Signage and way finding systems and how they direct the public and manipulate them_
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Introduction paragraph:
this essay is going to........explain......... to what extent graphic design is an extension of panopticism...
To what extent does graphic design extend panoptocism in contemporary society
This essay is going to explore in what ways graphic design can be an extension of panopticisim within contemporary society, Panoptocism is all around us,
What is Panopticism:
- 'ism' is a style fo something applied to a wider society.
- The same principles of the panopticon but applied to wider society as a whole, the city for example and how the masses are controlled. the working as a machine.
- Modern disciplinary society.
- Making people put themselves to work. - Creating a much more productive society the government making the public much more productive.
- Docile bodies - Least resistant society, most diciplined. Not the lazy - the hardest working and most active. Soldiers is a perfect example comparing this to the docile bodies within a modernt society for example {city}.
Panoptisim faucault "Crime and Punish" ------- 10 major points
_ "The plague is met by order; its function is to sort out every possible confusion: that of the disease"
The plague can be compared to the rush of the city or traffic congestion in the modern society, this became a problem that needed to be solved and the government picked up on this and saw this as an opportunity to step up and enforce some form of control this came with the introduction of traffic control, traffic lights bring society to a stand still and society conforms to this and it is seen as a form of panoptic control that is an annoyance however on the other hand this not only makes the road network work as a machine for productive traffic flow but also looks out for the publics safety.
_ " But there was a political dream of the Plague, which was exactly its reverse: not the collective festival, but strict divisions; not laws transgressed, but the penetration of regulation into even the smallest details of everyday life through the mediation of the complete hiararchy that asured the capillary functioning of power;"
The political dream of the plague is one of disorder and chaos the reason for this is allowing them to push new areas of surveillance and laws to bring the mass back into order, The plague was combatted by creating strict divisions separating the chaos and enforcing strict hierarchy this can be seen in modern society within the road network. for example there is a strict hierarchy in terms of the way trafic flo is controlled in modern society this was by the installation of traffic lights a and rules and regulations about how the traffic flows giving way to the right for example and driving on the correct side of the road all these forms of control are not only to keep the flow of traffic moving productively working as a machine but also to ensure the safety of the public.
capillary functioning, link this to the road network of a city_
_ “The plague gave rise to disciplinary projects rather than the massive, binary division between one set of people and another, it called for multiple separations, individualising distributions, and organisation in depth of surveillance and control, as intensification and ramification of power.”
This quote can again be linked to Traffic surveillance and the road network of a city, speed cameras are put in place to place the flow of traffic under surveillance, signage is put up however to warn the public that they are approaching a camera even if it is or may not be there. This knowledge is enough in most cases to enforce control and organisation, restraints are enforced by the government for example if members are caught breaking these enforced laws and restraints then these subjects are punished and pulled aside and separated from the flow it is the surveillance that keeps order and keeps the machine working as one.
_ “the first is that of a pure community, the second that of a disciplined society. Two ways of exercising power over men of controlling their relations, of separating out their dangerous mixtures. Nd then carry on with the plague stricken town, traversed throughout with hierarchy, surveillance, observation, writing; the town immobolised by the functioning of an extensive power that bares in a distinct way over all individual bodies. This is the utopia of the perfect governed city.”
The surveillance and regulations that are enforced are to control the society and to create the utopia of a perfect city that is 100% productive and flows smoothly. Surveillance is the form of modern discipline that keeps the society running smoothly this is what effectively enforces the rules and regulations the public knowing they are being monitored. This shows society characteristics of the panopticon in terms of the public traffic showing self discipline and organisation.
_ “in order to see perfect disciplines functioning, rulers dreamt of the state of plague. Underlying disciplinary projects the image of the plague stands for all forms confusion and disorder;”
Imagining a form of social order. Modern societies invent mass problems and diseases in order to introduce panoptic control. An example of this in the social environment would be total chaos in the inner city the government capitalised on this chaos, giving the government the opportunity to take social control by putting signage up this is directing the public. Traffic lights for example although this is mass control and is used as a machine to organise chaos by bringing society to a stop. Although this form of control is very strict it has its benefits in terms of the health and safety of the public.
_ “the crowd, a compact mass, a locus of multiple exchanges, individualities merging together, a collective effect,”
This quote to me explains how in society the public become docile bodies, all conforming to the rules and regulations of the city for example, taking into consideration way finding systems, Ikea for example the public follow the stores way finding system that weaves all around the store this then in turn is showing how the public are docile bodies following the system when in turn they could proceed straight to the check out. All though this system creates order and makes the store work smoothly as a machine it is also in turn used for commercial benefits by creating this system it not only creates order but also forces the produce onto the public in turn the possibility of making more sales. This shows how Panopticism is not only used to make the perfect flowing system but is also used to the benefit of others. In comparison this can also be compared to the work place within society, for example the office layout is a panopticon, the boss (in hiarachy a higher power) looks over all of the workers in turn creating a much more productive work place, this again is a perfectly flowing panoptic system maximising productivity.
