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Klari Reis Savvy Studio
Carlos Cruz-Diez Seon Ghi-Bahk
Felipe Pantone Luke Jerram
Rus Khasanov Drop Dead
MICROSCOPY ISSUE
EDITORS LETTER
Welcome to VERGE. We are excited to launch the first issue of this pubication which bridges the gap between art and sci‑ ence. A lot of times people think they’re two worlds apart, but we think that they influence each other. We hope our readers can use science to inspire their creativity and use creativity to inspire their science. This first issue focuses on things that are smaller than what the human eye can see. By discovering a whole new world that is literally right in front of us we can become inspired by the pat‑ terns, textures and colors that surround us. These microworlds are one of the purest forms of art. Through our interviews, news stories and tips and techniques we hope to push our readers creative thinking and creative expression.
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CONTENTS
BOOK REVIEW
NEWS
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First noted publication on Microscopy based off of the BBC documentary
Article and interview with the artist about her unique journey and artwork
The Invisible World
The Inspiring Story of Klari Reis
SPOTLIGHT
TECHNOLOGY
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Collaboration between Savvy Studio and Palacio de Bellas Artes Museum
An outline of the tools photographers use for microscopic imaging
The works of Carlos Cruz-Diez, Seon Ghi Bahk, Felipe Pantone and Luke Jerram
MPBA 80th Anniversary Party
Microscopy Equiptment
An Artist Collective
METHODOLOGY
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Curated images of microscopic flora, fauna, bacteria, crystals and biology
An interview with the artist on sleep habits, inspiration and creation
An article giving you step by step tips on creating more effeciently
MUSIC
BRAND TO WATCH
A NOTE TO END
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A playlist geared towards keeping you inspired and motivated
A Sheffield, UK based clothing company created by musician Olli Sykes
See when histories most affluent characters slept and for how long
Visual Expressions Gallery
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Rus Khasanov
Drop Dead
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Design Process
Sleep Schedule of a Genius
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mi·cros·co·py mï ‘kräskepê/ noun 1. the use of the microscope. The word originates from microscope which is a combination of two Greek words: micros meaning small and skopos meaning watcher. Together it means “a watcher of small”. originated in 1655
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THE INVISIBLE WORLD BOOK REVIEW
01 Common Table Salt The Invisible World Published 1981
“WE ARE VISUAL CREATURES, DEPENDANT ON OUR SIGHT AS OUR MOST VITAL LINK WITH THE WORLD AROUND US”
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The Invisible World: Sights Beyond the Limits of the Naked Eye was at the pinnacle of of technology during the time it was published. Although many scientific advances have be‑ en made since this hardcover was published in 1981 it still stands as a must-read in the realm of microscopy. Based off the TV documentary series “The Invisible World” written, produced and directed by Alex Pomasanoff and Ed‑ ward Garrick this book beautifully demonstrates just how vast our visual limitations are, exploring subjects of microworlds, crystalscapes, miniature gardens, thermovisions and beyond. “We are visual creatures, dependant on our sense of sight as our most vital link with the world around us. Most of what we know comes to us through our eyes, organs so marvelou‑ sly developed that they can focus on a tiny particle of dust or a planet 400 million miles away, adapt instantly from light to dark, trace motion, and differentiate between thousands of shadings of colors. Yet despite our eyes’ amazing powers and remarkable sens‑ itivity, there are countless sights around us to which we are to‑ tally blind. Our normal vision is but a narrow window on a vast and awesome universe, a universe of sights and happenings that are too fast or too slow, too faint or too minute for the hu‑ man eye to record. And when we get beyond the spectrum of visible light, we find even more foreign realms-dimensions of energy, such as x-rays and heat, that elude our sense of sight. In the time it takes to blink an eye, a host of exotic cameras and other imaging tool can transport us into these invisible worlds. In conjunction with microscopes, telescopes, strobe lights, radiation detectors, and computers, cameras can now reveal once-hidden sights. Possessed of powers to explore in ways that our unaided eyes cannot, cameras are extending enormously the once limited reach of our vision and knowl‑ edge, altering our image of the world.”
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KLARI REIS NEWS Megan Gambino
01 Lemon Yellow Klari Reis 2014 02 X-Ray Klari Reis 2015 03 Exotic Coral Klari Reis 2015 04 Blue Skittle Klari Reis 2016
This year, a San Francisco-based artist will unveil 365 new paintings, reminiscent of growing bacteria on her blog, The Daily Dish—eye candy for any science art lover. Reis’ circular art pieces are explosions of color. The yello‑ ws, pinks, purples, greens, oranges, reds and blues in each of the paintings take on a smattering of different shapes, includ‑ ing amorphous blobs, radiating fireworks and wavy veins that resemble, quite intentionally on Reis’ part, what a scientist mi‑ ght see when gazing through a microscope. The artist gives her creations playful names, little quips really, that spring to mind when she looks at the designs. The project has been a long time coming. Reis, now in her mid-30s, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease more than a de‑ cade ago. Shortly after her diagnosis, she left a stressful job as an architect in San Francisco to pursue a career in fine art. While studying at the City and Guilds of London Art School, she was in and out of the hospital, in an attempt to wrap her head around the differences between medications she was given in the UK and those she had taken in the US. “I knew I was allergic to this one medication in the US, but they called it something else in the UK”, says Reis. “I just felt like it was pretty important for me to understand what these drugs were and what they did on the inside.”
