a cat.
How have we seen cat represented visually and how have the differences been dictated by audience?
For starters, here’s my favourite.. Garfield.
In reality, Garfield started out as newspaper cartoon strip which was mostly read by an adult audience. This cat was illustrated as a rather podgy (due to his loathing of diets and love of lasagne) which squinty eyes. You can say an “anti-cat” for whom some form of adult level humour was required to get the visual joke.
For the younger audience, a good example might be Walt Disney’s “Aristocats”
As we can see, the visual is completely different. Here, the cats are illustrated in a more cute, conventional way which would match the comprehension of a younger audience.
We also see age considerations in designs of CD covers for example. Most artists have a target audience which are reflected in the artwork on their CDs. Let’s take a variety of artists such as Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana), Cliff Richard and Iron Maiden. You can almost define the audiences as being young teenage girls; retired women and ageing rockers respectively. Here are some of their CD/ album covers:
As we can see the visual styles are very different. The Iron Maiden cover has the usual satanic/ fantasy style. The Cliff Richard cover presents a clean cut image of man you wouldn’t mind inviting into your home whilst the Miley Cyrus cover gives an image of “girl power” and teenage ambition.
The subject of audience also important in the world of advertising. A good example is razor blades. This product is used by both men and women. But how are the products advertised and packaged for the supermarket. Let’s have a look…..
For Men:
As we can see the image for advertisement is one of iconic masculinity (In this case David Beckham..yummy). This is an image of aspiration for potential male customers. Typical razor blade packaging in the supermarket uses energetic colours with male orientated typography. We have the “sci-fi” like font for the word “Fusion” coupled with a solid, metallic like representation of the word “Power”. These are all signals to men that this product is for them and attempts to connect with them.
Okay, now the female product:
Here, the signals are completely different. In the advert we have very soft, romantic imagery with the man resting his head and hand on the lady’s leg (Awww) because her legs are so soft to the touch. The packaging design has woman written all over it with pink colours, soft rounded typography, flowers and the product name, “Daisy”.
Mechanically, these are identical implements!
So far I have touched upon age and gender considerations. It may also be interesting to take into account religious beliefs, social values and/ or customs. When we think about this we must take into account what is appropriate.
For example, even women in what we consider to be “repressed” countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran wear underwear and make up. So how do you reach the market or audience in these countries (ie women) when local laws and customs are so restrictive on what can be put on advertising billboards? There is no way your typical Wonderbra advert as seen here in the UK would be acceptable in such countries but nonetheless we need to be sensitive to their culture.
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