Visual thinking unit two
Introduction This book is to document the journey undertaken in this unit, Visual Thinking. Focusing on extending our visual awareness as well as examining semiotic realationships found within words and the environment; to aid this experimentation numerous workshops, lectures and seminars will be attended to reinforce this ideology whilst broadening my understanding of the larger aspects of the project. Culminating in a collection of work which will be linked within a single body of work. In addition to this, a written piece will also be submitted, centered around the notion of propaganda and ethics set within a chosen designer and/or design agencies work.
VISUAL THINKING / 001
Adam Hassen Arts University Bournemouth Level 4
VISUAL THINKING / 002
VISUAL THINKING / 003
Contents The Model
005
The Postcard
025
The Letters
035
The Exhibition
051
The Trip
055
The Lectures
061
The Workshops
067
The Anatomy of Type
073
The Bibliography
074
VISUAL THINKING / 004
The Model This chapter explores the beginnings of the project; myself and Alexandros Kosmidis had to approach a given letterform and find a creative outcome that reflected a word beginning with said letter within a 3D format. To begin with we created a simple brainstorm of words, this however proved difficult, the use of a dictionary opened up many more possibilities.
The words
Octopus Origami Organic Ox Oxygen Open Olympus Overbaked Ozone Orange Odyssey
VISUAL THINKING / 005
The associations
mould/plants/soil/ natural material/curving appearance/loose/undefined landscapes/waves/ illustrations/mazes/journey journey/epic/greek/myth/ pattern/story
Initial sketches for the odyssey concept, drawing on pattern and iconic greek imagery. These essentially were to see if the concept worked, decided not to go with this theme as it didn’t aesthetically meet our needs as well as being overly complicated, something that wasn’t wanted. Additionally, I don’t think enough thought was given to how we would transform this into a 3D piece, we were limiting ourselves by thinking within a print mind-set; this concept in that respect pushed us into thinking more creatively.
VISUAL THINKING / 006
VISUAL THINKING / 007
(Above) Research into the subject of ‘organic’, looking at architecture, letterforms, and organisms. This informed our design for this section as it gave great insight into the structure as well as key characteristics of what it is to be organic. (Left) Experimenting with the word ‘overbaked’, although it communicated the word fine, it was felt the outcome was far to simple and didn’t demosntrate an understanding and deprth we felt was required.
VISUAL THINKING / 008
VISUAL THINKING / 009
The above images illustrate the process of making the design seen on the left into a 3D model. As the design was already an illustrator file the process was simple; we simply uploaded the design to the laser cutter, acquired some MDF with a 6mm thickness and cut five pieces out. These were then glued using a wood based PVA and clamped in place until set. As the process was very simple, we took the oppurtunity to experiment with various outcomes; we tried to give the model a more wood like texture by placing a sheet of plywood that matched the shape on top. However, this made the piece to thick, immediately detracting from the piece as a whole; we thought best to keep it simple. (Left) Beginning with a basic ‘o’ I warped the bowl of the letterform and slightly adjusted the baseline to give a more undefined shape. The counter I left untouched, as I wanted there to be a clear connection with the letter it had originated from. This was the design chosen, it illustrates key features associated with the term organic, and is aesthetically pleasing.
VISUAL THINKING / 010
The images on the left illustrate the final outcome, once the pieces had been glued together to form a solid object, we had to treat the MDF with a sealant, allow it to dry, and then begin to sand it down. Resulting in a smooth and polished final piece; I feel the piece reflects the nature of organic very well, in its shape in particular. That being said, I do feel we rushed into creating this model, once we developed the shape we liked, we jumped on it! Not leaving any time to possibly develop the shape further or try out alternative forms. However, the next stage in the development did see an increase in contextual thinking in that we experimented greatly with many different concepts and ways of representing the organic nature of the model. The process of deciding on a theme and creating the work we have really challenged the way I am used to working.
