Now that I stopped a minute to think about it, I believe that what caused my blockage in the presentation is the fact that I didn’t know what exactly by final outcome will be, nor the question or answer of my complex problem. Not knowing something is really difficult for me because I feel that I’m losing control of what I am doing, and I don’t appreciate this feeling. I know that I am supposed to keep all my options open and not think about an outcome, but in order to accomplish that, I will be fighting with the perfectionist side of me. It is not going to be easy, maybe it will be one of the biggest challenges for me on Part 3, but I am going to overcome this. 

What made me stuck on the project brief was the proposal. I kept reading the questions that we were supposed to answer and I couldn’t answer no one, so I panicked. I started to think that if there was not an answer to them, maybe my project wasn’t good enough, and with less than 7 hours to the deadline, I couldn’t make a whole new research, new references and a new brief. After a moment of stress, I took a breath and started to read again the answers and tried to answer one my one. I took baby steps, and it worked. 

Then, I started to think about my Action Plan. Even though that I am a person that feels more confident when everything is under control, it was hard to plan what I had to do for the next 50 days. At first it seemed a lot of time, but when I finally started to put my goals for each day, I realised that is very little time. I tried to think carefully about my day and how I worked throughout Parts 1 and 2, and I think it turned out just fine. I know that I will have to be flexible with my schedule because not everything is the same as in theory, but just knowing that I do not have empty days is a relief. When I don’t have small goals to accomplish, I do nothing, and I can’t afford postponing things in the next 10 weeks. I have so much to do and I don’t want to wake up when it is too late. (Maybe I am being over dramatic about this, but even that deep down I know that I am a good student and I wouldn’t let this happen,  I had some experiences in the past — long long long time ago — that made me question my abilities, and I still don’t have confidence enough about it). 

Last but not least, one thing very good that happened today was my 1:1 tutorial with Michael. I asked him to read my proposal and he made a very persistent observation: the question that I established myself to answer on my project (how can our perception of the world around us change through typography), already had an answer because I do see my world differently by seeing letter shapes everywhere, so we changed my question to ‘how can out perception of our environment change through a communication system?’. This could be making me more anxious because it is a more open question and I don’t have an answer, but in fact, I am very happy with that since I feel that this question can keep me active for 10 weeks, and the other one would be too easy, not a complex problem. 

Luckily, Carlos and Roger helped me to do a mind map, where I put different subjects to research, and by that I will know what I am looking for in my research. This not only helped with my anxiety, but also showed me that I had a solid plan to follow, which gave me confidence to — finally — start the project.

I have spent the whole afternoon reading about the history of the alphabet because since I am going to do a system of communication, I have to understand the most successful one that we have in our society. Even though I have some memory about learning about it in high school, it was a very interesting subject to re-see. One thing that I kept thinking is how ironic is to our first system of language be composed only by icons, to then evolve to a written system when now, after 3.000 years, we have been replacing every word possible by emoticons. Maybe the written system is not the best one, or we are just de-evolving somehow… 

I found so many interesting things today that I wish we had even more time on Part 3 because I already know that I will need to filter what I will research. This is one of the problems of being a very curious person that happens to be very into her project.

One of the things that he said that caught my attention was that the future is uncertain, so while it is emotionally important to make plans, most of the time they are illusions because they do not succeed. This is something that I struggle a lot because I like to have everything under my control so I know what to expect, but at the same it is a bit frustrating because I feel that I am fighting a battle that I can’t win. It is hard to be ok with the unknown, but I am getting used to it. And hearing Charles Watson talking how not only me, but everyone believes there is an answer for every question, made me feel that I was not alone in this battle. 

I am already trying to overcome my need to have an answer to everything, and my project is a great evidence of this. I have a big complex question to solve, and right now, I am not worried if I am going to solve it or even if there is an answer. Even that I feel that this insufficient sometimes, the fact that I have already answered some smaller questions about it gives me confidence to keep on what I am doing. 

Actually, this discomfort of not knowing is also caused by the fear of finding something that conflicts with the previous knowledges. Just like Charles said, we tend to turn our back to the new things in order to preserve what we already know. And I feel that this is something that happens to me too. Getting out of my comfort zone have been one of my biggest goals during Foundation and even though it hasn’t been easy, the result is worth it. Experimenting new things gave me different perspectives of what I was doing, which is extremely important to find the best path to the work. 

I believe this lecture had the perfect timing. If I hadn’t had a bad time the last couple of days caused by my anxiousness about my project, I wouldn’t understand so well what Charles told us. I wouldn’t be open to new ideas and to make more mistakes as I am now. I am not saying it would be easy for me to do these things, but by already internalise that this is going to happen, prepares me to the future.

In my action plan, I had established that today I would have to start researching about Bauhaus and analysing Typographic Universe. However, I didn’t expect that my research about the history of the alphabet would take me so long, so I had to adapt my plan in order to finish this today. The possible causes for my delay in my action plan could be: 1- I didn’t plan in using a Portuguese book as a reference, which makes me work even more because I have to translate as well; 2- I didn’t see for this subject to be so complex, which means I had to look for more than one source in order to completely understand what my first reference was saying. 

Despite the fact that I will have to adapt what I have previously established, I believe this will be better for my project and my understanding of my research. The alphabet is one of the most successful communication systems in the world (if not the very best), so understanding how human beings transited from pictograms to words is quite important once my aim is to create a new communication system.

It was hard for me to make a decision from this. On one hand, I had a solid and broad plan that I could follow; on the other hand, I had a more specific subject that I could really dive in. For a moment, this was an impass for me, even though deep down I already knew my answer. 

