what i've learned

With one light source, the word sign is completely legible. However since the letter S and part of the letter N were constructed closer to the light and far away from the background, they are getting blurry and somewhat illegible.


When I turn both lights on, the shadows get muddy and illegible.


As i worked towards the outside of the word, I was forced to place board farther away from the background and closer to the light. The more pieces I add to complete the letterforms, the more muddy and illegible the word becomes. I tried using thinner pieces of board to keep the shadows from blending together, but when i did that the shadows disappeared.




I've learned a lot about legibility, especially when i'm using two separate light sources and two different background angles.
After watching peoples reactions that saw my previous studies, I noticed that people noticed the typography first. They would recognize the word or letter and then look closer at the image to see how it was made. It makes me thing that if I built these sculptures and did not show the light on them, would people just walk away and forget about it? would they try and figure it out? The typography gives the viewers something recognizable, and avoids awkwardness.