Marcus Brown, FABLAB Devon (Exeter)

‘What Does Reading Mean to You?’

The concept behind this piece of digital Word-art was to explore the meaning of reading across the communities in Exeter, by asking 'What does reading mean to you?' It’s a really interesting question that has so many aspects to it. The challenge for participants was to summarise the meaning of reading in only one word.

I am excited by visual art, and enjoy developing artwork pieces with letters and words so this question was perfect for a Word-art response. The larger the word on the Word-art, the higher the frequency that the response was given. The survey was completed digitally and anonymously and had several hundred responses from community groups across Exeter between October 2020 and January 2021. The responses have been collated into age groups to visually represent the question responses.

It is fascinating to see the whole collection of words and the language linked to reading in people's lives. It also raises the question of how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected people's lives and their response to what reading means to them. The overall highest response were the words escape and escapism. Would this have been different if the pandemic hadn't occurred? 

I set out to use some of the processes that we use in FABLAB Devon (Exeter) as I work as a Digital Making Tutor. This is a really creative and exciting role, and I develop workshops and experiences for people to learn digital design and physical fabrication. During the 2020 and 2021 lockdowns, we have taken some workshops online which has really taken off and we now have participants across the world as far as Australia!

When Exeter Library is open again, you can see the Word-art in-situ – it's just inside the FABLAB at the far end of the ground floor. Why not join us and create your own artworks and learn some digital design? In the meantime, watch the video below about the making of the Word-art, including all the processes and design elements.

To find out more about FABLAB Devon, follow on social media @fablabdevon. The full workshop programme is at fablabdevon.eventbrite.co.uk

Marcus Brown is a Digital Making Tutor and digital designer who loves to create digitally in different ways. He enjoys all aspects of digital design including photography, visual artwork and design plus the precision of digital manufacture. He has a background in primary-school teaching and leadership with a computing specialism and loves to inspire others to create their own artworks and items through his teaching and inspiration.

Twitter: @MBDigital0
Insta: mbdigital0