Weeks 06 – 15
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Part II
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assessment 6th january 2013
M. Woodman
Creative journal
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Weeks 06 – 15
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Part II
s e l f- d i r e c t e d p r e pa r at i o n
WEEKS 06 – 15
preparation for directed study part ii
Week 06
Eureka Magazine —  The Times
Eureka Eureka was a monthly periodical magazine launched by The Times newspaper in October 2009, dealing with issues of life, the environment, cosmology and topical science. Art Directed by ex-UWE design graduate Chris Clarke it is exemplar of many of the objectives that I aim to achieve throughout my own self directed study. Current scientific material is delivered with a clear and engaging minimalist design ethic, allowing illustration, photography and creative typographic abstraction to integrate flawlessly and dispense an immersive user experience. Very little about Eureka’s established visual language is, I believe, complex or elaborate. However, in my own opinion this is the publications greatest asset and achievement, making topical scientific debate appealing to a wider general audience. Much of the visual decisions look to be informed by an informed interest in the content, with particularly strong reference to early illustrated encyclopedia.
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science periodical
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Week 06 Eureka Magazine —  The Times
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Eureka Magazine —  The Times Week 06
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Week 06 Eureka Magazine —  The Times
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Eureka Magazine —  The Times Week 06
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Week 06 Eureka Magazine —  The Times
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Eureka Magazine —  The Times Week 06
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Week 06
Momentum — Alejandro Guijarro
relevant works photography/concept
— ALEJANDRO G UIJARRO —
These are not works that pretend to hold
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any kind of objective truth. Stripped of their wrapping they are photographs of large drawings. Yet the process of finding, documenting and collecting them has a transmutational effect
Week 06
Momentum — Alejandro Guijarro
Photographer Alejandro Guijarro graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2010 and has been contributing to this series of photographs for the last three years. Appropriately titled ‘Momentum’ the collection explores the minds of some of the most outstanding scientific theorists in their field. Travelling from CERN, Switzerland, to Cambridge and Stanford Guijarro photographs the blackboards as he finds them in these notorious august academic institutions. The results are strikingly powerful, offering sincere insight into the working minds of the quantum physicist. Removed from their original context and displayed in gallery exhibit the prints begin to take on an ephemeral and ghostly aura, the smudged chalk markings indicative of intense human thought and intellectual dialogue. Furthermore the series interrogates the interdisciplinary boundaries of the creative and theoretical academic concluded that science is undoubtedly beautiful and innovative in its own right. Even the laymen can enjoy these images simply on the basis of pure aesthetic, taking joy in the interplay of mark, colour and form in these diagrammatic chalk dust illustrations.
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Momentum
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Week 06
s e l f- d i r e c t e d p r e pa r at i o n
relevant works infograph/ interactive
Kepler’s Tally of Planets — The New York Times
Week 06
Kepler’s Tally of Planets — The New York Times
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A Tally of Planets This interactive feature designed by award winning information designer Jonathan Corum, the science graphics editor at The New York Times, depicts a plethora of Kepler’s statistical findings in a simple and accessible animation infographic. Corum has designed more than 1,000 graphics for The Times, winning as many as 16 awards from the Society of News Design. According to his biography he strives for the clear, simple presentation of complex information, with an emphasis on crisp and elegant visual explanations.
All orbits have been depicted as circular, despite the knowledge that some planets and binary stars might have eccentric and elliptical paths. Overall the work, manages to covey a certain simplicity, through graphic demonstration, of what is essentially a vast amount of complex ‘big data’. What appears initially undemanding and accessible gives way to a vast array of insightful and invigorating information. [Note that the images depicted have been blended incrementally to show the motion of exoplanetary orbit]
The Planet Hunter Launched in March 2009 the Kepler Satellite [dubbed the ‘Planet Hunter’] is a space observatory launched, into Earth trailing heliocentric orbit, by the United States space agency, NASA, with the aim of discovering and observing Earth-like planets orbiting distant stars. Surveying a single star field in the Cygnus-Lyra region the mission was designed to estimate how many of the billions of stars in our galaxy have planets orbiting within the habitable zone. Kepler’s sole instrument is a photometer which continually monitors the brightness of over 100,000 main sequence stars, the data, transmitted to Earth, is then analysed to detect periodic dimming that may be caused by the ‘transit’ of extrasolar planets crossing the light of their host star. Every transit must be of the same change in brightness and last the same amount of time thus providing a highly repeatable signal and robust detection method. In the time since its launch Kepler has discovered over 3500 new exoplanet candidates in over 76 stellar systems , with 167 now confirmed, a minority of which are potentially capable of supporting life. The observatory now averages approximately two new discoveries per day. In November 2013, astronomers reported that, based on Kepler’s space mission data, there could be as many as 40 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting in the habitable zones of sun-like stars and red dwarf stars within the Milky Way Galaxy.
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The infographic illustrates all planets with a known size and orbit presenting an enormous amount of data including; the relative sizes of planets and their orbit distance and relative speed [enlarged for visibility], an ordering framework based on system size or discovery date, the relative sizes of stars and star temperature indicated by hue.
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Week 07
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Part II
Week Seven
Week 07
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Self-Directed Study — Cosmology Presentation
Pecha Kucha — Cosmology
PECHA KUCHA
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Creative interpretation of premises in physical science
Rationale for Subject Matter Personal engagement
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Pecha Kucha Design When producing this Pecha Kucha I wanted to move away from the conventional presentation aesthetic and give the slides a really strong designed visual impact. Knowing that when projected lighter colours read better if typeset on a contrasting dark background this presented a good opportunity to tie the space theme neatly to the presentation of my process and ideas. I have some limited experience creating digital space art in Adobe Photoshop and so decided to utilise these skills in a subtle manner to reference the content whilst avoiding contrived or eccentric visuals. Accordingly I was able to produce the starlit background and initial space landscape without the aid of any photography or other imagery. Next I applied a limited colour palette using an almost fluorescent RGB green for the digital presentation that popped nicely in contrast against the darker background. The type is set in FF Quadraat Sans Pro, not a font I have used before, but one that carries a lot of character and warmth which I felt conveyed a direct yet amicable tone of voice for the presentation.
Slide 01 Personal Engagement ˌˌ Potentially rich in graphic and diagrammatic
imagery, complex boundless theories viable for creative and lateral conceptual solutions ˌˌ Read Stephen Hawking’s book previously and it has really fed my thirst for knowledge and understanding on the subject matter [important to maintain interest and research] ˌˌ Personally find comfort in the enormity of universe ˌˌ Interested in tackling questions of creation, purpose and unity creatively and logically [find them stimulating to consider] — committed atheist ˌˌ Questions that carry cultural significance because of direct impact relating to every living individual [understanding origin, theology, creation, purpose and unity] ˌˌ Numerous references in contemporary media ˌˌ Inspire others to engage and aid in understanding,
make a traditionally complex subject clear ˌˌ Challenge in making science creative [often
considered the polar opposite of creativity] ˌˌ Suits my logical academic sensibilities
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tHroUgHoUt All History mAnKind HAs ContEmPlAtEd sUbjECts of origin, CrEAtion, tHE Unity of tHE UnivErsE And tHE PUrPosE for ExistEnCE
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Week 07
PECHA KUCHA
Self-Directed Study — Cosmology Presentation
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Creative interpretation of premises in physical science
Rationale for Subject Matter Making content approachable and accessible
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diAlogUE + lAtErAl tHinKing + dEConstrUCtion + dEmonstrAtion + AbdUCtivE rEAsoning + CrEAtivE AbstrACtion
=
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informAtion + ClArifiCAtion
PECHA KUCHA
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Creative interpretation of premises in physical science
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Rationale for Subject Matter Relevance to a wider populace
toPiCAl nEws in globAl mEdiA Discovery of the Higgs Boson The use of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN particle — responsible for mass in all matter Construction of 20 ton, 22 story indoor Giant Magellan Russian cosmonauts take Telescope in Chile Olympic Torch on first historic spacewalk ESA’s Goce satellite is destroyed on reentry to Threat of impending global nuclear war between US and Earth’s atmosphere North Korea Proposition of ‘Big Bounce’ and ‘M-theory’ NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope discovers planets India launchs new Mars capable of supporting life probe in Asian space race, against China Asteroid DA14’s near collision with Earth, closest Rare hybrid solar eclipse trajectory on record takes place over the North Atlantic Ocean Dancing black holes draw closer to destructive end Scientists search for unified Peter Higgs decorated with a theory continues Nobel Prize in Physics Doomsday Clock moves to five minutes to midnight Quantum computing
Scientists track Crab Pulsar, formed in 1054 AD, for 30 years as its spin slows and magnetic field shifts Planck satellite returns images from the edge of the observable Universe First solitary planet discovered without a sun
Launch of Virgin Galactic commercial space flights Quantum microscope captures first image of a Hydrogen atom G2 dust cloud encounter with the MilkWay black hole Black Knight satellite
Search for origin of cosmic particles continues
The Mayan prophecy and predictions of the apocalypse
Space Telescope spots unprecedented six tailed comet/asteroid
New galaxy discovered, most distant from Earth yet
Comet ISON’s flight trajectory taking it within close orbit of The Sun Russian meteor impact Scientists race for definitive proof of elusive antimatter
1969 moon landing conspiracy theories Betelgeuse supernova predicted, thirty per second known to occur at any time in the universe
Week 07
PECHA KUCHA
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Creative interpretation of premises in physical science
mb A tomic bo n) sio (nuclear f is
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Self-Directed Study — Cosmology Presentation
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Rationale for Subject Matter Ethical and moral controversy
technolo gical progression
nuclear fallout
Slide 02 Making Content Approachable and Accessible
Slide 04 Ethical and Moral Controversy
ˌˌ Creative tools and thought processes that need to be
ˌˌ Ethical and moral debate surrounding sciences adds
applied throughout my self directed study ˌˌ Complex scientific principles are most traditionally presented as cold facts rather than demonstrated or explored practically with an audience ˌˌ Can be quite a visually bland and data heavy subject matter so there is potential to make it aesthetically engaging and original ˌˌ Concepts must be deconstructed and distilled for a wider audience before being abstracted creatively for further clarity
cultural depth and richness to interrogation of the subject matter ˌˌ Each new discovery brings moral controversy ˌˌ We search for life elsewhere with little understanding of the ramifications if we were to discover it ˌˌ Mankind may ultimately be responsible for our own destruction through advances in science ˌˌ Affecting the global populace with increasing frequency and severity
Slide 03 Relevance to a Wider Populace ˌˌ Numerous references in contemporary popular mass
media, shows potential for wider public interest ˌˌ Relevant on global and national levels ˌˌ Real world applications of discoveries such as
progression and advances in technology ˌˌ Often presented as fact in news but really
information is in constant flux, public should be encouraged to question creatively
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n nuclear e C ompulsio n nerg y o r m d a e H h a t e g n l ar kind to explain ’s de C ollider mise unknown H yd r o g e n b Antimatter (nuclear omb fusion annihila tion A rm a n d a f is g s funding ion) e ddo fo n the advan r ce s black hole of scienc space e e x fo p rm lor a tion ation A rms and we a p o n r y space exp lor a tion of Quantum n io t ia d eb d a un r king s le computing divine crea tion consumab
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Self-Directed Study — Cosmology Presentation
Week 07
PECHA KUCHA
Development of Visual Language Approach through exploration of content
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Creative interpretation of premises in physical science
Future Creative Intent Proposed ideas
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PECHA KUCHA
Continuation of the quarterly research publication TEN — next issue titled ‘The End is Nigh’
Anamorphic projected typographic installations of cosmic theory
ojEC
Parallel universes publication
Fundamental laws of physics boxset poster series
ts
d Pr
Distance to the sun infographic
3D models of space-time curvature, ‘Big Bounce’ cosmic theory and wormholes as visual demonstrations
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Design and creation of ‘Constellation’ a star map display typeface
roP osE
The life and death of a star full colour publication
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visUAl
lAngUAgE
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Creative interpretation of premises in physical science
Hybrid solar eclipse web motion piece
Kepler database web developed info site Observable universe info motion piece
Publication about the Black Knight mysterious satellite
Week 07
PECHA KUCHA
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Creative interpretation of premises in physical science
de sig type
info
ins t a
n
gr ap
on phy
C ontent
s ocial & wo r k s h o p
Projec tion
s c re e
web de
n
g riso
E xhibitio n & space
ve l o p
ment
r aph
3d model
Slide 07 Projected Industry Orientated Outcome
ˌˌ I have begun to identify common visual cues through
ˌˌ Important to work in mediums that will showcase
exploration of the content ˌˌ Developing a mature visual approach ˌˌ Rational, simple, diagrammatic whilst maintaining creative abstraction ˌˌ Personally feel that the work is playing to my own visual strengths and design skills ˌˌ Information and depiction of data is integral ˌˌ Simplifying of complex theories visually
my skills and produce strongest portfolio possible for entry into the creative industry [most likely to be all third year work presented — best work yet] ˌˌ Work to my own strengths whilst developing some weaker yet still industry relevant abilities ˌˌ Attempt to work in mediums that produce fresh and original perspectives on topic ˌˌ Targeting print and editorial industry but processes projected are not too specific as to restrict me ˌˌ Would consider web skills to be integral in designers skill set in the digital age ˌˌ All work; heavily based on research approach and conceptual small yet rationalised decisions ˌˌ Design as problem solver and author ˌˌ Positive ethical impact, hence working to educate and inform others
Slide 06 Proposed Solutions ˌˌ Conceiving lots of creative solutions, having to
narrow ideas down and curate the best ones ˌˌ Ideas varying in content and medium helping to
maintain my interest and varied exploration of the subject matter ˌˌ Still haven’t struck any conceptually strong ideas
that I feel carry real weight to them but will continue to experiment and explore, wait for insight ˌˌ Proposed works predominantly print and web/digital
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s i l k-
interactive & Ui
Slide 05 Development of Visual Language
c ur a tion
narr a tive
tive
n Publica tio l & e ditoria
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Future Creative Intent Projected industry orientated outcome
EditoriAl dEsign print & digital
Print & pos ter
motion & film
lla ti
o gr a P ho t
hic
C ollabor a
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Self-Directed Study — Cosmology Presentation
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Self-Directed Study — Cosmology Presentation
Week 07
PECHA KUCHA
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Creative interpretation of premises in physical science
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Critical Influential Works Illustriertes Lexikon Der Astronomie
An illUs
t r At E d
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oPE l C y C n E of A s
PECHA KUCHA
tron
omy
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Creative interpretation of premises in physical science
Earth – Moon – Earth Radio transmitted moonlight sonata
Second Moon Moon fragment couriered globally
s t u re
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Critical Influential Works Katie Paterson
l C osmolo gica p l a y g ro u n d
Poe tic ge
diA
KAtiE PAtErson Lightbulb moonlight A lifetimes supply of moonlight
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History of Darkness Darkness in time and space
As The World Turns Synchronised rotation with Earth
l s co a t n e m onu 100 Billion Suns Confetti cosmic gamma events
pe
Week 07
PECHA KUCHA
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Self-Directed Study — Cosmology Presentation
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Creative interpretation of premises in physical science
Proposed Thesis
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Slide 08 Critical Influential Works — A German Illustrated Encyclopedia of Astronomy
Slide 10 Proposed Thesis ˌˌ Final proposed thesis
ˌˌ Bought at a German marketplace in Berlin
ˌˌ Question perhaps needs refinement through further
ˌˌ Found the visual, diagram heavy language to carry a
research and experimentation would like a more focussed and concise area of study ˌˌ Narrow the field ˌˌ Perhaps I can use a play on language to simplify ˌˌ General idea is about making complex science engaging and demonstrating it with practical clarity ˌˌ Want to make people excited about the content ˌˌ Create an internal dialogue that stays with people beyond observation of the visual work
lot of impact, strong influence over my work ˌˌ Looks to be woodblock printing and therefore has a wonderful tangible aura that contrasts [juxtaposes] with the subject matter ˌˌ So much information conveyed in such small motifs
Slide 09 Critical Influential Works — Katie Paterson ˌˌ Leverhulme artist in residence at University College
ˌˌ Tackles relationship between mankind and the
London Astrophysics Group in 2011, bringing fresh creative perspective to complex theory ˌˌ Frames understanding in a free thinking manner, not restrained by the parameters of accepted science
universe with a visual narrative, conceptual interpretation and philosophical mantle ˌˌ Has become a main influence to my own thinking
ˌˌ Interdisciplinary thinking and innovative
deep and knowledgeable demonstration of mystery and the abstract ˌˌ Ambitious scale of thinking ˌˌ Completely original and stimulating ˌˌ Insightful and informative, great example set
collaboration with scientists, creative synergy between science and art ˌˌ Vastly suggestive works focussed around; unknown, mortality, creation, existence, reality
ˌˌ Work retains a poetic economy through a sublime
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How CAn CUrrEnt tHEoriEs And ConjECtUrE in AstroPHysiCs, QUAntUm mECHAniCs And modErn PHysiCAl sCiEnCE bE dEmonstrAtEd CrEAtivEly to inform, ClArify And intErPrEt ComPlEx idEAs for A Common AUdiEnCE?
