MIXED Process Book by School of Art, George Mason University

MIXED PROCESS BOOK BY KASEY THOMAS

Copyright ÂŠ 2020 Kasey Thomas All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

MIXED PROCESS BOOK. This process book details my senior synthesis project from start to finish. I will show concept creation, sketches, design ideation and helpful feedback that brought me to the finished product of my project. My design choices will be explained, and the meaning of the project will be explored alongside every step of this process.

CONTENTS 01 02 03 04 05

CONCEPTS 02–07 PROPOSALS 08–13 CREATIVE BRIEF 14–17 RESEARCH 18–19 BOOKLET STYLESHEET 20–21

06 07 08 09 10

BOOKLET GRID 22–23 FIRST DRAFTS 24–29 MOVING FORWARD 30–31 FINAL MOCKUPS 32–39 CLOSING STATEMENT 40

INITIAL CONCEPTS In the beginning, we were asked to come

CONCEPT 1: MIXED

up with three concepts. The following

A book on what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like to be mixed, on

are the three concepts that I came up with and presented to the class:

the stereotypes that follow mixed race people and on mixed people in general. I am mixed (black and white) and it has always been a big part of my identity. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve gone through a lot of things in my life specifically because I am mixed, so I thought it would be an interesting topic for my book. The book would include sections where I talk about my own experiences as a mixed person and sections about mixed representation in the media. The cover of the book could be made up of different swatches, and perhaps the swatches could even be manipulated by the reader, because people often judge others by their skin color and features rather than taking the time to learn about the person. I would use that as a basis for the book.

I’m mainly interested in making a

swatches would be the same color as

book, since publication design and

the person’s skin, and I picture several

bookmaking specifically interest

of them hung up on the wall above my

me, but I was also thinking of turning

book, kind of like the way a chessboard

this project into some sort of campaign

looks. There could be swatches next to

to enlighten the reader. I envision several

the book for people to take with them.

posters with different portraits of people who are mixed, and the title of each poster would be something like “This is mixed.” The people on the posters would have a range of skin tones and features, and the posters would explain what races the people are and generally spread awareness about being biracial. Another idea that I have is similar to the poster idea, but instead of large posters, there would be smaller cards—almost like tarot card size—and they would have a swatch name that has to do with the person its referring to and some general information about their identity as a person of mixed race. Again, the 3

CONCEPT 2: COLOR NOSTALGIA

like cards that contain the different

This would be a more conceptual project.

colors and maybe a short poem/idea that

The book would basically be a bunch of different pages with different colors and what they mean either specifically to me, or in popular culture, or even in relation to human psychology. The content of each page could be a general description of the color, where it comes from, what things in life are said color and what the color means to me and maybe others too. Alternatively, I was thinking each page could generate some sort of nostalgia and be written similar to a poem. For instance, the color blue could be described as a fresh new pair of jeans, ones that need to be broken in and stretched, so you wear them for a while, jump around in them throughout the house, etc. Basically, each page would be a feeling or an event that is nostalgic to me and possibly others, in relation to color. Accompanying the book could be either something similar to my first concept,

describes what the color represents in my view. The cards could be something people could take with them during the exhibition, and they could also be hung above my book to resemble various color swatches. Another possible idea I had, was to create a video of some kind. The video would go with the book and would have a bunch of colored backgrounds. There would be text on top of each background that would match whatever color was currently being shown. So, if it was a blue background the text could be something about that â&#x20AC;&#x153;new pair of jeansâ&#x20AC;? that I mentioned earlier.

CONCEPT 3: BE EMPOWERED

out into a big tiled picture with all of

This book would be a really fun, upbeat

the portraits of the women, then the

publication about amazing things that females have done throughout history. It would have sections on historical milestones, historically influential female figures, information on the feminist movement and just more stuff about what it is to be a female. I’d want

words “Be Empowered” would show up. After that, the video would restart. The poster idea could also be applied to this project, with the words “Be Empowered” at the top accompanied by a portrait of a female from history and a short explanation of what she accomplished.

to make the book a bunch of shades of pink, because female movements have taken this color and turned it into something quite empowering for females. Again, I’m really interested in the idea of creating little cards, so there could be some for this project as well. On the cards, there would be pictures or drawn portraits of important female figures and maybe even inventions from history. Another thing I thought of that could turn this into an interesting project, would be a video containing portraits of influential women. The portraits would pass by quickly and eventually zoom

CHOSEN CONCEPT The class could tell which concept I was

CONCEPT 1: MIXED

most passionate about, and that most

A book on what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like to be mixed, on

definitely was concept 1:

I’m mainly interested in making a

swatches would be the same color as

book, since publication design and

the person’s skin, and I picture several

bookmaking specifically interest

of them hung up on the wall above my

me, but I was also thinking of turning

book, kind of like the way a chessboard

this project into some sort of campaign

looks. There could be swatches next to

to enlighten the reader. I envision several

the book for people to take with them.