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In 2002, Reis’ doctor at St. Thomas Hospital, a teaching hospital connected to King’s College, invited her to his lab. There, under a microscope, he showed her dozens of sam‑ ples of her blood reacting to different medicines. Intrigued with the cellular reactions she saw, in particular how the cells morph and duplicate when the influences enter the body, Reis began painting some of the imagery on canvas, wood and aluminum panels, by memory. “My first 100 paintings were all named after different drugs,” she says. “They wer‑ en’t exact replicas of what I saw under the microscope, but were very much inspired by it.” After three years in London, she returned to San Fracisco, where she continued to work at the intersection of art and science. Several biotech companies in the Bay Area granted her access to their labs and commissioned educational paint‑ ings from her, depicting pharmaceuticals in action. But, then about four years ago, in what she describes as a very natural progression, Reis branched away from this kind of work, and away from canvas, wood and aluminium, to create paintings within actual petri dishes. Bringing her even closer to her re‑ search. “What I like about what I do is that it is different,” says Reis. “I use pretty unconventional materials and it gives all my pieces different looks and feels”
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Reis normally starts with a petri dish, one of three sizes of dishes she purchases from a biotech supply company. The smallest dishes are about 3” in diameter. The medium-sized dishes, standard in high school science labs, measure 4.5” , and the largest ones are about 6” across. Then, wearing a mask and a biohazard suit, she heats up epoxy polymer—a shiny plastic medium found not in an art store but at a place like Home Depot because it is often mixed with cement to create flooring (she was first exposed to the product during her days as an architect) - and adds color to it using powders and industrial dyes. Once the plastic is a syrupy consistency she applies between three and five layers within a petri dish. Reis has become looser and more abstract in her designs, but they still call to mind cultures of bacteria growing in petri dishes under a microscope. Just when you think Reis may have exhausted her options, she unveils a delightful new design. Each petri dish is remark‑ ably different. “I feel like there are endless possibilities with pieces like these” says Reis. “What does the next one look like?” I ask, hoping for an inside scoop on the next dish to hit her blog. “Ah, you’ll have to wait and see.” Reis says.
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MPBA SPOTLIGHT
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01 MPBA Logo Savvy Studio 2014 02 MPBA Book Savvy Studio 2014 03 MPBA Boxset Savvy Studio 2014 04 MPBA Inserts Savvy Studio 2014
MPBA is the first commemorative book for the Palacio de Bellas Artes Museum, a celebration of the museum’s 80th an‑ niversary and a tribute in every respect. It is a pure reflection of the museum and it’s elegant, dynamic, and timeless nature. It’s a heightened representation of the material, texture and essence of the great architectonic monument that pairs per‑ fectly with its strong, contemporary Mexican identity based off of microscopic monochromatic patterns. It’s content is a compilation of archived images, records, employee intervi‑ ews, and former directors. It is a visual essay of the art that has been exhibited in the museum from the beginning and essays about its famous murals as well as a reinterpretation of them led by contemporary artists. MPBA tells a story of the museum, founded in 1934, and is considered the most important museum, in an honest and self-critical way. The project was developed in collaboration with Caviar Izquierda and the Institute of National Bellas Artes.
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MICROSCOPY EQUIPTMENT TECHNOLOGY
01 Compound Light Microscope
03 Extension Tubes
A microscope gathers light from a tiny area of a thin, well-il‑ luminated specimen that is close-by. The objective lens of a microscope is small and spherical, which means that it has a much shorter focal length on either side. It brings the image of the object into focus at a short distance within the micro‑ scope’s tube. The image is then magnified by a second lens, called an ocular lens or eyepiece, as it is brought to the eye. Light microscopes have a light source and a condenser. The condenser is a system that focuses the light from the source onto a tiny, bright spot of the specimen, the same area that the objective lens examines. Microscopes typically have inter‑ changeable objective lenses and fixed eyepieces. By chang‑ ing the objective lenses, a microscope can bring increasingly smaller areas into view very clearly. Making it perfect for pho‑ tographic microscopy as well as close study and examination.
An extension tube is an attachment that goes between your camera body and your lens. It is not an optical element, so there is no glass involved. All it does is gets the lens further away from the focal plane. Now, the practical upshot of this, is that your minimum focusing distance gets smaller. With an extension tube, you can get closer to your subject; filling the frame with more of it, and still achieving focus. This accesso‑ ry will help you capture more detail across a wider range of whatever you are examining. You can find various extension tubes for DSLR’s at any major camera retailer.
