Description

It can be difficult for many researchers and designers to translate concepts and ideas -  especially about large structural issues related to policy - into visual form.  This might take the shape of a graphic representation of complex data, or a design project.  This exercise aims to provide practice in this process of translation.

Translating Concept to Form exercise by Evan Purification  

Use if photo of bottle .....Statement from Evan about the project .....Statement from Evan about the project .....Statement from Evan about the project .....Statement from Evan about the project .....Statement from Evan about the project .....Statement from Evan about the project .....Statement from Evan about the project .....Statement from Evan about the project .....Statement from Evan about the project .....Statement from Evan about the project .....

Translating Concept to Form exercise by Martha Afflu

Statement from Martha about the project .....Statement from Martha about the project .....Statement from Martha about the project .....Statement from Martha about the project .....Statement from Martha about the project .....Statement from Martha about the project .....Statement from Martha about the project .....Statement from Martha about the project .....Statement from Martha about the project .....

Steps 

1) Identify a broad concept that interests you.  This could be pulled from a research project or site investigation.  It may even be drawn from something of personal interest or that has affected your life.  Examples include: imperialism, decolonization, food justice, groundwater contamination, political movements, racism, accessibility, or academic freedom.

 2)  After investigating this concept, create a visual snapshot that conveys this broad phenomena.  This could include photographs of objects, clothing, artworks, or advertising signs.  It may be a designed object such as a fashion design, a meal, a table setting, a billboard, or a graphic design.  You could also present a reconfiguration of an existing element in a place, such as moving electric wires or paths of circulation. 

Examples of this project might be a photograph of a can of SPAM® meat as a representation of imperialism, or artist Kara Walker’s sculpture and installation  A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby, created in the shell of the Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn in 2014, shortly before the building’s demolition.  Walker’s intent was to communicate the long and complicated history of sugar production and consumption—the massive scale of the economic, cultural, and social structure that brought mountains of refined sugar into circulation around the world through global production that was made possible by the enslavement of millions of people.

3) Write a design statement about the visual expression that you created or curated.  If you made changes to an existing setting, describe how you imagine this changing social life in the space you investigated. 

Translating Concept to Form exercise by Jackie O'Neal

Use if background changes are made....... 

Translating Concept to Form exercise by Paige De Giovanni

Use if base changes are made.......photo with white background....

Translating Concept to Form exercise by David Ackerman

Statement from David about the project .....Statement from David about the project .....Statement from David about the project .....Statement from David about the project .....Statement from David about the project .....Statement from David about the project .....Statement from David about the project .....Statement from David about the project .....Statement from David about the project .....Statement from David about the project .....Statement from David about the project .....Statement from David about the project .....Statement from David about the project .....