Art Beyond Boundaries
For my Spring 2020 co-op I worked for Art Beyond Boundaries, an art gallery in Over-the-Rhine (Cincinnati, Ohio) that promotes understanding and appreciation for artists with disabilities. I designed a series of posters, postcards, and social media content to promote their exhibits.
Crushing Daffodils
ABB is an incredibly cool organization, almost to the point of being rebellious. That was my inspiration for the design direction I took with this poster and all the ones I made moving forward. Crushing Daffodils is simply a spring show, but I wanted it to reflect ABB’s non-traditional character. I chose a pink and yellow that make me think of spring but that also have an intense, almost violent, contrast.
Facebook event cover
Alternative design
Exhibition postcard
Love: A Rash on Your Heart
For each exhibition I was given some sort of theme to base my designs for the publicity materials. For this one specifically I was given the title and told that it was about summer love. For each poster I would make a few different variations and explore more than one direction. It should be noted that all illustrations here and below are my own creation. Below I have one of the other explorations that went unused. Although I am proud of the work I did and I think that it turned out well, it did not work as well for the gallery’s patrons. The text is quite small throughout and the text that is large is stylized in a way that makes it way to hard to read.
Alternative concept
Facebook event cover
Unforeseen 14
During my time at the gallery, there was only one exhibition on display before COVID-19 caused the gallery to go on hiatus. This did not stop me from making more posters though. When I first started at the gallery, they were celebrating their 13th anniversary. I was inspired to make them a 14th anniversary poster. I was inspired by how the gallery has beaten the odds. Most small businesses are doomed to fail and ABB must have jumped over many a hurtle to make it so far. The show’s theme is about the unpredictability of the future. In retrospect, the future was even less predictable than expected and before my co-op was over the gallery had to be closed because of the global pandemic.
iteration 2
iteration 3
Sit Tight
The gallery was quick to shutdown. The owner, Jymi Bolden, is in his 70’s and it would be way too risky for him to try and stay open. My work did not have to stop yet though. Working from home I was asked to make a final poster inspired by the pandemic itself. I wanted to show my illustration with these posters and that is why there is a grater emphasis placed on the artwork. Below I have another exploration for the same show.
Alternative concept