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Images from the If you could collaboration between Chrissie MacDonald and Marie O'Connor. Materials and the execution of your ideas should be no barrier - DK have produced books with illustrations that include installation, wool depictions of the alimentary canal as well as pure photography, 3D renderings etc etc. There should be no restriction to how you approach this project.
A more systems based approach to describe a space - this may be a key factor in your proposal for the interactive experience - what you need to think about are layers of information and the timing and sequencing of how that information is discovered and seen. So when thinking about the proposal for this part of the brief consider a timeline, and a mapping process. It would also be good to think about the spacial aspect to this.
The possibilities that exist for online platforms can be a little daunting however it is certain that your work will find its way on to a digital platform and is likely to be part of a visual experience which is not only static. It is therefore really important that you engage with the idea that your work is likely to be animated/moving in the future and may even be part of an environment which is interactive/randomised.
Above, a still from a world building [RPG I think?] game called minecraft. When thinking about the thesaurus it may be interesting to consider how you can reflect the process of accumulating knowledge and a broader vocabulary through the mechanics of the interactive experience. Minecraft is all about building environments - it is generative - get it?
Images Liber Floridus from here.
Think about how you can devise a visual system that is sympathetic to your way of working, the discipline of conveying information is an interesting one and will help with more lyrical image making in the future. You will need to consider hierarchies of information, the trajectory that you want you reader to take in the case of the print outcome and the navigational possibilities for the interactive proposal.
You could be as involved and complex as you feel is necessary like Heironymous Bosch.
Or be more systematic in your approach like Bruno Munari, producing visual lists. You do not have to conform to a house style with this project, the point is to explore the possibilities both in terms of the visual language that you use and the options for navigation and access of multiple layers of information.
One way to consider how to develop this project is thematically. Normally with a thesaurus you would select a word and then list the synonyms and possibly the antonyms. However it is also possible to explore a theme or scenario, see above produced by godhead Richard Scarry. This gives you scope to construct an image and be lyrical with your interpretation of the brief - however you will need to consider how you are going to expand on the theme. It may be interesting to think about George Perec and his practical exercises listed in the 'Species of Spaces' perhaps?
If you are going to select a word and then visually list its synonyms and antonyms then we would suggest that you select one to two words to work with.
The project asks you to think about how to take people on a journey of discovery and learning. Traditionally, Dorling Kindersley make books that accommodate vast amounts of information, they are image and text rich with a remit to make the process of gathering material and making connections across subject matter as engaging and interesting as possible. This project is a speculative one in that you are being asked to consider both the potential for a thesaurus within the convention of print AND the possibilities that interactive and alternative platforms now offer for that process.
