Wander to Blurb (and buy my book!)

The Wandering ...

An Exploration of ...

By Jesse Penico

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____paper with__t __rds

Here I took a newspaper, and crossed out most of the words, leaving behind phrases that I then combined to make interesting paragraphs.

The top images are the original newspaper, and the bottom images are the typographic explorations that I created from those specific paragraphs.

Plans...to get surreal

I want to start taking all of the content (words/phrases) from my explorations and making visual (graphical/typographic) surrealistic imagery. I feel this will be a good way to explore what my mind is capable of, and see how far I can let my mind wander. Should be interesting.

Surrealism and such

What is Surrealsim?

Dictionary: Surrealism, n. Pure psychic automatism, by which one proposes to express, either verbally, in writing, or by any other manner, the real functioning of thought. Dictation of thought in the absence of all control exercised by reason, outside of all aesthetic and moral preoccupation.

Encyclopedia: Surrealism. Philosophy. Surrealism is based on the belief in the superior reality of certain forms of previously neglected associations, in the omnipotence of dream, in the disinterested play of thought. It tends to ruin once and for all other psychic mechanisms and to substitute itself for them in solving all the principal problems of life.
(from Wikipedia)

Here are some Surrealist images I found on Google:

What the heck I am doing...

I want my book to be a sort of process book, that encompasses the idea of stream of consciousness or mind wandering. What I mean is that the actual design of the book will grow and change based on whatever comes to my mind as I'm designing the book. I want the design to grow and evolve like the actual content that is being presented in the book. I want to emphasize the connections made between the design of the book and the contents being presented as process. I hope this works. :)

Words are Wandering

I decided for my third exploration that I would write a note on Facebook where I wrote 10 words and phrases. I want people to respond to them and write the FIRST thing that pops into their heads when they read those words/phrases. So far the responses are great! It is very interesting to see how different, as well as how similar people respond to certain things.

Here is the note.

Let Your Mind Wander

So I had pretty much hit a road block when it came to what I was going to do for my book, recently. I had a very general idea that sounded interesting, but when I tried to visualize it I couldn't come up with anything. So I collected myself and started doing research.

Where I want to go with this book is "wherever my mind takes me". A lot of what I did in my experiences (all two of them...fail) was to use my imagination and let my mind just wander. This was especially true with my second exploration, where I stared at an object for an extended period of time and wrote whatever came to mind. I want to take this and show how a designer (myself, most likely) can let their imagination wander and create something extraordinary.

I want to create a series of posters, typographic and graphic explorations.

Here are some links to what I am exploring:
Mind-Wandering
Daydreaming
Imagination

The Functional Dimension of Life

Here are my spreads from my book about
The Functional Dimension of Signs.

Let My Mind Wander

Staring at an object for an extended period of time can allow your mind to wander. That is just what mine did when staring at my MIDI keyboard for somewhere past 15 minutes for both the top and bottom.

Here is what I first came up with before my later exploration:










This is the second round. Each is paired with a random phrase that makes some interesting connections, I think (My personal favorite is the last one):

Just staring....and staring...

I started my second exploration, and found that it took alot less time than I first thought it would. I chose to stare at and describe my MIDI keyboard (pictured below).

And One More Thing...

Round two begins. I have chosen to do Exploration #10 ”One Thing“. I must choose an everyday object from anywhere, and basically stare at the top and bottom of it for at least two minutes for each. I then will write down everything I see in detail. Who knows, I might spend hours staring at something...oh man...

A Magical Connection

I decided (slash had to) go back and take what I had found in my exploration of ”magical objects“ and ”connect“ them to a reading we had. Here are some interesting words and phrases that I found that I feel connect with my explorations:

• Worry about teeth (Magic Toothbrush)
  
• Bleak, cold, and drizzly (Magic Acorn)
  
• ”I think I also felt compelled to favor the man made over the natural“ (Magic Lamp)
  
• Idle exercises (Magic Trash Can)
  
• Look beyond (Magic Poster)
  
• Lucky (Any)
  
• Why not just say no? (Magic Index Cards)
  
• Goose and comet-free environment (Magic Belt)
  
• Meaningless to the general public (Magic Spoon)
  
• Can generate hundreds (Magic Salt Shaker)
  
• ”I had to sit on the floor for a few minutes before I quite new what hit me“ (Any)

Here are some more words and phrases I found that might also connect with my explorations, or are just quotes that relate to this project:

• ”To invent something new by combining elements nobody else thought to pair“
• ”Sometimes the most powerful ideas come from simply combining two existing ideas nobody else ever thought to unite“
• ”Invention isn't some impenetrable branch of magic: anyone can have a go.“
• Flick on the lights
• Be ready for anything
  

Let the Magic Begin!

Magic is something that I find can be looked at in a humorous manor. I had some fun writing the captions/histories for each of these magical objects. I hope you find the humor in them as well.

Abracadabra!

I have decided that for my first exploration, I will do Exploration #32: World of Magic. I have always wanted magic to be real, and something I can use. There are endless possibilities when you look around and find random objects to apply magical abilities to. I have already started selecting those objects and throwing some weird magic-tastic history to them. Here goes nothing...