PtolemaeaNOVEMBER 2023
For this project, we were assigned to create a poster using the lyrics of a song or poem that we chose. I ultimately ended up choosing the song “Ptolemaea” by Ethel Cain because I thought it would be interesting to see how I can transform this intense song into typography. This was a really fun and challenging project to create.
ORIGINAL SONG LYRICS:
I followed you in and I was with you there
I invited you in twice, I did
You love blood too much
But not like I do
Not like I do
Heard you, saw you, felt you, gave you
Need you, love you, love you, love you
Heard you, saw you, felt you, love you
Love you, love you, love you, love you
Love you, love you, love you, love you
Love you, love you, love you, love you
You'd do well to say yes to me
Suffer does the wolf, crawling to thee
Promising a big fire, any fire
Saying I'm the one, he's gonna take me
I'm on fire, I'm on fire, I'm on fire
Suffering is nigh, drawing to me
Calling me the one, I'm the white light
Beautiful, finite
Even the iron still fears the rot
Hiding from something I cannot stop
Walking on shadows, I can't lead him back, uh
Buckled on the floor when night comes along
Daddy's left and momma won't come home, oh, uh
You poor thing
Sweet, mourning lamb
There's nothing you can do
It's already been done
What fear a man like you brings upon a woman like me (show me your face)
Please, don't look at me
I can see it in your eyes, he keeps looking at me
Tell me, what have you done?
Stop, stop, stop, make it stop
Stop, make it stop, make it stop
I've had enough
Stop, stop, stop, stop
Stop, stop, stop, stop
I am the face
Of love's rage
I am the face
Of love's rage
As you can tell by the lyrics, this song is extremely dark and holds a lot of intense themes within it. Though I cannot replicate sound in a 2-dimensional poster, I wanted to do my absolute best to capture the feeling that this song gives to the listener within the poster. The main emotions are fear, anxiety, terror, and the sensation of the singer seemingly spiraling.
THE PROCESS:
MOODBOARD:
ITERATIONS:
I decided to make the lyrics “I am the face of love’s rage” extra big and going down the side of the poster due to how loud they are in the actual song. Just like these lyrics in the song do, the placement of the words overwhelms the rest of the quieter/smaller parts of the text.
I was really inspired by the concept of using text and typography to create different shapes and sections within the composition, so I knew I really wanted to try to do something related to that. I was also keeping the aesthetic of Ethel Cain in mind, despite wanting to put my own twist on how I can invoke the feeling of the song within the typography of the poster.
I initially typed out the lyrics and organized them in a way that put emphasis on the louder parts of the song. Although I thought that I was going in the right direction, I knew I still had a lot of refining and adjustments to make.
realized that the circular formation looked off in the first few designs, so instead of making a literal spiral out of the words I made a figurative spiral with the words. I made them so they overlap with each other, making them feel extra overwhelming to match the song.
FINAL POSTER:
