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Much has been said about how to define graphic design in a multimedia age. These definitions range from the endearingly misguided (“anything with type”) to the baldly mercantile (“anything done for a client”) to the confounding and recondite (we’ll skip those). No one quite agrees. Yet there are serious, practical implications to the question, as well as theoretical ones. As Jens Gelhaar of Brand New School warned, “If graphic design continues to define itself so narrowly, it will remain the client-serving stepchild of the visual arts.”
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STEP Design 100 Annual 2006: Catalogs (cont'd) |
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52. VISUAL DIALOGUE
“What came out strong and clear is that students wanted this real, ‘warts
and all’ feeling of what it’s like to go to [The Art Institute of Boston],”
says Fritz Klaetke, creative director of Visual Dialogue, speaking of an
online survey of high schoolers he completed before starting a new catalog
for the Art Institute. These findings led to a few key design decisions,
like all the photos in the book being taken by four actual students.
“They’re there at all hours,” notes Klaetke. “It’s not some outsider
coming in at 2:00 in the afternoon, saying, ‘Hey kids, act
like you’re having fun.’” In addition, quotes from the survey are
printed on the cover, and the first six spreads are blank, with a line
of copy along the bottom asking the prospective student to “think
about what’s in, not on, a blank page.” Other design elements such
as the color scheme and grid system connect to parent Lesley University.
“We took the existing system and flipped it 90 degrees,”
says Klaetke. “It didn’t have to be a sibling, but at least a funky
cousin.”
Laurel Saville
Visual Dialogue
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Fritz Klaetke
DESIGNERS: Klaetke, Jesse Hart, Gary Pikovsky
COPYWRITERS: Klaetke, Dorene Dzuiba, Soapbox
PHOTOGRAPHERS: Brian Aderer, Maria Arabbo, CJ Heyliger, Jackie Munoz
CLIENT: The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University
CONTACT: www.visualdialogue.com
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