University students' perceptions of the alcohol campaign : "Is Getting Pissed Getting Pathetic? (Just Ask Your Friends)"

The present study examined students' understanding and perceived effectiveness of a recent Australian alcohol campaign designed to increase students' awareness of excessive and harmful drinking. Six hundred and seventy one university students (51% females), who had seen the campaign posters, with the tagline "Is Getting Pissed Getting Pathetic? (Just Ask You Friends)", were asked to comment on the messages that the campaign was communicating and how informative, relevant, and effective they perceived the campaign. Many students were positive in their evaluations and described the messages as "truth and realistic", "clear and to the point", and that the campaign made them think about their own drinking. However, other views were more negative and indicative of psychological reactance. These included concerns that students "won't listen" or "don't care" about media campaigns, and that "they don't what to be told what to do". The findings highlight how media campaigns can help an audience contemplate behavioral change, however, they can also alienate students and promote counterproductive attitudes.

Visions of Utopia

Since 1949, propaganda posters have been produced in China as a visual language to unite the masses. Posters and billboards portraying images of youth in minority costumes, traditional paper cuts and China’s abundant workforce engaged in modernisation were meant to unite the masses through ‘revolutionary realism with revolutionary romanticism’. These images offer interesting insight into Mao’s version ‘socialist utopia’. With the opening of China to foreign investment and trade in 1979, the vision of a ‘socialist utopia’ has changed once again. Propaganda posters are replaced with large-scale billboards featuring luxury cars, clothing and products from the West. In order to illustrate this change, artists from Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, Lisa Scharoun (Lecturer of Graphic Design) and Frances Tatarovic (Lecturer of Photography), have created a series of ‘advertisements’ that utilize similar themes of Maoist era propaganda posters with the infusion of the glossy characteristics of luxury fashion advertising. The images reference techniques and the visual language of contemporary western commercial fashion photography. Within the artworks, the past and present visual culture of China is juxtaposed to create a dialogue between the icons of the Maoist vision of a socialist utopia and the contemporary visual icons of fashion and luxury advertising.

A prospective study of the effect of education on non-compliant behaviour in contact lens wear

The contact lens practitioner and patient present a specific case for the study of non-compliance in areas such as hygiene, solution use, appointment attendance and wearing times. Education is one of the factors thought to influence compliance among patients in general health care situations and contact lens practitioners are encouraged to educate patients in the care and maintenance of contact lenses. A prospective, randomized, controlled and double masked study was performed to assess the effect of a‘compliance enhancement strategy’ on levels of compliance among contact lens wearers over twelve months. Eighty experienced contact lens patients were randomly allocated to two experimental groups. A standard level of contact lens instruction was applied to the first group and in addition the compliance enhancement strategy was applied to patients assigned to the second group. The strategy consisted of extra education for patients using a video, booklets, posters, a checklist and a health care contract. Patients were given free supplies of RelMu multipurpose solution and Medalist 38 soft contact lenses IBausch and Lomb, Rochester. New York). Compliance levels were assessed at a twelve month aftercare appointment by demonstration and questionnaire. The results indicate that the compliance enhancement strategy had little significant effect on the compliance levels of the patients to whom it was applied. The population of contact lens wearers were generally very compliant and the contact lenses and care regimen were clinically successful. The possibility that the assessment of non–compliance was not adequately sensitive to highlight small differences in non-compliant, behaviour is discussed. The standard level of eduction applied to this sample of contact lens patients was adequate to ensure generally high levels of compliance with the simple care and maintenance regimen recommended.

Mandela Poster Project

In May 2013, a group of South African designers came up with an idea to celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela by collecting 95 exceptional posters from around the world, honouring Madiba's lifelong contribution to humanity.

The independent team of volunteers, now known as the Mandela Poster Project Collective, gave freely of their time and expertise to make the exceptional happen: In 60 days more than 700 posters were submitted by designers from more than 70 countries. The collection was curated and 95 posters (representing 95 years of Madiba's life) will be exhibited around the world and will eventually be auctioned by the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital Trust to raise funds. In lieu of the high calibre of works received, it was felt more works needed to be showcased than the original 95. Plans are underway for a limited edition publication showcasing 500 of the posters submissions. The collective echoes the sentiments of South Africa's beloved former president when he said "a good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."

Fourpoint

4pt is a publication by four designers and academics from Monash University, Faculty of Art & Design who have come together with a shared desire to critically analyse, question and debate issues facing the currency of graphic design through text, image and the medium of poster. This is the first issue of 4pt, a selection of 4 posters and essays united under the theme of Reverie by Gene Bawden, Brad Haylock, Sarah Jones and Russell Kennedy

Padangustasana with dadakulaci

The dadakulaci is an amphibious sea snake, commonly found in the waters around Kadavu, Fiji. Straddling existence in the sea and on land, this graceful creature is obscured by myth. Although it is often dismissed as a passive sea snake with a jaw too small to injure a human, the dadkulaci is able to disarticulate its jaw to 180 degrees. Furthermore, it has the ability to withhold its powerful venom. This work was made for the exhibition Diasporadic 679.
DIASPORADIC679 was a public exhibition of Fiji artists living in diaspora. Timed to acknowledge Fiji Independence Day and pay homage to the Fiji telephone prefix, +679, the artists reflect on Fiji Islander identity and diaspora experience from seven diverse positions.

All living in diaspora, the artists are Margaret Aull (NZ), Torika Bolatagici (Australia), Tagi Qolouvaki (USA), Sangeeta Singh (NZ), Dulcie Stewart (Australia), Ema Tavola (NZ) and Luisa Tora (NZ).

Collectively, the selected artists’ practices represent investigations into text and urban landscapes, feminism and sexuality, militarism, power and struggle. In the form of posters, the artists’ works are installed in the windows of six venues in and around Otahuhu Town Centre, South Auckland.

Finding the six venues and experiencing the exhibition in its entirety gives audiences a taste of Otahuhu, home of three of the seven artists, the Auckland Fiji Community headquarters and a significant Fiji Islander community.

Process black

Process Black was one of 95 posters from the Mandela Poster Project. The exhibition, hosted by the 2014 Melbourne Design Festival. Kelo Kubu from South Africa, a founder of the Mandela Poster Collective launched the exhibition at the Victoria Art Centre garden. She also presented the presented the Mandela Poster Project at the AGIdeas conference during the Melbourne Design Festival.

Measuring passers-by engagement with AmPost: a printed interactive audio poster

This paper presents AmPost, a prototype of an interactive audio poster, which integrates ink-jet printed sonic and tactile elements along with textual and graphical information. This enables users to directly interact and engage with the poster. To achieve a seamless paper-based interactive poster that includes printed interactive elements, we implement a printed speaker and audio feedback system directly into the paper-based medium, which plays a short tune when someone walks by. Engaging passers-by with this new interface becomes a challenge as posters, in general, are non-interactive. This paper also presents an initial empirical evaluation of AmPost that captures and analyses the frequency and length of user engagement, and evaluates whether user engagement improves with the integration of interactive features, in comparison to the traditional non-interactive poster. This study facilitates in building the generic approach to measure engagement that applies to any kind of posters.