VISUAL THINKING / 011
Usually I jump on the first concept that comes to mind and work on that; although knowing this is bad practise, it is something I have begin to do over and over. However, I know this is restricting improvement in my work and as a result of this project I feel I have begun to improve on it. Working in partnership has definitely allowed me to expand on this, we were constantly bouncing ideas of one another, as a result we acquired many concepts to work with. By extention, this piece of work has shown me the bigger picture within design, in that I don’t have to restrict myself to working solely with a digital or print based mindset and that I can begin to explore the 3D aspects of design. The next spread illustrates two of my favourite images. allowing the model to stand undisturbed whislt the background echos the theme effectively. Looking back the composition of the shot could have been improved by taking the shot from an angle, to expose the nature of the model (pg. 014)
The other image (pg. 013) shows how with the use of organic matter, in this case moss, I was able to mimic a naturally occuring growth of sorts. I think it worked effectively, and reflected the characteristics of our chosen word well; it was on the table to be taken forward but for reasons of practibility we chose not to.
VISUAL THINKING / 012
VISUAL THINKING / 013
VISUAL THINKING / 014
These images illustrate myself starting to think about organic outside the asscoiated terms of food. Here I have begun thinking more so about organic within the landscape, therefore clean and natural envronments; placing them in the landscape, I felt would better reflect the chosen theme. Although this oppurtunity did produce some usuable imagery, I felt that these particular images were very unclear, and disrupted the form of the ‘o’. There are to many factors to concentrate on and the loss of clarity I thought detracted from this set; that being said, it did focus my mind on what was needed and the outcomes I expected, thus allowing me to better orchastrate the following shoot.
VISUAL THINKING / 015
VISUAL THINKING / 016
This set of illustrations demonstrates a possible branding exercise I had undertaken in the interest of taking this project forward on to something else. Playing around with the idea of natural, organic objects, I combined both the model in its 2D format and this found imagery to create these; possibly for numerous food products or natural produce. I think the outcome was sucessful and I belive there is something there to expand on; I do however need to come up with a context to place them in. That being said, these can be seen as the foundations for something I can work on in the future.
VISUAL THINKING / 017
VISUAL THINKING / 018
VISUAL THINKING / 019
Moving on from the work within the landscapes and organic theme, it was suggested Toby Tinsley’s work (Left) may be of some use to our project. After looking into his work, I was really interested in his work, especially how he has constructed the lettering in his imagery; it has acted as inspiration into how to communicate the theme through the model “literally”. Tinsley’s ‘Decay’ piece sees the type mimic that of the object that is present, however, the type also is ‘doing’ what it is saying. Although this is visually very interesting, the context is different from our own design idea, that being said, it does open up ideas I hadn’t thought of in terms of how I present my work and the methods I choose.
VISUAL THINKING / 020
VISUAL THINKING / 021
Through exploring Tinsley’s work we had decided to try and approach the way in which we photographed the model in a drastically different way. By hanging the model we reduced any shadow, allowing for clean cut and clear images; by extention, doing the photoshoot in this way makes the editorial work much simpler, as the background is a flat colour with no interference, adding a background or additional scenery is made that much easier. Perhaps to link better with our word ‘organic’ this method can be applied within a forest landscape, or within a similiar context.
VISUAL THINKING / 022
Henry Moore Moore’s work was suggested to us due to the organic nature of his sculptures. Certainly, the above has many characteristics that can be related to that of an organic shape, the setting as well also plays apart in this; as the majority of his work is seen to be placed in open, natural places. Key aspects such as those mentioned if applied to our own work may better its’ placement within its theme.
VISUAL THINKING / 023
Here you can see I have photoshopped the model into a forest background to give the impression it is a much larger, realistic sculpture. I feel it has worked, but would require much more work; the background may need to be changed as the model looks out of place. Additionally, the lighting may need to be altered, as it doesn’t quite match that of the background image; we are moving forward with the concept, although feel that more attention should be given to the process of hanging the model, as this will yield more interesting imagery in my opinion.
