Alter Ego

Myself admiring work in the AMNH

I have always felt the pull between Science and Art; in particular biology. When I was studying for my GCSE’s I discovered by academic ability and my interest of a career in biology. However, my love for creating was larger than my love for research, and thus, I didn’t want to dismiss that part of me. Following a career in art allows me to delve into science, be creative and to research; therefore I do not doubt my current path. However I do often question the ‘what if’s, and so my alter ego is me, perhaps in an alternative universe, where I followed my scientific path. 

I began by giving my alter ego a different upbringing. One where she (I) would be exposed the the world of life and science as opposed to my life, which in reality made me feel more doubtful of my abilities, and also the paranoia of either failing or being isolated from others around me, due to have an over ambitious dream that it’s unconventional from the mundane day to day life of my surroundings.

At the time, art seemed to be more achievable for me personally, as it was a subject where my abilities were evident and no one would question; where as science was a field where I felt that I always had to prove myself, despite my intellect. Being a female from Essex made me have to prove that I had my own brain, as opposed to it being an accepted that everyone is ‘smart’ unless proven otherwise. 

However, my alter ego had not been faced with these challenges. She (I) grew up in South Africa, out
 in the veld, further from the rules and prejudice of society. Her (my) mum was healthy, with no disabilities or dependance on me, and lived her dream life of being an interior designer for upper class families while her (my) dad actually existed, as a South African veterinary surgeon (my mum in real life was ecstatic to hear this!). Due to her (my) dad having a biological background in animal biology it would enable the science pull to be much greater, as it would feel more achievable. 

“I, Sophia Sargeant, the vertebrate zoologist specialising in mammalogy, have connections with the science department at UCL (and thus the Grant Museum of Zoology) and am currently on assignment at the American Museum of Natural History. I am using the specimens and facilities accessible to me, to my advantage in order to hypothesise the speculative evolution of mammals as a response to the tectonic plate dynamics and climate alteration. 

I have accumulated valid research from palaeontologists, geologists and climatologists in order to credit my theories. In order to help other researchers within my field I have published a research journal with American Museum of Natural History Publications under my sponsors, UCL. Accompanying this research, I have utilised my illustration skills (influenced by my mum career of interior design) to provide a more visual understanding of my findings. 

As a media marketing tactic, my sponsors at UCL have invited me to share my knowledge and research with some of their students at the Grant Museum of Zoology. This conference/lecture has been approved and funded by the American Museum of Natural History as a support to influencing and encouraging other students and researchers.

As I travel between London, New York and South Africa, many people are interested in my works, and thus I am aware that not everyone who would like to would be in attendance at my conference, therefore as a twenty-something female myself, I have utilised the youth culture to my advantage; and so I have shared the audio from my conference on Spotify so as to not limit knowledge. I want knowledge to be accessible everywhere and I am using my impressive age as an advantage and an edge, as opposed to ‘immaturity’ or ‘inexperience’. “

Back to Sophia Sargeant, the designer: I initially intended to print my research as a traditional, 18th century scientific research journal, with scientific illustrations, as I feel like science is quite a traditional subject. However upon further thought, I decided against this, as I am speculating the future, and thus my designs should reflect futuristic minimalism with no elaborate gold foil, just minimalist, reductive and straight to the point with no ‘waffle’. I am also using my age as an advantage within this field, and not a cause for others to de-credit me, therefore the works that I product should be fresh and modern to reflect that aspect of my personality. 

Referencing existing mammalogy and scientific books from the library, I settled on a serif-type as I did still want the aesthetic of a research journal, but with a modern twist. I chose Caslon typeface for it’s old-style classification and also to hint back to the 18th century, and its traditional English feel, as ‘I’ am working with UCL Grant Museum of Zoology. 

Often, if the traditional science books, Italics and Bold styles are often used. I applied the same rules to my own journal, to categorise information and to help make it more digestible and distinguished. Aesthetically, it also helped the type to be true to it’s scientific content. 

I selected books that included scientific illustrations as this was something that I knew I wanted to incorporate from the start, in order to bring myself and my alter ego together. Using these as inspiration, I demonstrated a lot of my research/essays using illustrative ‘figures’ to help the understanding of the dense information, and to also emphasise the graphic content and reference of 18th century research. 

Alignment and composition of text altered depending on the published date of the books, and also the dimensions. If the books were smaller, text would often run from the left to the right (like a novel) with no columns while larger books demonstrated columns. When I originally intended to produce a traditional book, I considered using smaller dimensions with the text running on full lines; however when I opted for a more modern approach, I decided that I would print on A4 paper in order to be truthful, upfront and direct. Thus, I used columns to structure my dense texts as I wanted the information to be more digestible. By using columns it’s more true to my time period, as magazines and modern medias use more narrow widths for their sentences and often columns. To also make the text easier to absorb, my ‘essays’ are divided in chapters, that do not span over a single page. Making the information quite direct. 

