How can graphic design be used to inform, create and alter environmental experiences, for viewers, through the use of illusions, type and technology? And how can this become a system?
This exploration started through my type experiments last year where I combined anamorphic and optical illusions onto mocked-up wall graphics. I have found that sculptural work in this area has made a big impression on me and developed a good starting point: This creates a problem that can be solved through what I have learned at KCAI; systems, people, research and analysis and will take form through environmental and experiential applications that utilize my previous research and experiments on the subject, but will apply it in a much different and more more meaningful way as far as message, scale and material. Luis Tomasello, whose piece is currently being installed at the Nelson-Atkins, has been my greatest influence with in this direction. He uses sculptural forms that are mounted on walls, color, and angles, to distort the perception of the viewer depending on their position in relation to the piece. Other environmental work like those from Fabio Ongarato use the surrounding space and strategic placement of identifiers to communicate messages to viewers. Also, Charley Peters who studies the intersection of light and architectural forms to communicate ideas. Cognitive and perceptual psychology, visual and spoken language, interaction, and haptics like seeing, feeling and hearing will become especially important to understanding this topic and application thoroughly.
After presenting at the end of last semester, I received feedback that has helped shape my direction. A few valuable pieces include; ensuring that I have structure and the project is not only driven by form, a specific environment, research experiential design, subvert/enhance/disguise with form making and let the location drive the content. How can graphic design alter an environmental space where form making drives meaning?
To Clarify
With the feedback I received, I began to look at environments that are specifically used to alter the mood, stir feelings or create an experience for the viewer. These include locations such as hospitals, events, prisons, and living spaces. In addition to this, organizations like DIFFA use environmental spaces can be created as a means of raising awareness or funds for a specific cause that informs the process and meaning. To clarify my question and find direction, I would like to combine these two ideas by designing environmental experiences that alter the perception of the viewer in order to produce a specific outcome in support of a special cause.
This requires understanding which words, colors, spaces and senses react in different situations. The use of illusion will be especially important to understand in order to create a tailored environment. My question has morphed into:
- How can graphic design alter, augment or prompt an intentional mental state through an environmental space?
- How can graphic design be used to alter, augment or prompt a specific mental state within the perception of an environmental space?
- How can graphic design produce a specific mental state by augmenting, glorifying or altering the perception of an environmental space.
- How can graphic design alter, augment or prompt a specific mood within an environmental space in order to stir awareness for _____(insert cause)?
Next Steps
- Find a cause (disease, poverty, abandoned children, education system, body image, racism)
- Research, research, research (color, form, words, senses, technology, examples, etc)
- Choose at least 3 purposed environments (informed by the cause) to pursue (Model = 2, 3D Space = 1)?
What I've Been Looking @
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