I would be lying if I said that the problem was only to decide if I would be researching something really really thorough or researching plenty of subjects in a more shallow way. The big issue for me here is that I don’t like to change my plans since it was supposed to work somehow. Changing a plan makes me feel like I made a mistake because if I had thought about it better before, I wouldn’t have to stop and re-evaluate what was already decided. It is not only time consuming but also psychologically exhausting for me. 

However, at the same time I had these thoughts, the image of Charles Watson appeared talking about how re-evaluation is important and how making mistakes is not only important but essencial. This made me feel more secure about my decision, which was to change the path of my research, and therefore, of my project (even though the complex problem and the question are still the same). 

Usually, I am an all or nothing kind of person. So, if the project brief was supposed to be something broad so the outcome could be a consequence not the cause of the creative process, I made something really really really really broad. And even though I already knew that in the future I would have to select what I was going to research and do, this was something that made me struggle until now. Yet, if I had done a more direct briefing where I wouldn’t have so many options of what to research and do, I wouldn’t be able to choose what is best for my project, which is exactly what I am doing now. 

Despite my struggle with this impass, today was a good day. For the first time in Part 3, I felt certain of what I was doing to get my answer for the complex problem. I can’t wait to see where this project is going and I am not even worried about not having a question yet because I am enjoying the process (and I may say that this is a HUGE improvement for me). 

It took me a while to realise that maybe I didn’t have to become an expert about semiotics to make it helpful for me in this project. Maybe if I could see how it worked in our language it would be enough. And it was (!!!!!!!!!!!!!). I found a book that showed plenty of examples with clear explanations with semiotics’ models, which also made me understand the first book better (even that better still means almost nothing in this case).

One thing that I read today that really caught my attention was about how social conceptions have a huge role in the success of our communication since it is what links the signifier and the signified of every sign. For example, there is nothing that naturally relates the letters d-o-g with the four legged domestic animal that we are thinking of right now. Still, is these rules and conventions that once were made deliberately is what makes it possible for me to say dog to someone and this person understands what I am saying. And these concepts are so natural for us that is almost impossible to separate the word/sound from its representation for the things that you know (at least, I couldn't).

I was surprised to discover that the smiley face :-) was invented in 1982 IN —only — 10 MINUTES, and only 16 years later that the emojis we use today appeared. I read that emojis could be the language that had the fastest grow, and I believe it. It became so popular that Unicode Consortium and Oxford Dictionaries couldn’t ignore.

Another thing that I researched about was World of the Year 2015, when 😂 won. This made me think how, for the first time, we saw that a word could be more than letters together. I remember that back in 2015, I found Oxford Dictionaries’ choice strange because an emoji wasn’t a word, but now I get it. 

Today I spent time working on my research and idea generation from 11:00am to 5:00pm, only stopping for lunch. I am starting to get how my disposition to work functions, and this is helping me to make a better use of my time to achieve my smart goals and do not feel exhausted everyday. For example, the days that I didn’t stopped around 5pm, I kept procrastinating what I was doing without any focus. But today that I did took a break, I not only managed to breath fresh air, but also made more disposed to continue what I was doing later. 

Also, another thing that I learned is that I am not being as clear as I thought in my padlets. Because I am the one writing, I know exactly what I felt on that day, what I meant with my analysis and how some subject had a relation with my project, but these things weren’t so crystal as I thought. And if Raissa and Fabi had some trouble finding some evidences in my padlets, the tutors may have the same problem during assessment, so it is defiantly something that I am going to work on. (I got a little worried, specially with the Research Padlet, because I make sure to make analysis and explain why the respective reference is important for my project (or not) in every entry, so I am going to book an Academic Study Support meeting with Carlos next week so hopefully he can help me with this). 

Also, I finished today my first experiment, which was talk to someone, in this case Lau, for 24 hours only using emojis. My aim was to discover to what extent emojis are clear enough to transmit a message, and in the end it showed me that emojis are not that auto sufficient as a system of communication. Just like I read in ‘Semiotics of Emojis’, emojis proved to be a complimentary system to our writing system in the internet because this media don’t allow the one we are talking to know our intonation or even our expressions. 

It was very hard to communicate because me and Lau used emoji differently: I used each emoji by its meaning, while she tried to use each emoji as the shape of a letter. So until we understood each others way, we weren’t able to communicate. And even when we did, it was still hard to communicate a simple idea such as ‘I hate mosquitos’ because what I considered as the symbol of hate, was not the same for Lau. It is funny because when I was reading about Semiotics, I learned that reference was an important pilar of communication because the other only understands what I meant if we have a near/same one. Back then it was hard for me to understand, but this experiment was the living proof of that. 

Looking from the bright side, the work from Detanico Lain that was exposed was a new one for me, so at least I have plenty of works from them that I can inspire myself.
 
I noticed that there are three main elements on their works. 1- the title of the piece with a explanation; 2- the alphabet; 3- the 3D piece. The piece was so beautiful (image below), that even if didn’t have a system of communication behind, it would still be an art piece and the alphabet was very clear, simple and it showed all letters, not only the ones used on the piece. But something bothered me: the title of the work was the exact same word that was written in the 3D piece with the system of communication created. I am a curious person that enjoys the discovering things by myself, and even if I didn’t read the title, it is not the same thing than having no other clue then the alphabet.

It was very interesting because even though I have already realised that the title was the word in the 3D work, I challenged myself to do it by myself as if the title wasn’t there, while Laura (she went to the exhibition with me) didn’t make this exercise after she discovered the title was the word, and she passed to the next artist.

