OUGD406 - Secret 7 - Study Task 01

Study Task 01 for OUGD406 required the production of two visual responses to one of last year's Secret 7 tracks, one obvious and literal response - followed by one with more ambiguity. Both resolutions need to be 7x7" and adhere to the competition requirements in that the artist

and track name are to be left a secret.

From the 7 tracks, I selected The Maccabees song 'Go.' I am not familiar with the band or their music what so ever, and therefore believed I would be able to objectively produce resolutions that were without subconscious influence or pre-conception. I chose this song due to its direct title,

providing potential for consideration of direction, colour and concept.

I did not want to overthink these resolutions or over-complicate the process due to the restricted timescale, and therefore immediately took my first instinct and initial idea to production. This concept concerned itself with traffic-light associated imagery, using green and amber circles to establish visual connection. Compositionally, the resolution exhibits a centralised green circle, 

above which is an amber circle of the same size - though only half is visible within the white ground/frame. The design relies upon semiotics, particularly the semantic field regarding traffic; 

It is assumed/hoped the viewer of the design will establish connection via ordering of the 

coloured shapes and their brain will perceptually fill in the missing information (this being

the other half of the amber circle and a full red circle above it) to realise the imagery is in 

fact representational of a traffic light. The green circle is emphasised as a result of its 

centralised placement, dominating the resolution and in turn directly communicating the 

word 'go' visually. The design communicates the track name via simplified visual

connotation, providing an obvious, easily deciphered resolution. 

Literal Response using the semantic field of traffic to communicate the track 'go.'

Resolution in Context.

For a more ambiguous resolution, I needed to provided myself with knowledge on The Maccabees' track to inform the concept and design. In my search for a source of inspiration, I sourced the songs lyrics - hoping they would provide me with a concept to visually communicate. These lyrics are documented below:

Left you there in the sunlight
In the sunshine by the windowsill in the kitchen
In light of what was to come it was not enough

Just like the cardboard that covered
The missing panes and cracks in our bedroom windows
We should have known they wouldn’t keep out the cold

It was not enough it’s not enough and it never was

And they’ll call out with a name by which I’d never call you
And we’ll grow out when it’s time
And the skins we’ve known no longer fit us

It’s not enough and it leaves you tired

See you there in the sunlight
In the sunshine by the windowsill in the kitchen

And they’ll call out with a name by which I’d never call you
All things being well still feel it was not enough.

I picked up on a particular lyric in the song that is repeated, evident at the start of the song and close to the end. These are emphasised above. The lyrics reads 'See you there in the sunlight / In the sunshine by the windowsill in the kitchen.' These lyrics provided me with a visual concept 

that were wholly ambiguous considering the artist and track name. 

The concept I considered deriving from these lyrics was an open window with sunlight coming through. I visually communicated this concept through a compositionally central open window, created structurally through lines/grids to provide perspective to the open windows. The piece 

depicts a white outline of a square with an additional line at the bottom to represent the window-sill, and two white perspective grids opening out into both the left and right space of the composition. 

The central square is filled with bright yellow, as to represent sunlight entering the window - as described in the lyrics. This visual information is set on dark grey ground as to provide a refined contrast that creates a more harmonious/consistent tonal value across the design as a whole. Though 

a distinctly simple resolution, the design ambiguously represents The Maccabees' track via visual representation of significant lyrics taken from the song - using a limited colour palette as to communicate succinctly and directly the necessary information to be interpreted.

Ambiguous resolution inspired by significant 'go' song lyrics.

Resolution in Context.