Day 2 Monday 7/09/09

I arrive at Oded's for 12pm ready to show him my ideas for Typo Zurich. He quickly notes that my work is logical… rational… justified. He explains that I need to focus on the emotional side of art. Where does art come from? What makes us respond to art? I tell him about my idea for a purely visual system of letters that no one will understand other than to appreciate their form. “Too pragmatic,” Oded says. “Think about the arts and the emotions.”  We discuss my existing work again. He notes that it is half-baked. Like I was running… then had to stop at some point… so I stopped. I figure this is true. Particularly in my work from the LCC. At the beginning the projects are fresh, then they become quickly confined by deadline, expectation etc. and they die too soon. Oded says that the piece he appreciates the most from all of my work from the final year is the ‘See the World’ box. This is interesting because where my other 3 projects were completed in 8 months, that one was completed in the space of 2 weeks. He says it is fresh, engaging and simple. The others are shrouded by complication.
 
Oded explains that I need to learn to work for myself, not someone else. He said, “When working you should not share your ideas with anyone until you have tested them and are solid in the knowledge of their stability. If you share something with someone that is new and unfounded, they will shut it down immediately with their opinions. What could be a very good idea might never get off the ground because it was shared too soon.” In my notebook I wrote, " An odd thing, learning to please yourself after 4 years of pleasing others, and in an industry that is so subjective. Who should I be trying to please?"
 
Later, I begin to develop an idea of experiencing typography in an emotional way. I realise that emotion is born of an engagement with the senses. Art evokes emotion because it engages our senses on several levels. In order for typography to affect us at an emotional level, it must engage with us on a sensual level. Art evolves its subject, it is not static like design. In Oded's work, the typography is evolving, quite literally. He takes letterforms into art rather than leaving them within a functional realm. I begin again along the lines of rational, physical forms to convey abstract ideas. I draw up an ampersand that envelops the users senses, wrapped around the ears, nose, mouth, across the heart and around each wrist. I imagine a machine that feeds the senses typography. I leave for the day contemplative and eager to please.
 

Day 3 Tuesday 8/09/09

I arrive at 9, rather downhearted. Oded and I discuss a realisation I had that experimental work must never cease. Unlike commercial work, it has to continue to stay alive. When Oded observed my 26 clocks as half-baked I thought, “Half-baked?! How can that be… I worked on them for 9 months, laboriously, through 100s of developments and endless testing.” What I failed to realise was that the logistics took over the idea. I stopped and produced something. That should never be the end of the line for experimental work. It should continue and always evolve. The idea was completely alien to me.

I share my ampersand and receptive typography machine ideas with Oded. He's keen on the typographic machine but not on the ampersand. I feel encouraged, as if I've managed to tick a box. All the while, he is gentle and never rude, always willing to explain. Oded shares with me a second idea he has for me to work on. The work will present colour and typography together. He is aware of the lack of colour in his work; only ever using black, white, and occasionally, red. He envisages communicating a phenomenon, some kind of obsessive representation. His excitement engaged me as he encouraged me to think of myself as an artist not a designer. There is no need for the system of commercial work to be applied to the system of experimental work.  An artist would never view their work as finished but rather that work goes through seasons, always evolving. He explains that often two ideas with converge down the line and be stronger together. I realise that it makes sense. There is much strength in an experimental idea that is well researched and has developed over time. To pass it off as 'finished' 6 months down the line makes little sense. Given more time, it would go on an even greater journey - from strength to strength. Oded explains to me that we are here for an average of 80 years. His Typosperma work was started in 2005 and it is still going. When he is gone, he hopes it will be a huge body of work that may one day be seen as a reality, not a fantasty. People will view the work in its entirety rather than as a single final piece and supporting research. No idea should ever die. I decide to work in the city tomorrow.

Read Lucy's first entry here, and stay tuned for the next installament of Lucy's Design Diary next week. In the meantime, check out Lucy Brown Studio on jotta and her personal website.