STUDIO BRIEF 2// How to Become Pope/ Hierarchy Research

Video by a historian looking into how the Catholic churches clerical hierarchy works.  Unsurprisingly I think any cult or religion works in pretty much the same way and the Catholic Church has the biggest congregation of them all. It is also the most successful in institutionalising a major religion, truly taking full power over the belief system and tailoring it it its own needs to perpetuate a powerful source of wealth and control. Creating a Hierarchy for my own cult will allow me to create a deeper and more powerful narrative behind how the cult works and operates.

STUDIO BRIEF 2// Cult Handbook Indesign

I started the design of the booklet with the Van De Graff Canon. I used this because of its history in the making of old religious texts. It will also help fix my layout to allow for room for thumbs and fingers on this small scale. Each leaf will be A6 and a DPS, A5, so it is important that room for the hands holding the booklet is made.

I have also put together this Church title for the title page on the inside of the booklet.

The grid layout that is a result and fits within the canon is very simple with an outlined space for the written tenet and a space for the associated pictogram to fit in.

 When the content is entered it fills the whole page easily despite the small amount. This is due to the printable area and layout limitations imposed on the already small page size. I made sure the layout of the content remained simple and consistent, as the handbook will be received by new recruits and simplicity is key for their conversion. 

The title page is laid out like that of a more recently printed holy book. It's purpose is to allow the cover to remain purely for the foiled logo. This is how many religious books are presented, relying on simple imagery on the cover and more detail inside. The Logo cover is also a reminder of the power of the brand within servatology.

 I have also added a smaller logo to the head of every page. This symbol flows through the book and by appearing on every page the reader is reminded of its symbolic importance. It also represents the cults God so by appearing consistently it re-enforces that panoptic notion of an omnipresent God.

 The final page reads:

If you are not a member of the CHURCH OF SERVATOLOGY you will never be saved. Come with us today and journey to the REALM OF ETERNAL SATISFACTION. Having read and accepted these few traditional teachings in your heart you have become a true Knower, However you will never enjoy the spiritual peace of SERVATOLOGY until you attend our spiritual guidance courses. Find your local spiritual guidance counsellor at:

www.servatology.org/paidmembership




The purpose of this final page is to round up and summarise the message of the booklet. The text throws out a few threats of torture for eternity and generally asks the reader to join the cult. At the very end is the web adress to those interested in joining to which I added the page title 'Paid Membership', noting that the cult charges for entry and is in fact a money making scheme.

The Cult Handbook is 20 pages long, I will print the inner pages black on white stock and the outer on black stock which will then be laminated with a golf foil. 

STUDIO BRIEF 2// Pictograms Research

Pictogram from the Barnbrook Bible, these are a set of pictogram criticising the Olympic games, mainly their consumerist nature and links to large multinational company funding. Barnbrook is famous for criticising capitalism as long as he isn't working on a big housing project in Japan or something. I will produce my own set of pictogram for the cult handbooks guidelines. I will however have to develop a slightly different style and perhaps even simply the illustrations. At the same time there is an established visual language for these things so they will have to imitate the norm in some way.

STUDIO BRIEF 2// The Cult Handbook Pictogram Set.

The Aim of the Cult Handbook is to explain the basic beliefs and tenets of the Church of Servatology Cult to any readers. The target audience will be people out shopping in busy shopping centres or town centres who are interested in Praising a God of Commercialism and consumerism whom controls Tv adverts to issue sermons on what his followers should be buying next. The Cult handbook will simplify this massage and contain a few jokes and satirical references to other religious beliefs about life, death and the afterlife.

The Pictogram

1. We must worship the digital age God, SERVŌ, whom controls screens.
-Image of an angry god figure.
-Dominates globe in size and aggressive persona. 
-Has a screen for a head.

2. On screen advertisement is actually a vision of heaven. Fact.
-Sexualised Diet Coke ad. 
-Simple 'new thing' advert. 
-Visions of a consumerist heaven. 

