When Eve and Nathan came into the studio and presented this brief to us I instantly saw it as a fantastic opportunity to get my work recognised in the public eye, and also to engage in a project which is completely different to anything I have worked on previously.
This is also a brief which can take as long as we decide to spend on it, depending on how long it takes for us to come up with an idea which is suitable and which I am happy to submit.
Rather than working straight on the computer I decided to write down some of my initial ideas and thoughts on paper. I considered how I could illustrate sign language, imagery, letters, social media and speech. I also thought about how speech and imagery would also relate closely to another brief I am working on at the moment which relates to Autism and communication.
I then had a deeper think about potential design ideas as opposed to just the themes themselves. I came up with quite a few different ideas which I thought would be worth exploring, a couple of which stood out to me as being the most appropriate.
I decided to get in touch with one of my old friends from school who has just graduated as a journalist. She therefore uses shorthand a lot. I got in touch with her and she responded within the hour which was helpful! I explained my concept and asked whether it would be possible for her to cooperate. This would also class as primary research, however I have included it in my development as it demonstrates how my idea is progressing.
When Ella replied and said she would be willing to help, I asked her if she could write out 'communication' and 'dialogue' and then a quote relating to teeline shorthand which is the type of shorthand she uses. Below are the responses I received. I quite like how this can only be deciphered by someone who is used to writing in shorthand, but to the rest of the audience it is a mystery waiting to be solved before it 'communicates' the message.
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Using Illustrator, I decided to draw over the photograph Ella had sent to me. This was quite straight forward and I was happy with the outcome straight away and think it would work well when paired with another person's work.
I had another idea about researching into Cuneiform, which is one of the first known forms of writing. Again, this is research that illustrates development and where my idea came from. I used a generator online, which at first I questioned the accuracy, but then I double checked with a couple of other websites before clarifying that it was correct.
I wrote out 'dialogue' in Cuneiform and below is the result. Instantly when I saw how the computer had generated the response, I could see how this would work as a pattern or how an enlarged version would work well to create a bold image.
I experimented and drew over the example I had. I quite like the linear effect, however I wanted to experiment with splitting some of it up so that it would fit a page a little bit better without leaving as much negative space.
I also experimented with trying to create the word dialogue simply using the triangular shape, however this didn't work as well as I had imagined and it defeats the purpose of using Cuneiform.
I then tried enlarging the pattern in the background to see what effect this would have on the design. I quite like it, however I don't feel as though it would be striking enough when paired up with another design.
As I hadn't yet tried it, I decided to fill in some of the triangles to make the pattern stand out a bit more. I instantly felt like this improved the design dramatically.
By simply enlarging the pattern and allowing it to cover the majority of the page, this is the result. I think this is much more satisfying and attractive. When the design remained at a small scale it looked quite lost.
Applying the same technique to this piece of work, I decided to fill in some of the triangles once again. With no particular method or order, I filled them in randomly to create a more visually exciting piece.
I submitted all of the completed designs shown above for them to choose the most appropriate. I am really pleased with the outcomes and have put quite a lot of thought into this work so hope it works well when screen printed with another design.
Evaluation
Overall, I have really enjoyed this brief. I spent a couple of days working on it and managed to create a selection of ideas which are well suited to answering the brief. I quite liked having the restrictions in place of only being able to create it in black and white, as it allowed the design to speak for itself and it also helped me to focus on the content rather than worry about the specific details.
The opening night was also a great success and it was really lovely to see all of the three year groups there together. It is very rare that there is an opportunity where we can all socialise outside of college, and so this was a good way of doing this. I am hoping that in the future we have more events which enable the three groups to come together, as it is beneficial for everyone in my opinion.
