Platform final outcomes –
Instagram – @_afterlife_fashion_
Website- https://sarahfox888.wixsite.com/afterlife
tiktok – @Afterlife_fashion
sketchbook page one
To begin my sketchbook I started by reflecting on the previous module. I wanted to get a better plan of what I have already touched on and see what I needed to develop more. My last sketchbook include a lot of experimenting in different forms to allow me to get a better understanding of where I want to take my project moving forward. This included me making zines, doing sketches of my surroundings, creating textured knit samples all this gave me a better understanding of the values and themes that I would be including into my project. My themes include Sustainability, craft, community, escapism, inspiration and education. This initiated my research into heritage craft and my main topic of the disconnection we have with nature. From this I began my research into Kate Fletcher and her work such as her work: The craft of use, Design and nature a partnership, Multi-Centered worlds as well as The Lissome Issue no. 3 Cosmic commons, Encountering the earth and universe in the process of garment making. This embarked my idea’s for how I wanted to convey these values through my photography. In my previous sketchbook I explored Andrea Rose and Anva Holdstocks photography which has inspired my new idea’s for this new module. My interest in my surroundings set my research into heritage craft and finding inspiration in the nature of my home in north Wales. This research gave me a better understanding of the importance of supporting small local brands and makers. Thereby I decided I wanted to make some aspects of the project collaborative. I loved the idea that making Afterlife collaborative created more variety for my audience. Having multiple writers and makers that are professionals in all different parts of sustainability, fashion, designing, photography, art and more would expose them to more education and inspiration that I could not do by myself. This consent follows the aims and values of my project in which is to create education around sustainable fashion more accessible. As my project would be all through different social media platforms I started my research into slow media. Influences that create slow media are able to present more high quality and researched content for their viewers which is something I felt was important. In this new module I am aiming to research the target audience and have a well thought out idea of the different demographics I will be engaging with. Meaning some of my consumers could be following my platforms with a bigger understanding of sustainability than others so I would be aiming to create content that would be engaging for lots of different mindsets.
Here (figure 1) I have added one of my moodboards from the last module from my research in surroundings and fashion. In this example I used sand and recreated them in a knit pattern. I enjoyed creating these samples and have continued from the beginning on the new module but it has shown to be very time consuming for the scale and direction I want to head in. I am still very interested in the concept and research on sustainable wool but I think this is something I could include in the education section rather than the making due to not having enough time.
Moving Forward….
Moving forward I have been reflecting on all the different aspects on my project and if all the different elements have a good connection and work well together. In this reflection I could see that the knitting element was not correlating as well as the other parts. I also found the knitting to be extremely time consuming and if committed to the chance of making multiple outcomes in knitwear might be unlikely. Continuing, I plan to step back from this and work more on developing the designing and textiles aspect. In the previous module I looked into Vivienne Westwoods work as I loved her designs from the 90’s which made me research into why consumers can become interested in past ears of fashion. I looked into Westwoods work more for inspiration into my designing which isn’t too relevant for my research in the new module. Instead I am going to focus on how I will be using my platform to inspire my consumers to make their own garments in the most sustainable ways. This means considering how I will engage with my followers, How I will film and post myself making the garments, and How I am going to keep my viewer interacting with my page and other posts.
To Conclude, I have reflected on each part of my last module to get a deep understanding of where I need to develop my work. To create a platform that will engage with an variety of different demographics will ensure that I have researched and understood who I am engaging with. I aim to have a understanding of the each consumer and what needs I should meet to ensure they are using my platform to its best performance. Creating a platform that is well thought out in its design, and posting style, and engagement fully recognizing my consumers values.
planning and organisation
Today was the first day back, and after discussing our projects in groups we were asked to go and work on the parts of the projects that need more development. For me, I first wanted to work on my Ghant chart as I feel I need to be as organised as possible. As well as organizing a time for me to work on my blogs as I find it difficult to maintain a good number of blogs. I am hoping to write a blog each time I come into uni and get into the routine of reflecting after discussions such as today’s tasks. In my ghant chart, I want to add more details to ensure I give myself enough time to complete each task. I also wanted to spend today to plan some more of the visual aspects of my project. Reflecting on the last module I feel that I still need to do some more research and experimentation with the types of photo shoots and aesthetics I want to show within my social media. I wanted to use my time to make some mood boards without too much intention with just things I like whether it be styling, colours, photography style and so on. I’m hoping that this will give me more inspiration for when I start creating photo shoots with concepts.
I have also made a calendar from today’s date to the submission date to ensure I stay organised and have a clear plan of how I’m going to achieve all my plans before the due date. Although this is similar to using the ghant chart having a calendar that I can hang above my desk will allow me to see how far away any important dates are and ensure I am always prepared.For this project, I have an extra two weeks for my LSP plan. However, I will be aiming to get my work done by the 3rd of May to give myself the extra two weeks to work and define my sketchbook. On my calendar, I have organised different parts of my project to ensure I have a balance. I have ensured that I have enough time to test photo shoots and videos I have planned whilst also establishing enough time to edit my outcomes ready to be uploaded on my social media. I also recognize that I struggle to keep up with regular sketchbook and blog developments so adding days for just sketchbook, reading, or research has been helping me keep track of all my work. So far this has been extremely beneficial in keeping me organised I have also been adding lots of notes to my planner of what I need to get done on certain dates in preparation for things I may be doing further in the week. Next, I will be making a social media calendar to ensure I am frequently posting and have an active social media presence.
planning and organisation
Today I started making my social media calendar, in hopes of keeping me organised throughout my studies. I have tried to keep in mind the other work I will be doing around the time as well as giving myself enough time to edit the content to a high standard. I want to create a social media page with a high-quality standard and well-thought-out concepts for my audience.
my main goal is to consistently post photography and videos that will attract my audience due to me doing enough research. in my AGP675 I began researching slow media which is something I am interested in doing for my social media plan. Slow media is a new style of posting which like slow fashion slows down the mass production of constant media. For my essay module, I looked into short-form content such as TikTok and Instagram reels and the effect it has on the users’ brains. This made my mindset on how I will be putting out my social media to my audience change. I think it is much more important to have good quality and thought-out content that will inspire my followers rather than lots of content which is not good quality. In My calendar I have added in days that I would aim to post by followed by which photoshoot or video I will be posting. I am planning to do multiple posts for photoshoot. For example, I plan to post four separate times for my photoshoot one keeping in mind that some singular posts will having multiple images. This is to add more value to that photoshoot and to avoid having to constantly be trying to create something more impressive as I feel this is not a sustainable process. To take this further, I feel that as my Instagram is a space for inspiration it would be beneficial to my followers to see more aspects to my shoot. This lead me to thinking about including more behind the scenes content on my highlights and stories. I want to create a very engaging platform and I think this would be an interesting way to show my ideas and inspiration to the audience. I would like to look at some other social media pages to see how audiences react in the comments to different types of posts.
My next steps will be to do some further research in my sketchbook into my target audience and what I should be posting to interest them. I began looking into this for my AGP675 sketchbook, but I still feel that it could do with some further development. Understand my audience is extremely important for how I plan to engage with my followers from how much I post to how I talk to them in the comments.
