Project brief:
• TMS proposes an exhibition of the multi-dimensional world of visual language as
part of the Margate Festival. You are the curator. Choose between the following
– An exhibition catalogue (could be Newspaper Club; Blurb book; postcards in a
box; folded brochure; etc)
– A one minute animation to be installed in a front of house display
– A broadsheet presentation of the design of the TMS space (include dimensions but
don’t forget the wow factor)
I wanted to challenge myself to create a series of posters which resonated to the environment around me.
Using local news headlines as the starting point, I stripped the language which had a metaphorical meaning and would work well as linguistic elements. To gather imagery for the prints, I went on a visual language walk in Margate, focussing on the specific environments in which the articles were describing. Taking photos, I cropped in on these to focus on texture, shape and patterns; the visual language of the environment I am referencing.
Below are my first iterations for ‘SURFACE COLLAPSE’, one of the prints in the series.
I wanted the text to fall in a linear approach in a way which looked as if blocks were ‘collapsing’ or falling apart. The news headline for this print was inspired by an article based a roof collapsing by The Lido in Margate. I wanted to use the environment in which the article was based on as the inspiration behind the visual language; colour; form; composition. Whilst on my visual language walk I observed the colours of the Lido Sands old tidal pool.
There were three photos focussing on different angles of the Lido; the Lido Sands (specially focussing on the broken tiles), The Lido’s red tip and finally a blue textured roof sitting adjacent to The Lido. The coloured text was a reference to Margate’s beach/sands and yellow tiling on the redundant Lido Sands. I cropped in on the images I took to focus on texture, pattern and colour. I experimented with different compositions, overlaying text and imagery to form a harmonious relationship.
From these initial iterations, I experimented further with the images of the blue.
Final design for SURFACE COLLAPSE
A2 printed onto canvas paper
I rotated the imagery to create a better arrangement with the text. This way, it creates a more three-dimensional graphical print.
The repeated the words create a rhythmic pattern and the careful placement across the page are composed in a way to compliment the images. My initial idea was to screenprint the text rather than have them digitally printed. But after trying a few attempts onto recycled paper, the ink didn’t quite have the same dramatic effect.
These are iterations for second print in the series titled BRITAIN BEFORE BREXIT. I wanted to compose the text across the page to loosely represent a British flag. I initially began the design using lower case type but after some experimentation, using an all upper case Sans Serif type had more impact. I used Arlington House in Margate as the backdrop, cropping in on the jagged architecture. I purposefully honed in on a window using red curtains, to tie in with the red text. The red colour text is symbolic with the British flag, and could be interpreted with danger or a threat. Furthermore, the grey hues from Arlington House emphasises the red type.
After these initial iterations, I felt the type designs mimicking the architecture in a linear, jagged fashion, worked with the most effect.
A2 printed onto canvas paper
I experimented with screen printing the text over the top of the images
These are iterations for my third and final print in the series titled GASTRONOMIC BLISS.
I began the designs with images at large scale which overshadowed the text. I wanted the images to present a journey involving the different textures, patterns and colours of Margate’s beach. The headline and inspiration behind this print was from an article review of the restaurant, Sargasso, which sits on Margate’s harbour arm.
The design where the images are smaller and sit side-by-side to one another creates a distinctive break in the use of type. The heavy use of text in these prints were deliberate to create a pattern which could symbolise the sea, sand, chalk, rocks; the beachscape of Margate.
A2 printed onto canvas paper
The inspirations behind these prints explore the notion of Concrete Poetry. Concrete poetry uses graphic patterns of letters, words, or symbols rather than by the meaning of words in conventional arrangement. The writer of concrete poetry uses typeface and other typographical elements in such a way that chosen units—letter fragments, punctuation marks, graphemes (letters), morphemes (any meaningful linguistic unit), syllables, or words (usually used in a graphic rather than denotative sense)—and graphic spaces form an evocative picture.
Multidisciplinary designer, Ryan Carl, explores this idea in his work.
I particularly like this example from Paula Claire, titled Etherealight. The broken text evokes a sense of floating, the placement creates meaning open to the viewers interpretation. The text could symbolise floating, falling, connecting.
Below are the three final iterations, printed at A2 size. The three prints could work as a series or stand alone pieces.
From afar, the small typeface could be similar to the text on a newspaper.
The block, tightly cropped images mimic the tight repetition of the text, working together in unison. I particularly enjoy the simplicity of these prints without having to give too much away.
Claudine Derksen 