✔️APPLIED DESIGN PROJECT / PHASE 1 : DEFINE YOUR TOPIC / WEEK 1-4 / 1st Delivery - Submit your topic proposal
Summary of the work to be developed
TITLE : HORROR IN VISUAL COMMUNICATION AS A WAY OF PERCEIVING REALITY
This project has been a cornerstone in my life since my earliest childhood, when I first saw the illustrations of the doyen of Bulgarian illustration Lyuben Zidarov https://www.facebook.com/media/set?set=a.3687909404636600&type=3
I can't quite decide which was the dominant feeling among all that I felt at that moment: the primal feeling of dread that the illustrations gave off or their alluring mysteriousness?! The only thing I was absolutely convinced of was that one day I should try to do something similar.
I would like to do a broad research on the topic of horror in visual communication, starting probably with the paintings of Yeronimus Bosch, looking at the illustrations of the Grimm Brothers' fairy tales and reaching the modern interpretations of the genre - both in adult cinema (from Nosferatu to films based on of Stephen King's novels, as well as in Simon & Sara Bor's animations for children 'Grizzly Tales For Gruesome Kids', or in the shorts of youtube-animator Felix Colgrave;
I would like to explore in detail the apocalyptic horror in the visual provocations of Zdzisław Beksiński and the dark symbolism of Babs Webb; the gothic scholasticism in the sculptors of Philip Jackson and the emptiness in the illustrations of Unworn (as well as the unknown artist known as Vergvoktre..)
I would go even further, exploring the mystery behind the shock and horror of the appearance and behavior of some illustrated/animated/villains (such as HIM from Craig McCracken's Powerpuff Girls series or the Joker from the Batman comics).
All of them have provoked my imagination in different ways over the years, and now I would like to look for what they have in common and try to give a reasoned answer to what makes them so attractive to the fragile sensibilities of children and adolescents (especially those of them who are more they will be doing art later!)
I think that the research will be of interest to a certain community of people dealing with visual arts and will be useful for their work, since systematized information on the matter is missing (or at least I myself have not come across such at the moment).
In addition to the theoretical development ( which will represent a solid foundation from researching and collecting of primary and secondary sources) this topic will give me the opportunity to put into practice my skills as a visual communicator, preparing the layout (cover and inside spreads) of some classic novel of horror genre (The Woman in White for example, or The Scarlet Letter, or Sweeny Tod,.. or Alice in Wonderland)...
I will rely on my own previous experience and technique acquired over the years, but also on the searches of various masters of visual communication who have already worked on the horror theme. I will also use some methods - known and studied during the 1st semester of the Master's program (Mindmapping, Edward Bono's approach 'SIX THINKING HATS', personas, analogy, Empathy Map, different types of mood boards: Map of the context of design: Problem - Description - Prototyping, Design as problem framing, as well as the traditionally used survey methods (focus groups, survey, interview) and their systematization and analysis.
I think I will have enough time and resources to develop my thesis in detail, using the available literature on the topic.
Project plan and schedule
1/ Park M., 2018, The Aesthetics and Psychology Behind Horror Film, [Online], available at https://digitalcommons.liu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=post_honors_theses&fbclid=IwAR1DCKoomDfhh4qrr8J48-CcTgoKp9AB2d_F8hdaiP1fw8EWgh7pVwYSQP4 , [accessed at 19 Mar 2023]
2/ Sam – AAD 250, 2013, Artifact Five: Enjoying Horror Research, [Online], available at https://blogs.uoregon.edu/sallred/portfolio/artifact-five-enjoying-horror-research/?fbclid=IwAR0vXCArnL2tkotBn6ilNjradueh-lmRcZ6c2dB_8_-nenLXxEN1QpoCQ8o , [accessed at 19 Mar 2023]
3/ Marie, 2014, Horror Research, [Online], available at https://blogs.uoregon.edu/marie/2014/02/16/horror-research/?fbclid=IwAR2J1Pg-PxWRobVhjDCNrtRPfVxxwDwGW2Adap_lM9l38t7jpUBZAUzLdms , [accessed at 19 Mar 2023]
4/ Damajanti I.,Limano F.,Piliang Y.A., Rismiyati E K,2022, Uncanny in the Horror Film: A Reconstructive Study of the Digital Puppet, Ondel Ondel, [Online], available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361461485_Uncanny_in_the_Horror_Film_A_Reconstructive_Study_of_the_Digital_Puppet_Ondel_Ondel?fbclid=IwAR3thPFj_bQWeT0k3vp1pul4D8SiJHmqD3CoXtqNTSvQuroy8Ftrfh29AJw , [accessed at 19 Mar 2023]
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Вашето предложение е прието за по-нататъшно развитие (фаза 2), но е изключително важно да имате предвид, че това е проект за приложен дизайн и че вашата работа трябва в крайна сметка да даде оригинален принос към дисциплината дизайн, което може да бъде от гледна точка на практика/теория/методология/педагогика. Следователно би било важно да се поддържа перспектива за проекта от референтна точка на дизайнер/дизайнер изследовател. Ето защо предлагаме този въпрос за вашето разглеждане:
В кои контексти на дизайн* може естествената реакция на ужас/гротеска да бъде подходяща/да добави стойност към определено преживяване?
