PROJECT DESCRIPTION

When CalArts celebrated its 50th anniversary, all alumnx were summoned to campus for festivities, and we were tasked with crafting a commemorative edition of their alumnx magazine. In this post-Covid era, the school, like most educational institutions, grapples with reigniting campus culture. Our mission encompassed jolting generations of CalArtians into remembering all they love about these grounds, a beige box full of unbridled artistic energy.

We seized upon the rich tapestry of mythical tales and nostalgic recollections woven into CalArts’ lore. This edition, which we titled “CalArts: Based on a True Story,” aimed to resonate specifically with each generation that had passed through its halls. Pairing articles with vibrant personal anecdotes, we sought to evoke both futurism and nostalgia.

Embracing CalArts’ pedagogical ethos of challenging and reshaping conventional structures, we used graphic treatments growing exuberantly from the typographic grid, photographs, gutter, and margins, to the pagination. The result is a vibrant, hypersensorial (we ran out of fluorescent ink twice on press) portrait of a community defined by its embrace of experimentation. To our delight, the magazine garnered enthusiastic praise from new students, faculty, alumnx, and administrators alike.

PROJECT INFORMATION

Entry Type: Single Entry

Channel: Print

Primary Role of the Designer: Designer as change agent

Client Relationship: A retainer relationship

Intention of the Project: Re-launch, redesign, or update of an existing product, service or program

Development Budget: $10,001 – $50,000

Production/Execution Budget: $30,001 - $100,000

Source of Funding: Client

Typefaces: Swear by Oh No Type Company, Degular by Oh No Type Company, Sunset Gothic by Colophon Foundry, Space Mono by Colophon Foundry,Founders Grotesk by Klim Type Foundry

Paper: #130 Topkote Cover Gloss white, and 80# Cougar Text Smooth white

Materials: Paper, Foil Stamp, Additional Holographic Sticker

CREDIT INFORMATION

Creative Director: Juliette Bellocq

Art Director: Juliette Bellocq

Designers: Juliette Bellocq; Brooke Irish; and Makena Janssen

Researchers:

Developers:

Copywriter: Christine Ziemba; Rose Anderson; Katie Dunham; Juliet Bennett Rylah; Jo Siri; Adam Smeltz; and Caroline Pardilla.

Illustrator: Juliette Bellocq; Brooke Irish; and Makena Janssen

Photographer: Rafael Hernandez, Images not individually credited within the magazine are from CalArts Archives

Printer: Clear Image Printing CO.

Producer: California Institute of the Arts

Other Credits: Ann Wiens - CalArts Vice President for Marketing & Communications; Ravi S. Rajan - CalArts President; Natalie Farrar Adams - CalArts Vice President

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