Drawing on the Commons

Co-creation for activism

This is a 3-min talk about my fellowship work that I gave at Ford Foundation in NYC in May 2019 – since September 2018 I had been hosted by Creative Commons as a Mozilla Fellow, which is funded by Ford Foundation – so this serves as a final report in a way.

Contents

Formats

Links & Credits

Video

Slides & Text

Title slide showing picture of my face and the title: "Drawing on the Commons - digital co-creation for activism" by Sam Muirhead
illustration of the Wall St bull being lassoed or reined in by multiple ropes, with the word 'OCCUPY' in the center.
‘The Beginning is Near’, © Alexandra Clotfelter | Booklyn Artists’ Alliance, https://booklyn.org


Illustration is a wonderful medium to tell stories, or spark the imagination.

A still frame from the 'Message from the Future' video: a hand reaches in from the bottom of the screen, and paints a figure in a scene where young people are working together on environmental cleanup
‘A Message from the Future with Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’ | Image © Molly Crabapple | The Intercept, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9uTH0iprVQ


Rather than just showing what exists, you can communicate the better future you’re working towards.

The word 'but...' in the center of the image
An illustration showing an artist is on one end of a balance, and a bill with a large dollar-sign on the other. The balance is tipping towards the bill.



…creating effective campaign images is often expensive and time-consuming for small NGOs or community groups.


and ubiquitous stock images or generic icons aren’t always representative or relevant to the audience.

An image is the perfect way to communicate…

Animation: an image of Grumpy Cat is shown, unchanging, while representations of text and data cycle through different changes - different colors and typefaces, and the words 'hi', 'hello', 'hola' and 'olá'

… a mood.

But unlike text or data – which can be restyled, updated, or translated – images tend to be pretty inflexible.

illustration of an oval mirror, facing the viewer

As a viewer, seeing yourself reflected in campaign imagery can be very powerful.

a sequence of 3 illustrations: 1. a client and an illustrator are planning an image containing 4 people. 2. The illustrator has drawn the people to look exactly like the client and the illustrator - the client is very happy with it. 3. This image is used in a poster advertising 'diversity'

but by default, an image will reflect the biases and perspectives of the creator.
No image is neutral, and if you’re excluded, you notice.

4 'Illustration Challenges' are listed, with icons that refer back to the previous illustrations: 'Resources', 'Relevance', 'Flexibility' and 'Representation'


So there are a number of challenges facing any organisation who wants to create engaging and focused illustration for their campaigns.

Illustration: this time the 4 people all look quite different from one another, and there are 4 hands reaching in to draw each person - their skin & sleeve colors match the drawing they are creating


I think there’s a huge opportunity in opening up the process of creating images to a much wider range of people, and also making customization as easy as possible.
That way activists are able to visually localise their campaign message and put themselves in the picture.

Illustration: a web browser is shown displaying the words 'Online Collaboration + Vector Graphic Images'


The web provides us the tools to do this – co-creating images in the browser could be as creative as a jam session, or as productive as hacking on a google doc.

The Creative Commons logo is shown, with the title 'My Work'


In my work with Creative Commons, I’ve been developing an online tool l which enables their local chapters to customize simple design templates.


This is just a basic example,

A button with an upload icon, along with the text 'Upload Any Illustration', and a simple monochrome example of a landscape image


but in fact they can adapt or remix any vector illustration to share their message.

The words 'Collaborative Workflow' are in the center of the image. Arms enter the image from from all sides: there are 6 different people, with different colored clothes and skin tones, collaborating in different ways. One is outlining an idea, represented by a lightbulb, others are making comments, others are drawing, others are pointing to elements in an existing image

It’s designed to be collaborative, with different ways to participate, allowing a wider range of people into the artistic process than is usually possible.

A map of the world, with people passing images from one continent to another. One person stretches out on their tiptoes, over the ocean,  to pass an image from Chile to someone in Aotearoa New Zealand. Somebody in Ethiopia discusses an image with someone in India

If you have an international network of people working on similar themes, any chapter could use and build upon work from elsewhere in the network, so you don’t have to create all your own imagery from scratch. This saves time and allows each chapter to focus more on the unique aspects of their particular ‘translation’.
My aim is to enable activist groups around the world to directly change the content of illustrations, to better reflect their community and local needs –

a stylised baobab tree is shown on the left. An arrow points from the baobab to an oak tree on the right, styled in the same way.
Swap out elements


so, a baobab tree in Tanzania could become an oak tree in England.

Illustration sequence: An image of protestors in front of and on top of the White House in the USA. They have hung a banner saying 'Climate Justice' on the building. On the next image, the building has been replaced with the Casa Rosada in Argentina, the banner says 'Justicia Climática' and the positions of the activists have been adjusted to fit.


The White House could become the Casa Rosada, its equivalent in Argentina.

a group of different people (including one designed to look like me) is discussing  something together, sharing their ideas and writing/drawing on paper together


Alongside the digital work, I’ve been running workshops to show people how they can express their goals with visual communication.
These workshops are designed to foster collaboration, where participants get a taste of the thrill you feel when your own work is adapted into a context you might never have imagined.

a screenshot of the CC-Create discussion forum, surrounded by images of artists interacting - a photographer is taking an actor's picture, a painter is approaching someone playing guitar
CC-Create Artist Network

I’ve also founded an international community of artists who are already using creative commons licenses, who are interested in remix and customization, and keen to share their knowledge with others.

Subtitles and simplified illustrations that refer back to the previous slides: 'Digital Tool', 'Workshops' and 'Community'
Building (on the) commons


All my work – the workshops, my digital tools, and these images I’ve been showing you are built upon the work of others, remixed, and adapted to my purpose, then shared as commons for others to take further.

