Que Sera Sera 07 – Final

These are the 4 final compositions that I have chosen for this project because I felt that each of them express the main essence of the occupation the best out of all my experimentations.
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For this project, I tried to not restrict myself to 2D means, but rather try out various methods to achieve 2D results, because I personally feel that simply using a consistent medium across all the occupations does not push my learning and creative boundaries enough. Overall, the challenges I faced in this project was in choosing the jobs that had stronger visual elements/colours/textures that could help in enhancing the visual connection of my compositions and the occupation. I realised that the visual elements that are associated with the occupations are things that people can immediately relate to, which is really interesting! I also enjoyed how in some of my classmate’s compositions, the simple use of a line or texture could imply an object or space. #thepowerofsemiotics

Que Sera Sera 06 – Archaeologist

ARCHAEOLOGIST 


Possible outcome: Photograph
Immediate ideas:
– Hacking/hollowing shape of initials in foam / sponge
– Could include bones / broken porcelain / bricks as elements
– Spray/painted/covered in sand to look like soil/concrete
– Every letter is an archaeological site? (plasticine / blue foam)

Patrick Garbit
https://www.behance.net/gallery/19249631/Broken-Alphabet

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I really love how the positive and negative space and the difference in the shading suggests the presence of the alphabet. I think the textures are really interesting and look potentially archaeological (aka digging and hacking stuff). He did this using a processing script (which i obviously have no skills to), hopefully I’ll be able to figure a way out with photoshop or something.

Michal Fargo
https://www.dezeen.com/2014/02/18/else-vases-by-michal-fargo-moulded-from-torn-foam-blocks/
http://designbreakonline.com/2013/10/29/michal-fargo-rocks-ceramic-rocks/
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When I first saw this I couldn’t believe it was made out of foam, because it REALLY looks like rocks (!!) I was really impressed by the process, and also the use of material. I immediately linked the texture of these vases to the digging action of an archaeologist, possibly make my name out of one of these (?)


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I wanted to recreate the digging effect of an archaeological site and tried it out on blue foam using a penknife and a pencil. I was hoping it would look like Michal Fargo’s foam vases, but unfortunately it turned out vastly different. I started off by digging out the shape of the letter, but later I realised that the letter could be dug deeper to show the difference, hoping that it would look closer to my intended outcome. The entire process was really time consuming and it was also difficult to make out the letter if I didn’t dig it deep enough. Looking forward to trying out other methods instead!

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And I collected some chicken bones.


After contemplating for many days about continuing to work on this occupation since it was difficult for me to produce my desired outcome after using various means to “hack” the foam to give it the look I wanted, I decided to stick to digitalising it instead, but of course not forgetting the parameters I had to set for myself so it wouldn’t be as simple as an illustration/edit.

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In an attempt (A for effort) to replicate Patrick Garbit’s work, I tried photoshopping the letters out using existing textures of the image and making sense out of it. It looked really horrible, so I tried again.

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A friend sent me this image while I was consulting him about my ideas, and I thought the idea of fragmentation and segregation was interesting.

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I decided to cut up the initials of my name, keeping only the parts of the letter which would make it identifiable, and replacing the parts with illustrations of various objects that could possibly be found at an archaeological site. I went for a more consistent and muted tone because I didn’t want to complicate the composition further with colours, since the letters itself may be a bit difficult to decipher for some.

Que Sera Sera 05 – Illusionist

ILLUSIONIST


Possible outcome: 2D / 3D illusions
Immediate Ideas:
– Print fragmentation on translucency & layer

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Found these on Pinterest as well, and I saw these illusions that used the directional switch of lines and fragmentation to create the typography. I also realised that there are many existing forms of 2D illusions that I could possibly use for this occupation. The use of illusions for this occupation kind of speaks for itself, and I love the simple but effective concept. Now the only problem is actually deciding on one, hmmm.


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I was really excited to see how the fragmentation of the letters and layering would turn out. Unfortunately, it did not materialise because the different fragments may not meet nicely when put together, and it also looks flat when the different layers of transparency are just simply stacked together. Basically, it lacked dimension, so I tried creating my own illusion using the difference in line weights.

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Looking closely at the work, one might not be able to see the illusion clearly, however –

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if one were to look at it from a distance, the words become more obvious.

