ABSTRACT This is the introduction to a special issue of the Journal featuring the academic papers... more ABSTRACT This is the introduction to a special issue of the Journal featuring the academic papers from the Australian Comics Symposium at the inaugural Perth Comic Arts Festival (PCAF), 2018. The symposium’s call for papers focused on comics as the products of Australian culture(s). This introduction gives historical context for Australian comics. Australian comics makers have established their identity on the international stage throughout the 20th Century and into the present. Notable are May Gibbs, Yaroslav Horak, Nicola Scott, Tom Taylor and Shaun Tan, among many. Articles in the issue describe a literary workshop for the graphic novel; working with university students new to the medium of graphic novels; close readings of Shaun Tan’s The Arrival and Pat Grant’s Blue, and the work of Tommi Parrish; and finally, the application of comics in legal contracts.
Common Ground Research Networks eBooks, Dec 1, 2012
Pictures are as vital to graphic design as type, yet graphic design theories barely give them a l... more Pictures are as vital to graphic design as type, yet graphic design theories barely give them a look. The seemingly unconscious nature of the act of seeing has meant that vision and pictures have been taken for granted. Finally, here is a way for graphic designers to understand pictures. This book explains the paradox that we are able to communicate more accurately through less accurately rendered images. There is a difference in the way pictures communicate depending on their realism quotient. The removal of realistic detail by the designer or illustrator allows for other aspects to be emphasized in or imposed upon the image; such as line, shape, colour, and orientation. These attributes in turn accentuate relationships that are less apparent in realistic images. This book explains the psychology behind why this is the case. This book will help designers, art directors and illustrators to defend their pictorial decision to clients. It will allow design teachers to explain image choice to students. The research expressed in this book can be applied across the gamut of visual design; from precise, data –based graphics and instructional design, through to expressive illustration and animation graphics
The geospatial web --- exemplified by the popularity of Google Maps --- has democratised the acce... more The geospatial web --- exemplified by the popularity of Google Maps --- has democratised the accessibility of geospatial data that was previously available only to those with expertise in GIS (Geographic information systems). This increased accessibility has resulted in critical information---such as the location of bushfires in Australia --- being made more accessible to communities vulnerable to such risks. This paper reports on the findings of a research project in Australia that aimed to present near real-time bushfire information in an interface that community-based users found intuitive and easy to use. It also describes the early prototype stages of an iPhone application that aims to demonstrate how Japanese natural hazard data can be presented in a more intuitive way. The work described here is intended to encourage organisations and individuals presenting spatial hazard information to non-expert users to consider the needs, abilities and concerns of their intended audience. It also describes the technologies and processes used in the design and development of the MyFireWatch and Mapping Hazards in Japan applications.
Description: FIFO (fly-in/fly-out) refers to the lifestyle of workers who leave home to stay in a... more Description: FIFO (fly-in/fly-out) refers to the lifestyle of workers who leave home to stay in a designated camp, mainly mine sites, for a period of time, and are back at home for a short period of time before repeating the process again. The increase in FIFO work patterns has exposed more Western Australian families to the repeated and cyclical absence of parents who adopt this mode of paid employment. FIFO families can experience loneliness, isolation, resentment, and difficulty readjusting to the frequent and repeated parting and reunions. Anecdotal evidence suggests the FIFO lifestyle causes relationship problems for couples, excessive alcohol use and drug use by workers, and increase risk of suicide. This project focused on the development of effect communication pathways and platforms to assist families with FIFO parents(s)/partner to better manage the challenges associated with the FIFO lifestyle, and to help individuals or families that are planning to take up a FIFO lifestyle to understand and assess the potential situations. Addressing challenges facing FIFO communities, this project aimed to introduce a design-thinking process as a series of holistic strategies to define problems. develop and prototype ideas, and propose implementation pathways
The norm of teaching design as a problem-solving agent is causing design to be perceived as the l... more The norm of teaching design as a problem-solving agent is causing design to be perceived as the linear production of artefacts that aims to solve identified problems. This design approach, while having its own merit in the commercial world, is limiting design from contributing to the larger community issues that are becoming complex. This paper presents the on-going exploration of teaching design as an experimental agent at Edith Cowan University’s School of Communication and Arts. Discussing examples of student work that surround real life social and health care issues, this paper suggests a framework that is embedded with observations, uncertainty, and imagination as the foundation to design education. This framework may offer strategies for improving infrastructure and government policies in Trinidad & Tobago
ABSTRACT This is the introduction to a special issue of the Journal featuring the academic papers... more ABSTRACT This is the introduction to a special issue of the Journal featuring the academic papers from the Australian Comics Symposium at the inaugural Perth Comic Arts Festival (PCAF), 2018. The symposium’s call for papers focused on comics as the products of Australian culture(s). This introduction gives historical context for Australian comics. Australian comics makers have established their identity on the international stage throughout the 20th Century and into the present. Notable are May Gibbs, Yaroslav Horak, Nicola Scott, Tom Taylor and Shaun Tan, among many. Articles in the issue describe a literary workshop for the graphic novel; working with university students new to the medium of graphic novels; close readings of Shaun Tan’s The Arrival and Pat Grant’s Blue, and the work of Tommi Parrish; and finally, the application of comics in legal contracts.