04 Macro Lens Macro lenses are specifically designed for close-up photos, with a long barrel for close focusing and optimized for high reproduction ratios. They are one of the most common tools for macro photography. Almost all modern macro lenses are able to focus continuously to infinity and can provide excell‑ ent optical quality for normal photography. True macro lenses can achieve magnification higher than life size, making pho‑ tography of very minuscule objects possible. Using a macro lense will prevent potential blurriness and distortion of your images as well as enhance detail and clarity.
02 APS-C DSLR Camera A Digital Single-Lens Reflex Camera is a digital camera com‑ bining the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor, as opposed to photo‑ graphic film. The reflex design scheme is the primary differ‑ ence between a DSLR and other digital cameras. In the reflex design, light travels through the lens and then to a mirror that alternates to send the image to either the viewfinder or to the image sensor. The alternative would be to have a viewfinder with its own lens, hence the term “single lens” for this design. By using only one lens, the viewfinder of a DSLR presents an image that will not noticeably differ from what is captured by the camera’s sensor. APS-C stands for Advanced Photo System type C, which is a certain image sensor format that is designed to collect sub‑ stantial amount of light from the source in which it is captur‑ ing rendering the image quality higher than what would be attainable with smaller sensors. Although having a type C sen‑ sor is by no means necessary when dealing with microscopic photography it will definitely enhance image quality. In newer DSLR camera models this sensor is fairly common.
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05 Tripod A tripod is a stand with three legs that holds and supports a camera. Photographers and filmmakers use a tripod when they want the camera to be completely still, without the slight bit of shaking that their hands might cause. If you don’t plan on attaching your camera and extension tube to the micro‑ scope itself using a tripod is a great alternative to ensure sta‑ bility when capturing images, it will deplete any possible sha‑ king or movement that would come with holding a camera by hand. They’re also useful for ensuring consistent angling.
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Eyepiece
01 Eyepiece Tube Coarse Adjustment Head
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Fine Adjustment
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Frame
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Objective
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Illumination Intensity
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Stage Substage Mirror
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Base
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Works by Carlos Cruz Diez, Luke Jerram, Felipe Pantone and Seon Ghi Bahk
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AN ARTIST COLLECTIVE
For our first issues Artist Expose the editorial team decided to do a collective feature on creatives both up and coming as well as ones already well-established that all draw inspira‑ tions from a unique scientific perspective. Some of which are derived specifically from microscopy and others of a broader conceptual range. In the following pages, contributors from varying areas of practice will talk us through their processes, and what influ‑ ences their thinking and creativity. Though the subjects and executions may vary, in many ways they seem to hint at the same timeless question: How can we draw inspiration from science, and how do we best relate our works to each other, our peers and our audience?
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“THIS WORK IS NOT HAPPENING IN THE PAST, IT IS FOREVER IN THE PRESENT”
CHROMOSATURATION CARLOS CRUZ-DIEZ
Franco-Venezuelan artist Carlos CruzDiez explores the concept of color in Chromosaturation. Cruz-Diez was born in Venezuela in 1923. He has lived and worked in Paris since 1960. His artistic experimentations have further expand‑ ed notions about color and he has crea‑ ted several major series of works that explore the optical effects of color. This all began after he read a study about the early uses of Belladonna which was used to dilate womans pupils, making them appear more “seductive”. After more research Diez began to ex‑ amine microscopic images of the effects this substance has on the eye, the ways in which the color and chemical balanc‑ es change. Expanding on this he grew
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more curious about color in a broader sense and the optical and emotional effects color has on us. Cruz-Diez has been exploring the kinetic movement of color ever since in his celebrated works, creating interactive chambers that lure visitors to think further about their per‑ ceptions of color around them in their everyday lives. The installation works in a very per‑ sonal way, altering the color of your skin, clothing and anything you hap‑ pen to be carrying on your person. It culminates, creating an experience that’s adapts depending on what cham‑ ber you immerse yourself in, drawing attention to the individual experience of processing colour through a disrup‑
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tion in the way that light is received as understood, visually and emotionally. “The Chromosaturation creates an artificial environment composed of three color chambers, red, green and one blue that immerse the visitor in a completely monochrome situation. This experience creates disturbances in the retina, accustomed to receive wide ra‑ nge of colors simultaneously. Chromo‑ saturation can act as a trigger, activat‑ ing in the viewer the notion of color as a material or physical situation, going into space without the aid of any form or even without any support, regardless of initial perception.” On the grandest scale and the small‑ est, Cruz-Diez makes art that intends to
01 Chromosaturation Carlos Cruz-Diez 2010-present 02 Chromosaturation Carlos Cruz-Diez 2010-present
be slightly different every time you look at it. To him and a generation of Kinetic artists, that aspiration was more than a question of esthetics; it was an effort to create the eternal. “There is yellow here and a red there, but they are permanen‑ tly in the process of becoming. They are never fixed, never the same.” These wonderful installations have been developed over many years, they can be explored at The Musée en Herbe in Paris and The Museo Universitario Arte in Mexico.