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Week 07
Search for Habitable Planets — NASA Kepler Anim.
relevant works nasa motion infographics ‘Lost in the Glare’ & ‘Optical Path in the Kepler Photometer’ [Here]
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As part of their educational outreach to the wider public NASA provides a range of short multimedia animations depicting working models of the Kepler satellite’s operations. Such animations are useful in that they visually interpret theories which would otherwise be much more complicated to describe linguistically, for this reason they present worthy research as prime examples of graphic demonstration. However, the visual language portrayed is also symptomatic of the pitfalls presented when executing graphic representation of scientific data.
Week 07
Search for Habitable Planets — NASA Kepler Anim.
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‘Kepler Orrery II’ and ‘Comparative Life Zones’ [Next Page] These NASA animations depict an ill considered aesthetic approach typical of most scientific media. Such works come across as contrived and cliché in a public domain which is already accustomed and over-exposed to such imagery moving through an academic educational system, as a result the end user becomes disassociated and disinterested in the content. The mixture of vector graphics, digital art and three dimensional lighting appears banal and without design consultation, I believe that such visual cues must be explicitly avoided in order that my own work does not appear as of the same ilk. In my opinion these designs corroborate with the notion of science and art being disparate and opposing entities, devoid of any similarity in their approach, presenting science with its own established and unconsidered visual style, a notion that I aim to dispel. As a result the works lack visual certainty and become difficult to engage with. Looking at the current approach it is important to ascertain what improvements can be made through my own work.
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Week 07
Search for Habitable Planets — NASA Kepler Anim.
Week 07
Search for Habitable Planets — NASA Kepler Anim.
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Week 08
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Part II
Week Eight
Week 08
UWE Design Alumni — Andrew Duncan
Similar Thesis — Past Undergraduates Andrew Duncan Despite being warned against the dangers of exposing myself to the work of previous UWE design graduates, I felt it best, once made aware during the induction week that prior students had covered similar topics to that which I was potentially interested in, that I do some research into what had in fact been produced in the precursory years. There were a number of reasons that eventually informed this decision. Chiefly I wanted to notify myself of preceding works in order that I be able to establish an alternative route disassociated from approaches that had been previously covered. Furthermore upon conducting research into other practitioners that were working in a similar field of study to my own proposed thesis I found that the majority of the best, most relevant and most readily available works online, covering the same or similar topics, were from ex-UWE graduates. Contrary to dissuading me from addressing such a topic, the excellent quality of previously produced works inspires me to approach the subject differently and convinces me that I have picked a field of great potential. Andrew Duncan’s work addresses the atomic at a time that, I believe, there may have been intense debate surrounding the splitting of atoms in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Switzerland. Visually his work is quite illustrative, much like ‘Eureka’, there is a strong typographic element supported by a limited colour palette and imagery which looks to be heavily influenced by early encyclopedia style scientific figures. Duncan has experimented with analogue distortion of type and image to strengthen the visual narrative and conceptual process of his work. In particular the attempted splitting of the atom using a monochrome photocopier was a stroke of genius,combining on trend manual typographic manipulation with a topical and conceptually tight creative statement. The work received acclaim and ensured Duncan’s portfolio a platform for exposure with creative publishing group It’s Nice That.
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relevant works course alumni
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Week 08
UWE Alumni — Nick Mousoulou
Similar Thesis — Past Undergraduates Nick Mousoulou Of the three ex-UWE design students’ work that I came across online the thesis of Nick Mousoulou, graduate from the class of 2013, was closest to my own area of study. Not only did Nick’s self directed study focus on the similar subject matter of theoretical physics and cosmology but it also appears, seemingly, that the objectives of his pre-graduate work were not far removed from my own current goals. Mousoulou produced a body of work that makes complex scientific knowledge accessible and relatable utilising physical interactive demonstrations and unassuming design cues, removed from the banal cliché of scientific visuals, all of which is grounded in strong conceptual foundations. Of particular merit are Mousoulou’s installation works which aptly interpret extremely complicated theoretical concepts into working illustrative models both physical and digital that a user may interact with to aid their understanding. The best example of which is ‘20 Zeros’ an infographic web application utilising web scrolling to illustrate the vast scale of the universe.
Week 08
UWE Alumni — Kieran Wayne
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Similar Thesis — Past Undergraduates Kieran Wayne Kieran Wayne, another alumni from the class of 2013, produced a body of graduate work focussed on matters of science, technology, space exploration and predictions of the future, further exploring how such topics can potentially affect human society.
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Wayne interrogates the effects of new technologies on human interaction, evolution and basic function with a wry and critical cynicism. The majority of his final works, being publication based, use bold graphic symbols, experimental typography and considered printing formats/techniques to convey mood, narrative and message. Such topics, for the most part, differ from my own proposed study, though there is a correlation between the content adapted by Wayne and the subject of my own work, chiefly cosmology and space. It is for this reason that I have turned a critical eye to Wayne’s works, in order that my visual approach take an original and divergent slant on the material, aside from that which has been done previously.
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Week 08
Relevant Reading — Leading Theorists
research/resource informed reading Critical Texts
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In order that I am equipped to demonstrate complex theoretical science to my potential audience I feel that I must endeavour to ensure that I am best informed by the reading of contemporary critical texts on such matters. Being fully literate with such theories and developing a depth of knowledge will aid me in the lateral interpretation and creative abstraction of ideas that may initially appear impenetrable to the lay audience. Furthermore, a primary goal of my forth-coming work will be to simplify such concepts to increase accessibility, an objective that I feel will only be fully attainable if I, myself, fully understand the parameters of such hypothesis. As a result I chose to pursue a number of critical texts in the field of theoretical physics, identified through extensive research and written by respected professionals for a wider less educated audience, to inform my practice. These texts I was able to acquire digitally through various online sources.
Contents 1. The Bounds of Reality On Parallel Worlds 2. Endless Doppelgängers The Quilted Multiverse 3. Eternity and Infinity The Inflationary Multiverse 4. Unifying Nature’s Laws On the Road to String Theory 5. Hovering Universes in Nearby Dimensions The Brane and Cyclic Multiverses 6. New Thinking About an Old Constant The Landscape Multiverse 7. Science and the Multiverse On Inference, Explanation, and Prediction 8. The Many Worlds of Quantum Measurement The Quantum Multiverse 9. Black Holes and Holograms The Holographic Multiverse 10. Universes, Computers, and Mathematical Reality The Simulated and Ultimate Multiverses 11. The Limits of Inquiry Multiverses and the Future Notes Suggestions for Further Reading About the Author
Preface
If there was any doubt at the turn of the twentieth century, by the turn of the twenty-first, it was a foregone conclusion: when it comes to revealing the true nature of reality, common experience is deceptive. On reflection, that’s not particularly surprising. As our forebears gathered in forests and hunted on the savannas, an ability to calculate the quantum behavior of electrons or determine the cosmological implications of black holes would have provided little in the way of survival advantage. But an edge was surely offered by having a larger brain, and as our intellectual faculties grew, so, too, did our capacity to probe our surroundings more deeply. Some of our species built equipment to extend the reach of our senses; others became facile with a systematic method for detecting and expressing pattern—mathematics. With these tools, we began to peer behind everyday appearances. What we’ve found has already required sweeping changes to our picture of the cosmos. Through physical insight and mathematical rigor, guided and confirmed by experimentation and observation, we’ve established that space, time, matter, and energy engage a behavioral repertoire unlike anything any of us have ever directly witnessed. And now, penetrating analyses of these and related discoveries are leading us to what may be the next upheaval in understanding: the possibility that our universe is not the only universe. The Hidden Reality explores this possibility. In writing The Hidden Reality, I’ve presumed no expertise in physics or mathematics on the part of the reader. Instead, as in my previous books, I’ve used metaphor and analogy, interspersed with historical episodes, to give a broadly accessible account of some of the strangest and, should they prove correct, most revealing insights of modern physics. Many of the concepts covered require the reader to abandon comfortable modes of thought and to embrace unanticipated realms of reality. It’s a journey that’s all the more exciting, and understandable, for the scientific twists and turns that have blazed the trail. I’ve judiciously chosen from these to fill out a landscape of ideas that peak by valley stretches from the everyday to the wholly unfamiliar.
Week 08
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Relevant Reading — Leading Theorists
INTRODUCTION
Cosmos
The time will come when diligent research over long periods will bring to light things which now lie hidden. A single lifetime, even though entirely devoted to the sky, would not be enough for the investigation of so vast a subject . . . And so this knowledge will be unfolded only through long successive ages. There will come a time when our descendants will be amazed that we did not know things that are so plain to them . . . Many discoveries are reserved for ages still to come, when memory of us will have been effaced. Our universe is a sorry little affair unless it has in it something for every age to investigate . . . Nature does not reveal her mysteries once and for all. - Seneca, Natural Questions, Book 7, first century
CONTENTS Introduction 1
The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean
2
One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue
3
The Harmony of Worlds
4
Heaven and Hell
5
Blues for a Red Planet
6
Travelers’ Tales
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The Backbone of Night
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Travels in Space and Time
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The Lives of the Stars
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The Edge of Forever
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The Persistence of Memory
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Encyclopaedia Galactica
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Who Speaks for Earth? Appendix 1: Reductio ad Absurdum and the Square Root of Two Appendix 2: The Five Pythagorean Solids
In ancient times, in everyday speech and custom, the most mundane happenings were connected with the grandest cosmic events. A charming example is an incantation against the worm which the Assyrians of 1000 B.C. imagined to cause toothaches. It begins with the origin of the universe and ends with a cure for toothache: After Anu had created the heaven, And the heaven had created the earth, And the earth had created the rivers, And the rivers had created the canals, And the canals had created the morass, And the morass had created the worm, The worm went before Shamash, weeping, His tears flowing before Ea: ‘What wilt thou give me for my food, What wilt thou give me for my drink?’ ‘I will give thee the dried fig And the apricot.’ ‘What are these to me? The dried fig And the apricot! Lift me up, and among the teeth And the gums let me dwell! . . Because thou hast said this, O worm, May Ea smite thee with the might of His hand! (Incantation against toothache.) Its treatment: Second-grade beer . . . and oil thou shalt mix together; The incantation thou shalt recite three times thereon and shalt put the medicine upon the tooth. Our ancestors were eager to understand the world but had not quite stumbled upon the method. They imagined a small, quaint, tidy universe in which the dominant forces were gods like Anu, Ea, and Shamash. In that universe humans played an important if not a central role. We were intimately bound up with the rest of nature. The treatment of toothache with second-rate beer was tied to the deepest cosmological mysteries.
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CARL SAGAN
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Week 08
A Point of Singularity
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Self initiated experimental work
A point of singularity, borne unto the universe in a transient moment of stellar collapse. No light, nor matter, can escape the majesty of this dark and mysterious cosmic void. These entities of infinite density defy the comprehension of human thought and scientific law. The black hole is an enigma of space and time.
An Exercise in Abstraction I tasked myself with the production of the brief publication/zine, ‘A Point of Singularity’, with the intention of looking to creatively interpret the notion of the ‘black hole’ into a visual graphic language. Accordingly I felt it integral that my response have a strong narrative structure, outlining the formation and effects of a stellar mass black hole in the simplest most minimal manner possible. As a result I made the informed opinion, deviating away from my own strengths, to challenge myself to avoid the application of typography, or for that matter any form of written communicated statement. Instead attempting to establish a semantic language, capturing the intimidating essence of the subject matter, through the implementation of bold and striking illustrative imagery. Such a visual aesthetic was ascribed to the work in order to be intentionally metaphorically indicative of the black hole’s immense power and intent. Working in this manner of digital illustrative composition was entirely out of my comfort zone, despite this I feel that I thrived under this new direction of demonstrative design, producing a powerful and enduring graphic object. Furthermore, producing a visual response with such a novel approach afforded me the opportunity to experiment with a range of interesting and inventive software distortion tools, with which I had little previous experience. Knowing that a greyscale monochrome palette would carry the most visual impact, whilst also making discernible referral to the content matter, I opted to design the document for production on black paper stock. This decision then informed the commitment to establish a ‘no-white’ rule on the graphic piece, the absence of which served to further strengthen the conceptual impression. I planned to produce the document combining carefully trimmed regions of spot varnish and silver hot foils (applied to laser-jet toner). However, unfortunately, whether due to the complex detail of the illustrations or the quality of the print/paper the application of such a technique was not as successful as it has been when I have used it in the past.
Week 08
A Point of Singularity
Produced wholly in montone black the publication makes reference to the dark and insidious nature of the black hole
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‘A Point of Singularity’ utilises a striking visual language as the basis for the document’s narrative structure
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Week 08 A Point of Singularity
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A Point of Singularity Week 08
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Week 09
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Part II
Week Nine
Week 09
Documentary Addict
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research/resource documentary addict Informed Media
A vast array of informative media began to influence my practice sourced from high end production houses such as the BBC, National Geographic, SBS and many more. Not only this but the continuously maintained site also provides a frame of reference as to which areas of theoretical science are topical in the public domain, such issues become subject of contemporary cultural debate and therefore warrant the initiation of non-fiction film as a matter of public interest. Current topical issues identified from the trends of documentary production, featured on Documentary Addict, include; the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, explanation of black holes, comet ISON, the destruction of Earth, the potential discovery of dark matter and time. Watching such documentaries, produced for a widely unknowing public, has become an effortless way to digest such content and as a result I will continue to use this source to inform my practice. Such documentaries also conveniently provide a reference as to exactly what range of information is relevant to a common audience, aiding me in ascertaining exactly what depth of information I should pursue when presenting such topics in my thesis.
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During extensive research of my subject matter I stumbled across the website Documentary Addict, a website directory devoted to the compilation of indexed and categorised documentary and informative media. Already aware of the excellently produced, and hither featured, BBC Horizon and the ‘Wonders of the Universe’, with professor Brian Cox, a number of American manufactured documentaries and series, ordinarily exclusively available in the States, were made available for my viewing.
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Week 09
The Scale of The Universe — Cary Huang
relevant works digital / interactive Universal Scale This interactive Flash animation produced by Cary and Michael Huang depicts the scale of the universe on a linear sliding diagram, from the infinitesimally small on a quantum scale right up to the macroscopic scale of the observable universe. Though perhaps not the most visually stylised or appealing of interactive works it is instantly apparent that a vast amount of intensive research must have gone into producing what is essentially an interactive infographic that describes the relative nature of all matter in the universe in an understandable and relatable manner. I can’t help surmising that with a little more contemplation or consultation regarding the delivery of a visual language this could have been an incredibly impressive body of work. The modern physical sciences are concerned with one principal enquiry, a unified theory of theoretical physics, characterised by a unity between quantum mechanics and the macroscopic astrological. As a result contemporary science has become occupied by a search for knowledge characterised by one primary notion: scale. Accordingly I believe that it is fundamental that my own work be predominantly concerned with matters of relative scale when attempting to describe theoretical science and notions of the universe through visual interpretation.
