Design Observer Essay Assignment

1000, words explaining what my thesis is really all about.

FINDING FORM IN THE MIDDLE GROUND

I often find myself working between two poles. I strive to develop formal expressions in the combination of things, and work in such a way that the poles inform each other in every step of the design process. Working between these two poles has been the inspiration for making. The designs exist on a spectrum between two areas of thought, and up until now have mostly focused on developing design in the area between the application of systematic graphic elements and chance operation. By merging these two elements I have been able to achieve surprise and serendipity in my work.

A study in defining and developing richer graphic form has been the subject and driving force behind my thesis study. Through the making of books, posters, zines and exhibitions I have been able to explore process and develop a method of working. In doing so I have found a way of designing which reveals process to the viewer and allows the search for graphic form to be seen.

The key motivation of this study is to further clarify a method of designing. Finding a common thread in my work as a designer led me to question whether or not highly developed graphic form can be created by designing between two different ways of thinking and/or working. Studying different media and multiple design methods has informed and strengthened my ideas about creating and discovering in what I call the Middle Ground.

Creating work which oscillates on a spectrum between two points drives my study and feeds my impulse to organize and interpret information. I am inspired not only by graphic designers but most often architects. I look to other forms of design to understand my ideas about method and find they align closely with that of the architect. 

Frank Gehry is one such architect. He often relies on intuition and the systems of architectural design to realize his imaginative expressions. He makes decisions based on intuition to create unintelligible form, but then refers to technology and engineering to justify and realize the form. There is a push and pull between his creative intuition and his understanding of technology. Pragmatic considerations such as form, space, circulation and structure are all considered in his design process. Starting from an unlikely source allows Gehry to reveal to the inhabitant an understanding of structure and space. The systematic and orderly process is revealed when the chaotic forms are structurally successful. This merge of two methods inspires me to do the same.

The tools of my approach are embedded in my process. Developing graphic form in the Middle Ground begins with the implementation of an organizing structure, for example a grid system or typographic treatment. There must be a way to immediately visually organize my ideas and content. This exercise becomes the first pole of which I work between. The second pole forms by gathering the content and developing a concept, usually with a chance operation or some other means of collection. This portion of the process is more organic and is based on design intuition.

Then the merging of the systematic elements and the content occurs. There is a moment of adjustment and distribution. Back and forth, push and pull, the tension between, creates the formal expression. The process becomes the design solution.

I have experimented with this method and process in many design projects. In The Adaptation of Fit, I explored two different ways of writing, in order to gain content for the graphic expression of a book. I began by using my intuition to extract relevant points from the chapter, Goodness of Fit in Christopher Alexander's, Notes on the Synthesis of Form. By using these excerpts as guides I was able to fashion the text to become my own. Practicing this way of writing enabled me to develop a narrative which supports my ideas about form, fit and content.

I then began again. Still using the Alexander text, I extracted words which appeared before a comma. These words, taken from a moment of pause, formed sentences which developed another narrative and began to fill in the spaces missing from the first endeavor. There were now two cohesive pieces of writing which supported my thesis ideas. Revealing the writing processes to the viewer through specific typographic treatments supported with imagery, unveiled a richer graphic form, thus visually translating the ideas expressed in the writing.

A poster series entitled What Did They Say? is another experiment of design developing in the Middle Ground. Six different newspapers from September 13, 1993, running a story about the signing of the Palestinian Peace Accord, provided the content to form a graphic expression. Two different organizational structures were used to reveal the most pertinent information to the viewer. One was the assigning of a specific color to each newspaper, the second was an over-printing system. Over-printing excerpts from each newspaper, in different colors onto a single poster, allowed for the most important messages to show through. But what was most interesting was trusting the merge of the two systems, and inviting serendipity in the visual result.

Another project, currently in progress, is an exploration of two different ways of retrieving information. Photo Journey began by recording a walk from the Graduate Studio of the Rhode Island School of Design, to the school's Nature Lab. Through a regimented recording method, a photograph was taken every 20 paces of the walk, capturing a very structural perception of the journey. The return to the Graduate Studio from the Nature Lab was recorded by photographing constantly during the walk. The position of the camera changed each time an image was taken and provided a more organic way of collecting information.

Using this archive of collected material, I would like to place images in to two time lapse videos, which will play simultaneously, next to each other. This will allow the viewer to gather information about the place between the two points. The hope is the merging of the two videos will create a narrative of surprise which reveals a full expression of the place where the journey exists.

Through the creation of these graphic design studies, which reveal process and in turn create form, I am finding connections and discovering new ways to create a more informed catalogue of design solutions. Proposing this method to other designers will hopefully spark an interest in method development and foster more informed and visually diverse work. I believe if designers reveal their process to the viewer, they will be surprised by the form they reveal to themselves. 

