SEMESTER 2 PROJECT 5.1 YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO ISANDLALELA [Background] Traditionally, written invitations are used for larger scale “life cycle” events such as weddings, anniversaries, important birthdays or baby related events such as a baby shower. Written invitations to formal events got their start in the middle ages. Wealthier families would commission monks who were skilled in writing calligraphy to craft their notices one at a time. By the middle of the 1600’s the most popular method of creating invitations was engraving. A metal plate would be hand engraved in reverse with the necessary text and then invitations would be printed. To protect the ink from smudging a piece of tissue paper would be placed on top of the invitation. That’s where the tradition of adding vellum or tissue paper to invitations began. In the 1600 and 1700’s invitations were delivered on horseback, as the postal system was very new at the time and unreliable. To protect the invitation during its travels an outer envelope was used, this is where the double envelope tradition began. Fast-forward a few centuries and the wedding and event invitation industry, as we know it today began during the middle of the 20th century with the invention of Thermography. Thermography is a printing process that produces raised letters on a sheet of paper without any etching or engraving. It made invitations very affordable for everyone. Now, it’s popular to buy invitations from either a catalogue or the Internet. UMSEBENZI [Activity] In this interdisciplinary brief you are tasked to envision a coming of age (umemulo) event to take place in your site of exploration. The occasion should be based on the narrative/s of one of the characters/narratives as extracted from the eBook HOPES AND DREAMS THAT SOUND LIKE YOURS Stories of Queer Activism in Sub-Saharan Africa (see reference below). The invitation must be well designed and handmade as though it would be posted to the guests (no e-invites/ Pinterest templates). It must consider who those guests are and must visually capture the narrative of the event. It must not be smaller than 150mm X 150mm when folded. Special attention must be paid to the quality of paper, the design of the frame, calligraphy, shape, form (how you cut and fold the invitation), the use of colour and theme of event.
OKULETHWAYO [Deliverables] • A well curated and designed invitation card • All process work (on A1 Panel) documenting the concept, design development and production of the invitation card through photographs, drawings and prototypes. IMIPHUMELA NEZIGABA [Evaluation and Duration] By successfully completing this project you will exhibit your ability to: • Design concept (theme and relevance to reference/s on Blackboard) • Design development • Design process documentation • Quality of making of the invitation (calligraphy, cut and fold, use of colour and care) ONGAKUFUNDA [Reference] Ahmad, D. et al. (2021) Hopes and dreams that sound like yours: stories of queer activism in Sub-Saharan Africa. Available at https://gala.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Hopes_and_Dreams_final_hires.pdf
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