Type and Language 2 - Visual research
Because the quote I have chosen is about science, wonder, and the beauty of scientific knowledge and the pursuit of it - I am going to collate some visual research of scientific diagrams, texts, posters etc. I want to use the design elements present in the science world in order inspire me to be able to express the importance and severity of the sentiment I am designing around.
I began by looking at vintage scientific illustrations. There is a very specific and peculiar, gothic aesthetic to them. Due to their need for function over form, they are often meticulously crafted with rulers and compass to keep shapes just correct and symmetrical. The lines used are thin, utilitarian, and distinct, so as to inform the viewer and not confuse them. They are often kept bare and without much flair and experimentation, so that they serve their purpose well and do not distract the viewer. Modern science textbooks are borne with these same principles in mind, yet, as design conventions change, you are more likely to see even barer, stripped back illustrations, and even more likely to see photographs. Serif fonts are more popular in these old textbooks as well, as Sans Serif was yet to come into the world of academia. (More on modern textbooks later!)
A couple of months ago as I was starting to study my artistic anatomy module, I was gifted a set of two medical anatomy textbooks from 1937 and 1939 respectively. They are from the university of Edinburgh, and have some student’s scribbles and notes in them - I’m not sure who.
Doing this visual research has brought me to realise that graphic design is a massively important part of scientific inquiry and explanation.
NASA have some rather beautiful diagrams of their specialist equipment online. Below are a few of them - they feature extreme levels of technical detail, and accurate representations of scale. The extremely fine lines really show their purpose in these diagrams - if you need to display a lot of detail, then you need to draw in such a way that you can show that detail. I love when graphic subcultures are borne of necessity and resource, and diagrams like these are an example of how art styles have developed not through aesthetic means but through way of necessity.
Some designs created for the purpose of scientific exploration have become iconography in and of themselves: chemistry structures are explained by these hexagonal patterns, for example. This symbolism has entered popular culture in realms beyond scientific study. Another example of this taking place is solar system diagrams.
The following images are from a book I’ve had for a decade now. It is called See Inside The Human Body and it’s a science book aimed at teenagers. It has wonderful, detailed, informative illustrations and computer generated images of anatomical structures. It is a great example of how scientific illustrations have progressed from the likes of my 1930s books, to present day. The images are much more vibrant and dynamic, with even greater detail, bright and beautiful images and a really keen eye for texture. There are some pages printed on acetate which overlay others, to show the body’s muscular-skeletal, vascular, and nervous systems in 3 dimensional detail. It is a really wonderfully thought out book.
The graphic designer featured below is named Estefania Loret de Mola. I recently came across her work and I find it very apparent that she has been inspired by scientific diagrams and aesthetics. I have been really inspired by her use of diagrams to express human emotions and I think her work fits perfectly into the theme of my Type and Language project.
Katie Scott, who’s work is below, draws scientific style illustrations of biological beings. I absolutely love this illustration style and the layout of her drawings.
With this visual research taken into account, I think I have a great direction to go towards for artistic style now. Although typography is not a massive part of these visual languages, I want to take the lessons learnt from the design styles of scientific diagrams, illustrations, posters, etc, using their colours shapes and textures, to build up a typographic language and create type work that stylistically exists within the same world as this imagery.
Another designer I have found who uses a pseudo scientific art style is Beaming Design. I really love this art style and I wish to somewhat emulate it.