Thursday 30 September 2010

Alphabet soup...my final series.


DIVIDE: TO SEPARATE INTO PARTS, SECTIONS, GROUPS, OR BRANCHES.

After suffering a few numb brain cells earlier in the week, and many design ideas and drafts that didn't seem "quite right", I finally brainstormed and developed a series of typography cards to represent the word "division" (of which I have chosen to specialise in the field of science and mathematics).

From some of my initial ideas i wrote down, such as "nuclear fission" and "the conception of twins", I believed that I could create both a really innovative, yet subtle series of letters, which would be clevery crafted and styalised, without being too "obvious".

From my initial sketches and notes on my nuclear fission designs (see previous blog entry) I decided that for this series I would really like to work with the letter 'H', for two reasons:

1. I was very drawn to the uniformity and symmetry of the letter 'H', and believe that I had a lot of variations available- as the letter 'H' can be visually presented in several ways.
2. In relation to science, I was drawn to using the letter 'H', as it is the first symbol on Dmitri Mendleev's periodic table, standing for the colourless gas, 'hydrogen, and baring the atomic number '1'- I have always been fond of creating subtle significance within my work.



I used the bold serif 'H' above as a basis template for my letters, but then decided to create a more "industrious" and uniformed look, sqauring the edges and adding extra boldness to the design.

After realising the basis for my letters, I went onto research particular subject areas which I could communicate visually, both in connection to science, and the aformentioned chosen word/theme, 'divide'.

Although I have a keen interest in science, I am undoubtedly not an expert (as my GCSE results paper would tell you), so I went on to research elements of nature and chemistry in which division, or seperation, of some kind occurs- referencing books within the university library, as well as sponging my Dad for advice (he used to be a practicing science practioner, luckily for my research!).

After researching for several hours, I concluded to work on these ten particular areas:

1. Nuclear Fission- the nuclear reaction in which a massive nucleus splits into smaller nuclei with the simultaneous release of energy.
2. The Combining reaction of Chemicals- Linking on from the topic above- visually presenting the wonder of chemicals- how single elements combined make something lager, exciting, new.
3. Muscle structure- Each tendon working both singularly and in harmony with others to move the human body and add a structural wall between our skin and vital internal organs (along, of course, with the skeleton).
4. The Tongue- Each section of the tongue recieving different sensory messages- sweet, salty, sour, bitter. Even on such a small surface area, each taste bud has an individual job and receptor.


(map diagram found from online sources to showcase the sensory taste buds upon the tongue)

5. The rib cage- Protecting vital major organs- incasing both lungs and heart. Each with seperate functions, but one could not survive without the other.
6. Blood- Incredibly vital in our lives- offer blood transfusions to those in needs- chemotherapy patients, medically trying labours etc. We all have blood within our bodies- but we each have our own specific blood group- cannot be mixed through transfusions, and must be clarified in these circumstances.
7. Veins and artries- Heart pumps blood through the arteries. They branch out into microscopic capillaries, then rejoining to form veins, carrying blood back to the heart.
Only the arteries from the left side of the heart reach down to the fingers and toes, the right side arteries are dedicated to the flow of blood to the lungs.
Again, I was very interested in the seperate functions of the same product within the body- a fascinating network of bizarre and complex system mapping occuring within our bodies each and every day.
8. The Conception of twins- 1/90 pregancies result in the conception of twins, 2/3 of these are non-identical. identical twins develop from the same fertilized egg in the womb, and always share the same gender- along with sharing the same placenta, amniotic membrance, and, when born, genes.
This idea particularly interested me, as the idea seemed so clear- one egg, divided to make two lives- though incredibly similar, both unique and their own self.
9.The Skull- made up on several plates, perhaps like a jigsaw- but  must be formed in order to "perform" it's function efficiently.
10. The Nervous System- essentially, the system which allows receptors to be carried to our brain to perform movement in the 30, 000 miles of nerves within the human body.
The nervous system consists of two main controls: sensory nerves (messages to the brain from eyes, ears, skin, and other sense organs), and motor nerves (other parts of the body, e.g, limbs, which allow us to move).


(l-r from top: muscles, tongue, ribcage, blood, nuclear fission, veins and arteries, chemical elements, the conception of twins, the skull, and the nervous system).

In these images, I have carefully thought over and planned why each is aesthetically presented in such a way:

1. muscles- the red strips demonstrate the directional positioning of the muscles and tendons on the pectorials and chest area on a human.
2. tongue- quite a playful one! I liked the idea of the H "sticking it's tongue out". Each coloured section on the tongue represents the correct postioning of the taste buds:
- dark pink: bitter
-yellow: sour
-blue: salty
-purple: sweet
3. ribcage- an incredibly simplified version of the ribcage. I wanted to create a childlike look about this design, and the set in general. Unfortunately, science is becoming decreasingly popular throughout the education system, and therefore, I believe, needs to be resolves in perhaps a more managable and fun way.
4. blood- a simple, bright red blood splatter upon the hard contrast of the black background.
5. nuclear fission- black and white to represent the colourless element of Hydrogen, with two black dots- symbolising the atomic structure of hydrogen (a central proton, outter electron).
6. veins and arteries- an abstract presentation of blood flow.
7. chemical elements- the split 'H' showing the division of chemicals, with smaller 'H''s stemming from them, showing the development of chemical reactions.
8. the conception of twins- double shadow of the letter 'H'- colours representing the cross section of the womb with two small foetuses intertwinned.
9. the skull- simplified cream jigsaw- representative of the human skull.
10. the nervous system- blue directional lines cut on cream background- to show the direction and purpose of the nervous system in a styalised manner.

Of course, if I had the option, I would really have liked to have produced more design work to back up this project, but from particular circumstances, and the week deadline, I think that I have done reasonably well to have completed this project in a style which I can optimistically say that I am rather pleased with.

Although my outcomes may not seem entirely obvious, as aforementioned, they each represent a simplified response to each of these matters.
What I liked most about my particular subject is that they were all very much so seperate functions and controls, but without the aid of others, they would simply cease to be.

You can't divide without multiplication waiting right around the corner.

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