Expressive Typography

For this lyric, I decided to create a geometric sans-serif type made of Lego. I used this material to represent a metaphorical wall or barrier. Similar to the lyrics, as well as Zappa himself, the type appears playful, though it possesses a serious undertone. The song analyzes themes of opposition and civil rights in the year of its creation, 1974. This typography project is an analysis of the way these themes still exist in 2018. The blue and red halves of the letters are separated by a white line to symbolize the divide between opposing sides of the political spectrum. The inspiration for this project came from the idea of a political "left" and "right" that can often be found arguing about the minutiae of some political theory or inconsequential tweet, and refusing to discuss or come together on larger issues that are truly important. True progress becomes a rare occasion. Some feel time heals all wounds, though we can see that change only occurs when people have the courage and determination to make it happen. In the words of Zappa, are we moving too slow? Are we actually moving at all? Challenges prevalent in 2018 include increasingly short attention spans, suspicion of the media's intentions, and general mistrust of institutions and power structures. Issues and scandals in the news appear like a tidal wave, though after a short time, the issue tends to fizzle as if it never existed at all. The cyclical nature of it makes it feel like we're moving forward, but we usually experience the same cycles over again until new insight is obtained and we can reach a resolution.