Design Rationale

When I had completed my midpoint review, I thought I had a very good understanding of what would be the graphic design style of my project. I had been drawn to historical examples, and had planned to give the work a vintage and antiqued appearance using weathering textures, and techniques. I even explored techniques of tea and coffee staining to get the right look on paper and textures. As I began a semester of directed study with Matt Cooke to solve this question of the graphic design and typographic style for my project, I engaged in a survey of typography readings and exploration of styles throughout history.

The output of this process, and my other explorations in graphic design, led to the development of a design rationale that defined the hypothesis and major considerations that I would use. This vintage style which I had started with would soon disappear in favor of a more contemporary style.

The design rationale included three main emphases. First, the project would implement Classical & Renaissance considerations of form to aid in the communication of the project’s historical, mystical, and spiritual elements. Second, the typography and other design elements would be carefully selected and developed to create a contemporary interpretation of these historical elements. Third, the medium of the computer would be an effective tool to communicate ideas that are spiritual in nature.