oh my thesis

I Am Done, and I Ran Away From RISD

2009-07-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

Well I am officially done with my thesis (for now). I am graduated and rested. I hope someday to revisit the work I produced during my Master's Thesis study, but it will be some time from now. For more information about my thesis, Forming Process: Design Through Layered Visual Systems and Multiple Collection Methods, please visit the master's thesis section of my website:

jenmagathan.com

Thank you to all who helped me along the way: Mom, Dad, Kelly, Grandpa, Katy, Mary, Angela, Lauren, Eleanor, Namoo, Sarah, Melissa, Huy, Elana, Hannah, Michael, Matt, Julie, Doug, Tom O., Hammett, Tom W., Nancy, Bethany, Sam, Gary, Terrence, Beth, Fabi, my students, and all of the rest of the dedicated people at the Rhode Island School of Design who have helped me to achieve this major milestone.

Forming Process

2009-05-02T21:27:00.000-07:00

The following is the newest and hopefully last version of the thesis abstract....

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Forming Process

Design Through Layered Visual Systems and Multiple Collection Methods

"Do not hide the structure, celebrate it in the form."

"Approach design from multiple points of view."

"Never erase your construction lines."

These adages, so important in my architectural training, reverberate with intricate practicality in my work as a graphic designer, both as a way of building my design and as a means of developing a design process which explores multiple ways of organizing content through visual systems. Forming Process is defined by three conditions, celebrating the visual systems which organize the design, the archiving of content from multiple ways of collecting, and creating work by which the process of design is implicit in the design solution. There is beauty and function in the marks that are made during the design process. I believe by celebrating the process in the form, that more interesting and informed design solutions can be discovered.

I begin by developing visual systems which organize the objects I design. I often layer many systems such as grids, printing structures, and typographic systems in order to provide a structure that will initiate an uncertain result. These systems are then infused with elements of an archive, gathered from multiple methods of collection. Photography, writing, and surveying, often through chance operation, allow the layered visual systems to produce a serendipitous form. Trusting the systems which structure my work allow for the process of developing the form to be revealed in the design solution. Designing in this way allows the poetic nature hidden within the predictable dimensions of the study to arise, and yields work which oscillates on a spectrum across information and form.

What Did They Say ?

2009-04-23T17:42:00.000-07:00

The following is a short video about a project which has become an extremely important component of my thesis study. I recently submitted this piece to the Rhode Island School of Design Awards of Excellence Competition. The statement which precedes the video describes my thoughts and ideas about design in relation to my thesis work.

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I strive to develop graphic expressions in the combination of methods and work in such a way that these methods inform each other, in every step of the design process. Merging methods and creating a push and pull allows for tension to initiate design solutions. Finding a common thread in my work as a designer has led to the question of whether or not the process of designing graphic form can in fact become the formal graphic solution. Designing and working in this way has provided the inspiration for making and developing case studies, such as the following project, [ What Did They Say?] By merging different design methods and processes, I have been able to achieve surprise and serendipity in my work, while revealing the process of making in the form. Creating work which oscillates on a spectrum between multiple points drives my thesis study and feeds my impulse to organize and interpret information. I believe the design process can become the design solution.

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An Interview About My Thesis

2009-04-22T18:44:00.000-07:00

The following link will lead to a podcast interview conducted by my fellow classmate, Lauren Mackler. The interview consisting of two questions reveals what I am currently thinking about my thesis and design work. It also reveals some of my sources of inspiration.

AN INTERVIEW WITH JEN

Forming Process

2009-04-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

Development of Graphic Design Through the Combination of Multiple Processes and Methods

--- the next iteration of the abstract ---

I strive to develop graphic expressions in the combination of methods and work in such a way that these methods inform each other every step of the design process. Merging methods and creating a push and pull allows for tension to initiate design solutions. Finding a common thread in my work as a designer has led to the question of whether or not the process of designing graphic form can in fact become the formal graphic solution.

Designing and working in this way has provided the inspiration for making and developing case studies such as books, posters, zines and exhibitions which support my thesis thinking. My current focus is on the application of developing design in the area between the application of systematic graphic elements and chance operation. By merging these two design approaches, I have been able to achieve surprise and serendipity in my work while revealing the process of making in the form. Creating work which oscillates on a spectrum between two points drives my study and feeds my impulse to organize and interpret information. I believe the design process can become the design solution.

Design Observer Essay Assignment

2009-03-04T15:32:00.000-08:00

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

2009-03-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

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.”

Open Re/Search Personal Evaluation

2009-02-13T08:07:00.000-08:00

I think I accomplished more than I thought I would during Wintersession. Although I changed my goals and produced two projects instead of three, I feel like I have gotten to a point where I am comfortable working with the methods and ideas I am proposing in my thesis study.

ADAPTATION OF FIT

In the first project I completed during this open research period, I returned to a writing exercise which helped me to develop ideas about my thesis study. By applying the methods of visual systems and chance operation I was able to develop two clear, written expressions of my work. This project was a breakthrough for me. It allowed me to discover through writing and organization of thought through the graphic form and the written form. I am glad I finished this study, and was able to come to some conclusions.

IN MEMORY OF...

This project is one I will continue with. I think I was just beginning to unravel a specific methodology and way of working which is not yet complete in this project. This study was mainly about process. I wanted to be able to develop a graphic form by letting each step in the process inform the next as well as moving back and forth between two media (writing and graphic design). This became an extension of earlier thinking I pursued during my undergraduate thesis study where I used graphic design and architectural design to inform one another to create form.

Form making was taking place throughout the study and an unfolding of sorts led to more and more discovery. But I feel I still need to let the form go further...whether it is through the narrative or through the graphic form...there needs to be further development.

I am also unsure if the form I created for the purposes of this course fulfills the requirements I had made in my mind for where this project should culminate. So for this reason I need to continue with it, to see where it can evolve.

Ultimately, memory was the subject of this study. Why does memory exist? Why do we need it? and why does it fade? I started to answer these questions through the graphic form and the narrative.

WHERE I WANT TO GO

I want to push forward with the the ideas of working in multiple media and multiple methods. I find I am most content with my work and most surprised when I find connections between unlikely pairs. Finding the common ground between multiple areas of study is what is exciting me now.

WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN BEFORE MAY 15-16

I think I need at least two or three more projects (or project development) which will support my ideas about the merging of methods and the exploration of cross media creation of form. I have many projects which are either systems based or chance based, but projects where both are at hand are minimal in my collection right now.

I need to write more. I have started to do that a bit more during Wintersession but it needs to become a larger part of my process. I have things to say I am just always hesitant to record them. I need to improve on that.

A Rhode Island Apology

2009-02-12T15:12:00.000-08:00

The following is the narrative which emerged from the Open Re/Search project In Memory Of... which was the subject of the previous post. The narrative developed along with the graphic form. Both informed each other throughout the process of design.

A relationship lost. A brother has gone, and is nowhere to be found. The memory of this relationship is on a very thin line where if crossed, it will no longer be. Does the memory of something long gone need to be kept? Is it better to let the memory fade away?

Do the words count in keeping the memory alive? The memory of love lost. The words count. YES. They are the measurement of the love. The words say sunny day, but they mean it is cold.

Why was the relationship lost at all? Who made it go away? In surviving in an off center world one looks for a center. Small emphasis on a name, is how it appears to others but the name of the lost one can become the center for the one left behind.

Then there is a mother who spent time writing to people, and not to things. No space for words, only feelings. Realizing while they were written, the fortunate memory of space seeped into the mother's mind. Writing the name with care, the mother is allowed to slowly forget.

But allow us to the remember the name the mother spent time writing. Maybe it was the brother. There was a backward moment in time where he was there and then gone. He is fading through the lines and the tangles.

Perhaps a gentle force moved through her when she left her memory on the page. Remembering optimism with mixed emotions. Writing she felt slightly off, so it was difficult to see the larger picture. Where was the time when he was near to her? Where had he gone? What can be done to remember? Should she remember? He is slipping through.

It becomes a mystery. Why is he not fortunate enough to be forgotten? A sweet memory is jokingly named. The mother writes it down. Funny she thinks, a note to a person gone from her. Writing not to the public but to him. Life, me, you, because he is the remembered moment, needing to be left behind.

It was part of a person... this relationship. This moment of explanation is written as a secret. The numbers of them to remember. What is memory for? Above all it could be a whisper. She is losing a grip on something so deep she cannot find it. There are periods of doubt and mixed emotions. This is a sad memory, the relationship lost. She is losing her grip. A secret moment of explanation, to herself. An apology of sorts. She is not surviving without him. The symbol of optimism is near, although she feels another sad memory approaching.

