I’m a Communication Design major at Washington University in St. Louis who is also pursuing minors in Human-Computer Interaction and Computer Science. In my work, I strive to explore a diverse range of narratives, perspectives, and approaches. My favorite part of the design process is the iteration stage, especially the moment where I finally arrive at the version that addresses everything I’ve been trying to communicate.
Recently, I’ve been interested in the nuances of multilingual typography and how the characteristics of different languages’ letterforms can be leveraged to enhance a concept across multiple linguistic demographics. Outside of my work, I love stories in any form, whether that means books, movies, or music. Lately, I’ve been watching Summertime Rendering and listening to Jack Stauber.
Feel free to reach out for work or friendship, and check out more of my work below!
The objective of this project was to source a speech and a second supporting text, then design a book combining both pieces. I chose to explore the intersection between Optimistic Nihilism by Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell and For Everyone Who Tried on the Slipper Before Cinderella by Ariana Brown.
RESEARCH
Initially, the first thing I focused on when listening to Optimistic Nihilism
was the vastness of the universe and its statistical lack of meaning,
as that was one of the main themes discussed in the speech. Thus, the
initial imagery I looked at consisted of dark, heavy expanses of
negative space and mathematical imagery. I also looked at philosophy
books to gain an understanding of how literature regarding similar
concepts had already been depicted. Thus, my first spread focused on evoking a sense of vastness and imagery
of the cosmos. I used 8x10" page sizes to create a larger surface area
to create more negative space.
However, I felt that while these dark, empty spreads did inspire a
feeling of awe, they also evoked a bit of fear, which ran counter to the
comforting aspect of Optimistic Nihilism.
Thus, I decided to focus on the message that if life is meaningless,
that leaves us with the freedom to create any meaning we desire. I opted
to communicate this by depicting mundane moments in the hope that
readers would learn to find beauty in the everyday throughout the course
of the book. I wanted to reinforce this message with my supporting text
as well, leading me to choose For Everyone Who Tried on the Slipper Before Cinderella as a complimentary text. I also revised my visual research to reflect the new direction I was pursuing.
DEVELOPMENT
Once I settled on a concept, I started
looking at which typefaces, image treatments, page sizes, and type
treatments would best serve my theme.
At
first, I wanted to juxtapose a handwritten font with a personal touch
against a mechanical monospace with predetermined spacing. I felt that
this sort of comparison would reflect the seemingly paradoxical idea of
finding meaning in what is statistically unchangeable. However, I found
that the textures of handwritten and monospaced fonts tended to clash
with each other and create too much visual clutter. Thus, I decided to
use a more stable serif for my body text and a monospace for the poem.
Since the monospace resembled type from a typewriter, which is input by
human action, I felt that it conveyed both the mechanical and the
organic with its combination of fixed letter spacing and the implication
of human touch. I used Tribute OT as my serif and Logic Monospace as my
monospace.
I experimented with a couple different photo treatments throughout the
design process. First, I tried low contrast, high saturation editing to
convey the idea of adding additional color to life and seeing it in a
new light. I also tried hazy, soft colors to evoke comfort and
nostalgia. Finally, I tried duotone photos that left only an imprint of
texture to reflect the concept of fleeting moments. Ultimately, I
decided to use saturation as a pacing device to build towards a climax. I
also used images from my own life to add a personal touch to the book.
I decided on an A5 page size since I found
that was the most common journal size, and I wanted the personal feel
of the book to be obvious from the moment the reader picks it up and
holds it.
Initially, I wanted to try
many different type treatments, including warping text to create type as
image. I tried a dissolving effect to reflect the eventual decay of all
living beings, as well as lengthening certain letters to create an
awareness of time. However, in the end I found that large, obvious moves
weren’t suitable for my book, which hinged on more delicate treatments
and a subtle balance between type and negative space. Thus, I decided to
keep things simple in terms of the shape of the type itself.
REFINEMENT
My refinement process consisted of interrogating all my decisions with
the same question: do I need to scale up or scale back? On one hand, I
wanted to simplify my book as much as possible to preserve a sense of
delicacy. I relegated a large portion of my secondary text to the
margins and gutters to encourage the reader to play into the theme of
slowing down and looking for the small details. On the other hand,
scaling back too much meant I lost moments of contrast and sacrificed
pacing for consistency. Thus, I focused on picking out moments to add
contrast and setting aside other moments to stay subtle.
As I was examining binding and cover options, I decided to make my book
hardcover to parallel emotional weight with physical weight. To reward
readers who took the time to slow down, read through the texts, and
understand the importance of looking for the details, I printed the
stages of a sunrise in sequence on the inside of the French-folded pages
to parallel the idea of shedding new light on life, as well as hidden
photos and numbers. I also opted for a perfect bind to create a clean
finish that minimized visual clutter and preserved the balance of
negative space throughout the book.