Week 09
The Scale of The Universe — Cary Huang
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Week 09
How Many Earths? — New Scientist Exoplanets
Week 09
How Many Earths? — New Scientist Exoplanets
This parallax digital interactive map produced by Adam Becker, MacGregor Campbell and Peter Aldhous, on behalf of New Scientist and in collaboration with the Kepler mission space team, describes the process of data collection performed by the Kepler observatory. Each ‘slide’ is linked to a relatable numeric statistic regarding the number of inhabitable Earth-like planets observed as the field of survey intensifies, providing context for the data presented and making the information accessible for a general audience. This device helps to ground the theoretical concept and provides a frame of reference for the user, ultimately, in the final slides, extrapolating to an enormous figure to demonstrate the sheer scale of the observable universe. Visually the graphic is well delivered, consistent and for the most part considered, until the closing slides which I feel could probably have done without the slightly contrived vector silhouettes of a group of observers. The visual language is succinct, direct and without unnecessary ornamentation, all of which aids in the communication of the scientific theory, unfettered by elaborate composition.
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A Galactic Map
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Our Home in Space — Philipp Dettmer
relevant works motion infographic ‘The Solar System’ Motion Infographic The Solar System, Our Home in Space, is a motion infographic produced by collaborative German design thinktank Kurzgesagt. An initiative that creates; Short videos, explaining stuff. For example Evolution, the Universe or controversial topics like Fracking. We are a team of designers from Munich (and nerdfighters) who want to make science look beautiful. Because it is beautiful.
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Spearheading the group is Munich based information designer Philipp Dettmer. Who, by his own admission, champions the nature of the infographic in his professional practice; Lending visual form to complex subjects from all kinds of informational fields. Using educational film, infographics and illustrations, I strive not only to make knowledge more accessible to audiences, but also to convey memorable insights and reveal new connections with the subject matter. Amongst an impressive body of insightful infographic works Dettmer has also produced ‘Scales of The Solar System’ a publication visualising the enormous relative extent of our Solar System, designed to a scale of 1:200,000,000,000 spreading 486 pages, 456 of which are printed in block black , to illustrate the vast distances between planets. Other works of note include; ‘The Sun is Huge’, a visualisation experiment depicting the Sun and eight planets in our solar system to relative scale, [the gloss black print designed with a fluorescent neon plastic declaring that “The Sun contains 99.86% of the mass in the Solar System”] and ‘The Age of The Universe’, an A1 print depicting the history of all known time [13.75 billion years], comprised of 27,500 dots each representing a period of 500,00 years, arranged into a 106 meter long line.
Week 09
Measuring The Universe — Royal Observatory
In June 2012 The Royal Observatory at Greenwich hosted a programme of activities to coincide with the astrological event ‘the transit of Venus’ [the passing of Venus between the Sun and Earth], a spectacle which will not occur again for another 105 years. To mark such an occasion the curators commissioned ‘Measuring the Universe’, a short animation designed and art directed by Richard Hogg. ‘Measuring the Universe’ describes the known techniques for quantifying the distances between cosmological entities and Earth, including; relative parallax movements and geometry, relative standard candles and the Doppler effect on light-waves [including red and blue shift]. The animation has a strong aesthetic style, presenting information in a meaningful and relatable manner, illustrating all points with visual demonstrations that include pragmatic examples of how an individual might understand such concepts in various practical situations. Perhaps this comparison between the theoretical and the empirical is a tool that I should endeavour to draw upon in my own work to aid comprehension.
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Quantifying The Universe
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Comet Ison — Perihelion
These time lapse images were captured by NASA’s solar observation satellite STEREO Ahead on 28–29 November 2013. STEREO Ahead precedes Earth in its orbit around the Sun and happened to be the only spacecraft with a view on ISON at perihelion almost directly perpendicular to the plane of the comet’s orbit. The bright white mark seen near the sun is Venus. Owned by NASA / STEREO / Emily Lakdawalla. Composite ESA/NASA/SOHO C3/SDO/GSFC.
Week 09
Comet Ison — Perihelion
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Comet ISON captured by the red filter SOHO [Solar and Heliospheric Observatory] LASCO [Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph] C2 spacecraft, a collaborative Sun observing venture between NASA and ESA, as it dives in to the sun’s corona on November 28, 2013. Images leveled, enlarged and sharpened for full HD viewing by Babak Tafreshi [NASA / ESA / SOHO / Babak Tafreshi]. The final frame is a composite of the previous images.
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Week 09
Comet ISON — Profiling C/2012 S1
Comet ISON [Continually Updated 11/13 – 12/13] Comet ISON [formally known as C/2012 S1] is a sun-grazing comet discovered by two Russian astronomers of the International Scientific Optical Network [ISON] in September 2012, at the time of discovery the comet was 584 million miles from the Sun. Dubbed ‘The Comet of The Century’ by some astrologers the much anticipated passing of ISON became a significant event for sky-gazing enthusiasts. The comet, thought to be a ball of ice and dust originating from the Oort cloud, a giant swarm of icy remnants which sits 93 trillion miles from Earth on the very edge of the Solar System, is composed of pristine matter from the earliest days of the Solar System’s formation.
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ISON has no history of passing through the inner Solar System before and is said to be unlikely to ever do so again, which in itself is an unlikely circumstance for a comet, and so experts were unsure exactly what behaviour it would exhibit. Though due to its close projected encounter with the Sun, and potential to be the brightest most dramatic comet of the last 50 years [there was some speculation that it would outshine the moon], predictions stated that it would more than likely create a galactic show to rival the Great Comet of 1680, which had a tail 90 million miles long and could be seen during the day, leading many to think it was a punishment from God. All of these factors became contributors in an unusual event which had scientists worldwide pointing as many ground based observatories as possible, and at least 15 space assets, towards the comet in order to learn more about this time capsule from the early formation of the universe. Early estimates predicted ISON’s nucleus to range between 5 miles [NASA Swift], 1 mile [Hubble Space Telescope] and 0.5 miles [Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter], a relatively large extra-terrestrial object, though not the largest ever recorded. The exact composition of the comet is not definitively known, though, like most comets, it is commonly thought to be composed largely of dust, ice and solid gases. As a comet approaches the Sun expelled water, dust, gas and debris form a fuzzy haze around the nucleus called the coma. ISON’s 5 mile long coma was observed as bright green in colouration and further speculation arose that an ion cloud,a coloured tail of ionised gases pushed by the Sun’s high speed solar winds and dependent of the comet’s chemical composition, had begun to form in its trail. In early August 2013 ISON approached the Solar System’s ‘frost line’ 230–280 million miles from the Sun, a region of solar radiation causing water in the comet’s nucleus to evapourate and making it appear brighter. An explosive outburst on November 13–14 2013 boosted the comet’s brightness tenfold making it visible to the naked eye in the night’s sky. On November 28th 2013 ISON, accelerating from 95,000mph at the start of November to 845,000mph, reached perihelion passage [the point of orbit nearest to the Sun] within 750,000 miles of the solar surface, concluding a journey of roughly three million years, and heating up to 2,760C. Earth will pass near the orbit of comet ISON on 14–15 January 2014, well after the comet has passed, at which time micron-sized dust particle blown by the Sun’s radiation may cause a meteor shower or noctilucent clouds, composed of crystalline water. Both events are, however, unlikely. The possibility of small particles left behind on the orbital path almost one hundred days after the nucleus has passed are slim, meteor showers from long period comets making a single pass into the solar system are extremely rare and no such events have taken place under similar circumstances in the past. ISON’s positioning made it more favourable for observation from Earth after it passed perihelion, giving scientists the opportunity to make important and original observations of a unique event occurring for the first time in the new technological age, accordingly the most intensive observational campaigns were scheduled at this point in the comet’s journey. Though it was previously stated that even if the comet were not able to survive, tracking its journey to the Sun would help scientists to understand a great deal about its elemental structure, how ISON reacted with its environment [and the solar atmosphere] and what this data would explain about the Sun and origins of the solar system. Initial satellite images of ISON exiting perihelion depicted a streak of bright material streaming away from the Sun leading to speculation that the nucleus of the comet core may have remained intact. Sceptics however, stated that the comet, which had disappeared from observation as it encountered the Sun, had been destroyed by radiation pressure, extreme heat and gravitational forces and that which had been observed was in fact only debris. NASA, convinced that small fragments of the core may have continued on the path to deep space, launched a search for remnants and continued to monitor the sky. Unfortunately debate as to whether or not ISON had survived its encounter was recently quashed when Karl Battams a scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory posted an obituary for the comet on NASA’s ‘Comet ISON Observing Campaign’ website.
Week 09
The Comet of the Century — Time Magazine
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ISON Eulogy — In Memoriam [Karl Battams] Born in a dusty and turbulent environment, comet ISON spent its early years being jostled and struck by siblings both large and small. Surviving a particularly violent first few million years, ISON retreated to the Oort Cloud, where it maintained a largely reclusive existence for nearly four billion years. But around 3-million B.C., a chance encounter with a passing star coerced ISON into undertaking a pioneering career as a Sungrazer. On September 21, 2012, ISON made itself known to us, and allowed us to catalog the most extraordinary part of its spectacular vocational calling. Never one to follow convention, ISON lived a dynamic and unpredictable life, alternating between periods of quiet reflection and violent outburst. However, its toughened exterior belied a complex and delicate inner working that only now we are just beginning to understand. In late 2013, Comet ISON demonstrated not only its true beauty but a surprising turn of speed as it reached its career defining moment in the inner solar system. Tragically, on November 28, 2013, ISON’s tenacious ambition outweighed its ability, and our shining green candle in the solar wind began to burn out. Survived by approximately several trillion siblings, Comet ISON leaves behind an unprecedented legacy for astronomers, and the eternal gratitude of an enthralled global audience. Comet ISON is dead. But its memory will live on.
The Comet of The Century This amazingly diverse interactive comet tracking application was produced by Time Magazine to coincide with the journey of Comet ISON around the Sun. Titled ‘Where is Ison Now?’ the tracker allows a user to observe the exact path of Comet ISON as it moves through our Solar System, changing the variable date and angle of observation, and providing a figure for the comet’s distance from Earth. Designed by Alexander Ho and coded by Chris Wilson the orbital calculations for the interactive were derived from Kepler’s laws of motion with help from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the source code of the OrbitViewer application and William Thompson of the Goddard Space Flight Center. More interestingly the application allows users to track the flight paths of a plethora of recorded space debris, simply by searching a comet’s name. The unrefined code is available open-source on GitHub, opening the project up to expansion from third party users and the possibility that I could use said code to create my own digital interactive info-piece, a prospect for which there may be some potential in my work. Ultimately I will need to assess quite how difficult the implementation of the code might be, but it could be an impressive outcome.
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relevant works digital / interactive /APP
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Week 09
Comet ISON Interactive Model — Solar System Scope
Solar System Scope [Here]
Exoplanet [Opposite]
The interactive 3D model for Comet ISON produced by Solar System Scope is not dissimilar to that produced for Time Magazine, aside from a slightly more literal visual interpretation. Clearly the level of interest in ISON has been extremely high in the past few months, with the comet gaining extensive media coverage in addition to the production of various animations, models and graphics. As a currently topical news story, in the public domain, this has helped me to identify the subject as a potential area of interest for my own study.
The free Exoplanet App for Apple devices, powered by the Open Exoplanet Catalogue, is a daily updated interactive database of all discovered extrasolar planets, linked to the Kepler space observatory, and utilising a vast scale of detailed data visualisation graphics.
However, I have noted that the majority of graphic and user driven responses to this media storm have been of an interactive nature, as is most commonly the case for the majority of cosmological events. This makes me question whether it might be worth revolting against such established mediums and deploying my own ideas through a contrasting channel such as print to create creative and unique user experiences, juxtaposed from that which is considered customary. As a result of this epiphany I have begun to consider the numerous ways that a narrative might be portrayed or interactive user experience developed aside from typical digital works.
Exoplanet exhibits the physical parameters of every known extrasolar planet [planets orbiting a star outside of our own Solar System], featuring; numerous diagram and plot visuals to detail scientific data [which can be exported as PDFs], a real-time GPS augmented reality view of the night sky, push notified news of new discoveries, animated orbital examples, comparative scale of discoveries, detailed scientific data and an interactive explorable 3D map of the Milky Way plotting all extrasolar planets relative to our Sun. The application is incredibly detailed and well developed, bringing a vast amount of complex and highly demanding data to a user in a simple, exciting and engageable interface. In fact I would probably go as far as to state that this application is unparalleled as the most responsive and visually exciting iPhone app that I have ever had the fortune of using, an astounding claim particularly on the scale which this project is operating, creating a digital relative map of the whole galaxy. What is particularly inspiring about the application is that, looking at the feedback it has received online, it has been able to galvanise a working interest in exoplanet discovery in a wide common audience.
Week 09
Exoplanet App — Hanno Rein
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Developed by a cosmology enthusiast connecting individuals to scientific discovery in a practical, pragmatic and intimate manner
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Exoplanet is accurate yet stimulating,
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Week 09
Sounds of The Universe
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Each individual point denotes a gamma ray. The colors refer to low [red], medium [blue] and high [green] rays [played by harp, cello and piano respectively]. Energy is plotted as increasing on the y-axis and the arrival time of the rays are on the x-axis [later arriving gamma-rays are further to the right]. The vertical line denotes where the music is currently playing and bottom panel shows the number of gamma-rays [which is the number of notes played] in each time slice.
relevant works sound/concept Stephen Hawking’s Universe [Top] Jared Ficklin
Gamma Ray Burst as Music [Above] Fermi LAT Team
In 2009 Ficklin, a physics hobbyist and technologist, created a digital sound visualisation in tribute to Stephen Hawking’s 4 hour Cambridge Lecture Series. Using Adobe Flash he built a steering algorithm to plot a star for each individual sentence, the amplitude driving a point on the x-axis and the inflection a point on the y-axis, long sentences corresponding to small stars and short sentences to large stars. The resulting ‘star field’ was Stephen Hawking’s Universe a digital map, looking much like the night sky, which corresponded to a range of variables in Hawking’s speech.
Members of the team that work with the Fermi Large Area Telescope have translated gamma-ray measurements into musical pitch [the higher the energy the higher the frequency], creating a song from the expelled photons of one of the most energetic and powerful explosions in the universe [GRB 080916C]. Gamma ray bursts are dramatic spectacles, according to NASA, shining hundreds of times brighter than a typical supernova and a million trillion times as bright as the sun, far too highly energised to be seen by the human eye. Protons were ‘played’ by different instruments [harp, cello or piano] based on the probability of their origin from the burst.
Ficklin later adjusted the visualisation, making it fully interactive so that a user could select a random star point in order to hear the corresponding sentence spoken by Hawking. Further data could be inferred by plotting sound in this way, as Ficklin asserts, the mean lines are trending upwards leading to the assumption that there are still more questions than answers in modern theoretical physics.
Surprisingly the audio fabricated by such a catastrophic and destructive event is quite beautiful, assuming a ghostly and ephemeral tone. Scientists have attempted to produce similar works before [‘Listening to a Solar Storm’] but without quite the same melodic impact.
Week 09
Models and Installations
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relevant works model / installation Collider [Here] Nissen Richards Nissen Richards Studio, a firm specialising in architecture, theatre and exhibition design, were commissioned as 3D designers and collaborators for an exhibition titled ‘Collider’, running until May 2014, at London Science Museum, before embarking on an International tour.
Creating an experience that would accurately portray the scale of the LHC in a space just a fraction of its 27km size would have presented an enormous challenge to be overcome by the creatives responsible for curating the Collider exhibit.
Universe Cubed [Below] Oisin Byrne Built in collaboration with Professor John Richard Gott, Head of Astrophysics at Princeton University, ‘Universe Cubed’ is a gnomonic map projection [displaying all great circles as straight lines, resulting in any line segment on a gnomonic map showing the shortest route between the segment’s two endpoints] of the entire visible celestial sphere into a cube. Two versions of the box — one in paper and one in solid silver are currently installed in Princeton University. A conceptually sound piece the cubic shape is representative of the limitations of any theoretical understanding or framework in which we attempt to contain the limitless universe. A mundane object transformed: it is a vision of the infinite within the mundane, the celestial within the terrestrial.
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The resulting exhibit is an artifact of immersive theatre, inviting attendees to explore and interact with their environment, utilising timed elements, sound,video, costume, lighting and narrative [developed through playwriting]. The ultimate goal being to incorporate all sensory elements of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Switzerland, into an informative, engaging and inspiring unified installation.
