In Spring 2015, I began working on my graduate thesis film at the
Savannah College Of Art & Design in Atlanta, GA.
As a multidisciplinary designer, I have always loved intersecting life with design. 2015 was just the beginning in what would be a pretty challenging two years, and in an effort to understand this transitory phase in my life I found myself immersed in conversations with people who were going through a pretty challenging time themselves.
Everyone had profound personal philosophies that comprised of sentences, words, quotes and phrases that they were hanging onto in order to make sense of their transitory experiences.
Words are events, they feed understanding and emotion back and forth and amplify our human experiences. The only limitation to this process, is language.
Coming from India, a country of 22 different languages, this seemed like an interesting challenge worth exploring. Emotion is universal, imagery and thinking in images, is also universal- Perhaps combining language with animated imagery could help overcome language barriers?
After months and months of figuring out what I wanted this film to be, 'The Poetics of Transition' finally came together. Based on Bauhaus' Moholy-Nagy's concept of the typophoto, the film is a series of animated 'Typofilms' explored in the medium of the poster.
On a personal note, this film is an amalgamation of all the lessons, struggles and triumphs 2016 offered me. I am so thankful I get to do what I love everyday, and this film is a huge reminder of that.
A big thank you to my lovely thesis committee- Alessandro Imperato, Ben Gabelman and Christina Maloney; And everyone who answered my survey and shared their experiences with me. Every motion poster, alphabet and word is representative of someones day, year and transitory experience in the incredible year that was 2016.
Love,
Taaneya
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Taaneya Balaji is a multidisciplinary designer living and working in Atlanta, Georgia.