So, I went with concept one. I talked with Professor Quigley about whether the concept would work better as a project or a book, and ended up coming up with two proposals, one for the concept as a project, and one for the concept as a book.

Another idea that I have is similar to the poster idea, but instead of large posters, there would be smaller cards—almost like tarot card size—and they would have a swatch name that has to do with the person its referring to and some general information about their identity as a person of mixed race. Again, the 7

PROPOSAL ONE The first proposal that I came up with presented my concept as a project:

SENIOR PROJECT PROPOSAL #1 CONCEPT: THIS IS MIXED. A large part of my identity comes from my mixed heritage. My mother is half black and half white, and my father is white. I have experienced many things because I am black and white, and I find that a lot of people don’t exactly understand what it’s like to be “mixed.” For this project, I want to express what it means to be a mixed person, what it is like to be a mixed person and shed light on all of the stereotypes that surround mixed people as a whole. I really want to motivate people to reflect on what race and identity really mean in our society today by providing an opportunity for them to experience race physically.

PROJECT SCOPE OF WORK: 16-25 POSTERS I will create 16-25 posters of celebrities that are mixed arranged in either a 4x4 or 5x5 grid. Their skin colors will be the background of the posters, and I will draw all of their portraits myself. The posters will say what races the celebrities are mixed with, and many of the celebrities I specifically pick will be ones that people usually assume are one race, when they are in fact two or more. The goal of this is to make people think and show that relying on sight alone to identify people can be misleading. Seeing all of the skin colors together, and reading what different races these people are will give people a moment of reflection about race and identity.

LIGHTING Large lighting that reads â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is Mixedâ&#x20AC;? to create an impactful experience for the viewer. The lighting will either be custom neon or LED lights. It will go above the posters to drive the point home and further connect the posters to one another. BOOKLET A booklet on my experiences as a mixed person. The booklet will be 20-30 pages long. It will be a story about things that I have dealt with due to being mixed. It will talk about the ups and the downs of being mixed-race without really looking all that mixed. The purpose of this book is to share my own personal take on being mixed, and to offer something specific to me that will accompany the rest of the elements within this project.

AUDIO

SWATCH CARDS AND CONTAINER

Audio of influential mixed people

Small swatch cards with a designed

talking about what it is like to be mixed

container for them. These cards will

and about race in general. There will

be a swatch of a mixed person’s skin

be several different speakers and the

color and identify their mixed races.

audio is meant to be listened to as the

For instance, if the card was my skin

viewer looks at the posters/reads the

color, it would have “Black and White”

book. Some of the audio will be positive,

written on it. The purpose of the cards

talking about being proud to be mixed,

is to express how simply we view race.

and some of it will be of mixed people

When holding one in your hand, it’s

talking about why they have forsaken

almost like you’re holding someone’s

one of their races to only identify as

race between your fingers, like you

the race most people assume they are.

have a person’s entire racial identity

Hearing these different points of view

right there. It is designed to create a

while looking at the posters will create a

paradoxical moment that demonstrates

conflicting feeling, which is exactly what

how simple yet extremely complex race

I want, as that is how many mixed people

and being mixed really is.

feel in their everyday lives.

PROCESS BOOK A process book detailing the creation of my project pieces. The book will take a step-by-step look into how exactly I made my project come together.

DELIVERABLES:

CLOSING STATEMENTS:

1. 16-25 posters

I am passionate about my identity as

2. Neon or LED lighting 3. Booklet 4. Swatch cards + container 5. Process Book SETUP: I envision my grid of posters and the lights being hung up somewhere on the wall. Below those elements will be my

a person. I am also passionate about poster design and putting together books and magazines, which is why I believe I will best get my message across with these bold posters and the rest of the deliverables. With this project, I want to not only get my message across, but create an event so that the viewers at the showcase will physically experience my message.

process book and my booklet, probably on either a stand or small shelf. With the books, the swatch cards will be in a box Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve designed for them. Finally, there will be some headphones on a rack, so that the viewer can listen to the audio to finish off what I hope will have been a memorable experience.

