Portfolio

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Emma deVries

2014

Table of Contents

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23Typography

Graphic Type

Graphic Design

Drawing

Museum Work

Painting

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1 Artist Statement

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Artist Statement

I want viewers to learn from my art like I have, whether the viewer is gaining knowledge from the product of my research, the exhibits and guides, or the process of creating my art in more traditional mediums.

My process of creating a piece is itself an act of study and practice. I go through multiple iterations of a composition or a technique before arriving at a resolution. Before college I had not had the opportunity to explore painting or sculpture, almost three years later not only have my technical knowledge of art improved but my understanding of design has changed because of my classes. This knowledge is gained from implementing the lessons from my art courses and is instrumental in my growth as an artist.

My exhibits and informational work all started with a general topic and then coalesced into a illustrated and textual form. Thorough research is the core to these compositions and strong design is how I transfer what I have learned to the viewer.

I consider a work successful if it leaves the viewer with a desire to seek more information. Learning and understanding is the goal and motive of my art.

Collaborating with the Sheldon Museum of Art, I designed a set of sculpture guides for families. Each color relates to a themed tour, elements of art and the human figure are two of six overarching themes. The goal is for families to interact with the sculptures in a self-directed tour and encourage multiple visits to the museum to engage in every activity.

Shown right is a map I created for the guides to illustrate the location of each art work in the Sheldon’s sculpture collection. The colored circles indicate each themed tours each artwork is a part of.

Museum Work

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Interior InteriorExterior Exterior

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Interior InteriorExterior Exterior

Part of my volunteer work at the University of Nebraska State Museum at Morrill Hall was creating a set of educational posters to accompany an assortment of animal toys, most of which were dinosaurs. I researched each animal, then photographed and illustrated each toy with the goal of making it easy for children to understand and learn. I created a format for each animal for clarity and a unified presentation.

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Along with basic facts I wanted there to be an overarching theme to connect the eclectic toys that were donated. By promoting awareness of endangered species the posters extend beyond the simple activity of play and engage children with the world.

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TypographyI created the following designs using Adobe Illustrator. Type is the most essential component in an informational design. My type specimen posters were a study of the history of typefaces and their potential use in future designs. This exploration has expanded my understanding of type.

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The designs below were an exercise in how type can be expressive and increase the impact of words. I went through several iterations to get a sense of how composition also shapes how visuals are interpreted. This was the assignment that led to the type specimen posters.

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Graphic Design and TypeGraphic design is not comprised of solely illustration, to make a strong and successful design integrates type with visuals. This exercise was focused on type as form. After collecting 100 type samples I selected as many examples of unique typefaces to cre-ate a wide range of layouts. My goal was to show how type can be used as its own form of illustration.

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From my type samples I created a total of 15 designs. From this I selected 5 that best represented my collection. Using Photoshop I digitally selected the type and manipulated the orientation to create a sense of depth. Each 8 by 8 inch layout illustrates how I combined type as form.

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Graphic DesignThe following are line drawings of sculptures in the Sheldon Museum of Art’s collection. These drawings are part of the family guides I am creating as part of my undergraduate research. I used the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator. When I experiment with the tools available the

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DrawingThese drawings were created using charcoal and pen and were my most informative work from my perceptual drawing course. Depth cues and line weight were two concepts stressed in the course and these drawings show my adeptness with these basic principles. The illustrations I produce now are more successful because of the techniques and the fundamentals I learned from my class.

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This painting was a means for learning how to paint the human figure by imitating the work of a master painter. Nude in Dappled Sunlight was painted by Frederick Carl Frieseke in 1915. By imitating his work I learned about how light shapes forms and how colors can exaggerate visual cues such as texture.

PaintingBased on a 1941 image of a collapsing library during the air raids of World War II I wanted to convey the duality between carrying on a mundane task when the surrounding environment is disintegrating.

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Geometric sequence4 p

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128 p

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The realist sans-serif typeface Univers designed by Adrian Frutiger in 1954 compliments the clean, economic layout of my portfolio. Throughout the semester I explored different methods of presenting information. I learned that meaning can be conveyed not only with words but with visual form. The composition of this portfolio originated in a graphic design course

at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and was designed by Emma deVries. All body copy was set in Univers LT Std, Light Condensed. The final portfolio was produced using InDesign, by Adobe.

Copyright 2014 Emma deVries