Paper fibres under the microscope.
ISTD 2016
Undiscovered Country...
This brief was one of 5 published by the ISTD for the 2016 student competition. The brief required entrants to introduce a new found respect for death. Death has been so drastically commodified that we no longer respect it as an institution, rather, we see it as a media phenomenon or an unpleasant event in our lives; either way, the masses do not pay it much regard.
The Ugly Beautiful
This submission looked for the beautiful side of the ugly. It looked to represent death in a way through an unexpected exploration of decomposition. This project tackled this brief from a more creative, more unconventional angle. It aimed to look at the influence that death and decomposition have on design- under the microscope. This project looked at the beauty- that is death- when typographic design is translated into ink on paper. The project looks to take its reader on a discovery journey of death.
The publication combines digital interactive processes with the tangibility of print media. Following the scientific steps of decomposition, the publication contains graphic symbols that have been designed to represent both genders as they would appear during the stages of decomposition. In order to view the representation of these stages, the reader has to interact with the piece by examining it under the microscope.
Having the slides printing on acetate paper shows the fibres used to produce the paper, further decomposing the graphic symbols and, thus, adding to the process of decomposition. In production, each print of these slides will appear differently under the microscope as their fibres are not necessarily manufactured in the same way. This symbolizes the different ways that different organisms and even individuals decompose. This kind of design decision represents the environment in which a human body would usually decompose in. It aids the process of decomposition through factors like weather, insects attracted during the process of decomposition.
The entire publication has been thought out conceptually and strategically in order to represent death through more than just design. By doing this, the reader goes on a discovery journey that will see them interacting with decomposition in a more approachable, more memorable way. This will assist in bringing a new found respect and understanding of death.
In addition to the publication, I created a typeface that decomposed the alphabet as we understand it today. The typeface was deconstructed according to the scientific stages of decomposition. Each letter is broken down to its bare minimum- what is essential in order for it to be identified. The typeface is symbolic of organisms that reach the final stage of decomposition and can only be identified by their structure.
Analyzing ink to paper.
Decomposition Slides.
Decomposition slides.
Letter-forms and ink.
Decomp. The Typeface
