ABOUT THE Client
"The Arts Alive SDSU Discovery Series is an annual selection of university produced art exhibits, performances, and film screenings that explore sociopolitical and cultural issues through the transformative lens of the creative arts. Designed to intersect with contemporary studies in the humanities and sciences, the Discovery Series promotes the arts as an inclusive and impactful research practice that is integral to a comprehensive education."
Design Brief
This opportunity came to fruition as a result of my participation in the SDSU Design Studio class during my final semester as a student at San Diego State University (SDSU). After opting to work with SDSU Arts Alive as my client, I (as well as four of my classmates) was tasked with first creating a series of posters with a unified design system promoting three of the seven events. If my design was chosen, my design system would then be applied to the remaining event posters. My fellow designers and I met with the directors of each of the events to discuss their visions for the events and how that could translate into the promotional material. SDSU Arts Alive also wished to rebrand its Discovery Series with a new logo, so we were also challenged to develop a new logo design.
Research and Development
To begin my research, I first explored a variety of existing event poster designs to gather aesthetic and compositional inspiration. I also looked at logos from an array of different art institutions such as museums, theatre companies, and music venues.
Based on this visual field, I then began creating thumbnail sketches for poster layouts (using a placeholder event) and logo designs. I also started mapping out some basic imagery and compositions for my first design.
Designer Statement
After I presented my work to a panel of faculty and staff members, I was fortunate enough to have my design system and logo chosen. As a result, I spent the last few weeks of the semester working one-on-one with the Arts Alive directors and the heads of each event to develop the remaining posters, as well as make modifications to the existing ones.
For my logo design, I felt the best way to capture the essence of discovery itself was through the iconography of an eye. The eye conveys a sense of curiosity and willingness to see and discover new things. I’ve integrated it into the “o” glyph to keep it as a subtle element so as to simultaneously communicate its purpose while maintaining a clean, sleek look. I decided to use the sans-serif font Dunbar Tall in its standard weight to give it a modern, friendly feeling that provides universal appeal to a wide variety of prospective attendees. I also feel like the combination of sans-serif font and iconography gives it a little more personality, which contrasts well with the more corporate, scholarly logo of SDSU Arts Alive.
For my poster design system, I settled on a bold, high-contrast style that could easily translate into a variety of different event types. I used black as a unifying element throughout to create contrast and allow the imagery to really shine through. By outlining the central imagery with a thin, white stroke, as well as adding a tone on tone pattern against the background, I was able to create a greater sense of depth, both in meaning and appearance. I kept the imagery vague yet relevant in order to pique the interest of potential attendees and propel them to seek more information.
Methods used: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