3. SERVŌ wants us to be happy. SERVŌ wants us to live in a perfect world, where everybody who is perfect can be free and happy. 
-People like you may find in an advert and accepted into heaven.
-Out of shape and undesirable people are excluded for not being the perfect image portrayed by advertisment.

4. SERVŌ is always watching you, as you should always be watching SERVŌ.
-Simple panoptic message. 
-God is watching your actions and judging you.
-Watching screens shows devotion in Servatology.

  

5. When saved Humans and small house animals die their spirits and souls go to the REALM OF ETERNAL SATISFACTION, where they spend eternity by the side of SERVŌ.
-Names heaven for the first time.
-Includes small animals to satisfy childish desire for eternal life.
-Shows dead Servatologist ascending into heaven.   

 6. We must all surrender ourselves to SERVŌ by following his every instruction if we wish to be saved and visit the REALM OF ETERNAL SATISFACTION when our Earth-lives end.
-Group mentality bought up.
-Conform or be judged by society. 
-Praise of an Idol of Servo is depicted.
-Surrender of free though and self determination.

 7. SERVŌ guides us spiritually through his onscreen sermon, roughly every 15-30 minutes on most ‘Saved’ channels.  
-Explains practice of watching tv to receive sermon straight from God.
-Depicts Servatologist watching advert during ad-break to determine what to buy next. 

  

8. SERVŌ also invented the Internet. Fact. SERVŌ uses the internet to spread his message 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week, through GoogleAdSense.
-Explains practice of surfing the web and seeing adverts, also gods message.
-Subtly hints towards cults links to public relations and advertisement industry. 

  

9. In the REALM OF ETERNAL SATISFACTION, SERVŌ, will give us a perfect form. Our bodies will be clear of Toxin’s and Blemishes and our hair will be Smooth and Silky.
-Tenet uses language employed by cosmetics companies to sell products with worthless advatages over competition.
-Female holds up tray of cosmetics on platter, raising them to holy status on how to behave as a servatologist.

  

 10. When the Saved reach the REALM OF ETERNAL SATISFACTION, SERVŌ, will provide never-ending Diet Coke and Burger King Big Whoppers. Fact. 
-Wild and improbable claim, although most religious claim heaven will have everything they ever wanted, what's the difference here?
-Backed up with imagery satirically looking at the way fast food is presented in advertisement, healthy, nutritious and tasty.   

  

11. SERVŌ Loves you. If you disobey SERVŌ he will trap you forever in the LAND OF ABERRATION with other layabouts, freeloaders, atheists and communists. 
-Two possible pictogram options. 
-First, those considering we are equals are sent to hell in Servatology. 
-Second, same principle but with one character rejecting capitalism, one rejecting religion and one considering all humans equal being the main candidates for Hell. 

12. In the LAND OF ABERRATION you will be tormented forever by fiery hot death and Facebook rape for all of Time.
-Another wild claim, thought that it may be pushing the cult to far, however which idea is really more insane? That a person could be tortured forever with fire or with facebook rape. Equally unbelievable in my opinion. 
-Depiction of a man being burnt alive with a pc monitor of his facebook rape falling on his head.

 13. SERVŌ is showing us a vision of a perfect Earth. One which we could all be part of if we only followed his simple commands. 
-Screen shows classic idea of the 10 commandments with a Servatology twist. 
-Again a group is depicted beneath the powerful commandment screen. 

 

 14. When SERVŌ tells us to consume we must consume. SERVŌ is Infallible. 
-Final pictogram sums up overall message.
-Shows character following exactly what the screen (god) tells him to do. 

STUDIO TASK 2// Other Mock-Cults

Like my own cult there are a few other examples where a group has created a mock cult to raise the question of religion and ethics in a skeptical light. The first example here is Epsilon, a cult invented by rockstar games which appears in their Grand Theft Auto series. The cult is usually used as a piece of background material to give more depth to the in game world however it may play a more pivotal role in the next game as some Epsilon promotional material has surfaced in the last few days.

