Prabhnir Natt

Publication about nostalgic physical media, exploring the elements of these mediums.

Physical media, while outdated, are widely nostalgic mediums for many of us, having grown up with piles of DVDs, folders of CDs, and collections of game console disks adorning our homes. Technological advancements have digitised our access to all forms of media, making it convenient and seemingly cheaper. This drove out physical media in an increasingly digital age as a redundant form in comparison. Recently, however, there has been a shift towards the simplicity of physical media and its tech as the overstimulation and illusion of easy ‘ownership’ of digital media becomes disputed.

‘Gathering Dust’ is an ode to physical media and the nostalgic value we tie to it. This publication deep dives into my collection of physical media from childhood, reminiscing about the memories attached to them. It explores the revival, emulation, origins, and tactility of physical media through research, photography, printmaking, and many trips down memory lane.

As someone who feels nostalgia deeply, I wanted to create a book that evokes a similar feeling to one I get when reminiscing about my childhood. ‘Gathering Dust’ aims to spark readers with their own memories attached to physical media from their childhoods, reflecting on the past with a fond appreciation for what each of us grew up with. Whether it’s from just one medium or all, we all have memories anchored to physical media—because of this, it will never truly die out.

Brand identity assets for an exhibition and events series at the Design Museum.

Original Machines is an exhibition series that asks the question: can computer-based artificial intelligence generate work that is considered original? It explores the history and current status of artificial intelligence (AI), and its ability to create and arguably originate work.

My approach explored the core elements of computer-based generative outputs: controlled parameters and randomised generators. Each are required for computer-generated systems to work, wherein they are dependent on each other to achieve the desired output. This concept formed the basis of my ideation and development, which utilises a human interpretation of a machine-generated randomisation.

Through randomly generated type manipulations, this work regulates them in the context of a brand identity by applying a human touch. Contrasting typefaces and organic colours are used to visualise the distinction of the non-human ‘machine’ from the human ‘original’. The resulting abstracted type becomes the brand-wide visual, composed across various mediums using human intentionality and purposeful composition.

Series of television idents for a speculative channel focused on televising cartoons to a young audience.

This project was formulated around my learning of motion design using Adobe After Effects. As a primarily editorial and typographic designer, I wanted to branch out my creative capabilities into an area that I was always intimidated by, yet wanted to learn and produce work in. Through various courses and recreating professional work with my motion interpretations, I successfully taught myself how to operate After Effects and create motion designs.

The aim of this project was not simply to learn a new software; I wanted to apply that knowledge practically, and so devised a context and target demographic to design for. To best apply my newfound learning, designing for an audience that relies on fun visuals and captivating animation would be ideal, as this would allow me to design more experimentally. This led to TOON ZONE: a television channel aimed at 7-17 year olds, which would play various cartoons and animated programmes.

These idents utilise fluid animations, bright colours, and characteristic cartoon-like movement to captivate the target audience and the intended visual approach for a children’s television channel.