Assignment 1: Stop
Design an autonomous graphic form that means “Stop.”
The new Stop sign must not rely on existing symbolic conventions such as an octagon or a raised hand, graphic conventions such as a slash or an X, or literal conventions such as the word “stop.”
This will make your task difficult, perhaps even impossible. Can a single graphic ever be autonomous, not relying on a system of differences in which to register its meaning? Keep in mind that the Stop sign is not a physical sign manufactured in steel and reflective vinyl. Instead, think of the Stop sign as more of a Stop symbol whose material support is a person’s brain.
Week 1: Explore graphic solutions by making 100 small pencil sketches, arranged ten per sheet on letter-sized paper.
Week 2: Select the five most effective sketches, based on feedback. Render each as a black-and-white hard-line drawing on letter-sized paper. Compare notes with others on the results as a means of establishing a set of criteria for what makes a graphically successful Stop sign.
Week 3: Based on the most successful drawings from Week 2, and incorporating relevant feedback, develop three alternative versions on letter-sized paper.
Week 4: Produce a single, refined Stop sign.
In order to successfully fulfill this assignment, it may be necessary to cheat, strategically ignoring some of the embedded restrictions.
September 19, 2023
Stop
Reading
Resources
Stop
Reading
Symbols.pdf (David Gibbs)
Symbol Sourcebook (Henry Dreyfuss)
Illusions-and-Brain-Models.pdf (R.L. Gregory)
Assignment
#1 Stop (starts)