hand drawn lettering, experimental, susan fireside
assignment #1
style and mantra a word, phrase, quote or sentence that defines your philosophy or outlook.
process As a designer who is a minimalist, I wanted to explore that word and what it means. While it was clear that type should not be ornamental, I wanted to push the idea further than the physical. The final result was to cut out the type, allowing light to replace the ink. By removing the word, the paper, the idea is further reinforced.
materials
paper, silver ink, exacto knife, colored light, wall
assignment #2
frustration a message based on a frustration that will be expressive.
process Frustration is expressed differently for everyone. Here I played with the concept of irony. There’s something about just saying “screw it� that has a sense of humor and giving in at the same time. It feels a little like giving up and giving in, letting go, and just not caring. Here the concept is explored using my own script, giving it a personal expression, and the use of glitter as a nod to celebrating that resolve.
materials
paper, glue, glitter, black construction paper
assignment #3
identity choose a subject. person, place, houseplant, private army, etc. real or fictional, determine the important aspects of their identity.
process I choose makeup to explore how we can change the way we present ourselves by altering the appearance of our face. Through color, texture and layers, an inanimate object can come to life. By experimenting within the same type form, the materials expressed different ideas, from playful to aggresive.
materials
eye shadow, lipstick, nail polish, black construction paper
assignment #4
information a collection of data and create an infographic that explains it visually and details it dynamically.
process The infomation chosen for this assignment was based on a statistic I read about how many Americans practice yoga. To explore this visually, I used a combination of yoga poses to illustrate a letter as well as using typography that referenced the Hindu alphabet, a direct nod to the original source of yoga. However, I was also using ink and brushes, and the result was to many styles and not enough clarity about the information.
materials
paper, calligraphy ink, brushes, watercolors
assignment #5: refined
information a collection of data and create an infographic that explains it visually and details it dynamically.
process I chose to redo this assignment, focusing on the materials that I was initially drawn to, which is brush and ink. These materials are often used to create ensos, the symbol in Zen Buddhism. It is a circle that is hand-drawn in one or two uninhibited brush strokes to express a moment when the mind is free to let the body create. I used this information, as well as exprimenting with the process of the enso itself, to create an infographic that uses the word and philosophy as the container for the information.
assignment #5
multiplicity a body of text or a collection of words that are thematic and consistent using a mixture of styles.
process My concept was to explore the phrase “There’s always room for space.” I wanted this to be about taking up less physical space in our homes. Using a different style type for each word, it was pulled together as one cohesive idea by keeping the weight for each word the same. While different mediums were explores such as markers and water colors, the finished piece using needle and thread as a nod to the old fashioned needle points one might see on a couch. To simplify further, the finished piece as created using one color of thread and less detail, further emphasizing the concept of space and keeping it light.
materials
paper, needle, thread, scissors
assignment #6
visual speech comics. graphic novels. pop art. you may not hear the emphasis, inflection, sarcasm, or seriousness, but you can see it. make the feeling of this message match the visual form of it.
process The concept was to reference pop art and the multiple frames of a comic strip, in a way that also allowed for a series to be explored so that each frame and word had it’s own tone.
materials
paper and markers
assignment #7
time lapse time. progression. narrative. applying time to print to create a work that functions beyond being purely static. create a time lapse video of the creation of your type selection from beginning to end.
process Since this piece was featuring the process of building a finished work, I wanted to use materials that had more physicality than paper and pen alone. The first part was creating the concept, which involved the use of live materials of flowers. Cutting them to create the letter forms meant that there was a limited time to work with these materials before they started to wilt. I purchased what I thought would be enough to spell out the entire word and photograph it. However it took more flowers and space that I had to work with and ended up creating one letter at a time and photographing it all separately to put together in Photoshop at the end.
process
assignment #7
time lapse time. progression. narrative. applying time to print to create a work that functions beyond being purely static. create a time lapse video of the creation of your type selection from beginning to end.
hand drawn lettering, experimental, susan fireside