International Women's Day Badge - Final Designs and Evaluation

Finally, I decided to submit three designs into the competition, these did not take long to make, yet I thought the spontaneity helped the badges seem more like an act of protest. Protests and movements are all about creating a stand with whatever materials are to hand, by using pens and paper it gives the designs some authenticity.

The two women in the designs are Princess Leia and Boudicca; the phrases used are drawn from quotes of theirs. The central badge is the suffragette rosette, the colours match the original and so have some historical reference. Using just the outline of the text was decided as it went well with the clean white background. Yet in hindsight this was a mistake, the badges are only going to be 25mm x 25mm which means the text may not be readable.

In fact, I am unhappy with the designs I submitted, I feel if given more time I could have created something far more contemporary and innovative. Even though the faces are stylised, I think they could have been developed to have more even shapes and clearer identities - neither are really obvious about who they represent. Yes, they do have a more personal handmade aesthetic, but I do not feel they particularly stand out as good design.

Update: However, the central design, the suffragette rosette, was chosen to be taken forward by the university. This leads me to think that perhaps the handmade style worked well for something that didn't include the figures. Even the text was handwritten which is something I should have considered for the other two designs. It will be exciting to see this design produced and it has motivated me to enter more design competitions. The fact I am not 100% with the designs means in future I need to put in enough effort so when it comes to submission I am happy with the result. Perhaps with more development the outcome would be more grounded.

International Women's Day Badge - Developed Designs

I began by developing the sketches I'd done into several badges designs - this involved the sketch based style I researched beforehand. This style creates a spontaneous handmade feeling, generating a feeling unanimity and inclusion within the movement. To create an overly sophisticated design here could alienate some of the audience. Even the two digital designs seem too bland and corporate in their style, perhaps more colour could have remedied this or perhaps a more exiting typeface. Either way it became clear that the coloured in, hand drawn designs had more of an attraction - according to feedback.  

International Women's Day Badge - Initial Ideas

Before making sketches I began by making a brainstorm of ideas. This involved researching the theme of this years international women's day - #pressforprogress. Many of the reference images of this were women holding out there hands, being forceful and strong. Perhaps the badges could involve hands pressing for progress? This movement also celebrates all genders and promotes for the acceleration of gender parity. I also looked at some similar campaigns for reference, such as #metoo, #timesup and #heforshe.

For part of this brainstorm I also looked at famous women, such as Boudicca and Princess Leia (who although is fiction, she still has inspired many.) I then also looked at key shapes and ideas of the feminist movement, one idea was to create a badge that was a nipple - so people could wear nipples over their clothes - targeting discrimination and the fact some nipples are okay and some aren't. However this felt like an idea that was straying to far from the topic - it wasn't celebratory enough.

Additionally there was some exploration of different style ideas. I researched lino cutting to create powerful block shapes, sketch ideas like those seen on pinterest and cartoon styles like Roy Litchenstein. The Sad Ghost Club had an interesting sketchy style which I also looked at, they also have produced badges which were useful to look at.

 I then began doing sketches of historical figures within feminism. There is some development of Boudicca and Princess Leia here. I also looked at particular significant symbols of the suffragette movement - such as the 'votes for women' rosette. Finally there are a few sketches of minimalist symbols, like halving the circular symbol and writing 'press for progress' inside.

International Women's Day Badge - Book Research

The Essence of Feminism by Kirsten Birkett

I did some research into the history of feminism and its roots within society. This chapter suggests 'history is important to feminism because it establishes it not as a recent, radical movement but one with a long and honourable pedigree.' This leads me to think that International Women's Day should not only be a celebration of the new, but also of all that has come before it and the struggles of women in the past.

Feminst Avant-Garde: Art of the 1970s by Gabriele Schor 

For part of my research I looked into contemporary feminist art to reflect the modern and vibrant style of the University. 

I first looked at contemporary illustrations of female shapes, such as this mouth illustration and this flexed fist involving a nipple, to symbolism and celebrate the physical attributes of women. This could work to express strength and unashamed pride in the female figure. This chapter talks about how women are seen as "the second sex", Beauvoir has observed that "Humanity is male, and man defines woman, not in herself, but in relation to himself; she is not considered an autonomous being." It is important that these badges celebrate women, so that they can stand alone.

 

Another aspect of this book I looked at was how the form the vagina can create interesting shapes and is in some ways iconic for 'female strength'. However, despite the fact this shouldn't be a taboo subject, it is still too explicit to use as imagery on a university badge. Especially as international women's day is meant to appeal/inspire all age groups. Not only this but women are not necessarily always people with vaginas. It is important to consider that transgender people, who also identify as women, should be able to feel empowered by the badge.

Girl by The New Art Gallery Walsall

This book had some interesting art pieces exploring feminism. This particular style struck me as interesting. The colourful depiction is by Vanessa Jane Phaff and I find it powerful, vibrant and bold - perfect to inspire confidence and courage in young minds. Perhaps a style similar to this could be explored.

International Women's Day Badge - Pinterest Research

I began by doing some research on Pinterest for the design. It was important to find a 'youthful', 'fresh' style of design and Pinterest was perfect to get a sense of this. It became clear that rough sketches and illustrations are a key aspect of the feminist work on Pinterest. By making something by hand it creates an instant, spontaneous appearance - fueled by the passion of making it without much deliberation. The colours here are also mainly pastel, soft tones which I will also experiment with using. Part of the brief was that the design must be in colour, which means I won't be creating anything black and white (unless I think it is worth breaking the brief for).

Also it became clear that a lot of feminist celebrities are iconic within the movement. Could the badges perhaps have some of these role models on them, who champion the movement so well (Carrie Fisher, Emma Watson...) Additionally, it became clear to me that the root of feminism, born during suffragette protests, could also be used as a reference within the badges. This part of feminism is incredibly iconic and would be perfect to represent the history of celebrating women's rights. I particular liked this quote by Charlotte Perkins Gilman which states "there is no female mind, the brain is not an organ of sex. Might as well speak of a female liver", which is something I could definitely draw inspiration from.

International Women's Day Badge - Brief

The brief is to design a 25mm badge, which will be sold in a set of four badges during the week of International Women's Day. All proceeds will go to the local charity Together Women. The design should celebrate women and/or the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day. 

Your 25mm colour design should be submitted as a 300 dpi PDF.

For this design I need to create something that people will happily wear, that is powerful, makes a point and looks good. The design shouldn't be over-complicated as the size is 25mm x 25mm which is fairly small. It also needs to represent the university in a good light, something that goes with their aesthetic and ethos well.