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03 Chromosaturation Carlos Cruz-Diez 2010-present
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“I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED BY HOW MANY SMALL THINGS MAKE A WHOLE”
FICTION OF A FABRICATED IMAGE SEON GHI BAHK
Fiction of the Fabricated Image is the latest series by Seoul-based artist Seon Ghi Bahk.These magnificent art instal‑ lations are constructed using pieces of natural charcoal suspended on nylon threads. The work is part of the artist’s “An Aggregation” series that explores the complex relationship between na‑ ture and humanity, where Bahk sugge‑ sts “nature” can be incorrectly viewed as simply a backdrop or tool used in the creation of civilization and that most of us are unaware of the small but funda‑ mental blocks nature has contributed to today’s modern world. “Since I spent my childhood out in nature, I wanted to embrace natural things in my work,” says Seon. “I was
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born and raised in a remote rural vil‑ lage – there were only four households in it. My parents would be away tending crops, my brothers and sisters away at school and I would spend time alone. Everything I saw around me were the same mountains, the wind, and trees and I think these became the basis of my artwork. It was difficult to express wind or mountains in my art, so I chose trees as an alternative, and the charcoal derives from that. I have always been fascinated by how each small thing can make a whole and I want to show peo‑ ple that we wouldn’t be where we are today without the things nature has pro‑ vided for us, this is why my pieces are made with fragments, not wholes”
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Bahk first used stones as his material for the installations. But the supporting structure and installation became exc‑ essively large and overwhelmed the sto‑ nes, so the artist replaced stones with charcoal.The charred wood quickly be‑ came Bahk’s preferred medium. To ach‑ ieve his dangling 3D masterpieces, the 49-year-old artist fits individual pieces of charcoal with nylon-thread and then hangs them at varying lengths from the ceiling in installation spaces. “I lived in a remote village, but I wor‑ ked in Seoul, and actually wanted to ex‑ plore the mutual relationship between nature and man, as well as the tiny frag‑ ments that bind us together” he says. A sort of three-dimensional pointil‑
01 Fiction of a Fabricated Image Seon Ghi Bahk 2014
lism, the suspended charcoal installtions have a light, airy effect and appear as if they are structures in the process of be‑ ing formed, or disintegrating. Some of the architectural themes in Bahk’s work, Fiction of the Fabricated Image are no doubt inspired by his time spent at the Accademia di Belle Arti Brera in Milan where the Korean trained as a sculptor. Fiction of the Fabricated Image is on view at Zadok Gallery in Miami, Florida.
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02 Fiction of a Fabricated Image Seon Ghi Bahk 2014 03 Fiction of a Fabricated Image Seon Ghi Bahk 2014
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“I HEAR OFTEN THAT MY WORK IS FUTURISTIC. WELL, I THINK IT BELONGS TO THE PRESENT”
W-3 DIMENSIONAL FELIPE PANTONE
After establishing himself as an innova‑ tor within the graffiti world, with a car eer spanning the past decade, Felipe Pantone has began embracing abstra‑ ction, and drawing influence from var‑ ious disciplines such as kinetic and op art stemmed from his love of futurism and light transmission through electr‑ onics invisible to the naked eye. “I’m really happy to be able to wit‑ ness one of the most important things that happened in the history of inform‑ ation after the invention of writing and printing. Humanity is going further in a shorter time. 10 years ago we had Wal‑ kmans, and now, we have phones con‑ nected to the entire knowledge of hu‑ manity. It’s pretty awesome.”
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W3-Dimensional draws inspiration from Teilhard de Chardin’s 1950’s the‑ ories, which postulated the existence of a sphere of human thought, a living tissue of consciousness, enclosing the earth and growing ever more dense. This controversial idea, known as the “noosphere,” was largely forgotten up until the advent of cyberspace. The in‑ ternet, in its ever-growing exponential race of speed, pervasiveness, capacity, intelligence and durability, may turn into the mechanical framework for the noo‑ sphere, solidifying it’s theories. “I hear often that my art is futurist‑ ic. Well, I think my work belongs to the present. I try very hard to transmit my point of view of the world around me:
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the traveling, the invisible flow of cul‑ tures and information” says Pantone. Pantone’s quest to explore and com‑ pound all aspects of dynamism contin‑ ues with W3-Dimensional, Pantone’s premiere U.S. solo exhibition that finds shape and eye-popping color in large format installation and sculptures. “I try to speak about moving fast in‑ formation that interconnects. The “no‑ osphere” is a concept invented almost a century ago, and now it seems to be more evident. Some authors now call it the cybersphere. Thanks to the Inter‑ net, ideas travel faster than ever, we are cunable to see any of them in their true transmissive form. This truly fascinates me for many many reasons.”
01 W3-Dimensional Felipe Pantone 2016
When he first began working with wood Pantone started by exploring the possibilities of the material, turning his studio into a carpenter’s shop. Normal‑ ly his works first take shape on the com‑ puter but for W3-Dimensional when the idea was clear to him he cut prepared the wood and then experimented with painting and varnishing it. W3-Dimensional is on view at the Mirus Gallery in San Francisco, California.
