Parsons School of Design
BFA Communication Design
Thesis 2014

Parsons School of Design
BFA Communication Design
Thesis 2014

Cosmos: Revisited & Redesigned
Flora Chan

How can Science and Literature, often considered completely disparate areas of knowledge, be unified in a coherent and meaningful manner? Can a piece of science writing also be considered a literary classic? According to the physicist Niels Bohr, “The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth.” Literature reveals truths, while Science is a search for facts. However, in my thesis, I will show that the two are not mutually exclusive. Carl Sagan’s Cosmos unifies this dichotomy by expressing truths about humanity in the process of explaining scientific facts about the universe. The method of this unification will be shown through various typographic styles and experimental typeset- ting that highlights his greatly convincing writing technique. Sagan’s text has also been designed to influence the pace and rhythm of reading, such that the reader is made more aware of the expressive and poetic quality of his writing. Typography is thus utilized as a form of subjective annotation. Identifying the patterns and usage of persuasive and poetic devices can enable us to become discerning readers and better writers. Gaining an awareness of the vastness of the Cosmos can empower us to become responsible citizens of the Earth. Consequently, this typographic redesign of Cosmos aims to inspire readers to become more critical through an examination of literary technique, but also more compassionate through an understand- ing of Sagan’s view of humankind’s place in the universe.

Sarah Alfulaij

Michael Anderson

Darwin Andrango

Leonardo Araujo

Atif Azam

Kyle Barber

Rachel Bernstein

Jillian Black

Matthew Boblet

Mallory Brennan

Joel Califa

Rosaurora Cardenas

Flora Chan

Hanna Chang

Julie Hanna Chea

Abby Wanyu Chen

Justin Cheung

Sherylene Chew

YunHee Choi

Mehr Chopra

Lu Chuang

YooMin Chun

Key Peum Chung

Haesoo Chung

Tyler Cohen

Vernicia Colon

Samantha Cooper

Gabriela d'Amato

Roderic David

Ambar Del Moral

Taryn Dooley

Anthony Duong

Patricia Encarnaciòn

Evelee Estevez

Virginia Leigh Farrell

Kean Ferin

Adam Fernandez

Enrique Ferreyros

Férvido Frías

Jane Gardner

Stephanie Gonzalez

Danielle Gorodenzik

Omar Greene

Gabrielle Guglielmelli

Elda Hadajian

Joy Han

Emma Hanson

Julio Hernandez

Jacob Hernandez

Chris Hong

Ann Yung Chu Hsieh

Xinle Jill Huang

Thanh Cong Huynh

Anthony Iciano

Wesley Johnson

Polina Kadkina

Byoungok Kim

Gena Kim

Lindsey Kim

Lucia Ji Won Kim

Tiffany Kim

Hyo Taek Kim

Esther Kim

Ga Hyun Kim

Jane Kim

Jae Young Kim

Daniella Krihely

Andrea Latimer

Seulbi Lee

Jina Lee

Yongmin Lee

JiYun Lee

Julie Lee

Jae Yong Lee

Iris Li

Joanne Chai Wen Lim

Octavio Llano

Rebecca Low

Andrea Fiorella Martinez

Odile Martínez-Santamari

Gerald Morin

Nadine Muhtadi

Phuong Nguyen

Brandon Nicolas

Seema Nisar

Grant Noel

Neal Oh

Solgil Oh

Valentina Pherson

Elli Pohl

Cody Pumper

Regina Puno

Shem Rajoon

Fabian Rastorfer

Bryan Ribeiro

Konstantinos Riginos

Sarah Rim

YoungHee Ryu

Sylvia Saborio

Joamir Salcedo

Camille Sacha Salvador

Emilio Sanchez

Katherine Santos

Joely Saravia

Amber Rose Seppi

Pauline Shin

Jennifer Shin

Anjana Singhwi

Renee Sluzhevsky

Meghan Smart

Noelle Smith

Chrystal Soegandhi

Wannina Somboonvechakarn

Albert Son

Suho Song

Charmaine Kwan Tung Sum

Natasha Sumant

Aija Suuta

Rachal Tai

Lisa Thieffry

Natashia Tjandra

Natasha Villarraga

Robert Vinluan

Francisco Vivar

Simone Wagner

Robert Waluszko

Kathleen Wang

Ashley Wayne

Boyun Yang

Kanny Yeung

Taylor Zanke

Frankie Zek

Sharon Zhang

Jody Zhou

Tiffany Zhu

Or Zubalsky