Workshops workshops workshops

So my current project at LCC is to create a body of work, in the format of an A5 research book, that communicates the diversity of London through the eyes of a designer. In order to gain conceptual and technical inspiration the fist 4 weeks are dedicated to workshops and design studio visits.

To prepare for this Icons, Symbols & Pictograms workshop I had to do a mile walk and collect images of signs and things that represented the kind of area I was in. I went from Bethnal Green to Liverpool street which turned out to be a good route to capture contrasts between two places that are so close together. As I was walking I noted down the atmosphere a road had, I ended up going from a quiet residential area, to a cramped, cultural high street, through kind of cool bars and vintage shops and finally ended up in a hectic, corporate station. It was a great example of the rich diversity and culture of London that the brief refers to capturing.

We discussed the history of symbols and icons as universal visual languages- the alphabet being symbols developed to represent the sounds of the letters for example. Our task was to use the journey we'd walked, create symbols for the feel of the areas and objects we'd seen, and finally design a a symbol- similar to a crest- that represented the entire journey.

It was difficult to incorporate all the elements and atmospheres, because there were so many different ones! And then making it as simple as possible so it was clear meant taking out and refining various elements. We decided a white line on black background would not only help in clarifying the lines but it also highlights the contrast of the places involved.