Lisa Barlow

TWEET TWEET (set by ISTD)

THE BRIEF

We want you to explore the world of ‘social networking’. Create a network of participants.

We are not suggesting that you create a ‘live’ network, but you may wish to explore the

unique lexicon of language employed in social networking – retweet, trending, hashtags,

etc. We envisage that you will use your research to inform a typographic ‘tour-de-force’.

Think laterally and surprise us with your ingenuity.Use print, screen, combined media –
the choice is yours – as long as it expresses a solid idea, informs us and shows your
typographic skills. Remember that words and language are our collateral and that your
submission should be essentially typographic.

MY INTERPRETATION

I thought a lot about how social networking penetrates almost every aspect of our lives 

today. We are always 'in touch' whether its via our phones or on the computer. There is 

almost no escaping it EXCEPT when it is forced upon us. A trip to america had me thinking

about the aeroplane, one of the few areas of white un-contactable spaces which is forced

upon us... 

I thought about the nature of the areoplane in comparison to other modes of transport.

People get attached to engines. Cars inherit names, Motorbikes adapt personalities

through quirks and technical hitches. We celebrate when ships are decommissioned and

thank them for their service. But what about planes? No-one thinks about them in that

way. The pilots and staff move on with each flight as the passengers do. I wanted to

eliminate this in some way and give the aircraft a sense of being.

My idea was to create a 'black box' of emotions. A database in which people can post within

and read from but then leave behind when they reach their final destination. An area

where anyone can write anything anonymously. Throughout time the posts would increase

in number forming a giant map. When that aircraft was finally decommissioned the 'black

box' would act as a time capsule representing its life and giving it a sense of worth. The

brief was typographic so I decided to give the blog posts an individual shape, similar to

that of an organism. I wanted it to be personal, to honour the honesty of what would 

be written...