Wednesday 2 February 2011

Planning, prototyping and production

My desk has been a hive of hands on activity of late as I am finally getting all the books produced ready for binding. Probably the sketchiest my sketchbooks get at the moment is when it comes to mapping out how a book is going to work. In the shot below I am trying to work out how to interleave the different types of papers and envelopes into the narrative of the Stuff book. I really like these kind of diagrams. They are definitely a way of thinking out loud on the page; testing ideas in pictures.



The plan worked in the end and the book incorporates end papers made out of bits of wallpaper (liberated from Tottenham Hale B&Q sample rolls); glassine paper covering up full page photos of participants' favourite possessions; perfumed drawer liners printed on the reverse; and, three different types of envelopes that hold old photographs, stamps, cigarette cards and letters. These design interventions work in tandem with the narrative and, through the use of non-traditional media and objects, engage the reader through touch and smell, hopefully triggering their own memories of possessions, home and family members.





















The book was bound at a traditional bookbinders with a buckram cover and embossed silver lettering. The idea is that the traditional format hides the non-traditional 'innards', effectively acting as a front door. When you open the 'front door', you are faced with vibrantly patterned wallpaper end pages—as if you have stepped into someone's house—moving from outside to inside, and to a 'close up' view of place.











The Food Miles book, of which I am currently posting some excerpts, ended up over 100 pages long, so when it came to pagination a prototype was a must.



Essentially this felt like creating a similar kind of mapping diagram, but doing it in three dimensions. As the book has a few french folded, perforated pages, a gatefold section, and a small book within the book hidden within another french fold, it was all quite complicated to work out. The prototype saved time, printing ink and paper that's for sure. I have just had the book perfect bound at LCC, and will post about the design when I have posted a few more excerpts and actually taken some shots of the book.

I think mapping or prototyping is a bit like writing in a way, as it enables one to put initial theories or concepts into practice. Coffey & Atkinson (1996: 109) suggest that writing 'deepens our analytical endeavour' and I would suggest prototyping works similarly, by creating a physical, permanent form that enables reflection and revision. Like writing, and walking for that matter, prototyping also 'slows thought and perception down' effectively forcing one 'to perceive actively, to make connections, to articulate thoughts and feelings which would otherwise remain at a pre-reflective or practical level of consciousness' (Tilley 2004: 223-4, see also Yee 2007: 9). In these examples the material form of the work not only aids this reflection about the work itself, but also, in a sense, re-sites one in place and allows further reflection on one's experience of place.

Richardson (2005: 923) suggests that writing could be considered a 'method of inquiry' itself, rather than just a 'mode of telling'.

Writing is also a way of 'knowing'—a method of discovery and analysis. By writing in different ways, we discover new aspects of our topic and our relationship to it. Form and content are inseparable.


There seem clear parallels here with the idea of design as a method of inquiry, or 'designerly ways of knowing' (Cross 2007) and both Burdick (1995: np) and Bruinsma (2001: 1) have likened design to writing. In fact if one were to substitute the word 'writing' in Richardson's quote with the word 'design', the statement would not only make sense, but would sum up well the approach of this practice-led research.

However, when it comes to the final production process, I find this far more stressful than anything else—even writing the thesis—but I'm not sure why. In these digital times it isn't as if the work can't be reprinted. You might have thought I could find some of the production therapeutic—cutting away the elements of the Edinburgh old town book, for example—but I don't.



It either feels like an RSI inducing endless task with the scalpel, or a task that teeters on being just a slip away from a severed finger or a need to start again. Luckily, I think this stress enables me to concentrate more and neither was there a severed finger nor a ruined book. The Stuff book, on the other hand, had to redone three times by the bookbinders, with the first two not being cropped correctly and some pages not bound in sufficiently well. They didn't seem at all stressed by this—maybe I should take a leaf out of their book...

Kind of tasteless but educational all the same

BERRY’S KOSHER FOODSTORE

1A Holmwood Court, Stamford Hill

Tuv Taam deluxe cheese with tomato and onion roll (kosher milky mezonas), a small bag of pretzels, and a can of apple nectar

I feel apprehensive as I enter the store, even though I have emailed a Rabbi and he assured me that my custom would be welcome. The store is having a delivery and large boxes are being brought through to the back. I am constantly in the way as I ponder over what to purchase. I am hungry and it is nearly lunchtime so I decide on a filled roll.





I get a bag of pretzels and a can of drink to go with it. The can essentially has two fronts, one English, the other Hebrew.





