Lupton's Layers and Transperencies

Lupton defines layers as "simultaneous, over-lapping components of an image or sequence". It is the association of different levels of data which contribute to the whole while maintaining their own identity. Spatial layers play with surface and depth by overlapping forms and optical alignments.

Transparency is "a simultaneous perception of different spatial locations," as defined by Gyorgy Kepes. In design, transparency is used to create dense, layered imagery built from veils of color and texture.

Transparency and Layers are related phenomena.

But what does this mean and how does it apply to my practice as a designer?

In my project (as well as my peer's projects), the principles of layers and transparency are in blatant, constant use. Our paper choices, cover choices, composition choices, and image choices all serve as layers. They maintain their own identity, i.e. an image of a run away slave, while fitting in to the grander scheme of the page, i.e. an image of a slave placed with oppressive forces. The most important part of Lupton's ideas is gestalt - all pieces working toward the whole.

I have found that this has been difficult for me to accomplish in some regards and painfully easy in others. Initially, my compositions were hyper literal. I was criticized for 'drawing with the dots'. I have since moved away from this, letting the dots speak for themselves, being highlighted slightly by the illustrations that grace their shape. The simplicity and neutral tone of my book connects to the somber nature of what slavery was in early America - and even what it continues to be today. I want this book to feel like a modern artifact, meaning that it reflects its time but from an awareness of its actuality with a modern understanding. The images and materials play to the history, while the typography and dot compositions are modern.

Paper has played such a vital role in my project - probably more so than other book. The texture and look of the paper instantly take the viewer through layers of history, creating the right mindset. While dyeing the paper, it seems that every single page yields "happy accidents", or serendipitous moments, that add character and individuality to every page. That individuality plays right back into the theme of slavery, reminding the viewer that each slave was an individual, not a statistic lost in history.