nocturnal PUBLIC TYPOGRAPHY FOUND IN A SLEEPLESS WORLD
WRITTEN // PHOTOGRAPHED // DESIGNED BY
Brenna Paxton
THEY TOLD US
design
WOULD TAKE OVER OUR LIVES.
I didn’t understand what they meant until now.
CONTENTS introduction one // coffee shops two // bars & venues three // the lab credits
INTRODUCTION / / The Design Building at 4AM
“But the singing-to-Beyoncé-so-loudly-the-whole-emptybuilding-can-hear-us part. And the living-off-of-Pizza-Shuttleand-Poptarts part. And the making-videos-of-us-singing-anddancing-on-tables-instead-of-working part. We’ll miss those parts.” And honestly, I will. I haven’t had a night like this in a while. Design is so bizarre. Or really, “The Design Life” is so Which, really, is a good thing. These nights can be
bizarre. I never expected that by studying graphic design
pretty miserable.
at KU, I would be challenged more than I ever have in my life. Especially after I spent a year as an exchange student
WRITTEN ON
But as I was sitting in the corner of a fluorescent-
in Argentina… I thought I was on top of the world and
APRIL 20, 2012
lit, grey room in the basement of the design
everything had to be easier than that year. Well, I was wrong.
AT 4:24 AM
building, taking a break, eating a slice of pizza, and just watching one of my best friends cut black
I could try and explain what I mean by all of this “Design
mat board, I said “I think… when we are older, we
Life is so hard” whining, but really, I can’t explain it. I can’t
will look back on these days with fond memories.”
explain it because you can’t separate the Design part from
She literally laughed in my face. “No we won’t! I
the Life part. Design has transformed my eyes, my brain, my
HATE cutting mat board!”
heart. Design has consumed my thoughts, and leaked into
my dreams and nightmares. Design has fought against my body and won (for a while). It has infiltrated every aspect of my life, and thus The Design Life was created.
Not many people can understand this. And that is why the other design kids have become some of my best friends. If one of them asks me how I am doing, I only have to shrug my shoulders and barely smile for them to completely understand what I am thinking:
The following pages reflect the design process and development of a KU Graphic Design student from
“Well, I only got 30 minutes of sleep last night, so it is practically impossible for me to be
the beginning to completion of a project. The text
creative, but I keep working because I know that my designs will be judged as a reflection of
is gathered from conversations, statements, and
myself and my soul, not just my skills as a designer. So I am going to keep working through
discussions between the 2012 - 2013 junior class
this, even though if I open my mouth to say any of this out loud, I will start crying, which will
of graphic designers. Photos were taken during
send me into a mental breakdown that won’t allow me to get out of bed for a few days. But
September of 2012, at the places where the junior
that would mean that I would get even MORE behind in my design classes, and the cycle will
class spends the majority of their time.
continue on forever until I have to drop out or switch majors.�
So instead of saying any of that out loud, we complain together, procrastinate together, and take time to have fun together. My design friends help keep me alive, and I like to think that I do the same for them. //
TYPOS (form) + GRAPHE (writing) =
These are the thoughts, quotes, and conversations from the KU Graphic Design Class of 2014.
the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible
And this is the typography that follows us around.
ONE // Coffee Shops
>>
Dedication to design is like being in a messy, complicated relationship. Some days you find yourself in love, and other days full of animosity for your craft. What keeps you two together isn’t always the love of the art, but the love of the outcome, the challenge, the process. As designers we find that design can be truly devastating, but also incredibly rewarding, which always has us coming back for more. //
>>
The only way to be successful in this design program is to become obsessed with every project you do. It has to be the only thing you think about, to the extent that you dream about it. Sometimes dreaming about your projects can be helpful. But sometimes it can be incredibly frustrating because you will dream about constructing your entire project, only to wake up and realize that now you have to do all of it over again in real life. //
>>
You can’t get good design in an hour and a half. You may be able to come up with concepts in a short amount of time but the actual process of designing is so tedious and long that it forces us to work all night. //
>>
To be a designer, I’ve felt myself surrender to this new way of thinking. Especially during the learning process, I’ve felt almost my entire identity become fluid. Because that’s what it takes. To be capable of expressing a foreign concept, sometimes you have to let go of what’s familiar for a little while.
