Studio Brief 1 - Initial Concepts

OUGD403 - Alphabet Soup 

Initial Concepts 

Continuing from my initial sketches I have created a range of initial concepts consisting of 14 designs that I feel reflects both elements of Futura and between them, holistically represents my assigned word 'Empty'. 

Design 1

The first design uses a striking void space through the letterform to give a sense of emptiness within each letter. This is contrasted against the solid block fill in Black creating a striking sense of juxtaposition between the two. 

Design 2

This design draws on connotations of death which I feel creates similar emotions to emptiness, I have added spikes to each side of the letterform creating a gothic isolation that I think reflects emptiness. 

Design 3

I have created a vast open landscape for this design, the tree silhouettes and raw sunset creates a sense of an uninhabited landscape. This draws on peaceful connotations that 'empty' doesn't always have to mean sadness and neglect.

Design 4

The concept of white space has influenced this design. The minimal detail and small letterform gives a sense of emptiness within the 10x10cm frame. I feel monochrome colours will work best with this design. 

Design 5

This design uses a smokey design however I feel in this stage of development I doesn't quite work as a design. This could be because the medium used was inappropriate for the required affect. I would need to develop this design in order for the concept to work. 

Design 6

I have looked the technical innovation of the Logic art 'empty memory - Stucture' USB stick inspired me to experiment with line art to create a sense of a hollow structure. I feel this design looks modern and sleek, it could also be applied to every letter in the alphabet. 

Design 7

This design draws on the logical concept of emptiness, the solid black outline contrasts the empty inner of the letterform, clearly depicting emptiness. 

Design 8

Looking at more abstract variations of emptiness, I chose to look at loneliness. This design resembles that as the small black dots represent a unified normality to which the red circle cannot adhere too. 

Design 9

I experimented with this design to see how much of the letterform I could remove and it can still be identifiable. I like this design as it is minimal and I feel it accurately resembles emptiness in a modern context. 

Design 10

This design reflects the darker side to emptiness, the slashed through the letterform represents self harming that can occur as a result of emptiness and depressing thoughts. Although this is a delicate subject I feel this design works well and is creatively innovative. 

Design 11

This design works as the opposite to empty, the small intricate pattern fills the 10x10 frame and creates in interesting aesthetically pleasing design, the letterform creates a contrast to this with its void empty centre. 

Design 12

I like this design as it is simplistic and minimal yet succeeds in articulating emptiness extremely well. The single outline is modern and I like how there is a large empty void in-between the letterform. 

Design 13

Similarly to design 8 this concept draws on the idea of loneliness. The design is simplistic and features a disconnected kick in the letterform to represent how loneliness can evoke feelings such as emptiness and low self esteem. 

Design 14

My final design draws on  mathematical symbolism. the 'Ø' symbol is a notation for emptiness in mathmatical terminology. I have added the slash to the letterform as I think it will work well as a sequence, if produced as a full alphabet. 

I will present these designs to a group of students and lecturers during ann interim critique on Friday 10th October, from this I will choose 10 designs based on their feedback to produce as sophisticated concepts.