Joanne O/Neill_2011-2012www.joannemoneill.com

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Joa

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01_Concept + Statement

For my thesis project, I chose to combine three of my favourite subjects: Ty-

pography, printed matter, and the American Old West. This project began

with a overall exploration of the concept of language and etymology, and soon

after was put into the context of the Old West, a period in history to which I

am particularly drawn.

The American Old West, or the ‘Wild West’ concerns the history, geogra-

phy, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States,

and broadly refers to the later half of the nineteenth century to the end of the

Mexican Revolution in 1920. My interest in this subject began after reading

John Steinbeck’s Of Mice & Men many years ago. Though the novel takes

place just after this period (during the Great Depression), it certainly conjures

up images of cowboys, cattle, chaps, farmhouses, haystacks and every other

cliché that you care to imagine. First and foremost, I enjoy the aesthetic na-

ture of this period. The open country, the wildlife, the stretch of blue sky, hats,

horses, lassos, wagons, denim, holsters. Life would most likely have been ex-

tremely tough, but it is easy to romanticise as simplistic, rewarding and un-

bound. It is a life that I will never lead, but one that I long to. The language

used in this period (language that is still used today, however) is something

that I find fascinating, and so I proceeded to use this as my staring point.

Whilst researching this topic, I came across several ‘dictionaries’ of the lingo

used by cowboys. I used these phrases to explore creating a small zine (with

the intent on eventually producing a book), followed this with a series of post-

ers in the middle of the year, and eventually decided to take a different route

altogether, and brand a line of products inspired by Cowboy culture.

Most of all, the language used in this period (language that is still used

today, however) is something that I find fascinating. The y’alls and the yee-

haws are but a miniscule aspect of this era and it’s people. I am interested

in where these phrases come from and what they mean and I am looking to

create a dictionary of sorts. I want this project, no matter it’s final form, to be

an experience of language within a different time.

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“Established in 1890, Cowpunch was an American supply company con-

cerned with the production and distribution of quality goods for the cow-

hands of America.

In 1867, cattle baron Joseph McCoy decided to use Abilene, Kansas for the

location of his stockyards. It became the first “cow town”, and the eventual

birth place of Cowpunch. As open range ranching gave way to fenced in

ranches, the glory days of the cowboy came to an end, and myths about the

“free living” cowboy began to emerge. Cowpunch is a tongue-in-cheek in-

terpretation of this myth. This collection of objects is a manifestation of the

values, lifestyle, identity, and symbolism of an icon.”

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02_Research + Documentation

I began my research by collecting images of design that I enjoy and find to

be inspirational. This included a lot of hand lettering and typography, the con-

cept of ‘Deafault Systems in Design’, a lot of Dutch graphic design (Irma Boom,

Mevis & Van Deursen, Karel Martens, Julia Born, etc.), mostly concerned with

book design. I am also hugely interested in Zine culture, so I spent some time

with material on that subject, particularly the book Behind the Zines: Self

Publishing Culture (2011).

The broad notion of language was always interesting to me, and I began by

looking into words and phrases used in American culture that, to a ‘foreigner’

such as myself, mean very little. For example, the phrases “Chatty Cathy” or “I

could care less.” I also looked into proverbs, idioms and metaphors with a view

to creating some kind of typographic representation of them. I did, however,

also have an interest in history and was encouraged to pursue that as well.

In doing so, I realised that I needed to at least contemplate basing my thesis

project on the American Old West.

Since that time, my research became concerned with emersing myself in

this period in time. Through books, documentaries, art, film and my own de-

sign ‘experiments.’ I began by doing basic research on the American Old West

and the linguistics of cowboys. A quick internet search brings up countless

pages on this subject, and a visit to the library proved to be more helpful that

I had anticipated- A book called Cowboy Lingo by Ramon F Adams was ex-

actly what I was looking for. I continued to research language as a general idea

whilst looking up documentaries on my chosen subject. I began searching for

relevant images via the Library of Congress website in order to make some

sort of prototype and release some creative energy.