VISUAL THINKING / 024
The Postcard This section looks at the design of a postcard that promotes our model in relation to a graphical term. We struggled with this in terms of choosing our ‘word’, as we initially kept going with our original theme of “organic”, however, we were later advised that this may not necessarily be a graphical term, therefore we decided to go with the word “offset”. Down the line however, my partner wished to stick with the organic theme whilst I wanted to keep going with the “offset” concept. These pages will illustrate the process.
VISUAL THINKING / 025
(Below) Illustrates an example of an ‘offset’ piece of type, often encompassing the CYMK spectrum of colours. These colours are slightly off the baseline to create an image in which there are several of the same characters overlaying each other.
Definition • A consideration or amount the diminished or balanced the efect of an oppisite one. • The amount or distance by which something is out of line. “Oblique” refers to an alternate term for italic, or a term descriptive of a right-leaning change in the posture of the character in a particular typeface. “Orphan” in typography, the last line of a paragraph when it is less than one third the width of the line. “Offset Lithography” the most common form of lithogrphy in which a printed image is transferred first to a rubber blanket, and then a blanket that transfers (offsets) the image to the paper or surface.
VISUAL THINKING / 026
This spread illustrates a series of experimentations, showing the process of offset. By painting the model in various colours, and applying pressure on to sheets of acetate the results yielded some interesting results. VISUAL THINKING / 027
VISUAL THINKING / 028
VISUAL THINKING / 029
This was my outcome to the postcard brief, focusing on the word “offset” I set about creating a simple illustration of the word through the use of the model. The lack of colour, reinforced by the dull greys and darkness of the model itself I feel makes for a serious piece, one that gets straight to the point. I accomplished the effect by overlaying the same image adn slightly adjusting the baseline of each; reducing the opacity also allowed for the underlying image to be seen causing the effect seen.
“The world is getting so small, and mass production is getting so big. Everything is in danger of becoming the same.” - Laura Marling
(Right) The quote was the one to feature on the front of the postcard and is a direct attack on the use of mass produced machinary; by extention the use of the offset lithography process. As the postcard carried a serious tone, I wanted the quote to be of the same nature. That being said, I did struggle with the placement of the text on the postcard, trying to fit the quote within the borders provided whilst not hindering the image was difficult.
VISUAL THINKING / 030
VISUAL THINKING / 031
This was my partners outcome to the postcard brief, focusing on the word “Organic”, although I was keen on the idea initially my enthusiasm for this concept declined in later weeks, pushing me towards the “offset” route.
“Shapes are fundamental in the study of art and design. Organic shapes look natural and have curves. They are asymmetrical and usually associated with things from the environment.”
That being said, I can see it has its merits, making for an effective image to be placed within the context of a postcard; I feel however, the background and the model don’t work together as it stands; that there needs to be much more work for it to be complete. Better intergration in to the background may help with this. (Right) The quote I think is to long, and straight up tells the viewer the word in which the postcard is trying to represent. With a few adjustments I think it would work fine, the placement on the postcard however, would take alot more work. As it is such a large quote, it takes impact away from the main image.
- Eric Gill
VISUAL THINKING / 032
Above illustrates one of two postcards, this one showing the “offset” route. This is my favourite out of the two as it carries a serious undertone, and one that comments on our world today, especially within our society. By extention, I enjoy the simplicity of the image and the dull arangement of colour adds impact to the quote; that being said, the positioning of the text could be improved, I tried placing it within the frame of the image, but it didn’t look right to me, the above seems to be the only alternative other than placing it on the back.
VISUAL THINKING / 033
Above, is the second outcome of this section, continuing from the last chapter, the use of organic has influenced the design. Personally, i’m not to keen on the layout, the bold title I feel is drawing my attention away from the rest of the design, and again, the model seems out of place with the background, there needs to be something that integrates the two, such as some leaves or moss growing on the structure.
VISUAL THINKING / 034
The Letters This chapter explores vernacular letterforms found within Poole, for this section of the brief we became a group of four; myself, Alexandros Kosmidis, James Marshall and Etty Flynn explored Poole and its back alley streets to find a range of diverse letterforms within which to create a collective lexicon. Our aim as a group was to be as abstract as possible in our findings to give our book a unique feel, I strongly feel we achieved this and that the work produced was of sound quality. The following pages illustrate our findings.
