California Photography Series
2012–2015
The CALIFORNIA PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES was an ongoing schedule of exhibits that rotated once or twice a year. Shown in the 1,100-square-foot Open Space 2 portion of the GALLERY OF CALIFORNIA ART, the series explored California topics of current interest through photography. I provided the overall concept and branding, and have either served as the creative lead and exhibit designer or lead graphic designer for the four rotations that have been on view.
Creative Direction | Identity + Mark | Illustration | Exhibit Design | Graphic Design
The mark for the series is a camera iris composed of multiple Californias. This connotes both the multiplicity of perspectives offered by the artists, as well as the multiple shows in the series.
Ken and Melanie Light: Valley of Shadows and Dreams
July 27–December 30, 2012
VALLEY OF SHADOWS AND DREAMS was a photographic exploration of California's Central Valley, a region known for both its agricultural plenty and the marginalization of its people.
IN GALLERY
The curator and core team for this project desired there to be a strong connection with the exhibit and the Lights' current monograph. As such, the mark for the show featured Mr. Eaves as the primary typeface.
Owing to the subject matter of migrant farm workers, and their struggles and livelihoods in California's Central Valley, all exhibit text was bilingual, with Spanish as the primary voice.
Scrapbook
Melanie Light kept detailed journals, notes and clippings during the couple's documentation of the Central Valley. These materials were scanned and digitally composited into a master scrapbook to add context to the photographs on display.
CAMPAIGN & COLLATERAL
Two primary campaign images were selected to promote the exhibit in a variety of formats, both in print and online.
Beth Yarnelle Edwards: Suburban Dreams
January 19–June 30, 2013
SUBURBAN DREAMS was an exhibition of photographs revealing domestic scenes that reveal how people behave in their homes. Featuring approximately 22 large-scale, color photographs from the OMCA collection, the exhibition focused on the suburban experience in California. Resembling film stills, the photographs embody the American Dream as it is often represented in Silicon Valley.
IN GALLERY
Like the Ken and Melanie Light exhibit before it, Beth Edwards had a current monograph in print, and the identity for the show borrows from the volume's aesthetic.
The entry mural into the Open Space 2 gallery suggests not only motion with the italic typography, but sets the stage for domestic life with a family literally entering the space from their home. Incidentally, at the exhibition opening, many of the subjects in the photographs were present to mingle with the artist and the crowd. The father in this entry mural photograph came dressed exactly as he was on that day, complete with his travel coffee mug and mid-nineties cellular phone.
The artist wanted vibrant hues for the walls, which were referenced from her photographs. The lounge area in the center of the space was atypical for the Art Gallery—rather than use standard OMCA seating, we purchased some pieces from IKEA to better suggest a California family's living space.
CAMPAIGN & COLLATERAL
As with the previous California Photography exhibit, two primary images were selected for the campaign, which ran both in print and online.
Peter Stackpole: Bridging the Bay
July 20, 2013–January 26, 2014
BRIDGING THE BAY was a companion piece to the ABOVE AND BELOW exhibit that chronicled the original San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge construction in the 1930s by American photographer Peter Stackpole. The show featured
approximately 20 works from OMCA's collection, connecting visitors back in time to the first Bay Bridge iteration.
IN GALLERY
Deliberate care was taken to design a mark that connected strongly with the ABOVE AND BELOW identity. The rigid, extended slab serif letterforms suggest the industrial superstructure of the Bay Bridge, as well as the time period of its construction.
The entry mural to the gallery once again leads visitors' eyes in with the strong upward diagonal of the bridge cabling.
Light blue and yellow tones lightened the presentation of black and white photography.
A large format mural was designed for the back wall. The high contrast diagonals activated and anchored the space.
CAMPAIGN & COLLATERAL
The formula of two primary images was retained again for this campaign in a variety of formats, both print and online.
Marion Gray: Within the Light
February 14–June 21, 2015
WITHIN THE LIGHT presents 23 works by San Francisco-based photographer Marion Gray. Gray has spent four decades capturing performances, dance, and installations by some of the most significant artists in the Bay Area and beyond. Including never-before-seen photographs, the exhibition covers the 1970s to the present.
IN GALLERY
The curator wanted to be sure that Marion's close connection to the punk rock and DIY scene in the Bay Area since the 1970s found expression in the exhibit mark. Scanning a sample of Walden Co's Golden and employing a xerox machine achieved the proper hand-rendered and distressed flyer look.
The entry mural features a series of film negatives of a dance sequence atop a car, establishing both the performance aspect of the works on display and the kinetic energy throughout; singular events in time are captured.
Gallery presentation was muted and neutral.