earth artefact

Earth ArtefactEarth Artefact

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Part 1 - Research

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Earth Artefact

The Brief

I have been asked to research the Voyager space probes and their Golden Records which are considered time capsules of Earth and mankind. I am to then create a more contemporary time capsule of Earth in a format and medium of my choosing. The project will consist of three parts: research, development and the final design work. I will present these three stages in separate documents alongside the final time capsule.

WikepediaVoyager Golden RecordLast Edited December 2014http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_Golden_Record

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The Voyager Golden Record General Time Capsules Contacting Aliens

The Golden Records on Voyager one and two were intended to be time capsules that could communicate with extraterrestrial life that may discover them. The ‘gold’ records are actually gold plated copper disks, as gold is too soft to be reliable in its pure form. The contents of the record include sounds and images which showcase the whole diversity of life on Earth, not just the US or the western world.

What I find interesting is the sounds of the weather, such as ocean surf, wind and thunder. They are examples of Earth as a planet, not just the Earth that has been habited by man. On the front of the aluminium cases containing the records is instructions on how to use the enclosed needle and cartridge supplied to play the record. These instructions are symbolic and simple as possible so to hopefully be understandable to Alien life who will no doubt be unfamiliar with out language.

The contents of the record are things like human greetings in various languages, music, sounds of the weather and various photos in analogue form. This encapsulates man made and natural wonders on Earth which I find fascinating; why not have one record for man made wonders and one for natural wonders?

Time capsules were originally created to communicate with people in the future, however the contents of time capsules vary. Some contain predictions of the future, music, everyday items, representations of the current cultures, letters to future generations, sea water and even human blood. These time capsules are made to be opened by a future generation of humans and so they will have basic understandings of what is inside them. Communicating with Alien life will be entirely different as they have no knowledge of language and how these items may possibly work.

We have to presume that any Alien life we encounter will not understand our language or any icons shown, and so because of this we have to communicate in a simple way. We would have to imagine how we would communicate if we did not know language, for example try communicating whilst not talking and that will be the most effective way of communicating with Aliens. Some scientists tried marking huge geometric shapes in the ground hoping Aliens would see them from space; geometric shapes were chosen as these scientists believe that the principles of maths would be the same across the universe. Some scientists have also tried Morse code as a basic form of language and projected it with large mirrors and lasers. The pioneer spacecraft used tablets engraved with pictograms of elements, a map and a diagram showing the anatomy of a man and woman in the hope to teach Alien life of our race. The most theoretically effective form of communication is the use of radiation waves, such as radio waves, this is because they are unaffected by space debris whilst traveling through space and they are know to exist throughout the universe so it is likely Alien life has the same understanding of them as we do.

NASAJet Propulsion LaboratoryThe Golden Recordhttp://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec.html

ListverseTop 10 Incredible Time Capsules2009http://listverse.com/2009/04/27/top-10-incredible-time-capsules/

Listverse10 Interesting Attempts To Communicate With Aliens2013http://listverse.com/2013/06/08/10-interesting-attempts-to-communicate-with-aliens/

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Earth Artefact

Wim Crouwel - New Alphabet

Wim Crouwel as many know was at the forefront of typographic experimentation and innovation. One typeface which he designed comes to mind when thinking about this project; and that is Wim Crouwels New Alphabet. Crouwel first came up with the idea for New Alphabet because of his struggles with bitmap typefaces, especially the diagonal lines. And so he set out to design a typeface that was so stripped back and basic that it only had horizontal and vertical lines. This was it would still look crisp as a bitmap font. Because of its use on modern technology Crouwel designed a poster to advertise his new typeface that showed astronauts floating in zero gravity around the typeface characters. This was around the time of the space race and the Apollo missions so this then associated his typeface with everything considered innovative and modern. It was very clever.

In relation to this time capsule project, I thought that this almost pictographic and symbolic typeface would be perfect to use for possibly teaching Alien life how to understand our language or at least give them an idea of how we communicate. It would also work very well when engraved , it will be easy to engrave and the lines are less likely to fade away as you can engrave deeper without weakening the integrity of the material. Away from the purpose of communication, the New Alphabet shown in contrast to more Roman or Gothic typefaces will be a good way of showing the diversity of life and things on Earth, or help identify one culture from another

FlickrSteve Collinswim crouwel new alphabet2011https://www.flickr.com/photos/smallritual/5697321397/in/photostream/

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Fuse 1: Malcom Garrett - Stealth Typeface Fuse 7: David Carson - Fingers

This modernist font intrigues me because of its structural simplicity and its stability. The designer Malcom Garrett took inspiration from Japanese characters and made this typeface so it can be read vertically as well as horizontally. I like this feature as if I were to use it as an attempt to communicate with Aliens it can be read in a range of formats, I have to presume that Aliens wont know that you read the western alphabet from left to right. So if I show information in a range of formats they are mor eliklet to understand at least one. Another characteristic I like is how each letter is mode of one continuous line, with only a few exceptions, this makes these foreign shapes easier to learn , unlike the more complex Roman letters. And so because of these features this would be a typeface I would consider using when communicating with Alien life.

This typeface is in a complete different playing field to Garrett’s Stealth

because of how it has abandoned almost all lettering structure guidelines

which have been established over hundreds of years of civilisations. This

typeface literally uses David Carson’s fingers to construct the letters. The idea

behind the typeface is what Carson thinks will we will use is typography as

we know it were to ever collapse. He also added that in an age of ever more

personalised typefaces, this is about as personal as a typeface can get as it

literally uses your body. In relation to this project, this typeface along with

an anatomical diagram of a human body and a hand, could be an effective

way of showing and maybe teaching Aliens how to communicate with

us if we ever do meet . We could show this typeface in relation to actual

typical Roman letters, this way they could then spell words that we have

associated with certain pictograms and images. It could possibly bridge the

communication gap between us and Alien life.Fuse 1-20From Invention to Antimatter:Twenty Years of FuseNevile Brody - Jon WozencroftTaschen2012

Fuse 1-20From Invention to Antimatter:Twenty Years of FuseNevile Brody - Jon WozencroftTaschen2012

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The Use of Pictograms

If we were to communicate objects, human activities, cultures and the

environment; we would need a very simple pictogram or representation

of these things that can be understood by Alien life that is naive of

our planet. They also need to be able to endure erosion and still be

legible. Modern pictograms, like the ones we see on signs such as the

internationally known toilet sign. These are bold, and stripped away

of any unnecessary feature. Because of this pictograms are the perfect

communication tool for a time capsule.

One of the first designers to create the modern pictograms we know today

was Otl Aicher with his work for the 1972 Olympic games in Munich. These

pictograms show a verity of complex sporting activities in a seemingly

effortless simple fashion by using thin lines and rounded shapes which are

easy on the eye and reflect the human form well. If I am to use pictograms

in my time capsule I will pay close attention to Aicher’s work.Olympic Games 1972 MunichPictogramshttp://olympic-museum.de/pictograms/picto1972.htm

Type with Human Form - Melissa Agatielli

This untitled Project caught my eye because of its sterile colour palette but yet human themes. On the model’s arm are the words associated with Religion which she has then photographed and laid over a very bold sans serif in an entwining layout. What I love about this is the raw human element of the arm and the hand drawn words and how it is then contrasted with these clinical colours. It presents us as humans, out raw unpredictable emotion and physical selves; but it also shows out mass produced and faceless culture we ourselves have created.

This is a genius way of combining these two very different sides of humanity. This is the perfect way of presenting our race to Alien life; it captures out culture and how we see our world and lives.

BehanceMelissa AgatielliPoster Series2014https://www.behance.net/gallery/20926973/Poster-Series

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Presenting Complex Systems Simply - Nicle Barclay: Three Colour Cities

Clever Typesetting -Gimena Zamorano: Medical Program

This project I love for its visual qualities as well as the theory behind it. This poster collection is beautiful and the idea behind it is intriguing. What Barclay has done here is sum up popular cities into a series of shapes and three colours, this gives the viewer a bitsize interpretation of these huge cities, no field guide or A-Z needed. It has no fuss and thrills, it presents the shape with a bold title and a small amount of information and then leaves 90% of the poster to the shapes and colours to let them do the talking.

This would be a great way for us to sum up huge cultures, landscapes and diversity of life in a time capsule as it needs no de-coding or figuring out, it is there for them to see with no puzzles to solve first. It also saves a lot of space and time, summing up a city or culture is a huge task and so condensing that into one poster would save room for other information.

This small medical booklet looks typographically beautiful, but it is also

functionally clever. Its clever grid system shifts small pockets of information

off to the sides which leaves the middle section clear for larger segments of

copy. It also organises primary and sub information clearly dropping from

one to another without confusion which belongs to which. Its labels, such as

numbers for charts of information, are discreet and do not take up the room

of primary information; but yet they are clear and easy to follow. This grid

system gives me the chills it is so clever.

In relation to the time capsule it would be good to include small booklets

of certain subjects of Earth, and using a space saving ingenious layout like

this would save space in the time capsule but also include more information

on one page so it would be easier for Aliens to interpret if they do not know

how our system of turning the pages in a book.BehanceNick BarclayThree Colour Cities2014https://www.behance.net/gallery/21141005/Three-Colour-Cities-

BehanceGimena ZamoranoPrograma Editorial -Medical-2014https://www.behance.net/gallery/14915651/Programa-Editorial-Medical-

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Bold ColoursColour Coding -Brunch: Eastern Electrics Festival

How often do you see a crisp packet that has been blown into a corner or crevice and got stuck, and then its colours have faded in the sun? Well a time capsule, if it is in printed form, will have a similar problem as it will be exposed to the radiation of outer space, it could be drifting around for thousands of years before it is found and so it has lots of time to fade from exposure to UV rays . So to combat this problem I could use just bold colours that would still be distinguishable even when faded. An image with subtle colours would soon fade and blend together whereas bold colours will still be distinguishable when faded.

There is one part of this project which I find interesting, and that is their colour coded wrist bands. It is not revolutionary, every event does it, but it got me thinking. This form of colour co-ordination would be very useful when helping future beings piece together the contents on the time capsule which may become jumbled up from its original order as it travels through space. It would also be handy for subjects that have information in different mediums, like a booklet, selection of photos and a physical sample; you could colour code them so you know that are associated with each other.

TwitterAndy Dinsdale@strandliner2013https://twitter.com/strandliner/status/295981855755345920

BehanceBunchEastern Electrics Festival 20132013https://www.behance.net/gallery/10511527/Eastern-Electrics-Festival-2013

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Showcasing Colour Data Storage Humanist Sans Serifs

I found this book online and I have no idea how old it is, where it came from. I do not know anything about it. But what I found interesting about it is that it was a colour reference guide of sorts. I did not know humans at such an early time were documenting colours in the swatches style we still use today. They simple painted blocks of the colour and their names. I can not read the book because of the language barrier but at the beginning of the book it has a chapter of text which I am guessing explains how they use colour of gives suggestions of how someone can combine and use them perhaps. This is the kind of guide I want to create for my time capsule. I want a simple layout of some descriptive text followed by the clearly labelled samples, I can also transfer this layout to subjects other than colour, such at Type.

The original golden records were at the time the best data storage method, it was easy to read the data as it required no advanced technology, just a needle and cartridge. Modern data storage needs computers to interpret the data and so it would be impractical to send them into space as you would also need to send an entire computer with it. However if we presumed Aliens had some way of retrieving the data with their own technology, what would be the best medium to use: Floppy disks, CD/ hard drives or the most recent SSD/ flash drive? As floppy disks are cheaply made and use old technology they are prone to failure within months of use. Hard drives can wear out over time and are weak to impact. CDs as we all know can scratch and they have also been known to eat data over time, despite manufacturers initial claims of decades of longevity. So that leaves SSD and the humble flash drive which we all use today. SSD are still not mainstream in consumer computers but Apple now have them in all their computers and have completely got rid of the HDD. What makes SSD and flash drives so good is that they don’t have any moving parts and so there is no big impact threat, however they are a fairly new technology so not all their disadvantages have been discovered so using them in my time capsule would be taking a risk.

Humanist Sans Serifs are considered to be the bridge between Serif faces and Sans Serif faces. They are Sans Serifs which designed to be readable in long rolling text. To achieve this readability typographers take inspiration from calligraphic forms and early Roman inscriptions both of which are great examples of truly human type. Humanist Sans Serif faces, such as Optima, use every so slightly curves strokes to hint at Serifs that are not there, and so they use a readable tool but still keep the modern Sans look.

This is a great typeface to showcase in a time capsule and maybe even use to label its contents. It takes influences from so many aspects of typography and so it encompasses most of the human written word, which makes it perfect to display in a time capsule. I will look into using these typefaces for my final product.

e-corpusMs.1389 (1228)http://www.e-corpus.org/notices/102464/gallery/

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Materials that stand the test of time - Painted and Printed

If I am to make a time capsule that can last for hundreds or thousands of years I need to look into what materials are tough and can last years of damage and exposure to light. The most common method of displaying images and type is painted or printed matter, such as signs, paper documents and graffiti. These materials are very good for our delicate atmosphere on earth and can last a reasonable amount of time. However after about fifty years you can see the wear and tear and they soon become unrecognisable, like the painted signs you see on the sides of houses that have become worn out, or old books that are starting to yellow and fade. These sorts of materials would be no good for a time capsule unless we could encase them in a tough radiation and weather sealed container, so I will need to explore other options.

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Materials that stand the test of time - Shapes and Engravings

Other than painted signs you see more shaped or engraved type used for signs. By this I mean letters that have been physically modelled from metal, plastic or wood; or engraved in them. This is type which has a three dimensional presence. This is a much better way of maintaining longevity than painting or printing, for the obvious reason that it takes much longer to wear away, and even when it does it only weathers the edges and the rest of the type is legible. This can triple or even quadruple the lifespan of the image or typography compared to if it were printed. If these images were traveling through space in a vacuum sealed container they may even theoretically last forever, given if the container does not undergo any considerable damage. This method would be a very good option to use for my time capsule however it is costly, and it takes up much more room. It can also be less legible and have restrictions for small typography when engraving. If I were to use this method I could use it for only the most important information and accompany it with some printed matter to save room.

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Materials that stand the test of time - Coated Signs

Modern signs I were going to put under the printed and painted category, but really they are a category of their own as yes they are printed, but they are coated with a reflective paint for car headlights and they are protected from UV rays, unlike paint or printed matter. This is what combines the best of printed and engraved images and type. What makes these coated signs so good as they last almost forever in any weather conditions, like engraved materials. But it is not limited by engravings downfalls such as illegibility at small point sizes etc. They are much cheaper to make and they also use the same amount of room as normal printed documents. This would be an excellent way of creating a time capsule to last as it combines the best of both worlds with printing and engraving.

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Alfred Rattera Notebook -A Transcription from Jonathan Barnbrook

This large graphic is a transcription of the notes of Alfred Rattera, a from what I understand a Philosopher and Musician. This notes speak of a new world system that has to be applied and implemented like some form of software on humanity. He wanted humanity to evolve into a more positive society, believing humanity today has a problem that needs to solved. He describes how the examination of each instance integration from the old to the new world will need to be taken to ensure a smooth conversion to the better society. He talks of pre-planned characters and the harmonious number 27. All this is Rattera’s thoughts of a perfect world.

I find this exciting, fascinating and a little frightening. The thought of creating a whole new world system. But this would be a goldmine of content to be put into my time capsule. Having a representation of Earth as we know it now, both good and bad, but then including what we want our world to be is a great contrast of content. I could even use the time capsule at appeal for help to an Alien race which could have the technology or even experience to help us.

Rattera Notebook TranscriptionRattera IntroductionFuse 1-20 Online ArchiveTaschen Jonathan Barnbrookhttp://www.taschen.com/pages/en/community/archive_fuse/index.2.htm

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Neubau Welt Catalogue

The Neubau Welt catalogue features an extensive range of vector graphics of everyday objects, people, animals and plant life. It is a wonderful range of the common items we come across. Its artwork is highly detailed and every point is calculated, the vector art is a carbon copy of the original. The only thing they leave out is the colour, and so all the vectors are black. If I were to use these images in my time capsule this would be helpful as black does not fade easily and even if it did the images would still be recognisable as I have talked about this before when I mentioned using bold colours. I plan on using these vectors as icons for the real objects as they are very realistic and are suitable for the rough weathering they may be exposed to. I may also take inspiration from this artwork and produce my own vectors which do not appear in this catalogue. The catalogue itself is very well designed, the labelling system is very clear and crisp; they use different colours for different parts of the label such as the catalogue number and the sub category. I could take inspiration from this and label my time capsule in a similar way.

Neubau WeltStefan Gandl - NeubauGestalten2005Berlin

*Reference follows next three pages

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Neubau Welt Catalogue -The Catalogue Design

There are many parts of this catalogue which have been beautifully designed and thought out. I would like to take inspiration from these elements and include them in my time capsule. One being the little typographic details on the cover and throughout the book shown below. These little bits of type split up the cover and add interest to what would be absent white space without adding so much that it distracts from the relationship between the white space and the display type. Since it is so small it can be spread around and so it gives a clear distinguish between each separate piece and so it will be easier for Alien life to understand that they are different subjects. The small space also saves room on the document which is essential for the time capsule so I can fit more information and more importantly, imagery in. I want to use a little space as possible for the typography as it is less important and less understandable for Aliens, therefore I want 80% of the time capsule’s space to be dedicated to imagery; the typography is just there to explain the images if any Alien life learns to decipher it. I will also take inspiration from the medical program I discusses earlier to save room.

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This colour coding in the index interested me. I have already talked about colour coding before and this has given me further interest. As I am planning on having most of my content in the time capsule black and white it will be very helpful to have colour coding present as the colours will stick out and not be confused as part of any colour images. I may not have my labelling type a colour but I may use something similar here where I use a coloured box to signify the colour category. I may also use coloured underlines, strikethroughs or borders to signify the category.

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I like how they have added the catalogue number to the images however their full reference is at the top of the page. This again saves room for the images and it also makes it easier to reference as the full references are not dotted all over the page. It would also be difficult to maintain a consistent layout for the labels are the images vary in size; so putting them at the top of the page maintains a consistent reference system and so they are easier to find and follow, it also looks a lot neater. I will need to bear this in mind with my time capsule as the nature and size of my content will also vary.

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Key Words

Space

Time

Container

Capsule

Lead

Rocket

Fuel

Adventure

Absent

Silent

Wonder

Mystery

Preservation

Communication

Discovery

Curiosity

Paper

Stone

Metal

War

People

Population

Culture

Modern

Western

Eastern

Overpopulation

Pollution

Worry

Implosion

Crisis

Economy

Nuclear

Resources

Bomb

Apocalypse

Danger

Peace

Nature

Natural

Animals

Life

Death

Species

Intelligence

Education

Educated

Genius

Science

Art

Design

Typography

Image

Aesthetic

Thought

Philosophy

Humanity

Mercy

Savage

Crime

Waste

Medicine

Health

Illness

Recovery

Evolution

Development

Build

Construct

Plan

Structure

Order

Law

System

Capitalism

Religion

Discrimination

Sexism

Man

Woman

Child

Social

Work

Job

Money

Living

Travelling

Transport

Advance

Technology

Computer

Data

Electricity

Internet

Network

Cable

Wire

Storage

Hoarding

Service

Instruction

Obedience

Group

Food

Water

Consume

Consumerism

Greed

Clothing

Fashion

Impress

Belonging

Need

Jealousy

Envy

Hurt

Deceive

Trick

Love

Hate

Lust

Reproduction

Childhood

Nostalgia

Sport

Games

Friends

Idol

Price

Value

Chain

Cycle

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Earth ArtefactA Penny for my Thoughts

Re-Discovery

Issues on Earth

Lets say if we launched another time capsule into space, what would happen if we re-discovered it? What if it fell back down to Earth after thousands of years, or if we evacuated Earth and found it had crashed on another planet. We might think it was another clan of humans that lived on another planet and we never met, because we would have fled to a planet that was somewhat inhabitable by humans it would be believable. It could crash into our fleeing ship and eradicate that last humans as we flee our dying Earth. If we did open it up a thousand years in the future would we still understand English or will it be like when we discovered Hieroglyphics? Or here is a crazy idea, what if in the next ten years or so we built a time machine, travelled into the future to see how future humans would interpret it and use this information to re-design it better, or would that be dangerously playing with the time line.

At the moment the Western and Eastern world is crumbling down. In the West our economies are collapsing and our future is unclear through all the policies, politics and paperwork. In the East there is terrible war over land and beliefs and thousands of Civilians are being killed daily. Should we really be focusing on contacting Aliens when we have way too many problems to solve first. What if contacting Aliens bring more problems into the mix? But with this in mind, would contact with Alien life put things into perspective for us and would we stop our petty squabbles? Could they help us?

Wonders of Earth

During humans time on Earth we have unlocked and discovered many wonders it hid. Such as medicine, electricity, mathematics and the sciences. Could we use the time capsule to showcase these discoveries to Alien life and perhaps ask for their help to discover and harness more? Or is this a bad idea? Have we not we already harnessed enough of Earth’s resources, such as fossil fuels, and abused their use. Should we be wanting to slow down our use of resources and focus on living sustainably, if so ask Alien life how they live and what type of resources they use.

Instinct and Culture

As primal creatures our lives and tasks were generally simple: Eat, Drink, Guard and Reproduce. But as we have developed we have introduced things like sports, games, culture, music, fiction and the visual arts. These things are not necessary for us to survive but yet in the modern world they are deemed more important than these original primal needs. Why do we do this? Some sociologists believe they are our way of learning as we no longer have a big of a threat to life as we used to when we could be attacked at any time. They are also apparently needed to bond with groups and form a pack like out ancestors did to survive. Which makes the phrase ‘help a neighbour in need’ relevant. How will these things look to Aliens, how do we present them? Do we present them as recreational tasks or primal needs? And is Alien life the same?

Small World

Noisy Earth

If you think about it, we know a lot about our world. And most people can access most of that information, mainly because of books and the internet. I would have a guess and say we know at least 60% of what Earth is and how it works. But if you go back 500-1000 years ago there was still a lot to be discovered. If we look at the perspective of a working class woman in England; she stays at home and tends to a husband and children, and has had no eduction. She would know very little of what lies beyond the area she lived. So the world would be however big or small she imagined. And since she has had little exposure to any outside influences she would have a limited imagination on other cultures, if there were any at all. She may believe that everyone lived like those in England. So when you look back to now the world seems so small now we know what lies in it and what its boundaries are, our imagination now has to wander into space.

If you have seen the film Gravity then you know have realised how quiet space actually is, well more accurately how silent it is. It feels eerie when you watch it because of that lack of sound. This made me realise how much noise we are surrounded with as there is so much going on all the time. You know when you are in a doctors waiting room and there is a nervous silence, its unnerving sometimes. If we presume distant planets are more quiet does that make Earth the adolescent teenager of the universe. Maybe this is why Aliens have never contacted us, because we are an annoyance to them with our noise and interrupting time capsules.

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Earth Artefact

Concept 1: A-Z Guide

Contents

I wanted to create a sort of A-Z guide of Earth that contains a range of helpful content such as maps, key places of interest, descriptions of these places, snippets of history, helpful images and written essays on places by a range of people with different viewpoints. This guide will be printed traditionally and bound, but it will also be accompanied by a digital copy with extended extras like archives based on the small introductions in the printed book. This is a simple way of giving an overview of the whole Earth rather than a single or small range of elements.

Images of: Cityscapes, buildings, police stations, transport buildings, shops, hospitals, post offices, countryside, plant life, animal life, food livestock, people, homes in various places, community halls, recreational activities, job roles and furniture.

Descriptions of key images: Cityscapes, transport Buildings, animal livestock, people, homes and Job roles.

Essays extending on descriptions: Transport building etiquette, Job roles.

Maps of: The world, the continents, the UK, major cities in the UK with transport maps.

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Earth Artefact

Concept 2: Glass Tablets

Contents

I will pick three key subjects that I think are wonders of Mankind on Earth, these are represented on individual engraved glass tablets followed by a printed manual that goes more in depth from the contents of the tablets. The tablet will contain the most important and basic information to understand the subject and the booklet will go into detail about it. The printed booklet will be given a coating on each page for longevity whilst traveling through space. The contents will have a tablet explaining the structure of the time capsule and how to decipher or interpret it. I only want to display certain subjects as that would allow me to go into great detail when explaining them. An overview of everything man made and not on Earth would be either too vague or too large and not show the full character of Earth’s specific wonders. Again I will provide a digital copy in various mediums in the case that any Alien life has similar technology to ours.

Subjects to Explore: Language, colour, numbers, mathematics, word structure, structures/grids, job roles of people, democracy, computing, electronics, fiction.

Language: Beautiful words, letter construction, grid system, book systems.

Colour: How we mix colour, colour and meanings, how we use and print colours, how me mix colour and match colour.

Numbers: Pi, Equations, basic numeracy, shape geometry and equations.

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Earth Artefact

Concept 3: Scrapbox

Contents

In this I want to provide Alien life with a range of day to day items and ephemera that humans use in a box that is accompanied with a reference book which shows images on each subject along with a double page spread description. This description will show the name of the object in various languages with accompanying flags, a description of its use, its material value and its importance to human life on a scale from 1-10 to make it easier to understand and describe. Unfortunately these items will have to be small to fit in the time capsule. I will also include detailed images of each object which will be labelled in a digital format. All of which will be kept in a labelled scrapbox.

Documents

Food + Drink items

Various tickets

Writing equipment

Mathematical tools

Books/ publications

Cables

Circuit boards

Small electronics

Items of clothing

Building materials

Cosmetics

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Earth Artefact

Part 2 - Development

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Earth Artefact

Earth Artefact LogoTo round up the project and Earth itself would be a useful symbol to have as it gives any Alien life a symbol to use to identify us. A representation of Earth and the Earth Artefact project. I started off with the simple letters E and A for Earth Artefact and I used a typeface of my own design. I chose this typeface as it is made up of small simple shapes so it works well when engraved and it will also be able to be used as a stencil, but it is also broken up into its individual parts and so make it easier for Aliens to decipher and learn our alphabet. I played around with the position of the letters, particularly the space between them. I kinda liked how they looked but they looked too close together and dense, and my theory is if there is more space between them the easier they will be to break down and decipher. So from this I begun to break the letters apart and space them in different ways. Whilst rotating some of the shapes however I found a nice square symbol made out of the E. And so I experimented with this shape.

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Earth Artefact LogoI like this symbol that I made out of the letter E. When turned on its side it makes this strong square structure which I thought looks like a house. I also moved the bar upwards to break up the letter and it strengthened the structure which was starting to form, it also broke up the letter E so it did not distract as much from the building symbol I was aiming for but it was still legible as the letter E so you diddn’t loose the initial for Earth. I decided to abandon the A and have the project name just Earth so it symbolises the project as well as Earth itself. I liked the building icon as it represents the built man made world and how most people live. I also added a small line at the bottom the same size as the bar on the E to show the ground the building sits on and it represents the physical Earth in the symbol.

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Earth Artefact

Typeface Review - Myriad Pro Typeface Review - Meta Typeface Review - Akzidenz GroteskMyriad Pro is the standard typeface on some software packages, and for good reason. It is a versatile typeface which is suitable for both print and screen. This is because of its slightly high x height and its open white space. Its white space is well balanced as it is slightly more open than print typefaces so it does not look too dense on screens however it is not so open that it is hard to read on print. It is a jack of all trades unlike the more specialist typefaces.

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Meta is a typeface commonly found throughout Germany. It was initially designed for print and is thinner than most typefaces so to save considerable amounts of space on signs without compromising point size and legibility at distances. And so even though Meta can be used as copy text it is really useful at display sizes of 18pt and above. It will be really handy in the time capsule as it will save space, however it has hints of character which I think the time capsule may be best without to keep the typeface simple and easier to learn.

This typeface is one of the most treasured and used grotesque typefaces and is like the big brother to Helvetica. Its letters are notably rounder and its white space tighter than the other two typefaces. This makes it good for print but not as effective for screen as the others. But because of its shape and tight white space it complements the shapes and forms of words well; if you look the words look more like whole units rather than individual letters. It utilises this effect better than the other two typefaces. This will be helpful for Alien life as they will hopefully figure out to read the full word as the sign rather than trying to decipher the individual letters as some sort of coded pattern.

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Layout ExperimentationI began to set up my layout for my glass tablets. Of course I started with the grid, a simple three column grid was simple enough to be understandable for Alien life but it also has a lot of versatility for variations with the small elements. I usually have wide margins however I need to make use of as much of the space as possible to make as much room as possible for the graphic language; and so skinny margins keeps the type out of the way to the edges. Once the grid was set and I compared a few gutter sizes (eventually settling on 7mm with a matching 7mm margin) I moved on to the title and header. I wanted a bold title to make clear where to start reading the document, however not too big so I opted for a 24pt title with a 14pt subheading below it, these sizes complimented each other well and lead nicely from one to another. I then added some introductory text and a stroke straight across the page to close off the header of the document clearly. I chose clear 10pt body copy and a subtle 1pt stroke to cleanly close it off but not draw away from the main content.

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Layout ExperimentationNext I moved on to the labelling system which will help break down the imagery that is going to be shown. I tried a few decorative features like having the text at an angle, however it contradicted the rest of the layout so I decided against it. I moved onto a horizontal label, it was 10pt like the introductory text so it is nice and clear to see, I also added an extra line to the description to tuck it in and enclose it so it is not floating around underneath the line; it also helps keep the labels tidy so they are not blending into each other.

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Layout ExperimentationI developed the label further, to break up the separate parts of the label and to make each individual label clear as to where it starts, I made the number white on black to contrast with the white background. I also added a secondary label in the case that something might need labelling but not described so a smaller label with do the job nicely in conjunction with the large label. I made the stroke 0.5pt and the text 8pt so there is a clear distinguish between the primary and secondary label.

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Layout ExperimentationI then set out the horizontal layout so I could fit more graphic language onto the document. I moved the labels to the right so the main content is sandwiched in the middle and so this created a secure structure between information and visuals. I found that with the labels on the left the layout was lopsided and unbalanced. I also included a few variations for the positions of the labels so I could break up the typesetting for a stronger woven layout but also give flexibility so the labels can direct to their area of interest more clearly.

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Layout ProposalThis is the final proposal for my layout for the information tablets. It has a horizontal and vertical hybrid layout. It has thin margins and gutters so the type can be moved out of the way for the visual content which will be placed in the middle. Around the edges of the visuals will be the labels to the right and the title and introductory information to the left. There is a subtle use of point sizes to define the hierarchy as I of course cant use colour since it will be engraved and not printed. The layout balances the two segments of information and the visuals well so the overall layout is strong and sturdy.

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Visual ExperimentsOnce I had my layout sorted I moved on to some visual experiments. As a starting point I selected a few vectors from the Neubau Welt catalogue and begun manipulating them. I wanted the vectors to interact with each other to show how they are objects of similar purpose so I cut parts of the floppy disk vector out and moved the CD inside the cut and it looked like they were merged together. And since the vectors are made in the same style they seamlessly blended together as one object, there were few clashes of shapes and lines that give away the collage.

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Visual ExperimentsI tried another merging where I cut both vectors in half and placed them together with a small gap in the middle; this makes the separate items obvious unlike the previous experiment. I like this idea as it shows their similarities but it does not confuse Alien life to thinking they are one object. I took this a step further and cut the objects in half, rotated them and moved one segment up. The theory behind this is that this dissection of the objects show Alien life that these illustrations represent 3D objects that are physical and can be broken and constructed etc. This will demonstrate the physical anatomy of the objects however it will save room as it is represented in 2D so there is no need for the 3D object. I quite like the theory of this experiment however I don’t like how it looks visually so I may not use this concept.

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Visual ExperimentsGoing along with the concept of showing the 3D anatomy of objects in 2D I decided to break the vectors down into their individual layers and spread them out. I like the visuals this creates and they also give a great opportunity for labelling and examination which would be really useful information to include in my time capsule. I did this separation to the CD and floppy disk vector again but I can see it being very useful for tools and vehicles which have many hidden parts which are crucial for their function. I really like this concept so I will be taking it forward to further experiments.

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Visual ExperimentsJust as a passing idea I decided to take the CD vector and cut it into thirds. This was a purely visual idea and it had no theory behind it. I separated the three segments and played with them a bit and came to this horizontal spread seen here. I tried adding some labelling typography however the visuals were weak and nothing was adding to the image, the lack of theory was showing through very clearly. So since the visuals were so weak I scrapped this idea.

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Visual ExperimentsThis idea is a mix of my dissecting and merging experiments. It was a passing idea I had whilst sketching and I was excited with its possibilities. I begun sketching various forms of blank media, however as I looked at the images of each I sketched down the individual parts separated and merging from one format to another. I did a full spread of this dissected visual and placed it in illustrator where I drew it as a vector. The theory behind this is that It shows multiple objects of similar purpose, in this case blank media. It then merges them together to show how one adapt to another and their similarities; and like before it shows their 3D construction, not just their 2D appearance. Of course this is not a finished piece as it is too long for my layout mockup, however I will use this as a starting point for a more concise graphic. I will also expand this to more object groups such as phones, electronics, tools, transport and other vehicles.

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Fine Detail Inspiration

All images from:Non-Formathttp://non-format.com

Above: http://non-format.com/amy-kohn-plexilusso

Above: http://non-format.com/amy-kohn-plexilusso

Above: http://non-format.com/von-elsewhere

I like the contrast between the solid shapes and the stroked ones. I could use this to identify primary and secondary parts of the objects. This will be helpful for navigating labels and to also identify the crucial parts of each object.

I found this typeface interesting because of the segmented parts. I could use this style to separate each part of the objects.

I like the contrast between the thick and thin strokes. Again this will be helpful in separating each part and also creating a contrast between the important and not so important parts. It will also be details like this and the other two which will enhance the visuals and make them stronger and more appealing.

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Vector DevelopmentAfter looking at a few sources of inspiration I begun experimenting with some styles for my vector graphic. I took influence from Neubau’s vectors for my first visual and made parts of it black with white strokes and then some white with black strokes. This looked okay but a bit odd because of the black and white alternations. However the contrast between the thick and thin strokes looks very sophisticated and it also helps categorise the key components and visually break down the elements. I then tried having the segments all black strokes on white but keeping the variation between the stroke sizes. I liked this more as it removed the almost cheesy alternations but it also looked simpler and easier to decipher. I also want to try having white strokes on black because when engraved this will create a good contrast between the text and these visuals, this will strengthen the layout and gravitate attention towards the key element, the visuals.

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Part 3 - Final Artwork

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Sketches - Data Storage

I decided for my final piece I will design three different graphics representing three subjects. These will then be arranged in a document layout and engraved on to glass tablets and printed on metal. The subjects I were interested to work with were: Phones, Electronics, Vehicles, Transport, Tools and as I have already showed, data storage media.

To the right is the final sketch for my data storage graphic. I worked from the inside out to ensure I had an even layout that was well balanced. It also made the CD centre of attention and then decorated the edges of the frame with the other media. I chose to have the CD as the main component because I have personally used CD’s throughout my life and it was this form of storage I first came across. And also in terms of visuals the round CD encapsulated and tied the layout together well and there was no corners (obviously) to jarr and obstruct the other images. As a quirky feature I will make the CD graphic the same size as the physical object so to give an accurate representation in the time capsule.

