Melbourne Central – A Media Audit

Most likely, as a seasoned inhabitant of a bustling metropolis, you give absolutely no thought to the constant bombardment of media that you sometimes unknowingly wade through during your morning commute. Thus, I present a survey of all the types of mediated interactions/communications encountered during a casual stroll through Melbourne central.

Up high:

• Art installations

• Advertisements for various brands in the form of conventional print signage, LCD & LED displays showing news and ads. You can read the full list of brands in Melbourne Central here.

• Informative signs (exit, entry, utility, warning)

Mid-ground:

• Atms featuring the bank insignia and most recent add campaign on the LCD screen

• Tryout products at consumer electronics stores – notably the Samsung store

• Logos on clothing being worn by members of the public. This is probably one of the more surreptitious mediation. (This is a mannequin by the way)

• NFC enabled digital signage. NFC (Near Field Communication) allows your phone to gain information from such signs by simply tapping a phone on the glass (only works with NFC enabled Phones)

On the ground:

• Ads for clothing (in the form of tape adhered to the floor)

• Tactile studs for the vision impaired

In one’s hand:

• Mobile phone notifications: Messenger, texts and social media notifications. (Checked 5 times)

• Bottle of water with branding

 

Background (Audio and visual):

• Chatter from the public. Evidence of unmediated interaction between people.

• Clock bell – denoting the time of day through various numbers of gongs.

• Various shops emitting ambient music – Relaxes/enthuses the shopper to keep shopping.

• Also interesting is how things can catch you from the corner of your eye; jumping out from the peripheral blur.

 

In reflection:

It is clear that we are bombarded constantly with many types of mediated and unmediated information. Chances are, you never actually sat down and thought about exactly how much, and when one does this, the results are surprising. It is interesting to note how proficient our brains are at filtering out unimportant information. Interesting and lucky, as it seems such an information tidal wave, without such filters, would drive anyone crazy.

All photos and audio by Michael Firus