A Design "Pop-Up" Exhibition at Concordia Gallery

It's nearly time for finals! Last week, the design department at Concordia University held a "pop-up" exhibition in the gallery showcasing work of current design students. Here are a some photos of the exhibition, including a few from the opening reception last week:

[click each image for a larger version]

The following are some pics from the opening reception.

Nice work, design students! I hope you were able to make some sales!

Movie Poster Project

I shared a few movie posters at the end of fall semester from an intro to design course that I teach at the University of Minnesota. Here are 4 quick ones from this past semester:

Nice layering and texture from Devyn.


Good focal point from Emma.


Erik pushed the idea that he's stepping through the end of the song because he dies (spoiler alert).


Some nice use of space by Ben.

Again, here's a bit more from last year in a different post.

Movie Poster Project

I teach a "pre-design" class at the University of Minnesota geared toward first-year graphic design majors. We cover basic design elements and principles, but then also discuss a lot about how designers can "control" how a viewer relates to imagery based on how it's communicated to them. It's part "2D Design" and part "Visual Conceptualization"... sort of.

After basically 1 type lecture and an hour intro to Adobe Illustrator, here are a few movie poster projects from this past semester:

Simple but effective from Gus.


Nice use of negative space by Kaemon.


Very photographic from Natalie.


And a good take on this documentary from Leah
(with the tag line pseudo hidden as a green line in the code).

End-of-Semester Scenes

Just before finals, I was walking around both of the universities where I’m currently teaching, and I found myself snapping some pics with my phone. Sort of for memory’s sake.

First in McNeal Hall at the University of Minnesota:

[Click each image to enlarge]

Book jacket designs up in the hall.


Album cover designs.


McNeal Hall is a funky amalgamation of buildings.




My classroom for this past semester.

Next are some of the empty halls of Concordia University:

Looking back towards the art building.


The odd little tunnel to the art building.


Outside the library.


My classroom for both of my classes this past semester.


I’ve always loved these crammed bulletin boards outside of the Mac Lab.
There’s an old CVA Action postcard back there if you can spot it.
(See also here, here, and here.)




I've always enjoyed this.




Outside the darkroom.


Just outside my office - some shots from solo exhibition last year (see also this post).

Happy summer break!

College of Visual Arts Identity Package

In the last days of the Werner Design Werks exhibition "Werk Ethic" at Concordia University, I maaaaaybe did something a little sneaky...

Direct link: youtu.be/8fjBrClyLXY

It actually contained original files from 1995 - a handful of years before I was a student there. Here are some more photos of that wild exhibition.

Werk Ethic: The Work of Werner Design Werks

Concordia Gallery has a really interesting exhibition up through TODAY, so come check it out if you have a moment. It's a design exhibition called "Werk Ethic: The Work of Werner Design Werks." Here are a few photos I took last month:

The opening reception.


Some CVAers at the opening! Me, Rudy, Cory, Ian, Sarah, Liz, John, Abby, Carly, and Rosie.

I stopped by a few days later to walk through the show. It's a trip:

Old CVA branding.


That floppy on the wall contains CVA's "final identity" from 1995.


We all know that name!


Slightly older CVA branding.


Even OLDER "College of Associated Arts" branding (CAA became CVA).

And here are a few final shots that Concordia Gallery posted yesterday:

Check it out in the next 8 hours if you are nearby: 1301 Marshall Ave, Saint Paul, MN.