A euphemism, according to Merriam-Webster, is "the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant."

This project looks at euphemisms used by the American military (such as "collateral damage"), and visual ways to portray the hidden meanings behind what is said. I wanted to convey not only the hidden meanings of the word, but also I aimed to simulate an experience of uncovering or discovering the truth behind the words.

This exploration takes the form of a booklet (slides shown above) and website. On the website, I created an interface that allows a user to slide a word horizontally across the screen. The viewer is confronted with a single word at a time. As the user selects the word and presses down on the mouse, the word becomes transparent, and the viewer is literally able to "see through" the word to something behind it. Once the user deciphers the answer (or gives up), clicking on the question mark reveals the hidden meaning atop the euphemism, and also a quote giving an example of the words in context. At this point, the layers of information are reversed and the hidden information has moved to the forefront.

In a print version working with the same concepts, I used similar visual forms to convey both meanings of a word simultaneously. Masking one word with another creates a meaningful set of forms that border on illegibility. The act of reading is made more difficult and deciphering the form becomes an active participation. These were finally developed further into a poster series.