CONFORM•CONSUME

Conform and consume is an exhibit that takes an in-depth look at the assimilation and modification of Japanese culture and cuisine in America.  Put more plainly it is how america has taken sushi in all its aspects and traditions and in making it its own, has made it into something completely different.

For this concept I kept in mind the idea of conforming and consuming sushi and how to best portray that.

I decided on taking this on in two parts.  The first is to change my icon color to something more appropriately or stereotypically American, thus deciding on the faded glory color scheme.  This set the tone for the rest of the imagery.  I took the American flag and masked out an area of it to either frame or contrast the icon.  The imagery inside the masks were at first shapes of things that reach, grab, eat, and consume, such as the profile of the eating man.  Later the imagery evolved into consumption related images that had more to do with the contrast between that image and the more traditional object that the icon depicts.  Such relationships are the fork and the chopsticks, and the fast food cup and the tea pot.

Branding Concept Titles

Here are the titles for the three possible museum exhibitions. (descriptions included)


Perfected Practice-
A look into the time honored traditions of the true sushi masters.


Sushi Under Construction
Discovering the genesis of this ever popular cuisine.


Conform Consume
Considering the assimilation and modification of Japanese culture and cuisine in America.

The Raw Facts on the Raw Facts on Sushi

Let me just start this off by showing you this.

This is the complete set of infographs based on information about sushi and its culture.  Each includes the usage of my previously constructed icons as the project called for.  The infographs utilize the icons both as labels and as labels that correlate information between the graphs individual units of information.  All in all I have two temporal graphs (timelines), one spacial graph (maps), and one cluster of three quantitative graphs (numbers/quantity) that tie together and relate to each other.  The other required problem to solve was making them cohesive with the stylization of the icons themselves.  This lead to the rounded/geometric look that many of the elements have, and the flow of the set is helped by the streamlined swooping effect they create. 

Infographics… (one for every day)

So in my regular researching fashion, the first place I hit is good 'ol Google.  When I pulled up images for infographics, it did not take long for an interesting one to pop into view (which is not normal for a Google search).  The site it lead me to could not have been more perfect.  The Daily Infographic site not only gives a fresh infographic every day but also funny commentary about each one.

I thought this one was entertaining.  The color scheme is perfect for the subject matter.  Its very easy to read for the amount of information displayed.  This is due to the easily followed flow of the composition and the aid of directional and numerical indicators.  The icons used are easy to read in most instances, even though some must rely on surrounding context.  There are several levels of reading from the main points to the sub points.  The middle bar of information gives a nice break to what would otherwise be an overwhelming amount of busy information.

http://dailyinfographic.com/

Icons Icons Icons.

Relation to culture-

My icons have a link to my culture in respect to the semi-woodblock print aesthetic.  This looks to the traditional Japanese culture.  At the same time they have a clean and friendly form and color gives it a more modern look.  This could represent the modern sushi restaurant culture which is more adaptive and westernized.

Cohesion-

The icons all follow a strict rule set that keeps them cohesive in form and hopefully function in the future contextual instances.

Legibility-

The legibility of my icons is as good as is possible with my extremely strict rule set.  A great deal of their legibility will be reliant on how I utilize them in proper context.  This goes especially for the sushi icon (the bane of my existence).  Otherwise termed the space amphitheater,  this icon may need special attention in the future.

Process-

The process of designing these icons really began with the form exploration utilizing blunt mark making tools.  The geometric style of icon gave me a particularly unique form and later yielded a decent set of icons.  The rule set includes at least one rectangle, pill shape, and curved tear drop shape.  This rule had to be broke slightly later as it slowly broke me.  Even with the slightly less strict measures it allowed for a cohesive set.  Later when experimenting with the colorization and expanding around the boarders I found the second variation on the final icon set which is more stable and might be applied to differing situations more effectively.

Digital Final.

Here is my final set of digital icons for seven of my sushi artifacts.  This is a tentative set as I will be still looking for things to edit.

Pictocons.

What I gathered from the readings was a greater outlook on how big of a role clarity and context plays on the success of a pictogram.  Also a look into the early history of representative image making was nice to keep in the back of my mind whilst learning about modern pictograms.  Unfortunately the video seemed to be corrupted and started over once it got half way through.


The clarity of the pictogram depends on several factors.  The pictogram must be in formal alignment with other pictograms of a set.  They should be un ambiguous in form and should not be weighed upon by the stylistic choices of the designer (something I have had a hard time with).  Also the pictogram is highly influenced by its surroundings and the norms of the culture in which it is represented.  I'm wondering if we will be exploring placement in some way.

Sushi... Not Bad.

For as nervous as I usually am giving presentations, I felt I was the most comfortable during this last one.  This could have simply been due to the slightly informal format and the fact that I did not have to stand.  I've learned allot about sushi culture which I was not aware of, that I hope to tastefully put into practice.  My book did not receive to many comments overall but I am really happy with the way it turned out.  The craft is decent even though the paper I used may be slightly unforgiving.  As I've already seen how the book has helped inform the more expressive icon exercise, I'm pretty confident that I've chosen good images.

Making the Smithsonian Visible

In the reading, Making the Invisible Visible, I understood two important things. One being that when working with a client or partner, the input whether constructive, negative, or otherwise can be whatever you make it whether constructive, negative, or otherwise.
The second thing is that the most basic theme should be at the center of every project in every matter.  The values listed at the beginning of our culture project influenced what the style or mood the project would take.  It will also continue to do so through whatever future stages our project takes us.


As for the other reading... I am not entirely sure how it relates other than the fact that the Smithsonian has a very elaborate and focused method for collecting and documenting, making it possible for them to keep track of their expansive collection, and for them to paint a fully encompassing portrait of many cultures.

Sushi Exploration

Here are my mock up book layouts.  I've added more images than the ones that I took myself.  This should give it more variety.  The printed version of this needs to be toned down considerably when it comes to color, and I'm still trying to find the magical balance of reds and yellows so that the printer doesn't give me an extra spoonful of each.  I really want sushi now... all the time... even when I'm not hungry.  If only it weren't so expensive and wouldn't fill me with mercury.  In that light I think the title "RAW INDULGENCE, luxury necessity desire" works well.  While sushi is delicious, it is a luxury (in my case at least) to have, and while I  often feel that it is a must have, it is definitely more of a want than a need.  I think that reflects well on sushi culture and what inspires its members to eat copious amounts of raw fish.