This week the task was to customize a wordpress site. I have customized my portfolio page. It took me quite some time to get my head around WordPress, so this LA is late. I have had lots of AHA moments and my share of frustration, but I made it. My site is customized but far from done!
A link to my portfolio site: Seventy29 design
A pdf with notes from the process:
The photo I have chosen is a photograph of Joel (or Jol) Andersen, taken in the village of Nesseby, Finnmark, Norway in 1884. He is a Sami, which is the indigenous people of Norway, Sweden, North Finland and the Murmansk Oblast of Russia.
The photograph is part of the french prince Roland Bonapartes collection, it is taken by a G.Roche. Bonaparte being a biologist and a atropologist gathered a small group of people to visit the North in the summer of 1884. Bonapartes interest in the Sami people was the reason for the trip. On their journey they took several photographs like this one. Portraits of Sami men and women.
Prince Roland Bonaparte and Fellows photographing the Saami People in Finnmark, 1884.
I have chosen this photo since it is taken in the village of Nesseby, a 30 minute drive from my home town, in the North of Norway. I originally found the photo on the instagram account @COLOURMYPAST. On this account there is also listed more information about the person in the photo than any other place I could find on the internet. Joel is allegedly from Mortensnes and so is some of my ancesters. They where living in Mortensnes at the same time as Joel in the picture. Farming sheep and cows, and of course fishing. However my family like many other families in Norway don’t have great knowlige about if we have a Sami herritage. This is a result of the strong effect of the “Fornoskningen”. Fornosrkningen is the name of the Norwegian athoities at the time great effort to make the Samis Norwegian, destroying their culture and banning the use of their language. My mother has told me that her grandfather, living in Mortensnes would not hear of any “Sami blood” as they called it in our family, it was something that shouldn’t be talked or asked about. Samis were looked down at and discriminated, and there was a segregation going on. Even if the majority maybe all were related to the Samis in some way.
Photograph of Joel Andersen, Nesseby Norway 1884
The first photograph I found of Joel is the one above. It gave me the impression of a confident man. He looks calm and a little reserved, and he have a small Mona Lisa smile. I see a kind of smile or kindness in his eyes also. He looks like a man that lives close to nature. His hands look strong and bear vitness to a life filled with hard work. His kofte (the wollen coat) is also a traditional Sami dress. And the photo is from a time when this was the everyday clothing of most Sami people. His hair is a little wild. He does not look like he dressed up for the occasion.
Doing research on the picture and the Bonaparte expedition to the north I found a picture of the original photographs and then the impression of the photograph changed.
In these picture we see the whole photograph that was taken. The clotheing is also shown, and you can spot a hole in the mans trousers, which again is a sign that he didn’t dress up to go and have his picture taken. In the first one on the left the camera is standing right in front of the person, and it looks like the person in the picture is not looking straight into the camera. Maybe he is looking at the photographer next to it, or out into the scene behind the camera. His small smile gives a impression that he is a little intrigued or amused by the situation. The picture is not taken for him to buy and bring home to hang on the wall. In the photograph you see a little number in the down left corner. Joel has been placed here to be documented. The left photo shows the subject from the side, also with the number plate showing. The background is neutral and in contrast to the subject, and carefully made so by the photographer so that the subject will be well shown in the picture. Bonaparte/Roche took front and side photos to demonstrate the size of the skulls. Bonapartes was influenced by Darwinism as many other thinkers of the time. In this thinking indigenous people were ‘second class’ and inferior compared to the white population. This could be proven or understated by the size of for example the head.
Joel Andersen, in colour. Coloured later by Per Ivar Somby.
The word Photography comes from the greek words photos (light) and graphein (to draw), so photography is essentially “drawing with light”. Photography is essentially drawing with light. Without light we wouldn’t be able to create a photograph. As part of the Learning Activity Digging Deeper Into the History of Photography I have collected 3 events from the history of photography. (This blog post is an answer to question 1)
The tintype was introduced in the mid-19th century. Originating in France during 1854, the tintype was first patented in the USA during February 1856 and in England during December of the same year. Tin types was images created on a metal plate coated in silver iodine which is sensitive to light. Tintypes is a variation of the ambrotype, which was a image made on glass, instead of metal. Tintypes was a negative in its chemical formation, but made to appear positive by the black plate. The exposure time for the tintype was a couple of minutes.
The tintypes was very popular. They did not preform as well as the dangurreotypes made on copper plates, but they were durable, easy to make and much cheaper. This made them popular among Civil War soldiers, immigrants and working people in general. Now the general public could have their pictures taken.
The first flexible film roll was introduced by the American Geroge Eastman in 1883. Eastman had experimented with the use of a lighter and more felxible support for the photograps than glass and metal. He first coated the photographic emulsion on paper and then loaded the paper in a roll holder. He found that paper was not entierly satisfactory as a carrier for the emolusion bacause the grain of the paper was likely to be transfered to the photo. He came up with the solution to coat the paper with a thin layer of soluble gelatin, and then a layer of light sensitive soluble gelatine
Eastman’s experiments were directed to the use of a lighter and more flexible support than glass. His first approach was to coat the photographic emulsion on paper and then load the paper in a roll holder. The holder was used in view cameras in place of the holders for glass plates.
In 1883, Eastman startled the trade with the announcement of film in rolls, with the roll holder adaptable to nearly every plate Camera on the market.
The first film advertisements in 1885 stated that “shortly there will be introduced a new sensitive film which it is believed will prove an economical and convenient substitute for glass dry plates both for outdoor and studio work.”
