symbol - matrix methodology project

the point of this project was to help familiarize with the formal and conceptual aspects of signs. in doing so, i had to create a symbol derived from a matrix and explore the image's potential to impart meaning while continuing to stay in the parameters of simplicity.

first, i had to select a focus from the list of industries or disciplines:

agriculture	conservation
hydroelectricity	mediation
hotel	navigation
optics	manufacturing
international trade	telecommunications
engineering	animal protection service

i had to successfully depict a set of 3 symbols for my selected industry which would communicate a clear message by incorporating symbolic visual references that suggest some of its specific attributes.

where to begin? where to begin!?
well, brainstorming of course!

brainstorming

in the beginning stages, i was instructed to make a list of 100+ words that came to mind when i thought of the word "manufacturing."
this is what i came up with:

labor for use or sale hand crafted power plant heavy machinery Ford tires clothes Wal-Mart industry multiples of the same wealth producing cheap labor food and beverage metals fair trade outsourcing metals mass produce keep society running cheaper price lines machines replacing people toothpaste fabrication	airplanes airplane food popular clothing everything is the same mcdonalds factories child labor health risks CEO’s hard hats rubber gloves protective eye wear producers consumers fabrication latin: make by hand raw materials minimum wage production quota industrial revolution skilled artisan money templates identical	interchangeable parts united states department of war division of labor assembly line cotton gin printing press fast effective food taco bell people getting fired cookie cutter people henry ford eli whitney media commercials money sale pollution sweat shops pharmaceutical plastics duplication	belts uniform steel cold nonhuman major gutenberg books goods sale trade people china children labor cars overseas northern states money votes advertising unions hands smoke world

after making the list, i had to then choose 3 main categories into which these words fell.

sketches

using the descriptions list, i then had to hunt, gather, and personally create a minimum of 12 different images related to manufacturing. i searched in books, magazines, and online to acquire many different ideas for sketches. of the 12 images i was required to find, 3 of them were to be photographs, 6 to be hand drawn, and the final 3 - abstract symbols representing my industry.

	photographs

	sketches


	abstract

12 vectors

twelve vectors

from the photos and the hand drawings, i had to begin "form reduction" in Adobe Illustrator. I used the pen tool to trace my drawings and create black and white icons. Since these are icons, in this case: less is more.

thirty-three symbols

once i got past the original images, i began combining the separate vectors together to make symbols. i used a matrix combination formula to acquire these images. following this, i created 11+ symbols for characteristic one, characteristic two, and characteristic three

nine iterations

after a class critique where everyone participated in choosing their favorite symbol from each category, it was time to make 9 iterations from the previous 33+
this part of the project differed from the others due to the fact that i wasn't creating new images from the vectors, but merely tweaking them and continuing to make them even more flawless.

three final symbols

this is it! what i'd been working for since the beginning of october!

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