critical journal

1. 17th December 2015:
Today was mostly occupied with planning my context of practice practical. I looked at each
type of proximity that I have and continue to explore in my essay, and how I could look to
measure and explore their role in me executing craft practice of my own. Because this was
mostly an exercise in thought and not creation or trial and error, this did not bring me closer
to the object or outcome of the project. ​If anything I would say that my emotional connection
to it was less because of the academic need to so deeply reflect and analyse the process
before it begins. Hopefully this will not continue once I start the actual design and creation
process.
I hem moved on to thinking about and deciding on the quotes that would form the focus of
the chalkboards. ​This was a much more mentally involved process and one that required me
to empathise with the possible audience, because I was looking at the most communicative
quotes, not necessarily my favourite quotes. ​Thinking about clear language that would not
alienate a relatively young, non academically educated audience. I also needed to think
about the length of quote for the same reasons, but also because of the placement of the
boards in a transitional space, through which many people will be passing and to be able to
read the boards quickly is important for effective communication. ​Because these are
situation in which I could succeed or fail to varying degrees, my emotional engagement with
the project immediately increased, simply because I wanted to succeed. Interestingly in this
case I would be succeeding in communicating with my audience, emotional proximity is thus
connected to social proximity.
I then started to consider the design options and ideas that could stem from these quotes
and how the would increase the communication of each board. I considered the typographic
design decisions separately one after the other, but informed by one another. This means
that they are unified in the message that they are communicating but perhaps approach it in
different ways because of the different formats that they need to occur in. ​This required a lot
of mental picturing and the bringing together of a lot of past knowledge not only about
chalkboarding as a whole but about typography and lettering, as well as visual and image
based communication. This definitely increased my emotional engagement with the project
because it connected me to my past projects and the victories and failures that are part of
those experiences, creating emotion by association.
18th December 2015:
Today I started sketching some options for the lettering style to be used on my first, physical
proximity board. I knew from my idea generation I did yesterday that I wanted to
communicate the idea of ‘the hand’ through the lettering style. To do this I used my large
hand lettering reference book for inspiration ‘Hand to Type’ and drew out each word of the
quote I had settled on in a different style that I thought could communicate the idea of the
hand used in the creation of the lettering. These designs varied from more common
handwriting like styles to the mre calligraphic in form as well as flourished. I found that a
brush pen calligraphic style communicate the movement of the hand in creation really

2. effectively because of the swooping forms and fluid line weight changes. However, I will
have to go on and experiment with how this style sits with a collection of words. This is the
next step of the design process. ​Increasingly, I find as I have to make more decisions about
how the board is precisely going to look, I am becoming more involved and emotionally
invested in the project and its outcome. Because it is my decisions and no one else’s how
this board looked in the end is on my shoulders and will reflect badly on no one but me if it
looks bad, this sparks a cycle of sorts which make me want to try harder to make the board
as good as possible and that makes me emotionally invest in the project further. On the
other hand some of these decisions are directed by and outward awareness of audience,
and that creates a sense that the project is not quite as mine as I would like it to be. But
using the audience as a focus and reason for the design decision also gives direction and
purpose that the project needs. Bit of an oxymoron really.
26th December 2015:
Today I took the brush pen calligraphy and expanded it into the first full words of the qute. To
do this I repeatedly referenced my hand lettering book ‘Hand to Type’ to see how continuity
throughout the letters could be achieved. ​This is something that previously would have taken
much trial and error on my part and many small tweaks and changes. However, with
increased experience I have learned to trust what I think looks right. This creates and
emotional proximity of sorts because being able to do this part of the process well makes me
feel positive and optimistic about the later stages of the project, which leads me to hope that
the board will indeed be good and invest further in the effort to make it so. In contrast to this I
thought that the central aspect of emotional proximity was the bond formed during trial and
error. This stage of the project has shown me that an affirmation of skill in a lack of trial and
error also does this. The relationship of the process of creation and craft to our emotional
proximity to the object seems a much more complex relationship than I originally thought.
Today I also spent a lot of time talking to people about my plans for this project. This was
quite a therapeutic process that helped me clarify areas that worked and identify areas that
needed greater development and explanation. It occurs to me that this is a consistent aspect
of my process, well before I actually draw much. It is a way of filtering ideas through other
people, and cutting out anything that doesn't make people enthusiastic and curious about the
project.
28th December 2015:
Today I did a small amount of experimentation with the details of the lettering style. This
centred around the variable base line that I felt could create a greater sense of animation
and the person behind the design. I varied between doing too much variation on the baseline
and not enough. ​This repetition of mistakes actually pulled me back from the emotional
proximity of the project. This reminds me rather of a relationship, as if these hints of trouble
make you pull back in case you get hurt by a bad or ineffective design outcome. However, I
am getting much closer to a good resolution for this board but I am also simultaneously
pulling away from it. Is this possibly because once the design becomes, incarnate and

