As we gain, we lose.

I'm a 90s kid. That's what I got from the latest "Internet Explorer - Child of the 90s" commercial. You can watch it here (a very smart ad indeed. The amount of nostalgia marketing used is impeccable). I sung to them- boy bands like Nsync, A1, Backstreet Boys. I grew up slotting 10 cent coins into the public telephones, always remembering how chunky they felt in my small hands. I waited at least 5 minutes after turning on the modem to play Neopets on the internet. 

I recall how times were so much simpler when I was back in primary school. I'm not just saying this because kids have lesser burdens to carry, but it really was very much simpler. For one- Functionality. An Eraser was something you'd use to play Flip Over against your opponents' during recess, at the play grounds. Compare it to today where there are 3 types of Eraser Tools for different functions in a Photoshop App, that isn't even on my desktop, but on my portable device). 

For one- instancy. Our world is fast paced, immediate and now. We need to be connected 24/7 through emails/sms/mms/whatsapp. The list goes on. But back then, the only automatically motorized objects we had were sliding doors or washing machines. Now we even have dish washers that dry our plates. No wonder local hot spots like Hawker Centres can't keep up- because their unique selling point is in the authenticity of service, environment and food. Adding electronic mechanics to these places will damage the "old local" feel. 

Hawker Centres are losing its local flavour. Locals aren't cooking our local food, which is slightly ironic. The rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer in Singapore. It's becoming so globalized and fast paced that no local Singaporean holding a degree or even a diploma would want to work in as a hawker. Hence, we see the tradition of Father-passing-down-the-store-to-Son disappearing. Authentic recipes and practices are lost. In replace of these, we have food courts like Food Republic and Malaysia Boleh. They're fantastic representations of our own heritage, but still, only representations. 

With a totally pessimistic yet realistic view, I somehow think that there's only so much we can do to hold on to our past. While we gain, we lose. I guess it's all a matter of perspective. Even our heritage, that gives us identity, will seemingly evolve over the years. "The only thing constant is Change." That being said, we shouldn't discount the fact that we have to try to preserve Hawker Centers, or rather, preserve the "idea" of it for the following generations.

Moodboard

1- Illustrating objects from the mind map (see previous post).
2- Scanning images for collages from magazines.
3- Scribbling quotes.
4- Collecting passages from story books.

Artzine Research

All reference images have been gathered from various websites
(fngmagazine.com, fecalface.com, blog.sub-studio.com, delainas.blogspot.com, etc)

What is an ArtZine?

A zine (/ˈziːn/ zeen; an abbreviation of fanzine, or magazine) is most commonly a small circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images usually reproduced via photocopier. Zines are written in a variety of formats, from computer-printed text to comics to handwritten text (an example being the hardcore punkzine Cometbus). Print remains the most popular zine format, usually photo-copied with a small circulation. Topics covered are broad, including fanfiction, politics, art and design, ephemera, personal journals, social theory, single topic obsession, topics far enough outside of the mainstream to be prohibitive of inclusion in more traditional media. The time and materials necessary to create a zine are seldom matched by revenue from sale of zines. 

While zines are generally self-published, there are a few independent publishers who specialise in making art zines. One such 'art-zine' publisher (who also publishes books) is Nieves Books in Zurich, founded by Benjamin Sommerhalder. Another is Café Royal Books, UK based and founded by Craig Atkinson in 2005. 

(Wikipedia)

Personally, I enjoy generating concepts and ideas (significantly more than the execution bit unfortunately). While mind-mapping for a possible way to put the brief to print, I found out that I want to create a narrative book. Possibly with pop ups, scents/smells, a story line or maybe even a journal log. Most artzines (upon research) just simply show samples of works an artist has done. However, if we really want to bring out the three words stated in the brief, I feel that one needs a concept, rather than it being too abstract. 

I like the idea of creating a publication without the restraint of any specific style in mind. Since I entered ADM, I have tried many different artist styles like illustration based works, typographic and abstract. I'm also quite thankful to be paired with Bev (my group mate) because I really admire her illustrations and I wish to learn some techniques from her too.

For this week's milestone, instead of brain storming together first, Bev and I decided to individually research on how we envision our article to look like. We'll work better like this because we're both quiet thinkers (if that makes any sense). After this bit, we'll to pull our ephemera and findings together to see what we can work with. Since we've never worked together before, we thought that this way could help us work better with each other's strengths.

Ideas

Nostalgia (noun)- a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.

Nostalgia represents the past. It represents the time that has separated a current moment from it. It is a feeling of lost. However, it can also show a keen sense of relief that the worst of the storm has passed. Some objects that depict nostalgia: Stamps, old story books, past travel photos, old film cameras, compasses, journal entries, a clock.

How to bring back nostalgia
1 - Being in a quiet and peaceful environment helps.
2- Visual reminders of the past (Buildings/Streets)
3- Scents: Cookies
4- Taste
5- Touch
6- Handwritten journals
7- Advancement of something (i.e technology)

Nostalgia marketing: 

Nostalgia marketing is marketing that is aimed at evoking a feeling of nostalgia in your customers. Nostalgia is “a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.” And it can be triggered by all the senses. Whether it is a smell that reminds you of the cookies your mom used to bake, a song you danced to in high school, the taste of the ice cream you used to eat as a child, or a clip of a movie you used to watch in college. Even touch can evoke nostalgia (it is one of the reasons grownups still enjoy popping bubble wrap). Through various studies scientists have found that there are two types of memories that are often associated with nostalgia: social interactions such as family gatherings or playing catch at school and momentous life events such as graduations and weddings. These are the memories our minds are drawn to when the feeling of nostalgia is evoked. 

 

What to consider?

When using nostalgia marketing you need to know who your target market is because 20 year olds are going to be nostalgic about very different things that 40 year olds. Depending on what senses you are targeting and whether you are using nostalgia marketing in your advertising, in your product design or maybe even in your supply chain the methods are different. Remember it does not have to be something obvious such as a TV show, music or food; it can be a lot more subtle such as a font or a color. You also want to make sure that what you are doing is old enough to be retro and bring about nostalgia, if it isn’t old enough it will not trigger those desired emotions and people may just see you as outdated.

Tradition (noun)-  the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way.

"Just because it's a tradition, does not make it completely stupid." Traditions are sometimes ridiculously redundant but it's an essential and eccentric flavor that's stirred into society to give it flavor and character. I, personally, don't agree with some of the superstitious Chinese traditions (i.e not wearing black on CNY - I'm very fond of my blacks), but whether we know it, the dress code bonds a community. Some traditional practices include: Festivals/ CNY, Deepavali, Christmas, Hari Raya/ Food/ Log cakes, Nian Gao, Beef Rendang/ Traditional Costumes

Future (noun)- the time or a period of time following the moment of speaking or writing; time regarded as still to come.

Discussing Goals is objective. Future talk is ambiguous. All I can add to this discussion is a: ?