A Work-in-Progress Exhibition featuring the work of the GSA Visible Word Research Cluster.

Informed by the technology, material and processes found within the GSA Caseroom, the collection of artefacts presented included works in textiles, interaction, silversmithing and jewellery, creative and academic writing.

This second Work-in-Progress exhibition, presents outcomes of our collaborations over the previous 12 months, as we continue the process of sharing and making within a collaborative environment based in the GSA Caseroom. These include include an exploration of translation/ transformation through code which appears both in the textile-based outcome in weave and the image/ sound work which is derived from Monotype type casting instructions, which were inscribed as binary instructions in punch tapes. It was exciting to note that Jacquard weaving - also presented in this exhibition - offered a first template for inventors of prototype computer mechanisms through the use of binary-coded punch cards. Other contributions explore the materiality of type metal and other alloys, the material presence of ‘letters’, and the significance of the grid in design teaching (and embedded in our ordering of knowledge and data). The text-setting procedures of the Caseroom have given rise to current communication design and information layouts but have also nourished bold innovation in advertising through the visible word displayed on the street and in the everyday environment. This rich tradition of print trade promotions is re-considered in this exhibition from the perspective of creative writing practice and re-purposed display posters.