This system of photography using roll holders was immediately successful. However, paper was not entirely satisfactory as a carrier for the emulsion because the grain of the paper was likely to be reproduced in the photo. After the photo was created, the gelatin bearing the image was stripped from the paper, and transferred to a sheet of clear gelatin, and varnished with collodion — a cellulose solution that forms tough, flexible film.
Eastman and his company launced the KODAK Camera in 1888, this made the foundation for making photography available to everyone. Pre-loaded with enough film for 100 exposures, the camera could be easily carried and handheld during operation. It was priced at $25. After exposure, the whole camera was returned to the company in Rochester. There the film was developed, prints were made and new film was inserted — all for $10.
Woman with camera 1910
The first Kodak camera, introduced in 1888, sold for $25, loaded with enough Eastman film for 100 exposures. Not dated.
It was Scottish physicist and poet James Clerk Maxwell who in 1861 produced the first true color photograph – one that didn’t fade immediately or need color adding afterwards by hand. Or the sources I found differs a bit with wikipedia stating that “the first color photograph produced by Thomas Sutton for a Maxwell lecture in 1861″. However Maxwell was the one to develop the technique wanting to demonstrate how the eye process coloure.
Maxwells experiments were taking three photos, of the same object, on three different glass plates, useing three different colour filters. One red, one green and one blue. When he then projected the three images unto the wall in the exact same time it then produced a picture in color.
Today, the three physical plates that together made up the world’s first color photograph reside in Maxwell’s former home in Edinburgh (now a museum)
In color photography, electronic sensors or light-sensitive chemicals record color information at the time of exposure. The recorded information is then used to reproduce the original colors by mixing various proportions of red, green and blue light.
Decades later, in the beginning of the 20th century, color photography had developed sufficiently to allow landscape photographs to be taken, as the exposure time was around 30 minutes.
Sanger Shepherd process and the autochrome
Sarah Agelina Acland was an English pioneer that took a number of artful photographs useing the Sanger Shepherd method. The Sanger Shepherd method was a complicated method for taking color photographs. This process uses the same basis of color filters as James Maxwells process and was technically demanding and time consuming.
A Portrait Outdoors shows Miss Acland’s goddaughter Mary Agnes Brinton on the steps of Clevedon House, Oxford.
Task #1
Look at the following logos and explain in your own words what you consider their positioning to be (do this for each one).
Coca colas logo is a word mark
Coca colas logo give me the impression that their positioning is the classical soft drink company, the most familiar drink in the world. Their family friendly and a part of tradition. The colour of the logo is bright and red and the typography is classical. Red as a color gives associations to love and the typhografy is classical. It tells me that they are the traditional, familiar favourite in soft drinks. Red is also bold and can give the sense of famous, red carpet.
You love cocacola and its been a part of your family and traditions for generations.
The Volks wagen logo is a monogram
Volks wagen metal circle with its initials in it gives me the sense that they want to be maskuline, a car for the people. Everyman car. The name also gives this association. Colorus are cold an masculine and they are a durable car. It is simple monogram, gives the impression to me that they wasn’t to be the durable car for the normal family. Where the man is the archetype.
Visas logo is a word mark.
Gives me the impression that they want the position in the customers mind as a company for everyone. The typography is simple, but the small details that the v has a small line going out of the v and the letter are in cursive leaning forward with two lines above and under, leaning forward gives a sense of speed. This is the fast way of payment. It is a company going forward, its the future. It is also a timeless logo because of its simplicity.
Task #2
Lets work backwards! Look at the logo on the Apple iPhone and, by doing your own research, investigate the history of the product and the company that manufactures it. Give an outline, in your own words, of what you consider the following to be:
Describe its brand identity – exactly as you see it
What do you think its positioning is currently?
What do you think the strategy for this specific product was?
What research do you think was done on this by the company who made it?
Innovative and creative. They push forward to create new and more user friendly technology, by thinking different. Intuitive. They know what the customer wants before the customer knows themselves. Clear. Apple is complicated technology made simple to use. Connection. Apple is your friend, they change the way you communicate and connect. You are part of the apple family.
The stores
Their shops are all the same. They are modern and feel new.
They are open spaces where the customer can walk around exploring their products. They create an atmosphere, where customers can see what is possible, and imagine new possibilities.
The product packaging is consistent, it have a certain look and feel, year after year.
Customers
Their target customer is the creative, the ambitious, the young adult with enough money.
The Apple logo
Simple, recognizable. Not a typical logo for a technology company. Its an apple. A very organic thing. Which also makes it stand out, among its competitors. Samsung and Microsoft. The logo has gone trough some changes during the years and its first logo was very complicated and didn’t last for a long time. However the apple logo as it is today is a very simple and elegant design. With huge market value.
Positioning
Apple holds the position as the innovative technology company. It is well known for products that blow peoples mind, and changes the industry. Apple have not come up with very innovative products lately, but I believe people still have them as the nr. 1 company for innovation. Who knows what features their Apple watch will have in the future.
Technology is something that people are very passionate about. Apple have created a base of very loyal customers.
Strategy
The apple iPhone is a extremely complex product and I think the marketing strategy for it was exactly the opposite. The phone is simple to use, and intuitive, elegant, and innovative. They market it as a tool for self expression.
Research
When apple wanted to make the Iphone I think their research was focusing on what the customers wanted the most, in my research I found Steve Jobs talking about that people was saying they want to be able to be connect to the internet. Their research I believe was focused on how to make a device that could connect well to the internet, and display internet pages more like its displayed on a computer. I also believe they researched how to make the keyboard and functionality of the phone as user friendly as possible and therefore came up with the touch screen. Researching what movements feel natural for humans to use when navigating the touch screen.
My reflective journal 