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Week 10
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Part II
Week Ten
Week 10
An Exoplanet Atlas — David McCandless
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relevant works Infographic
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Extrasolar Entities British author, data-journalist, information designer and founder of data graphic initiative ‘Information is Beautiful’, David McCandless was commissioned in February 2011 to design ‘An Atlas of Exoplanets’ for Wired Magazine. McCandless describes the piece as; A celebration of incredible advancement in telescopy that allows us to spot planets in other solar systems. Visualisation of the some of the more interesting of these exoplanets. A huge depth of complex and generally unattainable scientific data is stored on each exoplanet discovery [see next spread] and as such representing this data in a meaningful and engaging manner can be a daunting challenge. McCandless, on his blog for the creation of this infographic, notes that ‘there is far too much use of the unit of light years in astrophysics’, instead asserting that he aims to ‘visualise a compendium of the most fascinating exoplanets, making the distances involved more understandable’. McCandless, with a team of 2 other designers and 3 researchers, worked through a range of 26 successive drafts over a period of 9 months before completing the final infographic design. Even body copy was drafted on six separate occasions, in order to ensure tightly optimised copy that most succinctly relayed information.
Reflecting on my own practice, the depiction of data using simple infographic imagery and limited copy may be an important skill for consideration in attaining the goals of my thesis. Here McCandless has worked towards similar objectives with great effect, most notably it appears that the curation of content was an integral factor in the success of his final design, a skill that I must seek to deploy.
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Week 10
Exoplanet Orbit Database
research/resource EXOPLANET DATABASE Exoplanet Data Explorer Used by David McCandless for his Wired commission ‘An Exoplanet Atlas’, the Exoplanet Data Explorer is an interactive table and plotter for exploring and displaying data from the Exoplanet Orbit Database. The latter being a carefully constructed compilation of quality, spectroscopic orbital parameters of exoplanets orbiting normals stars, assimilated from peer reviewed literature, and updates to the catalogue of nearby exoplanets. Produced and maintained by professional scientists at Cornell and the California Planet Survey Consortium, the site is one of very few open sources for officially appraised data regarding the discoveries of new extrasolar interstellar objects. The Exoplanet Orbit Database could prove a useful resource should I decide to produce some kind of digital data intensive interactive or printed infographic as an outcome for one of my graduate projects. With the ongoing discovery of new exoplanets, increasing to the current rate of two potential candidates per day and expected to continue rising, and the topic referred to regularly in various branches of global media, it seems highly appropriate that I should consider to do so.
Additional table and plotting tools, producing resources available as downloadable PDFs, may prove useful in identifying trends in data should I chose to produce work on this subject matter.
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Exoplanet Orbit Database Week 10
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Maths Dreamed Universe — The Luxury of Protest
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The Luxury of Protest is the pseudonym of London based designer and artist Peter Crnokrak. Established in 2009, the practice is an experimental design platform that develops both commercial and critical design projects that transcend traditional reference points of purpose and authorship within the profession relevant works Infographic Maths Dreamed Universe [Extract] ‘Maths Dreamed Universe’ is a quantitative visualisation of the manner within which elemental forms in nature order themselves. The graph was created using generative python code and maps numbers 0 to 100, 001 arranged in a logarithmic spiral. The form of the spiral is determined by the golden angle substension of a circle that distributes numbers from the centre [0] to the outer edge [100,001]. The pattern that results is frequently found in nature, as in floral organs, and has been documented since Archimede’s time. The spiral reveals the visual relationships of elemental numbers and aesthetic beauty of mathematical equations. The project reflects the contemporary interest in the intersection of science and art — in particular the use of scientific methods to inform art practice, The primary motivation for creating the poster was to visualise the crossover of pure math with graphic aestheticism. The appreciation of what may be termed ‘purely aesthetic forms’ has a long tradition in art and design, but ornamentation is often derided as being little more than a fancy. But what if aesthetic appreciation was functional? What if beauty communicates and is thus open to analytical investigation? ‘Maths Dreamed Universe’ is the first in a series of projects that examines meaning in aesthetics.
Week 10
Real Magick in Theory — The Luxury of Protest
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Real Magick in Theory [Extract] Believed to be the most geometrically complex and aesthetically beautiful structure in mathematics, the 4_21 polytope is the algebraic form at the centre of a universal theory of everything. Originally described in the late 19th century, 4_21 models all interactions and transformations between known and postulated sub-atomic particles. It is the 21st century equivalent of the proto-scientific art of alchemy — where the transmutation of elements was the most elusive mystery of the universe. The theory is an attempt to reconcile one of the fundamental unsolved problems in physics: unify quantum physics and gravitation in hopes of ultimately explaining the fabric of the universe.
The rendering presented here is the most geometrically accurate visualisation of the 4_21 polytope to date. Previous attempts to render the structure were limited by the inability of graphics engines to construct even simple shapes such as perfect circles. ‘Real Magick …’ was hand drawn in Adobe Illustrator to an accuracy of 1/10,000th of a millimeter.
Projects are concept driven and utilise design language to communicate meaning in complex systems of work. The practice is a continual crossover between art, design and new technologies with work that addresses culturally relevant themes including geopolitics, generative aesthetics and the integration of science and art
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4_21 commonly referred to as E8m since the vectors of its root system lie in eight dimensional Euclidean space, models field dynamics and elementary particle transformations through pure geometry. As such the method of its elucidation and comprehension is decidedly form-orientated in nature — one has to visualise the math to understand how it functions. Its subsumed dimension within dimension, with dimension structure creates a staggeringly complex 248 symmetry lattice that predicts all known particles and forces in the universe as it twists and folds in spacetime.
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Creative Works — Katie Paterson
Katie Paterson Selected Works
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I’ve found Paterson’s conceptual interpretations of mankind’s relationship with the universe fascinating to behold. Her grasp of narrative and deliverance of the fundamental aspects of the subject area is unparalleled. Notions of the unknown, mortality, creation, existence and reality are all tackled within her work utilising a level of maturity and intelligence.
Light-bulb to Simulate Moonlight Katie Paterson
History of Darkness Katie Paterson
Produced with the lighting company OSRAM in series of ‘lifetimes’, each set contains a sufficient quantity of light bulbs to provide a person with a lifetime supply of moonlight, based on the current average life-span for a human being alive in 2008. (Each bulb burns for 2000 hours, a lifetime contains 289 bulbs).
History of Darkness is a slide archive; a life-long project, it will eventually contain hundreds upon thousands of images of darkness from different times/places in the history of the Universe, spanning billions and billions of years. Each image is handwritten with its distance from earth in light years, and arranged from one to infinity.
Second Moon Katie Paterson
All the Dead Stars Katie Paterson
Second Moon tracks the cyclical journey of a small fragment of the moon as it circles the Earth, via air freight courier, on a man made commercial orbit.
A map documenting the locations of just under 27,000 dead stars — all that have been recorded and observed by humankind.
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Creative Works — Katie Paterson
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The depth, rigor, interrogation and ambitious scale of Paterson’s works becomes symbolic of mankind’s grapple with intellectual understanding of the enormity of the universe. Notions of the infinite are projected through her stringent narratives into a quest for comprehension and articulation of our existence in such a place [visually, scientifically and linguistically]. Working as the first ever fine artist in residence at the University College of London’s Astrophysics Group in 2010/11, enabled by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust, allowed Paterson to refine the nature of her cross disciplinary works in collaboration with leading cosmologists.
Earth — Moon — Earth Katie Paterson
Gamma rays are the brightest explosions in the universe. The confetti cannons created for ‘100 Billion Suns’ contain 3,216 pieces of paper whose colours correspond to observed gamma ray events. Every burst of confetti creates a miniature explosion of all of these vast explosions, in just under a second, a terrestrial imitation.
Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata is transmitted via E.M.E, in Morse code from earth, reflected from the surface of the moon, and then received back on earth. The moon reflects only part of the information back – some is absorbed in its shadows, ‘lost’ in its craters. A new score is created, fragmented, on a self-playing grand piano.
Inside This Desert Lies The Tiniest Grain of Sand Katie Paterson
Campo del Cielo [Field of Sky] Katie Paterson
A grain of sand collected from the Sahara Desert was chiselled to 0.00005mm, using nanotechnology. This new minute grain of sand was then taken back to the Sahara and buried deep within its vast desert sands.
A meteorite, which has been travelling through space and time for over 4.5 billion years, has been cast, melted, and then cast back into a new version of itself. Billions of years of change become collapsed, transformed and renewed.
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100 Billion Suns Katie Paterson
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Creative Works — Network Osaka
Abstract Modernism
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For some time now the design work of freelance creative Derek Kim, operating under the pseudonyms Network Osaka and Untitled–1, has been of intrigue to me. Though the content of his work has little relationship to my current thesis I find the manner in which Kim abstracts basic modernist vector shapes utilising; lighting, gradient, composition, form and geometry to be of particular influence to my own design practice. I certainly think that many of these visual cues will be integral to my own creative adaptation of the content with which I have chosen to work.
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Harvard-Smithsonian Robotic Telescope
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research/resource Interactive telescope Observing With NASA The NASA MicroObservatory is a network of automated telescopes that can be controlled remotely via the internet. The series of optical observers were developed by scientists and educators at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics and were designed to enable individuals worldwide to investigate the wonders of the deep sky domestically and from educational institutes.
All users are able to control a sophisticated ground based weather-proof telescope from the convenience of their computer, recording and downloading images with no human intervention. Control software automatically makes users aware of which targets are available on any specific night, the user then selects a target to point the telescope at [from a limited list of planets, stars, nebula and galaxies], chooses parameters [such as exposure time, colour filters and field of view] before submitting a request. Within 48 hours a link is sent out via email to the user with access to their images and they are invited to process images using free dedicated image processing software and enter photo competitions. The MicroObservatory is fundamentally a digital installation, providing interaction and tangible results for each user, without too much of a stretch of understanding it could essentially be considered to be a collaborative creative statement. The MicroObservatory project allows individuals to control and craft their own meaningful experiences whilst exposing themselves to new information about cosmology and the universe. Providing a strong working model for how future interactive installations might work to engage people, with the subjects of astrophysics, in my own work. Furthermore the technology may prove useful in sourcing imagery, free from copyright restrictions, needed for publication and digital works.
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The MicroObservatory remote observing network is composed of several 3ft tall reflecting telescopes, each of which has a 6� mirror to capture the light from distant objects in space. Instead of an eyepiece, the MicroObservatory telescopes focus the collected light onto a CCD detector [an electronic chip like that in a digital camera] that records the image as a picture file 650 × 500 pixels in resolution.
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Week 10 Gravity — Alfonso Cuarón
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Gravity — Alfonso Cuarón
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Gravity is laced with tension between subliminal origins of existence, evolution , claustrophobia, chaos, scale and fragility
research/resource film Mainstream Insight To gain better insight into a mainstream representation of space and cosmology I came to the conclusion that it may be beneficial to my thesis to watch the 2013 scientifically accurate sci-fi thriller ‘Gravity’. The objective being that a discernment of public perception around the topic of cosmology would help me to make my work more relatable to a common audience. Visually the movie was astounding to behold, wide angle shots of the Earth from space communicated depth and vast scale, whilst subliminally inferring the fragility of mankind’s existence in the universe. Cinematically fraught with tension the movie made me personally aware for the very first time quite how intimidating the unknown and dangerous void of space could be. I began to further question if this aligned to a public perception of this universe? Do people consider our place in the universe to be as fragile as it is and do they realise the extent of space’s expansive limitless borders?
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cinematic tropes from spirituality and theology to the
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The Black Knight Satellite Mystery
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The Black Knight Satellite Mystery
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research/resource subject of interest The Black Knight The complexity of the ‘Black Knight’ satellite legend has been grossly distorted and compounded over a series of decades of human space exploration. Conspiracists have sought to provide evidence for the existence of an artificial object [ie. not occurring naturally], in orbit around the Earth, by assembling citation of circumstantial, inaccurate documentation and wildly disassociated historical events. Drawing parallels between innocuous and seemingly disconnected sources from a range of historical contexts to corroborate with their own theories of an inscrutable purpose and origin.
Nonetheless in spite of all of the sound logical and intelligent evidence put forward to disprove the existence of the Black Knight as anything other than a work of fiction the very notion of a mysterious mass of unknown origin, silently orbiting the Earth’s outer atmosphere, is a compelling and gripping fable. Interestingly, without any new evidence to corroborate stories that have circulated the internet, regarding the satellite, for over a decade the Black Knight phenomenon has inexplicably attracted a surge of online interest over the course of 2013. NASA did little to dispel the conspiracies, igniting fresh speculation on the authenticity of the images when in early January of 2013 they pulled images of the space debris, taken on the STS–088 shuttle mission [famously the first Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Centre], and originally uploaded in May 2011 to the NASA Johnson Space Center website, from their public database. The images were in fact pulled and subsequently moved to a different location on the JSC database [NASA’s data terms specify that they reserve the right to changed the access and display methods to all public use data and images] causing the links to go dead, though this did little to quash newly emerging rumours of a mass governmental deception. Such conjecture was further compounded by NASA’s reluctance to respond to public enquiry or release an official statement on the matter, operating a silent counter and laying fertile ground for ongoing public supposition. The variation of publically expressed subjective beliefs in addition to all of the other contributing factors has resulted in making the origins of the Black Knight legend extremely difficult to research and trace to a logical conclusion, predominantly because so much information has been fabricated and drawn from unrelated occurrences. However, the subject remains topical, with plenty of contemporary debate still ongoing, and despite reasoned evidence that would serve to disprove the existence of such a satellite I feel that it may still be interesting and viable as a potential topic of study for creative works. A two sided [or mirrored] publication could be produced, offering official scientific explanation on one side and popular conjecture on the other, ultimately giving the user the opportunity to decide on which side their opinion falls, depending on that which they wish to be true.
Research Material
youtube.com/watch?v=IXqw6NpCwIg youtube.com/watch?v=6omlycVMOcw skeptoid.com/episodes/4365 abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread950743/pg1 abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread950743/pg19 abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread975106/pg1 content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,894745,00.html armaghplanet.com/blog/the-truth-about-the-black-knight-satellite-mystery.html exopolitics.org/nasa-caught-deleting-ufo-photos-from-its-website
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Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary there are many who believe the mysterious dark phenomena, dubbed ‘The Black Knight’, to be a 13,000 year old drone from an advanced extra-terrestrial civilisation transmitting a star chart pointing the way to Epsilon Boötis, a spacecraft launched by the cosmonauts of an ancient Earth civilisation, a top secret military spying post, the remnants of a covert Nazi space mission, a naturally occurring celestial satellite or even a time travelling craft made by the future inhabiting civilisation of planet Earth. In reality the Black Knight tale is a web of completely disconnected historical accounts, reports of unusual scientific observations, authors promoting fringe ideas, classified spy satellites and conspiracy nuts over-interpreting NASA photography of space debris. These contributing factors have merged beyond the point of rational objective reality creating an inconsistent and unfounded myth.
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The WOW! Signal — Jerry Ehman
Extra-Terrestrial Transmission
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On 15th August 1977 Jerry R. Ehman, an American astronomer working on a SETI [Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence] project at the Big Ear radio telescope of The Ohio State University, then located at Ohio Wesleyan University’s Perkins Observatory in Delaware, detected a brief burst of strong narrowband radio signals baring all the expected hallmarks of a non-terrestrial extra-solar origin. Amazed at how closely the signal matched the expected signature of an interstellar signal, Ehman circled the associated line of code on a computer print-out [the alphanumeric code 6EQUJ5 describing the intensity variation of the signal], writing the word ‘Wow!’ in the margin and unintentionally assigning the received radio signal the name under which it would become famous. The original printout of the ‘Wow! Signal’, complete with Ehman’s famous exclamation, is now preserved by the Ohio Historical Society. Mysteriously the signal, lasting a full 72 seconds, has, despite great effort and the attraction of significant media attention, never been traced in origin or observed since. The only conclusions that can be drawn are that, if the signal truly did originate in deep space, it was either an astrophysical phenomenon of which mankind has never since discerned, or it truly was an intercepted alien signal.
