A Conversation RESEARCH & dEVELOPMENT
mind mapping I started this brief by mind mapping the word ‘conversation’.
During our weekly pre-studio meeting we were introduced to a new way of idea generation...
maps The first task of this brief was to record a topical conversation based on an article in the daily newspaper with a group of people, from the recording we had to produce a transcription. The recording highlighted the difference between the accents in our group which promted me to consider maps as a visual outcome. Looking at accents and the regional differences in language I thought about the connections we make with people through conversation. For instance, I am from Chester (start of the map) but I am connected to the locations of the people I have conversations with. Developing upon the connections concept I imagined a ‘connection tree’ that considers who the people I speak to have spoken to.
Adrian Newell
Graphic Designer Adrian Newell has created a series of posters entitled ‘Scoreline’ that track the goals scored during major football games. So far Newell has documented every goal scored in the final game of each World Cup since 1934 as well
as creating scoreline illustrations for individual football players. As an extension to this project Newell has begun designing the scorelines for the UEFA Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup final matches. I think this minimal style is effective in
displaying the information as well as being aestheically pleasing. The dots and lines graphic is a great ‘symbol’ for connections. We associate them with maps and realise they represent a link or a journey.
scamps of maps
After researching inforgraphics and considering the information I was going to use I drew some rough scamps as a means of ‘mindmapping’ the style and composition. I based the majority of my designs on graphs because, given the kind of information I am recording, it seemed the best suited approach. I did, however, have a brief look at using symbols and abstract shapes to represent the data.
development
infographics One of my dominant ideas for this brief is playfully entitled ‘My Antisocial Life’, it focuses on comparing my social media presence to my physical interactions with people. This involves documenting my social network activity, digital correspondance, and time spent procrastinating as well as how long I devote to physically conversing in any given day. This project aims to highlight the loss of human to human connection in modern life. In order to display this information I focused my research on infographics. There are a wide array of design options for an infographic, from labelled charts, graphs and statistics to graphical representations partnered with the corresponding information.
Nicholas Felton
It was in a seminar about academic posters that I was introduced to Graphic Designer Nicholas Felton. Felton runs feltron.com, a web-address that houses his ‘Personal Annual Reports’. The PAR’s date back from 2005 and are a visual
collection of maps, graphs and statistics that reflect Felton’s life annually. He has since developed an app, Reporter, that collates some basic information, such as if you are working, what it is that you are doing, where that is happening and who
you are with at the time. It is a user-friendly, if not significantly watered down version, of creating your own PAR. Felton’s tricolour design and grid composition compliments the quantity of information nicely. It doesn’t appear overpowered.
scamps of infographics
After researching inforgraphics and considering the information I was going to use I drew some rough scamps as a means of ‘mindmapping’ the style and composition. I based the majority of my designs on graphs because, given the kind of information I am recording, it seemed the best suited approach. I did, however, have a brief look at using symbols and abstract shapes to represent the data.
development These graphs are the results from my first day of documenting ‘My Antisocial Life’.
Using my Infographics research and Peter Crawley’s work with a sewing machine I was interested in creating my own hand-made infographics.
typography The written word is a form of conversation, from long hand-written letters to emails and texts. In one of our studio meetings we were introduced to the work of French artist Sophie Calle, specifically her ‘Take Care of Yourself’ piece. TCOY was a break-up email Calle recieved from a lover that had been transformed into an exhibition that explored how others percieved her letter. As I mind mapped written forms of conversation I thought about Calle’s ‘interpretation exercise’ and remembered how often letters are censored (political, military, corporate etc) and how the message or meaning can be lost, altered or misinterpreted. This led to my research into distorted typography and composition.
Sophie Calle Sophie Calle’s ‘Take Care of Yourself’ exhibition was centred on a break-up email she received from a lover that ended with the line ‘take care of yourself’. Calle was stunned by the message, unsure what to do she asked over 100 women (chosen for their profession or skills) to interpret this letter. She asked these women “to analyze it, comment on it, dance it, sing it. Dissect it. Exhaust it. Understand it for me. Answer for me”. Calle described the project as “a way of taking the time to break up, of taking care of myself”. It was Calle’s TCOY project that inspired my research into miscommunication and interpretation of the written word. I considered if you could take a letter intended for a friend and transform it into a letter for your boss? Could censoring words change the voice/tone behind the letter?
Peter Crawley I initially looked at Peter Crawley for my maps research but after looking through his work I discovered a few typography projects that suited the direction of my censoring idea.
scamps of type
development Content of Posters Thing where you can write the word in however you want as long as the first and last letter remain the same your brain will automatically read it. Cover letters - change a few phrases to adapt the letter for different jobs Neutral voice?
packaging ‘Overheard conversations’ was discussed in the group during the early stages of the brief as something to be careful with. People who have engaged in recording conversations they overhear, such as the ‘live tweeting’ trend, have gotten themselves into trouble. However, it was still a topic that interested me. Everyday we overhear a dozen or so conversations, although we manage to tune out this ‘white noise’ most of the time, sometimes the subject is too intriguing or amusing. As I thought about all the places we overhear conversations I was drawn to the supermarket, and in particular, remarks people make about food products. Which is why I’ve chosen to research packaging design.
scamps of packaging
development Conversational cues on packaging - Bad pickup lines really beautifully ‘packaged’ - how they’re being ‘sold’ to you in a bar/club. (ugly box/bottle but beautiful wrapping or reverse - terrible label but beautiful packaging) ‘THE DRINK MADE ME DO IT’ Are you Mourinho because I think you’re a special one Do you have a mirror in your pocket? Because I can see myself in your pants Grab your coat, you’ve pulled. Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven? You look like a right sweetheart Have you got a number to go with that pretty face of yours? You’re in your bed, I’m in mine. One of us is in the wrong place. I’m usually better looking