The Gender Issue: Adonis

The Brief:
The theme for the upcoming issue to Nest is gender which can be interpreted in any way and in any format. The openness of this brief is intersting as it's up to personal interpretation so I can do whatever and focus on whatever issue I find appropriate. I've decided to make this a day brief in order to add some structure to quite an open brief. 

Research:
I'm currently looking at gender issue within COP3 and have previously looked at gender within level 4 and 5. This has given me a basis of research to build on. I've chosen to look at the adonis complex within this submission as I think this is a condition that needs to be discussed as I think its an issue many people aren't familiar with, as there is a stigma attached to men who have mental health issues as traditionally men are supposed to be unemotional and strong. 

The Adonis Complex/ Muscle Dysmorphia:
A specific type of body dysmorphic disorder in which a person, usually male, becomes obsessed with building muscle to the point where it impacts of his/her interactions with other, employment and self-image. 
TheFreeDictionary.com. (2018). Adonis Complex. [online] Available at: https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Adonis+Complex [Accessed 17 Nov. 2018].

The adonis complex is link to muscular dysmorphia which effects young men, they see them selves as being thinner/less muscular than they are resulting in excessive bodybuilding. This disorder is influenced by the overly muscular masculine ideals portrayed within the media. 

Designs:
Initially I wanted to demonstrate the kind of imagery portrayed within the media that contributes to the adonis complex, the portrayal of the ideal man who has a strong muscular physique. This image is often sold my magazines such as Mens Health who sell the idea of the ideal man in order to create insecurities (figure 1). However the mix of the magazine cover and typography is too much as the type gets lost against the type within the cover. Therefor I decided to focus on a typographic response in order keep the focus on the condition in order to spread awareness. I started to look at repeating the type to demonstrate the cycle of the condition as those effected never think they look muscular enough (figures 2-3).  The use of an expanded thick typeface (figures 2-3) demonstrates the extremes of the condition as the young men effected don't realise who 'big' they are, with thin outlines showing what they actually see when they look in the mirror. In order to explore this further I experimented with reflecting the type however this experiment was too busy, resulting in the type getting lost becoming illegible (figure 3). Therefore a simpler representation was looked at using a line to represent the mirror, however this lacked impact (figure 4).

The use of space was then explored in order to explore the drastic difference in appearance that those who fall within the adonis complex experience (figure 5-6). Experimenting with bold type at a small scale further shows the contrast between what is seen in the mirror and reality, however feel this more effective when outlines are used. However within these experiments the outlines get lost and look a little too simple (figure 5). This lead to incorporation of filled text reflected below the outlines to show the contrast more effectively (figures 7-10). The use of outlines version demonstrates what they see in the mirror, with the reflected filled type showing what they actually look like, however they can't see their real reflection due to the illness. In relation to the colours used, red has been used to highlight the dangers associated with this condition as it can lead to steroid overdoses and heart attacks (figure 5-6). The use of blue comments on the stereotypes associated with gender such as blue is for boys (figure 9). However the black and white (figure 10-11) allows the focus to be solely on the types and the effect of hiding the filled type is more successful on the black as its more difficult to identify than in other colour variations. 

The final submission will be figure 11 as this effectively showcases the the key elements of the adonis complex by highlighting the differences between what is seen in the mirror and what exists in reality. Although I thought the blue represented gender stereotypes more upon receiving peer feedback it was suggested the black was more masculine, showcasing the concept more as the type was more difficult to distinguish. 

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10 

Figure 11