I am an observer, visual experimenter, book and graphic designer.
BFA in Visual Communication Design from China Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Mengjin Li
We tend to put ordinary things on the margins of our vision. For example, a cup of coffee is something waiting to be drunk. An automatic straw box is waiting to press out a straw. But why can't we get a toothbrush from the automatic straw box? These things have a certain role and function. We know the leaves are green without looking at them, and this automatic perception leaves a deep generalization. What we can do is avoid this automatic perception, make the moment slow or even stop, to wonder and think. To have a close observation. In this way things that we overlook open up new possibilities.
Paradox, paragraph, parallel, paralogism, parable, paraphrase... PARA as the root of these words has the meaning of ‘beside’. This feeling is lateral. Lateral thinking emphasizes breaking free from limiting patterns. This kind of thinking is different from vertical logic or problem solving. It generates new models and emphasizes seeing things in a different way.
This book is full of encounters, hybrids, imaginations and possibilities. A little unexpected, a little weird, a little whimsical. These works constantly create new situations and a thirst for reaching something elsewhere.
My work is based on seeing-sideways (use lateral thinking to see things differently), through visual experiments to produce personalized ways or strategies. It begins with some unconscious thoughts and impulsive behaviors. I use visual experiments as a tool to realize these ideas.
These visual experiments also lead to new strategies. I hope this book and these cards will help people when they feel confused or want to shift their thinking in their lives. The cards are people's creative tools, and this book is a collection of examples, exercises and reflections. You can think of this book as an instruction manual for the cards, but if you leave the cards aside and just read the book itself you will find other interesting pathways. And there are many playful exercises in this book. Let's enter the labyrinth and get lost elsewhere!
Medium:
bookSize:
99mm*210mm
The first part of this project are my visual experiments. These visual experiments are examples of these strategies. Each strategy corresponds to a visual example. When you think about the strategies on the cards you can use these examples and the text to inspire you. Or you can leave the cards aside and just read it for inspiration.
Strategies:
1/Cover with a cloth.
2/Try to look at form beyond concept and function.
3/Find a way to see the time within it.
4/Close observation.
5/Pay attention to a chance encounter.
6/Switch viewing angle.
7/Think of structure as formula to bring in new things.
8/Form a system to order things in different ways.
9/Put chaos into order.
10/Create the strangely familiar.
11/Juxtaposition.
12/Hybridize with other things.
13/See it as elements to build something new.
14/Use it as a ruler to draw.
15/Place it on something with the same form.
16/Use a grid system to describe.
17/Switch narratives.
18/Give it an unexpected label.
19/Play solitaire with it.
20/Put it in a new context.
21/Make a reproduction.
22/Put a frame around it.
These ten exercises were inspired by the visual experiment in Part 1. They are all very simple exercises that can be done anywhere and anytime.
The third part is a list of sentences about the critical relationship between thinking and making. I chose this fragmented narrative because it allows me to present my views on the relationship between the two from different perspectives. Because I believe that by looking at it from various angles, we will understand the relationship between thinking and making more comprehensively.