Project: Project/Exhibition Identity: Print

Exhibition identity examples
Due: Thu Oct 23, 2:00 pm
Detail: Create a "brand guide," printed mailer, and printed catalog or gallery guide for a project/exhibition (real or imaginary)
Submit via: In class

Why?

As you prepare to start organizing and advertising your own exhibitions, you need to be aware of all the information you need to advertise, and how to cohesively present a message across various channels—print mailers, print brochures, websites, and social media. This assignment is designed to get you thinking about these components and how to manage producing all of this content, so if you end up doing it on your own, you will be prepared, or if you are working with a gallery or museum, you know what to expect.

Brief

You will be creating a print exhibition identity for a real or fictional exhibition. Bring your printed and assembled items that comprise your exhibition identity to class on the due date. You will submit:

  1. A one-page printed style guide including typography hierarchies and color palette (see example documents below)
    • Put your name at the top of the style guide.
    • the purpose of a style guide is to codify your design choices so they can be replicated across designs and channels to form a cohesive identity. Therefore fonts, color palettes, and spacing are consistent.
    • you should be able to hand this to another designer and have them execute work for you based on the thorough and specific information you provide in your style guide—so, be clear and consider all the information you would need, including font sizes for print and web, leading, kerning, logo margins, logo variations, which colors to never pair, etc.
    • a “logo” for yourself (optional) or just use standard typographic hierarchies (see point below)
    • fonts for different headers (at least H1, H2, and H3), body text, image captions, footnotes (optional), blockquotes (optional), and metadata (address, hours, URL, and so on) that indicates not only the typeface, weight, and font-size, but also leading, tracking, and other factors
      • I recommend using relative font sizes and space (em) rather than fixed units (inches, px). Because a header should be a different size on a postcard than on a poster, but all the other fonts should be proportional. Relative font sizes and spacing will allow for this. So if your body text on a poster is 18pt, and your H1 is 2em, then your header will be 36pt. If your body text on your website is 14px, and your H1 is 2em, then your header will be 28px.
    • a color palette with its own hierarchy (how the colors will be used)—at least primary and secondary colors
    • will there be graphic elements or iconography that is part of the identity?
  2. A printed gallery guide or exhibition catalog of at least eight “pages” that contains an essay/statement and at least six captioned images
    • a piece of paper folded in half would produce four pages (front and back of the first panel, and front and back of the second panel); and I would similarly count each panel of a folded poster
    • you determine the size of your printed pieces, but be prepared to justify your choices.
    • you determine the size of your images, but be prepared to justify your choices
    • your essay/statement doesn’t have a specific word count, but don’t just write, “My work speaks for itself,” and expect that to pass
    • each image should have a caption—captions can appear underneath each work, in the margins, or at the bottom of the page. Captions should include the artist’s name if it us a curated exhibition of more than one artist, title, year, medium, dimensions, and any other pertinent information.
    • this catalog/guide should also include all pertinent exhibition information (address, URL, email, exhibition and event dates, etc.) to serve as a document that can live in your archives
  3. One printed mailer piece
    • this can be a postcard, booklet, or anything else that can be mailed
    • be cognizant of standard mailing sizes and shapes: letters, postcards, how shape impacts price
    • mail pieces may require an indicia
    • be aware of how the placement of information may cause problems with postal regulations (see also Postcard Templates below)

Submit all printed pieces in person in class. If you are late to class on the due date, the assignment will be counted as late. Submit your self-evaluation on Learning Suite.

Helps

What to Do
  1. Search for inspiration. Look at websites and explore the HBLL to find things that excite you. Below are links to some sites to start your journey:
  2. Be playful. Think about how you can experiment with formats, paper types, bindings, printing processes, colors, possible display, and image-making methods.
  3. Where will this exhibition be? Someplace real or someplace fake? How will you feature the identity of the host organization?
  4. Consider how your design might inform or augment your work.
    • Think of the color palette of your work. What colors will compliment and help show off your work?
    • Do you want a quiet design, or a more loud, “ugly” design?
    • Which works will you highlight on the mailer and covers?
    • Remember all the things that these printed pieces need to publicize and document:
      • Exhibition title, exhibiting artist(s), and curator (if applicable) exhibition opening and closing dates (including the year, for archival purposes)
      • event dates (such as opening reception, artist talk, etc.)
      • the logo, address, URL, phone number, email address, and hours of the exhibition venue
      • image captions
Style Guide Examples
Postcard Templates

You aren’t required to create a postcard for your mailer (it could be a postcard, or it could be a booklet, or something unique), but this provides a variety of standard sizes for mailers and the safe zones for printing.