Please refer to thesiskinesis.tumblr.com for visual inspiration.

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Examples of Cowboy Lingo + Phrases

  Ace in the Hole - A hideout or a hidden gun.

  Ace High - First class and respected, or a winning poker hand.

  Acknowledge the Corn - To admit the truth or to confess a lie.

  Acock - Knocked over, defeated, astounded, suddenly surprised.

  Bad Medicine - Bad news.

Cap the Climax - To surpass everything.

  Dead Alive - Dull, inactive, moping.

  Fine as cream gravy - Very good, top notch.

  Hell Rousers - Spurs.

  Indian Whiskey - Cheap, adulterated liquor. Also called Indian Liquor.

  Jimmying a bull - Shooting a law officer.

  Ladies of the Line - Prostitutes.

  Mail-Order Cowboy - A derogatory term ‘fake’ cowboys.

Pony Up - Pay over money. “Pony up that account.”

Weather-Breeder - A cloudless sky

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The Code Of The West

  Don’t inquire into a person’s past.

  Never steal another man’s horse. A horse thief pays with his life.

  Remove your guns before sitting at the dining table.

  Never order anything weaker than whiskey.

  Don’t make a threat without expecting dire consequences.

  Never pass anyone on the trail without saying “Howdy”.

  When approaching someone from behind, give a loud greeting.

  Don’t wave at a man on a horse, a nod is the proper greeting.

  After you pass someone on the trail, don’t look back at him.

  Never even bother another man’s horse.

  Always fill your whiskey glass to the brim.

  A cowboy doesn’t talk much; he saves his breath for breathing.

  Always tend to your horse’s needs before your own.

  Cuss all you want, but only around men, horses and cows.

  Complain about the cooking and you become the cook.

  Drink your whiskey with your gun hand, to show your good intentions.

  Do not practice ingratitude.

  A cowboy is pleasant even when out of sorts.

  A cowboy always helps someone in need, even a stranger or an enemy.

  Never try on another man’s hat.

  Give your enemy a fighting chance.

  Real cowboys are modest.

  Be there for a friend when he needs you.

  Never shoot a woman, no matter what.

  Honesty is absolute - your word is your bond.

03_Influences + Inspiration

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04_Prototyping

(1) My first prototype was a small zine concerning ‘The Code of the West’,

something I had come across online. I simply combined this with imagery of

the period and my own aesthetic. It was a great way to get started.

(2) For my second prototype, I wanted to create a series of posters, each show-

casing a word or phrase common to the speech of a cowboy. For the first phase

of this exploration. I gathered all the slang/phrases for the word whiskey that

I could find. For example, base burner, rebel soldier, prairie due, anti-fogmatic,

etc. I continued this process for the second phase of the prototype. For the

second series, I selected slang words that are used to reference objects, for

example, axle grease to mean butter. For the third, I chose phrases that rep-

resent of a negative occurrence or state of affairs. For example, bad medicine

to mean bad news. I paired these words with images I have collected over

the period of the semester, and added dictionary definitions of the object or

situation that they represent. As of yet, there is no particular system for colour

choice, the typefaces used, or the number of image allowed per poster. This

was simply a stream-of-consciousness exercise. Defining a system is some-

thing that I think is fundamental to work like this, so I absolutely intend to

create one.

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REMOVE YOUR GUNS

BEFORE SITTING AT THE DINING

TABLE

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The feedback for the second prototype was mostly positive, however, most

felt there was a disconnect between the subject matter and the visual ap-

pearance of the posters. Choosing to explore a minimalist aesthetic, as op-

posed to something concerning wood type, for example, does not neces-

sarily make sense. I have begun to look into wood type (specifically using

photolettering.com). Hopefully this will inspire a different kind of vibe. In

terms of content, most felt that the words could be organised far more strict-

ly, perhaps going as far as to use the “Code of the West” to allow for some

parameters. The general consensus was that the concept is still too loose.