VISUAL THINKING / 035
VISUAL THINKING / 036
The 3D type book gave useful insight into noticing letterforms within an urban landscape; These two images stood out to me because of their abstract nature, as well as their coherency. They are ordered in a way that is appealing to the eye, almost as if in a grid structure. Although the letterforms our group collects will all be different, the way in which they are presented can allow for a unified look to the piece, similiar to what is seen here.
VISUAL THINKING / 037
VISUAL THINKING / 038
VISUAL THINKING / 039
The complete lexicon featured in the final book, all the letterforms were found in and around Poole town centre. Images by - Etty Flynn, Alexandros Kosmidis VISUAL THINKING / 040
VISUAL THINKING / 041
VISUAL THINKING / 042
VISUAL THINKING / 043
VISUAL THINKING / 044
VISUAL THINKING / 045
The above was perfect bound, creating a seamless finish; with the addition of a french fold technique, the process incorporated two completely new skills to me. The process of the former is illustrated in the previous pages, as well as (left); once the pages had been printed we folded them in half by aligning the crop marks on a light box. As the Lumbeck press had already been secured, we placed the sheets in the press and clamped them in place. Bending the sheets allowed the application of archival PVA into all the areas insuring a securely bound end piece; the sheets were turned upright and mull was placed over the top, more PVA followed and it was given time to dry. The front cover followed a formula of measuring specific aspects of the book, such as the dimensions from cover to spine and so on. Once these were all recorded, the cover could be cut and placed on top; I found the process relatively quick and effective.
VISUAL THINKING / 046
VISUAL THINKING / 047
VISUAL THINKING / 048
As we had a few problems with the outcome of our book, pages not being aligned etc, we had decided to create a stop motion in which the entire book can be seen and thus these imperfections less noticeable. As a whole, the group were pleased with the outcome, I find it is a fun and effective way to show the entire book. (right) illustrates a series of photographs taken from the stop motion, in total there were over 100 images to be stitched together. When compiling the images, problems arose whislt altering the colours, wherein they differed from image to image; this involved changing each individual picture so that they would match. Although this was a time consuming task the end result yielded a great result!
VISUAL THINKING / 049
VISUAL THINKING / 050
The Exhibition This was a one day exhibtion named “For the Love of Graphics� which aimed to compile a collection of graphical collections, prints and artefact; these were then curated and displayed by students. It brought together the entirety of level four, to consider composition, space, lighting within the context of an exhibiton space; the range of objects were amazing, demonstrating a varied interest in the subject.
VISUAL THINKING / 051
VISUAL THINKING / 052
VISUAL THINKING / 053
VISUAL THINKING / 054
The Trip A one week trip to Berlin allowed deep insight into the cultural heritage as well as exploration of numerous galleries. This was my first time in Germany, and I really enjoyed it, the amount of art everywhere is refreshing and the deep history to be explored allowed for great insight into the past as well as towards current studies. The Hamburger Bahnhof was a gallery I visited not knowing what to expect, I was taken back by certain elements of the gallery, especially so by the sound installation; this however was a small part of a massive gallery, which explored many aspects of art and design. The East side gallery gave great insight into the political and cultural exchange in Berlin, a one and a half kilometre stretch of politcal graffiti giving life to some of the most controversial subjects about today; this being one of my favourite spots in Berlin because of its politcal statements!
VISUAL THINKING / 055
VISUAL THINKING / 056
VISUAL THINKING / 057
VISUAL THINKING / 058
VISUAL THINKING / 059
VISUAL THINKING / 060
The Lectures Transmedia This lecture by Paul Roberts from Illustration explored the concept of transmedia, the storytelling or narrative through objects. It was an intersting discussion about co-existing and adaptation, how within the media images exist in relation to the written word, the title to an image being an example of this. The lecture explored how audience and interaction are linked, as well as the notion of storytelling within the context of the world wide web. By extention, how this may be of use within the increasingly contemporary media. The concept of convergence I found quite interesting, the idea that society want more and more things in a single device - think iphone/ipad.