In 2012, on the 35th anniversary of the ‘Wow! Signal’, Arecibo Observatory Ehman was skeptical of its origin, stating that “something suggests it was an Earth-sourced signal that simply got beamed a response from humanity, reflected off a piece of space debris.” However further investigation concluded that it was scarcely possible that the signal could have originated on Earth, and reflection off of space debris was equally unlikely. The measured signal was containing 10,000 Twitter messages very specific, and these explanations required too many assumptions. A pattern of logical thinking known as Occam’s razor [the perceived notion that a good theory or hypothesis will be the one which requires the least assumptions, and a repeating sequence header, to describing the most data with the simplest explanation possible] pointed towards this signal having an astrophysical origin, though this provided no explanation for what it might be. increase the chances of decoding The curious signal was more or less a perfect match for that which would be expected from a received extraterrestrial the message, in the direction from transmission, a continuous signal expected to register for the exact 72 second observation widow of the rotating Big Ear’. The signal intensity was observed to show a gradual peaking for the first 36 seconds — reaching the centre of the which the signal originated. Big Ear’s observation window — and then gradual decrease, consistent with the rotation of the Earth and a single source tracking across the sky through the Big Ear telescope’s view. This gave the signal a characteristic signature, caused by objects seen in the sky, one that would be nearly impossible for any Earth-bound object to match. It also stood out dramatically over the background noise found in deep space, being about 30 times louder, however most interesting was the signal’s frequency. The signal was extremely sharp transmitting at only a single frequency [1420MHz], unlike natural radio sources that spread across a range of frequencies, meaning that the same signal covers a broad band of transmission. 1420MHz, also known as the hydrogen line, is a radio frequency internationally banned from use by terrestrial radio signals because of its use in radio astronomy. Astronomically it is usually emitted by neutral hydrogen atoms in interstellar space, observed roughly evenly in all directions, it has previously been used to create stellar maps of the galaxy. The presence of hydrogen, the most simple and abundant element in the universe, would most probably be known to any intelligent civilisation and used for astronomical observations. Scientists say that if the signal came from extraterrestrials, they are likely to be an extremely advanced civilization, as the signal would have required a 2.2-gigawatt transmitter, vastly more powerful than any on Earth. Accordingly SETI researchers consider the hydrogen line a logical frequency to check for any alien transmissions intended to be heard. The design of Big Ear, using two feed horns each pointing in slightly different directions, to follow Earth’s rotation, means that the source of the ‘Wow! Signal’ was only detected in one of the horns, unfortunately the data is processed in such a way that it is impossible to determine which of the two horns the signal entered, The signal can, however, be narrowed down to one of two small regions in space, around the constellation Sagittarius, roughly 2.5 degrees south of the fifth magnitude star group Chi Sagittarii, and about 3.5 degrees south of the plane of the ecliptic, where a handful of nearby stars are located. To date, most SETI searches have operated by sweeping the sky, whilst this allow for a lot of coverage it minimises the likelihood of returning a result from any given area. Since 1977 the results of the ‘Wow! Signal’ have been closely analysed, but to date nobody has been able surmise a satisfactory explanation for precisely where the signal originally came from, this will remain the case unless a repeat signal is ever observed. Whilst we now believe that exoplanets are common across the galaxy we have much less knowledge regarding mysterious radio transmissions.
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T E N 02 — The End is Nigh
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Self initiated experimental work
THE E ND
The difficulty that I faced in producing a coherent body of graphic responses to the ten theoretical concepts was, I feel, a primary contributor in my attitude towards this piece as it developed.
Though at times I despaired, I persevered regardless and, upon introducing content and a defined typographic style the amalgamating of each individual heading into a consolidated visual approach became more intuitive.
This deviation therefore presented me with the opportunity refine the publication’s visual aesthetic into something much more original and experimental.
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Further from this, and expanding upon the already exploratory nature of the document, I seized the opportunity to apply a number of newly acquired software skills including; 3D rendering, distortion, warping (both digitally and manually), the Illustrator blend tool and the manipulation of Illustrator symbols (producing the chaotic arrow motif on the cover.
The End is Nigh is the second edition and continuation of my newly established research journal/ publication ‘TEN’, each issue of which collates and presents ten working examples of concepts, theories and ideas relevant to my current direction of work. Choosing to focus this particular issue around potentially catastrophic cosmological events I aimed to produce a playful and evocative publication that tackled the content matter in a frivolous, tongue-in-cheek manner and would engage its readership with striking visual analogies. Working off the back of the perceived success of the visual language employed in ‘A Point of Singularity’ I made the conscious decision to approach the content with a method of graphic illustration, quite removed from my conventional working procedure. However, this publication proved more challenging, devoid of a lack of pre-imposed narrative structure, I struggled to produce graphic interpretations for each individual theory which were unified by a common visual language from one spread to the next, instead arriving at a dissociated variation of graphic works. I feel that there is a strong likelihood that the reason for this was that I chose to attempt to tackle the content visually before going to the lengths of researching and understanding each individual concept in to the best of my ability.
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Making the conscious decision to parody the sombre and apocalyptic gimmick of blackletter typography I paired typographic nuances in a manner far more extrovert than previously attempted in my work ( I have found that ordinarily I am attracted to working with established, traditional and safer typographic styles).
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TEN VISIONS OF COSMIC DESTRUCTION the end
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the end of everything Multiverse Brane Collision One of a number of currently proposed theoretical cosmological models for the origin and shape of the universe is the Ekpyrotic scenario (coming from the Stoic term Ekpyrosis, meaning conflagration or in Stoic usage ‘conversion into fire’). The Ekpyrotic model, a precursor to some cyclic models of the universe, is an alternative to the standard cosmic inflation theory of the very early universe, yet accommodates the standard Big Bang hypothesis. Founded by the work of Neil Turok, the director at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Ontario CA, and Paul Steinhardt, at Princeton, the theory maintains that the universe did not start at a point of singularity but that the Big Bang came about from the collision of two ‘branes’ in a cyclical multiverse model. This conclusion was made
binary brane universe
on the foundation of two contrasting fundamental options; either that time did not exist before the beginning, a notion of which we have no grasp, and is a logical contradiction, or the other possibility, on which the Ekpyrotic theory is based, the initiation of the universe was a violent event within a preexisting universe. The ‘branes’ (short for membrane) are extended two dimensional planes or objects,
collide across
moving in three spacial dimensions (within which all observable space exists), and exist within a complex model of eleven spacial dimensions including time. A minimum of two brane universes must be present separated by a gap along an unobservable seventh dimension, it is then possible for these binary branes to collide, imparting immense and explosive energy and filling with a density of plasma and matter, yet remaining extended (avoiding the assumption of a primordial singularity point). Interesting everything proposed by the theory of brane cosmology is finite, calculable and describable using definitive mathematical law. Turok states; The seventh extra dimension of space is the gap between two parallel objects called branes. It’s like the gap between two parallel mirrors. We thought, What happens if these two mirrors collide? Maybe that was the Big Bang. Once a staple of science fiction, the existence of parallel universes is now taken very seriously in theoretical physics and, though collision between branes may be rare on the time scale of the expansion of the universe, it is wholly possible that such an event once occurred at the dawn of our universe and may occur again in the future. This state phase transition in the universe would obliterate planets, solar systems, galaxies and cluster of galaxies, ending the fabric of reality in an instant. Yet this doomsday scenario could mark the initiation of a new universe, born from the destruction of our own, in cyclical model of creation.
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eleven spacial dimensions
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T E N 02 — The End is Nigh
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gamma radiation
distorted
Antimatter is material composed of antiparticles (the antithesis of matter), which have the same mas as particles of ordinary matter but have an opposing charge and particle
ANTim at t e r
properties. Encounters between particles and antiparticles lead to the annihilation of both giving rise to varying proportions of high energy photons (gamma rays), neutrinos and lower-mass particle-antiparticle pairing. Setting aside the mass of any product
neutrinos, which represent released energy, the end result of annihilation is a release of energy equivalent to the total matter + antimatter mass, in accordance with Einstein’s mass-energy equivalence equation, E=mc2.
harnessing antimatter energy
The United States Air Force has been interested in the military applications of
past
antimatter since the Cold War, funding antimatter related research in the hopes of
harnessing the sheer power of annihilation as a weapon, propellant and power source. Though currently hypothetical, due mostly to the cost of production and limitations of technology to safely produce and contain sufficient quantities of antimatter (which
would need to be suspended in a vacuum using magnetic and electric fields), an antimatter
weapon could theoretically produce a significantly greater fraction of mass to explosive energy than the yield of current fusion reactions.
There is, however, considerable skepticism within the scientific community about the viability of antimatter weapons, according to CERN laboratories (which regularly produced antimatter in the Large Hadron Collider) the possibility of harnessing antimatter energy is low because we are currently unable to accumulate enough at a high density. Should the immense destructive power of antimatter be harnessed and controlled in the future it is predicted that the pure energy yielded from such a devastating force would equate to 44 megatons of explosive force per pound of antimatter (approximately the same as a thermonuclear bomb). Current estimates reflect that the power necessary to destroy the Earth would require trillions of tons of antimatter. However, as an energy resource antimatter could potentially be harvested from The Sun, released in explosive solar flares from a build up of magnetic energy in the solar nuclear furnace (a large flare is known to produce up to two pounds of antimatter which, when coming into contact with matter is annihilated instantaneously). Collecting enough matter in this way to make an appreciable sized bomb could take millions of years.
the creation and annihilation of electron and positron pairs
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Annihilation of Antimatter
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Though initially displeased with the development of the publication upon further refinement of the visual structure I am extremely satisfied with the finished product. The experience and process of creating this document has been a valuable one not least for the amount of relative research required to populate it with content (all of which has been written by myself) or the insight it provided into my own working habits. Consequently I feel that the opportunity to experiment visually will be invaluable in establishing a graphic approach to my self directed study.
Subtle expressions in the graphic interpretations of each theory play an integral role to the weight of the publication. One primary example of this is the ‘Multiverse Brane Collision’ spread on which the eleven spacial dimensions of reality are depicted by distorted waving vertical stripes running the length of the page.
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Earth’s rotation and tilted axis are integral to existence for a variety of reasons, providing important reference for the mapping of celestial bodies and accurate
t h i s l a u n ch ed in to a
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measurement of time. Subsequently if Earth’s rotation were to be halted or more plausibly significantly slowed by collision with an extra-terrestrial body it could have disastrous effects. Though if a collision catastrophic enough to balance Earth’s tendency to rotate were to occur, the energy imparted would be cataclysmic in itself.
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Being far hotter at the equator than at the poles, where light rays are more slanted and heat efficiency is lower, the long term temperature gradient would alter the atmospheric wind circulation pattern, producing massive wind jets and convection currents streaming across the planet. Air would move from the equator to the poles filling each region of the Earth with massive a 12,000 mile bands of extreme weather, churning across the globe in bi-annual cyclone seasons. Furthermore Earth would become a perfect sphere, though this may seem minor, the effects would be devastating. Earth’s current centrifugal force stretches the planet into an ellipsoid, bulging 21.4km wider at the equatorial axis than the poles. Because of the planet’s oblate shape the oceans are held out at the equator by as much as 8km, if rotation were to halt all of the world’s oceanic water would redistribute, flooding many regions of the planet with an immense volume of water.
ro s
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Finally it is presumed that the globe’s magnetic field is generated by a dynamo effect in the molten core. Ceasing the Earth’s rotation would halt the magnetic regeneration, eradicating all protection from high energy cosmic particles and presenting significant biohazard to any remaining life.
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Soon Earth would be a dead world orbiting the centre of The Sun in ‘sun synchronous’ rotation (turning once every 365 days), though not completely halted this is the closest the laws of physics will allow Earth to halting its spin. Day and night would be dictated by the yearly cycle, making each half a year long in the succession of a binary seasonal calendar, an absence of planetary tilt would eradicate the traditional four seasons. Whilst one side of the planet absorbed radiated energy from The Sun for six months the other hemisphere would lose heat trapped in a perpetual dark winter.
tic
hour winds across the surface everywhere on the planet at once, releasing vast amounts of rotational friction as heat, melting rock and vaporising water.
llis
upon the planet’s surface, including oceans, would be launched into a ballistic sideways trajectory at the speed of the planet’s previous rotational velocity causing fatal damage. Furthermore Earth’s atmosphere would continue its velocity creating 1000 mile per
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The first thing to consider is the momentum of all matter on the surface of the Earth, held down by the planet’s gravity and spinning through space at a rotational velocity of 1,674.4 km/h (at the equator). If the Earth suddenly stopped spinning then everything
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Halt Planetary Rotation
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tidal Acceleration In fact it has been proven with absolute certainty that the Earth’s rotations is indeed slowing gently over an extended period of time. Approximately every one hundred years the solar day is extended by 1.4 milliseconds (1.4 thousandths of a second). This effect is due to transfer of Earth’s rotational momentum to the Moon’s orbital momentum as tidal friction slows the Earth’s centrifugal spin. The increase in the Moon’s speed is causing it to slowly recede from Earth, at a rate or roughly 4cm per calendar year, increasing its orbital period and the length of a defined month. Should the Earth survive all other cosmological disasters then this process of ‘tidal acceleration’ will slow the globe’s centrifugal rotation gradually over a period billions of years. Eventually the planet will reach ‘sun synchronous’ rotation, effected by the torquing of both The Sun and Moon, before reaching its destructive conclusion when plunging into the nuclear heart of The Sun, in the final stages of solar demise.
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Colour too plays an important role the utilisation of blue becoming indicative of Earth (the ‘blue planet’) whilst orange is representative of danger and explosive force. Throughout the document both colours are applied, mutually interrelated by their association with contrasting levels of heat and the state of energy.
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The introduction and utilisation of transparent tracing paper became key in the communication of certain fundamental aspects of the publication’s narrative (note that on the very first full spread the reader is invited to tear the word Earth apart, destroying its image, by turning over to the subsequent page).
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Week 11
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Part II
Week Eleven
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A Brief History of Mine — Stephen Hawking
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A Brief History of Mine — Stephen Hawking
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A Brief History of Mine — Stephen Hawking
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research/resource documentary The documentary also informed me of the COSMOS supercomputer, the very first system of its kind, manufactured by SGI, which becomes the most powerful shared-memory supercomputer in Europe. Launched in 2012, at the University of Cambridge, the computer will be used to support leading research in cosmology, astrophysics and particle physics.
Stephen Hawking is arguably the most famous living theoretical physicist in the world. As a celebration of Hawking’s life Channel 4 recently aired ‘A Brief History of Mine’ a biographical documentary, narrated by Hawking himself, charting the trials and tribulations of his life. I’ve always been fascinated by Hawking’s life and his ability to overcome great adversity whilst still retaining his amazing capacity for intelligible thought. As a public figure-head and ambassador for theoretical physics I watched the documentary in the hopes that, much like his best-selling literary work ‘A Brief History of Time’, a personal favourite of mine, it would offer more explanation of scientific principles for the common audience. Unfortunately, and as I should have perhaps expected, only a small minority of Hawking’s work in the theoretical field was mentioned in any detail, with the documentary instead favouring to focus more on a biographical account of Stephen’s life. However, that which was explained was introduced with graphic clarity for a common layman audience. In particular Hawking’s work on black hole theory, a topical matter of interest identified from my research into representations of science in global media, was presented in a wholly accessible manner leading to an epiphany of my own. With the fresh insight provided by the programme I began to formulate a artistic concept based around the notion of ‘Hawking Radiation’, a law that describes an emission of energy, previously thought to be impossible, having a diminishing and subsequent existence ending effect on the black hole.
It is now controversially theorised that upon its demise a black hole may eject information at the critical point of evaporation, this is called the ‘Final State Projection’ model. This black hole theory, along with the diminishing effect of Hawking Radiation, led me to an idea of how I might creatively interpret such concepts, demonstrating them by building my own digital, conceptual and interactive equivalent of a black hole in space. A collaborative entity, consuming data from various sources before emitting a finished work in final state.
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A Brief History of Mine
I learnt of the ‘Information Paradox’, a contentious theory which suggested that physical information could permanently disappear in a black hole, allowing many physical states to devolve into the same state. This violated the assumed tenet of quantum mechanics — that in principle complete information about a physical system at one point in time should determine its state at any other time. The theory has since been disproved with Hawking conceding that black holes may leak information.