This made me realise that if I do something like Detanico Lain, I wouldn’t put a title that would hand in the mystery behind the work. Some people would rather have things handed in, but I don’t, and I don’t want my work to be either. But at the same time if there is no title or hint other then the alphabet, this segments my public because not everyone will be willing to try to figure out the message. It is defiantly something that I will take in consideration in the Exhibition Proposal and the elements of my final outcome. 

I reproduced the 7 known micro expressions (anger, fear, happiness, contempt, surprise, sadness and disgust) in three different versions: only using rectangles, only using triangles and only using circles. I chose these three geometric elements because I also think they are universal and some of the most simple shapes, which would make it easier for me to use as a pattern to the letters of the emotions (which then would work as a code to the respective emotion). 

In the end, I didn’t like the result that much because on each of the representations, I would use a different rectangle, triangle or circle, so it wouldn’t be possible to make a universal code by this. Plus, I didn’t like the aesthetic as well… It looked a lot more like masks than a code, and this is not what I was looking for. 

Last but not lest, the box prints took A LOT LOT LOT more time to do than what I expected. I forgot how much work is to print a background because the screen gets easily stuck with ink and you have to clean the whole screen, and then screen print a couple of tests before printing for real because the water must come out. I did this process, easily, 7 times today, which was exhausting. After this I learned that I won’t be screen printing backgrounds if it is not really necessary because it demands PLENTY of time and increases the error margin, therefore, more material is necessary. 

At first it was a bit frustrating to see that what seemed perfectly on my mind wasn’t the same as in reality. Even though that I am getting used to make mistakes and have more ideas than stick with the first one, it is still hard for me to let go of my ideas because I get too attached to them. On the other hand, this mistake led me to completely different paths and approaches, which turned out to be way more interesting than my first idea. Having more ideas also made me more confused. It was hard for me to decide what design would represent me best as a Foundation Art and Design student and a future designer. Every work that I do shows my personal aesthetics, but which of my ideas would represent it the best? 

In this moment, I had to stop to think about the elements that I saw more frequently in my outcomes and that would have to be on this print. After a little reflection, I picked three key elements: colour, symmetry and repetition.

I will use three colours: red, black and white. Red in the background in order to call attention (urgency) to the print; black to make a contrast with red and white; and white as a point of light to the work. 

As a perfectionist, symmetry is an essential element to the work. When everything is on its right place, there is order. And this is something that I put on every work of mine. 

Last but not least, I chose repetition not because I tend to do the same things plenty of times, but to represent the process of doing and redoing something that I do regularly hence my need to make everything beautiful and organised. Also, repetition is one of the elements of Pop Art, which is my favourite art movement. 

In the end of the day, I was confident with my decision (image below). It represents clearly who I am and I couldn’t do any different to make it less ‘Malu alike’. 

They start with the software by getting used to the language and the visual representation of words/sentences they use everyday. After, they will see the alphabet, which will help them unveil the message digitally printed on the acrylic. The word written is ‘miscommunication’ because I believe my whole project happened around this concept of not being understood by everyone everywhere and how a miscommunication can also be a form of communication (this can happen if some people see the ‘poster’ as pattern but not a hidden word, but still, the pattern communicates something. it could be a city, it could be a building, etc…). 

Last but not least, the audience can access the instagram account of my project where there will be posts in different languages and its representation of ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’, so it would be a kind of visual dictionary of the main words/phrase you need to know in a new language. This means that people can actually use the square language, which is mind blowing for me because it was kind of an utopia thought that I could create a different language that would have the same visual elements, but I actually made it happen and I still can’t believe it. Of course it is not a project that stops on 28th of may, but it is a start.

At first, I made all squares in white, so the background will be the element that would difference the languages since each of them will have a different colour (image below). But then, when I post a couple of languages in the account, I thought it was too colourful and it missed the black that was present in all three pieces of my final outcome (software, alphabet and ‘poster’).

So I decided that I needed to invert what I have made before: all backgrounds should be black, but the squares would be filled with colour, and each language would have its own colour. I used black in all final outcomes, so it makes sense to continue this legacy on the Instagram. However, I am thinking that after this set of hello-language-goodbye, I can change the aesthetic of the posts so each subject would have a different look (which is personally something that helps me to identify different projects in some artists/designers that I follow on Instagram). 

Also, I am thinking about making a kind of lyrics version of a music about communication with my language because it would not only fit to the subject, but also would bring another different element to my account. I am still trying to think of a song that talks about communication because, as much as I wanted to translate one of my favourite songs, it wouldn’t make any sense once they do not fit the context. I am not a music expert, so I will probably ask for help to some friends that know better. 

Julia, Rodrigo, Isabela

a wall (in my case, with Rodrigo and Isabela).

I believe my work won’t affect much the others because most of the itens will be hanged on the wall. The biggest item (in terms of lenght) is the support for the computer, but still, it is not huge and won’t interfere Julia’s work. 

not much, because Julia, Isabela and I will be painting the walls in the same days. And Rodrigo will be working on the wall while I paint, which don’t affect either of us. 

no, but most of the things are on production and by next week everything will be ready.
- software: almost ready - I’m just waiting a small alteration in one command, but hopefully Alexandre will be able to send me until monday; 
- support for the computer: It is already on production and I’m going to pick it up on monday, but still needs to be painted; 
- print: the final file is ready and I’m going to print it tomorrow;
- canvas: is ready and at the studio already;
- alphabet: on production and will be ready by tuesday;
- brochures and its hanging: I haven’t thought about it yet

Furthermore, today was a very good one because I finished the interface with Alexandre and it turned out exactly how I planned: the word written on top in the usual alphabet and below the word written in the language I created. 

