My Roles: Creative Director ★ Exhibition Designer ★ Print Manager ★ Grant Writer ★ Standee Producer
All 15 standees pose around vinyl title wall near Voices of Pensacola entrance with TRANSFORM exhibition in background.
The University of West Florida Spring 2018 BFA Graphic Design show exhibited at Voices of Pensacola April 27th–May 12th, 2018. It showcased the work of 15 graduating graphic designers through display boards, portfolios, posters, motion graphics and an assortment of design materials, produced entirely by the students.
As UWF Department of Art Print Lab Manager and UWF Graphic Design Intern, I was pivotal in the design and production of the show. With the rest of the TAG Team 2017–2018 team, I picked the name, font, color and aesthetic of TRANSFORM.
I was a member of the Exhibition Design Team and held the title of TRANSFORM Creative Director. I established deadlines, sent emails, worked with the photographer, wrote grants, assisted my fellow designers and ultimately had the final say on the show's content.
Jennifer Bauter standee in front of TRANSFORM Mission Statement and Designer Profiles
TRANSFORM Standees
One of the obstacles the Exhibition Design Team faced in displaying at Voices of Pensacola was integrating the show with the existing space. The walls of Voices have multiple photographic banners and information displays showcasing Pensacola history. Nothing could be put over these displays nor could they be taken down. In addition, the entire show had to be mobile to allow other events to utilize the space.
Olivia Ashcraft, John Lhotka, Meghan Hatch and Kayla Bolger standees pose in front of Motion Graphic projection wall.
The final solution was to create 5'' tall standees of each designer which would be strategically placed in front of these displays. Rather than wishing to hide these collages of history, we decided to embrace them and become apart of Pensacola history ourselves.
Grace Strausser and Morgan Lewis standees in front of civil rights march in acknowledgement of recent Women's March.
Creating the standees became my core project as Creative Director. TRANSFORM designer Grace Strausser took full body photographs of each designer (in addition to headshots for the website and Mission Statement Designer Profiles). I then removed the backgrounds and edited each photograph. Next, I applied a color overlay based on TRANSFORM's official CMY color scheme so that part of the 15 were Cyan and the rest were Magenta.
David Wansing standee in front of a boxer in acknowledgement of David's award-winning career in the Panhandle Showdown.
I printed each full body shot to be 5'' tall and ~40' wide (depending on the pose) on heavyweight coated roll paper . I mounted them onto foam board and cut them out with an exacto knife (with other TRANSFORMER designers assisting as needed). Finally, 5'' tall triangle pieces were cut and attached to the back so each would stand.
Three standees (David Wansing, Olivia Ashcraft, and John Lhotka) were wider than the roll paper and the 40' foam so aspects of the figure (i.e. muscular arms) were removed, mounted separately and then reattached with additional foam support.
Sarah Stewart standee in front of immigrant collage in acknowledgement of Pensacola's diverse cultural landscape.
The standees were a popular aspect of TRANSFORM, eliciting humor and prompting friends and family to take selfies and photographs with them. They were also easily moved around to conform with whatever event Voices of Pensacola might be hosting.
Jennifer Bauter, Laura Scoggins, and Raece Godwin standees in front of the tourism and events collage in recognition of their travel and community service interests.
TRANSFORM Display Boards
Each designer had two display boards: a "main" front piece, which would face outward toward passersby, and a back panel which featured an assortment of projects.
John Lhotka and Morgan Lewis standees pose in front of selected display boards.
Laura Scoggins, John Lhotka, and Olivia Ashcraft standees pose in front of selected display boards.
As the Print Lab Manager, I printed a majority of TRANSFORM including the display boards using the Department of Art's large scale Canon roll printers and supervised two lab techs who printed everything else. I instructed my fellow students on the use of the mounting press which mounted the printed display posters, name tags and other pieces to foam board. Once the front and back panels were mounted together, these boards were then slipped into metal display stands with wheels for mobility.
David Wansing, Olivia Ashcraft, Meghan Hatch, Jennifer Bauter, Morgan Lewis, John Lhotka, and Kassidy Renick standees pose around vinyl title wall near Voices of Pensacola entrance
TRANSFORM Vinyl Title Wall
In my position as Creative director and Print Lab Manager, I wrote a total of four grant proposals in a single day to the UWF Office of Undergraduate Research. The grant proposal which got approved was for a USCutter 53'' Titan Vinyl Cutter. With assistance from my lab techs, I assembled the vinyl cutter.
Back view of selected standees pose around vinyl title wall near Voices of Pensacola entrance
In collaboration with Kassidy Renick and Meghan Hatch of the Exhibition Design Team, I determined the size and location for the TRANSFORM Vinyl Title Wall (in addition to the Transform Motion Graphic Title Wall on the other side of the room). Annie Martin did the final design, cutting and instillation of the vinyl.
Selection of Portfolios, business cards, postcards and other materials
TRANSFORM Portfolios
Each designer created a 6x8' portfolio of their work complete with their own specially designed cover. I set the deadlines, printed the pages and assisted my print lab tech, Ilan Berkstein, in the binding process using the Department of Art's creasing, gluing and binding machines.
Kassidy Renick and John Lhotka standees pose in front of book covers, package designs, buttons and other materials
TRANSFORM Miscellaneous
Besides the portfolios and display boards, each designer created additional materials such as book covers, buttons, cards, cd cases, motion graphics, package designs, posters, 3d prints, and assortment of other designed materials. As Creative Director, I worked with each designer to choose what they would create and helped them print these materials.
Graphic designers featured in this show included Adrian Wahrer, Annie Martin, David Wansing, Grace Strausser, Jennifer Bauter, John Lhotka, Kassidy Renick, Kayla Bolger, Laura Scoggins, Meghan Hatch, Morgan Lewis, Olivia Ashcraft, Raece Godwin, Rose Ascanio, and Sarah Stewart.
Olivia Ashcraft standee posing in front of assorted posters (including her Music Hall Poster Series)
Selected standees pose around TRANSFORM show