Encyclopedia of Creativity/ Lake Tanganyika
Xier Song
According to Wikipedia, an encyclopedia is a reference work that can be used as a learning tool for a particular field or discipline. However, It could be conceived as something beyond a tool book as people tend to shape their world and value based on what they learn from encyclopedias. This project aims to create an un-typical encyclopedia that combines life philosophy and design languages, to inspire people and highlight the role of creativity.
The philosopher Henri Bergson once said that life is not material, but a blind, irrational, eternal and tireless impulse of duration. This impulse flow is spontaneous and never stops in time, so it is called “continuous” or “flow of life” in Bergson’s way of describing evolution. This project explores this idea based on the author's understanding and divergent thinking through the creation process of the encyclopedia, by exploring a series of visual design experiments and combining them with creative layout. The book maps the endless life with the long history and rich species of Lake Tanganyika, pointing out the creation process of both the lake and people's minds should always continue.
By design experiments of repetition, collage and cutting, the author gradually reveals divergent thinking processes and interacts with readers by picturing out Lake Tanganyika, combining with understandings of life philosophy. The encyclopedia also included the author's notes and highlighted keywords to guide readers through the creation process of design.