you are the text
PRINT DESIGN
In narrative texts, there exists an intangible space between an author/creator’s written word, and how that written word is perceived visually in the mind of a reader/viewer.
My thesis for my MFA Interactive Design thesis at California College of the Arts explores the role of the designer in activating this space.
research + exploration
The use of words in the English language works because it possesses a set of groupings of letters that we have agreed signify a specific set of meanings. While these meanings may seem rather inflexible (as the English dictionary would have you believe), this is not the case at all.
Our own personal memories, identities, and biases reform and reshape these meanings all the time. This is particularly so because, when we see the visual manifestation of the word, it is symbol. Visual symbols however, leave a great deal of room for interpretation from reader to reader. How can these visual symbols of reading be manipulated to convey a certain viewpoint or context? And how does that change the experience of reading and imagining?
translating the text
Continuing with the medium of literature, I decided to dive deeper into the connection between words written on a page and their meaning contrasted with what images the words evoke in the reader’s mind. Rather than continuing to focus on creating situations that invite a reaction by the viewer, which is difficult for me to judge what is effective or not, I decided to use myself as a case study.
Taking a piece of literature that I had not read before I decided to record the images that first came to mind whether that be an image or an icon as well as my impressions and notes on the story, writing, or anything else. And to track and annotate all of these impressions in which to observe how and why certain things in the novel or in my life create these visual symbols and impressions in my mind.
thesis book
The final version of the thesis book can be viewed below, with further exploration, explanation, and research.