Process Breakdown
As someone whose favorite film & TV genre is psychological thriller, I became obsessed with Severance and the show's eerie portrayal of the lengths people will go to truly feel a work/life balance. A part of the show that stuck with me the most was the break room scene. In the break room, employees are forced to repeat scripture that essentially acts a form of psychological torture. Individuals must recite the mantra until a polygraph test proves that the employee's apologetic speech is sincere. I created a typography piece inspired by this to capture Helly R's sinister experience during her first visit to the break room.
The design focused on the oppressive structure of the scene—a corporate font that was devoid of any joy, unsettling spacing between words, and overlapping text to illustrate the anxiety bubbling in Helly R's chest.
Looking back, if I were to add something to the piece, I’d incorporate more of the show’s symbolic elements. For example, I might rearrange the map path to form the shape of an eye, a subtle nod to the only part of Helly R we see in this scene. This would deepen the visual storytelling by tying the typography even closer to the themes of surveillance and control.