Firstly this screensaver and promotional video has been released. The cult appears to be heavily influenced by scientology in its use of colours and font. The video explains the 12 Tenets and 12 Goals of Epsilonism with repetitive music and text based delivery.

The cult makes wild and seemingly pointless claims throughout the videos and backs them up with the world 'FACT'. This is a reflection on the way certain religious beliefs are backed up, i.e. 'The Bible is true because it says so in the Bible'.

The cult also makes very vague claims that are used to confirm faith in the cults process. Any specific details are left out which relieves the cult from any responsibility to actually perform or deliver on any of their promises.

The cult uses exaggerated forms of existing and established religious beliefs to mock and criticise those who hold them in real life. A creationist would argue that the world is only 6,000 years old, this cult satirically asks; this is just as ridiculous as saying 'its only 157 years old'.

With the promotional video came a website. The Website is very simple, stating only praise for the cult and two tabs labeled 'Give Money'. The site is a criticism of cults, like scientology, operating as businesses with the tax benefits of charities. The website uses a shade of blue aimed at appearing peaceful and truthful and Kifflom, the leader, is presented as a wealthy and powerful renaissance era character.  
http://www.epsilonprogram.com/

Another mock religion is the Church of the Flying Spagetti Monster. The aim of the cult is to point out that their own beliefs are no less unprovable than anyone else's. They re-appropriate religious artwork for their own use and have grown into a fairly powerful skeptics movement. They have no real belief system, obviously, however they dedicate their website to praising the Spagetti Monster and his Noodly Appendage, any hate mail they receive and general skeptics discussion.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/9940397/Church-of-the-Flying-Spaghetti-Monster-vow-to-take-Poland-to-European-court.html

They considered an official religion in some European countries and you can even become a FSM Minister for $30 giving you the right to perform marriage ceremonies.

STUDIO BRIEF 2// The Name and 14 Tenets of the Cult

I have chosen to name the Cult SERVATOLOGY. This is taken from the name of Servatologies God, Servō which means to 'watch over' or 'maintain' in Latin. The 'ology' means the study of or science of the aforementioned topic. The idea here is the the god is watching over the followers and their dedication to the cult, The cult is also focused around examining and studing Gods message on screens. The names meaning is slightly obtuse but I borrow this misunderstanding of Latin from the Church of Scientology, the 'science of science'. 
I have also decided upon a set of tenets, these will be beliefs and practices that the Cult performs to please Servō and travel to the Realm Of eternal satisfaction. The tenets explain the cults beliefs from their own point of view without analysing them in any critical context. I thought this would be important to produce before bashing and criticising the cult to give some depth to the cult as a story rather than just an idea. 

The tenets also set in stone for me the main principles of the Cults belief system so that I don't have to theorise on different ideas any more. I can just get on with producing the Books.

TENETS

1. We must worship the digital age God, SERVŌ, whom controls screens.

2. On screen advertisement is actually a vision of heaven. Fact.

3. SERVŌ wants us to be happy. SERVŌ wants us to live in a perfect world, where everybody who is perfect can be free and happy. 

4. SERVŌ is always watching you, as you should always be watching SERVŌ.

5. When saved Humans and small house animals die their spirits and souls go to the REALM OF ETERNAL SATISFACTION, where they spend eternity by the side of SERVŌ.

6. We must all surrender ourselves to SERVŌ by following his every instruction if we wish to be saved and visit the REALM OF ETERNAL SATISFACTION when our Earth-lives end.

7. SERVŌ guides us spiritually through his onscreen sermon, roughly every 15-30 minutes on most ‘Saved’ channels.  

8. SERVŌ also invented the Internet. Fact. SERVŌ uses the internet to spread his message 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week, through GoogleAdSense.

9. In the REALM OF ETERNAL SATISFACTION, SERVŌ, will give us a perfect form. Our bodies will be clear of Toxin’s and Blemishes and our hair will be Smooth and Silky.

