Concept Panel E

Laura Taylor MA Visual Communication - Graphic Design Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

CONCEPT PANEL E

REALISATION

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Initial Starting Point / The Library of Babel

“The mystics claim that their ecstasy reveals to them a circular chamber containing a great circular book, whose spine is continuous and which follows the complete circle of the walls.�

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Initial Research

Visual Editions - Jonathan Safran Foer - Tree of Codes

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Alison Barnes

This project, undertaken on the MA Typo/Graphics course at LCC/UAL, established my interest in developing work of a geo/graphic nature.

New Basford is an area north of Nottingham city centre that was established through the burgeoning lace industry. It is an area that is predominantly filled with two up, two down terraces, some light industrial units (built following a ‘slum clearance’ programme) and a few remaining Victorian factory buildings. It is a place that one tends to pass through, rather than being a destination in itself—on face value it is a typical inner city area suffering from the usual problems of unemployment, graffiti and general deprivation.

I wanted to develop work that probed beneath the surface of New Basford, going beyond the seemingly identikit streets and houses, and attempting to represent a sense of place. My methodology was that of the anthropologist, seeking out signs and interventions of a low-tech, personal and vernacular nature.

These were recorded and used to develop a series of maps charting non-traditional elements such as graffiti, decorative brick features and memories. The maps (approx 900mm square) were produced on translucent stock that enabled two different maps to be overlaid and further conclusions drawn.

Alison Barnes - Geo/Graphic Mapping - 2003

The graffiti territory map reveals patterns of movement across the area. Some authors remain very local, perhaps only spreading across one or two roads; others travel further within the area. Through charting the graffiti, this map reveals the spatial activity of groups of friends; a bully targeting specific individuals; a foot fetishist; and, a politically motivated, left wing author.

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Research / Anton Alvarez

Anton Alvarez - The Thread Wrapping Machine

Anton Alvarez is a Swedish-Chilean designer based in Stockholm. A recent graduate of the Royal College of Art’s Design Products MA, Alvarez originally studied fine art and cabinetmaking before completing an Interior Architecture and Furniture Design course at Konstfack, the University College of Arts, Craft and Design in Stockholm.

Alvarez’s work focuses on the design of systems and the creation of tools and processes for producing products. Alvarez work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Design Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Research

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Research / Dan Collier

Typographic Links is a hand-sewn book which maps interesting links and connections throughout the world of typography. Red threads are used as three-dimensional ‘hyperlinks’ to guide the reader through the pages. Created in 2007, it was on display at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York in 2011 as part of the Talk To Me exhibition.

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Research

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Experimental

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- East Meets West

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Rationale - Last Semester

2. Rationale for the project proposed: Provide a concise, logical rationale for the project, 200 words.

My initial starting point came from Jorge Luis Borges story The Library Of Babel where a circular book is introduced that has a circular spine and follows the circular walls. This concept made me think about the circular journey that I undertake each week where I travel from Wolverhampton to Derby University and vice versa. My aim is to use time-lapse photography and film my journeys, which will allow me to capture images along the way and give readers an insight into the personal route that I take each week.

As my field of study is Editorial Design, I hope to create a range of non-linear outcomes including a publication that will explore the photographs that I take. As well as this, I hope to combine the photographs with textiles and stitching to help to map the journey in an interactive and tactile manner. I can then also begin to think about taking my work down the digital route and translating the outcomes into an iPad App or eBook, which relates back to my Dissertation.

3. Audience: Describe the audience that the project is aimed at. Ask yourself, who will benefit from the process or outcome of the project proposed, whose needs will you meet, who are you communicating with, who are you seeking to persuade or inform?

I am considering my audience as this may change throughout the next stages of my project depending on if the final outcomes will be mass-produced or be a one off piece of work.

Visual Editions are a London based book publishing company (Visual Editions, Undated). Their flair for making books with amazing visual outcomes has left their audience wanting more. Taking well-known books and stories and transforming them into interesting, intricate and detailed publications, have helped the publishing company to achieve their success. This gives the audience an individual reading experience (Visual Editions, Undated) or as Visual Editions call it ‘Visual Writing’ (Visual Editions, Undated). The idea of using audience interactivity is a particularly clever feature within their designs; an example of this can be seen in Jonathan Safran Foer’s ‘Tree of Codes’. The company have tried to balance the combination between high-end beautifully produced books with cheap mass-market paperbacks in order to create wonderful outcomes (Visual Editions, Undated) which are designed to be read by a whole host of individuals, rather than just a select few.

What is most interesting about Visual Editions is the way that they create outcomes for both digital and print – with different target audiences in mind. The intricate printed outcomes are rich and the interactive features allow the user to become involved in the piece of work. Where die-cut elements are introduced for print, there is just no way that this can ever be replicated fully for an eBook or app. Other interactive elements for print that have been digitised include shuffling the pages to create personal narratives and opening out large-scale maps for a recent project titled Where You Are. Mass-producing the publications is another clever feature, selling the outcomes for a reasonable price, which is completely unexpected considering the techniques, and interactive elements that are involved.

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Experimental

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Experimental

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Research / Leo Virieu

Leo Virieu - Affone

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Experimental Research

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Experimental

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Experimental

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Experimental

- How will this outcome be binded?

- How will the threads link back in? - Hyperlinks as a possibility - Consider scale - Small/Large - Think about what has already been created previously - Content - Narrative - Facts & fiction?

- Similarities & differences?

- Clearly set out priorities - Goals/Aims for final piece of work

- Laura Taylor

- Realisation / 2014 / 7VC504

- Bibliography

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Crawley, P. (Undated) Hand Stitched Typographic Artwork. [Online]. Available at: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/217298750745684997/ (Accessed 16th June 2014).

Collier, D. (2007) Typographic Links. [Online]. Available at: http://www.dancollier.co.uk/work/typographiclinks/ (Accessed 16th June 2014).

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Anon. (2014) Death Of The Author. [Online]. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_the_Author (Accessed 22 February 2014).

Alvarez, A. (2013) The Thread Wrapping Machine. [Online]. Available at: http://www.antonalvarez.com/The-Thread-Wrapping-Machine (Accessed 28 February 2014).

Alvarez, A. (2014) Biography. [Online]. Available at: http://www.antonalvarez.com/BIOGRAPHY (Accessed 2 April 2014).

Dieseltriebzug. (2012) Bergen - Oslo 1/2 (Bergenbahn) : Führerstandsmitfahrt. [Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ7LORizfZg (Accessed 2 April 2014).

Hawkins, Y. (2010) Sewing Circle. [Online]. Available at: http://www.yvettehawkins.co.uk/#!Sewing-Circle/zoom/c1xgd/imagegq5 [Accessed 18 March 2014].

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[Online]. Also Available at: http://gsb.haifa.ac.il/~sheizaf/interactivity/Rafaeli_interactivity.pdf [Accessed 18 March 2014].

Neves, M. (2013) Printed Interactivity: Towards a new understanding of Graphic Design. [Online]. Available at: http://iridescent.icograda.org/journal/journal71.php [Accessed 18 March 2014].

Barthes, R. (1998) “The Death of the Author.” Art and Interpretation: An Anthology of Readings in Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art. Ed. Eric Dayton. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 1998. 383-386. Print.

Safran Foer, J. (2010) Everything Is Illuminated/Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. United States: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH).

Poyner, R. (2003) No More Rules: Graphic Design & Postmodernism. London: Laurence King Publishing.

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