Sadly this illusion only worked on screen and really requires a lot of straining to be able to see it when printed. Looking at the lines reminds me of scanimation, which requires interaction from the viewer.


tisya-4-04The initial design was made out of my first name – T I S Y A. The scanimation worked, although it was displaying my name backwards, and the letters weren’t as clear, but the shape could still be made out. The one thing that really bothered me was how the T and the I were so similarly shaped that it was quite difficult to differentiate both.

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I decided to switch the initials to T W N G instead, and experimented with the spacing of the letters while still centralising them, but faced a major problem along the way. The original transparency couldn’t work on the new designs anymore, due to the difference in spacings between the lines of both the transparency and paper. It was difficult to get it, but with the help of an online tutorial and the genius of a friend, I finally managed to get it right!

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Que Sera Sera 04 – Ghostbuster

GHOSTBUSTER PROCESS


Chloe Reibold
http://www.chloereibold.com/#/experimentaltype/

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I have been having the idea to try scanography on type for quite a while and I finally found a reason to use it! I chanced upon Chloe Reibold’s website while researching on experimental typography and I really love the effects that she created with the movement that evokes a different kind of feeling in the type. While sharing this with Kim, we somehow reached the idea of Ghostbusters, which I found really interesting, since the movement of the letters would create a blur/ghostly effect.

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I wanted to experiment with the effects of scanography using the letters of my name to create a ghostly effect, since the most important element of a ghostbuster is the presence of the ghost itself.

I started off by tracing the font on screen and then cutting it on white foam, because the last time i tried it on paper it was really flimsy and didn’t turn out well because it was harder to control:

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That scan was done at home under bright lighting, hence the background turned out grey. I used a different scanner (the one in 2D lab), and I loved the “eerie” texture it gave the scan, and most importantly, the dark background, to bring focus to the main subject.

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I used my Chinese character, to test out if the scanning would work and I actually like the added value that comes with using a Chinese character since Chinese culture is known to be more superstitious / pantang.

Instinctively, I first tried out the different draggy effects that I could get by changing the movement of my name at different intervals according to the light of the scanner. This resulted in a whiter and clearer image of the letter. Later I tried lifting the letter while scanning, and I really liked the darker tone that it produced. I combined the movement and distance at different intervals and managed to get some really ghostly effects. I thought of trying out the initials from my english name as well just to see how it would turn out:

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After many tries, I found it difficult to create a nice composition with the letters. because the width of the letters were thin and the effect doesn’t come out as nicely as the Chinese character, which has more volume. It also became increasingly challenging to make out the letters with heavy modification.

I settled for the scanning of my Chinese character, selected a few images that I was most satisfied with and edited the image on Photoshop to make it look more “ghostly”. To look at the smoky effect of the following images, please brighten your screen to the maximum level:

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Que Sera Sera 03 – Funeral Planner

FUNERAL PLANNER


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I was searching for inspiration on Pinterest and I suddenly had the idea of using the Chinese characters in my name instead of the usual initials from my English name. I started searching for “Chinese typography” and saw many creative ways that Chinese characters can be modified for typography because of the number of strokes, lines and curves that I can play with. I also felt that a Chinese funeral had stronger iconic visual elements that one could immediately relate to. The first image that came to my mind was incense paper and joss sticks, which I thought would be a cool idea, especially if I did it like the pencil typography shown above.


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I illustrated how I imagine the actual object to be like for visual reference. Using incense paper as the background, one would immediately think of Chinese funerals since this is one of the more obvious elements. To further enhance the look and feel of the occupation, I thought of adding elements that one would see at a Chinese funeral, which are the items that are usually placed on the table for guests:

Brown – peanuts / Black – melon seeds / Red – red string

I was considering if I should take a photo of the objects forming my name directly, or if it would be a better idea to create the textures of the objects using what we learnt in Semester 1 – MARK MAKING. However, after thinking about it, the textures might not be as obvious as the actual object itself since the colour also plays an important role in the identification. To use the mark making process, I would also need to consider the ink to use to create the prints.

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My second visualised idea is to use joss sticks to form my name instead of funeral objects since the joss stick itself already has a strong relationship with religion in Chinese culture. I also felt that the colours complemented better with the use of a single colour instead of a mix of colours. The use of joss sticks also could vary the occupation – aka used for monks, priests etc – since they share similar elements and colour scheme.


