Interview about Optics and Chromatics Exhibition poster, winner of the A' Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Award 2018
The title Optics and Chromatic refers to the debate between Goethe and Newton on the nature of colors. This debate is represented by the clash of the two letter-form compositions: one is calculated, geometric, with sharp contours, the other relies on the impressionistic play of colorful shadows. In 2014 this design served as the cover for Pantone Plus Series Artist Covers.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsGoethe's Theory of Colours appeared in 1810. The title Optics and Chromatics refers to Goethe’s conception of colors as it opposed to the newtonian theory. While the first placed emphasis on experience, the sensation of colors (Chromatics), the second focused on the abstract mathematical structure of the spectrum (Optics). Although Goethe used both terms; by Cromatics he characterized his own endeavors and by Optics he named Newton’s inquiry. In my work I aimed to show the meaning of this distinction with simple means– with paper, light and shadow.
Digital graphics could not be the tool for studying natural light, because it is not possible to conduct light experiments sitting in front of a computer. I was interested in the relationship between the two photometric principles and typography. It was obvious that the only way to do this was to take the letters out into the light and see what happened. The pre-designed, austere composition of the Optika letters did not allow for any playfulness in the composition, but the composition of the Chromatics had many surprises in store.
Goethe had a very different approach to colour than Newton. Goethe was not concerned with the mathematical description of the science of vision (optics), but with the way we perceive colours (chromatics). He wanted to demonstrate the way we actually experience colours, and not the way we are supposed to experience them according to the laws of mathematics. His theory is really a more impressionistic, playful approach, and I wanted to express this with the letters, which is why I chose coloured foils. Goethe was the first to describe how to make coloured shadows. My poster is a demonstration of this phenomenon. Basically, I like working with paper, but in order to blend the colours, it was necessary that the letters were not only made of coloured material, but also transparent, so that their shadows were visibly coloured.
I had to make a very difficult decision about what to put on the final poster. The look of the Optics sign was a no-question, because it only worked one way. The word Chromatics, on the other hand, came in an almost infinite variety of colours. It always looked different, depending on where I was shining the light from and with what light. It was magical. I finally decided on two overhead views so that the two words would appear the same size underneath each other. I would do it differently today.
When I figured out how to make the letters, I didn't expect the lighting to make the final result so dynamic. Monet's water lilies were constantly on my mind. I used basic colors for the letters in Chromatics, but the lighting effects created a lot of color transitions. The letters themselves became a sensual experience under the influence of light. The reason I would put the poster together differently today is probably because it depends a lot on my mood and which approach I feel is the most accurate on that particular day.
Pantone's request was both surprising and flattering. Karen Lantelme the Creative Director for Pantone and Tim Heyer Senior Creative Manager approached me to ask if they could feature my work on their new covers. With their Artist Covers project, they wanted to celebrate color and encourage designers to bring their ideas to life. I am honored to have been able to contribute to the centuries-old discourse on color in this way.
In designing both words, I needed a type of material that was flexible enough to bend without damage, but strong enough to stay the way I bent it. To do this, I made the letters using a variety of weights and qualities of paper and plastic. Before I started, I had the layout of the letters drawn to the millimetre. But in both cases, I had to adapt the original designs to the characteristics of the materials, because what seemed to work on the drawing board, but not always in reality. For example, the plastic sheets themselves curved and bent 1-2 degrees, which could not always be corrected afterwards. But I think that this contingency is also the beauty of the craftsmanship.
My thesis can be seen as a kind of prelude to this project. I redesigned a series of philosophical books. The idea was that the cover would always show a composition of letters folded out of paper, arranged and illuminated in a way that referred to the content of the book. There, too, I played a lot with light and paper until the final compositions emerged. But I felt there was much left in this story to tell. Especially the fact that it's not just paper that's worth experimenting with.
From the feedback, I noticed that the poster's message reached many places around the world. The two color theories are very complex, but the simplicity and playfulness of the typography captured the essence and was able to illustrate it. Like Goethe, the poster focused on the viewer's experience, which is perhaps why it was so easy to understand.
I work as a graphic designer, and my work has shaped my view that a poster should be clear, with a slight twist to grab attention. Translating a centuries-old theoretical problem into visual language is a great challenge. The two words very deliberately do not explain, but rather present the two theories and the difference between them.
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