With every new project, I feel my entire identity shift with it. That may sound kind of extreme for a school project, but design isn’t just a school project “YOU HAVE TO LET GO
when you truly immerse yourself in it. Sometimes
OF WHAT’S FAMILIAR
I do lose myself in the creative process. But I
FOR A LITTLE WHILE.”
always return more enlightened. Design is terribly overwhelming sometimes, but it’s terribly exciting because of it. //
>>
Creativity and the mind are things that some people become nervous about—they may be afraid that they are doing something wrong—however in the context of the big picture, wrong doesn’t exist. If you want to put two things together that other people might think is strange, do it—if that’s what you truly want. That is what creativity is—and that is what art is. It is doing whatever you feel. It is connecting and expressing anything and everything, with or without a reason. If you believe in it, then it is right. //
>>
My dedication stems from the desire to create something new, and to make something that helps/changes things for the better. It is more a part of my life than ever because I am constantly looking at ways things can be improved now that I know effective ways to change them. //
“EVERYTHING ALWAYS TAKES A LOT LONGER THAN YOU THINK IT WILL.”
>>
I have class and work during the day every day until at least 5, so by the time I get home, I haven’t been home all day and I want to relax and eat dinner for a few minutes. So I don’t even have a chance to start my homework until 7 or 8 usually. Everything always takes longer than you think it will. So that’s something you don’t really take into account until you’re actually doing it. Some nights you get on a really good roll and you can do things in good time, but most of the time it takes a lot longer than you expect it will. If you fall behind at all, it’s just like a domino effect and it trickles into every single night of homework getting worse and worse. //
CAFFEINE ADDICTION Caffeine works in the body by blocking a chemical called adenosine, which signals tiredness to the brain. Less adenosine, less fatigue. Blocking adenosine also causes the body to release more adrenaline, producing the famed caffeine buzz. In other words, caffeine is a performance-enhancing drug—albeit one that’s just as useful for office workers as professional athletes.
>>
Our lifestyle is something I had to get acclimated to. When I first started here, I was like “Oh, I can’t stay up til midnight three nights a week, that’s ridiculous,” and now it’s a daily routine to go to bed when the sun’s practically coming up. //
>>
I didn’t go to sleep last night. There were parts in the night when I wanted to give up. I literally thought about it at the 12 o’clock mark. But then I had some lovely friends that helped me through it and it wasn’t that bad and I’m still awake. My body is very confused. I kind of feel like I might throw up and pass out at the same time. Maybe a little bit of both. So I think I am going to eat again. Last night I ate 4 slices of pizza, 3 cookies, and a lot of granola. At that point it was the only thing helping me stay awake. //
“MY BODY IS VERY CONFUSED.”
>>
I love how fulfilling it is to work on a project that solves problems while being creative at the same time. //
>>
To be dedicated to design, I do what I can to the best of my abilities to better
myself and broaden my horizons— even if that means losing sleep or giving up my social life. That dedication means being passionate, because you can’t be a good designer without truly loving what you do. Every night I do my work and I get sick of it, honestly… Sometimes I can’t even believe I designed something, but in the end I am glad I did. I love seeing what my classmates create and it inspires me even more. //
TWO // Bars & Venues
>>
I think what a lot of people say about a design major is that “you’re having so much fun! You get to play on the computer! I wish I could play!” and I don’t think they understand that it’s
week to come up with amazing work for our classes the
not like a test where you can cram last minute. We have to be
next day, so that’s why it’s so gratifying when it comes
up and we have to put the hours in. There’s no copying, no
to Thursday or Friday night. Regardless of the fact
cheating. We have to do the work ourselves. Since we have
that we’re sleep deprived, we know that we don’t
such an extensive time period for class during the day, the
have the pressures of going to class the next day
only time to do our work is at night and because of that, we
so we go out, we stay out, and we have a good
end up staying up all night. We push ourselves during the
freaking time. //
I do music,
DJ, and work all these jobs
because I feel like I should put forth time to
do things that I really enjoy so I don’t go crazy
and get mad and depressed or sad or die when I
am doing
all these
things. You can get burnt out
on one thing pretty easily. So if you make time to do the
think it works out in the end. It changes things up and keeps you with a fresh mind so you’re not just focused on design all the time. //
things you enjoy—even if it roughs you up a little bit—I
focused on design all the time. //
>>
To stay inspired, I start with viewing everything openly, and as art. Even when the person who created it wouldn’t consider it art, I see it that way and also as an expression of whatever that person was feeling at the time. Everything you do is art—and design. When I see other people create, it reminds me that I can do it too. //
>> The world is a better place with design. Artists and designers think differently than normal people, it’s like we see things in a different light, as if it were a different language. Sometimes I get bogged down when I am drilled in designing so much. I believe it is because I am tired and probably need to get some fresh air, but never because I dislike designing. I manage to stay creative by surfing the internet, reading magazines, listening to music, traveling, exploring. Anything. To get re-inspired, I like to take time off to relax and listen to music or watch something funny. //
>> My creativity depends on my mood. Music is the best thing for inspiration ever. //
DOES DRINKING REDUCE OR INDUCE STRESS? Research demonstrates that alcohol actually induces the stress response by stimulating hormone release by the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands. This finding has been demonstrated in animal studies. In one study with rats, the administration of alcohol initiated the physiological stress response, measured by increased levels of corticosterone. In addition to stimulating the hormonal stress response, chronic exposure to alcohol also results in an increase in adrenaline.