I go to pay and hand over my three pound coins to the man behind the counter who is wearing a black skull cap. I think I must have dropped them into his hand, or maybe I put them on the counter. I can’t remember. I know that when I hold out my hand for the change it is placed not in my hand, but on the counter. I have a vague memory that a Jewish man may not shake the hand of a woman who isn’t his wife, I think maybe it has something to do with menstruation, but I might be wrong.

I take the food home to eat at my desk. The onion in the roll in strong, the cheese tasteless and the bread nondescript, just like most prepackaged sandwiches. I realise I don’t really know what kosher means, never mind milky and mezonos. The drink is sweet and fizzy, the pretzels the kind you get with a drink on an aeroplane. Out of its packaging, and perhaps more importantly, out of its religious context, the food seems ordinary—the kind of thing you might find in a university canteen.

So, what exactly does Kosher mean?

In Hebrew, ‘Kashrus’, from the root kosher (or ‘kasher’), means suitable and/or ‘pure’, thus ensuring fitness for consumption. The laws of ‘Kashrus’ are comprehensive concerning the articulation of permitted and forbidden foods. There are several aspects to these dietary rules that relate in turn to meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, and even fruit and vegetables. According to the laws of the Torah, the only types of meat that may be eaten are cattle and game that have ‘cloven hooves’ and ‘chew the cud’. A kosher species must also be slaughtered by a ‘Schochet’, a ritual slaughterer. Since Jewish Law prohibits causing any pain to animals, the slaughtering has to be effected in such a way that unconsciousness is instantaneous and death occurs almost instantaneously. Only birds that are traditionally considered kosher, such as the goose, duck, chicken, and turkey, may be eaten. All kosher milk products must derive from kosher animals. Dairy products, of course, also may not contain non-kosher additives, and they may not include meat products or derivatives. The Torah says: ‘You may not cook a young animal in the milk of its mother’ (Ex.23:19). Therefore milk and meat products may not be mixed together, nor may they be served together on the same table or eaten at the same time.

After meat meals, one must wait one, three, or six hours—depending on one’s custom—before eating dairy. After dairy consumption, no interval is required before meat may be eaten. The eggs of kosher birds are permitted as long as they do not contain blood. Therefore, eggs must be individually examined. Only fish with fins and scales may be eaten, for instance, tuna, salmon, and herring. Shellfish such as shrimps, crabs, mussels, and lobsters are forbidden. Certain laws apply specifically to the planting and sowing of vegetables, fruits, and grains. One may not sow two kinds of seeds on a field or in a vineyard.(Lev.19:19 Dtn.22:19). Fruits from trees planted within the past three years may not be eaten (Lev.19:23). Biblically, no new grain may be eaten, or bread baked from it, before one brings an ‘omer’ of the first fruits of the harvest on the second day of Passover (Lev.23:14).

Tuesday 1 February 2011

Abstract thoughts

I am now on the last phase of editing the thesis, and have just attempted a rewrite of my abstract. I think it could still do with a little more emphasis on graphic design process and practice, but it's definitely better than the last one I posted...

Abstract
This research proposes that the ‘geo/graphic’ design process—a new synthesis of cultural geographic and graphic design theory and practice—offers much to geographers and graphic designers in relation to the understanding and representation of place, and the potential of print based graphic design to create interactive, multi-linear spaces of exploration for the reader.

The understanding and representation of place is a central issue within cultural geography, with place itself a complex notion defined in contemporary geographic terms as ongoing and relational. This problematises both understanding and representation, as places, in a sense, are never ‘fixed’. Addressing this, and the contention that much of place evades representation, many geographers have begun to use methods that site the researcher, and their understanding, in more embodied, experiential ways within place, and are drawing on ‘creative’ methods such as film-making or sound recording. Yet, the predominant representation of place within geography remains the academic text, with few attempts to explore the communicative possibilities of type and image in this context. The pages of academic journals remain mute, whilst research methods develop in multi-sensory ways—there is a separation between theory and practice. This research bridges that divide and in doing so develops a process that engages with the understanding and representation of place in a holistic way. Foregrounding graphic design practice, it highlights design interventions that re-situate the page as an experiential place.

A qualitative, naturalistic and reflective methodological approach is taken, drawing on social science methods and design practice. Ethnographic methods inspire a series of print based design test projects, each conveying a particular version of the London borough of Hackney—the testing ground for the research. Analysis of the design test projects, establishes key elements of the research and practice, thus articulating the specifics of the ‘geo/graphic’ design process.

Key words: graphic design, typography, cultural geography, place, representation, geo/graphic design process

Any suggestions happily received. I am rapidly approaching the point where I can no longer see the wood for the trees...