Why do they need to know? It is a stage name for the relationship. The Rhode Island Apology. She needs to know providence. She needs direction with wise benevolence. Providence lets her feel something greater. Not the place, the feeling. Perhaps she does not deserve providence, because she is letting him go... perhaps she deserves providence because she is letting him go. She needs to leave an apology.

She is slanted and hurried, she is in a worried state of mind. This is not meant to be a project of attention. Why does she need to be worried. She is meant to worry because there is doubt. Hurried. Slanted. She shouts: "Where is he?" "What do I do?"

She is not surviving without him. Periods of something missing. What did he say to make her leave? Did she pass away? He is made important by passing... through this period of Apology. Let it fall. Close it. Light a candle. Walk away.

Open Re/Search: In Memory Of...

2009-02-12T07:05:00.000-08:00

In Memory Of... is a study of the process of using visual systems, chance operation and writing, to create new form. This project began as a public art piece of sorts. A group collaboration in my Public Art Graduate Seminar yielded three vernacular style of the "instant memorial" which were placed throughout Providence, RI. The memorials were surrounded by candles, faux flowers and displayed boxes in which a person could leave a memory. The memorials were to nothing in particular, but memory.

Each box contained paper, pencils and a space to leave a memory to share. The act of recording the memory became the main focus of the project, and it ended up being a collective project with the citizens of Providence and the members of the group.

Please see images HERE

I felt however there was an opportunity to study these memories and find a deeper meaning and form. The collection of the memories was a chance operation. I did not know what kind of notes I would receive but I knew there would be value in them, as a subject matter. I had found what I was looking for in a subject. It came to me by trusting that the people of Providence would contribute.

Collecting the memories was the first step. This whole endeavor was a chance operation. Who would contribute? Would people contribute? The three memorials which were created yielded a selection of memories. Notes to loved ones, recollections of times gone by and epitaphs were among what was left behind in the boxes. This made me think about what these memories were for and what they meant to people. How could such emotion be expressed by putting pencil to paper? I wondered why people felt the need to leave a memory at all. I hoped they would... but wondered why.

After collecting the memories I started to organize and archive the memories. I observed handwriting styles, placement of words on the page, color of the paper and so forth. Then I began to dissect and ask questions of these memories. I started to use a notation system to organize my thoughts and try to find some order or common ground in the collected memories. A collective memory was emerging.

Then came the moment of being stuck...

I found I had the notes and then my notes about these memories. I started to organize the notation system and overlap it to find consistencies. This lead led to a moment where the form began to develop... as well as a narrative. I notice my notation system began to tell a story, so I extracted it from the notes to form new ideas. Eventually I started to form a new story about memory making.

The narrative which which emerged came from referring back and forth between the graphic forms and the written form. Questions in the in the narrative were incorporated into the graphic form and the two sys

tems began to feed off of each other to create a new form. Chance was informing the systems at work.

I am now starting to find connections in my work from years past. My ideas about opposite ways of creating work, have been incubating for almost 6 years now. I just didn't have a name for it. During the process of developing my undergraduate thesis in Architecture, if I was ever stalled or stuck during the architectural process I would turn to the graphic form for guidance. Moving back and forth between graphic expressions (in the case of my BARCH Thesis, graphic prints) and architectural drawings, led to the blossoming of a built structure and a cohesive body of printed matter, which informed one another.

For the purposes of the In Memory Of... project I was moving back and forth between writing and the graphic form, to develop an idea. Visual systems and chance operations were at work as well. All four of these were contributing to a process which has led to a written narrative, graphic form, solid questions about memory and an organizational structure.

See more images of the final 12 compositions which were developed for this project HERE

Open Re/Search: Adaptation of Fit

2009-02-11T07:32:00.000-08:00

During Wintersession, I decided I wanted to tie up a few projects which I felt could be very applicable to my thesis and thesis thinking. I returned to a project which was the subject of the October 29, 2008 post "BREAKTHROUGH." Adaptation of Fit has become a project which is starting to explain further my ideas about merging visual systems and chance operations. This was a writing experiment conducted with the chapter Goodness of Fit from Christopher Alexander’s Notes on the Synthesis of Form, a text which has heavily influenced my thinking.

The first step in this exercise was to extracted certain portions of the Alexander text which I felt were applicable and crucial to my thesis study. By editing in this way I was able to read the text in a new way and make assumptions and discoveries within the text which were not readily apparent during the first read. Compiling these passages provided the framework for the writing to follow.

