Initially, my project focused on exploring the effects of regeneration on club culture in King’s Cross, a topic I was interested in, but one that leaned more toward commentary than active design practice. It felt more like a social sciences enquiry than a studio-based one.
However, through experimentation and influenced by Stephen Willats, my focus shifted to analysing the systems behind regeneration and communicating them through graphic design. What began with images and text evolved to include colour, shape, and composition. However, feedback from my peers revealed that the basic shapes and colours I used lacked clear symbolic meaning outside my own framework. This made me realise I needed a more effective visual language to communicate the factors behind regeneration. Therefore, my new enquiry is: How can we graphically communicate the systems of regeneration and its impact on local club culture? My new project proposals are as follows:
I needed vector graphics with existing symbolic meaning for the factors I was exploring. Socioeconomic is represented by a fish, in reference to the Fish and Coal building in Coal Drops Yard which stored the commodity. Politics is represented by King George IV’s crown, reflecting local authority. Culture is represented by the iconic rave smiley face, and environment by the King’s Cross gas holders.
I created and refined vector illustrations of these symbols and I found them more meaningful than the previous geometric shapes. However, I questioned whether the symbolism was universal and could be understood by different audiences.
Using my new symbols, I revised the posters by overlaying illustrated line work graphics on the text. I also experimented with a modern take on the bold, condensed typefaces typical of club and protest posters.
I liked these set of iterations than my first ones which were too busy with the photography, and the second set which were too minimal with the shapes. I think this struck a perfect balance. However, I began to question whether it was possible to fully communicate the complexity of regeneration systems, despite breaking them down into simpler parts.