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The Olive Tree |
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The Olive Tree |
When the Library needed a way to reach out to new and returning students to make
them aware of our resources, the Fogler Library Marketing Committee took on the
challenge and launched a poster campaign to highlight services and resources.
Designers and library staff members Brad Finch and Jerry Lund handled the
production end of this project. The success of this initiative lead to a
presentation at the Maine Library Association Conference. In the article below,
Lund and Finch share the philosophy behind the project.
Collaboration
Biweekly Marketing Committee meetings are a forum for discussion, idea
generation, and critique. This iterative approach brings out the best in us. Our
group comes from a variety of backgrounds including science, business, public
relations, and design. Group effort is behind the individuals who design
posters.
Reverence
These designs are for the library in which we work. Everything needed for
research is generally in-house, often a product of simply opening our eyes and
ears, and/or an understanding that comes from a familiarity with a place over
many years. A tiny budget is viewed as a challenge and it is especially
satisfying when we are pleased with the result. Subject/object, business/client,
statistical/personal are dichotomies that cease to have significance. In short,
we have reverence for libraries, what they stand for, and how they impact the
lives of those in our community.
Process
Before getting underway, we determine the purpose, audience, and constraints of
a particular project. Often we work things out on paper, sometimes we have a
mental picture and simply go to a terminal. Regardless, we plan before working
on something. It is common to go through several iterations until we are
satisfied.
Tools
One can do a lot with little and, for years we have learned to work with the
limitations of programs such as Microsoft Word and Excel for page layout. Even
Paint comes in handy from time to time. To really gain ground, however, it helps
to use professional desktop publishing and image editing programs such as Adobe
PhotoShop, Illustrator, PageMaker, and InDesign. We also have access to an ink
jet plotter. A utility knife, steel yardstick, and large cutting mat are good to
have around.
Environment
Fogler has a number built-in frames which are perfect for posters. We rotate old
posters and incorporate new ones as often as possible. New posters tend to go in
areas of high visibility, beside restrooms, in stairwells. It is not uncommon to
design posters for the large open spaces.
Bibliography
Williams, Robin. The Non-Designer’s Design Book : Design and Typographic
Principles for the Visual Novice. Berkeley, Calif.: Peachpit Press, 1994.
Parker, Roger C. Roger C. Parker’s One minute Designer. New York:
MIS:Press, 1997.
Hiebert, Kenneth J. Graphic Design Sources. New Haven Conn.: Yale
University Press, 1998.
Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Design. New York: John Wiley, 1998.
Heller, Steven. Graphic Style : From Victorian to Post-Modern. New York:
H.N. Abrams, 1988.
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Tree | Summer 2005