Minimalist visual identity system created for Purchase College School of Art + Design’s Spring 2020 MFA thesis exhibition.

In the Winter of 2020, I was part of a team of student designers tasked with creating, pitching, and implementing a visual identity for “Shadows for Sale”, the upcoming graduate exhibition for Purchase College’s Master of Fine Arts program. Our clients were the small body of participating artists, along with a handful of members of the school’s faculty who were involved in coordinating the event. The title “Shadows for Sale” was selected by the participating artists, and was in reference to an (alleged) ancient practice in which individuals would “auction off” their own shadows for ceremonial purposes.

My proposed visual identity was concept-driven, and hinged on ideas pertaining to light, illusion, and intangibility. At the core of my pitch was the primary deliverable of this project, an exhibition pamphlet set to contain information about the works being presented, branded in accordance with each participating designer’s style pitch. Jost was selected as the primary typeface for this project—its circular forms and pointy angles lend themselves well to the simplified geometry my proposal was constructed around, while its double-story “a” letterform cultivates a slightly more classic and sophisticated tone than Futura in my opinion.