My Symbol Methodology

It all started with an idea, or rather a series of ideas. These ideas were splayed across concept maps, lists, and web branches all at random. From then on it was all about process of elimination. However, even with all these concepts, I still struggled to envisage the motivation that would characterize my own symbol.

I then tried a different approach – one that took the opposite direction of my initial procedure. Instead of generating motivation from a plethora of possible ideas I reversed my methodology, elaborating from from one solid theme. This process was guided by my motivation, stemming from what I could use a custom created symbol for in the first place. But, how did I arrive at this motivation?

I approached this from a practical perspective and began thinking of what I could literally use a custom created symbol for in the real world. Of course, this required me to examine my own world. I had to think about my own hobbies, my interests, what I spend a lot of time doing, and what I don’t spend alot of time doing. I enjoy writing, and as a student I am writing all the time, so it seemed logical to create a symbol based on the theme of writing. Settling on the theme of punctuation just seemed like a natural progression, so I went with it as my motivation.

I thought it would be interesting to create punctuation that represents feelings or emotions not typically conveyed through the written word. Unlike emoticons/emojis (which tend to be light and playful), I wanted to create something more formal and official – something that I would actually use as I’m writing on a piece of paper.

At first, I established nine solid words that ideally represented each symbol. I then illustrated several variations of a symbol that belonged to each word. This approach kept my options open as I was able to experience more than one interpretation of any concept word. I then proceeded with process of elimination. I stuck with the symbols that were bold and could hold their visual integrity even if they were scaled down in size. Throughout the weekly process of making my symbols I discovered that the punctuation concept did not lend itself well to the combination of the nine originals. The fact that I had such a focused plan for my initial original symbols made it difficult to weave together concepts and visuals symbols in a way that made sense. Eventually, everything became really convoluted.

I had intended for my punctuation concept to be translated through different mediums such as by hand, through multimedia messaging, and as font on computers. However, once I crossed over into the possibilities of the electronic frontier, I realized that my punctuation set would have to conform to aspects of typography. Thus, I had to take size into account when crafting my symbols. Since fonts across the electronic medium tend be very small I had to sacrifice complexity and busy design. Too much complexity and you lose the impact a larger symbol had once it’s scaled down. I also modeled some of my symbols after present type faces like Helvetica, providing for realistic implications.

I believe that my final three symbols came out well. The symbols look bold, sharp, and clean. I also think you’d be able to get some semblance of their intended meaning just by looking at them. As a result, I believe I achieved my goals in regards to creating something that could go along with proper grammar. I feel that I do lack creative use of negative space in my symbols though. The actual construction of my symbols is a little sloppy and could have been executed better. Also, compared to other beautifully balanced and detailed symbols, mine just aren’t that exciting to look at. Where do I belong on the spectrum?

I belong right in the middle: nothing special but not too shabby either.