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Beginning Graphic Design with Jiwon Son
InDesign, paste-ups & conventional sketching
Spring 2020
InDesign, paste-ups & conventional sketching
Spring 2020
After completing a number of formative exercises, the first project we were presented with in Beginning Graphic Design involved designing a poster for a hypothetical sculpture exhibition. The assignment began with the selection of a contemporary sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago, of which we were asked to obtain numerous photographs: after much consideration I decided on Richard Hunt's "Hero Construct" (1958), situated on a staircase landing just inside the museum's main entrance.
Jiwon's project handout provided detailed instructions for us to follow, largely informed by the exercises we completed earlier in the course, through which our weekly class meetings would serve as checkpoints. The process began by identifying "critical aspects" of the sculptures we selected to inform our type choices while also placing some of our photos within an appropriately-sized canvas to establish potential compositions. Both type and image were then printed to be used in rudimentary cut-and-paste mockups
After evaluating our designs on paper we transitioned to digital, with the end goal of two of our original ideas developed into complete works. I decided to work predominantly with Gill Sans and Neue Aachen for these compositions as I felt they responded nicely to the salvaged metal used in Hunt's work that was bent and hammered into new, organic forms. I believe both of my final compositions are successful — the first being fairly conventional next to the second, which communicates the same information with a less-anticipated presentation of the same sculpture. The informational hierarchy is slightly different between the two posters, though both maintain positioning of the artist's name, the exhibition title, and body copy.
I have mixed thoughts about the preliminary steps of this project. Identifying critical aspects of a subject matter before designing in response is something I believe to be invariably necessary, though I don't necessarily organize them on paper before moving forward. I think I consider them on a subconscious level to an extent at this point. On the other hand, manipulating images and type as paper cutouts was tedious and not especially useful in my opinion. I certainly value the use of physical media to develop ideas before transferring them to a screen, but I find the standard pencil-on-paper to be sufficient.