COLLINS DEBDEN GRADUATE AWARD//PITCH//2024
Long
before I realized I was interested in design; I knew I liked to put things in order. After I had finished re-arranging all the furniture in my room and clearing out the closet, I moved on to my younger brother's room. Every box and toy bin were turned upside down, and I would go about the process of organizing each. By the end of the day, not a single Lego-brick or hot-wheel car would be out of place. The thing is, I enjoyed this a lot, and in the years since, I've married my knack for organization with my passion for design.This is exactly the type of work where I am at my best, because I have the freedom to pursue projects I'm passionate about. This project, completed in third year, celebrates hip-hop, from its birth in the Bronx, with DJ Kool Herc at the forefront, through massive cultural waves including the rise of Black Nationalism and the election of Barack Obama in 2008.
A total of 12 outputs relate to a track and the period in hip-hop history from which they are inspired. The music is sampled to generate rudimentary audio visualizer (show).I've expanded this effort in my degree work. Audio visualizers are incapable of capturing the essence of a song; they are useful in representing the frequency of sound over a line or wave, but they fail to convey attitude or feeling. Typography can replicate unique characteristics of sound in a such a way audio visualizers cannot. Given the lyrical foundations of hip-hop, there is a clear path for typographic application. Components of the track are separated into distinct typographic elements.Sounds and vocals are emphasized through position, scale, and color. The digital prints are modified physically; printed, scanned, and edited using Photoshop to further iterate.The process is defined by the addition and layering of typographic elements.The product of this additive process is a well-rounded typographic poster. It is only through iteration that these outcomes are reached. This bold slab-serif carries the heaviness and impact of the tone of voice in the music. Capitalization and exclamation are the typographic equivalent of shouting.Layering and overlapping these letter forms and the increase of scale convey loudness.No aspect of the letter is unused. The inverse shapes produced by the counter of the letter are used for visual emphasis.Each of these components and the addition of text culminates in this outcome. The combination of these elements should be invisible. Individual components are merged into a unified representation of the music. This resolution is inspired by the track: Stained Glass, produced by the Alchemist, featuring Westside Gunn. The addition of a stroke reveals the way these components are layered. A new typographic element is introduced. This line in the songs chorus is repeated 13 times, and so it is repeated typographically in several ways, so that it can be read both vertically and horizontally.There are countless iterations which can be built from dozens of individual typographic components. There are virtually zero limitations to the breadth of work which can be produced following this design system. Components are mixed & matched, added, redacted, scale changed, color introduced. These are the outcomes of just a single song, by a single artist. The scope of this project is endless. There are no shortages of ways to express sound typographically.Because this typeface is constructed against a square-grid, the components that make up a letter can be dismantled.Once dismantled, the shapes are spread across the page. The letter becomes largely illegible in the process. This experiment tests the boundaries of legibility and function of the letter. Effectively, the letter becomes a tool for expression. This text is taken from a song produced by a young saxophonist recorded on the A-train; a NYC-subway line. The saxophone is played against the noise of the subway train and a pair of commuters fervently arguing. "SO GET UP OUT THAT CHAIR, GET UP, GET UP" one the commuters shouts. Another commuter demands the bickering pair "SIT DOWN". The dismantled text functions as an expression for chaos and broken speech which is difficult to discern against the noisy backdrop of the subway car. The visual nod to the A-train is introduced through color.
A condensed style of Helvetica is featured here in reference to the typographic identity of the NYC subway, which is also typeset in Helvetica. Simple variations in color provide further opportunity for iteration.This method of typesetting is befitting of its harsh language, and the former technique to deconstruct the letter is repeated.A Rose Blooms in Chaos: The saxophone, cool-headed, is the rose which blooms, producing a harmony against the chaos of anger and disturbance on that train.Already I have explored typographic hip-hop and have begun to break into the space of typographic jazz. Unlike hip-hop which has a strong lyrical foundation, much of the genre is instrumental. Jazz, however, has a strong visual identity. This is in large part thanks to the efforts of Blue Note Records and American modernist designer Reid Miles, who are together responsible for some of the most iconic jazz covers of the 50s and 60s.