One important thing that that was very helpful to finish it today was making a list with specific things that needed to be changed and how it should be. It seems simple, but I am sure that if I hadn’t done it, Alexandre and I would need much more time to thing about the things that needed to be fixed (and, consequently, would cost me more). The list allowed us to focus on our priorities, which is very important when - almost - everything is possible to be programmed.

Furthermore, I realised that I have actually learned a thing or two in Processing, which made me very proud since I wasn’t expecting this, once Alexandre made all the programming. When I tried the interface in the computer that EBAC will lend me for the exhibition, I succeeded at making the adjusts needed such as increase the limit of squares and characters and update the instructions picture to a picture in the same dimensions of the computer of the exhibition. 

I am proud of myself because of this and I am actually considering on taking part in a programming class to learn more about it. 

This made me very upset because when something that I wasn’t expecting happens, I feel that I am failing at it. For example, in this particular case, I should have thought better about how I was going to mount the “poster” hence the specifications of my work and the fact that I haven’t ever done something with a canvas, much less create one. Now that I am thinking about it, it is kind of ironic because at the same time I feel that I need to have everything under control, I took for granted that it would all turn out with no problems (and this rarely happens in real life). Looking from the bright side of all this, I did learn that I have to think about montage, specially when it is something that is new for me (or even if it seems too simple — because usually it is not). 

At this point of the day I realised that I had two options: I could go on with the idea of a literal ‘digital print’ and find some place that could have a machine to straight the fabric and place perfectly on the frame (which probably is going to cost) or I can search for new medias to print the poster. I believe I can still see both of the options as possibilities because — gladly — I still have enough time to think this thoroughly.

I thought that it was better to start by searching new medias, since it demands more time. I looked for some pattern artist/designers to see what method they used. Some names that came up were Julio Le Parc, Hugo Demarco, John M. Armleder and also some of my previous references such as Detanico Lain, Damien First and Bridget Riley. I also happen to choose them because their patterns are aligned and very precise, very much alike on what I want to make. 

Most of them painted (mainly with acrylic), airbrushed or made a screen print. However, none of this seemed like an option due to the following reasons: 

1- I do not enjoy painting because I feel that I do not have total control of the shape that I could create, even if I made scratch before with pencil, and the piece I want needs to be specifically perfect and aligned. Therefore, even if this could be a possible scenario to get out of my comfort zone, I don’t believe it would be on the benefit of my outcome because I think it is something that I need to practise — a lot — before doing something so big, detailed, aligned and precise. Plus, even if I used tape and pencil to guide me, I don’t like the aesthetic after, once it is very likely for some pencil traces appear (hence some examples that I saw in previous exhibitions that I have been to); 

2- I have never airbrushed before, and even if I could, it would need some sort of stencil to do it, and it would be very hard for me to do every square exactly the same. Plus, when using airbrush or spray there is a chance that the ink leaks, which is not an option in my design because of its specifications;

3- as much as love doing screen print because of its colours, aesthetic and its process (fast and precise), I believe this is not an option as well because it would be very difficult to fit each square in its right place. Even if I used an A1 screen (which is the size of my poster), I would still have to make the process three times, due to the number of colours that I have, and, still, there is a risk to not be perfectly aligned.

Now, at the end of the day, I feel a bit frustrated because it seems like I am in square one to decide in what media I will print my poster, and I don’t enjoy this feeling of finding nothing useful (even though that I know that analysing about painting, airbrushing and screen printing was important to understand their characteristics and also the needs of my design better). Nevertheless, tomorrow is a new day and I will keep on with the search of new materials and techniques to use. 

I got surprised when I was showing the alphabet for my friends that the act of touching the letters and squares was not only a surprise for them, but may actually made they like the experience with the piece better. When they saw, most of them said “oh, it is beautiful”, but after they touched they said “it is nice touching it, I love it”. This “surprise effect” created by the relief of the piece was not planned, but turned out to be a good coincidence in my project. I really don’t know why, but while I was showing the piece, it was intuitive that after seeing, people wanted to touch. Not for me because I am more a visual than a touch person (maybe because I am more into digital things rather then exploring materials), but maybe for the others,  the act of touching the object make it more real.

After that, I put the canvas with fabric side by side with the alphabet to have a real image of how it would be on the exhibition and it did not look how I imagined (or even how I designed on Photoshop). The software have, of course, an technological aesthetic, which makes me think as a modern piece, and the alphabet also brought up this elements for me. However, the canvas with fabric did not, but a more manual and not so modern aesthetic, mainly because of the media. Fabric and canvas remind me of paintings, which was essentially my idea to reproduce a “digital painting”, but it turned out that it gives me more the painting idea then the digital part, and this could be a problem because all elements must not only ‘talk’ with each other, but belong in that space, not partially fit. 

I can be a bit too perfectionist and critical sometimes, but even my friends agreed with me, so I am not being non sense about this. I always want to give my best at everything I do and I know in my heart that I figure out a way to make the poster in the same aesthetic as the rest of the objects, even that does may mean that I will have to invest more money in my project or even choose to give up one element that is almost ready (except the part that I haven’t figured out yet how to fix the fabric on the chassi perfectly). Plus, the poster is the most important element of my exhibition, and it couldn’t be the one that doesn’t match with the rest.

