Project 2 – Week 3
Feedback from the previous tutorial (week 2 – 17.02.22)
The compositions are not clear. Instead, they are confusing and abstract. People can’t understand the story very well, especially the poster. It’s good to have in mind things like eye training, keeping things consistent, etc. Also, using colour may help.
I can use something (written) as a source but it’s better not to use a lot of text/written information as part of the publication. Keywords and a few words will work better. Communicate things, link words with visuals, etc. The idea of storytelling through visuals (diagrams) without using text is really strong (deliberate confusion). It’s okay not to be straightforward but not the other side (keep a balance).
One specific story/topic – Communicate that (clearly). It can be interpreted in other ways as well but not like now which everything is open to interpretation.
What kind of story will others be interested in and feel involved in? (Not subjective stories.)
The poster looks more like a collage, not a diagram. I can treat the poster as a whole or as little individual parts that are part of the poster (e.g. 20 squares/grid).
My audience is people who love books, printed publications, etc. The paper choice, the size, and form of the publication, etc. are important factors. Keep working based on the foldings. Revealing the story bit by bit.
This week I have made some important changes to my work. I have decided to continue with one of my other ideas for Project 2.
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Still working on the third prompt PLATFORM, I have decided to go with one of my others ideas and not the newspaper/zine. The big scale/size of the newspaper was not appropriate for my practice; made things more complicated and confusing. Instead, I have decided to create a series of cards.
The small size of each card will help with the clarity of the diagrams. Additionally, the cards will be numbered (a specific order that shapes a narrative), but not bounded as a book/zine. What this offers is that each card can work individually as well, even if it’s part of a bigger project/story. This also allows the rearrangement of some (or all) cards to create a new narrative.
+ discussions with Artists
I have talked a little bit with two artists whose practice is really similar to my work and research interests (super exciteeeeed).
Ricardo’s work was one of the main references I used during Unit 2. He is an artist and writer, investigating art as an intermediating device and platform for the articulation between sensorial experience, sociability, and language. His approach to diagrams is really special, building spaces and creating dialogues using simple visual elements (arrows, lines, shapes), and words. Most of his works look abstract at first glance but having a deeper look, the purpose and meaning are somewhere around.
Fiona is a British artist and she was the first to contact me on Instagram after looking at my work. Having very similar enquires with me (but with a different subject/content) she is developing her own visual language, building upon past legacies. Her work is based on dance notation from the early 16 century onwards and a growing understanding of geometry in the construction of Laban notation and dance/movement of the body.
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Project 2
A series of cards.
Each card communicates something using my diagrammatic method/language, it is built based on the previous one, and it’s part of a bigger series of 50 cards. All together form a narrative with a specific order. But can this order change? And if so, what narratives can occur?
General Enquiry
The diagrammatic language and its use, with particular emphasis on its potential to construct/shape a narrative.
Audience
The audience is people who love art books and zines. This series of cards (printed and packed in a nice paper sleeve) can be sold in magazine/book shops like Magma Books, Artwords, Tender Books, Magculture, etc.
Content/Context
Even if my first idea was to start with a circle and let the diagrammatic elements make their magic and transform this circle into a variety of things (transformation of a circle), I have decided to be more specific and work on a specific topic.
During my previous work/projects, I was making stories based on my thoughts while walking, or while observing things. But how thoughts are shaped?
I have considered the circle to be the brain. Using my diagrammatic method I aim to explore and communicate the brain’s functions (from a simple perspective), but at the same time compare it with other things. A visual study where the brain takes new dimensions, revealing how is divided, how thoughts are developing, etc.
Aim
Trying to communicate a narrative/explore a topic using simple diagrammatic elements (shapes, lines, arrows + Visual Grammar), and as little text as needed (this will give the context to my project).
This series of diagrams challenges the ‘thinking and imagination’ of the viewer. Most of the diagrams can be interpreted in various ways but they still have one story that are based on. Leaving space for imagination, striking a balance between clarity and ambiguity. How do people respond to visual elements they don’t clearly understand and how this confusion/misleading can form new interesting narratives?
brain transformation
Storytelling through diagrams: What happens when the brain takes the form of a simple circle, and how affects and is being affected by its surrounding visual elements?
A visual study that uses diagrams to explore and communicate the brain’s functions from a different perspective. A diagrammatic journey where the brain is being transformed into other elements; taking new dimensions, revealing how is divided, how thoughts are developing, etc.
The cards are black and white and follow the same constraints that have been used in project 1 (building a system, training the viewer’s eye). Each one is built based on the previous one.
The cards will be printed on 300gsm paper (white/off-white) and packed in a black paper sleeve with a cut-out on (circle; the leading element of the narrative/research that represents the brain), all handmade by me.
Have a look at the PDF here ↴
Printing tests
Ideas for the package of the cards. I will most likely go with the idea of a sleeve made out of thick paper. This will allow me to have a cut-out of a circle in front while keeping things simple, beautiful, effective, and low-cost.