our identities
PRINT // DIGITAL // INFOGRAPHIC // TYPOGRAPHY
about
Gender and sexuality can be very complicated issues, specifically for young people growing up, finding themselves, as well as for the older generation, having not been brought up knowing the vast propaganda that now comes with the new territory. It is ever growing, and new terms are always being coined. This project embraces the vast terminology surrounding gender and sexuality, culminating with an infographic banner illustrating the progress made and the journey yet to be undertaken.
IDEATE
Transferring several ideas onto paper, forming concepts, and identifying depth and breadth.
RESEARCH
Exhibitions and dedicating time to reviewing design books and the Oxford Dictionary.
EXPERIMENT
Playing with language (Polari), and problem solving my initial infographic design.
DESIGN
Infographic banner, interactive educational PDF, and the “Our Identities” book.
alternative idea's
All good things start somewhere and this project developed from other ideas and aesthetics. My alternative ideas ranged from sustainability, water (Day 0) and mental health. I begin with basic sketches at this stage, and this is where the fruition of my infographic began… although it started off looking very different.
research
Never Going Underground was a fantastic exhibit, but didn’t hold much of an online presence. My Genderation by The Fox Fisher, is an amazing ongoing film project that immersed me in an array of identities, and an understanding of who these people are and what they represent. I also did vast amounts of research into queer history.
experimentation
My infographic underwent several iterations, initially resembling a horizontal, tube-like structure. With the aid of additional research, it gradually began to evolve into a more defined and coherent form.
While experimenting, I came to realise that the design was lacking color. To infuse purposeful colour, I drew inspiration from the concept of coordinating with the “color of the year” as defined by Farrow & Ball. This allowed me to harmonise the chosen colour with the respective time periods I covered in the project.
final design
As previously noted, my final design is an infographic illustrating the spectrum of gender and sexuality terminology. The terms are arranged chronologically and converge centrally around four key pillars that shape our identities: sex, gender, romantic attraction and sexual attraction. Additionally, I crafted a comprehensive 60-page hardback book brimming with designs. I also developed an engaging interactive PDF version of the infographic, allowing users to hover over terms to learn their meanings, suited for self-learning.
Our Identities was shown at an exhibition in Southampton in 2019.
