Poetic Translation
Type of Project: Illustration, Icon design
Design Objective: Create a visual language and apply it to a text.
Design Notes:
This project offers a visual translation of the poem "When Death Comes" by Mary Oliver.
I devised my own set of symbols and created a scene for each stanza of the poem.
I wanted the symbols to flow together so they read as one scene—it felt more natural than to keep each symbol separate. F
Featured in each image is a reading guide (in the top left corner) which shows the order in which the symbols should be read.
I printed the translation scenes on cotton sateen to make them feel cozy, like the poem itself, and so that they resemble individual flags.
I created a glossary to accompany the piece so that viewers could decode each scene.