TEAM Stephanie Dillon (Creative Director) + Leny Evangelista (Art Director) + Amy Omernik (Copywriter)
The Portfolio Show Theme
Before thinking about creative we brainstormed different themes and taglines. The taglines we developed spoke mostly to the potential employers who were to attend the show, letting them know what they were going to see — the best work students produced over their time at the Art Institute along with the opportunity to speak with them and ask them questions as well.
OPTION 1 ARTiculate. For emerging and established professionals.
The word “articulate” encapsulates the essence of the portfolio show in one word. This is where artists at different levels of their professional careers can have a conversation. The show is a wonderful opportunity to open a dialogue between students who are emerging into their new careers and established professionals who have the potential to take them on as team members.
OPTION 2 Emerging Creativity on Display
The idea of “emerging” is the driving force in this headline. The students at the show are emerging out of their college careers and into their professional careers. Potential employers should be excited about being able to see the new, next-level work that Ai students have created, and get excited about offering them a position on their team, so they can bring that innovation to their company.
OPTION 3 FUTURE-FOCUSED CREATIVITY
Having an eye on the future holds true for both the students and industry professionals who attend the Portfolio Show. Students get to show off the projects they have been working on that show their skill set, and employers can envision how this innovation can help move their company forward into the future.
CREATIVE CONCEPT 1
Really focused on the idea of “Articulation” and how during this event both Student + Prospective employer have to articulate their ideas mainly through dialogue - hence the focus on typography which is the most well known type of visualization of speech.
HANDS
These hands represent many ideas:
1 // Most creatives tend to speak with their hands or are “gestural” when articulating their ideas.
2 // Regardless of what profession/discipline, be it design, fashion, culinary, etc., they all use hands to create and manifest their ideas.
3 // When we first meet an employer or new person, we typically use our hands as a greeting (e.g., firm handshake/wave).
LAYERING
To emphasize the “Emerging” talent coming out of AI, we used a very restrictive color palette and applied it to very specific elements to appear as if they are rising out/above/emerging from each other.
Blue (Cool) // Set the hands in a blue as blue is a cool color and tends to recede; this will be the background/base.
Black (Neutral) // The important content is the middle ground.
Red (Warm) // Bright warm colors (e.g., red typography) tend to advance; this will be the foreground.
IMAGERY
We chose not to include any faces or actual imagery that alludes to student work, as the FINAL work will be viewed at the portfolio show itself. Rather, we focused on the elements that students from each discipline have used to create their ideas.
Culinary = Cherries
Fashion = Houndstooth Fabric
Music & Sound = Speakers
Graphic & Digital Design = Pixel
Industrial & Architectural Design = Shoe Pattern
MOCK-UP DIRECT MAIL PIECE // Front and back of postcard with variable data for each school to input their Portfolio Show info including but not limited to: Date, Time, Location, Logo and Boiler Plate Copy.
CREATIVE CONCEPT 3
This design is based on how The Art Institutes and their graduates have a mindset of looking toward the “Future” along with prospective employers. They are all laser focused on looking beyond the current creative landscape to prepare for what’s to come.
THREADS
These fine red strokes not only represent the “laser” eyed focus of the students in getting their work and talent noticed, but also represent how AI is an integral part of the creative community, the thread that ties and keeps current employers to the latest and most emerging technology and trends.
IMAGERY
In this concept is how we could possibly display work from students – honing in on the details of the work rather than its entirety to give a preview of what is awaiting attendees. We utilized brightly colored pieces that will jump out and off the white background.