Maybe I could have avoided all the time, money and effort on the fabric + canvas if I knew the materials better (both PS and fabric) to know that they wouldn’t be a match already, but since I didn’t, I would only know that when everything was ready. Gladly I planned myself well to prevent any kind of unforeseen problems and artistic decisions. But as always, looking from the bright side, I did experiments with materials that I was unknown of and I learned their characteristics and (real) aesthetics.

I had already planned to continue my search for new medias and methods for the poster today, so at least this didn’t change, except the part that my project depends on that. 

I couldn’t print on a black PS, just like the alphabet, because the ‘miscommunication poster’ is the leading figure while the alphabet is the flat character in the storytelling of my exhibition. Then, out of nowhere, I reminded of some photos I have in my house that were printed in methacrylate, so I thought that I could do something like this. It would be aligned because it will be printed and will give the digital/technological aesthetic because will be a digital print on a surface much alike the black PS (if not the same material), but it will caught more attention of the audience because the methacrylate (I can’t tell exactly why, but it how I feel when I see pictures printed in this material at home when comparing at other prints). 

Today I saw a light in the end of the tunnel, and hopefully it will all work out in the next following days (and even be ready before the exhibition built). 

I did some more research about methacrylate and it turns out to be very expensive and impossible for me to invest on. So, I got an idea, less expensive one but still expensive, that would create a similar effect of methacrylate, which is to print on acrylic and then put a black PS on the back. I think this could work, and based on an example that I saw on Insign, I believe it will be amazing because it really gives the same aesthetic of the alphabet and the software, and also have a wow factor because of the acrylic, which makes it stands out from the rest. I have already sent to production, so I hope it turns out as good as I am imagining right now. 

Yesterday I was talking to Henry and he gave me an idea to make an Instagram account of my project, so I could post words in there after the exhibition, so the language could be more accessible. Maybe even an online dictionary that people could access to discover new words or even communicate with others.

At first, I thought I could reproduce each of the 7 things every one needs to know when going to a foreign place with a different language, but then I realised that it would need lots of posts if I made in plenty of languages, and this could not be seen as a good thing in the eyes of my followers because of the time left until the exhibition. Then, my second idea was to make each row on a specific language, so it would be, initially, 3 “photos” for each, as the first how do you say “hello” in the language written in square language, the second the name of the language itself in square language, and the third how do you say “goodbye” in the language written in square language. That way I can include more languages and it also would have a pattern on the feed, which is very pleasing for my aesthetic taste. 

I am very excited with the idea of this account because it was the element that my language needed to be spread, once it is not a real language if no ones know about it or even practise it. This way more people than the exhibition audience can have contact with my project too. With this, my language could actually have a function in the real world as a way for different people that, in theory, wouldn’t be able to communicate with each other. 

I mean, I am very critical and analytical with my work and processes, and I do it everyday, but it just seems that the act of sitting and putting everything on actual words (not just in my mind) is something that I need more time to adjust myself or even to overcome. 

It is not something that I feel lazy by doing it or even starting it, but maybe I am more scared of it. Maybe I am scared of letting others know what I am thinking;  maybe I am scared of getting in contact with my feelings and opinion when putting them in words because somehow this way they look real and on my mind they don’t; maybe I am scared of get to know the real me and discover that I am not the artist/designer that I think I am; maybe I enjoy the feeling of working under pressure (because there is no where to go)… I don’t have an answer yet, but I am willing to work on that to understand the real reason I have this blockage with reflection because I think is something much more deeper than just the act of doing it. 

Also, my ‘miscommunication’ sign got ready today, and it is exactly what I thought. The combination of acrylic and the black PS made a piece very appealing, delicate and on the same aesthetics of the rest of the elements of my exhibition because it has a more modern and technological vibe, which is exactly what I was hoping for it to be. 

With the sign ready, everything that was not under my responsibility to do for the exhibition is done. It is a relief because now I can focus on improving my paddles and project book in the next few days (which is also good because I need a distraction in order to make me not anxious or nervous about the assessment and the exhibition). If I just sat wondering around I would go crazy because I am a very agitated person, and when I don’t have nothing to worry, I usually create problems, which makes me anxious and nervous. And then my head gets into a loop of imaginary scenarios and problems and anxiousness that I get a hard time to get out.

As for the poster, I decided which blue I am going to use after printing several options yesterday. I needed it to be a tone that wouldn’t disappear on the black background; that couldn’t be so clear at a point that could be confused with white; and also to have a visual impact, but not as much as the white. Having in mind that there was a very thin difference between some of them, it was not an easy task. 

In the end, I chose the 100% cyan one because it met all the criteria I have stablished before and it had a good harmony with white. Since I am doing a design piece, the opinion of the audience is also important, so I checked with some friends what were their impressions, and gladly, most of them also liked the 100% cyan better, which made me more confident about my decision. 

My first stop was Magma to buy the fabric I needed, which is an white Oxford 100% Poliester. I thought the one in Magma was a bit thin, but since they said it is how Oxford is, I bought anyway. Monique told me this was the best fabric for me to use, so who am I to question an opinion of an expert when I don’t know anything about fabrics and sublimation printing. 

It was very easy to find the graphic that Monique suggested me and since they told me that it was going to be ready in 1:30 hours, I decided to stay rather than come back in another day to pick up and another day to print the final one. While I was waiting, I found a place to buy fabric that had a different Oxford, a more thicker one, which was amazing because I was worried that the first one I bought could be too transparent after stretching and fixing on the chassi. 

