Day 1: GD MFA Process Workshop w/ Mitch Goldstein At the start of the workshop, we chose three limitations to work within. My three were: fortune cookie size, make it foreign and make it in 10 minutes. I started experimenting with loosely typeset quotes and sayings on cut slits of paper−bringing them from screen to paper and back. My process was print, cut, scan, alter in Photoshop, repeat. The scrambled messages also made for an interesting animated GIF. I set my timer for 10-mins continuously during the workshop. With each sounding alarm, deciding the next 10-min task.
I put together a saddle stitched book of explorations using the same cut and pasted method with a “make it in 10-minutes� attitude. That night I went over my book and did more explorations with other materials.
I started again with messages, submerging in liquid. And played with string, yarn, objects and push pins exploring the visual language of “foreign�.
That next weekend MICA hosted a Skolos and Wedell Poster Design Workshop. It consisted of formal explorations using cut paper collage to find compositions, layouts and typographic treatments.
These are a few of the formal collages I created in the workshop. My goal was to push my cut paper exercise from Mitch’s workshop. This process also introduced the method of form informing content instead of the other way around.
As we moved the collages onto the computer, I started to see themes that could work well with my PosterHeros ideas.
I settled on this collage because I enjoyed the angles, implied motion and cropped counter-forms that moved the eye throughout the composition. I sketched and studied the elements to create my poster layout.
After our first class critique, I focused on fine tuning the poster by finding the right bike image, keeping it light and poster like and finally setting the type in a way that worked well with the angles and crops. Also the message needed to add value be explaining what exactly a “bicycle super highway� was. So I did a bit more research and worked on a few options for a clearer message and image selection.
My final design speaks to mobility and our cities. As our cites grow, we can build in infrastructure that promotes more eco options in transportation, connections and road safety. Pioneering bike infrastructures have been made recently in Minneapolis Minnesota, Copenhagen Denmark and for decades in the Netherlands. These are expansive systems, some building on that of bike trails, with added city connections and stops, bike-specific safety, road regulations and bike-friendly perks. Promoting overall citizen health as well as cleaner air. This is a wonderful and plausible option for future cities and citizens. My poster process started with collage. I experimented with many formal studies and compositions. This layout was so dynamic and appropriate for a superhighway, so I used it as a grid layering in relative visuals to express movement, open air and the future of biking.