Common Ground Research Networks eBooks, Dec 1, 2012
Pictures are as vital to graphic design as type, yet graphic design theories barely give them a l... more Pictures are as vital to graphic design as type, yet graphic design theories barely give them a look. The seemingly unconscious nature of the act of seeing has meant that vision and pictures have been taken for granted. Finally, here is a way for graphic designers to understand pictures. This book explains the paradox that we are able to communicate more accurately through less accurately rendered images. There is a difference in the way pictures communicate depending on their realism quotient. The removal of realistic detail by the designer or illustrator allows for other aspects to be emphasized in or imposed upon the image; such as line, shape, colour, and orientation. These attributes in turn accentuate relationships that are less apparent in realistic images. This book explains the psychology behind why this is the case. This book will help designers, art directors and illustrators to defend their pictorial decision to clients. It will allow design teachers to explain image choice to students. The research expressed in this book can be applied across the gamut of visual design; from precise, data –based graphics and instructional design, through to expressive illustration and animation graphics
The geospatial web --- exemplified by the popularity of Google Maps --- has democratised the acce... more The geospatial web --- exemplified by the popularity of Google Maps --- has democratised the accessibility of geospatial data that was previously available only to those with expertise in GIS (Geographic information systems). This increased accessibility has resulted in critical information---such as the location of bushfires in Australia --- being made more accessible to communities vulnerable to such risks. This paper reports on the findings of a research project in Australia that aimed to present near real-time bushfire information in an interface that community-based users found intuitive and easy to use. It also describes the early prototype stages of an iPhone application that aims to demonstrate how Japanese natural hazard data can be presented in a more intuitive way. The work described here is intended to encourage organisations and individuals presenting spatial hazard information to non-expert users to consider the needs, abilities and concerns of their intended audience. It also describes the technologies and processes used in the design and development of the MyFireWatch and Mapping Hazards in Japan applications.
Description: FIFO (fly-in/fly-out) refers to the lifestyle of workers who leave home to stay in a... more Description: FIFO (fly-in/fly-out) refers to the lifestyle of workers who leave home to stay in a designated camp, mainly mine sites, for a period of time, and are back at home for a short period of time before repeating the process again. The increase in FIFO work patterns has exposed more Western Australian families to the repeated and cyclical absence of parents who adopt this mode of paid employment. FIFO families can experience loneliness, isolation, resentment, and difficulty readjusting to the frequent and repeated parting and reunions. Anecdotal evidence suggests the FIFO lifestyle causes relationship problems for couples, excessive alcohol use and drug use by workers, and increase risk of suicide. This project focused on the development of effect communication pathways and platforms to assist families with FIFO parents(s)/partner to better manage the challenges associated with the FIFO lifestyle, and to help individuals or families that are planning to take up a FIFO lifestyle to understand and assess the potential situations. Addressing challenges facing FIFO communities, this project aimed to introduce a design-thinking process as a series of holistic strategies to define problems. develop and prototype ideas, and propose implementation pathways
The norm of teaching design as a problem-solving agent is causing design to be perceived as the l... more The norm of teaching design as a problem-solving agent is causing design to be perceived as the linear production of artefacts that aims to solve identified problems. This design approach, while having its own merit in the commercial world, is limiting design from contributing to the larger community issues that are becoming complex. This paper presents the on-going exploration of teaching design as an experimental agent at Edith Cowan University’s School of Communication and Arts. Discussing examples of student work that surround real life social and health care issues, this paper suggests a framework that is embedded with observations, uncertainty, and imagination as the foundation to design education. This framework may offer strategies for improving infrastructure and government policies in Trinidad & Tobago
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