Credit page – see below for plain text version

This allows me to achieve more, because I don’t have to start from scratch. and by offering activist groups the collaborative tools to express themselves, I’d love to help more people do the same.

Text Version

Illustration is a wonderful medium to tell stories, or spark the imagination.

Illustration: the Wall Street bull being lassoed, or reined in, by multiple ropes, with the word ‘OCCUPY’ in the center.

Rather than just showing what exists, you can communicate the better future you’re working towards.

Illustration: A still frame from the ‘Message from the Future’ video: a hand reaches in from the bottom of the screen, and paints a figure in a scene where young people are working together on environmental cleanup

But… creating effective campaign images is often expensive and time-consuming for small NGOs or community groups, and ubiquitous stock images or generic icons aren’t always representative or relevant to the audience.

An image is a great way to communicate a mood.

But unlike text or data – which can be restyled, updated, or translated – images tend to be pretty inflexible.

As a viewer, seeing yourself reflected in campaign imagery can be very powerful.

Illustration: an oval mirror, facing the viewer

But by default, an image will reflect the biases and perspectives of the creator.

A sequence of 3 illustrations:

  1. a client and an illustrator are planning an image containing 4 people.
  2. The illustrator has drawn all of the people to look exactly like the client and the illustrator – the client is very happy with it.
  3. This image is used in a poster promoting ‘diversity’

No image is neutral, and if you’re excluded, you notice.

Challenges

So there are a number of challenges facing any organisation who wants to create engaging and focused illustration for their campaigns:

  • Resources
  • Relevance
  • Flexibility
  • Representation’

I think there’s a huge opportunity in opening up the process of creating images to a much wider range of people, and also making customization as easy as possible.
That way activists are able to visually localise their campaign message and put themselves in the picture.

The web provides us the tools to do this: online collaboration, and vector graphic images. Co-creating images in the browser could be as creative as a jam session, or as productive as hacking on a google doc.

My Work

In my work with Creative Commons, I’ve been developing an online tool l which enables their local chapters to customize simple design templates:

Description: The tool features a gallery of heart-shaped Creative Commons motifs, featuring different national flags – a CC network member from Chile can select a design which features horizontal stripes, such as the Ecuadorean flag. They can then delete unnecesary shapes, change the colors to fit their own flag, add a dark blue rectangle and a white star, and move or resize shapes to create a Chilean Creative Commons motif. This can then be downloaded and used in stickers, web imagery, buttons, and more.

This is just a basic example, but in fact they can adapt or remix any vector illustration to share their message.

It’s designed to be collaborative, with different ways to participate, such as adding comments, replacing elements or making suggestions, allowing a wider range of people into the artistic process than is usually possible.

If you have an international network of people working on similar themes, any chapter could use and build upon work from elsewhere in the network, so you don’t have to create all your own imagery from scratch. This saves time and allows each chapter to focus more on the unique aspects of their particular ‘translation’.
My aim is to enable activist groups around the world to directly change the content of illustrations, to better reflect their community and local needs – so, a baobab tree in Tanzania could be swapped out for an oak tree in England.

The White House could become the Casa Rosada, its equivalent in Argentina.

Sequence of 2 illustrations:
An image of protestors in front of and on top of the White House in the USA. They have hung a banner saying ‘Climate Justice’ on the building. On the next image, the building has been replaced with the Casa Rosada in Argentina, the banner says ‘Justicia Climática’ and the positions of the activists have been adjusted to fit.

Workshops

Alongside the digital work, I’ve been running workshops to show people how they can express their goals with visual communication.
These workshops are designed to foster collaboration, where participants get a taste of the thrill you feel when your own work is adapted into a context you might never have imagined.

CC-Create

I’ve also founded an international community of artists who are already using creative commons licenses, who are interested in remix and customization, and keen to share their knowledge with others.

Building (on the) commons

All my work – the workshops, my digital tools, and these images I’ve been showing you are built upon the work of others, remixed, and adapted to my purpose, then shared as commons for others to take further.

This allows me to achieve more, because I don’t have to start from scratch. and by offering activist groups the collaborative tools to express themselves, I’d love to help more people do the same.

Credits:

Mozilla Fellowships: foundation.mozilla.org/en/fellowships
CC-Buttons tool: cc-buttons.hashbase.io / gitlab.com/cameralibre/cc-buttons
Work-in-progress – new multi-purpose version of tool: gitlab.com/cameralibre/svg-jam/-/boards
CC-Create artist community: discourse-dev.labs.creativecommons.org
More reading on representation & diversity in illustration: gitlab.com/cameralibre/mozilla-fellowship/blob/master/Representation-and-Diversity-in-Illustration.md

Credits:

Based on works under the Creative Commons Attribution license (CC-BY)
Humaaans by Pablo Stanley, and images from The Noun Project:

Bill – Danil Polshin
Baobab – Olena Panasovska
Pointing – Jeff Portaro
Camera – Pedrovisc
Oak Tree – Sigra
Image – Noura Mbarki
Cobweb – Kemesh Maharjan
Computer – Yorimar Campos
Revolution Fist – Jarem Frye
Cobweb – Maria Zamchy
Glasses – Danny Lelieveld
Theatre – b farias
Loudhailer – HeadsOfBirds
Guitar – Ainsley Wagoner
Bear – aurora rubio alonso
Grumpy Cat – Arancha R
Upload – David Glöckler
Pen – Zlatko Najdenovski

CC-BY-SA Sam Muirhead & Judith Carnaby
Editable Source Files: is.gd/fordfellows