Within this study task, I have tried to approach the impossible task of creating a subjective word into an objective symbol or pictogram. The three words that the designs are based on; are anxiety, obscure and rebellious. With a range of processes, both digital and analog, from collage and painting to photoshop and illustrator.
The letters of Anxiety have been rearranged into differing symbols, to represent the different forms that anxiety can come in and how it is unknown to many people, why and how they feel it, and how it is very difficult to describe. The symbols themselves are contrasting as some seem balanced and a steady shape, whereas others seem to be unbalanced and unrecognisable as shapes.
When the objects are placed into a circle it creates a paradox of something anxious and unknown into a closed, confined space, contradicting anxiety with feelings of content and safety. Also after reading up on Frutiger's ideas of signs and symbols, the circle as a shape actually connotes anxiety, as it exudes feelings of an egg and being inside the womb, aspects of maternal safety, therefore when people look at a circle it gives the feeling of being alone and unsafe, without a parental figure. Also when placing the shape outside of the circle, this creates physical anxiety when being looked at, as the perfect shape of the circle has been cut off and disrupted, creates an unknown feeling of what's on the outside. The square also creates a paradox, as it is the most secure and stabilised of the shapes, therefore when placing a symbol that represents the opposite, this creates anxiety has people don't know what to feel.
The colour red was chosen as a design decision as it represents danger and the unknown which is generally what the feeling of anxiety consists of. It also is the colour of many existing road signs, which makes the symbol become more objective when placed into a familiar context.
Above shows research into Otl Aicher's Grid from the 1972 Munich Olympics, pictograms and way finding system. Then below I have placed the subjective symbols into an objective grid, to see how they would look as a cohesive set of symbols and also to place them into a form of context, to see how successful Aicher's Grid was in this case and to place order within the design. It also creates contrast, placing a subjective feeling such as anxiety which is all over the place and feels different from one person to the next. Placing something unknown into a fixed grid, giving the symbols a sense of placement and order, the opposite of how anxiety conveys as an emotion. This first design works well, as it covers all aspects of both subjective and objective ideas, and it has eventually been placed into a working grid, which proves it can work in context.
When experimenting with placing the symbols over each other and changing the opacity and multiply effects on the layers, I realised it began to look like a cohesive shape and seemed to look suitable as a mural or supergraphic, therefore I over layed it onto one of photographs taken previously for another project. Inspired by unit editions, it acts as an invasion into public spaces and disrupting public architecture. It uses bright vivd colours to contrast against the dull, natural colours of the outside world.
This design was inspired by Armin Hoffman, who purely bases his design on the basic elements of graphic forms, point, shape and line. Therefore here I experimented with the line of the square and created a series of lines which create a pattern and can be used as individual symbols and shapes as well. It expresses the word obscure, as the shape of the square has been obscured and is no longer recognisable or at least has to be pieces together. Below is a supergraphic of the design after being placed onto illustrator, it works well here as the wall exists as a natural grid form, therefore it places the design into an order and context, which shows that they work well together. This design was the most successful, as it seemed to have a place in the real world and didn't look out of place in context. I feel it also represents the word obscure in an objective way, as all the shapes are obscured and changed version of a square or parts of it.
After obscuring and collaging the letter 'O', then placing in into illustrator, it created this almost symbol of an optical illusion, which kind of obscures your mind and eye sight when looking at it. Also after reading up on Frutiger again, the circle is actually the most obscure shape as it can mean so many different thins to different people, from a football to the sun. The circle inside is also obscured as it isn't a perfect circle, the shape has been broken.
These lines communicate obscurity, by placing them onto the Aicher grid, it is creating a contrast by placing something obscure onto a grid which is well known and has a purpose, it makes the object no longer obscure as it is now placed into context. Although to make the lines more objective, placing them into a symbol or shape such as a circle may provide more objectivity, as it produces a boundary and is then a distinctive, recognisable shape.
These circles communicate rebellion as the circles themselves refuse to join together, therefore it is almost an ongoing line. The bold brush strokes and shapes were inspired by Neubau's work for Laborgas, which is a contemporary dance collective. Therefore the reasoning behind the shapes communicate movement, which is what rebellion can be related to, therefore it was relevant and appropriate to include this within my design. On their own they don't seem to communicate an objective term, however when placed into context within the boundary of a shape such as a circle or triangle, it begins to become objective. I have placed the shapes intentionally outside of the boundary to communicate the rebellion of the shapes to stay placed within the constraints. The colours of red, white and black are also very strong, heated colours, which reflects the feelings of a rebellious movement or protest, removing the subjectivity, as it is something most people associate with it.
This design was inspired once again by Hoffman's use of line within his work, here the lines are broken up, to represent rebellion in an objective form , using a simple line to communicate a complicated subjective feeling such as rebellion. Hoffman said that the by product and spacing between the lines and shape are just as important as the element producing it. Therefore the negative space between the lines communicates the breaking up of the lone producing movement and a sense of rebellion of the words breaking apart. This is probably the least successful as it is quite complicated to be used as an objective sign, it almost looks like a foreign language or braille, therefore will not be easily understood. Even when placed into a circle or square, the boundary is not strong enough to support the amount if lines and shapes that is going on inside.
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