Creative Brief #1

Identification: The Phaistos Disk was found in 1908. Unfortunately, the creator of the Phaistos Disk is unknown. However, according to the text book, it dates back to around 2000 BC. This being the time of the Bronze Age for the Minoans living in Crete.

The Project and Problem: This disk, made out of clay, has two sides with 241 different signs. Each a pictograph or alphabetic form representing something different.  Stamps that had a type like form were used to impress the characters of each into the wet clay. No one knows for sure if the stamps were used on such things as papyrus and other perishable goods due to age, but at least this was a start for what later became the alphabet we use in our language today.

The Client: It is uncertain if anyone even hired the person to do this, but I'm sure it probably was either a ruler or some sort of priest that might've requested this as a way to develop a system of possible communication or something of the sort.

The Intended Audience: At the time, this was probably reserved to those of higher nobility. After all, commoners at the time weren't allowed to learn knowledge like we do now. So, most likely this disc was reserved for the ruler and some of his more higher subjects. It pretty much just depends on the position they had at the time.

The Core Message: Basically this was to design the disc as a system. Like our alphabet today, this disc was used as a way to form thoughts and verbal speech into words so that there would be a way to communicate with others besides talking to one another.

The Outcome: To establish written communication between others. The 'client' most likely wanted this as not just a way of communicating with others, but to also document information. For example, the Book of the Dead was used as a way to illustrate the Egyptian process of mummification as well as the after life with letter form and image.

The Graphic Strategy: The designer used ideographs and petroglyphs to create the symbols on both sides of the disk so as to create the system as mentioned above. Using a tool of some sort, they cared it into the clay as a way to establish these letters and create an alphabet of their own.