ALPHABET SOUP...
VISUAL THINKING
Produce a set, series or sequence of ten letterforms that explore and communicate your interpretation of the word you have selected from the randomiser.
DISSECT.
cut up, take apart, disconnect, reveal, study, deconstruct, break, open up, detach, remove, chop, hack.
having recieved the word dissect i proceeded to do some research into its meaning and constraints. i considered the many methods of mark making (or cutting) appropriate to dissection. most are very sharp, surgical knifes and scalpels, however, more heavy equipment like saws are also used.
i thought about the ways in which i could separate a letter into bits: stems/crossbars, serifs/strokes, vertically/horizontally, following the letterform.
i thought it also important to consider why i might want to dissect a letterform so i had a basis for my actions and a motivation.
the method to which i might perform a dissection if by hand.
although each leaf is separate, when cut together the line of the knife is visible through the different layers. this forming of a 'stroke' or 'path' is an interesting aspect of dissecting. the other thing that i noticed was the exactness of each cut even though i was only using a kitchen knife. this is an important discovery because it means i can relate my letters to a great variety of objects and forms.
the cutting of the tomato was similar in line quality but different in post-cut form. i like the flat segments and how they present a cross-section of the internal structure of a tomato. i thought investigating the internal contents of a letterform may be an interesting idea but then realised that there is nothing inside a letterform.
i looked first at cutting up bodys of text more to investigate the cutting process and marks than to experiment with single letters. i was interested in how i cut, in terms of my arms movement and the pressures i imposed on the surface i was cutting, in order to relay such actions to the design of my letterforms.
I thought about the connotations of dissection in relation to the structure of words primarily. A title or logo made of letters could be considered as a 'body' or 'structure'. Cutting it into separate bits breaks down the composition and, in turn, meaning of the word(s). In this sense, letters that are dissected can be broken down into meaningless shapes or parts.
from my understanding of dissection i had to consider how i wanted to break apart my letters. i felt going down the path of letterform extremities was logical and appropriate but i had to determine which extremities to 'remove'. the serifs, i thought, would be a good part of type to utilize.
after this i thought it was time to start looking at choosing a typeface to manipulate. in order to dissect something there has to be clear parts/sections to the subject. while every letter form has 'parts' i felt it would be more interesting to look at the letters as bodyforms. with this in mind i wanted to consider a serif font because it has parts like a body and is therefore suitable to the theme. i ended up using the typeface MONGOLIAN BALTI because i like the weights of the letters and the degree of tilts and curves. i also like the transitional style serifs and felt there was a lot of potential with this typeface.
Transferring this concept to individual letters, with the idea that the structure of a letter is made up like a body, once again, rendered each letter meaningless. Having tested both serif and sans serif fonts i feel as though the serif fonts have a more human structure with a better 'dissecting potential'.
Using Photoshop, I tried dissecting some chosen letterforms in order to understand their structure in a fuller way. i feel that these examples are successful in what i wanted to achieve from this experiment, however, the relationship of the below ideas and the perimeters of dissection is a bit tenuous. the lines and shapes created in the P are more resemblant of cracks or splinters as the separation of each bit is messy and random. these themes are, somewhat, contradictory to the ideas of dissection, being that it is a precise process, and so i decided to try some other methods.
having thought about how to tackle the problem at hand and having chosen a suitable and interesting typeface (mongolian balti) to maipulate i then began the process of completing my dissected letterforms.
the pink lines indicate potential dissection points. the two at the bottom are examples of some post-dissection letters. the idea that dissection is an intellectually and mathematically considered process lead me to place the cuts so that each part of the letter was separated. i took this theory and, in photoshop/illustrator, proceeded to carry out the process on each of my chosen letters.
using the lasso tool on photoshop i selected the part of the letter that i wanted to dissect.
having selected a part i made it into a separate layer that could be manipulated alone.
once each part was separated i was then able to place each part in a way that would present the letter in its true form while still showing the dissections i had performed. i didn't want any of the letters to be exactly the same layout as originally and think i achieved quite a good middle ground.
having completed my letters on the computer i then had to transfer each one to a seperate 10X10cm card to present. i enjoyed this part as i really like hand drawn design and especially tracing lines so i had fun in re-drawing. once all of my letterforms were on their 10X10cm cards i felt like finishing. for a few days i left them as they were but then decided that some form of accentuation would really help illustrate and boast the sections of the letters. i decided to add a left leaning line shadow to each part. this gave each letter a bit more emphasis and form. i think the addition was also good decision in terms of adding aesthetic value to each letter.
im really happy with the way my letterforms came out. i think they represent the idea of dissection clearly and i like the added line of shadow following the left of each letter. i think the 10 work well as a set and really do show my thoughts and understanding of dissection. my development was good and i did consider multiple approaches but i could have exhausted my ideas to a greater extent to have truly come to the most appropriate conclusion. i think aswel, if i were to offer a bit more variety to the design of each letter they would have been more individual. while im happy that there is a noticeable theme to my letters, an originality, however small, may have just furthered the quality of my designs.
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