Floor-thesis outline

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Thesis outline proposal

Invisible environmental impact of publishing

A guide in the shape of a thesis for self-publishers to understand the environmental impact and costs of resources when you publish online & in printed matter. This is a research on the different ways of how self-publishers add to the climate chaos, showing materialistic research on colors used in printing processes and giving an overview in examples in projects exposing the ingredients of their production means to get a grasp on the hidden material side of publishing and how to improve them.

⧼Introduction⧽

In the introduction I will reflect on the three questions of my thesis. Why they are important to me and how they influence the struggles of production in self-publishing. The goal in my thesis is to materialize the publishing techniques I personally use in self-publishing. I choose on purpose to showcase hybrid publishing methods; in digital and printed matter for their similarities in the abstractness of resource use.

¿Question 1: How to address the hidden material side of publishing?

For the first question of my thesis I would like to show and reflect on the rabbit holes of eco friendlier publishing. How do the tools, platforms and materials that I use as a self-publisher have an effect on the carbon footprint? For this I would like to browse through the hidden sides of energy usage, showing the complex systems of the publishing tools I use. To answer this question I focus on the design of the solar powered website that Roel Roscam Abbing developed for Low-Tech magazine. The projects use of dithered images and being designed in plain html opens up a conversation on the ethical use of light web-design in it's storage use.

¿Question 2: How to de-abstract the material side of the digital realms?

To understand better the material side of the digital tools, platforms and media used in publishing it is necessary to understand the physicality of computers in it's resources. When typing on Open Office, using Photoshop or any other digital program it is impossible to understand all the abstract computing that is needed to create these tools. To give a little insight in this process (a little because computer resources include besides the hardware, also the energy consumption in shape of carbon, data-centers and labour) I would like to show the most used elements inside computer hardware and highlight a few in their origin.

¿Question 3: How to understand colors?

In this question I would like to delve into the world of pigments and colorants used in publishing techniques. To answer this question I would like to expose the abstract view on colors used in publishing, in inks and common art supplies, to show the distance between the origin of the resources and the consumer (self-publishers). I would like to give an answer on what is cmyk?

⧼Conclusion⧽

An analysis and self-reflection on the findings + reflections and making use of the findings in the end-result of this thesis design.

WHY

To document the role as a self-publisher and its consequences on environmental problems. As a self-publisher I feel the need to research on these consequences and solutions inside the field, tools and reflect for my own design practice, which could be interesting for other self-publishers too.

Methods:

Researching for databases, (b)logging self-research in light weight-html pages, analyze examples of publishing projects. Searching for existing tools. Reading a lot of texts.

Timeline:

↻November/ December. January: Searching, categorize and creating overviews on examples in publishing, tools and databases.

↻December: Reflect on findings and keep a (b)log in the shape of html pages.

↻January: Make try-outs in alternative designs that embody the outcomes of research so far.

↻February/ March: Shape all findings in the form of a guide.

References:

☯︎1. Trienekens, S., 2020. Participatieve kunst. Gewoon kunst in moeilijke omstandigheden. Rotterdam: V2_Publishing.

☯︎2. Thompson, N., 2017. Living as Form. Socially Engaged Art from 1991-2011. Hong Kong: The MIT Press.

☯︎3. Cegłowski, M., 2015. The Website Obesity Crisis. [online] Idlewords.com. Available at: <https://idlewords.com/talks/website_obesity.htm>.

☯︎4. Gabrys, J., 2014. Powering the Digital: From Energy Ecologies to Electronic Environmentalism. [ebook] New York and London. Available at: <https://www.jennifergabrys.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Gabrys_ElecEnviron_MediaEcol.pdf>.

☯︎5.Jacobs, R., 2018. ARTONAUTEN, op expeditie in het antropoceen. Rotterdam: V2_Publishing.

☯︎6.Olof, C., 2017. O, wonder, magazine #1, on green culture. Amsterdam: Drukkerij Raddraaier.

☯︎7.Temporary services/ PrintRoom., 2018. What problems can artist publishers solve? Rotterdam: Temporary services/ PrintRoom.

☯︎8. Roscam Abbing, R., 2018. How to build a Low-Tech website: Software & Hardware. [online] homebrewserver.club. Available at: <https://homebrewserver.club/low-tech-website-howto.html>.

☯︎9. Myers, D., 2014. The Color of Art: Home - Pigments and Paints. [online] Artiscreation.com. Available at: <https://artiscreation.com/> [Accessed 22 November 2021].

☯︎10. St Clair, K. and de Vries, A., 2017. Het geheime leven van kleuren. 9th ed. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff.

☯︎11. Delamare, F. and Guineau, B., 2000. Colour. 6th ed. London: Thames Hudson.