Week 2: Ideas, Craft & Context
- Tramaine Berry
- Sep 25, 2022
- 9 min read
Updated: Sep 27, 2023
Visual Pollution in cities
The brain is less able to retain information and dull our thinking
Nature improves focus
People migrating from a natural environment to urban life = a massive shift in mental processing.
The reason such seemingly trivial mental tasks leave us depleted is that they exploit one of the crucial weak spots of the brain. A city is so overstuffed with stimuli that we need to constantly redirect our attention so that we aren't distracted by irrelevant things, like a flashing neon sign or the cellphone conversation of a nearby passenger on the bus. This sort of controlled perception -- we are telling the mind what to pay attention to -- takes energy and effort. The mind is like a powerful supercomputer, but the act of paying attention consumes much of its processing power.
Consumer Journey: distracted pedestrians who have to be avoided; the hazardous crosswalks that require the brain to monitor the flow of traffic; the confusing urban grid; advertising signs
Stephen Kaplan created the attention restoration therapy (ART). Focus in the morning makes it harder to focus in the afternoon.
Children with ADHD have less symptoms in natural environments
Secondary effects of increased "cognitive load" makes people more likely to indulge in a unhealthy snack. Less control over temptation. Also leads to increased levels of aggression (domestic violence)
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Cities to consider
London
New York
Las Vagas
Dhaka
AdFree Cities
Adblock Bristol is part of the Adfree Cities network of groups across the UK who are concerned about the impacts of corporate advertising on our health, wellbeing, environment, climate, communities and the local economy. We campaign for happier, healthier cities free from the pressures of corporate outdoor advertising.
Here are the testimonials regarding a current billboard in Bristol, which includes mentions of mental health impact.
Moodboard 1- measuring visual stimuli
Measuring visual stimuli levels on a map.
Showing the timeline of the brain throughout the brain...how commuting to work (exposure to the city) can overstimulate the brain. Neurons slow down when we are tired
Using Google Map to detect visual pollutants - CVAT was used for object identification. Here is a video on how to use CVAT software
Measuring visual stimuli and mental health effects would inform people looking to migrate to the city...or maybe act as a research campaign against public advertising. Maybe I could redesign a research paper?
Moodboard 2- anti-billboard movement
Reduce visual over stimuli in cities. cover up ads on buses etc. an eye filter…like the dystopian episode in Netflix that can bloke people out or filter out threats
Could Instagram help encourage attention restoration therapy? People are always sharing images of themselves in the outdoors. Could turn into a healthy instagram campaign or trend.
Clean City campaign in Brazil 2007.
United States Highway Beautification Act that has been in place since 1965. The Act bans advertising along interstate roads with exceptions for limited stretches
Instead of removing advertisements, the city of Toronto, Canada put an additional tax on advertisements in 2010
Grenoble, Paris reduced OA by one third in 2011
Beijing, where a special commission reviews the advertising layout of each street and sets out its potentially polluting role, of the rate of harmonization with the urban area and the potential distraction to drivers in heavily trafficked areas
Brandalism action group & BAdvert.org mainly look at the environmental impacts of billboards and how they influence unhealthy consumer behaviour. Adore-cities seem to look at all aspects including mental wellbeing.
Look into cities that haven't started banning advertising?
The goldfish effect - Goldfish concentration is 9 secs, a human used to be able to concentrate for 12 secs (2000), which has now been reduced to 8 seconds. This is due to sensory overload. A goldfish could be an interesting theme to expand on - branding for each project I undertake. How can we filter out irrelevant stimuli?
Moodboard 3 - Incorporating Nature into the city
When a city park has a larger variety of trees, subjects that spend time in the park score higher on various measures of psychological well-being, at least when compared with less biodiverse parks
Nature soundscapes in public transport or elevators (the new elevator music). Can help relax the brain from side effects of noise pollution: improve focus, attention, and memory retention.
Moodboard 4 - Intergrating Art into the city
Art integrated throughout a city physically slows us down — a benefit in today’s hyper-paced world. However, this can still cause visual overload.
Artist Etienne Lavie imagines what the world might be like if invasive street advertisements were replaced with classical paintings.
NO AD is an augmented-reality app that strips the New York City subway system of its ads — and replaces them with art.
RANT: We have adbocking apps for our phones and we have to pay extra to skip an advert or get rewarded game points when we watch an ad.
Moodboard 5 - A guide on moving from town to city
Survey Questions:
1) When you first started living/ working in the city, was there anything that seemed overwhelming or overstimulating?
2) what advise would you give to someone that is new to the stresses of city life?
Or for people that have moved from city to a small town- did it have any positive effects on your wellbeing?
Paul Farrington I haven't moved for many years but I still remember moving from a small town to London and everything about it was a culture shock. What I loved is that I became anonymous and could what I wanted. I still remember sat on a bus thinking I live in a postcard. I also remember buying a bike as I did not like travelling by tube and when I had the bike it made me feel like I understood the city more. Everything felt alien but exciting. Hoon Q Hey Tramaine! I don't have this experience personally, but I asked my dad since he moved from a small town state to the capital of Malaysia. For 1: The pace in the city is much faster, in terms of how people work, how people lived, feels totally different. The "new things" that get released would arrive quicker since we're living in the capital state, which also meant living here costs more as well. For 2: Advice to living in the city would be to call people back home from time to time, make time to visit home. While living in the city can be exciting, it's good to find ways to have pauses for yourself to adjust or take time to reflect. And also remind yourself why you decided to move to the city in the first place. [Hope this could be of any help!]
