Project Statement

When researching for my essay I came across a lot of sexist advertising targeted towards women who are physically active. I realised that a lot of this, in particularly the This Girl Can campaign, was celebrated and seen as a triumph. This campaign successfully managed to encourage over 1 million women to become more active despite the whole campaign subtly objectifying women and viewing them as sex objects. The campaign suggests that women must look attractive at all times, even enduring exercise. Quotes such as ‘sweating like a pig, feeling like a fox’ and ‘under these gloves is a beautiful manicure’ further emphasises this ‘desire’ women have to look glamorous for men. If this was a campaign targeting men there would be no such expectations, they would be allowed to be seen as sweaty and muddy. 

Despite the campaign’s target audience being women they chose to use provocative imagery to attract male attention. 

Following these findings I read a lot of articles about how sports women are portrayed and how they are taught that in order to be successful they must be sexy and appeal to men. This apparently helps them achieve a bigger fan base and more media coverage. 

My original question was ‘Does The Way Women Are Represented Through Sports Branding and The Media Influence Their Attitudes Towards Physical Activity?’. The answer to this question is yes it does. Women are lead to believe that they must look attractive whilst exercising which makes them less likely to take part as they are fearful of being judged for looking sweaty and not conforming to this sexist stereotype set by the media/ branding. 

My practical outcome targets this issue at the source and is aimed at branding agencies and charities that fund campaigns such as ‘This Girl Can’. The aim is to educate them about what their sexist campaigns and ads are doing to women in society and the shockingly low fitness levels of girls and women across the country. I chose to create a publication to send out to these companies as I thought it would be the most appropriate way to do it. The booklet is short and straight to the point so that it is more likely to be read as it won’t take long. I’ve used a lot of visuals throughout to break up the text as well as making my facts page interesting.

Overall I am pleased with how the project has turned out and think my outcome works well with my essay as it teaches people what I have learnt during my research process. On reflection I think there could’ve been some focus on a digital version of the publication, something straight to the point that would be used on social media. I think this would reach a larger audience as it could be shared online, however the booklet can still be passed on and shared. 

Evaluation

Overall I am really pleased with how the design turned out, I think looks professional but still has an element of fun. The sports hall floor design has helped my link sections together by create text boxes and photo frames to highlight areas of importance or interest. Using a white background throughout and black texts keeps the booklet looking simple and makes information easier to take in.

I am really proud of the infographics I've created and I think this makes the facts stand out more so that the reader would be more likely to remember them.

Throughout the book I kept information short and to the point so that the reader wouldn’t get bored and lose interest. In terms of bind I used a simple saddle stitch with a staple as I wanted something that would look neat and professional. I was also keen to create something that was easy to reproduce and produce on mass if necessary therefore this method keeps costs down. As well as this I chose just to use printer paper, again this was done to keep costs down as this is an important part of my project. 

Final Production

When creating the booklet I did a small version at first to make sure everything looked okay as this was cheaper to print. 

Originally I was going to saddle stitch my booklet together however I decided just to staple it instead as I found this more appropriate. I wanted it to be more corporate and professional in this sense and thought stitching it would make it too homemade/ personal. 

After checking everything was okay on my small version I then printed and trimmed down the A5 version. I printed on normal printer paper to keep costs down as if this was to be printed in bulk expensive paper stock would be too hard to maintain. 

Time Management

When planning my time I used the timetable sent to us by Helena. It made it easier to plan my time and know when I needed certain things to be ready by. Having time for independent study every other week made it so that I had done a lot of work between meetings so had a lot to discuss and get feedback on. 

 

I made a quick time plan in my diary, as things were so far in advance at the time it was hard to know when I would want to do certain things so I decided just to plan what days I would do each module.

25th Oct - 1st Dec
Monday: Extended Practice
Tuesday: UCAS Application
Wednesday: COP
Thursday; COP
Friday: PPP

1st Dec - 18th Dec 
Monday: COP
Tuesday: UCAS
Wednesday: EP/ COP
Thursday: COP
Friday: PPP

Then at the beginning of each week I made a list of what I wanted to get done that week and then I assigned certain days to do this. I found that this made it a lot easier as I struggled to plan my time too far in advance as I wasn't too sure what would come up. As we had the Vis Com brief going on at the same time I knew I had to factor in a slot to work on this/ go to meetings with Beth.

Typeface choices

I chose to use DIN Alternate for headings throughout my booklet as I wanted to use something that had a more digital feel to it. I thought this typeface in particularly would be suitable as I could imagine it being used on the back of sports shirts. 

Final Outcome

 I really like how my booklet has turned out and I think it looks very professional and is fit for purpose. The colours used make the booklet clean, crips and easy to read. The booklet has an element of fun but still has a serious tone of voice. I really like that I have been able to add interesting bits of design such as the line patterns and the infographics. 

Binding Options

Saddle Stitching

Saddle-stitching is the simplest binding method, in which pages are folded and stapled together. This type of binding is used for single issue comic books, as well as lookbooks, workbooks, booklets, calendars, and many magazines and catalogs with smaller page counts.

Perfect Binding (Softcover)

Perfect binding is the binding method used for softcover books and trade paperbacks. Pages are folded, gathered, sewn, and then glued into a cover, forming a squared-off spine.

Case Binding (Hardcover)

Case binding is the technical term for hardcover book binding. Pages are folded, gathered, and sewn, and a ‘case’ is made by gluing and folding a printed sheet around 3 pieces of greyboard. The pages are then glued into the case with a few extra pages called endsheets, forming an entire casebound book.

Board Book Binding

Board books are a special type of binding often used in children’s books. Pages are printed on thick paperboard and assembled one by one into a book block with a printed spine.