This project was a collaboration with Immanuel Yang. Together, we worked to revitalize and bring to the forefront the work of the Japanese poet Matsuo Basho (1644–1694). His haikus have a refreshing simplicity that resonates with us despite being nearly 350 years old. Our challenge was to relate the simplicity and stillness of his words in a powerful, yet minimal way across several platforms. 

 

Once we choose suitable typefaces and a photographer (Mary Jo Hoffman, stillblog.net) the process was seamless. The first thing we did was to create a stamp-like logo for the poet to help unite the pieces. We then made lock screens for the iPhone and the iPad as well as a book cover, a tote bag, a t-shirt, a large poster, and a prototype video. 

 

The video is a sketch of our idea for an installation piece which would ideally be located on a blank wall in a less crowded part of a city. The wall would appear empty until someone walked past it triggering the video to start. The text would then flutter in and out in a swirl of leaves, coming together for a brief moment to spell out the following haiku: along this road, goes no one, this autumn eve. 

 

The poster is the most visually complex piece of the series, but by utilizing symmetry and a straightforward layout we were able to maintain a certain level of simplicity. It is printed so large (44 x 54 inches) to encourage the viewer to become fully immersed. We felt that if we were going to create printed material we should take full advantage of its strengths, one of which is existing at a fixed size.