MA Graphic Media Design final project

This project used the tilde (~) to discuss diverse historical, linguistic and social themes. Not having as fixed a meaning as, for instance, the question mark, frees ~ up to be used in many ways – be that in mathematics, programming or joking around on the internet. The process begins by considering how graphic marks come to carry meaning, and whether their shape influences how we give meaning to them. It goes on to explore several of the more widely-used or important historical meanings of the tilde (abbreviation, approximation, destruction, elongation, sarcasm/irony), connecting associated themes to discuss wider contemporary communication behaviours.