Independent Brief Writing and Research + Selection of External Brief

Independent Brief

Research

The survey has obtained 74 respondents.

I have also obtained a few interviewees both from the survey and from asking people on Reddit.

Here are the information obtained from the interviews

Interviewee 1

Generally, wears sweatpants out in public when meeting friends. Thinks that it depends on the vibe one is putting out. If they are contributing to conversation then it doesn't really make a difference but when they are keeping on the quiet side, it can make a bad impression. Then it's like going to a formal event in pajamas. Whereas if they are entertaining, it really doesn't matter because others would be paying no mind to it. That’s why he thinks people will put more thought toward one’s clothes if he or she is quiet.

Interviewee 2

Obese and cannot wear much clothes except from certain types of shirts and shorts. Has troubles finding clothes and usually buys a lot of the exact same shorts and shirts. Has been called poor and stinky, when he isn’t. Other instances is where a few teachers would come up to him and offer clothes, or start asking if he is being neglected at home. Always had social anxiety but this made it worse.

Interviewee 3

Used to work at a bank and as a hospital housekeeper at the same time. Would show up to the hospital in her shirt and tie from the bank, go down to the locker room and change for housekeeping. Doctors and business staff would see her as a housekeeper and be rude but if they saw her in a shirt and tie for a few mins cutting through the cafeteria they would think it was a completely different person and they'd go out of their way to smile, say hi, ask her how her day was going. Usually used to infuriate her, she would stare at them and walk away. As for people from the bank would usually be really nice and respectful and also give compliments.

She think there's circumstances where noticing aspects of people's clothing can be very revealing and important, like noticing signs of violence, or a drug habit maybe, she also think people should pay attention to those things but just not act outwardly on appearance alone. People can also let their guard down too easily because someone's in nice clothes, at the end of the day clothes alone aren't enough to form any opinions on someone.

Interviewee 4

Went from wearing sneakers, jeans, and a t shirt to Chelsea boots, dress pants/solid black jeans, button down shirt/solid colored sweater, and a black/brown blazer like jacket. The difference was night and day. Random strangers would eye him, cashiers would converse with him (one even exchanged numbers with him), and it even boosted his confidence. Wanted to adopt a more professional look for himself as opposed to being mandated by an employer or school.

He changed his entire wardrobe based on his personal choices and felt that this represented himself better and he was more in control of his life. The process was not difficult as he was not on any time constrain or tight budget. He enjoyed the process and found it fun and exciting to do. He was given more attention from society and got a boost in his confidence. Also felt a strong correlation between his wardrobe and confidence. Co-workers treated him better and were more amicable.

He thinks it is unfair to judge people based on what they wear because it does not show who or what a person is exactly and think that people just want to be comfortable in their clothes. He also thinks that society is overly judgmental for no reason.

Interviewee 5

Noticed that bus drivers tend to ignore him when he has to cross the road when he is in comfortable clothes and when he is well dressed they are more careful. Also found that whenever he is talking to people their first reflex is to analyze what he is wearing and their expression and body language changes according to what he is wearing. Feel angry how choosing your clothes is like a pick your poison situation and feel like he is taking advantage of the world or being taken advantage of in different situations. He believes that a society that judges you based on what you wear is a really biased one. Countless rapes have been done by people in suits as countless heroic actions were made by people in torn clothes. He find it sad that an impression is based on what you look, and it's a medium that people have accepted, and are teaching the future generations of their families.

Interviewee 6

Most of the time she always dresses in either hot Jean pants/long black pants/skirt with a shirt and a jacket. And one day her friends said that she was almost too cold to approach. This made her feel sad that there could be some potential friendships she could have missed out. She also found out one day that a person said that she was an "easy target" which made her feel pissed that someone would think that. She would rather change her style for her pleasure but not for other people’s sakes because she has grown some self-esteem.

She thinks that people being cautious of what others wore is quite understandable, but it is not acceptable to be that discriminative. She would be cautious of how someone would dress but she wouldn't say bad about them unless she knows who they are. She also thinks that people should be a little bit more selfish and wear what they want as long as they don’t hurt anyone because everyone deserves to be at least kind to themselves.

Interviewee 8

If you wear traditional Muslim clothes you get weird energy and not the best treatment, people look at you hatefully and yell discriminating things. Usually, dealing with It by wearing more western clothes. Find it unfair.

Interviewee 9

Tall guy with an imposing frame. Women usually go on a wide berth with him especially when it gets dark. Has a very friendly personality but is usually afraid.

Interviewee 10

Usually dresses girly and feel like because she looks cute people treat her like she is stupid but she does not let that stop her and keep looking CUTE but show them that she is smart with a lot of life experience. If people continue to not accept her, she would usually look for something else whether that be a job or relationship that will treat her better.

Interviewee 11

When she started her job, she was working on the counter. They said that there's an expectation that staff looks professional to the public, and it does show. People are often ruder, more demanding, and less patient if they think the staff looks inept, and their clothing plays a part in that. For example, when staff is looking up some data for someone and it was taking a long time - if he/she looked "unprofessional" and therefore inexperienced they might assume it's because he/she is bad at his/her job, but if he/she look the part they might just think the systems slow. She was also asked to wear makeup and it was not meant for her to be “prettier” but more to "look professional in the workplace".

She adapted accordingly and it was not difficult for her. She did say that in the long run, it can get quite expensive but she was able to cut down some costs she buys things that will last and can be used in different combinations. It was not uncomfortable for her since she change to a style that was still “her”. The change did boost her confidence and she believes that it is healthy to take some pride in oneself and be able to reflect that in one’s clothing style.

An experiment was also made by creating a persona who has been faced with a problem where he/she has been being wrongly judged because of his/her style. The personas were both male and female and the post was posted both on Reddit communities and Facebook groups.

The result showed that only 21 people out of 79 gave a realistic insight of how it is normal to being judge based on what you wear and in certain jobs you do not really have a choice but to adhere to their dress code.

We can also conclude that people will definitely find it unfair and encourage the idea of dressing how you want but it is not necessarily that people should ignore the fact that they will constantly be judged.

Visual Inspiration for the Project

External Brief

For the external brief I decided to go with the Mangrove Aquaculture branding and website design to be able to explore more the idea of visual communication but in a more graphic than realistic way to expand my horizons.