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Week 11
The Bulk of Reality — Craig Ward
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relevant works large format print
Words Are Pictures ‘The Bulk of Reality’ is a typographic poster series created by Craig Ward [Words Are Pictures Studio] as a self directed enterprise. Well known for his unique body of abstract typographic works using various techniques, ranging from theatrically composed 3D models and installation type to computer driven processes and experimental composites, Ward has amassed a vast portfolio of outstanding work. The Bulk [a reference to membrane cosmology: describing a four-dimensional universe restricted to a brane inside a higher-dimensional space and also known as ‘hyperspace’] came about when Ward, bed-ridden by a bout of pneumonia, began reading Brian Greene’s ‘The Elegant Universe’ [featured in my reading list]. Fascinated by the terminology and language Ward opted to read more into the subjects before attempting to typographically interpret some of the most prevalent abstract ideas, terminology and concepts in modern theoretical physics, quantum mechanics and cosmology. Ward uses all manner of techniques, programs and processes to bring these fascinating theories to life creating abstract yet meaningful interpretations using displacement, 3D mapping and vector graphics. The resulting works are simple yet beautifully composed reflections of theoretical science as a creative discipline in its own right. The work is also accompanied by a limited selection of motion typographic motion pieces.
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The Planets — Jon May
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Celestial Bodies ‘The Planets’ is a self initiated poster series created by Brighton based designer and Illustrator Jon May. Graduating with a BA(Hons) in Product Design from Ravensbourne in London Jon has worked with individuals, companies, agencies and brands from a vast variety of industrial sectors. This experimental series of works explores the major astronomical celestial objects in our Solar System using pattern, colour, ancient astrological interpretations and modern scientific interpretations as reference points.
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Interestingly the series manages to infer the elemental compositional qualities of many of the celestial bodies using only form and limited colour. An informed viewer may be able to make assumptions based on the visual relationship between chemicals and their compounds. Whilst the work is an interesting exploration of the relationship between these tropes and scientific theory it has little educational, informative or conceptual depth beyond aesthetic accomplishment.
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Week 12
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Part II
Week Twelve
Week 12
The Milan Review of The Universe — Tim Small
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relevant works publication A Universal Review The Milan Review is an independent publishing house and design studio founded by design collaborators Tim Small [ex editor-in-chief of VICE’s Italian edition] and Riccardo Trotta. Located in Milan, Italy, the duo work with contributors in Paris, Berlin, LA and New York. The studio publishes a range of literary works including comics, poetry, non-fiction, fiction, zines, posters, photobooks and postcard boxes, in both English and Italian, alongside the self titled piece ‘The Milan Review’, a handsome semi-annual literary journal.
The second issue in the series ‘The Milan Review of The Universe’ is an experimental 224 page colour publication divided into twelve chapters, each assigned to a sign of the zodiac, and featuring a short story and artist portfolio [produced in collaboration between an arbitrarily paired artist and author]. Most interestingly the gridded cover of the publication is not dissimilar to an idea that I have had for the potential design of a modular typeface called ‘Constellation’.
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Each issue of ‘The Milan Review’ varies radically from the last in size, form, concept, shape, colour, taste and content. Containing short stories and hand-made artworks, such as paintings, drawings, collage and illustration [but never photographs] each issue showcases the work of a select group of talented artists all working on a specific theme.
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Week 12
Ships Not Shelters — Peckham Outer-Space Initiative
P--O--I To escape into the upper air, this is the task, this is the labour.
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The Peckham Outer-Space Initiative is a design think tank operating to encourage and develop writing about production, practices and personal approaches to work, with the aim of creating a greater level of understanding about what design is, and could be. The group is primarily composed of Anvil, London based making-led design thinkers operating practice based on; rapid iteration, right following wrong, function following fiction and desi-fi [Design Fiction; an approach to design that speculates about new ideas through prototyping and storytelling] and El Ultimo Grito, a Post Disciplinary London based studio, founded by Rosario Hurtado and Roberto Feo in 1997, researching a continuous relationship with objects and culture across a multitude of platforms.
The concepts put forward by the Peckham OuterIn 2010 the collaborators founded Shopwork, a studio serving as a weekly meeting place for the initiativeled and springboard Space Initiative to myfor all creative publishing, research, education and design solutions. Seeking an open arena in which to generate discussion the collective initiated ‘Shopwork Dialogues’, space where an open group of designers, thinkers and practitioners could meet and discuss ideas discovery ofathe Mars One of design as a form of applied philosophy. The topics of which are various and potentially infinite, some of the moment, belonging to the zeitgeists and others enduring and consistent common project, an enterprise for themes. From this dialogue POI was born, an initiative at the forefront of search and development, tasking itself with the utilisation of space not simply for the preservation, but evolution of the the permanent migration human species and its culture. and colonisation of The primary directive of POI is to develop and establish in-transit non-Earth living situations, abandoning the notion of shelter in favour of dynamism. These situations are proposed as solutions Mars, a subject that I feel to current forms of planetary based society and living, and as such POI employs the slogan: ‘Ships not Shelters’. A record may carry potential forof POI’s current ideas, theories and activities to date has been compiled into the 170 page fanzine manifesto ‘Ships not Shelters’. SNS serves as an internal and external brief for future dialogue, a battle cry for the campaign renouncing the stasis inherent of shelter, and future creative works instead embracing the ship as a vehicle [a physical and mental heterotopia] for lateral design fiction thought and a tool for the fascination of the uncharted, aiming at the evolution of mankind and its culture. Tongue in cheek and self aware, yet utterly determined to see the idea through to conviction, the publication is printed in grainy monochrome, using the spare resources of austerity to launch its ideas.
The dialogue described becomes both a means and an ends, as much a part of the work performed by POI as it is a process to generate material. It is in discussion, which is by its very nature collaborative, that POI probes and explores design thinking, working out turns of phrases, clichés and opinions. Importantly the production of fanzines provides tactile yet impenetrable solutions that chart the application of design thinking as it emerges into creative practice. Though the collective is currently focussed only on understanding and developing motives for leaving and analysing outer-space as a cultural living condition, the Peckham Outer-Space Initiative is a libertarian organisation that encourages the development of individual utopias and therefore actively promotes and supports any individual’s efforts to leave Earth. In regards to a physical leaving solution the initiative makes collective and individual daily attempts to free themselves from the planet’s gravitational grip. Amongst other things the initiative is working on a prequel to SNS which will work as a direct manifesto for POI, not just as the “Peckham Outer-Space Initiative” but also the broader “Point Of Interest.” This has begun with the exploration of an extracted theme from SNS which is to be the title and basis for the next phase of subsequent missions ‘Underwriters [of reality]’. ‘Get The Fuck Off of Earth’ p--o--i.net/
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Society for Scientific Enquiry — Vanessa Lam
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A textured irregularity is established on the paper surface by printing, wearing, scanning and re-printing — a printing process I will seek to experiment with in my own work S.S.I.P.A.C.A Vanessa Lam is a graphic designer currently based in NYC. A native Californian, Lam graduated from Art Center College of Design holding prior degrees in fine art and mass communications from UCLA.
Lam states that the content was inspired by research into the vast quantity of UFO sighting, abduction, and conspiracy accounts available online as well as scientific journals and a book by Carl Sagan, written in the 1960s. Intrigued by the notion that despite such conjecture mankind is still no closer to positioning itself in the universe the zine is half objective scientific data and half tongue in cheek absurdity. The finished 8×10.5” document is staple saddlestitched, contributing to its low-cost aesthetic, and typeset in ITC Caslon & Univers, a satirical allegory alluring to the zines’ subject matter. Ranging in content from sourced scientific fact and infographics to clippings and outlandish fictional accounts the visual impact of the publication is striking to say the least. Negative space, tarnished whites and contrast between heavy dark pages, all weathered with a star beaten texture, subtly infer a night’s sky panoramic. Meanwhile a delicately balanced narrative plays out between full spread photography and counterweighted folio couplets. Particular favourites of mine include; the opposing cut-out triangular frames set on contrasting backdrops [pictured below], the direction of geometry alluding to a meeting point between the known and unknown, and the very first two spreads of the document, the first depicting a downward arrow printed in black and labelled ‘you are here’, its subsequent counterpart being an upward arrow, inverted in colour, reading ‘they are here’.
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As self promotion for her practice Lam created a limited run of the ‘Society for Scientific Inquiry of Paranormal Atmospheric and Cosmic Anomalies’, a 48 page monochrome newsprint infographic zine. Researched and designed over a period of a few months the publication was executed in print over just a single day using a unique manual process. In order that the publication retain the worn and uneven aesthetic quality of a hand-made zine. At press Lam printed the spreads on a laser printer, crumpling them before photocopying, scanning and re-printing to newsprint. Unpredictable irregularities and glitches in the print surface add to the spirited notion of an uncertain universe and Lam was keen to embrace this. Lam cites the resulting print quality as being quick and painless, feeling akin to that of any low-production photocopied zine, one that might leak black toner from its pages.
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Week 12 The Universe — Amanda Mocci
Week 12
The Universe — Amanda Mocci
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A Graphic Universe Amanda Mocci is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator hailing from Montreal Quebec. A bachelor’s graphic design graduate from the Université du Québec à Montréal [UQAM], Mocci’s work is influenced by minimalism and the chaotic beauty of the cosmic. Fascinated by the complexity of the universe she embarked upon the production of a graphic publication, with the objectives of striking an audience’s interest in theoretical science, engaging potential viewers through composition and simplifying dense content, so as not to isolate individuals with complex monotonous data.
Similarly to the majority of publications that have been subject to critical analysis, as research for my thesis, this document is predominantly printed in greyscale. Accordingly I am beginning to question the rational and informed motive for such a design aesthetic, when, in reality the universe is in fact radiantly polychromatic by nature of the various elements and compounds contained within stars, exoplanets and nebula [to name but a few]. As far as I am able to ascertain there may be a variety of motives for this recurring theme; cost of production, aesthetic allegory representing a common perception of the night’s sky, graphic subtlety or the dramatic visual impression that only monochrome greyscale imagery can impart. In light of such observations I am left questioning whether to experiment in the greyscale medium or avoid it completely in order to produce original, stimulating visual work. In one sense a monochromatic publication may be in essence contrived and factually naive though equally it may have a powerful and dramatic impact, instantly indicative of the subject matter to a common audience, through an accepted universal visual perspective of the sky at night. Ultimately I feel that this publication, though on merit visually appealing, is a little pedestrian conceptually, aside from the accordion fold binding and use of compositional space, representative of scale. Additionally the implementation of typography appears strong, with good use of contrast in weight and size, yet a little banal. Mocci has deployed some strong photographic and vector-based visual motifs, but the overall visual narrative feels a little lacking, and I would also question why, when working in a monochromatic medium, most probably to infer the visual qualities of a night’s sky, she chose to compose pages with such a dominance of inverted white space. In my personal opinion the publication would have been just as effective, if not more so, if white and black were interchanged.
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The resulting 72 page work, ‘The Universe’, is a beautifully produced 9×12” publication, printed on double sided matte paper. Winner of Applied Arts Young Blood Design Award 2011, presented by Canada’s Visual Communications Magazine, the book is split into 5 sections; Introduction, Big Bang, Galaxies & Nebulae, The Stars, and Asteroids & Comets. Each of these five sections is separated and bound giving the publication an accordion fold spine, a symbolic representation of the universe’s constant growth.
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Katie Paterson — Fraser Muggeridge Studio
Week 12
The informed intent with which bleached pallid paper stocks and a simple visual language is established becomes symbolic s e l f- d i r e c t e d p r e pa r at i o n
of the contents’ origin, Paterson’s printed media adopts the aesthetic tone of medical and scientific research papers
Second Moon and In Another Time Prolific designer and educator Fraser Muggeridge has, over a four year period, spanning 2009 – 2013, been commissioned to produce a series of promotional graphic works for artist Katie Paterson. Prioritising artists’ and writers’ content over the imposition of a signature style, the accomplished studio allows images and texts to sustain their own intent and impact, approaching each project with an elegantly modernist aesthetic. Colour, typography, stock and format playing an intricate role in arriving at a sympathetic yet subtly alluring graphic solution. The elegant visual language of Fraser Muggeridge Studio’s work beautifully compliments the grandiose scale of Paterson’s work, particularly in the production of ‘Second Moon’, a free application which tracks the orbits of solar bodies and the journey of Paterson’s lunar meteorite, on an imitative artificial orbit around the Earth, in relation to the user’s global position.
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Katie Paterson — Professional Imparted Guidance
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associated practitioners creative counsel Katie Paterson My name is Matt Woodman, I’m a final year student at the University of the West of England currently studying on the BA(Hons) Graphic Design course. Contrary to the previous two years of study in our third and final year we are invited to select an area of self directed study on which to work for the months January to May of 2014. I am currently preparing work for a thesis with the proposed research question; ‘How can current theories and conjecture in astrophysics, quantum mechanics and modern physical science be demonstrated creatively to inform, clarify and interpret complex ideas for a common audience’. Research into creatives dealing with similar subject matter led me to your work and I have to say that I was totally enamoured and inspired by the work that you have produced whilst at the UCL.
I’ve always identified with science, and the comfort that the enormity of the universe brings, and am becoming increasingly interested in the relationship, that your work bridges so well, between the sciences, often traditionally considered as wholly academic, and creative interdisciplinary thinking. My self directed study is about making complex scientific theory (specifically cosmology and astrophysics) engaging and clear through practical demonstration and creative abstraction. I’m really passionate about these subjects and want to inspire others to form a dialogue of their own ideas about the universe in which they live. It is my opinion that much of theoretical science is based in creative or abstract thinking and that because our knowledge is in constant flux, displaced by new information and discoveries, everybody should be eligible to their perceived ideas about how they imagine their own reality. I hope that isn’t too much and that the questions are clear concise enough. Absolutely anything that you would be able to answer at all would be a massive help to me and I would of course be hugely grateful for your input, I’m sure that it will help me in directing my own work. Thanks for taking the time to read this email, once again I’d just like to echo that I am a huge fan of your work and would be honoured if you were able to set some time aside from your busy schedule to entertain perhaps just a couple of my questions. I look forward to hearing from you! Warm and festive wishes, Matt Woodman
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U n fo r tunate l y pater s on d ec l i n e d to re sp on d to my que rie s
Whilst I am aware that our disciplines do differ slightly I was hoping that you might oblige in answering a few questions that I have about your work in order to help me focus my own study? Any words of advice that you would be able to offer me would be hugely invaluable in helping me to establish an approach to my own work and I would be extremely honoured and grateful. For further clarification you can find a recent presentation which I gave regarding my study at this address; issuu.com/mattdwoodman/docs/cosmology_pecha_kucha_issuu_book
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Week 12
Enquiry — Professional Imparted Guidance
Creative Counsel
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Having established a small selection of creative professionals working with similar content to that proposed by my thesis, I decided that, for a number of reasons, it may prove beneficial to make contact with these individuals. Firstly I felt that this form of enquiry would give me the opportunity to articulate any uncertainties or reservations that I had encountered in exploring and researching my subject matter and secondly I was presenting myself with the ability to further inform my own understanding of how best to communicate such content, utilising the experiential wisdom of influential practitioners. As an alumnus from UWE Chris more than happy to aid my study, stating that he would endeavour to reply when he had a gap in his busy schedule. Paterson, unfortunately, was too busy to respond to my queries at this time.
Katie Paterson 01 — Did you have a specific target audience? Who
are they and how do you feel that your work establishes a connection with them? 02 — What are the objectives of your work? Do you
have a mission/artists statement? And how does this reflect on your routine work in your discipline? 03 — Which of your works do you feel is the most
successful at conveying cosmological narrative and why? 04 — Do you feel that a depth of research and a need
to immerse yourself in the subject matter is necessary in order to produce poetic yet succinct narratives? 05 — Did you have a personal vested interest in
Chris Clarke 01 — Did you have a personal vested interest in the
content when you took the Creative Directors role at Eureka? What effect did this have over the way that you directed and visually displayed the content? 02 — What were the objectives of the publication? Did
you have a mission statement? And how did the design visuals reflect this?
astronomy and the cosmological before working with such content? What inspired you to take such a direction and to produce work in the area that you do? 06 — How do you articulate the manner of your work
and ideas with scientists? Do they understand your rational? 07 — What do you feel are the main themes that your
work tackles? 08 — Do you ever feel restricted by working within
03 — Did you have a specific target audience? Who
were they and how did you establish that distinct readership? 04 — How was content directed specifically to your
audience (ie. their level of understanding)?
scientific parameters? If not how does it allow your creativity to flourish, if so then in what sense? 09 — How do you perceive the boundary and
interdisciplinary relationship between art and science? Is there one at all?
