Re: Shapes + Noise
In 2016, I began a project called Daily Shapes, during which I created and shared one composition each day as a ritual reminder to be present. Over what would become a two year project, I explored basic composition, utilizing only a limited color palette and a vocabulary of lines and simple geometric shapes to communicate principles such as balance, pattern and perspective. I used bright colors inspired by the additive RGB color model employed by digital screens, yet at times would strip the work down to just black and white when form took precedent.
At the project’s inception, I was commuting for 3 hours daily via public transit, and became increasingly aware of my fellow commuters’ reliance on phones to pacify them. More often than not, I’d look up to see every other passenger staring into a screen, scrolling through and consuming digital information, noise, for as long as they weren’t forced to engage with the outside world.
In an effort to limit my own consumption and be mindful of the kind and quality of the media I was consuming, I opted to use my time in transit productively, creating something and developing my own skills and style. I used my phone (somewhat hypocritically), a 30GB iPhone 7, and an app called Assembly. I created at least one design by the time I arrived at work each day, shared it, and used my small but growing audience to keep me accountable.
Throughout the project and starting with Assembly, I installed and used 50+ apps, both free and paid for, that were intended for photography, illustration, animation and video. Each had strengths and limitations, unique editing tools or clunky design flaws (I was surprised at how many had some kind of social network functionality intended to lure users). Soon, an app’s design and usability became synonymous with its accessibility, and in poorly designed platforms a user’s literacy became more important than the app’s functionality in achieving results.
