Process
Research
First I researched design principles to determine which one I was most interested in exploring visually and with motion. Using Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, and Jill Butler, I found that I was most attracted to the idea of wabi sabi. I was particularly interested in the intentionality, simplicity, and celebration of imperfection that the principle, aesthetic, and philosophy presents.
As a Caucasian female who grew up Catholic in the United States, I knew that I would need to do my due diligence with research in order to get the tone just right. I wanted especially to be respectful to the deep cultural significance, rooted in spiritualism, that wabi sabi has. In order to better understand, I mostly relied on Leonard Koren's Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers, supplementing that with Wabi Sabi Style by James and Sandra Crowley and In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki.
After my first attempt at typesetting, it also became clear that I needed to further research Japanese typography. I found Japanese Typography: Wood to Metal to Light to Vectors from pangrampangram.com, Japanese Typography (2) Kilograms of Sinograms from aisforfonts.com, and Edo Moji: Heavy Brushes Soaked in Black Ink from aisforfonts.com to be valuable resources.
Concept
After my research, I strongly felt that the video should feature tritonal photographs with subtle transitions. As such, the composition and focal points of each photo would need to be very intentionally considered as one faded into another. I would source stock photography for this project, with the intent to eventually replace them with my own images.
Through research, I found that part of the wabi sabi philosophy was not explicitly describing what it is. I did not choose to do an "explainer" video, opting instead for one that used images, script, color, and subtle motion to give a deeper, intuitional understanding of the concept. I intend for my audience to feel wabi sabi and identify it in that way, rather than give a textbook definition.
Color Exploration
The color palette was carefully considered for this project. I wanted to convey all of the beauty of nature through a muted and natural, yet interesting palette.
Script, Storyboard, and Scratch Video
For my script, I wanted it to be more artistic in style. I start with a poem that Fujiwara no Teiko, who is largely considered to realized the height of wabi sabi through the art of tea ceremony, famously quoted to describe wabi sabi. I then move on to my own original script.
I produced the storyboard and scratch video in tandem from there. Once I showed my scratch to the class, I found that my concept was effective, and that I could move quickly into the refinement stage. This is the part of my process where I discovered I needed to do more research in order to successfully execute a Japanese-inspired (though not appropriated) typesetting.
Refinement
In this stage, I corrected type and color. However, this is the part where I really worked on refining my transitions. I improved both the fading animation from one photograph to the next, adding subtle zooms, and the compositional transitions. Then I finessed the timing of both the voice track and the transitions in tandem.
From there, I added some audio and visual texture. There is a background sound of the warm pops and scratches of a record player with an old cartridge. I also added some visual noise to help give a warm, imperfect visual quality.
Outcomes
I was very happy with how my video turned out. I feel that I honored my intent, while remaining respectful to the design principle, aesthetic, and philosophy of wabi sabi.
Lessons Learned
- Sometimes clearly communicating a design principle isn't about explicitly defining it; sometimes quality and tone is most important.
- Even videos with a simple concept take much more work than you think.
- Wabi sabi has a deep cultural significance that provided me with a wealth of inspiration for this project and the future.
- When designing something unfamiliar, especially when other cultures are involved, err on the side of caution with research. You will need to research more sources, and it is very important to do research around your sources so you know best how to interpret them.