Graphic intervention: interrogating newspaper design as a site of social construction

In 2004 The Age newspaper proclaimed that it is 'The world's most liveable newspaper'. This proclamation firmly situated the newspaper in the realm of the domestic. To be classified as liveable, a shelter or structure must be deemed fit to live in. It must facilitate a sense of ease and a moderate degree of comfort. A liveable setting provides its occupants with a sense of security and control as well as the confidence to invite others into that space. This liveable structure in turn becomes a social structure. When we are comfortable and confident with the quality of our setting, we invite others in, forming social networks, which provide companionship and community. This Masters project investigates how graphic design systems and structures influence and shape our emotive and social relationship with society. It examines how graphic design within ephemeral artefacts of the everyday, such as the newspaper, gives visual expression to social myths, shaping narratives of ordinary people's lives into soap operas, which we consume voraciously and somewhat unconsciously. By analysing how design functions within the newspaper, framing, interpreting and emotionally manipulating everyday tragedies such as love triangle murders or, what is here termed modern, gothic tales, this thesis seeks to highlight the role of design in cultural and social production. It uses a series of exhibitions and publications to critically interpret and rework the formal and communication strategies of newspaper design to reveal how graphic design can be used as a strategy for cultural intervention. The central aim of the project is to challenge the anonymous, if not unseen, nature of graphic design and its central role within the media in shaping popular and consumable images of community and citizenship.