Here we have it!! My Digital Artefact: An ethnographic exploration intp the world of aesthetics

Script:

INTRODUCTION – Alex Intro bit: Ethnography is defined as the study of a particular group of people, wherein their customs, habits, and everyday life are researched through various methods of observation and fieldwork. Similarly, autoethnography is when one analyses their own personal experiences to gain a better understanding of different cultures (Adams et al, 2015).

Kira Intro bit:  The term ‘aesthetic’ can refer to various things, and in this circumstance, it refers to the appearance of some form of content. The aesthetic of something assists in establishing a style, tone, mood or in the case of social media, it helps illustrate personality. From a theoretical standpoint, aesthetics is closely aligned with the philosophy of art, which  explores the nature of art and how individual representations are evaluated or interpreted by others (Scruton & Munro, 2019).

Exploring aesthetics was a media niche Christine, Alex and I were quite interested in and so we have ethnographically explored the Almond Milk aesthetic. This aesthetic generally comprises photos with shades of whites, creams and light browns, giving it its coffee like appeal. Observations of this aesthetics are primarily shown on platforms such as Instagram or Pinterest. Due to the colour scheme of this particular aesthetic, images typically consist of sandy beaches, historical architecture, coffee cups and linen. The almond milk aesthetic creates a positive and calming connection and is the main reason we chose it as our media niche,

Chrissy Intro bit:  As there are three of us working together, we split the research into three main questions. We each investigated one question pulling our research to form the basis for our digital artefact. I will be focusing on question number one. My main focus is to reflexively answer why all three of us are drawn to the Almond Milk aesthetic. Alex will be researching question number two. Her main focus will be to understand why there is such a big following on this particular aesthetic. Lastly, Kira, will be focusing on question number three. She will research what the audience would like to see when it comes to subject matter of the image. These three questions, when answered, will give us a better understanding of our media niche.

“Because of technological advances, which have made it possible to create, access, and disseminate visual images far more easily and cheaply than ever before” (Al Zou’bi et al) 

The almond milk aesthetic is present across a wide range of social media platforms but has the strongest presence on Instagram. As ethnographers must immerse themselves within the culture, we decided to make our own Instagram account called @almondmlk.co. We uploaded photos that adhered to our aesthetic which allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of our media niche by observing the experience of people that interact with our page, as well our own experiences. By doing this we gained a deeper insight into our respective focus questions by looking through an interpretivist lens. Throughout our research we were able to further develop our Field Site Maps as pictured in the following slides. 

Kira – Research bit: My focus area for our digital artefact was investigating what our audience wanted to see in terms of the image subject matter. This embodied what was being photographed and what edits, for example, colour and composition, were most appealing. To answer this research question I had to adopt an interpretive lens as the world of aesthetics is a subjective topic. How you or I perceive an image will not be the same as how others like your friends or family will. Within a few weeks of posting on our Instagram account, it became apparent patterns existed with the types of images our viewers were most drawn to.  From this, we understood travel-based images and coffee images were highly popular as we observed them receive greater likes. 

After gaining a closer look into our audience, we posted several polls on our account to observe why certain images were appealing and how they made the audience feel. Images with warm tones created a positive and emotional connection with our audience.  Coffee images may be our most appealing image to viewers as it conveys a social activity; and for myself, coffee is something that brings me happiness. Our viewership was of a similar demographic, sharing similar characteristics such as gender and age, therefore, this shows why they may hold similar views. From this data, we can confidently say the Almond Milk aesthetic features images of a welcoming and relaxing nature.

Alex – Research bit: To answer my research question, I had to observe the presence of the almond milk aesthetic on Instagram, as well as conduct secondary research into the field of aesthetics in general. I found that all of the images have a similar colour scheme, featuring brown and beige tones, which are soft colours that are not too loud. I also noticed that the images being posted to social media had a pattern in terms of the contents. The top 13 reoccurring photos include images of coffee, fashion, books, interior design, architecture, make up, art, pets, perfume bottles, accessories, beaches, fabrics, and food. Something these posts had in common was the simplicity, and the air of relaxation, which is something that is consistent within the almond milk aesthetic. This aesthetic is different to the usually chaotic nature of Instagram. But why do people enjoy this?

Secondary research highlighted that aestheticization assumes existential projection. In other words, aesthetics turn an image into something that is existentially significant to the viewer in a way that allows them to experience the opportunities of life in the most appealing way (Orlov, 2020). This coincides with the paradigm of interpretivism, that emphasises seeing the world through the eyes of the people being studied by taking into account the audiences’ ideas, ways of thinking, and what they consider important (Chowdhury, 2014). This relates to the concept of ethnography (Pham, 2018). The almond milk aesthetic features images that portray a sense of relaxation, and comfort, and the brown tones add to this feeling. And so, my proposed answer to why the audience likes this aesthetic, is because of the significance to the viewer. The images each symbolise a simple and soothing lifestyle, which is why it is so popular, and why the photos categorised under this aesthetic are so pleasing to look at.

Chrissy – Research bit: Slide one: In order to answer the question, “Why does the aesthetic appeal to each of us” I had to reflexively answer this as well as uncover Alex and Kira’s reasoning. Images that we all agreed on and found appealing were then posted on our Instagram page to then see how the audience would then respond. There was a recurring theme within the images that appealed to each of us most, which can be broken down into three key parts: Subject matter, visual composition and emotion.  

Subject matter pictured in the images that pleased us most included coffee, architecture, literature, fashion and lifestyle. The visual composition of the most appealing images had a similar colour palette where brown was most predominant. The image itself was simple and the lighting throughout the images depicted a sunny day. Our most liked images stirred up an emotion within us. The commonly felt emotions when looking at the image included its ability to make us feel calm and relaxed, warm, peaceful and a sense of joy. The images also had the ability to make us feel nostalgic as they reminded us each of an old memory.

Sources highlighted that an aesthetic experience encompasses an affective process of aesthetic judgement and emotion experienced with an image (Dorothee et al, 2012). This coincides with the reflexive paradigm as it allows for a personal evaluation of aesthetic images as they have varying terms of perceived pleasantries, enabling different emotional responses amongst each individual (Kätsyri et al, 2012) relating to the concept of auto-ethnography (Thomas, 2014). The almond milk aesthetic has provoked a positive emotional response between Alex, Kira and myself. 

Through my observations, I noticed that images of travel induced emotions of longing for a relaxing getaway, whilst images of various fabrics stimulated a calming and warm feeling. Images as such are very prominent within this aesthetic, and all have a similar tone. These images made us feel both relaxed and peaceful, and these emotions are prompted even more when the photos are collated together to form a cohesive feed. And so, the answer to the question of why this aesthetic appeals to us, is because of the calming emotions evoked within each of us.

CONCLUSION – To conclude, through both ethnographic, and auto-ethnographic research, we were able to provide some answers to the questions we sought out. The almond milk aesthetic provided us with insight into the world of Instagram aesthetics and its audience, which we will remain a part of.