As a test, I printed the journal on standard A4 copier paper; however the bold typography and darker elements such as biological finger prints (which are my own, to emphasise my identity and relationship with biology) were visible when printed on both sides of one sheet, as the paper weight was too low. I still wanted the journal to have this ‘unpublished’ raw quality to it, thus I didn’t want to use anything too flashy like glossy magazine paper etc. Instead, I tore sheets from a drawing pad (180gsm) which had a slight texture, increased weight and slight off-white stain. I printed each side individually, feeding each sheet through the printer twice (once per side) in order to compensate for my unconventional choice of printing paper. Due to the paper’s intention originally being for art, the paper absorbed the printers ink and actually made the black typography and lines bleed slightly, giving it a softer effect. I am really happy with this, as I did not anticipate for this to happen, however it has given the journal a more old-style aesthetic (almost like letterpress) as the type isn’t as sharp as it would appear on typical printer paper. The off-white paper also emphasises this, as most old books have stained pages, while mine has more of a modern infusion. 

By the paper being thicker/heavier in weight, and having a slight texture, it gives a sense of quality, durability and professionalism. Psychologically the texture and fabric-feel to the paper makes it inviting to touch and feel. 

As a way of being modern, reductive and direct I bound the research using 2-piece filing clips. The clips give a modern undertone, while also being suitable for researchers and students, as much like a folder, it enables others to add their research or notes to the journal or to remove things. It helps the journal to be customisable and malleable - just like theories and hypothesis as they are not finalised, definitive facts. 

The mammal illustrations were drawn using a 2b pencil, as I didn’t want the shading to be too soft and and smoothly blended. I wanted a more sketchy spirit which was inspired by some pencil illustrations that I admired on my trip to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. By being influenced by works that already existed in a museum environment helped my illustrations to be more suitable for their nature. Using a HB pencil would have been too hard, and I did still want some variations of tone to be visible; hence the 2b. Each animal also has applicable names, as I researched  the scientific names for their current genus, and then created a hybrid between the names. I also confirmed the Etymology so that the names would be suitable. 

As myself and my alter ego are more comfortable around animals and small crowds rather than masses of humans, a large conference or lecture would have been inappropriate and also inconceivable, as I would have been less articulate and confident. Thus I recorded the audio from my ‘conference’ and shared this on Spotify, as by being a similar age to my audience, I wanted to utilise the youth culture to my advantage by giving my alter ego a modern and current ‘edge’. I felt that my alter ego would be able to relate to her student audience, and thus by sharing the information on social media, it would be perfectly interactive and youthful way to do that, which would be very different to other professors. 

To make the conference and my alter ego more credible, I designed and produced an ID card that would give ‘Dr. Sophia Sargeant’ entry to the Grant Museum of Zoology on the day of the lecture, that has been stamped and approved by the American Museum of Natural History. As the ID would have been issues by the Grant Museum (owned by UCL), I branded the card by researching identification cards for the students at UCL. I used the banner and logo for UCL’s Department of Earth Sciences (which conveniently was green) to brand the card, while using helvetica as the type for my name. This keeps the information legible and modern. I printed the date and timestamp of the even in courier as I wanted the aura of a museum entry ticket that often has a typewriter nature. 

I finally ‘laminated’ the card by folding a sheet of acetate around it, and used a bulldog clip instead of a lanyard, as I didn’t want the ID to appear as a student card, but more of a sophisticated, visiting lecturer badge. The bulldog clip also helps to give the same direct approach as the 1-piece clip used on the journal. 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this project. It was interesting to jump into a different part of me, and to wholly experience that imaginative side of what could’ve been. It helped to open up a part of me that I felt I often suppress in the art world, which is my love for information, research and knowledge; and I now hope to infuse these elements more in my future works. I often take a lot of self-initiated trips to natural history museums as a hobby, and it was enjoyable to be able to implement those inspirations within my work. I personally would love to have had longer on this project, to see what else I could learn, discover and achieve; as all of the research that is included in ‘my’ journal, is actually my own research and writing which proves that I could also be this person. This project has also opened up questions and queries within me, as I am now interested in more ‘scientific’ MA courses, instead of just design. Maybe I could find a role in the future where I can be both myself, and my alter ego? 

Mapping/Coordination

Structural engineers and architects inspired me during my creative response to the coordinations of Greenwich Foot Tunnel.

The mathematical dimensions and technical drawings that feature on blue prints and initial structure designs appealed to me, as upon researching my assigned coordinate I was most interested in the measurements of the tunnel. I discovered the length, width and depth of the tunnel; but also the radius which assisted me when working out the area using π. I could also work out the diameter from this measurement and furthermore the circumference.

I decided to create an infographic that communicates these calculations and well as other information obtained from my research.

Visually, I created an X-ray view of the tunnel, the two entrances and the Thames. Giving you geographical information and also a visual depiction of how the tunnel was built - answering questions such as: how do they build tunnels under the River Thames? (They actually build under the sturdy river bed, not the water). 

I opted for a technical drawing as I wanted my infographic to be clear and legible, while blueprint influences help to give a architectural and structural atmosphere. I initially intended to print my design following the traditional blueprint methods, however stereotypical blueprint(ers) expired in the late 1900’s due to new technologies such as an inkjet printer. Blueprints are now actually whiteprints, and are printed in the way that we

know it today - hence how I have proceeded to finalise my outcome. To aid the effect, my print has to be unrolled, and corners weighted in order to see the design. Making the spectator physically unroll the piece, and embedding it with the desired atmosphere.


Update: I have since expanded this idea by create a tripdict, illustrating Greenwich, Rotherhithe and Woolwich foot tunnels. I have two versions of each: hand lettering and also versions simulating a typewriter.