This is a typeface which, to me, screams jazz: its bold and exuberant.Color and gradient are used as visual aides to support the typography.This typeface is even more eccentric and wild. Its barely legible as a letter form.The legibility of the letter form can be pushed further. The inverse of the letter forms is hardly recognizable. Both are combined to generate new forms which function as pure typographic expression, not designed to be read but to be experienced…Producing this amalgamation of form.Un-modified letter forms are reintroduced to the composition to lead the eye, giving it direction and purpose.Both elements are merged, and color introduced to create rhythmic type: expressions of sound… Designed as standalones, or as written sequences. The genre has changed, but the basic design system across typographic hip-hop and jazz is consistent. Primary elements and secondary elements, all of which are derived typographically, are layered together…Producing a unique, modular typographic system. Again, there are few limitations to the scope of this project. I found a great deal of enjoyment in the freedom of typographic expression this project allowed me, but I needed to ground myself with a project with boundaries and clear rules.The role of typography in my degree work is extensive. I've shown how it can be used freely, but I've also employed typography rather conventionally in the form of publication. Earlier this year, Thames & Hudson released a competition to design a cover and small number of pages from a selection of three books they currently publish. I chose to submit a design for a book called the Cosmic Dance, by Steven Ellcock.My inspiration for the publication was a project I had completed in third year; a short book on ten genres of art which have historically challenged convention, i.e., anti-art, anti-fashion, anti-form. The publication itself challenges the conventions of book design; the typesetting is extreme, pushing the boundaries of legibility.My submission to Thames & Hudson balances itself just on the edge of convention and innovation. Much of the book is traditional in its typesetting with some choice exceptions.The book, according to Thames & Hudson, should appeal to the mind, body, and spirit audience, granting me some liberties in the design of this unconventional art volume.The abstract cover graphic is derived from one of the images provided by Thames & Hudson, titled 'the Cosmic Rose', an unusual circular book on alchemy.The basic shape, a decagon, and the central motif of the image are abstracted…The product is a simplified representation of 'the Cosmic Rose'. The sun motif remains, set within the dark gradient of the cosmos. The red border is also derived from the image, and the title of the book wraps around the circular shape just as in 'the Cosmic Rose'. The decagon motif makes an appearance in the title spread, to relate the contents of the page to the cover.The typesetting on the content and chapter spread are traditional; both featuring a centered typographic layout.There are several typographic approaches featured throughout the chapter: chapter; quotations, set in italic; captions, typeset in clusters with a numbering system; large quotations; and main body text.Given this is an art volume, much of the book is image-based. Typesetting needs to be reserved, letting the image find its place on the page. There needs to be harmony between text and image, and a pleasant contrast of scale between type and image, i.e., large text frame to small image.Each chapter is organized thematically. The chapter provided by Thames & Hudson, In Search of Nirvana, references gods and goddesses, divine beings amongst other spiritual motifs. I try to preserve these relationships, i.e., heaven and hell.Where visual motifs present themselves, i.e., the circle (present in both images) I develop a typographic counterpart. Given this is not a text-heavy chapter, I highlight typographic elements whenever possible using scale and color. The Lanphear Book is a true testament to typographic system and restraint. The original book is well over 400 pages long. The detailed history of the Lanphear Family and six related families was curated by my Great Aunt, Marianne Lanphear. My mom, before she married, was Jennifer Lanphear; it contains many of my own close relatives, and many I have never met. Parts of the biography date back nearly 400 years ago, when the Lanphear family originated in England and France. The problem with the book, is it didn’t look like one. If it was unbound, and pages unsorted, there would be little indication that this was in fact a single book. It lacked any typographic hierarchy beyond section titles; there weren't even page numbers. My task, therefore, was to introduce a rigid typographic system to organize this immense history. Much of the book is denoted by biography, like this. A broad left-hand margin is left in the entirety of the book for author's comments and annotations. Dozens of tables are scattered throughout the book. A unified typographic resolution was introduced to organize this information consistently throughout the updated publication.Letters and e-mails between my Great Aunt, historians and family members are given a unique typographic identity of their own, set in a neat monospace typeface.Newspaper articles, obituaries and wedding remarks are unified under a single typographic approach…And image and documentation are treated within the overall design system.The completed publication is thoroughly edited; a total of 303 pages. Each project has been an exercise in the implementation of typography, from a strict, rule-defined typographic system in the Lanphear Book…And the Cosmic Dance, which exercises less restraint, and more play…To Rhythmic Type, which liberates the letterform entirely.