It’s so true; though focus is vital, that incubation time is just
>>
I used to think that sitting down and focusing intently on my work was the most effective
way to be creative. Far from
it. After a while, my mind hits a wall that no amount of focus can break down. Theres actually a formal formula, a four step process of creativity. I learned about it in my leadership class.
1.
Preparation - gathering data from infinite sources
2. Incubation - subconscious takes over and connects ideas 3. Illumination - sudden realization 4. Verification - carrying out idea
as important. It always seems to be when I’m out dancing at a bar or walking to class or flossing when my brain finally makes the conceptual connections. I can only do so much research before it’s time to let my subconscious mind take over. The most frustrating part is having absolutely no control over that process–the epiphany may come in a few hours, or it may come two weeks after I turn in the project.
Especially after staring at a computer screen for six hours straight, my body needs to move. Needs to remember that it can move. That it feels good to move. I think our bodies forget how to work sometimes when our minds have been speeding along for days. //
>>
Right before the last project was due, my friend who I hadn’t hung out with in two years was playing at Jackpot with his band and I was so psyched to see them. I fully intended to go, then it got to that week and I realized that there was a project due the next day. Deep down I think I knew that it wasn’t going to happen, but I really wanted it to. I was really pushing to get my project done but the thing is, by nature, we will work til the last minute. If we really feel passionately about something, we are really going to
want to get every detail nailed down as much as we can. So it got to that night and at about 4 in the afternoon I thought, “this can’t happen.” Later that night, I needed to print my project, so I left the lab to go to Kinkos, which was going to close in ten minutes. I sped there and found the nearest parking spot, started walking and then I realized that I was on the exact same block as the concert that I was supposed to go to. I literally walked past the venue, looked in and saw my friend’s band playing as I was rushing to get my project printed. So I got to Kinkos and printed just a couple of doors down, then left, walked past Jackpot again,
and I knew that I had to keep going. //
THREE // The Lab
On the nights when we
of us still at the lab when we’re all hungry,
need to work really hard,
we’ll have a pizza or two delivered and, man,
we usually all end up in the
sometimes that is the best pizza I have ever
lab together for the entire
tasted. Especially when we are all so hungry
night. We spend so much
and sleep deprived, that greasy pizza tastes
time there that we often feel
SO good. Those moments are fun because
like a speciftic computer is our
we will have spent hours working really hard
spot, and it feels strange to work somewhere else. We often stay in the lab until 4 or 5 or 6 in the morning—or just until class starts the next morning if we are really desperate. In order to stay awake so late, we have to eat a lot of food since we aren’t sleeping. If there is a group
and critiquing each other, then we will take a break for food, and just turn up the music, and have a fun time for a few minutes. Then get back to work. //
>>
Right now I am so tired that I am past the point down
to go
of being tired. I feel like if I laid
to sleep, I wouldn’t be able to because I am weirdly alert
right now. My brain isn’t functioning properly. I also feel like the day hasn’t changed yet because
I haven’t gone to sleep and everyone else has. I can’t seem to
remember when the
last time I slept was. Which is bad. Which is probably
a sign of not sleeping it
because I can’t remember the last time I did. I think
was Monday at… maybe it was Tuesday… at, like, 3 am. Or something.
Or 4. That’s when I woke up. It’s Wednesday at 11am and I woke up on Tuesday
at 3am. It’s kind of hard to function. I find myself dozing off then coming
MY BRAiN ISN’T FUNCTIONING PrOP-
back awake in, like, one second.
