Typography chapter 4: Pandora’s box

Inspired by the Greek Mythology:

The story.

In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman on earth. Zeus ordered Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, to create her and he did, using water and earth. The gods endowed her with many talents; Aphrodite gave her beauty, Apollo music, Hermes persuasion, and so forth. Hence her name: Pandora, “all-gifted”.

When Prometheus stole fire from heaven, Zeus took vengeance by presenting Pandora to Epimetheus, Prometheus’ brother. With her, Pandora had a jar which she was not to open under anycircumstance. Impelled by her natural curiosity, Pandora opened the jar, and all evil contained escaped and spread over the earth. She hastened to close the lid, but it was too late. The only blessing to the entire incident was that at the bottom of the jar, layed the gift of hope.

 

The Idea.

Pandora’s box, to me represents one’s subconscious mind. Pandora was given a jar filled with many sickness, desires and the many evils of the world. All of these are present in our subconscious mind. I believe that our subconscious mind not only has the power to manifest our most precious dreams and wishes but also our fears and hidden desires.

We all carry a Pandora’s box in our minds. By becoming aware of the things we have buried inside the box, we may be able to find hope and in turn heal ourselves. So…what do you have inside your Pandora’s box?

1. I am curious

  • Due to Pandora’a curiousity, she opened the Pandora’s box.

Research:

  • Magnifying glass – represent curiosity, the urge to search for more information.
  • At the spiritual level the magnifying glass in the dream means that the dreamer must take a closer look at his behavior, if he wants to move forward on the path of spiritual development.
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Searching for more information

 

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Taking a closer look

 

My pandora’s box – Fears and desires.

2. I fear losing/endings

Research:

  • Dark crows – closely connected with death and loss.
  • Cutting of ropes – endings
Inspired by Jee young Lee.
Inspired by Jee young Lee.

3. I desire for more

Research:

  • Octopus tentacles – represents greediness, the desire to grab more things in your hands.
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Meaning: Neediness or greediness

 

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Meaning: Grabbing or grasping, trying to take control over something

4. I am Couragous

Research:

  • Oak Tree – The mighty Oak is a symbol of courage and strength, legend has it that it is the most powerful of all trees, the Mighty Oak stands strong through all things.
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Mighty and strong. Symbol of hope and power.

 

 

Typography chapter 3: More artist research.

Jee Young Lee.

Transforms Her Small Studio Into Dreamlike Worlds Without Photoshop

Artist JeeYoung Lee‘s work Stage of Mind is a series of images constructed in her tiny, room-sized studio in Seoul, South Korea. Since 2007, she has been transforming the space into wildly colorful and ephemeral dreamscapes, each scene painstakingly created by hand and without digital manipulation.

Some examples of her work:

Nightmare.

Lee used paper clips for this image. They bear no threat in real life, but she wanted to highlight how small worries can compile into a burden we carry through life. The clips stick to the woman as she walks away just like troubles do.
Lee used paper clips for this image. They bear no threat in real life, but she wanted to highlight how small worries can compile into a burden we carry through life. The clips stick to the woman as she walks away just like troubles do.

Black Birds.

“For me large birds are threatening, and the image of their feathers, beak, and curved talons is frightful,” says Lee. The scene is fraught with turmoil, and the doors represent future changes and challenges that the artist will have to go through.
“For me large birds are threatening, and the image of their feathers, beak, and curved talons is frightful,” says Lee. The scene is fraught with turmoil, and the doors represent future changes and challenges that the artist will have to go through.

 

Reaching for the stars.

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It is made of over 2,000 paper cups that were stacked together as bricks of a fragile castle, which represents the human need for betterment. Lee explains: “I wanted to express the process of heading toward your desire, along with the effort it takes to achieve your dream, which is represented by the star.”

 

I feel that Jee young’s work is very inspiring. Handicraft and skill aside, Lee’s work is permeated with complex layers imbued with personal meaning and symbolism. A mixture of childhood hopes and adult fears, Lee navigates her constructed landscapes as a wondering and apprehensive protagonist.

Typography chapter 2: Hello…it’s me~

Hello, my name is…

Through this exercise I depicted my personalities using 3 name cards of 3 different styles.

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Typography:

  • Characteristic: carefree, simple
  • Humour brings laughter. Laughter are contagious. Laughter brings Joy. 😀
  • Turning my initial into a pun: “still my favourite S”
  • Improvised by drawing the word like body parts. Shanelle is indeed a sexy name. Just like the person. Wew~

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Abstract:

  • Characteristic: enthusiastic, determined
  • My favourite technique: fumage.
  • Fire represents passion. Fire represents enthusiasm.
  • Fingerprint represents identity.

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Conceptual:

  • Characteristic: Lazy, Boring
  • Panda is in a world of colours. But panda is black and white. Panda is dull and down. No wonder the colours around Panda are not bright. Panda needs help. I am Panda.
  • Panda wants to find brighter colours, but Panda doesn’t want to move.
  • Hopefully, Panda will walk down the path to brighter colours ahead in the future.

 

Typography chapter 1: Artist Research

Artist reference

Atelier Pariri.
Using lines to form a word.

research 1

 Paper cutting and layering technique.

research 2

Yulia Brodskaya

The artist uses two simple materials-paper and glue, and a simple technique that involves the placement of carefully cut and bent strips of paper -to make lush, vibrant, three-dimensional paper artworks.

“Paper always held a special fascination for me. I’ve tried many deferent methods and techniques of working with it, until I found the way that has turned out to be ‘the one’ for me: now I draw with paper instead of on it”. – YULIA BRODSKAYA

research 3

Besides researching the artist on the internet, I went to adm library to search for typography books as well. Here are some photos and idea from a book that inspired and left a strong impression in me.

FROM ONE OF THE BOOK.

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3D TYPOGRAPHY BOOK.

Image (7)

Image

Image (5)Image (2)

OTHER THOUGHTS.

Henna inspired typography.

Henna considered a way of expressing happiness and style at the same time. To me, henna is feminine and alluring as most women use henna to decorate their hands with beautiful ornament.

research 4
Scanography

Is it a photo or painting? The scanner effect is made up of 2 main factors:

  • Scanner’s camera has very high resolution, creating detailed and sharp images.
  • All the objects are placed on a flat plane, with nothing in the background.

The lack of perspective and depth results in a unique image capture, giving three dimensional objects a partially flat appearance. This special effect gives a touch of the surreal to the image, somewhere between fantasy and reality.

research 5

I was inspired by scanography and tried out my own version as well.

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