Process:

I started to create multiple sentence/quote options that talk about technology and impermanence. The inspirations and ideas for these Quotes came from the Mind Map. The aim was to select one quote and then create environmental typography for each word using materials/things around us that show impermanence. 

The final sentence was selected with the help of voting in class where everyone was asked to select a sentence that communicates the message best. The Final sentence that was selected was:  Practice impermanence, don’t drown in the promise of technology. Each word was then paired with a process and material to capture the aspect of change in our environment:  

1. Practice : Food (Taken away by birds)

2. Impermanence: Fire (Candles, Tea lights)

3. Don’t : Paper (Colour with lemon juice)

4. Drown : Water(Evaporation, Melting)

5. In : Light and Shadow 

6. The: Food Spoiling 

7. Promise :  Wind (Sand, Leaves)

8. Of : Mist (condensation)

9. Technology: Humans interacting with Technology

To create each word, first iterations were made on paper keeping the material in mind and letting that dictate the choice of graph, pen or style. For example for the word “Practice” was drawn on a square graph keeping  triangular shapes in mind as the word was written with bread. On the other hand the word “The” was written on a circular graph because of the shape of an orange after being cut in slices. The same way “of” was written using a dish washing sponge which has a broad edge, so the initial drafts were made with a flat nibbed pen and for “in” which needed to be created using shadow, paper was cut in different ways for the desirable outcome. 

Next, out of the iterations one was selected and then replicated in different locations like parks, side walks, indoors etc., so that they can interact with the environment around them and change accordingly. The entire process of creating the word and it changing was recorded to further create posters and a video. 

The word “Technology” was the most challenging as the aim was to create it in a way that it will interact/change in form or colour as and when we mention the word “change”. For this I first created vector version from my illustrations and then animated them. Next I got in touch with Antoni Gudejko (studying Game Design in ARU) and took his help with coding the design in unity to make the Voice command feature work. 

Other aspects of the project I had difficulties in were actually creating the composition in the live location, for instance I had to create the word “ impermanence” twice in different locations, because after creating it I could not light the candles even though every passerby volunteered to help as the wind was too strong. Just like how for the word “Practice” the aim was to create it in the park so that the birds would come and eat it, and even after maintaining  distance from the arrangement the birds did not take a single piece of bread. So I then recreated it at a different location hoping that would help but after waiting for 6hrs the word finally got covered with leaves. 

Learning Outcome:

- Conducting professional Visual Research 

- The shapes existing in our environment and how we can create typographic compositions using them. This further helped me understand the basics of Environmental Typography. 

- Implement aspects such as free-play and change in the design outcome as well as my process. This helped me improve my methodology and framework. 

- The Final Part of the project helped me advance my professional practice in using these compositions in different mediums both print and digital, along with gaining better understanding on using digital text in ways that it interacts with the image dynamically.