UNIT CONCLUSION.

I feel this unit of reflecting upon my working practice has forced me to really dissect my thinking, and pushed me down routes of working that I wouldn't necessarily have taken. The whole process has also coincided with an instinctive urge to create something different; which gained momentum over the summer break between finishing my Fda and starting the Top-Up course, where I was working consistently on commercial projects. 

When I consider my initial response to the unit it was very flat and 2D, and I was aware of this, and even somewhat frustrated. It wasn't until the obvious suggestion of 'have you thought of trying something 3D' at the question time after my previous presentation, that it was very obvious. Although I'd thought about creating something 3D it was probably more the nature in which it took shape that was influenced by the surrounding disciplines. To me previously, 3D would have been something made out of paper, as it's just the natural tool that I seem to use and work with as a designer. But to those around me, ceramics and plaster made from moulds were their 'tools of the trade'. These were things I'd not really experimented with before. As soon as I started making something out of plaster I got excited, it was new and it was hands on, and it was inspiring me to produce more work. Although it was simply experimentation, it had a purpose, and it was my plaster sculpture that lead me down the path to three dimensional type and gave me the confidence to go and and try creating something new with concrete. 

The whole process has left me feeling rather 'free' about my work, whereas at the start of the unit I felt very confined and frustrated by graphic design. Now instead of trying to figure out a two dimensional solution to something as I may have done before, It seems as though a whole other dimension has been opened up for consideration. Through the different materials I've employed, it's also given me a certain amount of confidence to experiment further in the future, and not be bound by just flat graphics on a page, because even though I may be using a different media I can still employ it in my style, a way that I enjoy and feel comfortable with. Even after just this one brief I already feel more rounded and free as a designer, and it's something I want to now take and continue building upon. Through simply making things I've realised ideas can appear or improve, rather than wondering around thinking about what I need to think about, I hit a point where I simply just started 'doing', and everything seemed to flow well from there.

I'm generally pleased with the output from this unit, as an academic exploration and reflection upon my working methods, and as an exploration of typography/architecture it's served my working practices well' providing insights I'm able to transfer on to my studio practice.

THE BOOK

In line with the functional nature of what i've created, and generally my design ethos, I'm creating a simple book to showcase the concrete lettering, with the only graphical elements being the photos of the letters themselves and a simple outline diagram of which blocks have been used to construct each letter.

I've just screenprinted the cover; I always seem to have problems with screenprinting white, I think it dries quicker and clogs more than any other colour. But I persevered and managed to screen print the shape outlines onto black which I will use as the cover for the book. Ironically they are intended to be precise little shapes, but just like the concrete blocks themselves, have turned out a bit rough around the edges, which is quite a nice parallel.

THE SHOOT

I used the uni photographic studio and camera equipment to shoot the 26 letters my concrete kit makes. As I abandoned the steel rods to hold them together, I had to lay the letters flat on their back, but I didn't really want them to look like they were laying down, so I had to make sure the lighting was setup as well as possible in order to eliminate any shadows; I wanted to minimise the post production work involved as much as possible so as to keep them 'true'. I managed to do this relatively successfully, and am pleased with the results.

BACK TO DESIGN

I've been considering how to present my 'pre fab alphabet', and although earlier in the project I was really keen to produce something completely out of my normal remit as a graphic designer, I feel that this whole process has already allowed me to do this. So I'm happy to tie the whole thing back into a more traditional format of a book. I'd like to use the kit to present the whole alphabet, a sort of printed case study for the concrete typeface I've created.

To get the imagery I require for this I'll need make sure I have a good quality photo shoot of the letters. I don't want any of it to be 'faked', after spending so much time creating real concrete shapes, to photoshop any of it now would seem like such a waste to me. I've found that authenticity is increasingly important to me as a designer; fake textures or 'effects' really bother me, in such a computerised world, the knowledge of a piece of software is not impressive or inspiring to me, however creating the real thing is.

As I suggested previously, keeping it clear and concise is the aim, so each letter will be captured in its entirety on a plain background.

CAPTURING THE TYPE

I'm experimenting with different ways fo photographing the letters once they have been made. I like the idea of having specific abstract crops so that they possible look like part of a bigger structure, playing with peoples perception. Although I feel perhaps showing the entire letter may have the same effect of putting forward the typography/architecture link but without resorting to tight crops. It will be simply inferred by their construction.

Imagery below shows a mock up I did just photographed on my iphone and photoshopped onto a couple of different backgrounds, just to experiment and visualise the ideas.

As in the final I didn't want any 'fake' elements I would mock up a miniature setting for it all so the block appear huge in scale. But after considering it, I feel that this could jsut be over complicating the whole project, I'm not sure it even needs another element to it, and without anything to compare it to, the size is unknown when photographed anyway.

I'm conscious not to try and chuck loads of ideas into the pot, which is something I often try and do when I'm concerned about a project, or want to improve upon it more. I think for me at the moment, the important thing to bare in mind is a focus on clarity of thought and intention. I've gone through the process of creating a whole concrete typeface with a architecturally orientated rational, I just need to capture and present that in an appropriate way.

Keep it focused and simple.

THE KIT

I've completed the full concrete 'kit', some of which came out a lot rougher than I had anticipated, but it feels a lot more authentic, each with their own character just as a real building would have. The more I work with the shapes the more I get involved with the idea, I love the notion of simplifying a typeface down to its bare minimal elements; its building blocks. I can't help but feel it embodies elements of bauhaus approach, as does a lot of my work and design ethos; simplifying an object to its bare functional qualities. The sharp lines and concrete also feel add to its modernist, brutalist architectural feel. The blocks all feel just as I intended, using concrete to mould them has given them a brilliant quality, they feel very permanent and dense; highlighting the architectural link which a different construction method wouldn't have had. The whole process of making them was also strangely satisfying, the idea that just  a powder mixture can combine with water to create something so solid and permanent. Perhaps this solid permanent element is what has been driving me to create something so different, because to me it feels more substantial than 2D graphics created digitally.

MOULDINGS

I Struggled with moulding the rounded corners of the shapes, so I adjusted them to have diagonal edges, which actually may fit in better with the lines of the shapes and overall style. I'm using fast setting post-crete, and plastic shutting sitting on glass to mould the shapes. the plastic forms a pretty tight together which keeps al the concrete in within the shutting.

7 SHAPES

I've developed a set of 7 basic shapes, when duplicated, allows me to create any letter. Using the basic idea of dividing the sections of a letter into pieces, similar to that of a stencil, it allows for free standing pieces, mirroring individual architectural structures. The way the pieces fit together also resemble construction of a sort, and when fabricated from concrete I think will be a great physical representation of the relationship between type and architecture.

It's interesting to see how my initial themes of strong shapes is present so literally, 7 strong simple shapes are the basis of my final output for this project. 

Base 7 shapes:

Typeface kit:

Full Alphabet: