Description
While unpacking my suitcase on a hostel bunk in Decatur, Georgia, exhausted after a 6-hour drive from Raleigh, North Carolina, I met a spirited crew of Disney theme park designers on vacation several years ago. August in Georgia is best spent on a porch swing, shaded by Spanish moss, with a cold drink and a few good friends. This was the scene next as we talked for hours that night about the pursuit of happiness, or some reasonable facsimile. A little ways into this dialogue, we landed on the subject of Ayn Rand's book entitled The Fountainhead. The novel showcases the main character Howard Roark's struggle and perseverance as a profoundly original architect in the face of overwhelming resistance at every turn. Roark pursues his field and his craft out of a sheer love for what he does. This is the message of the novel that is most poignant as it has the potential to inspire creators from all relevant disciplines. The most vocal of the group of designers I met that night lit up as he spoke of his love for the characters, the novel's premise and how it inspired his current career path. His praise for the book was so intense that I bought a copy at a used bookstore the next day. Subsequently I plowed through the 752 pages very quickly as I just couldn't put the book down once I started reading. I've recalled this episode to illuminate my interest in narrative. That is the power of a good story and this experience, of course, is one of many emblematic moments of my past that was fueled by passionate storytellers. Graphic design has the power to enlighten and inspire through the myriad forms in which it communicates visually and for its powerful propensity to tell stories. My work investigates both traditional and non-traditional narrative forms in its pursuit of translating both visually. My exploration of traditional narrative centers on the process of writing two short stories in a fiction workshop at San Diego State University. The two books that resulted from this experience include one, which illustrates the story-making process, and one, which displays a short story through the lens of graphic design. Non-traditional forms of narrative are also investigated in my work. The first example is a book, which visually investigates the process of eye tracking as it relates to printed news media. The second example where non-traditional narratives are employed explores my personal connections with road trips, place, and music. The final example of non-traditional narrative exploration in my thesis work examines the connection of narrative with neighborhood walks in a series of five books. Each book highlights a different walk in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego where I live and employs maps, typography and images to illustrate these connections. Looking back on the body of thesis work as a whole, I've found as this process has evolved, that each work has fed the next in some way by improving upon previous methodologies.