05 — Did some of the issues follow a particular theme
and if so what was the reasoning for this? Were you tackling topical news specifically? 06 — What was the rationale for visual/design
decisions? How were they established? Did you feel that you needed to do a lot of research on each subject in order to communicate the matter succinctly? 07 — Which creative medium did you feel was most
effective in communicating content when working on Eureka? (ie. infographic, typography, photographic, illustration)
10 — What response do you look to induce in an
audience with your work? How do you want people to react and interact with your work?
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Chris Clarke — Professional Imparted Guidance
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Chris Clarke My name is Matt Woodman, I’m a final year student at UWE currently studying on the BA(Hons) Graphic Design course. Gabriel Solomons, my personal tutor, gave me a copy of one of the penultimate issues of Eureka to study, as he felt that it may be relevant to the work that I am currently undertaking for my final self directed submission, and after looking through it I felt inclined to get in touch with you. As an ex-student from UWE I was hoping that you might oblige in offering me a little advice with the thesis of my work as my intended approach is not dissimilar to the one that you took when art directing Eureka. I’m hugely passionate about printed editorial work and driven to produce work with a simple clarity drawn through the application of solid typographic foundations. Much of the work that I plan to produce over the next few months will most likely follow this format. My current research statement is: ‘How can current theories and conjecture in astrophysics, quantum mechanics and modern physical science be demonstrated creatively to inform, clarify and interpret complex ideas for a common audience’, topics that I feel Eureka has successfully addressed with a distinct visual language.
currently awaiting response
Thanks for taking the time to read this email, I appreciate that you are most probably incredibly busy. With that in mind I would truly grateful for any advice or wisdom that you are able to pass on. Apologies for mailing to two of your addresses, I wanted to be sure that the email would get through to you efficiently. Thanks again, I look forward to hearing from you! Warm wishes, Matt Woodman
Chris Clarke
Thanks so much for getting back to me, hugely appreciated especially as I’m aware that you may be very busy at this time of year. I’ve held back with the questions until today because you said you were having a hectic week, hope that’s cool and it’s all panned out smoothly for you! Basically, as I touched on before, my self directed study is about making complex scientific theory (specifically cosmology and astrophysics) engaging and clear through practical demonstration and creative abstraction. I’m really passionate about science and want to inspire others to form a dialogue of their own ideas about the universe in which they live. I believe that much of theoretical science is based in creative thinking and that because our beliefs are in constant flux, displaced by new information and discoveries, everybody should be eligible to their own ideas. With that in mind my main interest in Eureka was how accessibly it portrayed science theory, the audience to which it was specifically targeted (if any?) and how you managed to establish a distinct visual language for the content. I hope that isn’t too much and that the questions are clear and accurate enough. Absolutely anything that you would be able to answer at all would be a massive help to me and I would of course be hugely grateful for your input, I’m sure that it will help me in directing my own work. Thanks again, hope you had a great weekend. Also whilst I’ve got contact with you, if there is ever an internship or placement available at The Times I’d love to hear about it, it’s been always been a dream of mine to work on the design team at a national newspaper! Warm wishes, Matt
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Would it be at all possible for me to direct a few questions your way regarding the process and direction behind putting together Eureka? I believe that any words you can offer may be hugely invaluable in helping me to establish an approach to my work. For further clarification you can find a recent presentation which I gave regarding my study at this address; issuu.com/mattdwoodman/docs/cosmology_pecha_kucha_issuu_book
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Week 13
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Part II
Week Thirteen
Week 13
Carbon/Neutrino/Singularity — Andy Charalambous
UCL Fellow In February 2011 London based creative Charalambous was made Artist in Residence for the High Energy Physics group at University College London, working in fellowship with Katie Paterson. Working in various mediums including digital video, sculpture, installation and intervention Charalambous’ work is principally conceptual, often process driven and heavily influenced by the physical sciences. Work such as Carbon, in which Charalambous constructs a wooden effigy of his form before burning it to ash, neutrino, in which he explores the scale and arbitrary nature of the sub atomic, and singularity all look to create an intuitive emotional response, triggering a curiosity to consider deeper meaning, in the viewer. Despite not being quite as prolific as his fellow resident, lacking a certain level of execution, there is a sense of rigorous scientific exploration present in his work,
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relevant works artist/ designer
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Week 13
Cosmogony and Planetary Reliefs — Yves Klein
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I am the painter of space. I am not an abstract painter but, on the contrary, a figurative artist, and a realist. To paint space, I must be in position. I must be in space.
Nouveau Réalisme The French artist Yves Klein, considered an important figure-head in post-war European art, was a leading member of the French artistic movement of Nouveau réalisme founded in the 1960s. Klein was a pioneer of performance art and is often cited as a forerunner in the minimal and pop art movements. His work embodied an understanding of art beyond a western conception of modernity, beyond the object and beyond traditional notions of what art is. Self-identified as the painter of space, Klein sought to achieve immaterial sensibility, giving a material presence to the undefined. His paintings offer one method of giving visual presence to a cosmic spiritual body which neither photograph nor film could fully capture. Rethinking the world in aesthetic terms, Klein’s philosophy was revolutionary and demonstrated an acute grasp of the contemporary moment, opening doors for much of the avante-garde artistic movement that followed his practice. His art embodied concepts such as; process, transformation, creation, destruction, dissolution and elemental cosmology. A particular series of works titled ‘Planetary Reliefs’, including textured reliefs of both Earth and the moon’s terrain, may have been produced in artistic response to mankind’s primeval compulsion to document, validate and create a record of existence, within a realm of mortality. Klein’s work revolved around a concept he came to describe as ‘le Vide’ [the Void], a neutral zone where one is inspired to pay attention to ones own sensibilities, and to ‘reality’ as opposed to ‘representation’. Presenting his work in forms that were recognized as art — paintings and books — he would then remove the expected content of that form [paintings without pictures, a book without words]. Instead of representing objects in a subjective, artistic way, Klein wanted his subjects to be represented by their imprint: the image of their absence. He tried to make his audience experience a state where an idea could simultaneously be ‘felt’ as well as ‘understood’, utilising strong references to philosophy and metaphysics.
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Cosmicomics — Italo Calvino
Naturally, we were all there, - old have been? Nobody knew then that there could be space. Or time either: what use did we have for time? relevant works literary text
The Distance of the Moon — the first and probably the best known story. Calvino takes the fact that the Moon used to be much closer to the Earth, and builds a story about a love triangle among people who used to jump between the Earth and the Moon, in which lovers drift apart as the Moon recedes
Abstract Authorship Cosmicomics is a book of lucid short stories by Italo Calvino, first published in Italian in 1965 and English in 1968, it is now available in a single volume compendium released by Penguin Books in 2009. Each idiosyncratic tale takes a scientific ‘fact’ [though sometimes considered a falsehood by today’s knowledge], each of which is a memory of a universal event, and builds an narrated imaginative fictional story around it. Calvino played word games with science, time, space and number, fashioning characters from mathematical formulae and cellular structures with intellectual fantasy. Creating cosmic comedy from narrative illustrations of an intellectual apperception, an idea or theory, science fiction with humour, warmth and satire. More recently his works, though written in an era of when they would have been perceived as marginal, have become landmarks in fiction, the work of a master. Consequently Cosmicomics presents an interesting model of how adaption and creative authorship can be integral in making complex theoretical science more accessible for a common audience. This lesson is an important one that I should reflect upon when approaching the editorial content of my work.
At Daybreak — Life before matter condenses A Sign in Space — The idea that the galaxy slowly revolves becomes a story about a being who is desperate to leave behind some unique sign of his existence. This story also is a direct illustration of one of the tenets of postmodern theory — that the sign is not the thing it signifies, nor can one claim to fully or properly describe a thing or an idea with a word or other symbol All at One Point — The fact that all matter and creation used to exist in a single point
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Qfwfq said, - where else could we
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Week 14
Preparation for Self-Directed Study Part II
Week Fourteen
Week 14
Continuously Compiled — Topical Events
The Russian meteor impact
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Reality TV and crowd funded space colony project Mars One scheduled for 2024
The launch of Virgin Galactic space flights The Mayan prophecy and predictions of apocalypse The observable discovery of the Higgs Boson particle, hypothesised as being responsible for mass in all matter, and the declaration of a Nobel Prize to Peter Higgs
Results return from the Planck satellite’s ‘All Sky Survey’, the cosmic microwave background of the observable universe, mapped since 2009
The global threat of nuclear war between the US and North Korea, doomsday clock set at five to midnight
Quantum microscope captures first images of a Hydrogen atom
Advances in technology led by quantum mechanics [quantum computing, launch COSMOS supercomputer]
Betelgeuse supernova predicted, thirty per second known to occur at any time in the universe
NASA’s Kepler space telescope [the ‘planet hunter’] has discovered over 3500 new planet candidates since its launch in 2009, with 167 now confirmed, a minority of which are potentially capable of supporting life, it now averages two discoveries per day
Scientists track Crab Pulsar formed in 1054 AD, for 30 years as its spin slows and magnetic field shifts Rare hybrid solar eclipse over the North Atlantic Ocean Ongoing searches continue for extra-terrestrial life, unified theory of physics and origin of cosmic particles
Asteroid DA14’s near collision with Earth earlier this year, the closest recorded trajectory for an object of its size since records began
RKA cosmonauts take Olympic torch on first space walk
nt
t
la The use of the Large Hadron Collider by CERN in mu u Switzerland, prophesied as potentially an end to the acc world, via black hole creation [such creation, and then disappearance, may lead to a Nobel Prize in Physics for Stephen Hawking for his work on ‘Hawking Radiation’] Conspiracy theories regarding the 1969 moon landing
t e satellite is destroyed on reentry to Earth’s ESA’sn Goce o c e d atmosphere, fears of potential impact relieved Scientists race for definitive proof of both antimatter and dark matter Space telescope spots unprecedented six tailed comet Dancing black holes draw closer to destructive merging in bright galaxy WISE J233237.05-505643.5
Comet ISON’s close flight trajectory to our sun observed The G2 dust cloud encounter with Milk Way’s black hole
NASA removes STS088 images of Black Knight satellite from their archive, leading to conspiracy and controversy
The new and most distant galaxy z8_GND_5296 is first discovered, it is 30 billion light years from Earth
Curiosity Rover reports that Mars Yellowknife Bay was capable of supporting life for thousands of years
India Mars launch stokes Asian space race with China
500,000 items of orbital space debris are tracked around Earth, moving at speeds of up to 17,500mph
The construction of the Giant Magellan Telescope, to be finished in 2020, composed of seven 20 ton mirrors inside a 22 story rotating building Rosetta ESA satellite set to awake from deep-space hibernation for rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov– Gerasimenko in 2014 Asteroid 2013 TV135 could potentially strike Earth in 2032 UN makes plans to form ‘International Asteroid Warning Group’ to prevent future potential impacts
Red Bull Stratos free fall breaks sound barrier for the first time without engine power and two world records Photographs taken by Mars Curiosity Rover spark extraterrestrial conspiracy theories of lizards and rodents Lone Signal a crowd-funded commercial SETI project designed to send 144 character messages from Earth to an extraterrestrial civilization is launched Asteroids may have catapulted life to Mars and Titan
s e l f- d i r e c t e d p r e pa r at i o n
The discovery of the first planet PSO J815.5-22 moving through space without a host star
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Week 14
Word Association
47 — Exoplanet
101 — Matter
48 — Everything
102 — Black hole
49 — Nebula
103 — Calculation
50 — Neutrino
104 — Charge
51 — Newton
105 — Clock
52 — Nothing
106 — Collapse
53 — Nuclear
107 — Small
54 — Dark matter
108 — Singularity
01 — Believe
55 — Destroy
109 — God
02 — Big Bang
56 — Dimensions
110 — Gravity
03 — Dark
57 — Fallout
111 — Wave
04 — Divine
58 — Nuclear wind
112 — Whole
05 — Everywhere
59 — Measure
113 — Why
06 — Exist
60 — Mechanics
114 — Technology
07 — Explore
61 — Meteor
115 — Test
08 — Force
62 — Asteroid
116 — Theoretical
09 — Fundamental
63 — Expand
117 — Theory
10 — Fusion
64 — Experiment
118 — Future
11 — Limitless
65 — Explain
119 — Fission
12 — Little
66 — Astrological
120 — Gas
13 — Atom
67 — Astrophysics
121 — Life
14 — Atomic bomb
68 — Atmosphere
122 — Light
15 — Concept
69 — Science
123 — Though
16 — Proton
70 — Space-race
124 — Time
17 — Pulse
71 — Mind
125 — Earth
18 — Electromagnetic
72 — Nature
126 — Einstein
19 — Electrons
73 — Hadron Collider
127 — Laser
20 — Ethics
74 — Higgs Boson
128 — People
21 — Element
75 — Here
129 — Perception
22 — Emptiness
76 — Hole
130 — Photon
23 — Energy
77 — Infinite
131 — Physics
24 — Quantify
78 — Inert
132 — Planet
25 — Quantum
79 — Ionised
133 — Possibility
26 — Quark
80 — Diagram
134 — Power
27 — Constellation
81 — E=MC2
135 — Radiation
28 — Constant
82 — Structure
136 — Radioactive
29 — Law
83 — Split
137 — Ray
30 — Large
84 — Star
138 — Reality
31 — Huge
85 — State
139 — Relative
32 — Human
86 — Sun
140 — Relativity
33 — Imploding
87 — Universe/universal
141 — Religion
34 — Neutron
88 — Unlimited
142 — Scientific
35 — Observe
89 — Unknown
143 — Solar system
36 — Orbit
90 — Unstable
144 — Supernova
37 — Paired
91 — Vast
145 — Somewhere
38 — Particle
92 — Research
146 — Space
39 — Cosmic
93 — Satellite
147 — Speed
40 — Create
94 — Scale
148 — Spin
41 — Complex
95 — Magnetic
149 — Understanding
42 — Doomsday
96 — Mass
150 — Unexplained
43 — Electron
97 — Macro
151 — Unimaginable
44 — Equation
98 — Massive
152 — Unified
45 — Event
99 — Molecule
153 — World
46 — Extra terrestrial
100 — Maths
154 — X-ray
A quick task to gather as many words by association, to the subject matter, as possible. This collection may be used as a metaphorical spring board into further research.
s e l f- d i r e c t e d p r e pa r at i o n
Continuously Compiled — Word by Association
Week 14
01 — Drake equation
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Continuously Compiled — Areas of Interest
cosmology — the bulk
70 — Teleportation
18 — The Big Bounce
71 — Quarks, particles
03 — Perihelion
19 — Life on Mars [lakes evidence]
72 — Quantum gravity
04 — Fractal universe
20 — Wake Up Rosetta!
73 — Infinite
05 — The War Game
21 — Loss of Pioneer satellites
74 — Laws of physics
06 — Eridanus Supervoid
22 — Cosmic rays
75 — Mass
07 — Space debris
23 — Hawking Radiation
76 — Matter
08 — Meteor craters
24 — Information paradox
77 — Neutrinos
09 — WOW radio signal
25 — Final state projection
78 — Radiation
10 — Space launches
26 — Cosmos supercomputer
79 — Scale
11 — Moon landing
27 — The Black Knight
80 — Paired atomic spin
12 — Mars One settlement
28 — Comet ISON
81 — Apocalypse
13 — Black/white holes
29 — Exoplanet discovery, Kepler
82 — Light speed
14 — Higgs Boson [what form
30 — String theory
83 — Sky map
does it take?] and field 15 — Singularity 16 — Exoplanets 17 — Membrane theory, brane
31 — Relativity
84 — Wormhole
32 — Quantum theory
85 — Cyclic universe
33 — Large Hadron Collider
86 — Northern lights
34 — Supernovae
87 — Constellations
35 — The Crab Pulsar
88 — Vacuum
Subjects Identified A continuously compiled list, from extensive research, of 100 subject areas, topics, theoretical terms and news items, of interest, that I feel may hold weight for future works.
