BRIEF: Graphic Image Making: Signs and Symbols
Graphic Image Making: Signs & Symbols -
After researching the six phrases I decided on ‘The one-eyed man is king in the country of the blind.’, having been drawn to the imagery this one instantly conjured. My investigations unearthed the likelihood that the Dutch philosopher Erasmus (1500’s) had borrowed/adapted these words of wisdom from a much earlier quote from the 4th/5th century where, ‘In the street of the blind, the one eyed man is called the guiding light’ appears in the Genesis Rabbah.
Having discovered this I decided to amalgamate ideas from both quotes which I felt I could visually represent appropriately.
In essence, both quotes are giving words of wisdom which interpreted literally seem to suggest that someone
with limited knowledge or ability is still higher, or considered special, by those who have fewer abilities and
opportunities. With this in mind, I thought about school students who pass exams with a grade 4 (a C previously) which is
considered an average/standard pass. Although they may feel disappointed not to have gained a higher pass
themselves, to the students who only scrape by with a 2 (or lower) then those with the 4 could indeed be
considered ‘king’ in their world/street!
Having generated some ideas through word listing and mapping I then researched further, and I discovered that flowers have meanings! The Iris was selected for one of my six visual solutions as it conveys Royalty and Wisdom.
I brought in the light-bulb to be visually interpreted as a ‘guiding light’ or even a ‘light-bulb moment’. With a last
minute reworking idea I encountered a new experience in exploring the Braille alphabet for the letters ‘K I N G’.
I initially experimented and sketched out several versions after using words listed and brainstormed in advance
and went on to produce six visual representations using pencil on a white background. Following on from this I
produced another hand drawn version, with one symbol change, and a lot of marker pens, to reverse the effect with a black background! The ultimate image I chose to develop, showing my visual vocabulary within the parameters of the limited set of six images, came from the overall power these two, related quotes instilled in me. Such ‘words of wisdom’; and this being the case, I chose the owl to symbolise wisdom and to progress and simplify this icon to conclusively form my digitally created logo.
The six visual hand-drawn representations, along with my digitally created logo, were mounted onto card for presentation, and also digitalised and uploaded to my online profile. Finally, I tried my first attempt at mock-ups with a basic coffee cup, making the 'wise decision' to incorporate 'owl culture'!