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Sketches - Transport

Again like the data storage sketch I started with a round object and worked from the inside out. I chose transport for this sketch and so I will focus most of the space on the wheel as most of our modes of transport use it and our world would never have become what it is today without it. For the centre I picked the most common wheel, the car wheel. I then focused on trains and aeroplanes and more aspects of the car, this way I covered the three main modes of transport and their variants. I also included rail lines and a road to show how these modes of transport work.

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Sketches - Electronics

Electronics was quite an obvious choice to include as we use hundreds of them in just one day, sometimes without even noticing. In the middle I opted for the Nokia 3310 as it is a landmark mobile phone which boosted the consumer phone market. I also included an iPhone to show the development between the two, a washing machine, a TV and remote and a camera. I think these items round up most of the electronics we use in our day to day lives. I also included the controls of the washing machine and enlarged them to show the complexity of our devices and utilities, plus it adds some typographic visuals to break up the vectors and interest the viewer.

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Building the Artwork - Vectors

For the graphics I will be drawing vectors which I will then combine into a collage on Illustrator. Drawing these vectors will be relatively simple as I am experienced with Illustrator however I want as much detail as possible so the drawing process with be very time consuming. Each layout took me one whole day to make from scratch. I would collect the images I wanted to draw and import them into Illustrator, I would then lower the opacity and lock them on the art board. I would then carefully draw each segment of the object working from the outline inwards to the larger objects down to the small details. This way they would generally be in the correct order for when I filled the shapes with colour, so none of the small details will be lost behind a larger objects fill. Once I drew all the objects I made all the strokes 0.25pt and then made key parts thicker to make them stand out and to also develop a structure between the objects. I did it this way round as there are fewer 1pt lines than 0.25 lines and so it saves me time changing three strokes in one image rather than all but those three if it all started out at 1pt. I then grouped all the parts in one object together ready to be placed in the collage; I soon learnt not doing this becomes very confusing and frustrating when trying to move one whole vector object and it is integrated in between and underneath another.

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Building the Artwork - College Construction

I already have a general idea of how my collages will be arranged because of my initial sketches. However I know that the dimensions of some items were not accurate on the sketches and so some may fit and others not. Also in some cases when I put all the items in some did not look right with others so I had to remove some parts or re-arrange them. In the case of the digital storage collage the SSD was more detailed than the rest of the items and so the stroke size seemed to look thicker although it was the same as the rest, and so it needed to be 0.25pt smaller than the rest of the collage to make it fit. To make the images mingle seamlessly together I needed to cut out some parts here and there and add fills to hide overlapping items. I used a multitude of the pen tool, scissor tools and the knife tool to make alterations. Once all the main items were in place I then de-constructed and copied the fine details and mixed them up around the collage. This as I explained earlier shows the 3D construction of the items so Alien life does not think they are 2D objects. Once all this was done I took a step back and observed the layout, I looked out for areas where items clashed or didn’t look right and made amendments accordingly by either moving the item or removing it completely. Once that was done I placed each graphic in my already constructed layout, filled in the labels and title and wrote the descriptive text. However when I did this I found the graphic did not sit well with the layout and it all looked cramped. So to give the graphic some breathing space I deleted the descriptive text as it was the least important part as it would be almost impossible for Aliens to understand it, I only put it in on the off chance that they might learn how. I then moved the graphic down half a column and found it was a much more even balance between the title and the labels on the other side. I was happy with the layout so I exported all three as JPEGS and PDFs for print.

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My Thoughts on the Design

As an idea I thought the designs had a lot of potential and were solid. They offered a mix of informative diagrams and interesting visuals so it covered both the functional and visual requirements. However when it came to putting the collages together I found it quite difficult to get the right amount of deconstruction before the objects became unrecognisable so I needed to re evaluate how important the visual qualities were compared the the functional requirements. I also had difficulty with the layout and getting the right balance between the information and the graphic, to amend this I had to remove some parts of the original layout I constructed. But besides these set backs I believe I have created three strong and informative designs which look good visually and are also effective and communicate the right message.

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Product Production

The initial idea was to engrave my artwork onto glass or perspex so it would be hard wearing. However I found that the artwork was too fine and detailed to be practical to engrave. So I looked back on my idea to print the artwork using printing methods that would not fade like road signs. The first attempt would be to print the artwork onto sheets which I could stick onto the glass, which I would then coat in a gloss so the print could not be damaged physically or through fading.

When I tried this method it was okay, but not excellent and not really suitable for space. The print would very easily chip away from just running your fingers over the print surface, I did try coating them using a verity of materials however they would either not make a difference at all or even smudge the print away. Also when I applied the sheet to the glass there were marks created like micro air bubbles which I could not rub away as I would damage the print, these did not show up much when photographed on a white background which was a bonus however to see them physically it was very noticeable. And so I scrapped this printing method, it was poor quality and unfit for use.

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Final Product

The finished tablets were printed on a UV printer with varnish to give the effect of engraving which I was looking for originally. The print it durable and it is also raised off the surface so it is tactile which provides another method of communication. This tactile effect also helps with communicating the 3D presence of our objects, like the deconstruction of the vector illustrations.

I am very happy with the outcome of the tablets. They communicate exactly how I want them to, they are dominated by the visuals rather than the text so aiding communication with Alien life. The physical product is also sturdy and the print has a long life span, making it suitable for space travel.