Behind the Asterisk is a handmade publication exploring taboo language through overheard conversations. It looks at how different social contexts determine how people talk and the amount they swear. I recorded overheard conversations and masked the taboo words with asterisks as a documentation for how often taboo words were used in the different social situations.

 

The use of conversations drew me to the inspiration of traditional play books for the layout design throughout. The first half of the publication is the conversations with the taboo words asterisked out, the second half reveals these taboo words positioned in the exact place they would be in the first half of the publication, but by themselves.