10. When the Saved reach the REALM OF ETERNAL SATISFACTION, SERVŌ, will provide never-ending Diet Coke and Burger King Big Whoppers. Fact. 

11. SERVŌ Loves you. If you disobey SERVŌ he will trap you forever in the LAND OF ABERRATION with other layabouts, freeloaders, atheists and communists. 

12. In the LAND OF ABERRATION you will be tormented forever by fiery hot death and Facebook rape for all of Time.

13. SERVŌ is showing us a vision of a perfect Earth. One which we could all be part of if we only followed his simple commands. 

14. When SERVŌ tells us to consume we must consume. SERVŌ is Infallible.

STUDIO BRIEF 2// Idea Boards Imagery

 Here are some of the visual ideas I am exploring for the cult, I am considering to expand the cults reach from just advertisement to all things you see on a screen. If I took this step this would mean that anything from advertisement, news, political broadcast to comedy and drama was programmed by an all powerful God trying to formulate the way you think and the ideas and beliefs that you pick up through this media. The lore of the cult would change significantly If I continue forward with this Idea however it could bring up some interesting questions about the way we perceive world events and our own place in the world by the way we are presented with the 'facts' on tv and the internet. An example would be that the digital god has fabricated a Tv government that changes the way society is run for the 'Greater Good for the Greatest Number'.

 Example of how this new idea could flow on the internet, with new news every few minutes in this domain of screen based media the Digital God could fabricate world events to bend and manipulate your outlook on other cultures and general world view. He could also continue to positively represent big business.

However this expansion of the original idea treads very closely to the 'one government' conspiracy theory, which could confuse the Cults message. Additionally the God of this expanded cult would never really be seen as a good God in any capacity, whereas the original God of consumerism could easily be praised by people who wish to live by a hyper actively consumerist lifestyle. In the original Cult of Consumerism celebrities could be fabricated on screen visions of perfect humans beamed to followers for guidance on how to live a holy life. I could produce adverts with satirically placed or subliminal cult messages to order followers to consume more products.

In the Consumerist Cult the panoptic gaze is important as it will be made clear that not only God but everyone is watching you strive for perfection. The cult could be associated with fashion and health trends as well as misguided messages about the health benefits of fatty snacks. The cult could even contain hidden links to PR companies in its lore. These are all things that could give more depth to the cults history and belief system. It would be interesting if people like the Kinder kid could be saints in the Cults belief system, praised for having achieved this perfect human status that members strive for.

WHAT IS GOOD?// Barnbrook Visual Identity

When Barnbrook isn't heavily criticising multinationals or capitalism he designs visual identity for cosmetic companies and housing projects in Japan. I have been looking at these because they give an insight into the amount of trial and experimentation that goes into designing a new visual identity, and also how he prefers to present his ideas to a client. The writing about the process is also interesting and the way that the idea goes from concept to final production is interesting to see here. Despite the hypocrisy of this book is it interesting to see the way that a designer like this works and the shear number of identity options he has presented to the client. Although I am more or less set on my own design it would be great in the future to really experiment further with this and take it to another level.

STUDIO BRIEF 2// The Cult Logo Part 2

 This is the second version of the Cults logo and will be the one I use moving forward. The logo is a combination of a human eye and an electronic power symbol turned on its side. The eye contains all the same connotations as in the previous Logo, that of the 'all seeing eye' and the panoptic gaze combined with the added technological symbolism of the power button. The cultists will be watching screens for most of their days when they are not out shopping so the symbol will become very important to them.

I also realised that the old logo was not much good after the last crit when It was criticised for trying to look to much like a satire of a cult, therefore reducing its effectiveness at actually being a satirical cult logo. The old version was also bad design-wise and was far too complicated for its purpose. These logos need to be easily recognisable, reproducible and simplified by nature, also with the added message of my specific consumerist cult, the logo should appear to be more of a mega-brand identifier than a creepy secret message.