The Parenthesis explores the concept of three distinctive sections, within which can be seperated by societies trending towards books and electronics.
All in all I enjoyed this lecture, it exposed me to things I had never heard of before, and it was executed in a manner I found memorable and fun.
The idea that we are now entering a post-parenthesis phase in which the dominance of books is fading and the importance of reshaping and sampling within the media is growing.
Whist I feel it didn’t have an immediate impact upon my studies, it has given good advice to the world we live in, and how things operate; which in the future I think will be invaluable.
By extention, the notion of convergence within the online world led us to the topic of Slenderman. Beginning with a myth, people began believing it through this online community; by allowing many people from all across the globe to “converge� and talk, it started to become something more than a story. (right) image of slenderman.
The speaker then went on to speak about the Gutenberg Parenthesis.
VISUAL THINKING / 061
VISUAL THINKING / 062
Notions of Taste This lecture by Kirsten explored the relationships we hold with objects and how we place value with these items, by extention how the consumerist culture influences these decisions. This was one of my favourite lectures, it explored the constant pressure we are under by branding and advertisements, and how we have become a society bent on buying things we don’t need, that we are buying into trends. To be visually aware, and to respond with our money, this concept of “Neomania” the need for the new; I found very interesting, as I see it as a direct by-product of Western culture today. This was also brought into the context of brands and how they market themselves; with the London riots being highlighted as a big problem for Addidas which saw many of the rioters wearing their clothing.
VISUAL THINKING / 063
The discussion then turned to “Kitsch” items such as those (right), and why society places value on such things that seem to be there for the pure novelty. Using examples from the MoDIP collection as well as others, we were asked “what we consider to be good and bad taste” and how this affects both our cultural and social identities. Additionally, we explored the modernist ethos of “less is more” within the social contexts of today, I found this to be a particularily interesting, more so due to its comment on our consumerist lifestyle. The seminar saw us being split into groups to examine the many objects we had earlier seen in the lecture. We then had to compile detailed entries for an object we liked and another we weren’t to keen on, from this we discussed the notions of taste to a greater degree.
I learnt alot from this lecture, it has made me consider the objects around me and how I perceive them. By extention, it has made me more aware of design movements such as Modernism and how they relate to the subjects covered.
VISUAL THINKING / 064
The Power of Persuasion This session aimed to explain the “This organised promotion of inner workings of propaganda, misinformation” I found an and explain to us what it is, and interesting concept, in that it is why it exists. Drawing from a not only restricted to warzones, diverse range of contexts and but is seen on a day to day basis communications, it explored through advertisements and “notions of mass manipulation and branding. persuasion”. By extention, this led on to I found this lecture to be my imitative learning; the process in favourite out of them all, the which people copy others, even discussions around ‘subcouncious to the extent of their behaviour, manipulation’ and the politics known as “reinforced behavior”. surrounding these issues I found This amounting to human very informing. It illustrated to me programming. the three key catagories within propaganda, “black”, “white” The seminar was a group activity and “grey” each with its own which saw us come together meaning within the context of the to pick out a key area within truth. propaganda and to explore this further. This culminated in to a The discussion then turnt to look presentation, in which we shared at the concept of censorship, the our findings. manipulation of facts and the omitting of information as key tactics used by a propagandist.
VISUAL THINKING / 065
This lecture taught me alot about the social idiosyncrasies of today, within the context of propaganda; by going in depth in to the methods, of exactly how these things are done and to what end, made for an interesting talk.
VISUAL THINKING / 066
The Workshops Digital Letterpress The workshops took place over a period of weeks, and were focused within Graphic Design, Illustration, Visual Communication and Fine Art. They allowed the coming together of students from each course to interact and begin to understand the different courses and the way they work. I took part in the Risograph printing, Silk screen printing and the Digital letterpress. Of which is documented in the following pages.
