Project Two :: Experimentation

Monday 15 February

In a series of typographic compositions, communicate 4 separate weather phenomena. From the supplied list, choose 4 of the weather phenomena and (at least) 6 supplemental words that describe the weather pattern from their respective thesaurus entries. Your descriptive choices can be single words, phrases, or series of words. Try to pick 4 phenomena that form an interesting narrative, i.e.: CLOUDY/LIGHTNING/THUNDER/RAIN.

Using the words as a descriptive “poem,” create experiments that communicate the action of your chosen word. No images can be used, only typography. What you do with that typography is OPEN, very OPEN. Experiment with your type, print it, cut it, xerox it, repeat it, illuminate it, project it, paint it or paint with it, make it out of mud, out of ketchup, etc., etc. Try not to “draw” literal pictures with your typography, but work semi-abstractly. As a well known (to you at least) professor (yours) once said (just now), “Why be literal when you can be abstract and have MO’ IMPACT!?” Attempt to create a rich, interpretive experience and have fun! That’s a command.

Methods
Set the words you will be using in Illustrator or InDesign and print them out. Work with your printouts in experimental ways and work with digital type in in Illustrator and Photoshop. Try out insane physical alterations of your type. Cut up the words, shine light through them, rephotograph them, rearrange them, repeat them, drag, squiggle and shift them across the copy machine as it copies. Make your weather phenomena word stand out in some manner from the descriptive terms. The main word should have the most dominance hierarchically. Please choose typefaces with care, they should emphasize and support the weather ideas. Does Univers 39 look like rain? Does Chaparral look like raindrops?

homework
Create a series of word-manipulation experiments. Initial experiments should fit on an 11" x 17" page, black and white. Bleed (work beyond the barriers of the format) your compositions, it will be important for the secondary stage of this project. On Friday, bring 3 versions of each, for a total of 12 comps.
Copy, scan or mask your compositions (dependent on your media and process) and present as shown in the attached sheet, no mounting. Keep originals with bleed for next steps.