These particular excerpts were extracted in their order of appearance in the work, but now have new meaning because of their placement in relation to each other. The read is now more suited to my study and allows for an interpretation of the text which is unique to my thesis thinking and study.

The next step in adapting the Alexander to text to reveal ideas about my thesis thinking, was to add my ideas about chance, system, fit, form and context. I began writing into the text. I wove my thoughts into the extracted paragraphs from the chapter. It was almost as though Alexander and I were writing about my study together.

When reading my voice and Alexander’s voice together, a new form of thinking began to reveal itself. I started to discover my ideas about method. I was clarifying a proposed method of working and finding new ideas. Now there was a re - thinking of my own idea. My ideas were starting to develop further and they were beginning to form into a cohesive train of thought.

It was now time to make the text completely my own. I extracted my voice from the combination of the Alexander text and my voice. I placed all of my additions to the text, in the order in which I inserted them into the Alexander text.

By doing this I was able to see if a cohesive narrative about my ideas of method were really beginning to form. Although the text was choppy and sometimes not completely coherent, the basic ideas were forming, and I had a base on which I could begin re - fitting the text to meet the needs of my study. The only line of text left of the Alexander essay was “the ultimate object of design is form.” This line speaks to the over-arching goal of my work, which is to find form from unlikely origins.

I then began again...

Starting again with the full chapter of The Goodness of Fit, from Christopher Alexander’s Notes on the Synthesis of Form, I performed a chance operation, in order to begin writing about chance, systems, fit, form and context.

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 about my thesis thinking. A selection of these words began a new form of writing which allowed for a narrative to come from chance. Using the words in the order in which I found them, in the chapter, gave me guidelines in the writing, but the passages which followed where serendipitous.

Through many drafts and reorganization of the writing, which developed from a chance operation, I was able to formulate thoughts and ideas which were informative to my thesis and thesis thinking. The ability to rework the text over and over again while using the Alexander text as a reference, allowed for a synthesis of ideas and a reneal of interest in my thesis subjects.

Using a set of words to develop a writing was a difficult process but it gave clarity and composure to the subject I have chosen to study. I was able to articulate ideas which I previously had confusion and gave a new perspective in regards to chance, systems, fit, form and context. Development of the text became a test of the methods I am proposing.

The final phase was finding the common ground between the two pieces of writing which were produced. Obviously they were going to be similar, but the way in which I came to the words was very different in both processes. By expanding the way I think about writing I was able to extract more ideas and gain a better sense of the questions I have about visual systems and chance operation.

Back to the THESIS

2009-02-11T06:29:00.000-08:00

Well I have finally returned to the thesis blog! There are some new developments I would like to share. Since I last posted I have presented my idea about finding the middle ground between visual systems and chance operations. I received some positive feedback and have been producing work to support my ideas about these two very opposite ways of thinking. Please look at the video of my presentation for more details. This is a comprehensive compilation of my work up until the end of the fall semester.

The basic premise of my work up until this point has been to merge the use of visual graphic systems and chance operations to create form. I work back and forth between the two to create different visual expressions. Now I would like to concentrate on this merging of methods, and find a way to create a new one. By using chance operations and visual systems to study design, I am gaining a better understanding of their function in relation to form, and their function in relation to my process as a designer. I am in the process of discovering the possibilities.

A BREAKTHROUGH : Anne West Writing Workshop

2008-10-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

I was recently given a writing assignment by Anne West, a professor at risd who helps the graduate graphic designers develop there thesis thinking through writing. She was able to help me find facets of my work through the process of writing which I probably would have never thought to look for.

Our exercise was to find a text (a chapter, and essay, an article) which was crucial to our thesis thinking and applicable to our course of study. We were then charged with the task of re-appropriating the text to pull out ideas about our thesis and to try and come at our idea from another angle. Then a process of making a visual publication along with a process description, was to compliment this adaptation. Below is my process description.

Adaptation of Fit/Adaptation of Chance

I began with a chapter from “Notes on the Synthesis of Form” by Christopher Alexander. The chapter selected was a section of the book which speaks closely to the thoughts I am having about my thesis. “Goodness of Fit” is a chapter of the book which explains how form and context are vital and relational concepts studied and practiced by designers. Multiple examples and scenarios are presented to better the understanding of “fitness."

