Contemporary Design and Typography

Art in America is a magazine that is more than artist insight, paintings, sculpture, and photography. The reader can find information on exhibitions, reviews, show dates, and online sources. These image advertisements have similar color schemes. White, red, and black are used to develop the overall design, typographical usage, and hierarchy.

   The Tom Huck exhibit advertisement contains the name, of the show, at the center of the design. (Tom Huck: Brutal Truths, Art in America April 2011, pg. 64) A grayscale illustration is used at the topmost portion. The dates are incorporated into the artist’s name. This is accomplished by color and position. The typeface contains serifs of beaks and appears to have the aesthetic that is created by the illustration (for woodblock printing). The bottom fonts are contemporary typefaces. One is serif and italic, and the other is serif and bold.

   The VIP Art Fair is an example of typography incorporated into an overall design. (VIP Art Fair, Art in America January 2011, pg. 50) The name of the fair is dominant, and develops the grid. The artist list is incorporated into the grid at the top and left portion. The typography uses white, and then red, in order to separate the artists from one another. The typeface is sans-serif. The type alternates between uppercase and lowercase. This design holds constructivist-type influences to develop the advertisement for the online fair.

   The Los Angeles Arts Month is an advertisement with an off-center grid.  (Los Angeles Art Month advertisement, Art in America January 2010, pg. 75) The name of the event is in the upper-center portion of the design. The background image appears to be an overhead view of a city or a grid. The typeface is grunge, sans-serif, and uppercase. The listing of committee members, contact info, and website url (towards the bottom) are not uppercase.

   Each of these images is for an audience that is reading about art in Art in America magazine. The advertisements are to announce the dates and information for someone to attend these events. Though, I have been directed to limit the use of the color scheme of white, red, and black, these designs showcase successful use of hierarchy, limited color scheme, upper and lower case, and typographical usage. The non-traditional grid use (of each design) is something that I may be able to incorporate into a design in the future-By Stephanie Dorazio