Nature is just my type
I had been looking forward to the International Society of Typographic Designers annual brief since we were given the choice of topic ourselves. Looking at the work previously produced for these briefs was quite inspiring and amazing to see designers working with typography in such creative ways.
However, the day before the official briefing I had experienced my first physical injury and spent the day bandaged and on pain medication. While I was mostly still excited to be learning about the wonders of typography, life had a few other lessons in store for me to learn too.
My chosen theme was Biophilia, the innate love of nature felt by humans. A concept personally dear to me and I found myself engaging with the research with excitement while at the same time feeling the frustration creep in about my own confinement and immobility inside a building. I spent a lot more time looking at my houseplants too and appreciating their amazingness.
After a while, the cabin fever set in and I decided to make my way onto campus for a workshop and some fresh air. I was not expecting to find neither elevators working. But I was already there, so, with the upper body strength of a jellyfish, I slowly made my way up the stairs, regretting all the days I skipped a workout. Although, the combination of this particular research at a time that I was experiencing the built world in a different way allowed me to see things from a new perspective. Specifically, how we can do better as designers in creating influential spaces and engaging visuals.
The world standard is not very inclusive.
I struggled to compartmentalize my health and limitations after being in a space of constant movement up until then. I will always be grateful to the grace that was extended to me from my lecturers while I figured things out and got a grip of my schedule around crutches and revised mobility. Working through the concept in detail and being able to constantly consult and bounce ideas helped a lot.
The conceptualization process was very enjoyable, but I found myself overwhelmed with my own ideas and constantly wanting to change direction but ultimately, I needed to make decisions and see it through. I hope to go back to some of those ideas and explore them further sometime.
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