_ “the panopticon is a marvellous machine which, whatever use one may wish to put it to, produces homogenise effective power.”
Compare how the city to the effects of a panopticon, way finding systems within the city.......
This panopticon was able to exercise its machine without being manned this was all down to the fact that a panopticon does not allow those who are being exercised, to see the omnicient power that is looking over them, a great example of this in the modern society is again cctv cameras these monitor the publics every move this in turn is why the public conform to the way finding systems that are in use in the modern society. Some argue that it is to controlling and we should be free to move how we want but however the othe point of view is about safety and the productivity of the public.
_ “the plague stricken town, the panoptic establishment- the differences are important. They mark, at a distance of a century and a half, the transformations of the disciplinary program. In the first case there is an exceptional situation: against an extraordinary evil, power is mobilised; it makes itself everywhere present and visable; it invents new mechanisms; it separates, it immobilises, it partitions, it constructs for a time what is both a counter city and a perfect society.”
The plague can be linked into comparison of the rush and disorganisation found in ikea for example_
new mechanisms where created/ separations, partitions. - way finding system and layout of Ikea:
way finding system weaves in and around the whole shop floor this in turn forms organisation and minimises the chaos. this creates order but obviously can be an annoyance for the public if they want to go straight through. Although the way finding system is created to organise and make navigation as easy as possible on the corporate side it is also put into use to make sure the public see all of the products whether thy want to or not this s simply just used to increase sales of their product in turn generating more income this is also put into action in the city centre.
The argument against this system is_ annoyance could just simply take the direct route out of the shop, however they conform because of the panoptic effect of the shop security and survellance,
linking this to the city, traffic control is also seen as an annoyance the traffic lights bringing the public to a stand still, this keeps order and makes the traffic run smoothly however the argument is that there could be a direct quicker route however there is a chance this would cause danger to other and themself and in turn cause chaos.
argue possotive views and negative:
possotive_
health and safety, more productive smooth running environment.
Negative_
To controlling, time wasting, annoying
_ “in each of its applications, it makes it possible to perfect the exercise of power. It does this in several ways: because it can reduce the number of those who exercise it, while increasing the number of those whom is exercised.”
Explain how Way finding systems do not need to be exercised the public docile bodies simply conform to this because of the panoptic effect.
_ “the play of signs defines the anchorages of power; it is not that the beautifully totality of the individual is amputated, repressed, altered by our social order, it is rather that individual is carefully fabricated in it, according to a whole technique of forces and bodies. We are much less Greeks than we believe. We are neither in the amphitheatre, nor the stage, but in the panoptic machine, invested by its effects of power which we bring to ourselves since we are part of its mechanism.”
How B lyon brings this into the 20th
_ "Tourists and business persons flow across borders, travelers flow through airports and stations, images and messages flow through telephone, telex, and Internet systems. The means of communication are increasingly mobile, and people on the move cannot thus hope to evade surveillance. Road tolling systems, cellphone locators, and traffic control monitors keep track of movement, and data from these can – within legal limits – be integrated with other kinds of surveillance, such as CCTV or transactional data. There is a sense in which modern surveillance was from the earliest days a means of keeping tabs on the mobile (Lyon, 2001) but today surveillance itself is part of the flow."
Explaining how Surveillance is just simply part of the modern society, and is accepted by the public and conformity to this, is what creates a machine like flow to society within a city, expanding on examples. the monitoring of traffic.
_ Thus it is not merely that new information technologies have made everyday actions and communications routinely visible as never before, or that networked technologies have helped to turn the rigid top-down apparatus of surveillance into a flexible assemblage (Ericson and Haggerty, 2001) of pulsating, undulating observations, but that the phenetic drive has been raised to a new level. Categorizing persons and populations – or ‘social sorting’ (Lyon, 2002)
Explaining how way finding can be set up to benefit companies as a secondry effect but most of all controlling the chaos and creating order as this is the dream of the government a city of utopia that is self exercising and 100% productive getting rid of all chaos.
_ "At the end of the day, surveillance studies has normative positions with regard to the processes it describes and explains. As with any mode of social and political explanation, surveillance studies is articulated with quests for justice, liberty, and human well-being."
this is the argument that panoptocism is all about justice, liberty and human well being i am not denying that the organisation and direction creates order within society. however there is the argument that the control and restrictions could create a counter to this and the public feel overly controlled and go agains this.
Possotive and negative arguments again. _ Compare to traffic control and shop wayfinding.
comparing examples to -- graphic design
_ Way finding Systems
_ Road Signage
_ Interior layout and design
expand on one example.
_ Way finding in modern society
conclusion is 10% so 300 words
Crime and Punish -
triangulation - finding differences and similarities between 3 examples.
To what extent does graphic design extend panoptocism in contemporary society
This essay is going to explore in what ways graphic design can be an extension of panopticisim within contemporary society, Panoptocism is all around us, Everywhere we go we are controlled and directed by an omniscient power.
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