Task 1
When looking for influential graphic design pieces, I personally wanted to look into how character and world design play into graphic design along with how they can be used to get across important messages. Not only can character and world design represent people previously unrepresented, but can also use powerful imagery to convery important messages.
One of the best examples I thought of as an influential piece was that of the X-Men comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in September 1963, the X-Men were made to be more than just the usual superheroes that were around. Instead, they represented minorities and how to stand up to racism. Beyond the usual hero vs villain stories, the X-Men stood up against blatant racism and presented a message to respect everyone, no matter the differences between people. In the 1960s, this was an incredibly important message to convey, especially when racism was still very present.
This is shown heavily in the characters and their design. Most of the characters have something that makes them stand ouit, for example Angel’s wings and Iceman being made from Ice. Along with this, actual groups are represented as well in the group, with storm being one of the first black characters in comics. While the messaging isn’t 1:1 with the real world, the design choices and what they’re trying to represent still come through well. This would continue throughout the many years as more X-Men would join the team.
The world itself is not too different from our own, with the difference being that superheroes and mutants exist. Despite heroes existing, most marvel comics didn’t reference each other unless it was a crossover, so they could all tell their own stories. The world design reflects the messaging, with multiple scenes reminiscent of real world protests and moments being used as inspiration.
When it comes to how much societal impact they had, its unclear how much they influenced the public mindset at the time, but its no doubt that they became famous and influential in their own right. This fame led to the comics being translated to other mediums such as tv shows and movies, spreading the message even further than its original source material. Beyond that, the X-Men have also gone to inspire other superhero teams, even in other marvel comics. An example of one of these influences would be the Inhumans.
The X-Men are still going to this day (as of 2026), with adaptations still being made and the X-Men appearing in the current Marvel Cinematic Universe. The comic line is also still going, with many famous stories being made over the years. While the comic mainly focuses now on the world of marvel and the continuing storylines, the underlying message that the X-Men was made to showcase is still present.
Task 2
I want to persue how Character Design and World Design play into Graphic Design, along with how Graphic Design can help towards telling an effective story. When design is used to help reinforce and spread the message of a story, it can often give people new outlooks. Because of this, I chose a game based around changing peoples perspective as my contemporary graphic design example.
Released in 2015, the game Undertale is an RPG (Roleplaying Game) based around the idea that you can spare your enemies. RPGs since their inception have revolved around the idea of encountering enemies, and killing them to level up. The idea of levelling up has gone on to inspire multiple different systems in games, and even outside of the medium. Undertale, however, flips the idea on its head by giving you the ability to spare enemies.
While Undertale may not have been the first game to have the option to spare or not fight, it is one of the only ones to have all of the design and world base itself around this choice. Most other games have it as an extra option that doesn’t impact the sotry, meaning any message that could be taken from it is lost. Undertale also shows the importance in how you can use design to change one simple option into an identity behind a product.
This is reflected in the graphic design, with the game looking very different from every other RPG before it. Along with this the character design reflects this change, by making them more friendly and unique, showcasing them as actual characters rather than creatures made to be killed. The game constantly uses people’s preconceived notions of what monsters should look like. It uses these notions to then spread its message of pacifism, and that violence is not the answer.
A lot of the advertising for the game was based around this premise as well, with the main tagline of the game being “the friendly RPG where nobody has to die!” All merchandising afterwards also focuses on a friendly feel, tieing in with the light natured message. The creator, Toby Fox, reinforces this light hearted nature online as well, with every advertisement and mention usually being humorous.
The game went on to not only make people think about the message about pacisfism beyond the game, but also inspired others to come up with their own. To this day however, Undertale is still one of a kind, and its creator, Toby Fox, has gone on to create another game with the same ability to spare enemies.
Personally, the game made me rethink my own view on people and how to go about life. Thanks to the game, I have gained a greater empathy towards many aspects of life and the world. And this is why I believe this game is a very important piece of contemporary graphic design. Because of its story and how the design reinforces it, I, along with many others, have not only challenged our thoughts, but gained newfound appreciation for pacifism and empathy.
Task 3
When we were put in a team, we immediately began discussing our target audience before thinking of any ideas. We decided on the 14-29 age range as we had the best idea of what young people need to be marketed, considering we are in that age range ourselves. Even if there are difficulties to marketing to a younger age range, I belived it necessary as we could use are own life experiences as examples.
From there, we began thinking on what to create. We began by looking at other similar projects in the field of getting people outside. Our first thought process was an alarm clock, as to alert people. We later decided this could be expanded upojn by making it a full step tracker app with an alarm clock function.
Beyond the app, we also decided some general social media advertising would be good to look into, along with posters. We decided on Tiktok, Snapchat and Instagram as the main targets as, from personal experience, they are extremely addictive so would need targeting the most. We decided the imagery of these ads and posters would benefit from real life imagery, along with some vector images. This would incorporate both of our skillsets into this project. Lastly, we came to the mutual decision of a sans serif font, to keep it friendly and casual, as to not antagonise anyone.
From there we both split the tasks between each other. My teammate would focus on greating vector imagery and icons for the app, and I would focus on poster making. We both made some prototypes and concepts from our previous ideas afterwards/
Overall, it was quite nice working with someone else and idea bashing with them. It showcased how working in a team can make the work load easier and each person has their own skills and experiences to add in.
Task 4
References
Undertale. (2015). PC [Game]. United States of America: Toby Fox.
Stan Lee, ‘X-Men’ (1963). Marvel Comics
X-Men. (2000). [DVD]. Directed by Bryan Singer. Toronto: Marvel Entertainment Group.