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I traced the shape of the Chinese character onto foam, with the intention of simply poking the joss sticks into the foam and hopefully everything would work out well. Unfortunately, the sticks did not stay together as I hoped they would, and separated quite far apart at the tip, which would not result in it taking the form of the Chinese character. Also, because the shape of the stick was too long and tapered at the bottom, it would be difficult to ensure that the sticks would form the character accurately.

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I decided to cut the joss stick, separating the brown and red part, using the brown part for the top half of the character, and the red for the bottom half. (#jossstickconservation) Partly because the character could represent a joss stick when looked at as a whole entity, but also because the bottom half of the character means “heart” in Mandarin, so I felt red would be fitting as well. The gluing and sticking of every stick to form the word was a really tedious process, but I’m so glad with how it turned out!

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I was too excited to wait for myself to complete the bottom half of the character, so I decided to try out the two different colours of incense paper to see which would turn out better. I felt that the orange and gold contrast was more “funeral-like” as compared to the silver one, which made the entire composition more muted.

Que Sera Sera 02 – Architect

ARCHITECT


Possible outcome: Manual + digital manipulation
Immediate ideas:
– Scanography

– Use of infinity reflections from mirrors
– Symmetry + depth
– Letters “virtually” extended to become like buildings
– Layer cut out paper & scan?

Ramon Carrete
http://www.fubiz.net/2015/04/08/reflexio-typography-by-ramon-carrete/

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I thought this was a really simple and smart idea of using reflections to complete the letters, since most of them are symmetrical. It is effective for showing depth as well. I also love the placement of letters, how they are not all consistent and facing different directions.

Art Stage Singapore 2017

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I went for Art Stage recently and happened to chance upon this amazing artwork that used the idea of infinity mirrors to create an endless depth (unfortunately I was unable to figure out who the artist is). Looking at it from this angle, it feels like I’m falling into a blackhole, which I find quite interesting. This artwork was pretty large scale, but I guess I could make use of this concept to “create” my name in miniature architectural form?


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I bought some tiny mirrors from artfriend to try out the effect of an infinity mirror (because trying out with the mirror that I use at home doesn’t really work due to the vast difference in size). IT ACTUALLY WORKS!! *squeals* but sadly it was really difficult to take a photo of the infinity mirror without me OR the phone (OR BOTH) being in it, which could be a potential issue if I were to produce this for my final outcome. I also realised that there was a gap between the reflection and the actual object (refer to ‘T’ above), which doesn’t look as good as the one in Ramon Carrete’s work  🙁

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I wanted to try out creating an elongated building effect with different sizes of the letter, but I wasn’t convinced that it would turn out well because the flow didn’t make it look like a building. At this point I started contemplating about the jobs that I have chosen to work on, and thought of stacking the various sizes of letters together in a possible topography style, which could also be used for the architect job if i stacked more. (Should I change my job???)


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Saw this while getting inspiration from Pinterest and I really like how the building was distorted to form the letter B, while maintaining the continuity and flow such that it still looks like a complete building, albeit the weird angles. After I saw this, I decided to try distorting existing architecture into the shape of the letters that form my name.
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I don’t think this turned out the way I wanted it to because one might not immediately form the relation to architecture just by looking at this. I was also worried about the background that I would use for this if I were to stick to this idea.


Eventually, I decided to scrap the ideas for this occupation because I felt that the visual elements of an architect were very limiting. Time to look for a new job!

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As with every project, I started off with brainstorming about the various occupations that I’ve ever considered in my 21 years alive:

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Being someone who likes to write down all the crazy ideas in my head (sorry for word vomit), I also considered the methods that didn’t have any occupations yet. I thought maybe I could work backwards or somehow tie them together with the occupations that I chose. A few of the occupations stood out to me because of the visual elements that I could use – Archaeologist / Architect / Funeral Planner / Illusionist.


FONT SELECTION

font-01I went through the list of fonts I had on my laptop and selected some that I thought could be used for my typography compositions. I chose more old/ancient looking serif fonts for the archaeologist occupation since the job is related to looking for objects related to history. I also considered different styles of Chinese characters for the funeral job, though I personally prefer the ones with more curves instead of the straight and structured ones since they remind me more of Chinese calligraphy and has a certain “flow” to it. For the architect and illusionist occupations, I considered more blocky-looking sans serif fonts. The immediate visual image for an architect would be blocks of buildings, and I felt it would make more sense to select a blocky font if I were to work on the fragmentation illusion that I saw in my research as it would be easier for me to break it apart.