I’m contemplating a change to my capstone subject—or maybe an entirely new direction. I had been having doubts for about the past week and ended up coming to the conclusion that if I continued on with Hebrew typography, that perhaps the only project I would come up with would be to design a new Hebrew typeface. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to do that on my own time, on my own timeline. I think the capstone might be a better opportunity to go in a direction that a) could inform future work and b) that I can actually accomplish within the next ~5 months. I definitely don’t want to design another typeface within the space of a quarter. Been there, and it wasn’t nearly enough time.
I’m still lingering on some of the stuff we were studying last quarter in my design research class. I’m really interested in how play, humor, narrative, and the handmade come together in design. I think the question I may be asking is what is my theory of design? The elements I’ve mentioned have really been on my mind for all of my design education. All the work that has really spoken to me (saying, “wow, that’s what I want to do!”) has had most, if not all of these elements. My desire to create with my hands goes back to the point where I was physically able. Don’t get me wrong, I drew and painted too, but mostly what I was into was creating something, not a picture of something. In fact, I wore out the family sewing machine. Luckily my parents were very obliging and turned a downstairs workspace where my dad’s pottery wheel was into an “art room” for me and my sister. God, I wish I had an art room now. I’m digressing again, what I’m trying to say is that creating with my hands is important to me. I think the work people create when you can see the influence of the hand speaks more than sterile design created start to finish on the computer. And I’m not anti-computer, I love my computer, but it’s extremely limiting when it comes to design. Before I started my design education, I always started on the computer, because that’s how I thought graphic design was done. Now I know how the technology limited my thinking because I was doing what technology could do, instead of what my brain could do. I would also start bothering myself with technical limitations before I was even done brainstorming.
So, I’ve established that I believe that design work where you can see the hand is more expressive and soulful. I also think it lends itself to playfulness and wit, which are so much more important than most people give credit for. How often do you see serious issues tackled with humor way more effectively than, well, whatever else you might tackle it with? Way more. Plus, it keeps everyone sane. Last, but definitely not least, the handmade has a natural narrative. There is always a story behind something that is physically made. What I like is how you can alter the process of the making and the materials to fit the message you’re trying to communicate. This narrative, however subtle it may seem, shows through in the final product.
This is where I’m at right now. I may be further back (although I like to think I’m just in a different place than I was) but I think it will work out better this way. Another plus is that I don’t have to explain where I’m going to everyone, they just get it.