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02 W3-Dimensional Felipe Pantone 2016 03 W3-Dimensional Felipe Pantone 2016 04 W3-Dimensional Felipe Pantone 2016
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01 Glass Microbiology Luke Jerram 2009-present
GLASS MICROBIOLOGY LUKE JERRAM
Luke Jerram has created a number of extraordinary art projects which have excited and inspired people around the globe. Jerram’s practice involves the creation of sculptures, installations and live arts projects. Glass Microbiology is a compilation of glass work which has been in devel‑ opment since 2004. Made to contem‑ plate the global impact of each dise‑ ase, the artworks are created as alter‑ native representations of viruses to the artificially coloured imagery received through the media. In fact, viruses have no colour as they are smaller than the wavelength of light. By extracting the colour from the imagery and creating jewel-like beautiful sculptures in glass, a
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complex tension and juxtaposition has arisen between the artworks’ beauty and what they represent. His transparent and colourless glass‑ works consider how the artificial color‑ ing of scientific microbiological imag‑ ery, affects our understanding of these phenomena. If some images are col‑ ored for scientific purposes, others alt‑ eredfor aesthetic reasons, how can a viewer tell the difference? How many people believe viruses are brightly colored? Are there any color conventi‑ ons and what kind of ‘presence’ do pse‑ udo colored images have that ‘naturally’ colored specimens don’t? How does the choice of different colors affect their reception by the public?
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The sculptures are designed in con‑ sultation with virologists from the Uni‑ versity of Bristol, using a combination of different scientific photographs and models. They are made in collaborat‑ ion with glassblowers such as Kimber George, Brian Jones and asteemed Norman Veitch and are approximately 1,000,000 times larger than actual size. In 2010, Jerram received the 25th Rakow Award for the series from The Corning Museum of Glass, New York. In 2009, his sculptures were presented at The Mori Museum, Tokyo and in 2015 his sculptures were presented at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore alongside works such as Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous Codex Atlanticus.
The Glass Microbiology exhibition is in museum collections around the wo‑ rld, including The Metropolitan Muse‑ um, New York City, The Wellcome Coll‑ ection London as well as The Muse‑ um of Glass, Shanghai. They are also regularly displayed and sold to private collectors for independant housing. The sculptures are available for sale to private collectors and public museums. Artworks are signed and dated, limited editions of just 5.
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02 Glass Microbiology Luke Jerram 2009-present 03 Glass Microbiology Luke Jerram 2009-present
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FLORA
01 Baby Strawberry The Invisible World Published 1981 02 Blooming Bulb CDC Atlanta Unknown
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FAUNA
03 Crimson Leaves CDC Atlanta Unknown 04 Meiosis Process CDC Atlanta Unknown
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BACTERIA
05 Malassezia Nikon Photomicroscopy Unknown 06 Burgdorferi Nikon Photomicroscopy Unknown
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CRYSTAL
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07 Ammonium Phosphate Waldo Nell 2013 08 Chlorpheniramine William Mark 2015
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BIOLOGY
09 Gerbil Intestine Nikon Photomicroscopy Unknown 10 Fly Eye The Invisible World Published 1981
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Rus Khas
01 Sweet Dreams Extract Rus Khasanov 2016
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sanov A JACK OF ALL TRADES Johnny Magdaleno
Rus Khasanov is a well known prolific typeface and graphic designer who consistently cranks out work that’s like crack for the Tumblr and Behance set. His design work is stylishly animate, bold, and, like the experimental ethos behind the wheel of his creative methodology, often a product of spon‑ taneous and unique inspiration. The innovative typefaces of his contemporary portfolio have garnered attention from all the usual suspects in the world of design coverage, which he seemed modestly stoked ab‑ out during our email conversations. Stoked, in that he was eager to talk holistically about his work, but still modest in that, really, sometimes he just thinks of these things while he’s cooking dinner.
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02 Vetka Typeface Rus Khasanov 2013
abcd It’s not all play for him, however. Most of what has pervaded throughout the internet recently is the sum of his after-hour musings. In a work day he spends his time designing on be‑ half of clients like Bloomberg Markets magazine, which last year used his Superbugs Typeface for a double-spread story title. Still, he prefers the twilight hours of creativity—evinced when I asked him what time it was in his corner of Russia, and he responded with the clarifier “but usually I stay awake until the early morning.” Here is our discussion about soy sauce, what project all visual designers should pursue, and electroshock therapy devices.
between neurons in the brain look the same as a universe with billions of galaxies. It’s something I admire very much. I hope that it is something that I can continue to explore in my work. V: What other basic tools have inspired your projects? R: I like the idea of using the power of something simple like a magnifying glass (in that it only really depends on glass and light) to capture a feeling of complex, infinite indivisibi‑ lity. Few of them include glass, mirrors, and laptop screens for Pixel Distortion. I used a freezer to create letters for the proj‑ ect Dexter, and once, inspired by Nikola Tesla, I tried to cre‑ ate an electric font by experimenting with an electroshock‑ er. For the project Bruisography I needed a vacuum to make bruises, and for this I used a syringe.
