Atkinson Gallery New Landscapes Exhibition Catalog.
The project aims to create a clean, modern art catalog to showcase artworks from the Atkinson Gallery’s contemporary art exhibition, New Landscapes, held at Santa Barbara City College. Working in a student design team, I facilitated the cover design for the catalog and collaborated with my peers to develop the art direction and interior spreads.
Role: Cover Design, Art Direction, Copywriting, Layouts, Typography
Credits: Elena Hancock, Sophie Amendola, Sophie Kuchan, James Van Arsdale (Faculty Advisor), John Connelly (Atkinson Gallery Director)
01 MOOD BOARD
The client requested a clean, modern style for the art catalog. To remain in this aesthetic, I kept the cover's color palette minimal but used line and shape to add complexity. Early in the process, I became influenced by topographic lines to remain within the exhibition theme and for its organic, seamless look.
02 CATALOG'S COVER DESIGN
The theme of the New Landscapes Exhibition focuses on artist’s own interpretation of and interaction with the landscape around them, whether natural or urban. It displayed works by 13 US-based artists and featured art media ranging from oil paint to photography.
During the project, I spearheaded and developed the catalog’s cover design from conceptualization to iteration and final proofing. Additionally, I assisted with developing the catalog’s interior spreads to ensure all layouts followed a cohesive format. The cover design (shown above) draws inspiration from traditional topographic lines, as they are another method to represent the landscape visually. I incorporated a brush effect to the linework to give the design the illusion of being hand-painted, which mirrors the hand-done quality of many artworks shown during the exhibition.
03 INTERIOR LAYOUTS
As a team, we keep the color palette for the catalog minimal, using only black, off-white, and red in the cover design and interior layouts. We thought excessive color use would distract the reader's attention away from the featured artworks and take away from the beautiful, vibrant color palettes each work contained.
In addition to participating in the design team to create the exhibition catalog, I also took part as a student writer for the project. I researched historical art trends and traditions related to works showcased in the New Landscapes Exhibition. Later, I synthesized my research to prepare six interpretive and informational write-ups for the catalog. In preparation for print, I collaborated with the gallery’s Art Director to develop, edit, and finalize each write-up, resulting in six sets of copy containing 250-350 words.
