© Suzanne Day 2017 / Inkblots / Kitchen Beaters

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Inkblots / Kitchen Beaters

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Ink Stamping / Flipper

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Ink Stamping / Flipper

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Object Photography

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Object Photography

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Sketches / Kitchen Utensils

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Sketches / Kitchen Utensils

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Object Photography

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Object Photography

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Drawings / Kitchen Utensils

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Drawings / Kitchen Utensils

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Paper Cutting, Painting & Drawing / Vegetable Peelers

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Paper Cutting, Painting & Drawing / Vegetable Peelers

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Object Photography

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Object Photography

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Frottage & Pressing / Kitchen Utensils

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Frottage & Pressing / Kitchen Utensils

© Suzanne Day 2017 / White Acrylic Paint Impressions / Kitchen Utensils

© Suzanne Day 2017 / White Acrylic Paint Impressions / Kitchen Utensils

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Frottage & Pressing / Kitchen Utensils

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Frottage & Pressing / Kitchen Utensils

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Abstract Ink Impressions / Kitchen Utensils

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Abstract Ink Impressions / Kitchen Utensils

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Definition of "Devour"

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Definition of “Devour”

Typography

My visual research into typography has directed me towards thicker, heavier fonts with fatness and/or substance in the letter strokes, due to the nature of the word “devour” requiring a look of hunger, craving or satiation. In order to match the strong lines, and boldly contrasted image marks of the kitchen utensils, I am using mostly sans serif fonts. Visual research with inspiration boards has made me think about merging letters, leaving parts out and intensity through kerning.

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Typographic Exploration of "Devour"

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Typographic Exploration of “Devour”

Postcard Compositions

Chaos in the kitchen
A story told with three main focal points revealed in a circular movement. The shapes are mirrored across a horizontal axis but composition is ultimately asymmetrical. The tea strainer acts as a vortex, pulling the other elements into it.

Easygoing transformation
A straightforward, linear composition making use of the sequential order of the beaters to tell the story, with narrative overview proceeding on the left. Asymmetrical, balanced inside defined margins with white space. The impression is of refined understatement, full control and the capturing of a still moment in time.

Ready for dough
Experimenting with minimalism and dynamics. One cookie cutter is much bigger in scale and therefore, more important than the smaller one, but both of them work together as they move around in this asymmetrical, balanced layout using repetition. The communication is about the items complimenting each other in order to devour dough, working as a set. The larger scaled type elements add to the balancing of the negative space, while simultaneously increasing the impression of float and lightness.

Painful process
A statement piece communicating the cycle of life through devourment. The meat mallet devours the type, which is devoured by the paper and the handle and top right ‘r’ continue the cycle. There is movement from the right focal point to the left side of the page, making for an interesting backwards nonlinear storyline.

Trapping flipper
Composition exploring extremes of scale. The large flipper overpowers the tiny type, adding to the communication of one item devouring another. In the top background, abstract wallpaper is reminiscent of a kitchen. An asymmetrical layout with balance provided by the linear abstract. The repeated small type communicates powerless type escaping and running away from the devouring.

Starving vegetable peelers
In this composition, the peelers seem to have mouths and the stringiness of peel is why the typography was chosen. The dynamics of angles, scale and tension all work to tell a story of hungry peelers, one of which is eating, one thinking of eating and the third considering it might be hungry for the typography. Also note the interesting concept of mouths as eyes. An asymmetrical layout without clear balance, it works in communicating the story well.

Headfirst into the tea strainer
A dark background, combined with a mark that gives an impression of depth equals a very visual devouring experience. This layout is asymmetrical and balanced only by the solid negative space. The small type explains the concept but acts as a caption or note to the large scaled tea strainer. There is only a very small relationship between type and object, so the dynamic is less important than my other compositions.

Potential execution
In this rather tense diagonally mirrored layout, the large beater works with type cheering it on, while a bunch of small utensils interfering in each other’s space look destinied for devourment. Extreme scaling is used to show which elements are boss, and the angles combined with the inwards direction and tight grouping of the small utensils add significant tension and worry to the composition.

Predatory Beaters
Another tense composition, asymmetrical and using repetition of typography, the beater heads are almost circling the word. Some scaling is used to indicate the more important beater and the angles provide an almost mechanically disjointed appearance. The dynamic can be interpreted as that of pack animals hunting. The “D” on the right side just adds a little bit of extra interest and also adds to the tension by containing the beaters in a smaller space.

With some reflection, I felt communication might be clearer without the extra elements, so I adjusted the layout to communicate only the basics. In “devouring” there are two entities – one devouring the other, so I used pairs of images to communicate and make the set of postcards match. The star postcard was too light when typography like the other postcards was used, so I decided to mix it up a bit and use darker typography so it would have the same light and dark tones as the other postcards.

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Definition of red

© Suzanne Day 2017 / Definition of red

In creating colour compositions for “devour”, I focused mainly on mouths, food and hunger. While I experimented briefly with adding colour to the typography, I felt this was too blatant and that an audience would be far more attracted to a narrative where the colour helped to tell the story.

Postcard compositions with colour

Star Cookie Cutters
Both cookie cutters are hungry for dough – one is the adult and one is the child and they are going to devour together as a family. In this composition, the red emphasises the mouths.

© Suzanne Day 2017

© Suzanne Day 2017

Flippers
The big (vital), hungry flipper already has the taste of blood on its edge and and is thinking of whether to devour the typography or the other, older flipper, since there are so many delicious offerings. The bright red highlights the big flipper’s “thoughts” (ie., that it is hungry).

© Suzanne Day 2017

© Suzanne Day 2017

Veggie Peelers
An adult peeler is watching over a child one as they both eat. The red “food” communicates the child versus adult intake for sustenance, as well as a comparison of ritual intensity between the two through thicker versus thinner marks.

© Suzanne Day 2017

© Suzanne Day 2017

Beaters
The younger beater is getting excited about devouring because it has received knowledge from the older one. The relationship between the two beaters is that of the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next and subsequent transformation. Due to the heavy black saturation of the larger beater, I paint/traced the smaller beater in a solid shape.

© Suzanne Day 2017

© Suzanne Day 2017

 

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