Hidden Stories
I created a book with 22 stories given by volunteers that were presented with 3 of these randomly selected archetypes and symbols. These stories are likely to come from their unconscious minds, and hopefully, reveal something meaningful about them. Despite the complexity of the subject, my aim is not to provoke psychological interpretations of these stories, but to explore a specific kind of visual language that I find interesting and very relevant. And of course, to understand better some processes of projection that are essential in visual communication. Good design changes us. In graphic design, this transformation takes place while communicating: a message is told using a piece of visual information, and sometimes that message has a deep impact on the receiver. This seems to also happen when visual information is incomplete, not fully defined or explained. The viewer seems to fill the gaps with the hidden content of their own minds: subconscious ideas, prejudices, beliefs, etc. I researched about psychology, symbolism, and myths as I wanted to explore them all from the perspective of a graphic designer. According to Carl J. Jung, we constantly use symbolic terms to represent concepts that we cannot define or fully comprehend. This is the one reason why all religions employ symbolic language or images. The unconscious can only communicate with consciousness indirectly. Dreams, for example, bring the content of a personal subconscious mind to the surface, so the conscious can see it, but only in its original language: symbols and images. That’s why commonplace objects and ideas can assume such powerful psychic significance in a dream: a locked room, a missed train, etc. This process works in both ways: when the symbol is powerful, something hidden emerges. Archetypes are powerful symbols, themes, settings or character-types that recur in different times and places in myth, literature, folklore, dreams, and rituals so frequently as to suggest that it embodies some essential element of universal human experience.