//
ERLY
MY LIFE CONSISTS OF TWO-HOUR NAPS. //
>>
I have a job at night that gets done at like 2am, then I start my homework, which most people start at like 6 or 7 in the evening, I start at 2am. Then I work until 6 or 7 when I have to get ready for my classes at 8 or 8:30, so I do not get to sleep. But if I do it’s for an hour or two.
or two
I pull at least one
all nighters a week,
and if I do sleep, I get
an average of 3 to 4 hours. //
I don’t know anyone who likes not sleeping. I’ve done it so much that I’m accustomed to it so I don’t really mind, in a kind of masochistic way, I guess. If there were a way that I could work out sleeping and doing homework and working my job, then I’d probably do that. But right now I have red that out. I feel like it is overall unhealthy, but I think it n’t really figu creates very thick skin for us as designers and as people. Despite our depleting health, I think it does toughen us up for the real world and also our own personal growth. We all think, “I got stuff
I gotta do, so I’m gonna
do it right.” We should all probably sleep though…
it’s not healthy at all. We might die s when I’m dead. // oon, especially me. But I’ll sleep
SLEEP DEPRIVATION AS BAD AS ALCOHOL IMPAIRMENT, STUDY SUGGESTS New research offers yet another reason to get more sleep. In a study published in the British journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, researchers in Australia and New Zealand report that sleep deprivation can have some of the same hazardous effects as being drunk. Getting less than 6 hours a night can affect coordination, reaction time and judgment, they said, posing “a very serious risk.” Drivers are especially vulnerable, the researchers warned. They found that people who drive after being awake for 17 to 19 hours performed worse than those with a blood alcohol level of .05 percent. That’s the legal limit for drunk driving in most western European countries, though most U.S. states set their blood alcohol limits at .1 percent and a few at .08 percent.
>>
Design is not something you can just quickly do. You have to take the time to produce the things you want and it’s embarrassing if you don’t, since you have to hang your designs on the wall and let people critique them. So it’s kind of the fear of being embarrassed that keeps me awake at night, designing. You can sleep when you die. //
Last semester, I felt nauseous for an entire month. I got so sick of being sick that I finally went to the doctor. I explained my symptoms and a bit about my lifestyle to the him while he gave me this curious stare, then he finally started writing a few things on his note pad while telling me out loud: “The human body needs 6 to 8 hours of sleep per night, and 3 meals a day, plus or minus snacks.” He ripped off the little slip of paper and handed it me,
“I know your degree is important. But you will never be able to enjoy the benefits of having that degree if you die before you graduate.”
That was when I realized...
THAT design HAD TAKEN OVER MY LIFE.
CREDITS // Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
“Alcoholism.” About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/ alerts/l/blnaa32.htm?terms=stress+alcohol>.
“American Caffeine Addiction Races Full Speed Ahead.” The Washingtion Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/17/amp-upamerica/?page=all>. DESIGNER AS AUTHOR PATRICK DOOLEY
“Sleep Deprivation as Bad as Alcohol Impairment, Study Suggests.” CNN. N.p., 20 Sept. 2000.
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://articles.cnn.com/2000-09-20/health/sleep.deprivation_1_sleep-
FALL 2012
deprivation-impairment-researchers?_s=PM:HEALTH>.
CONTRIBUTORS:
Alex Anderson
Emily Grigone
Lori Novak
Heather Boone
Colleen Ireland
Brenna Paxton
Amanda Caracci
Stephanie Joffe
Claire Pedersen
TOOLS:
Sally Carmichael
Jordan Key
John Reynolds
SONY Alpha NEX-5N
Drue Davis
Tracey Martin-Lee
Stephanie Roche
Adobe Creative Suite 5
Kacie Eberhart
Jon Marzette
Rachel Roth
12 CafĂŠ Mochas
Luke Englert
Shannon McGill
Connita Sardon-Quiroz
3 Bottles of Pino Grigio
Breanne Fencl
Melissa Meyers
Anthony Schmiedeler
7 Beers
Allie Fields
Alex Milbourn
Voranouth Supadulya
Ali Fisher
Caleb Newberg
Madi Twombly
TYPEFACES:
Christina Fountain
Keene Niemack
Bailey Wells
ITC Cheltenham & DIN
THANK YOU TO MY CLASSMATES
for your help, criticism, encouragement, and friendship.