TXT maps

15/02/2011

One of the maps I set out to achieve was the TEXT map of the city. Its premise: the volume of written language in public spaces has increased in modern cities [or areas of cities] and the balance TXT and ICONIC COMMUNICATION now stands witness to a new vs old dichotomy in city and society [the new city makes use of lots of text as in billboards and neon signs that can draw the attention and convey their message to an increasingly fast society or a society on wheels that has to skim fast through information from behind the wheel]; the amount of text has a functional and aesthethical value and is an integral part of the postmodern urban landscape, a scattered landscape full of scattered messages.

And I had a plan for it:
- first pin down: billboards, neon signs, large advertising panels, electronic displays, plasma screens, mobile panels [e.g on trucks or taxis], illuminated panels, signboards [on poles]
- then state type as follows: IMG [image mostly/only], TXT [text mostly/only - e.g. neon signs], IMG = TXT [equal amount of text and image], IMG > TXT [predominant image] , TXT > IMG [predominant text]
- draw the ares of impact according to:
a. visibility [depending on signs and illumination, and positioning - e.g. billboard for highways are usually with their back turned to city] or presence [in the case of hybrid img/txt+sound ads]
b. esthetic value [e.g. a pink billboard by the cemetery is more visible than one adverting a swimming pool and placed by a park]
c. density [ panels that are part of a campaign are more "visible" due to their repetition]
d. message [e.g. an add describing adrenaline holidays is almost "invisible" in an area inhabited by older people with no interests in such activities]
- draw the territories of TEXT and IMAGE based on the data collected above

Needless to say that in 2 days of roaming the city one cannot achieve such a “megalomaniac” goal. But still one can get a feeling of what text territories exist and of what type of text is present there [I found districts where street art texts were more frequent that grafitti, and areas where billboards were more frequent than visible windows].

Below one example of text that was unique, overwhelming the wall, visible and catchy, and also providing a sneak peak in the world of street writers and their emotions and seasons. It is a calendar drawn on Hviezdoslavova Street.