Process: New labels
As stated in my last post, I decided to separate the main text from the posters.
The text was done in a way that keeps the flow of the style of the posters. I decided to have 6 lines of text to describe each poster. The text is justified (flush left and right) with no widows or orphans. I played with the kerning and spacing until I got my result.
The concept behind this design for the labels was to make the lines of text seem like the lines I used in the posters. I used 10pt font so that the viewers have to be close to read the labels. When your close to the posters the image is abstract and distorted just like pixels on a monitor. This forces the viewers to take steps back in order to see the graphics.
I used IK blue for the color of the labels since it fits the theme of my project in two ways. The first is that it's a color that can only be properly created digitally. This enforces the whole subject matter of my project which refers to the psychology of cyberspace. The second reason for IK blue is that I wanted to replicate a "blue screen of death crash" (BSOD) which is what happens to a windows computer when something goes wrong.
The font for the labels is Ubuntu. This font is by London-based type foundry Dalton Maag. It was primarily designed to be used with the Ubuntu smartphone operating system. It was in developemtn for a long time. It has design elements that fit my project. Ubuntu has nice curved lines mixed with some aggressive edges that work well for a media / technology themed project. It's also free o use for anyone.
Link to the article The Online Disinhibition Effect by JOHN SULER, Ph.D :
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8451443_The_Online_Disinhibition_Effect
Text of labels for reference (summarized into my own words to fit exactly 6 lines each on labels)
DISSOCIATIVE ANONIMITY
Anonymity makes you feel less self-conscious about partaking in a destructive fashion. You take over an online persona that can be polar opposite to your offline identity. This feeling of disconnection is what leads some to say hurtful things to others. These hurtful words can have real life effects. Anonymity is a key aspect of the online disinhibition effect. In more serious scenarios antisocial behavior through the internet can put people’s lives in danger. Just know that the internet is a vast space with some clever users. Clever users can figure out where you live. There have been cases where anonymous users call in swat teams to innocent peoples addresses. People have also committed suicide due hackers leaking information.
INVISIBILITY
When sitting behind a screen you’re physically invisible to the person you’re communicating with. No one can see your body language or your tone of voice when communicating online, as a result your inhibitions are decreased. The key point of invisibility is that it lets you represent yourself however you’d like. You can be chatting with a man claiming himself as a woman or as a child. Invisibly differs from anonymity by cause of not seeing the other person. In some cases, such as Facebook, your identity isn’t concealed to the person you’re communicating with, you are however invisible which means that you don’t have to worry about an expression of disapproval. Invisibility disinhibits the way people communicate online.
ASYNCHRONICITY
Online communication via text doesn’t happen in real time. People reply when they feel like replying. Asynchronous conversations can disinhibit people. You don’t have to deal with the persons immediate reaction when saying something that might upset them. Hitting send and then logging off lets you escape the negative consequences you might face if you were to say the same thing in person. This reduces the fear of upsetting someone and the pressure that is normally accompanied with in person conversations. Of course, when you’re sitting behind a screen you don’t have to worry about the backlash which leads to disinhibition. It’s easier for us to just say something controversial or hurtful and just run away by logging off.
SOLIPSISTIC INTROJECTION
When communicating online we often read messages in our heads with our own voice. The tone of voice we create in our minds seems to be associated with the type of message we received. We tailor the voice to accommodate the type of message we’re reading. For some subvocalization occurs and it can create instances where you might think you’re just talking to yourself in your head. Some might even assign visual images or characteristics to an anonymous person. These representations can include your own personal expectations or needs. Some also shape a character based on images of past relationships, films, or books. The more real the introjected character becomes the more disinhibited you become.
DISSOCIATIVE IMAGINATION
The internet is a place where people might believe that their actions have no consequences. Some might think that just by shutting your computer off you can dissociate from your online persona. What ends up happening is that some see the cyberspace as a game where people take over a different persona when logging in and out. This is amplified when someone already has trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality. Your online identity will take on different values and norms then your offline persona. This makes it easier for some to commit crimes online that maybe wouldn’t offline. Simply shutting off their computer after stealing someone’s credit card number and going back to your offline self that has never stole a single thing.