VISUAL THINKING / 067
This was the first workshop to be undertaken, and focused primarily on the process of digitising a traditional letterpress, through the use of the LetterMpress software. The benefits can be seen straight away, in that the outcome is near enough to that of what you would expect from a letterpress without all the hassle of getting the right tone of ink etc. Additionally, the process was really easy to follow, to setting up the letters, inking them and getting the results. In addition, the process was relatively quick and simple allowing for many designs to be produced in a short time scale. In future, I will definitely be using this program again.
VISUAL THINKING / 068
Silk Screen Printing This was one of my favourites, which I intend to use throughout the course; the process allows for many of the same design to be made at once, each with its own uniqueness. The last point is something which draws me to this style of working as you never get the same thing twice, that and designs can be interwoven to create complex designs. Once you have your design, in black and white, you apply some oil to the paper and then the design is placed on a screen to create the stencil. With this, you set up your station, secure the stencil and begin applying the inks. It did take a little time getting used to applying the right amount of pressure, as to little and the print came out faded, to much and the design was ruined.
VISUAL THINKING / 069
The process however, is time consuming, there was alot of time spent waiting around for things to dry before being able to use them again. As well as the fact that multiple screens are needed for the more complicated designs, which adds to this problem.
VISUAL THINKING / 070
Risograph Printing This workshop saw us individually create a poster for a band using a Risograph printer; once the design had been done, it was complicated at first to how the printer worked. In that it didn’t operate as a normal printer does, having a colour over another even on an alternative layer meant they would combine to create another shade. Therefore, masking had to be done to the imagery to ensure flat tones; my piece however didn’t take use that technique, instead preferring for the colours to overlap. I would liken this process to that of screen printing in that the outcome is similiar in some ways, each print is unique and carries a nice look; this one however is much quicker to produce and the quantity is large per print.
VISUAL THINKING / 071
I went in to this workshop not knowing what to expect, and was really happy with the outcome, it is definitely something I would like to try again in the future. That being said I feel I would need to read more into the process to gain a better understanding of how the process and machinary work. As when I went to print, I followed my peers, not knowing fully what I was supposed to be doing.
VISUAL THINKING / 072
The Anatomy of Type
Ascender Cap Height
Cross Bar
offseting Counter
X height
Aperture
Stem
Baseline
Bowl
Descender
VISUAL THINKING / 073
The Bibliography Cookman, L. (2012). Amazing Macro Mould. Available: http://dontpaniconline.com/magazine/arts/heikki-leis. Last accessed 29/02/14. Morris, G. (2014). Organic Letterform. Available: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/142074563219376307/. Last accessed 29/02/14. Etherington, R. (2009). Organic Architecture. Available: http://www.dezeen.com/2009/05/20/3d2real-by-ilekstudents/. Last accessed 29/02/14. (Above, p.008) Tinsley, T. (Unknown). TwentySix Letters. Available: http://tobytinsley.com/Tobys_Website/45.html. Last accessed 27/02/14 (Above, p.019) n.a. (Unknown). 21 - Hill Arches. Available: http://www.kew.org/henry-moore/explore/sculpture21.shtml. Last accessed 25/02/14. (Above, p.023) Jacquillat, A & Vollauschek, T (2011). The 3D Type Book. London: Laurence King. p. 46-47. (Above, p.037-038) Chiemi. (2007). Shary Boyle: Marvelous Kitsch Oddities. Available: http://pingmag.jp/2007/09/25/sharyboyle/. Last accessed 02/03/2014. (Above, p.064) Papaefstathiou, M. (Unknown). Fantasy. Does Your Ego Holds Your Imagination?. Available: http://www. graphicart-news.com/fantasy-does-your-ego-holds-your-imagination/#.UxPhSHkqdSU. Last accessed 02/03/2014. (Above, p.066) Heller, S & Talarico, L (2011). Typography Sketchbooks. UK: Thames & Hudson. p. 94-96, p.190-191. Images by Etty Flynn (p. 042-050) Images by Josh Wainwright (052-054) VISUAL THINKING / 074