The first step of the process was to read the text over and over, to make sure I was understanding the concepts being explained in the chapter. I then typed the entire chapter (which allowed me to read it once more). I started to think about how this piece of writing relates to my ideas about form, content, context, systems and chance and started to pull the important passages which spoke closely to my thesis thinking. I then created a pared down version of the chapter to fit the needs of my work.

After creating this new pieced together text from the Alexander chapter, I started to rewrite it. I added my own thoughts and ideas to the writings and it was almost as though Alexander and I were writing about my thesis ideas together. When I placed this new text in my publication I was sure to place my text in a different color, but kept both voices in the same typeface to show the connection between the two. When reading my voice and Alexander's voice together it started to reveal a new form of thinking for me. It started to reveal my method, or proposed method of working.

The next step was to make the text completely my own, so I removed all traces of the Alexander chapter (except "The ultimate object of design is form," because I felt it was so important to leave it) from my writing to see what I was left with. Surprisingly I was left with a cohesive explanation of what I want to study during the thesis process. The following is the second draft of this particular piece, and I call it REfitting...

The ultimate object of design is form.

There is a way to produce form in order to see the system and pattern working within. Different methods of designing can help to achieve this. One can approach design systematically and one may approach design through a chance operation. Form and context can be found through both of these methods. Merging these methods pushes the form and the context even further to create a greater opportunity to find the inner cohesiveness of the form.

One can discover “fitness” in many ways. Through the merging of methods (in this case chance operation and systematic organization), context is found. By developing a method of revealing the context, one can discover new parts to the whole, which one might have never known. Without the implementation of different methods, leading to the whole, some discovery could be lost and “fitness” may not be achieved.

The wrongness of fit can also lead to the discovery of the right fit ... the harmonious discovery of the form and its inner organization or pattern can be found by working through the elements that do not fit. It is more interesting for the order to manifest itself from an unlikely source, possibly even chance. We can mold and shape the context or even create the context, in order to reveal the form. By doing this we can see if opposite forces reveal a more cohesive whole or a more cohesive form.

I was left with a description of a methodology, but my study wasn't complete. The goal of my thesis work is to see how chance operations and visual systematic thinking can be used together to create new forms. I want to see where the two meet in the middle, or if they meet in the middle. I want to see if they create new form, a more exciting form, a more cohesive form, an unexpected form, a better form. So I left it to chance...literally.

I started a new publication, working from a completely different side of the idea. I did this by changing the word "fit" in Alexander's essay to the word "chance." Wherever "fit" appeared "chance" was now in it's place. I began the process again. I followed the same set of rules as I did in the original exercise. I wanted to see if by changing one word, if the idea changed. I again pared down the chapter to specific excerpts which spoke closely to my thesis thoughts (some were in fact different, and some had been removed). I started the process of rewriting and re-appropriating, and finally was left with a piece which again spoke very closely to my process, and my proposal. I was also able to create a concrete poem from my implementations in the Alexander piece, which was a nice surprise. The following is the re-appropriated chance concrete poem Changing Chancing...

By using chance in such a way that new form is uncovered.

Chance.

Chance is implemented into

Chance.

Used by doing this, different ideas and concepts can be revealed.

Chance might be the initial response to the design problem, but an inner system, in the form can be uncovered as well.

Chance operating

Use of chance

chance

It is a chance operation the person acts on to re-appropriate his ideas about the world, and is a way for him to see it in an otherwise unorthodox manner.

This Helps him to see new form and create new context.

chance

chance.

By doing this we can see if opposite forces will reveal a more cohesive whole. But when the form is created through chance operation, a new context is born and our view of the organization changes.

The next step is to combine the Adaptation of Fit and the Adaptation of Chance, and see what the form becomes...in this case the form will be written, but it is an example of me trying to prove this methodology and way of working.

Just to conclude...for right now. By taking the text and pulling specific excerpts which I responded to as crucial information relating to my thesis, I was able to re-appropriate the text to fit the needs of my thesis, which deals with method, adaptation of visual systems, chance operation, and how when the two are merged, new form and context can be discovered. Continuing to pare down the text and add my own point of view to the writing allowed me to further understand and solidify my ideas about chance, system, fit, form and content.

Processing the Next Steps

2008-10-08T13:52:00.001-07:00

I talked with Tom W. today about things that were going on in my thesis study. I explained to him what I had been working on this week and so I began to talk about the processing language I was learning and applying in my work.

