Created this PLAY DIDOT magnetic puzzle piece as part of a Typography Font Personality project. Task was to personify a font. Dug out some significant characteristic of the font and made this magnetic puzzle toy that allows you to play "dress-up" with the Didot head.
1. Beard+thinning hairline: The contrast between the thick and thinness of the font.
2. Eye: The font was used by CBS together with their logo for very long.
3. Golden hair: Elegant french modern font.
I chose India and the uniqueness of the Kathakali dance as my inspiration. I worked my way
through the research I'd done and found the main (hero) character rather intriguing. Hence, I
used the expression, the emotions and the gestures to bring out the essence of the dance, and
also of India.
Chose BRANDS, because I think it's an essential for everyone, especially those
individuals out there who are overworked.
So I designed this character encompassing all the
pointers I'd listed previously and worked my way through. With the tag line,
"Even the gods
need the essence to dance.", I created this poster to show the energy
one BRANDS essence could do.
On top of the poster, we were required to do a souvenir/promotional item for the product. Made a book with colourful pages. Here are the pictures of the book cover!
The spread!
I had to do this sticker to top it all off!
Before I go on to the story, just a brief introduction of my packaging for this book.
Basically, I threaded each page with a single black string and needle to symbolise the continuation of the process, through the pain to the relief. the needle was left on the cover
because it all began when something as painful as a piercing of the needle through the heart took place. Wrapped up in a sealed plastic bag, it's like a person being trapped
in some place without air, which is more painful than death.
Before I go, here are the processes:
CITY/COUNTRY
Did another 3 pieces for Illustration class. This week, the theme was City/Country.
I did a bird, a piece of cowdung and a trapped person in the middle of a city life.
THEME OF THE WEEK: BIRD/CAGE/MAN & CIRCUS
It's about this man who remembers this girl whom he was in love with and still is very deeply. However this girl has long gone away from him and he felt very sad and wanted a bird to fly him to a remote area so as to die quietly. He is portrayed as a clown as he thought that life's such a joke and he just wanted to die, hence the rope. The pattern on the clown shoes symbolises the ironies and twists in lives, how one moment things seem normal, and next, shit happens. Finally, the floating pink balloon symbolises the joy he once had flying away from him, forever. Leaving him sad and gloomy.
So why is it called Isabel-inspired? Well, I had this singing course in university, and we once learnt this song called Isabel. It depicted a man who was deeply in love and he was willing to die for her, however if she ever leaves him, he would rather be dead.
Painted these panels about the beautiful Songkran festival of Thailand. They illustrate day 0 till the last day of songkran.
Taken from the collateral I did for this mini exhibition:
"...Songkran being one of the most celebrated and sacred events in Thailand is much raved about throughout the world. The energy, spirit and vibrancy, can never be compared to by any other countries.
Water, being one of the most iis too often taken for granted by most. Knowledge of the symbolisms behind the Thai waters is slowly diminishing as the new generations take over. Hence, I'd like to take this opportunity to bring these symbolisms back to life once more throught he five panels of paintings...."
Cleansing
Cleansing of the house and inner self is done a day before the Songkran festival. This is done to ward off all evil spirits. Water here is seen as sacred, blessing the house and the people. This is also an action to wash off all bad elements that were accumulated throughout the past year.
The black background signifies the bad elements present before the washing, while the coloured splashes above represent the colours of the different element use to clean the house, such as flower petals, water, etc. A Thai monk lookalike represents the cleansing of one's mind off all evil thoughts while the falling waters waist down from the monk's body signifies the impurity leaving the body with the water flow.
Blessing the Buddha
On the first day of the Songkran festival, Thais visit the temples to bless and bathe the Buddha. They believe that by doing so, they can show their gratitude towards the Buddha's blessing on them throughout the past year and also get blessed by the Buddha for bathing him. Water here is seen as a form of bridge, connecting Man and god.
The white background signifies the fresh new start of the new year after cleansing oneself from the day before. In this picture, you see a man throwing colour splashes towards the buddha figure that is situated on the top right hand corner of the panel. This represents "blessing the buddha", and in turn gets blessed by the buddha. If you look closely, there are water splashes on the man's body as well. This signifies the pardon of one's sin from the buddha after he's made his respects.
Family Ties
After being blessed in the temples, Thais return home to prepare for the Rod Nam Dam Hua. This is a ritual involving the younger generations to pour scented water unto the palms of the older generation. This act signifies utmost respect and gratitude towards the older generations. In turn, the older generation blesses the younger ones back. Water here is seen also as a form of a bridge, connecting the different generations as one.
The girl above is the daughter while the one below who looks quite like the girl above is the mother. This shows the connection between the 2 generations through water and the union of the family. Colours of the splashes once again signifies the elements used for this ritual. Red signifies blood ties.
Fertility
After the family blessings, Thais go out on the streets to pour water unto others. The wetter they get, the better. Water is seen as a form of blessing and prosperity from the naga (holy water snake). Water also simulates the rain. The "heavier the rain, the better the harvest of the crops. Agriculture plays a large role in the livelihoods of the Thais. Rain (water), therefore, plays an important role to ensure the growth of the crops.
The background in the panel seem to be tainted with a hint of other colours like yellow and blue. This symbolises the blessings of others. The different splashes of red and purple paint signifies the increase in fertility within Thailand, as red simulates new and fresh blood while purple symbolises Thailand.
Rebirth
As the Songkran festival comes to an end, the Thais start a brand new year afresh, discarding all the bad that happened during the year before. The phoenix rising from all the turbulence of fire and trials represents the rebirth of a new year, a renewal of faith in life.
The last symbolism is hidden within the five panels. Each of these paintings are linked to the next. And this last symbolism is unity. Water in the Songkran context unifies the different generations within a family and affirms the family as one. It also ties the Thai community closer as they go on the streets to shower their blessing upon others. Songkran is a beautiful start of a new year in Thailand. Songkran is also the rebirth of an identity for the Thais. Water, being the key element of the festival plays an important role. It helps strengthen the hopes, beliefs and the faiths of the Thai community in their lives. Water has also evolved to be more than just a necessity in life. Water has a deeper meaning than just to keep one's survival.
This is Songkran, redefined in pictures. This is Songkran, redefined, by the symbolisms of the Thai waters.