VERGE: You graduated university in 2008 and started getting attention a couple of years later, around 2010. How has your style changed in that time period? Rus Khasanov: That time I tried my luck as an illustrator. I ex‑ perimented with a number of techniques and styles. My main passion was vector graphics, and I was particularly fascinated by realistic gradient mesh portraits. I mastered this technique to perfection and, afterwards, didn’t see the point in continu‑ ing to make such portraits. For me, 2010 was a year of frustra‑ tion, of finding new ways to realize my creative potential. I was tired of sitting at the computer, so I began to pay more atten‑ tion to photo experiments such as Biomorphs, which was in‑ spired by HR Giger. This project was also my first step towards typography experiments.
V: Many of the typefaces are presented like patterns emerging from chaotic and formless elements: dust, light, liquid, colonies of bacteria. How is it different to use control as a medium of creation, as compared to starting from scratch, like with a blank canvas or screen? R: In my commercial projects I have to do a lot of sketches and make permanent changes to perfect a certain look. I am a per‑ fectionist so this is tedious and boring. In personal projects, I am subject to chaos and improvisation. I create a project as quickly as possible, in one go—many of them are done in one night. I do not think about a perfect final result, because my mind is entirely immersed in the process. V: When you’re only focused on the process like that, how do you know when a piece is finished? R: Any such project I start after I’ve been hooked by an initial preconceived visual idea, so I can imagine how the final re‑ sult will look like. My instincts always move me in the right di‑ rection until I am satisfied with the end results. That’s when I know somethings finished.
V: Magnification has taken a dominant role in your work, especially with the typeface series. What spurred your interest in working with design on a micro level? R: It’s about my love to play, to find magic in things that sur‑ round us in everyday life. I enjoy playing with different tools and materials. And magnifying glasses are my favorite. For me, the micro world is like a cosmos: images of connections
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V: Pacific Light and Sauce Type seem to share similar mediums. Did those two come about at the same time or did one inspire the other? R: Pacific Light is the continuation of my project Sauce Type. The idea for [Sauce Type] came to my mind when I was mak‑ ing a sauce. If you pour soy sauce and oil into a glass, you will see tiny black beads form at the bottom, like a cluster of small planets tightly pressed against each other. After I made Sauce Type I got an idea to make a video, since I was fascinated by how flowing mixtures of paint can form stunning color combi‑ nations. (Coincidentally, it so happened that just at this time I received a letter from my friend Ian who invited me to make a video for one of Boris Blank’s new tracks.) V: One of my favorites, the Vetka font, seems to be a departure from your other experiments, in that it relies less on the elements and styles mentioned in the previous questions. What inspired this one? R: I believe that creating a typeface is a necessary project for any visual creator, because it sharpens the skills associated with my compositions, style and shape. Vetka font is my first experiment with typeface design. I wanted to make an open, smooth grotesque with an unusual shape, something not so familiar. Many things inspired me to choose a plastic of Vetka font, like the Burmese alphabet with its open circular letters, as well as natural forms, such as waves, horns and branches of trees. These are reflected in the font as small sprouts and tails. (In Russian the word “vetka” means “branch.”)
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ijklmnop qrstuvwx yzABCDE FGHIJKL VOL 1.1
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03 Vetka Typeface Rus Khasanov 2013
V: By “necessary project for any visual creator,” do you also mean it helps the artist establish their niche of identity with‑ in something inherently global, like the components of a wid‑ ely shared language? R: What happens if you replace the font of Coca-Cola with any other? Coca-Cola loses its identity, and vice-versa: regard‑ less if any other word is typed in that font, its first association is with the soft drink. Font design is fraught with huge oppor‑ tunities. The traditional task of font design is a message trans‑ fer based on legibility. However, when a designer is not shy about being an artist, they can use tone and style as the pri‑ mary vectors to deliver a desired message. The alphabet is one of the most important foundations of communication, and a font is a living thing, so working on a typeface, whe‑ ther calligraphy or digital type, requires an understanding of how it exists and interacts with other visual elements. V: Why did you choose to use the English alphabet instead of the Russian alphabet? R: The Russian alphabet has more letters than English—33 compared to 26. It’s about saving time, as I do these projects in my free time. Secondly, form is important to me, and obje‑ ctively the Russian alphabet is more difficult in this context than the English is. It has many complex letters, and when I tried to draw them with a liquid type, the form was lost and the letters turned out like spots. V: Are you currently working on any new typefaces? If not, what’s your next big project? R: Currently no new typefaces in my future plans. But, I don’t know, I often start something spontaneously. Now I’m more focused on video experiments, and I want to make a couple of video clips. I actually have a great desire to try my hand at directing in the future, because film is my main passion. I have a script and visual ideas for a short film, and I think it would be a great platform for experiments.
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DESIGN PROCESS METHODOLOY Jason Gross PURPOSE? AUDIENCE? MESSAGE.