I started this weekend by learning some simple processing code and applying it to certain images I took at Goosewing Beach.

I was drawn to a particular image of a door, which I shot with the gridded piece of my bookshelf. I separated the image into swatches (81) and then began the processing expression. A simple code would extract 40 swatches of color from the image, which I implemented in the script. The collection of swatches would be harvested at random (through the scripting language).

I then placed those lines of color swatches into a document, in order to see if the colors were expressing the spirit of the image. Could one tell where or what the image was? I also wanted to find a way to combine the color expressions/experiments with the image experiments. I achieved this initial melding by combining the swatch lines and the 81 square images from the original 9" x 9" gridded image of the door.

I used each module only once and would place it only in its specific place in the grid... for example the number 36 swatch would only be placed in the 36th square of the 9x9 grid.

An accordion book expression was created with many 9x9 panels. The swatch lines of color were used in a more loose manner. They were used as connectors. Their placement was also based on numeric order, but they were more randomly chosen.

Stretching the lines of color across spreads would inform the placement and order of the image squares. The entire composition of the accordion book started to express a rhythm with color and image working together to inform/form composition.

After working in this way for quite a while I wanted to see what the composition would reveal if I removed the images and the color swatches, but left the outline of where they were. An interesting organizing structure emerged. The order took on an entirely new form.

Processing Processing

2008-10-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Today I tried learning processing language to try different scripts within my projects. I was able to start pulling color swatches from images I had collected from goosewing beach. Scripting is hard...but Marcos helped me through it.

I am hoping to be able to use the swatches of color in some sort of a video to express

Saturday Afternoon Talk With Hammett

2008-10-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

I spoke with Hammett (Thesis Studio Professor) this afternoon about some aspects of my Goosewing Beach experiments. He had some very interesting suggestions. We began by talking about what I had worked with for the past few weeks in regards to scale. I have been experimenting with moving back and forth in the images, taking parts from the gridded structure, extracting color and creating compositions based on those collections.

Hammett and I discussed considering pacing and rhythm, and playing with form. A book or a video could start placing these things into a form which could express the movement of scale and the study of coming in and out of a single moment in an image. I do want to find a way to combine the image experiments with the color studies. I need to start considering how these elements work in a system, and discovering the system organizing the form (what ever that may end up being). The form will come from the analysis of the system.

We also spoke about incorporation of words and phrases into these experiments. These implementations could provide for pacing and rhythm, and express a new level of system. A possible expression could be the use of color and word assignment to each color. We also talked about developing the system, and then removing it, or implementing chance (which is a major part of my study and interest). What happens when the system is removed? Does another system reveal itself?

The next step for me is finding some sort of processing language which can extract color from my images and swatches. I need to express these ideas through some sort of form to find the relationship of the parts. I think by beginning with a short keynote presentation will allow me to move forward and start the process. I might also consider working in book form and returning to my interest in the concrete book, and how we move through a book. Many, many things to think about.

Goosewing Makings

2008-10-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

I began by sifting through my images. I found interesting vignettes hidden within in the gridded arrangements. Different stories where revealed in the scale changes I was observing in the squares.

I started by removing the grid, physically from the image which allowed me to to explore the nuances of each individual square. I began to experiment with spacing and grid structure, to see if the images were still reading as a complete whole.

Then there was an experiment which began with harvesting the image housed in the center square of all 187 images taken with the grid, on the day at the beach. I started to arrange them in different ways to see what could be revealed. Were the images still readable and of that place? I found the linear expression to be a successful interpretation and experiment. However I felt more could be done. I started to study the images in the z-axis. A video expression was explored.

After this I decided to move even further into the imagery (in scale). I studied the colors in each image and pulled swatches of color from each and arranged them in a grid. I wanted to see if there was something to discover in the abstraction of the images.

Now I feel I need to push the scale of the images even further, by finding a way to combine the two ideas. The ideas of the image and the ideas of the abstraction of color. How can the two be joined to discover patterns and form, or even structure. I hope to find structure through the discovery, find the hidden pattern, find the hidden story.

Goosewing Beach

2008-10-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

A trip to the shore, with my thesis studio began with a camera, and a wire grid of 9"x9".

