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Beauty of An Adobe Creative Residency proposal by Valentina Ferro
Physics WHO WHAT WHY HOW
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I am Valentina, physicist by day and illustrator during sleepless nights. For the past 4 years, I have been juggling my career in science with my passion for illustration and design, but now it is time to change! When I started a PhD in biophysics in 2014 I was enthusiastic and excited: since 2008, I had dedicated my life to studying physics and my dream to work on a research project was about to begin.
WHO
I had not realised, however, that by spending all those years focusing only on studying, I had neglected other aspects of my personality. Growing up I was passionate about art and I would draw and doodle all the time. With more commitments from the University, I had lost all of that — and a part of myself with it. And then something happened: during the PhD, I started to be involved in science outreach, and suddenly my life changed. In the search for innovative ways to communicate science, I rediscovered my passion for creativity and art. I started doodling again and I began to practice daily to become a better artist. While I still love physics and science, I have to admit that the funniest and most exciting experiences of the past few years were all about art and illustrations. Now I am at a crossroads. I completed my PhD and I am looking at career opportunities. Should I get a position as an applied physicist, and limit again to create only in my spare time? Or should I jump into the unknown of a career as an illustrator, and neglect what made me who I am?
www.newoldscience.com Instagram: @earendil1789 Behance: valentinaf34f7
Is there a third path?
Original Artwork The Beauty of Physics - an ACR proposal by V. Ferro
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Original Artwork
Being selected for the Adobe Residency would mean starting a new career combining art and science. It is a unique opportunity to kickstart a professional path that otherwise would take me years to launch. But most importantly, it would give me the chance to nurture both my passions in a project that communicates physics through art and design. And for once, I would be my complete self.
The Beauty of Physics - an ACR proposal by V. Ferro
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40illustrations 10branches of physics 1portfolio website
WHAT
Physics is a fascinating subject that many deem too complicated to understand. But it does not have to be that way. My proposed project, “the Beauty of Physics�, aims at communicating physics in a funny, simple and artful way. Every month, for a duration of 10 months, I will illustrate a branch of physics with 4 illustrations. I want to make something accessible and beautiful, worthy of being presented at galleries but also shared in academic journals. Each week, an illustration will be added to a dedicated portfolio website, which will double as a logbook for the Residency. Midway through the project, I will start doing outreach activities. I will prepare physical posters to exhibit the illustrations at galleries collectives and I will present the project at conferences. I will depict the different branches of physics with diverse styles to match them with the portrayed topic, allowing me to explore techniques outside of my comfortzone and grow as an artist. I will curate every aspect of the project, from making the art pieces over marketing to designing the website. Therefore by the end of the Residency I would become a better artist, I would establish my presence in the creative community and I would learn the principles of engaging design.
Example of Website Prototype Click on the image to open my very first attempt at using Adobe XD
The Beauty of Physics - an ACR proposal by V. Ferro
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Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn’t matter. Explore the world. Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough. R.P. Feynman
Science is sexy. We are learning this from sitcoms and shows. With science outreach blooming, researchers are leaving the darkness of their lab and stepping into the world to communicate science on Youtube, podcasts, Instagram, and everywhere someone might listen.
WHY
Sharing knowledge is crucial today more than ever. Every day, we get showered with fake news, conspiracy theories, misinterpretation of data and information from dubious sources. Our only defence is rediscovering trust in science and learning critical thinking.
Examples of projects similar to this proposal are rare, and most of them not very popular. Being featured as an Adobe Creative Resident would be instrumental to generate awareness and bridge the two communities of art and science for the benefit of society. And it will highlight a possible career path for researchers that, like me, love both art and science. Most important, “The Beauty of Physics” will bring complex physics concepts to the general public, by using the universal language of art.
The Beauty of Physics - an ACR proposal by V. Ferro
Examples of Sci-Art publications
Science communication is also pouring into the visual arts. Slowly. There is a growing community of people interested in science outreach illustrations, but often science and art live in their own separate worlds. Researchers make art for other researchers without contaminating the creative industry, while established artists share their science-inspired illustrations with their community without reaching the academic folks.