Also, I questioned if I had to print the same test on other supplier just to make sure that my final print would be printed in the best graphic. Monique told me that this was the best one, but at the same time the tutors always comment the importance to test different places. In the end, I decided to print in other place but I am pretty sure that I am going to keep with the first one because I was better treated as a client, and this is important for me in a supplier, since I am already stressed because of all things that still needs to be done, so if I am treated better and the quality is the same, why should I pick the one that is going to stress me more?

The test that I printed on the first graphic was very good, except the fact that I didn’t put the background in black because I thought that total black was only 100% K, but actually I learned that all C, M, Y and K needed to be 100%. Thankfully, I made a test and the staff explained this to me, because otherwise, it wouldn’t have the appearance that needed it to be. This, because all elements of my exhibition will be black, and if the poster, the main object, is greyish, it will make it look like it is dirty or with dust, which is not good at all. 

Now that I have the test, I just need to decide which blue I am going to stick with because I tested 10 different tones and make the final file. 

Even though I picked this one, I believe it is important to test if this option is really the one other people recognise the word better because this is a design project, which means that the opinion and experience of the audience need to be taken under consideration as well. 

It is known that no one sees colour the same, but it was interesting to see how different people saw my tests. I asked which combination they saw the word better, and most people answered with one colour in the background (beyond black), not colourful like me. I know that it would be a big coincidence if the one I liked better other people preferred too because there were 20 options, so it was a 1 in 20 shot. Of course I got a little uncomfortable with the result because I had a favourite and is not easy for me to accept others opinion when I don’t agree with, but on the other hand, I needed to do this poll because I have seen the squares too much to have a sharp and certain opinion about it.

After the poll, I decided that instead of doing another poll with the most voted options, I would decide the final one. In the end it will be one of the options that the audience see the word better, which is my goal, but I also believe that I need to present something that I like too, so because of that I decided that I would have the final say. The most voted ones were divided in the options that the word was yellow and the ones that the word was white. I do not like the combination between black and yellow when there is other colour together, I don’t know exactly why, maybe this combination is not a perfect balance when comparing with the harmony and balance that black and white represents for me. Because of that, I decided that the word would be written in white. The background colour was more difficult to decide, once I didn’t have a favourite. Because of that, I picked the one most people preferred, which was blue. 

In the end, I am very happy with the final version of my poster. The white stands out, but the blue is not faded or forgotten. Both have a visual presence, and this is important since my aim is for the audience to unveil the message, and if the blue faded, it wouldn’t feel like something that needed to be discovered because the white would be the only thing that would catch the audience’s attention. Maybe in this case it wouldn’t even need a blue or a background than black, so that’s why the blue also needs to be seen. 

Monique also advised me to make a colour proof before printing the final version because each supplier works with a different setting in the printer, so it is better if I decide the tone after a test. But before I make the final proof I have to decide which colour I would use to compose with the black background, so I am going to do a poll tomorrow to decide this.

However, he liked my idea and my project, so just for fun, he started programming an interface that could write in my language. In this idea, when you press ‘a’, it would appear one square in the screen; if you pressed ‘b’, it would appear two appear two squares in the screen, and go on until ‘z’. It was really impressive because he made it pretty fast, and I thought it would take at least 5 hours to something like that. 

Then, I realised that this test could work even better than the game that I planned because it would be an actual translator to square language, and it would be possible to write everything, which makes the interface more ludic and free for the audience to learn the language. Plus, it could be written in any language that uses the latin alphabet, which makes my language more inclusive, therefore, more easy to spread. And, more importantly, Alexandre told me that if I wanted to do something like this (with some adjustments), it was very possible until the deadline, which was perfect. 

In the end I got very excited to see that it is going to be possible to present an interface that will allow the audience have a complete curve of learning experience. Furthermore, it adds a fun element to the project that was very interesting because no one will want to learn a new language that is not appealing, and this program is the proof that it won’t. 

At first, I thought it was important to research different games and quiz to understand how they work. I researched about Jumble (order/sequence), crosswords (logic + writing) and quiz (alternatives) because all of them use square structure, which I could adapt very easily since my language is based on squares. 

Jumbo is a very intuitive platform because you have to put sentences, numbers or even pictures in order. However, I don’t think it is the best approach to learn a language because it is very difficult to put something in order when you don’t know what is. The audience don’t know the square language, so making them put squares in order wouldn’t be so effective (maybe in a long term teaching this would work, but because I need some faster method (if not no one will figure out the poster at the exhibition), this is not the best option. 

Crosswords are a different kind of game in which you have a hint and you have to write the correct answer (and you will only succeed if you already have this knowledge). So since my language is unknown until the moment the audience can use the interface, the crosswords game structure won’t be so helpful. Nevertheless, the commands of the game have really caught my attention. It was very didactic because when explaining about command ‘x’, the respective button appeared in bold and in a different colour, which makes it easier for the player to localise it and then to use it in case he/she needs it. This is something that I will probably use on my interface because the most didactic the interface is, the best is the experience of the user, therefore, most successful is the learning. 

After looking each of them thoroughly, I decided that the best model for me would be the quiz because this explores repetition, which is very important to learn a language. For example, if had ‘hello’ written in square language and alternatives, in english, of what would be the translation, the user would exercise the alphabet, which is the first step to learn a new language. Plus, he/she would have the support of one language that he/she already know (english), and the possibility of making direct relations/translations, also helps in the learning process. After succeeding at different levels of  the game, the user could be able to unveil the message of the poster.

I still have things to decide until tomorrow such as colours and font, but what I have already established is that my interface will work as a  kind of guess-the-word-quiz with three levels (easy, medium and hard) and the words used will be the ones everyone have to learn in a new language (which also makes it easier to then spread the language as a more global system). 