PROPOSAL TWO The second proposal presented my project as a book:

SENIOR PROJECT PROPOSAL #2 CONCEPT: THIS IS MIXED A large part of my identity comes from my mixed heritage. My mother is half black and half white, and my father is white. I have experienced many things because I am black and white, and I find that a lot of people don’t exactly understand what it’s like to be “mixed.” For this project, I want to express what it means to be a mixed person, what it is like to be a mixed person and shed light on all of the stereotypes that surround mixed people as a whole. I really want to motivate people to reflect on what race and identity really mean in our society today by providing an opportunity for them to experience race physically.

PROJECT SCOPE OF WORK: BOOK A book on what it’s like to be mixed race, on the stereotypes that follow mixed people and on mixed people in general. I am mixed (black and white) and it has always been a big part of my identity. I’ve gone through a lot of things in my life because I am mixed, so I thought it would be an interesting topic to explore. The book will have sections where I talk about my own experiences as a mixed person and sections about mixed

will include bold quotes either said by mixed people or to mixed people from people who don’t understand what it means to be mixed race. POSTER The poster to go with my book will be a portrait of a mixed celebrity or of me and will say “This is Mixed.” It’ll describe how the person on the poster is mixed and the background color of the poster will be the person’s skin color. That skin color will also be incorporated into the cover of the book as one of the many

representation in the media. The cover

swatches on the book.

of the book will be made up of different

DELIVERABLES:

swatches put together, because people often judge mixed people by their skin color and features rather than taking the time to learn what their ethnicity actually is. I’d like to use that as a basis for the book. The name of the book will be “Mixed.” There will be sections showing mixed celebrities that the majority of people don’t necessarily know are of mixed race. Some pages

1. Book on Being Mixed 2. Poster to accompany book CLOSING STATEMENTS: I am passionate about my identity as a person. I want this project to be more of my own personal point of view and explanation of what being mixed race means for me.

CREATIVE BRIEF CREATIVE BRIEF – THIS IS MIXED. OVERVIEW •

Approximately 9 million Americans are of mixed race.

•

Many of the greatest historical figures in time are mixed, even though most people do not identify

•

Several Biracial celebrities are beginning to generate dialogue about what it is like to be of mixed race, Halle Berry being one of the most vocal.

CONCEPT

Martin Luther King Jr., who is African

A large part of my identity comes from

American and Irish.

my mixed heritage. My mother is half

There are many people who “pass”

black and half white, and my father is

multiple cultures. Oftentimes, people place mixed people into one racial group based on assumptions derived from appearance alone. 2000 was the first year that people were allowed to check more than one box when choosing their race for the census. So, people being mixed is still

really think about.

them this way. An example would be

as white but actually come from

•

a concept that many Americans don’t

white. I have experienced many things because I am black and white, and I find that a lot of people don’t exactly understand what it’s like to be “mixed.” For this project, I want to express what it means to be a mixed person, what it is like to be a mixed person and shed light on many stereotypes that surround mixed people as a whole. I really want to motivate people to reflect on what race

and identity really mean in our society

KEY MESSAGE

today by creating a physical experience.

•

looking at someone and determining

OBJECTIVE •

their race, there might be more to

To shed light on what it means

them than one would glean from a

to be of mixed race and show a

first glance. Mixed people are out

different perspective of race in

there, and they don’t always look like

American society.

what people think their races should look like. Mixed people are more than

TARGET AUDIENCE •

skin color or facial features, because

People who may not know about

being mixed comes from blood.

or understand the concept of someone culturally coming from two or more races.

SUPPORT MESSAGE & POINTS •

As of 2020, people are more aware

Posters with titles such as: “This is Mixed.”

CURRENT PERCEPTIONS •

Race is not “this” or “that.” When

•

Additional text on posters: “Black +

about the concept of being mixed

White.” (Basically, showing the

than ever before. However, a lot of

races of the person depicted on

people don’t really understand or

the poster).

know about mixed people, and often try to place people in one category when it comes to race.

OUTCOME EXPECTATIONS •

To educate people on race,

specifically in the context of •

•

biracial people.

throughout history to place emphasis

To make people think twice before

on how mixed people see themselves and how the media represents us.

deciding someone is one race just on looks alone.

