Philosophy studies the fundamental nature of knowledge, truth, reality, and existence. It is the study of every theoretical form of knowledge and argues the perceptual realities of humanity. Properties: Universals directs study toward the concept of "universals", entities that apply qualities and values that distinguish individuals. Perceiving universals requires that one must question relativity of all qualities. Properties: Universals explores the indefinition of universals through a visual and typographic journey.
Awarded Merit in the ISTD Student Assessment, 2017
Featured in the VCD Juried Student Show, 2017
Research includes: The Elements of Euclid: Euclid's Geometry by Oliver Byrne, Visual Grammar by Christian Leborg, Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef-Muller Brockmann, Interaction of Color by Josef Albers, and other philosophical texts.
Exploring abstract and unseen concepts through visual metaphor is a consistent goal of design. Properties: Universals epitomizes this practice as it presents unseen and unrepresented qualities through visual iteration.
The book breaks down several elements of meaning: the "individual", the "universal", and the "quality". The notion of universals are depicted as a dotted circle which becomes a repetitive sequence of individual circles. The dotted circle is a systematic artifact: a sequence of qualities identifies a broad picture of the quality— this is the universal.
After creating this project, it was easier to view a full picture of visual metaphor. Even abstract entities can be represented through visual metaphor. Annotation and instruction is key in most of my work. I enjoy instructing readers what to make of the content through links between text and graphic/image.