Because of all that, I decided that my first option would be the first wall that we see when we enter on the studio (Communication Design side). Plus, it would be the first work that the audience would see, which is an advantage too. 

Another important resolution that I made today about the visual identity of my exposition was to decide that the wall and all the support objects (computer, column that will support the computer, support for the brochures) are going to be black, because then the audience wouldn’t have any colour distractions other than my language (both on the alphabet and on the poster). 

Furthermore, even though it was not easy to deal with measures and real life sizes because I still have to adjust my sense of dimension, it was really interesting to use this kind of logical thought to make the decisions about the positions of the objects. During school, math was one of my favourites subjects (maybe because it is very logical, predictable and there is a right and wrong answer that I can rely on), so it was interesting to use that again to make strategic and artistic decisions. 

It didn’t work out that well because it was very hard to make a colour palette with 26 different unique tones, which made it very hard to identify each letter. Plus, the weight wasn’t the best solution too because without any unit, it would be impossible to figure out which letter is it without a ruler or a scale (and even if it had some of them, it wouldn’t be viable to use as a normal language). 

Then, I came back to the old bar code that I made and decided to separate each letter in squares in a way that A = first letter of the alphabet = 1 square; B= second letter of the alphabet = 2 squares, … , Z= 26th letter of the alphabet = 26 squares. I thought this was the best solution so far because it is easy to identify each letter; it is a simple and very well known element and still reminds of bar codes. Barcodes are essentially all the same, and since my goal with this language is to try to unify some languages that wouldn’t communicate easily in the real world,  they really matches what I am trying to do.

Because of all that, I am going on with the square idea (maybe call square language?) and now I need to experiment with colours to see which is the best one to use, or even which ones. I was thinking, what if the colours acted as our intonation to the words, so if it was written ok in square language in red, the one I am talking too would notice that it was a mad and angry ok (because of the psychology of colours and the meanings that red eludes in people). If that worked out, square language could be a system that wouldn’t need words and emojis because it would transmit logic and emotion together. 

Maybe I am just dreaming, but it seems valid to try out. 

There, I saw lots of works and I was really impressed of how the studies of artificial intelligence and quantum computing are so advanced. Especially in the case of artificial language, it is frightening to see how independent robots and softwares are becoming so what will happen when they don’t depend on humans to make them? Technology make it possible imaginable things and not seeing its limit and its future is both exciting and frightening. 

I went to the exhibition with no expectations, but deep down I wish to saw something that would inspire me in my project. I am not sure if the works I saw will influence me somehow, but it was worth it because it made me thing that I could expand the possibilites of my project using technology. I still don’t know how, but I will work on that. 

Talking to Carlos was the push I needed to start exploring patterns to mix with the barcode-code experiment because it was the one I liked the best so far. I believe a code is something easier to use as a language because it can always be translated. Also, a visual element, other than letters, could be used by others than the languages of latin alphabet, which is already more inclusive. Last but not least, the idea of bar codes is very interesting for me because bar codes are all the same, essentially, and my goal with a global language is also to make it easier to talk to different people that don’t speak the same language with you, and language needs to be more inclusive, specially when we live in a globalised world where almost everything is global. 

However, I don’t think the bar as a visual element is the best one to use for the code, therefore, the alphabet of my language. If so, everyone would need to walk with a ruler or something to measure because the system I created so far works like this A= first letter of the alphabet = 1 cm of height; B = second letter of the alphabet = 2 cm of height, and go on until Z. I am thinking about cutting the bar in unities, so instead of measuring, the user of the language would only have to count the squares to see which letter is it.

For example, I thought about projecting my language and associate each letter to a sound so then my outcome would have both the visual and the sound representation of my language. But then I kept thinking that this have no implication on real world because how the audience, or any one, could apply this in real life? How the sound could be helpful to this representation? And it is crucial, or just the visual is enough?

So, right now I am still thinking about a solution that would solve the problem of my project that I am not sure anymore what is exactly. I am very confused about what my final outcome would be and insecure to do something with no function or that is just pretty, which is not my goal. 

On top of all this mess, I discovered that, based on my first Action Plan (the one I made with the Project Proposal) I should have already decided what my final outcome will be and Monday I should start the production of it. This is making me even more anxious because even though I altered this Action Plan and things have changed a lot since I made it, I feel that I may be behind on this stage of the project. And the fact that I have no idea of what I am going to do is very scary once everything is a possibility and I may choose the wrong path to take or even worse, I may not have sufficient time to finish it. 

 Also, he told me to start thinking about the audience that I want to focus and even make personas to help me think of how could be their expectations about my project and their thoughts and worries as well. It is something very important to do, but I think I am a little far behind this point, because I haven’t even stablished what my final outcome would be. But as soon as I decide that, this is something that I will probably do. 

Another very important point he made was that I needed more visual references because I had too much theory ones. I agree completely on that, but at the same time it has been hard to me to find artists other than Detanico Lain that talked about communication with other system of communication than words. And I really tried. But when I explained this to him, he suggested to look for pattern artists, which really makes sense because I am using a pattern to use as a system of communication and maybe they can inspire me on different shapes, layouts, colours and even materials…

According to the theory, if the result of the equation is higher than 70, the two colours involved have sufficient contrast for display, which means the legibility is assured; on the other hand, if the result is smaller than 70, the contrast is not sufficient for display. I already made a decision that the background of the poster will be black because I like the mystery that the colour alludes, and since it will have a message to unveil, it is the best one to use it. 

