Complete HALVES
COMPLETE HALVES
“Mirrors,’ she said, ‘are
never to be trusted.”
- Neil Gaiman, Coraline
Have you ever wondered why people pay so much attention to their reflection in the mirror? Why they can’t help but glancing at their reflection in windows while they are walking down the streets? It is almost as if we need to see an image of what we look like to get an image of who we are, and it is that image that we then share with the world. I believe that mirrors do not only reflect images, but help creating them. That reflections in themselves influence the original object. It is with that idea in the back of my head that I started this little experiment, trying to translate this philosophy into the works of a graphic designer.
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Reflections
Reflections Have you ever wondered why people pay so much attention to their reflection in the mirror? Why they can’t help but glancing at their reflection in windows while they are walking down the streets? It is almost as if we need to see an image of what we look like to get an image of who we are, and it is that image that we then share with the world. Reflecting on Mirrors In the 70s, psychologist Gordon Gallup discovered that except for dolphins and a few other mammals, humans are the only creatures on earth that can identify themselves when they look in a mirror. Since then, mirrors are often a subject of interest within human psychology. Although we mostly use them to check what we look like, whether our clothes do or do not fit our body, a mirror does a lot more than simply reflecting a given subject. It has the power to reveal more than what is on the surface only, and it can even deceit us. A mirror reflects what is going on in your mind. Countless articles focus on how to improve your looks in order to boost your confidence. The image you receive will influence the image you exert on the world. We use metaphors describing something as being “a mirror to our soul”, and when you are confronted with a par-
ticular something or someone, you might describe that experience “as if you were looking into a mirror”. Ask anyone to draw a face, and that person will insert features of his or her own face, as if our subconscious is meant to render reflections of who we are. Whatever the effect of the reflection is, however, we can safely state that humans pay a lot of attention to it. Rather than being able to identify ourselves in the mirror, it is as if we need our reflection to identify ourselves, to create an image of who we are, and of who we want to be. As if our reflection is the other half, the layer we need to profile ourselves. Does that mean we are incomplete without it? That we cannot fully exist without our reflection? Of course not. We are complete as we are. But reflections do add more layers, more masks to our own complete half.
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MIR ORS R
Have you ever wondered why people pay so much attention to their reflection in the mirror? Why they can’t help but glancing at their reflection in windows while they are walking down the streets? Reflecting on Mirrors
In the 70s, psychologist Gordon Gallup discovered that except for dolphins and a few other mammals, humans are the only creatures on earth that can identify themselves when they look in a mirror. Since then, mirrors are often a subject of interest within human psychology. Although we mostly use them to check what we look like, whether our clothes do or do not fit our body, a mirror does a lot more than simply reflecting a given subject. It has the power to reveal more than what is on the surface only, and it can even deceit us. A mirror reflects what is going on in your mind. Countless articles focus on how to improve your looks in order to boost your confidence. The image you receive will influence the image you exert on the world. We use metaphors describing something as being “a mirror to our soul”, and when you are confronted with a particular something or someone, you might describe that experience “as if you were looking into a mirror”. Ask anyone to draw a face, and that person will insert features of his or her own face, as if our subconscious is meant to render reflections of who we are. Whatever the effect of the reflection
is, however, we can safely state that humans pay a lot of attention to it. Rather than being able to identify ourselves in the mirror, it is as if we need our reflection to identify ourselves, to create an image of who we are, and of who we want to be. As if our reflection is the other half, the layer we need to profile ourselves. Does that mean we are incomplete without it? That we cannot fully exist without our reflection? Of course not. We are complete as we are. But reflections do add more layers, more masks to our own complete half.
Creating Complete Halves
This particular philosophy behind mirrors and reflections has allowed me to play around with design, trying to create complete halves that – just like humans – can perfectly well exist on their own, but carry more meaning once they have met their reflection. I wondered if I could maybe simplify the work of a designer, getting more work done in only half of the time. For this process I had to take into account the works of symmetry, trying to create balance without losing touch of inherent beauty. Given that I normally choose to work with type, tattoos and horrific fantasy monsters, these
objects inevitably became the subjects of my trial and error project.
