que sera, sera
WHAT WILL BE, WILL BE
Y1S2 PROJ 1 JAN-FEB
CONCEPTUALIZATION + RESEARCH
AIM + EXPECTATIONS The aim of this project is to use typography as an end in itself, minimizing supporting imagery. Conceptually driven + use of semiotics (instead of a heavy reliance on supporting images) We have been tasked to come up with four future jobs to inspire four different typefaces for our name. We’re also allowed to make use of the presentation format which includes a line of text stating exactly what occupation our typeface is describing - meaning the visuals do not necessarily have to completely speak for themselves.
TECHNIQUE Starting the project, I wanted to take this as an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and dabble with mediums I don’t typically employ, while still ensuring the technique was appropriate to each piece’s concept.
something less literal something that did not rely too much on “cute” figures to attract attention something of a non-traditional medium something visually captivating
INTERIOR MUPPETEE DESIGNER ARlove of mine but a It’s always been another undiscovered and undeveloped interest of mine.
path I don’t think I’ll be pursuing for real.
FRUIT NINJA This choice was slightly random. I wanted to pick a fictional occupation and simply felt that fruit + ninja would be a wacky and fun combination.
MODEL It’ll never happen in real life.
INTERIOR DESIGNER It is the job of an interior designer to enhance an interior (sometimes including the exterior) space. One of the more notable aspects of this job would be the planning of the design of these spaces, and interior designers often produce floorplans as part of the process.
The floorplan starting point exploration.
was of
the my
My initial idea was to have the alphabets be formed by various furnitures to suggest an interior space, which turned out to be the easiest, fastest way to approach the task (this was also the case for my model typeface). I also realised that when the occupation chosen is one that is very straightforward and figuratively onedimensional, it is naturally more susceptible to being presented as such because you don’t have as many items/objects/elements to play with.
INTERIOR DESIGNER “I’m a doctor, so I’m going to form my name using clinic tools”.
SEMIOTICS are sometimes fixed, and it is necessary to keep your audience in mind. A seemingly more unique symbol may not necessarily be an effective one because when you select a symbol that is obscure, your audience may not have the contextual understanding of it and this is where the communication fails.
After speaking to Shirley about this, I felt that my idea was simply lacking in depth because it felt like I could push the boundaries more. Hence I tried to make use of the floor plan, since it is a tool unique to the interior designer’s job.
MODEL I am specifically referring to a fashion runway model.
Some words that come to mind are: good figure fashion poses glamour lights tall long legs vogue gaze
For this piece, I went for a more editorial-esk look as i felt it was appropriate for the nature of the model’s job. It’s a field that has a lot to do with image.
FRUIT NINJA Unlike the other three occupations, this is one that is completely fictional. Simply speaking, i just liked the combination of the two subjects fruit and ninja, and felt like there’s a lot to play with here.
I really liked how a simple apple was used to form the entire text. This technique brings attention to the overlooked form of the apple, and even the cuts made on the apple are considerably minimal.
A simple square/cube can be used to form alphabets.
MUPPETEER A muppeteer is basically a puppeteer, but it’s specific to a single style and family of characters — those of Jim Henson. Examples include sesame street and kermit the frog and the muppet show etc. Visually, these puppets take on the form of animals or monsters, and are typically placed and performed in an actual set, with buildings and a street and lighting and all. Filming also makes use of green screens and visual effects.
I chose a more straightforward method of execution this time - digital illustration, which is fortunately and unfortunately within my comfort zone. The reason I chose to stick with digital illustration is because it was most apt for creating the bright colors and backgrounds of the muppets. To make them recognizable as muppets and not just plain puppets, i paid attention to the elements that made the muppets uniquely them. For instance, their huge white eyeballs which typically stick close to their nose, furry/feltlike texture and bright colors. These are things that are iconically muppet. I also chose to include the hands of the puppeteers and the black rods that control the muppets to hint that i was specifically trying to describe the job of the muppeteer and not the muppet itself.