•

situation, as a lot of people are in the

25 posters at a 16:9 ratio to be shown on an iMac as a slideshow. Each poster will have a portrait

dark on what it means to be mixed. •

that is cohesive with the branding

supporting text to really drive the

and theme of the project.

point home.

•

One 20+ page booklet about my

MANDATORY ELEMENTS

experiences as a mixed person.

•

25 posters

Several swatch cards made from

•

Swatch cards

mixed celebrities’ skin colors that list

•

Swatch card container

•

Audio component

defines mixed people and causes us

•

LED Lighting

to be placed in categories that don’t

•

One exhibition poster

properly fit us.

•

20+ page booklet

their name and races, to shed light on the fact that skin color oftentimes

•

A container to hold all of the swatch cards that will say “Mixed” on it and will give off the feeling of a playing card box.

One exhibition poster to hang above the iMac and under the LED lighting

of a celebrity who is mixed with

•

LED lighting that says “This Is Mixed” to essentially shed light on the

DELIVERABLES •

Audio from influential mixed people

VOICE AND TONE Youthful and urban with a somewhat serious tone. I want the project to feel

like it is coming from my voice and my

CLOSING STATEMENTS:

point of view—from a mixed youth.

I am passionate about my identity as

APPROVAL PROCESS All elements of the project will be examined and decided on by School of Art faculty, professors and the Graphic Design Coordinator at GMU. TIMELINE •

1 week for research

•

1 week for poster layout completion

•

3 weeks for booklet development

•

2 weeks for swatch card development

a person. I am also passionate about poster design and putting together books and magazines, which is why I think I will best get my message across with these bold posters and the rest of the deliverables. With this project, I want to not only get my message across, but create an event so that the viewers at the showcase will physically experience my message.

and container completion •

2 weeks for audio editing and lighting arrangements

•

Remaining time devoted to poster portrait creation and refinements of other project elements

RESEARCH A lot of my project has to do with using

I also utilized different websites to find

biracial celebrities to show the wide

different perspectives on multiracial

variety of appearances that being mixed

Americans and race, ethnicity, and

can produce, so I utilized a few websites

nationality in general:

to find out which celebrities were mixed: • •

•

https://web.archive.org/

https://www.ranker.com/list/biracial-

web/20060905111842/http://www.

celebrities/celebrity-lists

studentgroups.ucla.edu/hapa/paper.

https://www.arogundade.com/

html

what-race-and-ethnicity-is-rihanna-

•

https://web.archive.org/

black-white-mixed-race-american-

web/20060905111842/http://www.

british-or-jamaican-her-background-

studentgroups.ucla.edu/hapa/paper.

nationality-parents.html

html •

https://blog.prepscholar.com/racevs-ethnicity-vs-nationality

•

http://www.atlas101.ca/pm/resourcepages/race-ethnicity-nationality-andculture/

•

https://psmag.com/news/biracialamericans-are-stereotyped-as-

Lastly, I researched how mixed people are represented in the media with sites like these: •

https://www.jstor.org/ stable/20688651?seq=1#metadata_ info_tab_contents

•

https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/ a29546364/mixed-ish-mixed-racerepresentation-identity/

•

https:// lookinginthepopularculturemirror. wordpress.com/2017/03/14/mixedrepresentation/

BOOKLET STYLESHEET The typeface that I used universally throughout my project is called Adelle Sans. Generally, I utilized Adelle Sans Extrabold for any large type used on my posters, booklet and swatch cards. To keep everything consistent, I created specific paragraph styles for my booklet, which can be seen on the next page.

Chapter Title

Contents

Contents #s Contents Info

Pull Quote 1 Pull Quote 2 Pull Quote 3 Body Text (Black) Body Text (White)

BOOKLET GRID For my booklet, I utilized the same grid and dimensions as this process book, originally because I planned to display them together and thought the consistent sizing would look nice and well-balanced aesthetically. My booklet is square, measuring 8 inches by 8 inches and has .75-inch margins all around. It utilizes a 6-column grid with gutters of .25 inches. Here is the general grid layout for a page from the booklet:

FIRST DRAFTS BOOKLET I got the first draft of my booklet looked over by Professor Quigley, and he mainly told me to take a look at the justified text within the booklet.

FRONT COVER

BACK COVER

BY KASEY THOMAS

INTERIOR SPREADS “In American Society, people are often placed into little boxes.”