3. physically on the board then it passes in a way into the ownership of the audience? I guess I
will have to wait and see. The full scale realization of at least parts of the design is becoming
a necessity for moving forward with the project and I think that once this has happened I can
begin to be fully emotionally involved in the project again. This possibly says more about my
trust issues than the overarching experience of emotional proximity for other practitioners​.
30th December 2015:
Today mostly comprised of bringing together the final lettering design for the first board.
Most of the work was pretty much already done, just drawing on the small layout thumbnail
and the larger stylistic sketches to create the full work. ​This is by far one of the more
rewarding sages of the design process, all the fruits of past work have to come together to
create something almost complete. This stage is most rewarding because you are as close
as you have yet been to the finished product and it is exciting and enthusing to see that. This
is particularly relevant to the division of labour discussed in chapter one. If you can’t see the
fruit of your labour, there is very little emotional connection to the object or the process and
the reward is therefore minimal. This clearly outlines that the majority of the reward for doing
these things is emotional; pride, contentment and a sense of achievement. Although the full
chalkboard is yet to be finally produced this sense of achievement is very tangible at this
stage.
Today, work also started, on the second of the four boards. This one to represent social
interaction. ​In my earlier idea generation stage The decision had been made to draw on the
soft gothic blackletter of the Kelmscott press and the work of William Morris. This is because
it is a William Morris quote and central idea of Fraternity that is being communicated. At first
some of the blackletter forms seemed a bit harsh and I examined them by using a wide
nibbed pen to understand the strokes used to create each glyph and how they are
separately made. This definitely allowed me to feel closer to the historic context and even
the meaning of the quote. The forms the Kelmscott press uses are a softened version of
traditional backletter forms, with gentle terminals and many curved edges. This allows
greater legibility and a more easily read text, an enactment of the equality and fraternity that
Morris talks of. ​So, through the process I have found temporal proximity as well as
emotional. However, at this stage my emotional connection to the board is yet to be that
strong. This could be because the board is at such an early stage that I have not gone
through much trial and error yet so that proximity has not had a chance to form. In contrast
to this I am quite close to the quote itself and want to represent it well, but this has not yet
had a chance to transfer from pressure and wanting to do it justice to actual emotional
proximity.
31st December 2015
Today was mostly concerned with acting on the research that I did on the Kelmscott press
letterforms. I drew from the images I collected and put together the quote for the board. This
was quite challenging because the nuances of the letterforms come from wide nibbed,
blackletter calligraphy and drawing these using a pencil can miss these out. In an attempt to
get a better understanding of these nuances I used my parallel pen to draw out a few of the

4. glyphs. Specific letters such as o and q proved most difficult because of the variation in line
weight during the bowl. However, the angle at which the nib needed to sit to create these
letterforms seemed odd to start with but within a few sketches I found that my understanding
of the line weight variation had really increased. ​This deeper understanding definitely has
brought me closer to this specific board and the project itself, in terms of my investment in
the outcome of the project. This process of identifying a problem with the way I approached
the design and then finding a way to rectify this, gave me a sense of achievement in a small
way and once again increases my hope that the outcome of the project will be successful
and fulfil my expectations of my own work.
2nd January 2016:
The main idea that I wanted to communicate with the social proximity board is close
connectivity. I wanted to try and touch on this in a big way in the lettering. So, today I took
the major words from the quote; ‘equality’ and ‘fraternity’ and looked at creating ligatures.
This made the glyphs look a lot like they are growing into and from one another, which is the
perfect active representation of reaching out to one another in social terms. I wanted to
accentuate this further and so looked at using soft pencil gradients at the points of
connection. I am thinking about transferring this to the use of blue and green, outlines in
white on the actual chalkboard. I then took these new connected words and placed them into
a layout that aimed to read well but also allow for the ascenders and descenders of each
word. I already had decided on a kind of calligraphic/plant like style of the ornamentation of
this board because I wanted to maintain this idea of reaching out for proximity and the
positivity of such a thing. ​Something that I had already seen, and returned to when designing
this is the work of Danger Dust. A chalk art duet that produce incredible work, with a mastery
of colour that I could only dream of. The way they aligned ornamental patterns on their
designs was perfectly symmetrical in the framework but the details varied and provided
interest. This is something I want to achieve with this board.​ ​This interaction with other
designs in this medium, really reignited my enthusiasm for this board, it allowed me to see
the possibilities and gave me something to aim for in a way that the isolated bubble of just
working can’t. It is strange that in this situation it seems that the social proximity facilitated by
digital platforms leads to increased emotional proximity with the piece.
3rd January 2016:
Today was rather a mix of different boards. I started with re working the layout of the second
board and doing a very simple general layout sketch of the full board, into which the details
sketches are placed to achieve an idea of the finished product. The angular nature of the
blackletter forms means that positioning one word above or below another is tricky and there
needs to be a level of interlocking shapes to make the layout flow properly. I ​finally achieved
this today after several tries and the sense of victory was palpable. ​I also put into action my
notes from the work on dangerdust and their work yesterday. I planned out the symmetrical
layout of the ornamentation on the thumbnail and even where the name and date details of
the quote can sit. ​This negotiation of similarities between boards makes the project feel a lot
more cohesive. Up until this point, I was treating each board individually so that I could focus