I need to explore a organisation system for these words, and following this,

create a design system.

The poster on the opposite page is the result of feedback from my peers

and of a self-critique. The posters become very repetitive, and so I decided

‘merge’ the whiskey series into a single product. This is far more interesting

and dynamic than the previous explorations.

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(3) My interest in the code of the west and my love for hand-lettering even-

tually manifested itself into the concept of painted signage. The series of

15-20 paintings would hang together in the exhibition, providing the viewer

with an experience of hand-lettered, phrases from a part of American cul-

ture. I am also interested in accompanying these signs with a process book,

as I am still very much excited by the idea of producing one.

My first product for the third round of prototyping was not particularly

successful. I realised that I would have to bring a lot of colour and variety

to these paintings if they are to be at all intriguing. The second iteration,

on the following page, is far more successful in terms of the diversity of

typefaces and use of colour. The juxtaposition of these two different pieces

is interesting, however, which leads me believe that exploring a number of

different illustration styles is the next step in both the research and proto-

typing process.

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05_Process

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Essence of Thesis: Language, Culture + Identity.

  Promotion of an identity.

  Cultural exchange.

  Exploration of the values, aspirations, identity and symbolism of the cowboy. 

Experience of a culture and identity through products/objects.

  Communication of a lifestyle - The freedom of life in the Old West. 

Bridging the gap between the past and present.

  Revitalisation of an obsolete lifestyle through branding.

  Promotion of a sense of patriotism for the user.

  Creation and branding of products that embody the identity of the cowboy.

  Hand Lettering - Typographic representation of a period in time.

Opposite page: Book cover design exploration.

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Brand name exploration.

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Finalisation of brand name.

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Final primary mark (textured).

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Final secondary mark (textured).

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Mark detail.

Typefaces used:

• Gotham, Black (customised)• Brandon Groteque, Bold• Wisdom Script

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Cowpunch Brand Chewing Tobacco.

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Cowpunch Brand Shotgun Cartridges.

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Cowpunch Brand Snake Oil

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Cowpunch Brand Moonshine.

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Cowpunch Brand Whiskey.

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Processes: Engraving, rusting, stenciling.

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More ProcessImages

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More ProcessImages

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06_Final Outcome

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seque dolupid essitatis adis moluptatem volore natem. Nam, sequas et der-

natetur sit, sam experiorrum abore volum volupta quatian isimporum qui vo-

luptate volor arci dolestorero min rerspe veligniae et quid moluptam, sequae

derfere cus si dit, optis verum, soluptatem quosae voluptam rerum nobita porit

explit dolo et reped maximinim aut et porercit ommolup tatius anihic tem. Dae

laccae atius iunt esciliqui debitae et repro endaeroriae volecatur sinis atur?

Re eic torende licidelibus et est, cus excepero moluptatur modigent lacipi-

catur, optatet labor abo. Ebit ut volorit estionse perisqu amustias desto eribus

aut ra nam, quodis vitas exernatem qui rere omni ut lati tem eum ut ulluptur

ad qui aliquide etur? It officatum lat quae. Udaepratibus quiatia dolecte nimet

aborrum fugia aut explabo. Tam optis verum qui conse velenis aut voleste volo

quam facima con consequo quatque et ut harumque voluptaes que nonsequ

iament quatam cum etus essi di dolupist aut ra volorei caborem ipsae. Et arci

dolestorero min rerspe veligniae et quid moluptam, sequae derfere cus si dit,

optis verum, soluptatem quosae voluptam rerum nobita porit explit dolo et

reped maximinim aut et porercit ommolup tatius anihic tem. Dae laccae atius

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qui conse velenis aut voleste volo quam facima con consequo optis verum

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Final Images of Objects

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Display Case: Sketch + final product.

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Exhibition handout.

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Colophon