Finding Form in the Middle Ground

The following is an article I wrote for a workshop with Anne West. Each of the students in the workshop was to choose a publication which they felt would harbor the best audience for receiving their thesis ideas and theories. I chose Step Inside Design. This is a publication which "takes readers inside the world of design for a unique personal perspective on the issues, artists, and inspirations that drive design today. Each issue includes profiles of visionary creatives, thoughtful analysis on business issues, and essays on design's relevant questions." (online synopsis of the publication)

I chose a section of the magazine called Insite, which is an overview of different issues and ideas being discussed in design today. I felt this would be the perfect place for me the talk about my ideas. Although we were asked to write the article as if it was our thesis abstract, I was having some trouble. So I invented a writer and wrote about myself from the perspective of that writer. I wrote as Forma McMethod. The following is the article which was written for the assignment.

When a designer’s education begins, they often look to other designers and media for inspiration and guidance. They look for some clue which will enrich their process and help them to develop form. In striving to find a voice the designer develops a method. But what if the development of the method becomes a formal expression? What if the search and process becomes the graphic form? 

A study in defining and developing richer graphic form has been the subject and driving force behind the work of designer Jen Magathan, of the Rhode Island School of Design, for some time now. She has used different design endeavors such as books, posters, zines, and exhibitions to explore process and method development, and in doing so has found a way of designing which reveals the process to the viewer and allows them to see the search for graphic form.

 

FINDING THE MIDDLE GROUND

Although up until now her work has mostly focused on developing form in the area between the application of systematic graphic elements and chance operations, she is now discovering ways to create more informed graphic design of which she calls “The Middle Ground.” This “Middle Ground” can be found through merging different design methods. This can mean working between two types of media or two different design concepts. Allowing one to inform the other creates the Middle Ground, and it is where she believes the most conceptually developed graphic design lies. Magathan says “As a designer I often find myself working between two poles. I strive to find form in the combination of things. I work in such a way that the poles inform each other in every step of the design process. My work often exists on a spectrum between two areas of thought. By merging  systematic elements and chance operations I have been able to produce surprises in the formal graphic studies I pursue. Surprise or serendipity is often the over-arching goal in my work.”

APPLICATION OF A METHOD

Magathan has begun to use her process as the graphic expression. In her book The Adaptation of Fit she uses two different approaches to writing so she may further express her ideas about the study of the Middle Ground. She began by adapting a chapter of Christopher Alexander’s book Notes on the Synthesis of Form. Excerpts from the chapter, The Goodness of Fit, provided the systematic building blocks for her to express her ideas on form, fit and context. By using these excerpts as guides she was able to fashion the text to become her own. She states, “By applying this method of writing I was able to develop a cohesive narrative about my ideas of method which were beginning to form. Although the text was choppy and sometimes lacking coherence, the basic ideas were beginning to form, and I had a base on which I could begin fitting the text to meet the needs of my study.”

She then began again with a different writing method. Starting once more with the original Alexander text, words which came before a comma were extracted from the chapter and placed into a continuous list. These words, taken from moments of pause, became the words used in new sentences which solidified her ideas about method. A selection of these words began a new form of writing which allowed for a narrative to come from a chance operation. Using the words in the order in which she found them in the chapter, gave her guidelines in the writing. However, the passages which came about where serendipitous.  The two pieces of writing which were developed from these two explorations became the subject in the graphic expression of a book. Revealing the process in the writing to the viewer through a typographic exercise revealed a richer graphic form. The middle ground was where the form was found. Revealing process and having it be incorporated into the book system visually translated the ideas embedded in 

the writing.

FURTHER EXPLORATION

Another project designed by Magathan, which further solidifies her  ideas about merging of methods and revealing process to the viewer, is a newspaper study titled, What Did They Say? The project was developed as a series of posters which became a study in how newspapers across the United States interpret the news. She analyzed six newspaper archives from a specific day, September 13, 1993, which were running a story about the signing of the Palestinian Peace Accord. The Washington Post, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, Boston Globe, and the Los Angeles Times all covered the story that day. “The story was interpreted in so many ways, but I was able to decipher three major topics from the six different publications.” Said Magathan.

She interpreted these topics systematically, through color 

and typography. The most important messages of the story were made apparent through overprinting excerpts from each paper onto a single poster, thus revealing the most pertinent information for the viewer. The visual outcome was a product of the trust in the printing system, typographic treatment and color application. Allowing the system to govern the outcome of the poster was a chance operation which led to the merging of the visual systems at play in the project. The merging of the systems created 

the visual expression. The process by which the posters were created was revealed to the viewer and an experience of message clarification was revealed.

MOTIVATION FOR THE MERGE

The key motivation for her course of study is to further clarify a method of designing. Finding a common thread in her work as a designer led her to the question of whether or not highly developed graphic form can be created from designing between two different ways of thinking and working. Studying different media and application of multiple methods to her designs has informed and strengthened her ideas of discovery in “the in between.” Systematic approaches to design and chance operation are elements present in many of her previous endeavors, so they naturally led to this way of thinking and working. These two poles became the points at which her studies began, but finding her way between them has been the inspiration for making, within her developing method.

Through the creation of graphic design studies which reveal her process and in turn create form, she finds connections and discovers new ways to reveal a more informed catalogue of design solutions through the application of the use of the Middle Ground. Through specific formal investigations she reveals a methodology. The process by which she applies this method of working defines her “Middle Ground,” and this is where, in her opinion richer and more developed graphic design resides. Magathan goes on to state, “Reveal your process and method to the viewer and you might be surprised by the form you reveal to yourself.”