5. on the message that they need to communicate. However, as I start to look at them sitting
next to one another I feel that the large task of doing them all feels more achievable and
more exciting.
I also started the designs for the third board today. This was a surprisingly instantaneous
process. ​I think to a certain extent this is because as I have been working on the other
boards, my mind has mulled over the designs for the boards yet to come. I knew I wanted to
communicate strength and openness as well as optimism. I also knew that the glyphs had to
be accommodating of some complex textures because I wanted to have reflective light, or
the representation of it, as the ornamentation of that board. I also know I wanted sans serif
all caps because of the wideness of the apertures communicating openness and the angular
letters communicating strength in their definite and confident lines. This took two tries to get
what I wanted. This is mostly due to past experience and a backlog of typographical styles to
draw on and then manipulate to my needs. ​I realised that in order for the letters to reflect
light they would need to suggest three dimensions in some way. I knew that the angular
glyphs needed to be angular in their three dimensions. I drew from metal type styles and
even masonry to create ridges down the lines of each letter that could catch the light as if it
were metal signage almost. ​This ability to quickly decide on and create what I wanted really
brought me closer to the project and also my own process. It allowed my confidence in
myself and in doing so made me fonder of a piece of design, which at least to me, reminds
me of my competence and ability to do what I love. At this point the process seems more
important than the outcome because I have gained both confidence and enjoyment from the
process that may or may not be expressed in the outcomes.
Because the concept of light as ornamentation is so visually dominant the layout of the type
almost suggested itself. The beam of light from the top right corner provides an angled
margin against which to right justify the type in a stepped arrangement.​ Because of the scale
that the type needed to be drawn at it was impossible to do a complete, all detail, layout
sketch on an A5 page. This makes me rather nervous about being able to accurately
recreate the style and layout when it comes to actually doing it on a board.
Throughout this process I have been talking to, and showing people the work that I am
doing. So far there has been a wealth of positive reactions towards this last design. I wonder
whether this is simply because the people I talk to on a day to day basis are graphic
designers, and the zeitgeist is just for angular sans serif type at the moment? Either way,
people seem to pause and really look at this design in a way they don’t for the others. This is
also one of the major reasons I didn’t keep sketching type; the positive responses from other
people told me to stop here.
4th January 2016:
Today was full of developing the fourth board. I started from the notes I made about the
quote earlier in the sketch book. I wanted a contrast of fonts representing crafts and tradition
juxtaposed with a moderns type representing technology and development. I encountered a
little bit of trouble with the modern type. What was difficult was defining what exactly
‘modern’ type would be. I didn't want the cliche of pixelated letters or anything that would

6. actually more retro than modern. In type terms a modern font would be one that came after
humanist type styles. This means high contrast line weight and squared serifs. However,
This may not really communicate modern to a non typographer audience. I font this after the
first few sketches I did trying to create a modern lettering style. Then I got thinking about
what people’s day to day experience of technology is. This brought me straight to the
smooth curves and mathematically correct corners of Apple products and how the
typographic incarnation of this would be Helvetica. This was incredibly hard to draw and I
take that as a sign that it is not representative of the hand made in any way. I increased the
tracking of the letters to further communicate the idea of distance in the modern and to
contrast with the connected closeness of the copperplate lettering I was planning for the
other part of this quote.
For the copperplate, I first tried out a copperplate nib for the first time. The distinctive flex
and curve of the line weight variation is created by the nib widening with the pressure of the
down stroke. ​This hands on learning about the original glyph formation brought me a lot
closer to an understanding of the style and am much better positioned to faithfully recreate
the lettering because of it. When I moved on to sketching I knew the details that I needed to
set out, such as the angle of italics and the flexible baseline. This made me feel much more
confident about the outcome.
I sent out a mailchimp mass email today through the Students’ Union. It was both a heads
up and an invitation to all the HE Students to come and work in the space around me.
Although I doubt many people will take me upon this it is still a way of making people aware
of what I am doing and so make them slightly more open to coming up and asking about it,
or not as the case may be, but either way they were given the opportunity.
I also spent a small fraction of today coating the boards in a layer of chalk. This is called
seasoning the board. It needs to be done so that the acidity of the chalk doesn’t leave a
ghost of the first design behind on the board. ​People already started to approach me and
ask what I was doing, and were especially interested in the need to season a board, which
none had encountered before.
5th January 2016:
Today I started the boards proper. It took a while to kick things off and get everything set up
and going. Details such as camera positioning and getting hold of a step ladder took most of
the time. There were a few filming issues to start with, centering around the camera
placement because the awkward portrait nature of the boards made them hard to get in
frame. However, once I did get started ​people immediately started interacting with me,
whether it was a passing ‘that’s great!’ or a longer conversation about my intention for the
other boards. In fact as the day progressed I found people returning to see the progress and
give encouragement. Partially this could be down to the scale of the task, and how big it
seemed especially at the start. ​THe things people asked really got me thinking to. The
amount of returning people who asking if I got bored doing it for so long had me asking
myself the same thing. What is pleasantly surprising is that I really don’t get bored. I do in
fact enter a state of flow. The calm, repetitive but also challenging nature of the task is the

