INFOGRAPHICS
Storytelling
Visualization
1 Week
Team Project
Spring 2021
Illustrator
Photoshop
MS Powerpoint
Premier Pro
STEEL AXES FOR
STONE AGE AUSTRALIANS
‘Steel axes for stone-age Australians’article by Lauriston Sharp depicts the consequences of the adoption of an innovation: ‘steel ax’. The poster intends to graphically illustrate how the diffusion of innovation led to a cultural death and failure of a system. The red lines represent the ‘meaning’ of the stone axes in the Yir-Yoront community’s cultural system. While the blue lines represent how there was a shift in that ‘meaning’ with the diffusion of steel axes; eventually causing chaos and confusion in the community.
This exercise helped in understanding that, “A receiving culture attaches new meanings to the borrowed elements of complexes, and these may have little relation to the meanings which the same elements carried in their original setting”. And as a Design Manager, it becomes important to understand the meaning of innovation in the adopters’ lifestyle before proceeding to the diffusion process.
THE CASE OF PORTUGUESE EXPANSION
‘The Case of Portuguese Expansion’ by John Law is an example that explains how external factors play a major role in the innovation process. The story illustrates how the Portuguese were able to gain dominance over the Indian spice trade.
The poster looks at three instances when the Portuguese set out to. First, when the Vivaldi Brothers set out in a Galley, the external factors i.e. water currents, wind, sailors, and the galley itself reacted inversely to the situation, and as a result, they were lost somewhere near the Cape of Bajodar, not very far from Genoa where they began.
The second system depicts the situation when Bartolomeu Dias sets out. By the time Dias sets out, the Portuguese were able to invent a Mixed Rigged Vessel which was able to inverse the effect of the external factor i.e. water currents, wind directions and sailors had on it. But because of the lack of understanding of astronomy and the directions, he could only reach the Cape of Good Hope.
It was only when all the external factors worked in favor of the situation, is when Vasco da Gama was able to reach and acquire a cargo of spices in India. The poster also discusses various other factors that worked in favor of or obstructed the mission.
Art Deco was the first truly international movement to spread throughout the world in1925 when it was exhibited at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts. Because of technological inventions, such as airplanes, radios, and televisions that had become mainstream by the time the exhibition was organized, it was able to travel around the world at the same time. Though the movement became international in the 1920s the first Art Deco building: The Theatre Des Champs-Elysees was designed by Auguste Perret in 1910. The key innovative features of the movement were Geometric Volumes, Straight Lines, and Symmetry. Through three prominent architectural works of the time, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Empire State Building, and Chrysler Building, the poster analyzes the movement’s key innovative characteristics: rare & expensive materials, geometric ornamentation, exquisite craftsmanship, and bold use of colors with gold and copper accents.
“Art deco reflected the recent decades of rapid technological advancement and an aesthetic appreciation of mechanical production. Art deco fostered collaboration between the arts and industry.”
Consequently, the poster also illustrates how because of increasing travel and news across the world the movement Art Deco took on new forms depending on the region. While Art Deco buildings in Bombay were associated with futurism, as seen in their streamlined and sleek facades, certain buildings also integrated themes of traditional Indian mythology into their design. On the other hand, the Miami Beach building boom came during the second phase of Art Deco known as ‘Streamlined Moderne’. It began with the stock market crash and ended with the outbreak of World War II. It was less decorative- a more sober reflection of the great depression. Miami and Mumbai have the largest collection of Art Deco buildings
ART DECO
KITCHEN EXPERIMENTS
