Project 4: Initial Concepts

Diving into the project, I went back to my connotations list, as well as addressed the connections I had already made in my information graphic, and tried to stem some ideas from here. After generating a quick list of ideas, I picked some directions I thought I could go in. I don't want to limit myself to the three icons yet-- first I'd like to see how many options are possible for each concept, explore, and then allow myself to narrow down to what is and isn't working.

1. Protection against the elements; icons juxtaposed against imagery taken of terrain/climate of their location. (a landscape (snowy mountains), a closer view (snow/ice), a more obscure look (ice cubes)?)

- clogs: water (often worn as protection from wet floors in cotton mills)
- huaraches: heat (worn in the hot climate of mexico)
- mukluks: ice, cold (worn by arctic natives in cold weather)
- moccasins: forest terrain (light, allow the wearer to feel the ground below them and move silently when hunting)

2. Materials; icons against imagery/texture of materials (patterns? texture? the material in it's truest form--tree/cow/tire? what tools can be used to generate a similar texture? how can the paper/image be manipulated physically to emulate the shoe's build?)

- zori/clogs: wood
- turkish slippers: hand woven silk, leather, skins, old uzbek ikats, cloth woven from tie-dye thread
- cowboy boots: leather
- mukluks: (traditionally) reindeer/sealskin, beads, rabbit, fox or raccoon furs
- moccasins: deerskin/soft leather, embroidery, beads
- lotus shoes: leather, silk
- huraches: leather, tire tread for the soles

3. Traditions; icons against imagery of traditional festivals, events or other special occasions in which the shoes are worn. (images of events that take place, or traditional costume worn at these events?)

- zori: japanese tea ceremony, bon-odori festival (summer dance festival), tanabata (star festival)
- clogs: clogging/clog dancing
- cowboy boots: rodeo
- moccasins: pow-wow

EDIT: An additional concept, looking back to the research already established in my information graphic to replace the idea of "materials":

4. Connotations of functional/social; icons against imagery representing the connotations of each shoe. (what kinds of images can address the ideas behind each shoe: what image can represent binding, protection, or social status? how can the images make the viewer 'feel' the different connotations?)

- zori: cultural mannerisms (removing shoes at the door)
- clogs: protection
- turkish slippers: wealth/social status
- cowboy boots: western culture
- mukluks: protection from cold weather
- moccasins: tribal affiliation
- lotus shoes: beauty, eroticism, oppression, binding, deformity


I was initially interested in the possible juxtaposition between old and new (zori vs. flipflops, clogs vs. the protective boot), but next to each other imagery might becoming too similar and boring, both being shoes. Not to mention that the majority of my shoe icons, while historical, are also still used today. Other ideas, such as the icons juxtaposed against traditional women's clothing, requires more research, although I do like the idea of thinking what the shoes and clothing together reveal about the individual cultures. (Does the clothing conceal, address social status or affiliation?) Because I wanted to get directly into exploration with the knowledge I already have, I decided on the above three as a starting point.