Analysing a range of flyers/leaflets by art galleries will provide contextual knowledge to how galleries design their collateral for exhibitions.
The collateral for the Royal Academy of Arts uses a consistent art direction that communicates information to the reader clearly and efficiently with the main pieces of information such as the gallery's logo and title of the exhibition taking majority of the audience's attention. What does aid the visual impact of the collateral is the full bleed artworks on the cover. This gives the audience context as to what the exhibition is about. Furthermore, because the art direction is consistent, it becomes an identity for the RA which people subscribe to.
the collateral for the bauhaus is focused on communicating the iconic and pioneering approach to design they sought to establish. the typeface, based on the original gropius designed by herbert bayer, is specifically set in lowercase which relates to his quote stating "why should we write and print in two alphabets? we do not speak a capital 'a' and a small 'a'." the use of type and its design is therefore appropriate given the context of the museum. the typeface designed by sascha lobe is "a unique, extensible typeface that embraces the character, nuance, and edge of the bauhaus movement itself." this helps create a distinct and unique museum identity that is unlike the current solution for Leeds Art Gallery.
For the Auckland Art Gallery, type has been manipulated to communicate what the museum is all about.
The repeated use of this technique forces 'ART' to become the focal point of the audience's attention. Through this visual technique, the association of art and the Auckland Art Gallery is formed which is beneficial in helping establish Auckland's gallery as the first place people think for art.
'Moving is in every direction' is taken literally for the art direction of Hamburger Bahnhof's exhibition. Type is skewed in different directions, impacting its readability, however it provides the art direction movement, engaging the reader whilst providing a clear informational hierarchy through the choice of colour. This has been informed by Gertrude Stein's interpretation of the exhibition, suggesting that the audience will experience a "non-linear narrative".
What is unconventional is having the floor plan of the exhibition on the front page of the booklet rather than showcasing the artwork. This is functional however as it gives the visitor context of where the exhibition will be, reducing confusion and directing the visitor around the building easier.
The haphazard composition make the elements on the page look 'layered', in the same way layering is used in Wolfgang Weingart's work, although to a more restrained effect. This is a contrast to the clean and efficient aesthetic of Modernism that gives little away to the reader to how it was designed.
For the 2016 Singapore Biennale, 'mirroring' is focal point of the art direction. This is communicated through the reflecting R's and the shadows coming from and into each word of "An Atlas of Mirrors" which symbolise beams of light. Rather than manipulating type, gradients are used to direct the readers reading.
Considering whether or not it is necessary for Leeds Art Gallery does give out tickets for its exhibitions, the ticket should be inclusive of the overall art direction or reflective of the gallery/museum's image. By designing each detail of the visitors experience in the gallery, it produces a positive image for the gallery and imparts a positive image on the visitor.
For the Fear and Love exhibition at The Design Museum in London, design studio OK-RM uses bold Eurostile to relate to the exhibitions future technologies and minimal branding which is in line with the museum's branding guidelines. As a result, the reader is informed of the exhibition's title immediately with the museum's mark as a supporting element that suggests rather than informs.
Moving on to more local examples of gallery collateral, the recent exhibition branding for fashion designer J.W Anderson was designed by OK-RM as well. In this example, type is manipulated to form a visual border around the content of the flyer. The vertical type lowers the readability of the event because it demands more from the reader to understand the information communicated. By changing the format of how we usually read through the vertical typeset, it forces the reader to consciously adjust to understand what he/she is reading.
For the KAWS exhibition at YSP, minimal information is used to allow Brian Donnelly's work to be the main focus, similarly to the art direction used for the Royal Academy of Arts.
Lastly, Leeds Art Gallery's collateral is unimaginative compared to above selection. The smaller set "Leeds Art Gallery" and logo implies that the gallery is unconfident of their brand. Because of its point size, visitors will read "Autumn/Winter 2015/16" first which is doesn't help the visitor. It is neither the name of the gallery nor an exhibition. The arbitrary layout of information is not exciting, combined with the use of a generic sans serif and the art direction feels flat. Imparting little to no distinct identity of the gallery onto the user.
No comments:
Post a Comment