Visual Essay draft

Similar to my position during this process, I want to visually represent doublespeak and I felt that the stacking/layering of windows was effective at illustrating that concept. The idea is for the viewer to feel overwhelmed and get distracted with the content moving and popping up constantly.

At the same time, I still wanted the public to feel like they are part of this process. I questioned how a video could be as interactive as the program I have been developing, and I came to the conclusion that a good ally on this end would be the script. So instead of explaining the journey in the first person, I wanted the speech to give the impression that this is not a project of a single person, but of the result of anyone’s input.

The video below is what I have, so far, of the visual essay:
¡¡¡¡ (password: VEdraft) !!!!

things to work on:
– finish the ≈ 1min30sec left
– fix errors / redo some takes to add more images
– unify sound
– (maybe) add sound effects to popup windows and screen slide
– (maybe) add small animation with after effects

———- script ———-

(the section already done)

Typography is everywhere in our lives and can take any shape or form. That is one of the reasons politics considers it a crucial part of its campaigns. Take the example of Gotham, a typeface commissioned by GQ in 2000 to represent masculinity and freshness. In 2008 in the US, Shepard Fairey used it to write “hope” in the posters for Obama’s Presidential Campaign, and in 2016 in the UK, the Leave campaign picked it to represent “leave means leave” for the Brexit referendum. You are probably asking yourself, how can the same typeface represent such different ideas?

Well… this could be a form of doublespeak, a concept originated in George Orwell’s book titled “1984” as an act of using unclear language to mask the truth in plain sight. So, instead of having one simple statement to express one idea, it uses countless complicated words that only leads to confusion. That is where design should have a leading role. Since it is a discipline with knowledge of images and typography, it can identify when these techniques are used to hide the truth.

Therefore, visual language becomes an important vehicle to show the public how doublespeak works and its consequences. This could be accomplished by scanning words and turning them into patterns. Or the creation of images that take advantage of distancing and layering. But then, other mediums and software could also be helpful. For example, posters that combine image, typography and graphic elements in order to visualise the juxtaposition of what the typeface is portraying and what actually stands for. For instance, in the first example, it illustrates Gotham’s ability to adapt to very conflicting contexts, while the other two show how the same technics were used in the new typographic logo for Facebook.

However, with the number of images and flashy typographies we consume every day, it calls into question whether creating more content in which people have no power over, is effective at bringing awareness to the problem. Maybe…a better solution would be a medium that allows the user to interact with these elements to create their own collages.

Using p5.js language, this program started by giving the user the chance to play with 3 styles of variable fonts and combine them with a coloured background. The goal id for the user to be part of the design process and understand the power typography has of adapting to different contexts and change the meaning of words. Then it evolved to the possibility of uploading an image and combine it with three famous typefaces in the political context of the last decade: Gotham, Century Schoolbook, Greta Grotesk. However, people were deviating from the original theme of the project and the results were too broad. 

(the section that is not done/needs to change language / be better structured)

So, instead, I decided to focus the interaction on styles of typefaces used in the most recent general elections. (If we look at the winning parties posters and slogans on the last general elections in the European Union, and it is safe to conclude that bold sans-serif typefaces are the number one choice. So, it made me question whether the mediums I was using were effective) So now, the user is able to interact with bold sans serif typefaces and combine it with a set of images related with the theme I am working on.

In any case, I hoped that, by allowing the interaction with typography, the user would become more aware of the potentialities it has in adding meaning to the message or, on the contrary, in creating deceiving visuals.