At first I thought that if I used only colours with sufficient contrast with black (pink, orange, white and orange) it would be better, but the problem was that in this case all colours stands out (which now makes a lot of sense since all of them have legibility assured when combined with black). The problem with this test is that the word hidden didn’t have the attention, so it would be difficult for the audience to figure it out once all colours used caught they attention. 

Then, I tried something different: I used on the squares that don’t belongs to the word colours with insufficient contrast (red, blue, green and purple) with black and in the word a colour with sufficient contrast with black. This worked way better because the background did have a presence, but all attention comes to the word, which is the thing that most caught attention. 

When I started to do these colour tests, I didn’t put so much faith in this theory, but now I am really impressed that worked out. Not only that, but it really helped me to see which solution is the best for my poster (even though that I still have many combinations to try, I already know that the background needs to be with colours with insufficient contrast with black and the word with sufficient contrast). 

Even though it is not an exciting task, it turned out to be very interesting to see my progress since the beginning of Part 3 when it comes to analysing. A proof of that is the increase of highlighted key points and my analysis in all reflections and research entries. 

I believe that one thing that I started to do in my project that made a difference was going to Academic Study Support regularly. I usually asked for help to improve my padlets, and reading them with Carlos or Roger made me realise how it is easier for me to acknowledge what I wrote when I read it out loud. And since then this method has been working out pretty well so far; so much that I am being able to summarise better too.

After all this, my assistant and I started to paint my wall, which was way harder than what I thought. In my head, it would be hard because it is a large wall (in my parameters) and we would have to do at least 2 coats. However, on top of that, I got a hard time to learn the right way to use the pain roller because it was hard for me to use it in all directions and make an even coat. To be honest, I still don’t know if I did it right because when I left the studio my wall was still wet in some areas.

Working with an assistant was different for me because I am used to do everything by myself so I can have thing under (my) control. But she was very helpful to paint the wall faster, especially because there were some areas that we couldn’t reach without a chair. In the end, I wanted to give her more things to do but even I didn’t have something to do once our job was done.

A good side of having to wait for the ink to dry was that I could help my friends on their work. I not only enjoy helping my friends but I also needed some distraction to avoid getting anxious. If I stopped a minute, I would start to worry about the wall that could be stained or I would be thinking on the amount of things I have to do until the deadline and if I will have the time to finish it all. 

I haven’t decided yet if I am going to EBAC tomorrow because: 1- my wall should be ready so I don’t have to paint anymore; 2- my installation is very easy (I will hang with a tape (a VERY resistant one, in fact it can be used in automobiles) and due to the dust, I will have to do it as late as possible; 3- I still have a lot of things to do and I get more focused at home. 

My wall really needed another coat to even some parts, so for that I used a pain roller with a broom handle, which was way better than using the paint roller itself. I could not only reach the top of the wall,  but also paint with more control, which makes the ink distributes equally on the surface. In the end, the wall got black and super even, so I couldn’t be happier. 

The repaint of the column was more important that I thought because the spray I used was not matte as the ink of the wall, so when I put them side by side it did not look good. 

I couldn’t do the measures on my wall I get a bit afraid it to use measuring tape and pencil on it before it was completely dry. I will do it on Monday since I’m also going to try then to take out some of the white ink on the ceiling next to my wall. 

Plus, today I realised that I haven’t thought about how I was going to print the QR Code that will have the link of my project’s Instagram Account. It is very important because it is the one element that the audience can have from my exhibition and actually use my language in real world, so I really shouldn’t have left to last minute. 

At first I thought I could print on vinyl in white and glue it on the wall, but it didn’t work out because either the graphic wouldn’t make until Monday or it wouldn’t print with white (which is quite normal because not all printers use white ink; usually the white is the negative of the print so it is actually the colour of the paper). 

Then, I decided that I am going to screen print an acetate with white ink and glue it with transparent tape. It was the only way I could find so it would match the aesthetics of my exhibition. Marcelo told me it is possible, so I am confident it will work out. 

Plus, I decided to change the order of the objects. In the exhibition proposal I said it would be computer, alphabet and poster (from left to right), but I forgot to consider that the power source required for the computer to work were on the ceiling closer to the right side of the wall. Because of that, I inverted the computer and the poster from its original place because it would not look good all te wires passing through all wall until it reaches the power source. 

Also, I had a problem with the computer I was going to use. EBAC said to Michael that I would have the Library one, but then, they changed their mind because it is used at night by the evening students. Consequently, I didn’t have a computer to use. This made me very nervous because it was not so something that I was supposed to deal, it was EBAC’s fault because they said everything was ok. It is because of situations like this that I would rather having everything as my responsibility because having things under my control is easier to adapt and think of other strategies. 

In the end, everything worked out. Bruna (EBAC events) lended me one monitor and a keyboard to use. A laptop from Resource Center will work as the CPU (and gladly I made the computer with a opening on the bottom because then we managed to place the laptop and the wire extension under it without polluting visually my exposition.

In the end, I manage to do everything I planned, which was a relief. 

Well, this is the end of foundation and I have to say I am a bit sad. It was a very challenging year in which I got out of my comfort zone in personal and professional (as a student) way. I learned, in the hard way, that making mistakes is good and that I don’t have to make everything perfect. I also learned what are the working methods that keep me focused and which don’t work so well. I learned the importance of asking for help and feedback to tutors and colleagues and also the cruciality of analysing what I produced, my ideas and my decisions. 

I do not like endings, especially because this means the next chapter of my life will be new and unknown. Just like when I finished Pre Found and I did not want to go to Foundation, part of me want me to continue here rather then starting BA. However, I do want to see what comes next and which will be my next challenges to discover me as a designer.