A friend of mine who moved from a slow-paced state to the capital gave these answers: 1) To me, I do felt quite overstimulating sometimes, the city life is always go-go-go, traffic is always busy most of the time until midnight. The different between my city & non-city are is that, non-city area dun have much activities going on, the shops & traffic become quiet at a certain time and you know you will have to go home or there’s nothing else to do. But in city area, everything is always on, to be quiet is an active choice. The good thing is if I felt like taking a walk / going to some event on the day, chances are there's still a lot of things happening outside and you will never get bored. However sometimes it can be kinda stressful for me in this comparatively stimulating environment, knowing everybody is doing something interesting almost all the time, and me doing nothing can sometimes felt guilty when there are so many more “meaningful” thing I can spend my time doing.2) There are so many interesting things u can explore & experience when you are new to the city, but go at your own pace and don’t get carried away easily. When there are abundance of choices, its important to focus on yourself and know what you truly need mentally and carefully decide where to spend your mental energy at. Its totally OK if you felt like staying at home and do nothing just to slowly get used to the environment. (Again, hope it helps! Haha!)
Stuart Tolley Hi – I've just moved from a vibrant UK city (Brighton) to a house in the countryside outside a small village in Spain (Villanueva Del Rosario). Overall the move has been very positive for health, wellbeing and I was obviously looking for a change – I just didn't realise how much I wanted to change. The changes to the peace and quiet, views, lifestyle, weather, nature, culture are very positive.... but, I do miss access to vinyl record shops, live gigs and physical art book shops. Emma Baker
Personally, I know that being in/close to nature, away from towns and cities, is where my mental health is best - I definitely struggle more in an urban setting. For me, wherever I am, it’s about making sure I have access to green space, and making it a priority to get some movement in, ideally first thing in the day…Whether that’s going for a run, walking to get a coffee, walking to work (rather than getting on busy public transport), doing some gentle yoga or a home workout, going to the gym…
I find this really sets me up for the rest of the day - if I jump straight into work or don’t leave the house I find my mood and mental health suffer
Also, by getting up early to make time for movement, the streets are often quieter… it’s like a little window of time to myself, before the rest of the world wakes up!
Re the sensory overload, I would say keeping my living space a calm and tidy place to be helps me feel like I have somewhere to escape to - eg decluttering, getting some houseplants, creating a sanctuary where you can switch off and recharge. In my experience, making time for/prioritising things like these examples can really make a big difference.
Jim Rokos
Took me 5 years to get used to London. Suggest avoid Oxford Street and I find cycling easier than being in a small space with lots of people (the underground).
Reflection:
It's interesting how she mentions decluttering can improve mental health, especially since Vince Frost mentions this in his book.
Keywords that stood out to me include: culture shock; waking up before the rest of the world does; when there is so much to do, go at you own pace.
I understand the idea of walking to work rather than transport, however, some people don't have the luxury of living close to work. I like Paul's suggestion of using a bicycle to understand the city more.
Email psychologists
Ideas:
The pages in the guide will increase in pace, saturation, paper quality (expense), and imagery. Style of imagery and typography may also change depending on what type of advertising is in cities compared to a small town. I could do what I did in an old project and create an identity for a chosen city and town.
Maybe the front cover could still create the 'goldfish effect' logo
Central Bristol Identity
Slavery
John Pinney owned sugar plantations on the island of Nevis in the Caribbean
Black Lives Matter movement vandalised statues of slave owners. I like the idea of having
Colour
Bristol’s former mayor, George Ferguson, who claims to be the first in Cliftonwood to paint his house back in the 1970s. He and his student friends had just bought a house together, but developers were threatening to knock through the area and build tower blocks. In defiance, he painted the house terracotta red. Someone down painted their house blue shortly after, before the whole street followed. The house was saved and kickstarted Cliftonwood’s iconic look.
Graffiti and Murals on buildings. Beyond the block-coloured terraces, murals are another way many Bristolians express themselves through their homes. Bristol’s street art scene stems back to the 1980s with Barton Hill Youth Centre. At the time a youth worker, John Nation gave teenagers a safe place to practice graffiti without retribution, with his Aerosol Art Project. It was here where the likes of Banksy, Inkie and Cheo all got started. And a hunger for street art was born. Graffiti guide can be found here.
Themes to look at
Citizens are outspoken (Statue vandalism, Political graffiti and painting Clifton housing). Could introduce a bold and outspoken tone of voice. It's interesting how buildings are utilised to create a voice.
Banksy - a consistent voice throughout Weston town and bristol centre.
Art & Entertainment
Crowded/ packed full of things to do - layout should get more crowded
Perspective - you always seem to be looking up at something in the city and it makes you feel overwhelmed sometimes. I like the idea that the angles in the imagery can change as you move through the book. And maybe the imagery can be overlapping since there is so much to see in the city.
Looking at Bristol City Central, I remember how many times Ive gotten lost and how I constantly need to refer back to a navigation system. What if the book can start to be difficult to navigate? The pages would start to get jumbled up as you get deeper into the book and there can be some sort of map saying 'you are here' and you need to move to page so and so. The text can come from different directions, the chapter titles could become vaguer and vaguer, or maybe the text itself would become difficult to read (act like some sort of puzzle - this would play brilliantly with the amount of mental energy required being in a city)
Branding for Book
Concept 1:Navigation
Concept 2 - Bristol Identity
Concept 3 - Contents
Concept 4 - Grid Layout
Concept 5 - imagery style
Concept 6 - Format
Weston Town Brand
During the 19th century Weston grew from a small coastal village into a well- established seaside resort.
The name Weston is made up of two Old English or Saxon words meaning the west tun or settlement. Super (with small s) means on or above, and mare is Latin for sea.
Resources
Collage sources
Sensory Overload: Where are America's noisiest and brightest cities? Seeing Noise (Art Patterns). December 2021.
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