About
project design
The design of this project included many elements, from print to digital, to exhibition. Below I detail some of the design elements of the project. Where appropriate I also provide brief insight into the reasoning behind those design decisions.
identity
The identity was first presented and applied in my Thesis Research Poster. The identity itself utilized elements such as bold color, transparencies, and graphic elements. The type family I used for the identity offered many weights, and, therefore, flexibility. I wanted a typeface that was elegant but not dated. It also needed to work in upper and lowercase applications. And finally, the typeface had to work with the primary typeface that I had already chosen for the project. This identity and my research poster, in general, informed my collateral designs. By maintaining the type and color choices from the established identity in the website and exhibition designs, there was a visual thread that tied all the elements of my thesis project and deliverables together. However, it began with this.
graphic elements & transparency
In this work that was made up of a significant number of very old documents and black-and-white images, it was important to bring some element of color into the work. However, I didn't want the color to be the primary focus, and I wanted it to speak to the historic nature of the materials. This was why I chose to use transparent graphic elements. These elements were not really stand-alone elements themselves. Rather, I used them as a means to bring subtle color into the work, to call out text or images, to highlight an important element, or to clarify the organizational structure of the piece.
collage & photographic elements
The usage of photographs and fragments of documents as a central design element of this project made sense to me. It spoke to the historic nature of the work that I was collecting. It also referenced all of the archives, special collections, libraries, government records, books, and ancestral records that made up the bulk of my research. It was also a nod to the large collection of materials that I amassed throughout my thesis work. All of the collage and photographic elements used in my thesis work are drawn from my research and my document and object discovery.
primary color palette
It is worth noting that in addition to the transparencies used in some of the graphic elements, darker tones of the primary colors were also employed when the design necessitated their usage.
typography
Prestige Elite Std, speaks to the nature of my thesis research and the historic nature of the materials. It was important that the typography spoke to the heart of the project. There were many typefaces that were considered but ultimately this was the one that was most appropriate. In the design, it is used for running text and other smaller sized text applications that require a large amount of text.
Noto Serif Display Extra Condensed is used for large titles and subtitles. It is seen and used primarily in all lowercase. However, some applications for subtitles utilize upper and lowercase.
Sofia Sans Extra Condensed is used in all-cap applications for headings and subheadings as well as some upper and lower case applications for lower-level subheadings. There are several weights that have been used, however, the primary weight used in the design has been semi-bold.
print collateral
Here, you will see some of the print work that I created for the thesis project. I have included here: the Thesis Research Poster (library and street viewing sides), Thesis Exhibition Postcard, Flyer, Introductory Text Panel, Designer Text Panel, and Object Labels.