  • 4.25 x 5.5 Postcard: PDF
  • 4 x 6 Postcard: PDF
  • 5.5 x 8.5 Postcard: PDF
  • 5 x 7 Postcard: PDF
  • 6 x 9 Postcard: PDF
  • 6 x 11 Postcard: PDF

Find more templates at the Printing For Less: USPS Mail Layout Templates page.

Grading

Assignment grades will be based on the following:

Conceptual Concerns (40%)

Student demonstrates evidence that they understand and inventively integrate conceptual concerns and implications of print and web design.

  • Excellent: Student demonstrates conversational familiarity with the material—making interesting connections between ideas, readings, and presentations.
  • Average: Student is able to recall and recite material, but not do anything interesting with it.
  • Below Average: Student struggles to demonstrate a grasp of the material and shows no facility in connecting ideas or new thinking.
Execution (40%)

When executing a project, the student demonstrates a firm grasp of the materials, techniques, hardware, and software. The student’s skills and approach are appropriate to their concept. In written/oral assignments, this includes proper spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, grammar and formatting for written assignments; and annunciation, confidence and focused arguments for oral assignments.

  • Excellent: Student displays skills and sensitivity when creating projects. The level of craft and approach to making is appropriate to the concept. In written/oral assignments, student understands writing and presentation modes including style guides and oral confidence and is able to nimbly employ these tools in their art projects, writing, and speaking.
  • Average: Student work shows some flaws in their understanding of materials and skills. Stylistic and formatting mistakes are present.
  • Below Average: The execution is unconsidered and hasty. Student repeatedly makes the same mistakes and ignores instructor input and suggestions.
Assessment/Critique (10%)

The student will produce a self-evaluation for each art project including the strengths and weaknesses of a given work and plans for future improvement. This will also include an accounting of time taken. The student will also be present for and participate in group critiques of projects.

  • Excellent: The student thoughtfully and honestly engages in the self-reflective process of critiquing their own work and efforts. The student enthusiastically engages with group critiques, seeking ways to offer constructive feedback to other students.
  • Average: The student performs a cursory and surface-level assessment of their work and efforts. They make neutral comments during the group critiques and do not fully engage.
  • Below Average: The student demonstrates an inability to honestly engage with their work as it exists in the world, and does not adequately participate in group critiques, or is absent/tardy.
Following Instructions (10%)

The student adheres to the guidelines provided for the course and the assignment. If the paper has a particular framework, the student adheres to that framework. If an assignment is to be submitted as a Word doc on Learning Suite, the student does not email the instructor a PDF.

  • Excellent: A detail-oriented student who takes instruction and fastidiously executes it within their work.
  • Average: A student who misses some details because they didn’t read instructions thoroughly or take proper notes when instructions were given.
  • Below Average: Student ignores basic instructions and guidance given for assignments.
On-time Submission

Projects lose 5 points (our of 100) per 24-hour period they are late. If an assignment is submitted 5 minutes late, that is within the first 24-hour period, so it loses 5 points. If it is 27 hours late, that puts it in the second 24-hour perdiod, so it loses 10 points.

Learning Outcomes Addressed

Design Fundamentals and Processes

Students will be able to implement the steps that guide a designer to effective solutions, apply compositional skills to design problems, and employ fundamentals of 2D design such as grid systems and the basics of typography.

Technical Proficiency

Students will be able to employ the technical fundamentals of print and web design and production.

Professional Practices

Students will be able to employ professional practices in supporting their art through a portfolio website and awareness of professional opportunities for studio artstis to deploy their art skills in commercial contexts.