Since The Toby opened in 2009, we have held a Winter Nights film festival in January and February. This winter the theme for our Winter Nights 2012 series is Technicolor.

Design is generally a pretty subjective endeavor, so when starting a new project I like to do a little research into the subject in order to guide the generation of formal elements. Fortunately Technicolor offers a wealth of visual elements to play with, but the methods and appearance of color film varies a lot depending on the time. The earliest versions of color motion pictures involved three separate rolls of film—black, cyan, and magenta—that were layered together in order to produce the color projection. It’s a very distinctive look, and is wholly different from the colors you see in The Godfather: Part II, the last American film made using Technicolor’s dye transfer process. The early three-strip technique provided inspiration for the initial Winter Nights designs, involving a large and somewhat abstract W made from shaded cubes to reference a frigid, icy winter.

While working on this abstract and wintry version, we also pursued a more literal direction using film as the starting point. Keeping the W, this solution retains the grainy texture that characterizes many of those older movies. While each had its merits, ultimately we decided to go with the film-centric version for this year’s series, and a final version was created that made very clear the series’ relationship with film, as well as including the Technicolor theme in the graphic.

Using film stills in a campaign for Technicolor movies is a no-brainer, but this was not as straightforward as one might think. In the 1940s, Technicolor threw out a large volume of color negatives after the studios didn’t reclaim them, and unless they’ve been re-mastered those movies are now only available in black and white. Fortunately, we were able to find some great color images from Charade and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The beauty of these movies speak for themselves when you see them, and in order to try imparting some of that drama and motion in print pieces, I relied on careful crops.

One particularly seductive image of Marilyn Monroe offers plenty of details to highlight—Marilyn’s face, her eyes lightly closed, could be mistaken for being asleep when viewed alone. The diamond bracelet and thick gray fur are a glimpse of luxury, sensuality, and elegant excess. The full image, my favorite among Marilyn’s publicity shots for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, shows the actress dressed in red, wrapped in fur, and draped in diamonds. Her open mouth, even more red than her dress, completes a frozen moment of ecstasy, and was the perfect image to use for our Winter Nights banner.

Filed under: Design, Marketing, Public Programs, Uncategorized

For our 2011 fashion and textile exhibition Material World, designer Matt Kelm developed a brand new typeface for the title treatment. Material World is all about the splendor and opulence of clothing from across the globe, and how different societies use materials to connote power and wealth. The intricate letters are a fitting counterpart to the richly textured and adorned objects and they act as a subtle reminder to look closely at the details in the show. Just like we did for his last special project, I sat down with Matt to ask him about his inspirations and process for making the letters.

You can see the results in use (and all of the fabulous clothes) in the Paul Textile Gallery and Fashion Arts Gallery until February 6, 2012.

What were your inspirations for the Material World typeface?

The grid-like mesh of natural elements like spider webs was an inspiration, as well as man-made things like chain-link fences. Both can feel either very clean and manufactured or organic depending on how they are viewed or manipulated.

How did you design this typeface? Did you make the whole alphabet?

Functioning typefaces are created with specialized software that allows them to be typed directly from the keyboard, and includes important  information about spacing, alternate weights, etc. Because we were only using these new letters to spell short phrases, and because of the time required to actually create a functioning font, I simply made the letters in Adobe Illustrator with the pen tool. Creating each letter isn’t difficult, but it can be time consuming, so I drew only the characters I needed for this exhibition.

Why did you design a typeface and not use one that already existed?

While thinking about what typography and imagery could be used to represent the intricate materials used in the exhibition, I did look at a number of pre-existing options. Ornate display type tends to be created to connote specific imagery—Victorianism, holidays, or the stereotypes of a foreign culture, for instance. I wanted something that felt contemporary and spoke to the physical construction of the garments, but also seemed organic as well. It didn’t take very long to realize that drawing my own letters was the most natural approach.

How does the design of Material World enhance a visit to the show?

The primary goal of any design is to enhance the content. The experience of shopping at a big-box grocery store is very different from visiting an expensive clothing retailer, and it’s not because of the objects for sale. By using dark colors and not using more light than necessary, we are trying to create a space that feels intimate and seductive when compared to other galleries. The typography, too—both in its design and its use in the show—is meant to accentuate the seductive nature of the work, as well as reference the intricate patterns and handwork evidenced in many of the pieces.

Filed under: Design, Textile & Fashion

The collaboration continues with this awesome volley from Aaron. I’ll be working on the next rendition… stay tuned!

Filed under: Design, Local, Technology

We started with this photo from 100 Acres.

Well, we got off to a late start but all of the volleys are in! If you remember, I originally posted about design collaboration and summed the way Layers Tennis works. I got some interest from local designers on twitter and we announced the battle in a follow up post here.

So now that you are caught up… I present you with the first 4 design volleys.

Nathan’s First Serve (click the image for larger view):

As soon as I saw this photo it took me back to the days of playing Let's Pretend, with my younger brother. With a little creativity we always managed to transport ourselves to places where adventure could be found. Looking back on those experiences it was obvious that I needed to illustrate a landscape that could have been fashioned from nothing more than our own imaginations. I had to restrain from overworking this piece, though. I wanted to leave it fairly open so the other designers could add elements from their own memory banks. I'm really hoping to see some pirate ships moving over the horizon or perhaps an octopus tentacle reaching up from out of the water.

Aaron’s Volley (click the image for larger view):

When Nathan told me that his first volley was going to be floating water and a concept of imagination my thought process went immediately to pirates. I love doodling and when those doodles fit into a design concept, it's blast. And isn't that what Creativity and Imagination are all about!?

My Volley (click the image for larger view):

When I saw pirates, I knew they would be part of what I wanted to do but wanted to continue to push the imagination theme. So finally it hit me, Space Pirates! I love doodling too so I added a few minor doodles and also flipped the colors.

J.M.’s Volley (click the image for larger view):

Looking at all the volleys i knew there was nothing more illustrative that I could add. I really wanted to find a way to bring the girls into the action. With the pirates and the space pirates closing in I thought it was time for the girls to catch a ride to their next adventure. That quote about imagination is by Jules de Gautier.

Filed under: Art, Design, New Media, Technology

A few weeks ago I posted about design collaboration & Layers Tennis and how it would be fun to get something going here locally. Well, thankfully we have 4 designers from Indianapolis who want to participate!

This is a little introduction… then each week we will post an update with the design volleys. If you are still confused, the video below should give you a clearer picture of what to expect. (It’s a compilation video of the entire Exhibition Season of Layer Tennis edited down to just 130 seconds.

I asked each designer to give me a bio introducing themselves to give a bit of background. We’ll be posting each of our volley’s up once a week and we’ll do a poll to find out who’s pixels will reign supreme.

The image below was given (a higher res version of course) to the first designer as the starting point. I can’t wait to get started!

The image was taken in the IMA's 100 Acres Art and Nature Park

Designer bios after the jump! Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Art, Art and Nature Park, Design, Guest Bloggers, Local, New Media