What LANGUAGE Looks Like
Briley Bolen, Sara Conde, Jersey Alcala, and Nathan Li
BDS 101, Project 3
PROJECT BRIEF - Students worked in groups to create temporary installations across campus. Each group was assigned a word that they would explore in terms of meaning and significance, and how they could convey the message of the word visually while also working contextually with the materials, composition and environments used.
S U P P O R T
1. bear all or part of the weight of; hold up [structural]
2. give assistance to; enable to function or act. [emotional]
In our project, we explored both the structural and emotional meanings of the word, which led us to a lot of creative ideas and interesting compositions.
Type Image Compositions
COMPOSITIONS - Our first exercise was to make compositions out of our assigned word: support. We made 10 hand-made compositions by cutting out letters and gluing them individually by hand, and then we took 5 of those compositions that we liked most and recreated them in Adobe Illustrator
Skill Builds and Prototypes
LEFT - 3" scale letter models. Letter building exercise for potential letter forms
RIGHT - 6" scale prototype. Approximate scale model for our final structure
SITE EXPLORATIONS - Chosen for exploration of structural or emotional support, or both!
Mockup Idea 1 - drawn by Nathan Li. Alongside column, offers structural support.
Mockup Idea 2 - drawn by Nathan Li. Under bridge, offers structural support.
Mockup Idea 3 - drawn by Nathan Li. Bench, offers both structural and emotional support. FINAL IDEA
Pre-Build Site Test
Building Process
After many tests and prototypes, we were finally able to start building!
BUILD - We used cardboard and hot glue to build our letters. Since our site was at a slant, we had to account for the angle.
OUR PALETTE - We chose it for its connection to the LGBTQ+ community, and their ties to emotional support!
Getting messy!
PAINT - We used seven different colors for each seven letters. We chose our colors based on the colors of the rainbow; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet!
Final Presentation and Installation!
INSTALLATION - We finished our letters and were able to successfully insert them into our site! We were able to correctly account for the slanted gap under the bench, and the letters fit perfectly!
REFLECTION - Though this project proved to be difficult at times, as I had to navigate things I not only have never done, but also never experienced with others. Though it was a challenge, I am grateful for the experiences this project gave me, both good and bad, and I'm thankful that it has prepared me for the real world.
Thank you! -Briley Bolen
