Moving ideas on a static poster

Lopez Design creates dynamic print design for today

For an assignment, Lopez Design Principal Anthony Lopez asked a class he was teaching to write in their impressions of the talk he had given. “I got fifteen different essays on the same talk!” says the award-winning branding designer. The variations in interpretations astounded Lopez who was all the more excited to explore how human beings perceive and communicate. As he says, “The funny thing is we take it for granted that we are all on the same plane of thought.” We most certainly are not thinking alike, and this is the case as well with every husband and wife, mother and daughter, father and son.

As designers, how could we demonstrate this amazing world of multiple viewpoints?

At a time of information overload, our attention span has greatly reduced and visuals capture our minds fleetingly. Design in this digital world necessarily engages with capricious mental make-up. Each of us has an urge to express our opinions about everything we see, as soon as we see something and then boredom sets in soon after. And what’s more, the ‘like’ button is only a touch away. Yet, anything lives only so long it is relevant and exhilarating to people. In this fast-changing scenario, design needs to keep up pace with unexpected changes. What then, of print technology – does it still have a place? At Lopez Design, we decided to experiment with perception and communication, bringing in user choice with an added challenge – the format would be print, not digital.

Dynamic and responsive design

We explored the relationship between the brain and human genius to discover how information is processed by different people. Images of the brain – the thought machine behind all these processes – were scanned through MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). Each visual is a cross section of the human brain at a particular depth, representing not only the dynamics of its physical structure but also its functions. We compiled brief descriptions of extraordinary people who exploited this inbuilt human machine in the most inventive ways possible. This information about these pioneers, was evidence in itself of the effort they put in to explore hidden corners of their brains. We then put all of this information into a poster form.

The structure of the poster

The poster itself is divided into two parts, one which is constant and the other variable. The fixed part of the poster contains the visuals of the brain imaging and the information about genius individuals. The variable part, which is intended for user participation, is an empty glass- board overlaid on the fixed print poster. On this transparent medium, letters can be ordered to make up meaningful words and phrases, using alphabet stickers or a pen. For instance, words that run parallel to the visual, like BEAUTIFUL MINDS can be replaced by any other set of words like SPEAK MEMORY allowing multiple contextual meanings. This entire process of interaction showcases the individuality that each one of us possess because of the different ways in which our brains perceive and process data and images.

Our intention behind the poster

The poster is open to multiple interpretations. It is created to acknowledge the unrestricted nature of the human brain. The brain, which is untamable, will process every input in a unique way to its creator to give a unique outcome.

As a design studio our foremost interest was in re-examining traditional print media and making it more relevant to the current times. Each time an individual interacts with the static poster, a new visual is generated, and this makes the experience dynamic, giving the audience the

continuous change they demand. This unusual way of engaging with individual perception is all set to bring remarkable insights on how the human brain processes information.