Design School Confidential

n

dential

P

age:148

(RAY)

Job:05-11998/12412 Title:RP-Design School Con dential

#175 Dtp:160(P) Page:149

026-224_12412.indd 149026-224_12412.indd 149 5/28/09 4:04:04 PM5/28/09 4:04:04 PM

n

dential

P

age:148

(RAY) Text

Job:05-11998/12412 Title:RP-Design School Con dential

#175 Dtp:160(P) Page:149

project brief

Each student is asked to research a subject of

their choosing. Working with one to three prima-

ry texts, they develop four printed panels of any

dimension that approach typography as meta-

phor. The fi rst panel is composed of paragraphs,

sentences, phrases. The second panel is individu-

al words. The third panel contains syllables. The

last panel has individual letters. Employing re-

search and writing skills, critical thinking, mind-

mapping, and experimentation, students give

form to metaphoric connotations they discover

within their text, through compositional arrange-

ment, juxtaposition, and typographic manipula-

tion. Placing particular emphasis on the research

process and text analysis, students use a lateral

approach, trying many possibilities before refi n-

ing their four-panel solutions. While we embrace

technology, we discourage the use of fi lters and

other instantaneous computer bells and whistles,

and encourage combining handwork with the

computer, as well venturing into the physical

worlds of the subject matter.

project goal

This project can help design students see type as

image, bridge meaning with form, and go beyond

utilitarian, overliteral, or preordained approaches

to typography.

Class: Advanced Typography

Level: Junior

Faculty: Warren Lehrer and Robin Lynch

Duration of Project: Four Weeks

State University of New York, Purchase College,

School of Art and Design

Purchase, New York, USA

33

Type as Metaphor

e

f

t

-

o

e

d

Í

Dementia

Student: Hidetoshi Takahashi

Dementia is an illness that affects the brain and

memory, making you gradually lose the ability

to think and behave normally. I want these pan-

els to be a typo-cinematic portrayal of the fear,

anxiety, and sadness, particularly of Alzheimer’s.

The deep indigo background expresses fear of

the illness. The blue type represents the symp-

toms of the condition—memories, thoughts, and

feelings puzzling, fading. The orange type repre-

sents the patient’s hope, bright but diminishing.

The love and voices of family and supporters

generate light against the darkness of a bifur-

cated machine losing its power. September 21 is

World Alzheimer’s Day.

the projects 149

026-224_12412.indd 149026-224_12412.indd 149 5/28/09 4:04:04 PM5/28/09 4:04:04 PM

(RAY)

Job:05-11998/12412 Title:RP-Design School Con dential

#175 Dtp:160(P) Page:150

026-224_12412.indd 150026-224_12412.indd 150 5/28/09 4:04:05 PM5/28/09 4:04:05 PM

(RAY) Text

Job:05-11998/12412 Title:RP-Design School Con dential

#175 Dtp:160(P) Page:150

Í

Selacaphobia

Student: Chaya Herman

These panels attempt to convey the terror and

anxiety that go through the minds of people

affl icted with selachophobia—the abnormal

and persistent fear of sharks. The fi rst panel

describes the condition. The second panel uses

the words shark, swimmer, and water to set the

stage for the anxiety the swimmer experiences

fearing a shark lurking beneath the surface of

the water. The third panel uses the word mon-

ster to build the image of the shark and then

the words torture, agony, woe, shred, and pain

to build the teeth signifying where the physical

and psychological torment takes place. Lastly,

the word water (now turning red) is used to

visualize the gruesome attack of the victim.

The fourth panel uses the letter S (for shark) to

create the image of bloody water showing all that

is left of the victim after the shark has attacked.

Ï

Battery Cages

Student: Brandon Campbell

The copy in panel one describes the gruesome

conditions of egg farms. The type is stacked and

distressed, representing the claustrophobic na-

ture of the hen cages. In panel two, a “debeaked”

K illustrates the process of beak removal in fac-

tory farms. Using only syllables in panel three,

the letterforms are further mutilated and crowd-

Ï

S

D

r

t

p

p

a

c

d

p

i

t

l

ed into a contained space. The suffi x “ing’ is

repeated, representing a constant fl ow of eggs

below the caged hens. Panel four zooms out,

revealing a graveyard of disfi gured letterforms.

The dying forms rest atop mounds of their prod-

uct, the way a mother hen tends to her nest.

150 design school confi dential

026-224_12412.indd 150026-224_12412.indd 150 5/28/09 4:04:05 PM5/28/09 4:04:05 PM