I drove to the beach and met with my studio. The day was sunny and the sky was clear blue, with only a few dusty clouds. I hopped along a small creek and began a walk. I tossed my metal grid into the air and followed its flight. I took a picture. All of the little stories in the image became noticeable. I picked up the grid and tossed it again. A new composition was revealed. I chased the metal grid down the shore line. My jeans were rolled up and the surf touched my toes. The grid would sometimes disappear in the water, but I would recover it down by the edge of the breaking surf.

I repeated this game of chance for almost two hours, not really knowing what I had collected along the way. Finding natural surprises within the metal frame was an excitement. I was telling the story of that day through a metal frame. It was a day of collecting.

With my collection in hand, I climbed into my car. With a fresh sunburn on my cheeks and tired eyes I made the trip back to Providence.

Open Re/Search

2008-10-03T08:17:00.001-07:00

I am currently enrolled in an open research course with my thesis advisor, Tom Ockerse. I am hoping to use this opportunity to expand on my thesis thinking and work in my thesis studio. The following is an excerpt from my Open Re/Search Proposal, which outline my problem statement, and expanded description.

Problem Statement: I would like to explore the creation of forms through the study of patterning and collection. Implementing chance operations and using graphic design systems as organizing structures will also be a major component of this exploration. A study of a collection of parts and their relationship to one another will allow for the development of a form. Letting the process dictate the form is the ultimate goal.

Expanded Description: While trying to put into words the course of study I would like to approach, I found it difficult to fully articulate my ideas. I began to answer six questions...What, Why, Who, Where, When and How this study should/what, this study should accomplish.

What: The body of work and the components of the study are the object. The “body” will communicate the method and reveal a pattern process. A pattern discovery.

Why: The communication is a dialogue of sorts. A discussion about method in the realm of the study of graphic design systems and the implementation of chance operation, into those systems.

Who: The communication of these processes will be to reveal, inform and unveil ideas through the creation and collection.

Where: This takes place during a year of free study. “Getting out of the way” of the ideas and the work will be a key factor in discovery. The “where” will come from the study and collection.

When: There will be moments throughout the process that reveal themselves. The study will live as long as there is contribution.

How: By experimentation, by exploration and by completion of weekly/bi weekly studies. The form will reveal itself through the progression of experimentation.

Giving the study a specific form or program will not necessarily be beneficial. The form will come from the collected study.

Through a series of smaller studies and experiments I am hoping to discover a pattern. Not necessarily a pattern in the sense of a physical pattern, but a pattern in the sense of creation and progression of form. I hope to use chance operations in the collection of the source material and create smaller expressions which will explain or express in order to reveal form.

I hope to find the ideas and relationships which will define the work, and find pattern through discovery. I hope to create a collection which expresses a greater idea, not just one particular program.

Initial Thesis Concept and Thinking Overview

2008-10-02T18:26:00.001-07:00

According to Christopher Alexander, humans recognize and implement systems in order to understand the greater forces at work. They do this to gain a better understanding of the whole. We as humans, also think of systems as a “kit of parts.” The “parts” of these “kits” are guided and organized by certain rules and these rules are the system.

There are forces that can disrupt a system and cause a reaction which can, in some cases yield a serendipitous outcome. These forces are called chance operations. Chance operations may disrupt, but they provide a new way of looking at the system. They increase our understanding of the intricacies of the system. As John Cage once said, “Chance operations are no mysterious sources of the ‘right answers.’ They are a means of locating a single one among a multiplicity of answers.”

In the context of this project, the systems at use, will be that of visual systems and visual systems thinking. And although combining systems thinking and chance operational practice is a course of study which has been paved and well travelled, I feel it has reached a point of change. I have found a current trend in “just applying a chance operation,” to be prevalent in the field of design. I am wondering if there is a way to better define chance operation and its implementation in the practice and procedure of design.

The project(s) produced during this open re/search process would ideally become components of my body of thesis work. I want to discover new ways of thinking about graphic design systems and how chance operations can be implemented as a method of growth through design. I began this fascination with systems in graphic design during the first year of my graphic studies. I want to find a way to gain better understanding of systems, through the implementation of chance.

The Start

2008-10-02T15:25:00.001-07:00

Welcome to OH My Thesis... The Blog. I am just about to get started and I can't believe I was even able to get this blog going. The following/future posts will let you know a little bit about what I am thinking about, and what I want to think about in regards to my thesis study. Graphic design is the vehicle for expressing my ideas, and by having this blog I hope to be able to organize my thoughts and ideas in a much more cohesive way. So I'll keep you all posted.