Contrary to previous belief, creativity does not limit itself to the “right-brained” artistic types. The ability to find creative and innovative solutions to problems holds value in almost all aspects of life. Even those with highly analytical jobs and hob‑ bies benefit from the ability to approach a complex issue from different perspectives and foresee alternate outcomes. So per‑ haps it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to suggest that creativity itself is more rooted in a process than random visio‑ nary moments. In one way or another we have all experienced that classic “aha” moment. Be it in our own experience or through those genius minds we love to follow in shows, movies or books, the light bulb moment of mental clarity is an iconic expression. But whether you know it or not you may be reaching those light bulb moments through more of a defined process than you would really think.
pieces to the puzzle. These pieces are pulled from other tasks or mental processes and applied to the equation we couldn’t solve earlier. When something from a current and not neces‑ sarily related task locks in with the problem we couldn’t figure out earlier the light switch flips on. Down time can be a pow‑ erful tool in the creative process. For designers we should be able to put this into context fairly easily. Certainly there are those among us who are pla‑ gued with the eternal judgment of the typography, layout, and color choices that we see around us everywhere. Even the task of e-mailing a client back and explaining why we should not make their logo bigger sparks thoughts of align‑ ment, pos‑itioning and weight. In processing the things that we do or do not like we constantly build our mental datab‑ ase of micro-ideas that we apply to our designs. This seems a little less fun than random strokes of genius but it does give us the power to craft our own epiphanies in‑ stead of letting them fall upon us. It is due to this that a lot of designers find success moving between tasks on a single project or shifting to an entirely new project when they feel their creative juices waning. At the head of all of this it is important to remember that a lot of designers depend on their skill set to make a living. So trying to implement time to let your mind rest doesn’t coin‑ cide well with meeting deadlines and “thinking time” never looks great on a project invoice. Like many things, practice makes perfect in this area and you can go ahead and plan on getting it wrong the first time around. As you become more comfortable with your own working and thinking pace it will allow you to better predict the timeline of a project that in‑ cludes the mental brakes you need to find creative answers.
The Not-So-Random Spark Believe it or not, you have probably been practicing the pro‑ cess of creative thinking on purpose for quite a while. Have you ever been instructed to skip a question on an exam that has you stumped and come back to it after you’ve answered the others? Or maybe it’s been something as simple as facing a tough choice with the decision to “sleep on it”. This might seem to imply that our brains continue to work on our hard‑ est problems for us while we sleep or think about something else. Unfortunately it’s not quite that easy. Even if by accident, when you let go of a problem that you can’t solve you are actively engaging in mental incubation. As it turns out, leaving a complex issue to its own devies doesn’t generate a resolution out of a passive thought process so much as an active new approach. This different approach allows our minds to set aside failed solutions and misconceptions that we generated on our first pass. We aren’t suddenly finding a new solution so much as we are allowing ourselves to shed our fix‑ ation on all of the things we thought of before that didn’t work. As we move on with our day or the next task we have, those bits of information that we forget may be replaced with other
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Practicing Creativity For some it may be a little disappointing to think that all of those inspirational moments that came over breakfast, in the shower or on the morning commute, were a little more scrip‑ ted than we thought. On the other side of that coin lies the potential to place a little more control over our inspirations.
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INSPIRATION? VISUAL STYLE? TONE.
CONCEPT. SKETCH. ITERATE.
STEP BACK. EVALUATE. REPEAT.
Could it be possible that the answer to being a creative indi‑ vidual lies within a process that we can replicate on demand? We can practice and refine our creative techniques. Well, of course there is not worksheet to follow along with that can promise unlimited creative power. We all have differ‑ ent capacities for intelligence, imagination and creativity so naturally some will have higher creative thresholds than oth‑ ers. With that said, there are a lot of theories out there about the various thought processes that spark creativity and how they can be harnessed.
familiar with the work. A jaded designer can easily miss key components of a design. Other designers who are familiar with the task and goal but not the exact job at hand are a great resource for situations like these. But what about those unfor‑ tunate times when another designer isn’t handy? An admittedly more difficult but still productive option is to treat your own design as though it belongs to someone else. If you find yourself stuck on a project, try splashing a little bit of that incubation process we talked about earlier on it and re-approach the project as though you’re helping a peer rev‑ iew their design. Forget about what work might be involved behind your suggestions or any pre-conceived notions of how other project stakeholders might respond to your suggestions. Finding points where you manage to disagree with yourself is a good clue that this process working.
Distance Makes the Design Grow Fonder One of my favorite methods for finding that inner creativity is the process of disassociation. This type of thinking can come in quite a few forms but always has the same core compon‑ ent. The point of disassociating your thoughts is to force your brain to take a new perspective on a problem. One way of doing this is by purging thoughts. The point here is that so many of our initial thoughts and ideas are based on our previous experience or observations. We can’t expect to provide a unique design until we have purged our minds of ideas that were gathered from other sources. Many design‑ ers will admit to having sketch books full of logo or design var‑ iations that range from tiny detail changes to entirely new con‑ cepts, all of which is part of the process of coming up with cre‑ ative ideas. Dumping thoughts out on paper helps make way for more unique ideas.