Monstrous Tattoos
Whenever I am drawing without a plan or a given outline, I like to create tattoos and fantastic creatures. If I see a graphic book or come across a website dealing with either of those subjects, I will inevitably end up browsing through the entire content. I am fascinated by the power of black and white, by the skill to use shades to create 3D images on someone’s skin. That is why I hardly ever use colours when I am creating my own designs. Up till now, I pretty much always drew the full design. Now, however, I had to try and draw only half, and on top of that make sure that this half can be appealing in itself, be ‘complete’ on its own. These are some of the creations I came up with. I believe these pieces of work can perfectly well stand on their own, both with and without colours. They do not resemble an object that we know, but our brain will inevitably try to complete the picture. On a subconscious level, we feel that something is missing. It is exactly that search, that urge to complete it, that makes these designs art on their own. The absence of a
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“Mirrors are perpetually deceitful. They lie and steal your true self. They reveal only what your mind believes it’s sees” - Dee Remy, There Once Was A Boy
seemingly essential part makes the viewer wonder, it raises questions, stimulates the fantasy of the audience. It triggers the viewer’s brain, which is an important purpose of graphic design.
will result in the fact that the word will be remembered more effectively. So this might be productive for some titles, depending on the purpose for it.
Type
Even though the designs can perfectly well stand on their own, – they are complete halves – they do seem to have more meaning once they are mirrored. The mere reflection of the existing design eases our mind, which is subconsciously looking for symmetrical harmony. This is when we can start playing with shades, trying to create 3D effects, adding layer after layer, creating the designs’ identity. In the 70s, psychologist Gordon Gallup discovered that except for dolphins and a few other mammals, humans are the only creatures on earth that can identify themselves when they look in a mirror. Since then, mirrors are often a subject of interest within human psychology. Although we mostly use them to check what we look like, whether our clothes do or do not fit our body, a mirror does a lot more than simply reflecting a given subject. It has the power to reveal more than what is on the surface only, and it can even deceit us.
Another aspect of design that intrigues me is type. I criticize every font I see in windows and on products, thinking about whether or not I think the design does the trick. Again, I was challenged to try and create half words, words that also make sense when they are split in two. I therefore decided to work with palindromes, words that are symmetrical in order, so that they display the same word when read backwards. Examples include ‘noon’ and ‘race-car’. This part of my challenge proved to be more challenging than the monstrous tattoos. I realized that words are not easily mirrored, because suddenly more is involved than simple symmetry: when letters are mirrored, it puts stress on the brain to try and make out what is being said. Also, the halves on their own are full words; the brain does not subconsciously try to finish it. However, I still think these works could be considered art, exactly because they demand some effort from the reader to be understood. That amount of effort
Beyond the Reflections
HALF
Reflections Have you ever wondered why people pay so much attention to their reflection in the mirror? Why they can’t help but glancing at their reflection in windows while they are walking down the streets? It is almost as if we need to see an image of what we look like to get an image of who we are, and it is that image that we then share with the world. I believe that mirrors do not only reflect images, but help creating them. That reflections in themselves influence the original object. It is with that idea in the back of my head that I started this little experiment, trying to translate this philosophy into the works of a graphic designer.
Reflecting on Mirrors
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In the 70s, psychologist Gordon Gallup discovered that except for dolphins and a few other mammals, humans are the only creatures on earth that can identify themselves when they look in a mirror. Since then, mirrors are often a subject of interest within human psychology. Although we mostly use them to check what we look like, whether our clothes do or do not fit our body, a mirror does a lot more than simply reflecting a given subject. It has the power to reveal more than what is on the surface only, and it can even deceit us. A mirror reflects what is going on in your mind. Countless articles focus on how to improve your looks in order to boost your confidence. The image you receive will influence the image you exert on the world. We use metaphors describing something as being “a mirror to our soul”, and when you are confronted with a particular something or someone, you might describe that experience “as if you were looking into a mirror”. Ask anyone to draw a face, and that person will insert features of his or her own face, as if our subconscious is meant to render reflections of who we are.
z z z z z z z z z
Complete HALVES