As, Not For
As, Not For is an incomplete historical survey of work created by African-American graphic designers from 1865 to 1999 curated by Jerome Harris. He started the project in graduate school when he was trying to find more work by Black designers and one of his professors encouraged him to turn it into an exhibition. The curated collection of work has been shown in over 15 different locations, including the exhibition I worked on, shown at Boston University from November 2020 to February 2021. Jerome gave us almost complete creative freedom in designing the show, allowing us to choose how we grouped and displayed the work, how we marketed, and basically everything else except for mandating that the posters all be the same size to have them all on equal playing ground.
I worked under my professor Mary Yang alongside three other students, Ashlie Dawkins, Angela Lian, and Jay Li. We all had our focuses with mine being the 3D Design elements and wayfinding which were particularly important in the first year of the COVID pandemic. We used marks that Jerome created for our wayfinding on the floor, creating a clear flow through the gallery. We collaborated and were in constant communication to ensure that our show was cohesive from the 2D and 3D design, to the social media marketing, and beyond.
