Overview

Symbolic Meaning

Concept Monogram art

A monogram art that manifests my personality and the things that I love. An approach that encompasses the notion of ‘Love yourself’.

The monochromatic monogram produces great contrast and takes a step back to highlight the plethora of colors through the elements that depict me. Everything in media started with black and white; the first books, newspapers, photography, television, etc. They are beautiful, they are monochromatic. This work is special, as the monogram is illustrated using the initial letters of my first name and surname in my mother tongue; Malayalam.

I think and feel a certain way. Nobody knows me better than myself. Understanding the base of my own emotions through the project helped me develop my own brand personality. It led me to critique my own work, my assumptions, and my thought process.

Design has moved away from its traditional goals of just usability and efficiency. We now design for experience, persuasion, desirability. Designing for emotional response can enrich an individual's experience. Infusing personality and designing can create more satisfying and meaningful experiences. As designers, we try to place ourselves in the context of users to understand their emotions and the problem at stake. We conduct user research to pave our way into their emotion and experiences.

This project is a reminder as it paves way for me to design with emotion. Understanding my personality and how I associate with experiences around me is step 1 into understanding how to design experiences with a personality.

Project

Self-directed inquiry

Studio

Design and Identity

at Srishti Manipal

Mentor

Nupur Banerjee

Monogram art Inspiration

Asking

▪ Who am I?

▪ What do I like?

▪ How do I want others to see me?

▪ How can visuals communicate feelings and thoughts?

▪ How can I showcase my personality and things that I love through a monogram?

▪ How will others view my personality from the monogram?

▪ Is it possible for me to shape the viewer's notion through the chose art style, visual elements, composition, and colors?

Creation

The monogram was created with black strokes that were carefully designed to make a connection to my physical aspects. It is common among us to link body type and our external presence to personality traits. A person’s temperament, moral character, mental and physical abilities are common ways assumptions are made. As these assumptions don’t necessarily hold the truth, it is empty baseless thoughts. This thought was depicted through the black strokes with empty; white fill. The monogram comprises of my initials ‘N’ and ‘T’ illustrated in the Malayalam script. It employs a sans-serif and minimalist font. It is abstract, curved, thin, and created with light stroke to make use of the white space. This is done to create harmony and balance. The letters are curved to take the form of a heart to portray the message of ‘Love yourself’.

Monogram

Iteration 1- Refining the Monogram

The monogram takes the form of a curly-haired girl in a seated position. The strokes are made carefree to portray a sense of charm and a personal touch. The x-height of ‘t’ is increased to enhance and take the form of myself.

Creating the monogram art

Emotions towards experiences vary between individuals. These experiences map a person's relationship with the environment they are in or the objects they interact with. These experiences shape personality and behaviour. The monogram artwork is created using visual elements that could bring out the deeper meaning of my personality and things that I love. Art can stir emotions in a viewer, the choice of colours, texture, composition, perspectives, all play a role in this.

The letter art combines with the graphical elements in a playful manner as they together portray my interests and me. In the first art, the ‘outer space’ denotes the love for space and its intriguing mysteries. The art connotes to the ‘personal space’ that I need, to understand and nurture myself as there is very much to observe and learn to grow as an individual over time. It also connotes to boundless possibilities and aspirations I have that are yet to be explored. The second art denotes the love for ‘Cherry blossoms’ aka Sakura flowers, native to Japan and Korea. It connotes beauty and passion. It reminds me to love myself. The third art denotes the love for ‘ocean life’, its magnificence, and its preservation. It connotes the potential deep within me that is yet to be within my reach.

Iterating through sketching and illustrating

Monogram art

Reflection

Through uncovering various layers of my personality, I learned more about myself. This learning took the form of a baton that uncovered the things I aspire, care about, and have an affinity towards. Stitching a meaning through visual language is an important key so that, our intention is well communicated.

I tried to analyze my personality by asking various questions which helped me communicate my thoughts better. I sketched visual elements that communicated my thoughts and feelings. I was able to illustrate three monogram artworks that represent me through multiple iterations.

Through the project,

I learned to make smart choices in terms of the type of typefaces that are used based on their readability, legibility, and flexibility.
To make use of principles of design
To communicate through strokes, proportions, and visual weights of a typeface, to manipulate basic parameters of typography so as to deliver the intended outcome.
Understood how the placement of elements and the white spaces can change the visual impact.
To manipulate basic parameters of typography to deliver the intended outcome, it could be to make it useful to navigate through the texts more easily or to add meaning to the manipulation that could be perceived by the user
I also learned to critique our own choice of visual elements and typography based on the context and intentions.
Conveying emotion through typography and visual design.

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