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1. Prepare material for future illustrations: researching interesting topics and the best way to communicate them, contacting scientists to feature novel research, sketching ideas and trying different styles. 2. Create the final illustrations. I will also look for mentors from the Adobe community, to receive feedback and grow as an artist. 3. Share the finished illustrations on the website. 4. Outreach outside the creative community. I will reach out to traditional media to feature the illustrations and start exhibit printed posters at art galleries. The main challenge would be to have 40 illustrations with a coherent style. In fact, I expect I will grow as an artist and my style will change because the residency would be my first time working full time in the creative field. Therefore, I will use a different styles or media for each topic in the project. Not only fewer illustrations will need to be coherent in style (only 4 at a time), but I will also get the chance to experiment and try new techniques during the residency.
START
HOW
PREPARE
Initial prep: first month illustrations and research + website
Researching the material, contacting scientists, sketching the illustrations
OUTREACH exhibitions, publication on traditional media and scientific publication
ENGAGE Sharing WIP and news on social media accounts
CREATE Making the illustration and receiving feedback from other creatives
SHARE updating the website with a new illustration once a week
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Timeline Plan Apr.19 Prep phase 2: continued research & sketching, prepare website & socials, start creating illustrations
May.19 Jun.19
MT: Thermodynamics create illustrations, update website & socials
Jul.19 Aug.19
MT: Relativity create illustrations, update website & socials, start travelling to exhibitions
Monthly theme (MT): Mechanics Less focus on research, create illustrations, update website & socials
MT: Electromagnetism create illustrations, update website & socials, start travelling to exhibitions
Sep.19 Oct.19
MT: Optical, molecular, atomic create illustrations, update website, more socials & marketing, exhibitions & conferences
Prep phase 1: get to know Adobe XD, research topics to illustrate, start sketching.
Nov.19 Dec.19
MT: Condensed Matter create illustrations, update website, more socials & marketing, exhibitions & conferences
Jan.20
MT: Interdisciplinary create illustrations, update website, more socials & marketing, exhibitions & co.
Mar.20
Feb.20
Apr.20
The Beauty of Physics - an ACR proposal by V. Ferro
MT: Quantum create illustrations, update website, more socials & marketing, exhibitions & conferences
PREPARATION
Researching and choosing the topics. Sketching the illustrations in advance.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Studying design principles and making the illustrations exploring different styles
COMMUNITY
Building a community and following through social media updates
OUTREACH MT: Particles, nuclear create illustrations, update website, more socials & marketing, exhibitions & conferences
MT: Cosmology create illustrations, update website, more socials & marketing, exhibitions & co.
Harvest Phase: Socials & marketing, exhibitions & co., preparing for next project
Printing the illustrations, participation to exhibitions and travel to conferences
UX & WEB
Preparing, improving and updating the website.
Note that the preparation and the website update will require less effort moving forward in the process; I will dedicate this extra-time to engage more with the community and to do outreach activities.
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Costs $ 150 : website costs for 1 year
Communication strategies Sharing the completed illustrations on the website, on dedicated social media accounts and on behance. Sharing the work-in-progress and the creative process on social media. Reaching out to scientists to feauture their results in the illustrations. Reaching out to creatives to receive mentoring and feedback. Reaching out to scientific journals and to science&tech columns of traditional media to publish selected pieces from the project.
$ 3000 : High quality Prints + frames for exhibitions $ 3000 : Showcase at art collectives $ 2800 : Hardware — I will need to update my current laptop into a desk pc (estimation based on refurbished surface studio)
Software & Media Adobe Photoshop
Ink & paper
Adobe Illustrator
Paper collages
Adobe XD
Gouache & Acrylic
Attending both creative conferences and scientific conferences. Exhibiting at art collectives galleries.
Challenges Improving design and composition skills. Building a community following the project. Sticking to the timeline.
The Beauty of Physics - an ACR proposal by V. Ferro
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