36 — Double slit experiment
89 — Balloon flights
37 — Quantum computing
90 — Black hole quantum
38 — Splitting the atom
computing possible
39 — Nuclear war
91 — Space missions
40 — Solar eclipse
92 — Comets/asteroids
41 — Russian cosmonauts take
93 — Magnetism
Olympic torch to space 42 — Virgin Galactic flights 43 — Giant Magellan Telescope 44 — Goce satellite destroyed 45 — Asian space-race 46 — Observable universe 47 — Dark matter/antimatter 48 — Quantum microscope 49 — G2 dust cloud 50 — Planck satellite 51 — Russian meteor impact 52 — Solitary planet 53 — Parallel universes 54 — Doomsday clock 55 — Life in the universe 56 — Unified theory 57 — Asteroid DA14 58 — Binary system 59 — Ethical responsibility 60 — Fission/fusion 61 — Star life 62 — Parsec 63 — Theology
94 — Life on Mars
64 — Technology 65 — Reality
95 — Origin/creation theory/life 96 — Gamma ray bursts 97 — Heliotale 98 — Diagrammatic 99 — Orbit 100 — Nothingness 101 — Design fiction 102 — Occam’s razor 103 — Arecibo message 104 — Moonbounce [EME] 105 — Lone Signal 106 — KickSat 107 — Voyager Golden Record 108 — Amateur radio signalling,
radio telescope, rocket, satellite and Picosatellite 109 — Messaging Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence [METI] 110 — Active Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence [SETI] 111 — Spanish woman owns legal papers for the Sun 112 — Lunar real estate and star
registration
66 — Perception
113 — Multiverse
67 — Time
114 — Single electron universe
68 — Time travel
115 — Retrocausality
69 — Dimensions
116 — Panspermia
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02 — Ekpyrotic
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Week 14
Continuously Compiled — Proposed Projects
The Birth and Death of a Star — Publication using coloured stocks, simple motifs and gradients to explain the elemental composition of different star phases [design notes: ensure to blacken the book edge] WOW Radio Signal — Publication detailing Jerry R. Ehman’s discovery of a radio signal coming from deep space, never again to be recorded [design notes: use noise images, concentric circle spread bouncing off of objects and spreading]
s e l f- d i r e c t e d p r e pa r at i o n
Black Knight — Publication exploring the origin and conspiracy based around the strange unidentified satellite in polar orbit above the Earth since 1960 [design notes: be sure to incorporate silhouette shape] could be two sided official account/conspiracy T E N Quarterly — Issue 02 ‘The End is Nigh’ and scope for a third and fourth issue based on research content [deign notes: think about typographic interpretation] A Point of Singularity— Conceptual document exploring the life cycle of a black hole using only the evolution of basic shapes and composition [design notes: references to Jonathan Ellery’s ‘Dot’ publication,attempt manual distortion of type arrange in circular form, think about how to arrange/cram content — Kapow! as reference, initially no typographic content but perhaps develop?] Proposal — Document proposal for self directed study Black Hole — Think about the possibility of finding a way to construct a conceptual or metaphorical black hole for data and information Information Paradox/Final State Projection — Construct a digital black hole, explain reasoning, and invite users to participate by contributing content; image, text and video of any quality, size or content. Take all information and interpret into a book [and video if necessary] of meaningless distorted data, perhaps try to tie some themes together [design notes: type distortion,glitch type and images, glitch corrupted videos, digital site has; black hole, shifting sky-scape HTML5 video,upload buttons and info full screen pop-up]
Fundamental — Poster/postcard series graphically interpreting fundamental beliefs of modern physics Singularity Pt. + Type Spec. — Typeface design, play on word point. Letterforms become more condensed as the typeface increments in size become smaller/bigger [vectorise manual scan effects to distort letterforms] Mars One — Project for the promotion of permanent human settlement on Mars, needs to explain the necessity for man to move nomadically to the next habitable zone dependent on Sun’s strength Models of the Universe series [+ publication] — Anamorphic typographic installation splitting a phrase across 11 planes to illustrate membrane theory [multiverse] and the importance of perspective Models of the Universe series [+ publication] — Find a way to illustrate the ‘Big Bounce’ possibly some kind of rubber balloon with universe screen-printed onto it inflated and deflated by control switch Models of the Universe series [+ publication] — Use LED light board, to scale, to illustrate the passing of cosmic particles through any non-specific area [digital The Northern Lights, motion and light sensitive/responsive] Models of the Universe series [+ publication] — Wormhole model, conceive some possible interaction to base a book on, future predictions that people can pass through the shape? Models of the Universe series [+ publication] — Electromagnetic globe that will illustrate the curvature of space time around large objects, hoping to have a smaller object orbiting the curve Parallel — Motion piece or publication about parallel universes and what may or may not exists within them? Find a way to make this content subjective and tangible, perhaps through collaboration what people believe? Hybrid Solar Eclipse — Digital motion piece Observable Universe — Infographic motion piece
Constellation + Type Spec. — Typeface design composed of star constellations, must find a way to make it interactive, perhaps the typeface expands apart like the universe? [make 3D model with string] Sky Map — Real time website that uses geolocation to give an image of the visible sky [digital or via webcam?] in time with Earth’s spin?
Earth–Star — Poster using the number of miles/ lightyears/parsecs in the distance between sun and star to illustrate scale An Absence of Nothing — Publication focussed on what if anything existed before the Big Bang [negative space]
Week 14
Continuously Compiled — Proposed Projects
Public Interpretation — A lot of the thinking, about the operations of the universe, done by theoretical physicists, is subjective and abstractly creative. Information is in constant flux and displacing previous assumptions, but presented as fact to the public. How can I inspire people to take hold of their own theories? Run a collaborative workshop ask for submission of creative models of the universe? Make a publication/film/website? Typographic Installation — Large moiré optical illusion with changing typographic message dependent on viewer’s point of perspective
An Absence of Nothing — Book about the night sky silk-screen printed with phosphorescent inks, will only be legible at night, appears blank in daylight? [or has some black printed content and reveals more at night] paint binding thread too if possible? What colour ink [must be bright green, blue, aqua or white to be brightest], hardback perfect bound and glow ink screened to buckram or paper sleeve [if transparent ink can be printed on a selection of black and white papers, if white ink then just white paper], ink has a lifetime so limited Transmission — Coloured perspex box containing FM transmitter and speaker/receiver [removing battery branding, Braun style speaker holes drilled], develop binary software allowing people to submit messages, images or binary pixel graphics to be transmitted [or online/email submit, ‘thank you’ message stating how long message will take to reach deep space, at light speed, perhaps exact date and time?], include motion piece [transmit example message ‘Transmission 6EQUJ5’, use wave effect typography and focus on building of apparatus], publication [total distance from Earth radio transmission Milky Way graphic]
Space Debris — Potential for infographic The End of Everything is The Beginning of Everthing Else — Public discussion about the origins and end of the universe, leading to a website/book? Run workshops and ask people for submissions of abstract ideas? Has Science …? — Create a short zine as a response to Google search engines autofill feature for phrases such as; ‘Has science…’, ‘Will scientists…’, ‘Have scientists created…’, ‘Have scientists discovered…’
Unformed Ideas ˌˌ Space exploration/launches/moon landing ˌˌ Retrocausality ˌˌ What does the Higgs Boson look like? ˌˌ What is in the Eridanus Supervoid? ˌˌ Work based around the idea that photons/quarks
vanish or change behaviour when observed, potential for installation? ˌˌ Dark matter/antimatter? What are they? How do we describe it? [use of vinyl laminates on paper or vanishing ink] ˌˌ Perihelion ˌˌ Compare gravity/orbit/spin discs/tilt playfully in film of worldly objects and their interactions? ˌˌ Some kind of digital infographic using the open source exoplanet database? ˌˌ Animated map of the solar system/universe site using open source comet ISON orbital code? [to scale needs to be zoomable] ˌˌ Parallax scrollable site of some sort ˌˌ Sound piece of some sort using planetary data ˌˌ Drake equation ˌˌ String theory ˌˌ Infinite ˌˌ Fractal cosmology imagery ˌˌ How do atoms come together to make something? ˌˌ Compositional elements in human body, their weights and an object which weighs the same made of that element ˌˌ Scale and distance are integral to every project ˌˌ Cosmic catastrophe that may end the world ˌˌ Rudimentary quantum computer? ˌˌ Observable universe and the Planck satellite ˌˌ Express disorder or supposed chaos with underlying
unity if possible? ˌˌ Build a home-made radio telescope, picosatellite or
rocket for amateur space exploration [satirical]
s e l f- d i r e c t e d p r e pa r at i o n
Matter/Antimatter — Thesis/Antithesis, publication exploring the contrasting opposing differences between matter and antimatter, what are they? What form do they take? What do we know about each? How do we know that we aren’t living in an antimatter universe? Could be white on black then flip upside down and to back cover for black on white? Mirror images of each other. Or overlayed one is in red/one in green and upside down to each other so that filter glasses are needed to read each way? Weight of text images on opposite pages maybe one on right other on left? Centre spread alternate stock and representing meeting, annihilation. Photos of everyday matter and the absence of, models, double sided book, maybe split content down middle? Use fore-edge flex incremental offset one message in each direction? Fluoro colours? Use moire animation sleeve? About observing + proving the universe we live in
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s e l f- d i r e c t e d p r e pa r at i o n
98
Week 14
Continuously Compiled — Publications & Websites
Written Texts/Publications
Web/Digital Resources
Publications and texts that I have been able to acquire for research, whether in print or digital PDF format.
Digital reading, selected web resources, useful code for web development and access to relevant databases.
ˌˌ A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black
ˌˌ New Scientist
Holes — Stephen Hawking ˌˌ Starseekers — Colin Wilson ˌˌ A Short History of Nearly Everything — Bill Bryson ˌˌ Illustriertes Lexikon Der Astronomie ˌˌ The Fabric of the Cosmos — Brian Greene ˌˌ Cosmos — Carl Sagan ˌˌ Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation and Time Travel — Michio Kaku ˌˌ The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos — Brian Greene ˌˌ The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory — Brian Greene
ˌˌ Science News ˌˌ BBC News – Science & Env. ˌˌ Science Daily ˌˌ Super-collider.com ˌˌ NRAO image gallery ˌˌ National Geographic ˌˌ Space.com ˌˌ NASA Science / pic of the day ˌˌ Discovery News ˌˌ Time – Science & Space ˌˌ Smithsonian Air & Space ˌˌ Mo-www.harvard.edu/microobservatory ˌˌ Documentaryaddict.com ˌˌ Mars-one.com/en ˌˌ Planetary.org ˌˌ Exoplanets.org ˌˌ Openexoplanetcatalogue.com ˌˌ Github.com/hannorein/open_exoplanet_catalogue ˌˌ Github.com/TimeMagazine/node-astronomy ˌˌ Exoplanetapp.com
Films/Documentaries
ˌˌ Snorpey.github.io/jpg-glitch ˌˌ Designweek.co.uk/analysis/what-does-the-god-
Key influential documentaries and films that have helped to inform my practice.
particle-look-like/3034846.article ˌˌ Esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/
Wake_up_Rosetta ˌˌ Comet of the Century: A Horizon Special bbc.co.uk/
programmes/b03k3881
ˌˌ Svs.gsfc.nasa.gov ˌˌ Google Earth
ˌˌ Horizon: Parallel Universes youtube.com/
ˌˌ Home.web.cern.ch
watch?v=jYOzh8m_-Kk ˌˌ 10 Ways to Destroy the Earth youtube.com/ watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Aj0E5lVO-YE ˌˌ Documentary addict ˌˌ Through the Wormhole: What Are We Really Made Of? youtube.com/watch?feature=player_ embedded&v=Jt2GXT6m9mk ˌˌ Through the Wormhole: Are We Alone? youtube.com/ watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bfSGM7HfkNA ˌˌ Quantum Mechanics and the Quantum Spin youtube.com/watch?feature=player_ embedded&v=InZ3QC8A2c8 ˌˌ Horizon: Swallowed by a Black Hole ˌˌ Wonders of the Universe
ˌˌ TED ˌˌ Wired.co.uk/topics/space ˌˌ Katiepaterson.org ˌˌ Htwins.net/scale2 ˌˌ Htwins.net/scale ˌˌ Hubblesite.org/gallery ˌˌ Satview.org/decay.php ˌˌ Huffingtonpost.com/science ˌˌ Astrium-geo.com/en/19-gallery?search=gallery&typ
e=&sensor=1371 ˌˌ Flickr.com/photos/nasamarshall ˌˌ Universetoday.com ˌˌ Spacetelescope.org/videos/viewall ˌˌ Thekidshouldseethis.com
ˌˌ Horizon: What Happened Before the Big Bang?
ˌˌ Virgingalactic.com
ˌˌ The Elegant Universe: Video Collection facebook.
ˌˌ Planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov
com/media/set/?set=vb.145108762209383&type=2 ˌˌ A Brief History of Mine — Stephen Hawking ˌˌ Gravity ˌˌ The War Game youtube.com/watch?v=nrGg8PfkbZw
ˌˌ Hawking.org.uk ˌˌ Theverge.com/science ˌˌ Creative Review, Design Observer, Design Week, The
Eye, Information is Beautiful, It’s Nice That
Week 14
Continuously Compiled — Production Techniques
Design Processes
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Design and Printing Techniques
At the point of proposing projects and designed outcome for self directed study it is important to initiate works that will utilise the skills that I have identified as relevant and necessary for the industry to which I am now targeting my career post graduation. This will be integral to developing and best showcasing my abilities as a creative.
ˌˌ Motion & Film ˌˌ Publication & Editorial ˌˌ Collaborative ˌˌ Print & Poster ˌˌ Infographic ˌˌ Type Design ˌˌ Interactive & UI ˌˌ Projection ˌˌ Installation ˌˌ Social & Workshop ˌˌ Silk-screen ˌˌ Exhibition & Space ˌˌ 3D Model ˌˌ Risograph ˌˌ Web Development ˌˌ Narrative ˌˌ Content Curation
ˌˌ Illustrator blend mode and tilda key patterns as
visual cues ˌˌ Consider working in black and white, using manual
distortion and effects such as scanning and wearing paper stocks ˌˌ Typography and image glitching ˌˌ Manually distorted typography ˌˌ Possible to print with white ink on coloured stocks ˌˌ UV spot gloss on some works ˌˌ Fluorescent spot colours ˌˌ Tip-ins, stocks, tracing paper, coloured stock ˌˌ Lenticular images [+ focal decoders] ˌˌ UV invisible inkjet ink [requires a UV light to read], thermochromic ink, disappearing inks ˌˌ Hot foiling ˌˌ 3D photographs and glasses, acetate colour filters to view hidden blended imagery [double designs up and copy for each page] or with patterns for secret messages [Made You Look — Sagmeister], decoder glasses and patterns ˌˌ Ribbon ˌˌ Matte laminate ˌˌ Laser printing on buckram, spine tape ˌˌ Magnetic ˌˌ Embossing ˌˌ Folding techniques,accordion fold binding, paper mechanics and binding techniques [cross] ˌˌ Die/laser cutting ˌˌ Anamorphism ˌˌ Moiré illusions, 6 stage animations, reveal images and side view optics ˌˌ Sticky poster ˌˌ UV artwork on light sensitive screens ˌˌ Pixelation, impossible shapes ˌˌ Publication edge decoration & gilding [fore-edge painting] [silk-screen or flex incremental offset] ˌˌ Slipcase/sleeve with thumb cut ˌˌ Embossed book cover using layered card ˌˌ Glow in the dark ink silk-screen printed [phosphorescent ink] ˌˌ Fluorescent papers ˌˌ Treasure Gold — gilting liquid paint ˌˌ Foil book wallet
s e l f- d i r e c t e d p r e pa r at i o n
I believe that in order to be successful as a freelance designer and better equipped for working in collaboration with developers [on a digital platform] I must have a working knowledge of web and development. The nature of the digital age warrants that designers need to be capable if not fluent in such mediums. Further from this I will look to align other works to the industry to which I feel I am most capable of delivering quality work and for which I have the most interest and passion: editorial and print.
ˌˌ Technical diagrams