Hi guys! So I was recently given the opportunity to assist in the design of an exhibition catalogue for the newest collection on display in the Maslow Study Gallery here in the Shields Center for Visual Arts at Marywood University. And this week I wanted to walk you through what the process was like!
When I first got the email asking if I’d help design the exhibition catalogue for The Steven Poleskie Exhibition, I was equally excited and intimidated. I’d never worked on something this big before. Thankfully, I wasn’t doing it alone and was put to work alongside fellow student (and former blogger) Kelsey Green, a super talented senior majoring in Graphic Design, and minoring in Illustration and Art History. Together we were tasked with leading the design and production of the catalogue.
Over the next couple months we met regularly with Ryan Ward, the Curator of the Maslow Gallery (and our project supervisor), and with aviation student Kate Pallas, who was writing an essay about the artist, Steve Poleskie’s life and work.
We began with photographing all 74 of Poleskie’s works. It was a bit of a challenge since neither of us had much experience with professional art photography, and there were definitely some trial-and-error moments along the way. But with the studio lighting help of Instructor Peter Nardone and input by Ryan Ward, we were able to push through. Next came editing, including hours of adjusting color and contrast to try and capture the original texture and color of the works as closely as possible. It was time consuming work, but it gave me a new appreciation for how much life and texture Poleskie’s art carries. Though we tried our hardest, no photograph could ever fully capture the feeling of seeing these artworks in person. Over this process we also narrowed the catalogue down to forty-three pieces that best represented his work. We also found and translated captions for each piece.
Then came the layout, the part that finally felt like home. I focused on the cover and back cover design, while Kelsey took charge of the interior spreads. I really wanted the cover of the catalog to connect to Poleskie’s history as an aerial artist, so I created a plane flying across the front and back covers, trailing a smoke ribbon made up of snippets of his artwork. Somewhere along the way, I had the idea to include a tiny flip book element in the corner of each of the catalogue pages. It was just a small touch, but I liked that it acted as a playful nod to Poleskie’s history.
Meanwhile, Kelsey was absolutely incredible. She devoted countless hours laying out the images and text, experimenting with different arrangements until everything clicked. Creating clean and cohesive flow as you flipped through. Her eye for detail and structure was extraordinary and brought so much unity to the catalogue as a whole. Once our designs came together, we spent several days in editing mode with Ryan, proofing, adjusting alignments, and combing through every inch of the document. After nearly ten iterations, we finally reached the final version ready for print.
Throughout all of this we also designed a matching exhibition poster and postcard, which was a fun way to tie everything together visually.
Looking back, this project was both challenging and enlightening. It taught me so much about collaboration, patience, and creative problem-solving. Most of all, I’m grateful for Kelsey—she’s such a brilliant designer. And I’m proud of the product we came up with! I had never really collaborated with another person on a design like this, and found it so illuminating. To have someone to bounce ideas off of, to lend a second eye on things, and to work towards a daunting goal together was an experience I’m so grateful to have. I couldn’t have imagined someone better to collaborate with.
(Her art email is k.c.graphics.kcg@gmail.com for anyone looking for an amazing designer!)
And above all, it was an honor to help celebrate the art of Steve Poleskie. His art bursts with motion and passion, and getting to help share that with others was really special. I’m so thankful to Ryan Ward and the Maslow Gallery for trusting us with this project, and for letting us add our own small creative mark on Poleskie’s legacy.
I highly recommend for anyone reading this to go visit “Tracing the sky: Steve Poleskie’s Aerial Theater on Paper” in the Maslow Study Gallery at Maywood.
Thanks for reading!
Emma <3
