branding

Through graphic design investigations using the lens of sports to make work on a variety of topics including form, aesthetics, communication, commercialism, and masculinity I consider my work to be under the format of visual journalism. The exists to investigate these niche and overlooked areas within the dominant force of culture that is sports, and that is the story I aim to tell. My work strives to shed light on that other side of sports that may be overlooked, and tell stories, find flaws, and understand a monolithic force in popular culture that is also a mirror into the human experience. My thesis work continues this series of research to now look into the spiritual and religious side of running and commercialism of workout culture. Using graphic design, visual communication, and branding I will create a spiritual group based around the idea of "The Runner's High." I am interested in fitness and sports being co-opted into brands and sold as a way of living. The end of the outcome of the thesis work is to exist as an online website and resource.

This thesis focuses on the branding of a comic book artist. The whole of my work is built around a graphic novel (Lil' Charlie: Path to Destruction) focusing on human-group-nature by drawing on Howard Bloom's writing on the super organism and Jon Ronson's investigations into the nature of the psychopath. The final form of the thesis asks how a brand should be done, and why as an artist a brand is necessary. My approach in this project is largely influenced by the experiences, stories, and personal interactions gained from twenty-five years as a fan and nine years as a professional in the comic book industry.

The cycling industry as a whole has not done well at satisfying the needs of female riders and it has not kept pace with the greater athletic and outdoor industry's advances in sustainable manufacturing techniques or responsible business. This has led to a disconnect between consumers, who report a desire to make responsible purchasing decisions, and companies which are not supplying them with the knowledge the make those decisions. While a lack of sustainability planning is sometimes attributed to cost, in the long term, efficiencies in manufacturing and the benefits to brand reputation reaped through transparency can have a net financial benefit to companies. Women ride at significantly lower rates than men and this can be attributed to a lack of comfortable infrastructure, inconvenience, lack of confidence on the bike, a dearth of consumer products, and difficultly finding communities to connect. Women's cycling apparel is hard to come by and often is ill-fitted for athletic women. Brands do not take advantage of the potential within the women's marketplace to build loyalty and community, or create apparel that can go beyond the bike. Additionally, new fabrics and technologies have made it possible to create apparel with a lower ecological footprint. A survey was conducted to determine what features were most desired by female consumers in order to inform the design of cycling lifestyle garments for women. An evaluation and comparison of currently popular and newly developed fibers for athletic products was undertaken to understand which were most preferable from a performance and a sustainability standpoint. Life Cycle Analysis was used to examine these fibers, but also critiqued for its difficulties in successfully comparing fibers of various origins. Two garments, a top and a pant for use both on and off the bike, were designed against the features requested in the consumer survey. Feedback from a body measurement survey was used to determine how best fit the unique bodies of female cyclists. Branding and positioning were developed for the garments under the brand name Beryl. Next steps toward implementation of the project were examined. Although many infrastructure obstacles still exist in the way of truly sustainable apparel manufacturing, the resources are in place for it to come to fruition. All that is needed are the right people and forward-thinking businesses to implement change. Connections must be made between different suppliers in the chains of custody in order to reach a sufficient level of accountability and transparency. The trend is moving in the right direction, so there is cause for hope.