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I’m Caleb, a multidisciplinary graphic designer with a passion for art direction with eight years of experience across agency, corporate, and freelance settings. I believe that successful graphic design lives at the intersection between art and communication and aim for that point in my process.

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Caleb Peters

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When does a completed project deserve additional attention?

2019

SEMIOTICS

HON. MENTION, PHAISTOS OPEN CALL

A person’s identity—a particular nexus point in a multifaceted and ever-expanding web of social systems—lacks an easily digestible visual analogue. As an exploration, I attempted to create a system that could efficiently communicate where an individual’s nexus might lie.

Research

SYSTEMS INVESTIGATION

At the time, I was really interested in constructs of identity, specifically those in the realm of sexuality and attraction. The Phaistos Project’s open call was coming up, so I took the opportunity to explore this interest by crafting a symbol system that could represent more of a person than a simple ♂ or ♀ could.

To begin, I researched a number of different models for orientation and attraction, read up on new labels under the LGBTQ umbrella, and looked through semiotics projects from prominent designers.

The Grid

A FRAMEWORK FOR IDENTITY

After much deliberation, I settled on a few sets of identifiers the symbols would represent: gender identity, sex, and gender expression, expressed by the segmented concentric circles, as well as sexual and romantic attraction, expressed by the arrows which branch out from the center. These were each further divided based on the generally accepted modern trichotomy. Gender identity, for example, was divided into man, woman, and non-binary.

Modifiers to this foundation were added to account for asexual and aromantic individuals, denoted byat the end of an arrow, as well as polyamory, represented by a second line in the outward arrows.

The combinatoric nature of this system allows for 1728 permutations, from which I chose 45 for submission.

Evaluating Success

DID I MEET ALL THE PROJECT’S GOALS?

The set of 45 symbols was chosen for Phaistos’ web publication, which might have been the end of this project. I kept looking back at it, thinking what could make it even more successful. The purpose of the project was to pack as much meaning as possible about a person into a symbol that could replace the significantly more shallow ♀ and ♂, without losing their usability in writing systems.

The more I reflected on it, the more I felt that while the system might have been adequately comprehensive, it was not adequately usable. The exploration and the resulting system, I realized, had morphed into something more formal, distanced from problem it was intended to solve.

Data Collection

WERE THERE THINGS I MISSED?

Rather than simply showcasing the project in an exhibition as planned, I pivoted and chose instead to use it as a mode of feedback gathering before returning to the system and making changes.

I created a symbol builder worksheet with some instructions that would allow attendees to construct their own personal symbol. On the back, participants were encouraged to identify parts of the construction process they struggled to understand, detail facets of their identites the symbols seemed to leave unrepresented, and offer general feedback on the experience.

The responses clearly indicated a few problems, all of which I identified myself during my personal reflections. The system was too opaque, the symbols were not quickly readable, and writing a symbol down without assistance from a worksheet would be nearly impossible.

Redux

CREATING A NEW VISUAL SYSTEM

Eventually, after many trials and experiments, I found myself inspired by the structure and usability of Korean Hangul and decided to use it as a model for the new symbol system.

The vertical line and those attached to it are representative of gender identity, physical sex, and gender expression; the other half represents sexual and romantic attractions.

This new system allows for ease of use—it’s all linework, and requires nothing be colored in—and accounts for some of the inadequacies of the original system by using language of “hetero” and “homo” when referring to directional attraction rather than specifying what kind of person that attraction is directed toward. This also allowed for easier differentiation between bisexuality and pansexuality.

Upon Reflection

SHOULD I HAVE GONE THIS FAR?

I often find myself unable to let go and feel as though a product is complete, so I look back at this process and cringe a bit. The original product was finished, so much so that Phaistos picked it for their web publication, so what was it that kept me so caught up? I realize now that the issue was that it was complete, but not successful.

If my goal was to create a system that was combinatoric, usable, visually interesting, easily understood, and adequately inclusive, the first set was only 40% there. It was finished and submitted, but I knew there was more investigation and refinement to be done.

If we define success as the accomplishment of set goals, that makes this, in my mind, an example of a time where my neuroticism and perfectionism helped me reach a successful end product. I had no problem continuing to ruminate even after it was finished, which pushed me to see the flaws in the original product and return to fix them.

Regulating those perfectionist qualities is a difficult task, but this project taught me that they can be as useful as they are inconvenient so long as they’re directed toward projects that truly deserve more attention.