Project 1: Pictograms
This project is aimed at changing the way pharmaceutical recommendations, information, and warnings, and are presented to prescription drug users. Current prescription drug warning stickers are difficult to read. The stickers are placed on the sides of the bottle which can be easily overlooked when administering medication. In order to include a wider range of users (e.g. the visually impaired) and to combat improper drug usage, I wanted to create a tactile reminder on the lid that forces users to interact with drug warnings.
The challenge for this project was to create a clean, universally recognizable pictogram that stood for the phrase presented on the pre-existing warning stickers. It took much brainstorming and continued rounds of ideation, but in the end I managed to create a collection of seven graphics. Each one is an improvement on the ambiguous warning stickers. Strong black outlines and the white highlights on a solid color background create contrast and emphasize the characters on the badges. When 3-D printed, these badges are quite small; They are designed to snap on to the top of a prescription drug bottle. This way the user sees the warnings as they administer the medication. The badges are 3-D printed in three layers. Each layer is a different color and has different heights, allowing the user to feel the information on the badge.
Project 2: Remix
For this project, we were tasked with going out into the city of Prague and becoming inspired by the sights around us. We then documented our influences through photographs. The final deliverable was to remix our influences to create a new, conceptual design. I was inspired by the cobblestone streets that I walk over every single day. One of my Czech friends told me that a nickname for cobblestone in Czech is “kočičí hlavy.” This directly translates to “cat heads.” Inspired by this phrase, I wanted to remix individual stones into cats, creating a startling image. I accomplished this by modeling furry blocks in Blender and superimposing them on a photograph I took near Charles Bridge. The result is a picture that seems almost normal, until the viewer takes a closer look.
Project 3: Stencil Font
The purpose of the third project was to design a stencil font. We needed to focus on creating the shapes of the number and letter while additionally keeping the stencil aspect in mind. I initially struggled with this project. Having never created a typeface before, it was difficult to know where to begin. It took a couple tries before I was able to understand what goes into creating a letter. My third attempt was successful. I used the profile of the Panton Chair by Verner Panton to base my initial curves. From there I dissected the lines, scaled them down, and increased the stroke. I was then left with components from which to craft letters. The resulting typeface is segmented and seems to move at random—almost like multiple worms wiggling around.