In contrast this new logo works as a religious symbol and also as a piece of branding and promotion, whilst retaining a level of hidden meaning and cult belief.

STUDIO BRIEF 2// The Cult - Basic Ideas

Summery: The Cult Basics

-We are controlled by a digital age God, who commands screens. On screen advertisement is actually a vision of heaven and the cult members surrender themselves to this cult and its God in return for eternity in this realm. (Free will vs Fate)
-Everyone is ‘touched’ by this ‘being’ but many do not realise; these are the ‘Unsaved’. (Like Native Americans met by Spanish Missionaries). These are people who watch Tv/ Play Games/ Internet, News etc, But do not know that a higher power is formulating what they receive to control them. 
-Followers of the Cult are therefore enlightened to the gods power, these people are called the ‘Knower's’. -The advantages of joining:
    -Surrendering life/ responsibility of actions to Higher Power.
    -Reward of Material Gain in life.
    -Reward of everlasting life in the Kingdom of Eternal Satisfaction upon death.

To Clarify; people who raise up through the Cult go to heaven where they can spend eternity living in the perfect world portrayed by on screen advertisement.

The digital God Controls everything you receive on your screens in a fabricated universe, where you live in your own bubble and wider world events are fabricated to control your own behaviour, attitude and beliefs within this area.

The god knows and can see everything you do in your on screen life however actions are not considered if you accept him/her as the one true god, you will be forgiven and will be allowed entry into heaven. If you are one of the unsaved, God, will judge you based on what you saw on screen in life, you could get into Heaven or be sent to Hell.


Other Themes (Could be incorporated)

-Tech Fairs/ Ad awards etc are secretly mass pilgramages.

-Followers must pay to progress up ranks+Have more wealth in Heaven

-If someone spent as much time praying each day as we do looking as screens, they would be massively devotional.

-Higher ranks are clearly taking advantage over lower ranks, through fear and manipulation.

-The faceless smiling mannequins you see on screen will be either representatives of the higher echelons of the Cult or Angels. People from fashion/ beauty/ food ads. The Kinder Egg kid could be the Supreme Watcher or a small angel for example.

-I want to work in aspects of many world religions as well as specific little beliefs that rasie out of these, on top of the evil empire cultist stuff you see in Scientology or the Cathoilc Church.

-Perhaps tech companies or those specifically based around screen deliverables could be akin to knights templar or some other form of hardcore order/ section of the overall Cult. 

-Social Media and the Internet has allowed for more control to seep into everyday life, also allowing the God to find out more about you for judgement, whilst re-enforcing control with more visions of heaven seen in advertisement.  


Cult Hierarchy

Supreme Watcher - 1
(The Supreme Seer/ Videntium)

Aldermen - 10
(Cardinals)

Level 3 - 10
(Bishops)

Level 2 - 50
(Priests)

Level 1 - 5,000
(Paying Members)

Knowers - 23,000
(Followers/ The Flock/ Saved)

Unsaved - Aprx 7 Billion
(For they do not know, Derogatory: Drones)

Suppressive Persons - 2.5% Pop.
(Heratics)


The Cult hierarchy is based on the hierarchy of the catholic church as well as the church of Scientology and the Mayoral system of the City of London. The suppressive persons is a level given anyone Scientology deems a problem for their faith for example, and the different levels of membership is also found here. The Aldermen are a tier that is borrowed from the City of London and the overall idea of a clear Hierarchy comes from the catholic church with institutionalises religion like no other faith.

3D VA ICONS RESPONSIVE// Toolbar Research

I want to break away from the last generation of icons in this brief and make a set of icons that follow more modern versions of what they represent. However looking back at these older icons from the creative suite can help me with basic ideas and concepts as well as showing me what shapes work well at such a small size and which ones don't. This is the most important part of this brief, that I can appreciate that I am designing Icons for a tiny scale and they need the same level of functionality as the ones above.