Creativity is not Magic At the end of the day are there some people more creative than others? Yes. But are there people out there that simply lack the ability to be creative at all? I don’t believe so. We all have tasks that require a little bit of creativity to complete, for some of us it may be the process of a logo or web design yet for others it could be finding a more efficient formula or al‑ gorithm. Depending on where you live it might require a little creativity to find a parking spot at home after 5:00pm. As something that is a part of all of us, I don’t find creativity to be any kind of magical power. This is just as well, because it means we can practice creative thinking and encourage the process when we need it the most. Methods such as mental incubation, disassociation, and forced third party perspective may not yield the best solutions for everyone but the topic of creative thinking is a broad one that includes dozens of differ‑ ent theories. If you are someone who draws on your creativity on a regular basis I would encourage you to take some time and find out what works best for you.
Two Heads are Always Better Another interesting technique that plays along with the rules of disassociation is the process of making decisions for some‑ one else. In a fun trick of the brain, turns out that we may very likely be better at making more creative decisions for others than we are for ourselves. Cashing in on this theory could take us down several paths. First, this places emphasis on the importance of feedback. Anyone who has been waist deep in a project for an extend‑ ed period of time has likely had the experience of being too
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V1.01 MUSIC
Oftentimes we have innumerable distractions at work compet‑ ing for our attention. Luckily, music can help put us back on a more productive track. A study out of the University of Birmingham, England, shows that music is effective in raising efficiency in repetitive work— so if you’re mindlessly checking email or delving into a brand new project, adding some good tunes will be sure to make your task infinitely more enjoyable. When it comes to tasks that require more brainpower, finding that perfect playlist is not so easy. Based on some of what we know about how music affects productivity, it’s important to listen to songs that keep you upbeat and motivated, ones you enjoy. We have also found that sometimes music without lyrics that serves more as background noise works well also because you won’t be distracted by what the song is saying, you can completely absorb yourself into whatever you may be doing without that distraction. The staff at VERGE put together this playlist for you titled V 1.01 of all of our favorite work songs, you should try funnel‑ ing this kind of music through your headphones the next time you’re feeling unproductive.
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Spotify: spotify.com/verge Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/verge
Flux Bloc Party Wait M83 (Kygo Remix) Sommerfagel Wintergaatan (Bassnectar Remix) No Fate Awaits Me Son Lux Quelqu’un m’a dit Carla Bruni I’m God Clams Casino The Winner Is Danna Devotchka I’ll Be Good Jaymes Young Stories and Tales Subculture Sage Should Be True Phaeleh Grapevine Fires Death Cab for Cutie About You XXYYXX Toes Glass Animals Don’t Move Phantogram In Your Memory Fracx Discoloration Dawn Golden CREEKS Bon Iver Something Good Alt J Push Pull Purity Ring 1940 The Submarines (Amplive Remix)
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DROP DEAD BRAND TO WATCH
01 Dead Arms Drop Dead 2016`
Drop Dead was founded by “Bring me to Horizon” singer Oli Sykes in 2005. The company started in Sheffield, UK and has now expanded not only across Britian but internationally as well. The brands strong image resembles that of BOY or Religion and their clothes are not only unique but have a very distinguished and signature look and feel, based off of Oli’s aesthetic and his love for art and design. He says “I was in design school but seemed to be excelling faster than I was learning, so I looked for other outlets of cre‑ ativity. The garments I make don’t send a specific message, but I always knew I wanted them to look bold and edgy. My works are all original, they appeal to a crowd” In the past couple of years especially the brand has grown increasingly popular, despite what Oli had imagined back in 2005 Drop Dead now has a storefront in downtown London. This multi-disciplinary brand is one to keep an eye on. Drop Dead is currently celebrating the release of their new line of hoodies called “Dead Arms” which come in both women and men sizes.
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SLEEP SCHEDULE OF A GENIUS A NOTE TO END Catherine Clifford
How and when does creative genius happen? Is there a given formula that we can follow, a lifestyle to live? A pattern that leads to miraculous moments of brilliance? While there is no one answer, there is plenty of evidence that having a routine does facilitate creativity, (however ironic that may seem) and each individual must establish one that works for them. Not all creatives need 6-8 hours of sleep a night to be at their best level of productivity, despite what science says. Sometimes our minds work sporadically and unpredictably at any time of night or day. “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success,” said Pablo Picasso, the legendary artist. Take this graphic and consider your routine, what’s working, what’s not? Perhaps it’s time to take a move from Beethoven's playbook and be asleep by 9 p.m.
Ludwig van Beethoven 10pm - 6am
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Charles Darwin
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Maya Angelou
12am - 7am nap 3pm - 4pm
1am - 6am
10pm - 5:30am
HonorĂŠ de Balzac
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Sigmund Freud
6pm - 1am nap 8am - 9:30am
3:30am - 11am
1am - 7am
Thomas Mann
Victor Hugo
12am - 10am
10pm - 6am
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15 USD / 20 CAN
ISSN 1324-685E
9 771324 685004
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