RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN Visible Language, issue 40.3

Each year a graduate student is invited to design an issue of Visible Language, an academic journal. Over its lifetime the journal has published nearly 900 articles. Starting with a narrow focus on typography, the journal has continued to evolve in response to the changing landscape of communication design. I wanted to bring it back to its roots by pushing the typographic boundaries of what is typically expected in such a journal.

GRAPHIC HUG Adaptation: The Effects of Habit

In collaboration with alumni from the Rhode Island School of Design, I was invited to participate in a publication by Graphic Hug around the theme of adaptation.

I called my section “Adaptation: The Effects of Habit”

The theme of adaptation and the coincidence of Darwin’s 200th birthday provided an appropriate link to the curation of photos I had taken over the past year documenting the economic crash and environmental changes. I juxtaposed select passages from “Writings from the Origin of Species” over a series of fragmented images. Darwin’s words over an image of bad flooding caused by climate change, street lights from a neighborhood never finished because of the housing crash, and finally a modern version of adaptation; an abandoned gas station with a bus and a cyclist in the background. These spreads illustrate how we must adapt to thrive in an ever-changing world to survive and thrive.

BUILDER AND BIG BUILDER MAGAZINE design annual mailer

This high-end mailer was sent to potential advertisers encouraging ad buys for Builder Magazine’s October design annual. The front and back covers were letter-pressed on a soft suede paper embossed with the annual icon, the nautilus shell symbolizing the golden ratio, on the front.