In American society, people are often placed into little boxes. White. Black. Cuban. Korean. All of these races and ethnicities that are found in the melting pot that is America. But, really, is it that simple? In short, no it isn’t. I can walk down the street, look at someone and instantly make a judgement in my head about their entire cultural background, make a guess about what race they might be, just based off of their appearance. That’s how our society works.

So many people out there are incredibly

But maybe that’s not how it should be.

unique. Everyone has a story. Everyone has a background. Assumptions just disregard all of the amazing parts of each person in this world. So, what is mixed? It’s our story, our background, our heritage, our race. It’s all of those things. Mixed people all have their own unique ways of identifying themselves. That’s what Mixed is.

MIXED ADULTHOOD. Adulthood has been a bit of a wakeup call

In my college academia, I’ve met plenty

for me. The jokes are pretty much gone,

of awesome mixed people. It’s amazing to

but judgement and assumptions have tak-

meet people you can relate to. My college

en their place. People look at me an as-

is diverse in general, which is so refresh-

sume my race, and based off of that, they

ing because everyone has to take a step

assume what kind of privilege I have and

back and try to understand one another.

what kind of life I live.

Overall, being mixed as an adult is proba-

People give me shocked expressions

bly just as weird as being mixed as a kid.

when they find out I’m mixed. Some peo-

People judge the way you speak, the way

ple look at me like they don’t believe me.

you dress, the way you gesture. They don’t

Some people discredit one of my races

get it because they don’t know what kind

depending on their own personal biases.

of culture you come from. They’re just

It’s weird. Things are still weird, even as an

going off of what they’ve assumed your

adult. But that’s okay. I’ve already learned

culture is, and that can create a lot of

to embrace the weird.

misunderstandings.

Meeting other mixed adults is a joy. There’s this instant comradery that happens between two mixed people. You look at one another and you’re like, “You…You’re mixed!? Me too! Yay!”

MIXED LIFE. “We’re all individuals. When we start to think like that, then these gaps All of the previously talked about elements

There’s nothing wrong with being part of a

makeup the everyday life of a mixed

group of people, because most of the time,

person. A lot of us go through the world

that’s a really good thing. The main thing

wondering where our place is, sometimes

to be mindful of is not letting what social

feeling like we need to fit ourselves into

and cultural groups you belong to define

some sort of category, and maybe iden-

you. It’s important to take a step back

tifying as “mixed” does just that. Really,

every so often and remember that you’re

though, every person is unique despite

an individual. We’re all individuals. When

the—as I like to describe them—little

we start to think like that, then these gaps

boxes we all are placed into and also put

between groups of people don’t feel so far.

between groups of people don’t feel so far.”

our own selves into.

SWATCH CARDS I got the first draft of my swatch cards looked over by Professor Quigley. He had some questions about the decisions I made, so I was sure to explain my reasoning for design choices regarding the swatch cards.

POSTERS I showed the first draft of my posters to Professor Quigley and he told me to pay attention to the kerning of the type on each of the posters.

MOVING FORWARD I went through several more iterations of each part of my project before coming to my final product, and received a lot of helpful feedback that allowed my project to come together in a professionally successful manner. Due to the senior exhibition moving online, I needed to prepare my files for a RGB colorspace, so I focused on doing that with all of my project pieces.

Secondly, I had to decide what project deliverables from my initial creative brief should still be included in the project. I got rid of the lighting idea, since there will be no physical exhibition where the lighting would be displayed. I also found a mockup that would allow me to display my posters differently than originally planned in my creative brief.

To work best with the new mockup, I decided to cut down my posters from 16-20 down to ten, to display all of the posters in either two rows of five or as a 3x3 grid of 9 posters, paired with a separate image of the tenth poster on its own as a detail shot. That way, the final mockup wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look too crowded, but would still showcase an aesthetically pleasing layout of the posters.

I spent a lot of time searching for mockups, since that would be how my work was going to be displayed. I also had to consider whether or not having an audio component to my project really made sense since it would not be able to be included on the exhibition site. Keeping all of these things in mind, I kept moving forward to bring me to the final iterations of my project deliverables.

FINAL MOCKUPS SWATCH CARDS + PACKAGING

BOOKLET

PROCESS BOOK

POSTERS

CLOSING STATEMENT This project caused me to grow a lot as a designer. In the beginning, I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sure where it would take me. Then, everything changed when class switched to being virtual only. Completing this project was definitely a challenge, but with support from my wonderful family, guidance from my awesome professor, James Quigley, and the help of my amazing classmates, I created a final project of which I can say I am definitely proud.