7. perfect mix that keeps me engaged for hours on end.A very rewarding and engrossing
process.
6th January 2016:
Because the amount of work I finished yesterday (one and a bit boards) I knew I needed to
power through and get a lot done today. ​This pressure detracted slightly from the enjoyment
of the process compared to yesterday. However, This is a certain satisfaction in just trying to
be quick and effective. ​In fact I managed to finish two boards today and mark out the last for
work tomorrow. ​This is slightly frustrating because I didn’t work fast enough to be done by
my deadline but also I think I didn’t allow enough time to actually get the full four boards
done.​ More people returned to chat today. Many of which I managed to catch on my camera.
Although it is true that some of these people I already know, so the chances of them coming
up to say hi are increased, I would say that perhaps it would have been a fairer test to
perform this work out in the city somewhere or live in a gallery or exhibition space. I would
also say that although I know some of the people who approach me, they still approach me
to ask me about what I am doing, it is still just as valid as social interaction. I would also say
that the presence of the camera deterred people from stopping to chat. Many people would
move as if to come over and then see the camera and decide against it, because they didn't
want to run a shot or anything. Hiding the camera slightly would have helped this but also I
wouldn’t want people to be caught on film when they didn't want to be. The nature of filming
is that there were times when the SD card was full and the battery needed charging. I found
that at least half of all the people that approached me did so when I wasn’t filming, which
was frustrating but I can also see that they didn't want to interrupt, This is one case where
the recording method reduces the material to record.
7th January 2016:
Today was the last day I spent actually doing the chalkboards. I only had one bar left to do
but it was quite a complex one. I had to render a helvetica like lettering style for part of the
board which is a tricky font to sketch at the best of times let alone with chalk. However, the
layout lines that I drew out yesterday for the type really helped and although the tracking of
the letters (increased from the classic) Took a few tries to get right, it looked great in the end.
It also visually has the perfect connotations of technology and the modern, it created the
perfect contrast not only to the earlier part of the board but also to the other boards next to it,
clarifying the point of the quote. ​As I was writing out the quote I became strangely aware of
being watched for the first time while doing this project. Normally this really doesn't bother
me. I think this increased awareness is because this quote was the only one that could be
perceived as antagonistic or provocative. I chose this quote for that very reason; I wanted
people to question it and think more carefully about whether craft and technology are really
that different. However, it's clear that lots of people in the college work on predominantly
digital platforms and this board could be seen as challenging what they do. ​In contrast to this
lots of people interacted with me today even though I wasn’t working for as long as on
previous days. I think this is because everyone got used to me being there after two days.
This is especially suggested by the fact that I had the most strangers come up and say hi,
rather than people I already knew. Also there was a surprisingly digital aspect today that I

8. had not been aware of. People asked if they could snapchat the boards to their friends,​ ​and
the images I put up on instagram got a lot of attention. I think this might be interesting to
record as a small aspect of evaluation. I could record the likes of image and the views of the
video I create of the project, just as a way of looking at people's socio/digital interaction with
the project.
Coming to the end of the makig section of this project is a mixed bag of emotions. On the
one hand I feel great to have achieved so much and to just get this huge bit of work done, on
the other hand I always feel that I could have done better and pushed myself more out of my
creative comfort zone. I also feel that I couldn’t have done anything but chalkboards for this
practical, it is what my dissertation is about after all, I helped the students’ Union out by
creating a colourful addition to their space and ​met some lovely people along the way.