TITLE:
Design Intervention: An Artistic Strategy (A Strategy) to Minimize Text Fading and Metal Commemorative Plaque Theft in Ghana
AUTHORS:
Ansah-Asiedu Junior, Mensah Fiifi Ebenezer, Vicku Charles, Samuel Nii Adamah Sampah, Henrietta Meakoa Barfi-Mensah, Anita Akwaa Toffah
KEYWORDS:
Commemorative Plaques, Strategy, Porcelain, Silicone Sealant, Anodized Metal
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Metal,
Vol.13 No.1,
March
3,
2023
ABSTRACT: The Commemorative Plaque Industry thrives at the hands of the local
craftsmen in Ghana. Techniques, methods, tools, and materials used as handed to
them by their previous masters have remained the same over the years. As a
result, plaques produced had peculiar problems such as text fading, degrading
the actual effect of the plaques. Additionally, metals once widely used for
making plaques devoid of text fading in the industry seem to have lost their
relevance due to metal plaque theft, rust on metal plaques, and the continuous
rise in metal prices. This research uses descriptive, experimental, and case
studies of the qualitative research method to examine the problems associated
with locally produced commemorative plaques. A total of hundred (100) artisans,
including metal scrap dealers, and plaque buyers, were selected for the study.
Direct observation and face-to-face interviews were conducted with the local
craftsmen, art lecturers and students, scrap dealers, and plaque buyers who
were purposively sampled for the study. The study revealed that existing materials
like ceramic and aluminium could be integrated innovatively to produce
commemorative plaques devoid of text fading; a corrosion-resistant text could
be made using anodized or coated metals used in smaller quantities to reduce
costs while also making them unattractive for theft and lastly, silicone
sealant was found to be a viable option for permanently inscribing text on
porcelain bases. The results clarify and underline the necessity to grow the
local plaque industry in terms of plaque production as another essential basis
to assure high-quality plaques with no text fading that will survive for
generations to serve their intended purpose.