Text Composition: The Plan

I went through a couple versions of the text composition project before I decided on the final one. I knew I wanted to use the word "plan" or, "the plan," but the way to proceed wasn't obvious. My first work  extensively used the 'draw on a path' function in Illustrator to make lines out of the repeated words. "the plan" became the lines of a semi-architectural drawing that was repeated and redone all over the page. Here it is.

As soon as it was on the wall I realized that the work wasn't design - it was a painting. Instead of clarifying the word it simply used it to create an obscure network of lines. And the word itself was simply the substitue for the line, rather than reflecting itself in the design.

So I started over. This time I tried to make the word simple and the approach feel obvious and understandable. The word is in Helvetica, rather than a bunch of funny fonts. I tried to use proportional lines to show just how the letters are constructed and what elements they share. These lines don't explain everything that is going on in the word, but I hope they show enough to be explanatory but not confusing.