Connections

a look into the process abigail timms graphic design one professor jane dorn glasses and hope strange connections

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graphic design: can I do it?

Concerns. Worry. Doubt. These feelings are definitely familiar, especially when it comes to art and design.

Coming from a background of self-taught art education, comparison is a very real temptation.

While I still struggle with these negative emotions, acknowledging them in this way and moving on is very relieving. I am not perfect, and there are probably many better connections to be made with these words.

But here is mine. My imperfect attempt at connecting a familiar tangible and visualizing an intangible.

brainstorming - visuals - process - solution

glasses and hope Glasses. Tangible. The immediate thought I had when I was assigned this word was a lifetime of blurry mornings and yearly visits to a doctor who tilts you back, places a bottle near your eyes, and opens them to inspection.

Years of “wow you really are blind” when trying on my high prescription. Style choices, good (currently) and bad (I’m looking at you, middle school). These are as familiar to me as eating or sleeping, glasses have been a constant in my life as long as I remember. The challenge occurs in the intangible connection.

Hope. Something felt, but not seen. An uplifting emotion difficult to express visually.

Here is my process of connecting the familiar burden with the invisible driving force.

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a list I made myself because I cannot ever remember what I need to do without a list

brainstorming - visuals - process - solution

brainstorming: when it rains, it pours It is crazy to think of how many ideas one brain can produce. So many thoughts and connections can originate from one organ in the body. But sometimes, this thinking machine feels stuck, and this is where brainstorming comes in handy. Thinking up ideas can be difficult, so periods of letting loose all thoughts and chasing all rabbit trails is extremely beneficial. These brainstorming sessions proved immensely helpful to my project, I was able to sift through all of the random writings and discover my connection.

where to go from here: a game plan After receiving a list of brainstorming techniques from Professor Dorn, I got cracking on creating a game plan for myself. I am a big fan of lists (more on that later) so it seemed obvious to me that a good first step would be to make a list of the brainstorming techniques I wanted to use. I constantly referenced this list, using it as a road map to keep me on the right paths throughout this process. I knew that once I’d crossed every technique off of this list, I would be on the way to a solution.

def-i-ni-tion: -a statement of the exact meaning of a word, especially in a dictionary Since I do not know anything about anything, I went to the best sources I could find to learn about the specific words my project is based on. Dictionary.com is a lifesaver, as well as online thesaurai and idiom lists. These pages helped provide me with keywords and the ‘lingo’ behind my project words.

brainstorming - visuals - process - solution

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brainstorming - visuals - process - solution

mind maps

Another one of my key techniques when brainstorming was mind mapping. Starting off with a central word and growing outwards allowed me to turn my mind off, and let the word association flow freely. I ended up with pages full of items, people, and emotions that all relate back to the centeral word. This exercise provided me with many metaphorical ‘roads’ to travel down and explore, leading to other connections.

listing it all out One of my next steps in brainstorming was making lots of lists! I am very much a list person in my everyday life, I cannot get any homework done without first making a to-do list. Checking items off of a list is so satisfying! So lists it was.

I made lists of famous pairs of glasses, lists of words associated with glasses, and lists (plus drawings) of categories of glasses. These pages helped me organize a lot of my thoughts, and also provided some key words to explore further.

brainstorming - visuals - process - solution

visual dump My next step in the process of this project was to accumulate visuals that inspired me. Early on in this step I created a specific board on Pinterest as a catch-all for any images I found that related to my two words.

Pinterest is my best friend. I also found photography on Behance and kept track of more images in Pocket.

brainstorming - visuals - process - solution

brainstorming - visuals - process - solution

hope in quotes hi hello this is where I collect quotes that I found ones that inspired me to find the poetry of hope the self-expression of an idea an emotion that we cannot see expressing the intangible in writing these are the words behind hope that help express the absence of it -a girl who doesn’t know what she is doing yet

connection one While searching idioms for glasses, I stumbled upon the phrase, ‘rose-colored glasses’. This connection clicked instantly, and I felt some traction begin for the first time in this project. I looked up the definition of the term and it made even more sense. The words optomistic perception seemed to perfectly tie together my tangible and intangible terms. During this research, I discovered that rose-tinted glasses are actually used to aid in some brain injuries, relieving headaches by filtering light. This application of the phrase enlightened me to the fact that rose-colored glasses does not only have a negative connotation.

Although this seemed like a pathway to a solution early on, I forced myself to put it aside and pursue other ideas before deciding on a route.

brainstorming - visuals - process - solution

connection two While brainstorming, I decided to turn to Pinterest to look for some visuals that would stimulate more ideas. After not finding many results when searching ‘glasses’, I went broader with my search. When I looked up ‘glass’, images of sea glass appeared. This made immediate sense in my mind. Sea glass is worn by the trials of the ocean, and given another purpose by beachgoers. Similarly, those who have gone through trials can find a new purpose for their struggles. However, this also did not seem like my final connection, so I continued to search for solution.

connection three My third connection came to me one day in class, after Professor Dorn encouraged us to take a left turn and research a completely different aspect of our words.

This inspired me to look into the science side of hope and where it originates. I discovered that the ‘hope trait’ can be traced back to a specific part of the brain, the bilateral medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC). The real connection occured when I realized that this part of the brain is located in the front of the brain, directly above the eyes. The fact that hope is located so close to one’s eyesight really stuck out to me. The idea that one’s viewpoint or the way they see things is connected to their amount of hope was what I decided to focus on when creating my final solution.

brainstorming - visuals - process - solution

decisions, decisions At this point in my process, I had about three solid and thought-out concepts, and a bunch of other ideas floating around. With the greatest motivator to college students (the due date) approaching, it was time to decide on a direction for my final solution. I struggled with connecting both my tangible and intangible words equally, and weighed the strengths and weaknesses of each idea before deciding on the best one.

final solution I have finally arrived. My connection has been completed. The final solution arrived when I began to focus in on the idea of viewpoints and the lens one sees the world through. Through all of my research, I discovered how closely this lens is connected to one’s level of hope (or really any emotion). Upon fully realizing this, I began to want to help those without hope. The opposite of hope is despair, which leads to many manifestations, but a central one being depression.

I realized that I wanted to try to help those who have depression, providing them with experts that can help them see through a new lens. Specialized counselors that help those who suffer from depression ‘put on’ a new pair of glasses and see their situations more clearly, with the intent of bringing about hope. This concept manifested itself in a company, Insight. A counseling service that connects those suffering with depresson to those who can help them find hope. I created a logo for the company, along with an interactive website, with the intention that this will be a first step in a positive direction for those who do not have hope.

link to website: https://abigailetimms.wixsite.com/insight

brainstorming - visuals - process - solution

brainstorming - visuals - process - solution