I’m Bodil, a book and identity designer from Trondheim, Norway, holding a PhD in Typography & Graphic Communication from the University of Reading. My research interest concentrates on the verbal and visual presentation of health messages on food labels dating from 1850 to 1970. Please read my blog and have a look at my work. Feel free to get in touch if you think there is something I can do for you.
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PhD | Today I have officially been awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Many thanks to the University of Reading and the Department of Typography and Graphic Communication for the opportunity to be part of the research culture. It has been a challenging and exciting journey with tons of knowledge, archival, structuring, discussions, thinking and writing, including a pandemic.
PhD | I was excited to enter Teams and the online viva voce examination with Dr Alison Barnes and Professor Eric Kindel today. It went well, and I enjoyed the conversation. After two and a half hours, they confirmed that I had passed and recommended that I would be awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, subject to minor amendments being made to my thesis.
Celebrating with Trine Neumann-Larsen at Britannia Hotel. Happy, exhausted and very proud.
PhD | Today, 16 May 2022, I submitted my thesis. Happy, relieved, exhausted and proud. In the next few months, I will prepare for the online viva voce examination to be held on Tuesday, 2 August 2022. I will be examined by Dr Alison Barnes, School of Humanities and Communication Arts, University of Western Sydney, Australia and Professor Eric Kindel, Head of Department, Typography & Graphic Communication, University of Reading.
Tomorrow is the Norwegian Constitution Day which will be a great day to celebrate in many ways.
PhD | I am working, reading, and writing everywhere; indoor, outdoor, in the library, in the department or cafés (when it is not lockdown) and getting closer to the final submission date…
PHD | Three years and five months on, after been reading, thinking, writing, searching, sampling, structuring, laughing, crying, wondering, discussing – including a year in lockdown – there are some indications –
it´s beginning to look like a thesis…
PHD | 13 February is my final research seminar at the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication. A paper is presented as a part of the seminar comprising a case study of food labels for milk and milk-related products. The presentation provides some of my findings regarding key social changes, food label design and health messages.
PHD | The Centre for Ephemera Studies is located in the Department of Typography and Graphic Communication and holds much exciting material from 1800 to the present day; from domestic and imported food labels to advertisements and posters. I have spent many hours in this room, going through each box at the time.
PHD | Spending one day in The National Archives, Kew London researching milk-related documents from the 1930-1950s; advertisements, letters and written communication between the Milk Marketing Board and various agencies. A huge and crowded place, many documents, a lot of information and many impressions. Some useful stuff – some not…
PHD RESEARCH / INSPIRATION | Bringing my Mac, books, many articles and proper shoes to Norwich for a few days to write, think, be inspired, walk, drink good coffee – write more, read more, think more, drink more good coffee
– an excellent way to be inspired.
PHD RESEARCH | The Ephemerist is a quarterly magazine published by The Ephemera Society in the UK. Issue No 186 is bringing together an eclectic group of articles on the theme of ephemera and Food and Drink. My research is presented as a timeline and shows examples of food labels from three periods: 1850–1918, 1918–1945 and 1945–1970. The study explores exchanges in their visual organisation in the context of key social changes, the discovery of the relationship between diet and health, label legislation and the regulation of food production.