2018 | Material Trace
Overview
Role
Graphic designer
Timeline
3 Months
Tools Used
Print catalogue: Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop
Material trace was a team project where we had to design, print, and deliver an exhibition catalogue for the undergraduate exhibition opening on January 14, 2019. The catalogue was for the student art gallery, FOFA.
FOFA is a venue dedicated to showcasing current artistic and research practices of the Faculty of Fine Arts. The gallery also presents work from beyond the university community regarding the Faculty’s investigation and pedagogical aims.
Team: Émilie Brunet, Lindsey Carter, Gavin Park, Andira Hernandez, & me.
Florence Tremblay, Par la fenêtre, detail (2017).
Frédéric Blais-Bélanger, Miro (2018).
Erin Berry, Pathologia, detail (2017). 30 slides.
Overview
Role
Graphic designer
Timeline
3 Months
Tools Used
Print catalogue: Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop
Material trace was a team project where we had to design, print, and deliver an exhibition catalogue for the undergraduate exhibition opening on January 14, 2019. The catalogue was for the student art gallery, FOFA.
FOFA is a venue dedicated to showcasing current artistic and research practices of the Faculty of Fine Arts. The gallery also presents work from beyond the university community regarding the Faculty’s investigation and pedagogical aims.
Team: Émilie Brunet, Lindsey Carter, Gavin Park, Andira Hernandez, & me.
The Challenge
We were assigned to equitably represent 12 different artists with their selected artwork and 12 writers interpreting those artworks through an accessibly designed archive. The challenge was that none of the artists came from similar backgrounds and their artworks had few similarities. There were paintings, sculptures, light and sound installations, videos, music pieces, to name a few.
We had to figure out a creative way to organize the catalogue that was an accurate archive, accessible and easy to read catalogue; an equal representation for artists&writers; and a durable and transportable book.
Moodboard
The Approach
We went over all artists and essays, trying to understand and investigate their perspectives, which compelled them to create such pieces and their artistic perspectives. Throughout this research phase, we found that we could pair up artists in 4 broad categories.
The second phase was to figure out the motivations of our end-user. As we walked through these concepts, we tried to step into the shoes of our readers. We discovered our reader is a parent, a featured dancer, a friend of the artist. Through these concepts, we explore the potentials with the catalogue of who our reader could be: Our reader is a curator with a discerning eye. Our reader is a collector with an appetite for objects. Our reader is a seeker, looking for the power in the details.
And with that in mind, we took visual cues from scientific documentation. Having a consistent grid and horizontal lines that reference a chart, we maintained a sense of structure throughout the book.
The Results
We decided to choose the gatefold since it resembles a file folder. The most intuitive way to read the book on the left is in reverse due to the dual book system’s nature. This creates a mirroring effect that we play with throughout the catalogue.
The two books, French and English, are not identical; there is instead a dialogue between them.
