Analysis Of Two Examples Of Contemporary Visual Design In Terms Of Their Negative And Positive Impact On Society

Introduction

In this essay, I plan to discuss two pieces of contemporary visual design, and will explain why I think one is beneficial to society and why the other is negative for society.

Firstly, I will discuss the piece of contemporary design which I think had a negative effect on society. The Title of the piece of design I have chosen is “Are you Beach Body Ready?”, and the maker is unknown, but it was made for the company ‘Protein World’.

Function

The “Are you beach body ready?” ad’s function was to promote the brand’s slimming product, which would in turn give you a body fit for the beach. The piece of design was produced around the date of 29/04/2015. I think that this piece of design had a very bad impact on the minds of woman in society today. As we can see a woman’s toned figure towering above train platforms which portrays / implies that only woman who look like Renee are ready to go to the beach. In my opinion, this poster sends a negative body image mindset out to the public, making it appear to only be fit to go to the beach if you look toned or physically fit. This poster “has caused a stir among some feminists and body image campaigners, with a change. org petition started, general social media outrage and defacing of the posters by bloggers, who were angry at the perceived insinuation that only women who look like the model used are ready to go to the beach. ” While the piece was intended to create the outlook of athleticism and promote a Protein World slimming product it actually had quite the opposite effect.

Instead, it promoted allegations of “body-shaming” and “encouraging women to starve themselves” from activists, organizations working against eating disorders, and members of the public. The effect it had on the general public made them feel like their bodies were inadequate with the allegations of the poster, and in turn would make you insecure about yourself. ‘social media users slammed them, claiming the strap line "insinuates that a body should be small". ’ While the ad was only intended for promotion of a product for athletic body types “However after an investigation into the complaints around offence and social responsibility, the ASA has decided that the campaign was not in breach. It is recognised that the term “beach body” is well understood to be related to toned, athletic bodies similar to the one pictured in the ad” it had a cataclysm effect on all sorts of issues relating to body shaming which prevails in today’s society. We are constantly presented with images where unrealistic body types are idolized as goals to attain, but they are more often than not physically impossible to reach. Hence why the reaction against the advert was so severe.

I do think people were quick to judge the model Renee Somerfield deeming the images unrealistic, resulting in Protein World having to claim “that the image is entirely unPhotoshopped, have been actively engaging on social media, strongly defending their campaign with some biting responses to aggrieved Tweeters. ” Renee even put out a statement declaring she is also a real person and that its only from working ‘very hard’ and living ‘a healthy and active lifestyle which is why Protein World chose me for their campaign. ’ Having said that, Renee does acknowledge that the ad campaign was demeaning on all body types and body shaming, stating that she agrees that “ALL bodies are 'beach body ready'” be it someone who is ‘Skinny, curvy, muscular, petite, tall, short, young and old. Confidence is beautiful no matter what size you are. . . . Your reflection doesn't define your worth. ’

The second piece of contemporary design I chose to discuss is one which I think had a positive effect. The title of the second piece of design I have chosen is “Beach Body Ready”, made by Michael Chapman, made for the online store “Navabi”.

Function

The function of Navabis “Beach Body Ready” campaign, which was produced on the 03/05/2018, is a response to the controversial advert above from 2015. Staff at Navabi say they wanted to take this opportunity to show all that all bodies are beautiful, as they found Protein World’s advert troubling. I think that this piece of design had a very beneficial impact on the minds of woman in society today. As we can see from figure. 2 the poster shows a group of women in all shapes, sizes, which reflects Navabi’s brand ethos, which is “to improve and diversify the representation of plus size women around the world” (Sanusi, 2018), breaking down the barriers of body shaming in today’s society.

I find this advertisement sends a very positive body image mindset out to the public, making it all inclusive showing everyone that it doesn’t matter what you look like, that you are beach body ready and shouldn’t try to conform to some people’s mindset. This advert “wanted to say, without hesitation, that there shouldn’t be a black cloud hanging over your summer because you think you don’t have the right kind of body. ” This piece was intended to give people a fresh outlook into that everyone is perfect and I think it achieved this goal very well, by having a campaign with a way of “giving insecurities the middle finger and shunning the original Protein World campaign”.

I think this advert was very uplifting and refreshing for the public, making women feel confident in their own skin with the brand Navabi reclaiming the ‘”beach body ready” slogan and aesthetic to launch its own campaign — encouraging women to embrace their bodies. ’

Society suffers enough today with body shaming from social media with photoshopping and unrealistic unattainable body images, edited magazine covers etc. and with this campaign we get to see the real side of things and have more of an insight into what real people look like. Yeboah states “The truth is that everybody is a beach body and that is why I’m so happy to be a part of this Navabi campaign. ” This just goes to show how empowering it is to have body positivity for everyone, not being put under the pressure of the original Protein World campaign which was “exclusionary and pushed the ideology that in order to be ‘seen’ on the beach, you had to lose weight and conform to society’s standards of beauty first”.