Module 09

“Art is work.”
– Milton Glaser

ERIKA CARDON ART 130 | INTRODUCTION TO GRAPHIC DESIGN | 1

P R O J E C T | P O S T E R S: A R T I S T R E S E A R C H
After choosing your artist from the Artist
Sign-up list provided on iLearn, get to
know them better by reading about
them and looking at their work.
After completing the research on your artist provide
the following information:
BIOGRAPHY
Josef Albers was born in 1888, in Bottrop, Germany. He
became a school teacher in his early 20’s, then an art
teacher. As an art teacher he liked to experiment with
optical illusions. In his early 30’s he entered the Bauhaus.
In 1925 he was the first Bauhaus student asked to join the
faculty and become a master. In 1933 when the school
was forced to close due to the Nazi party, Josef came
to America to teach at the Black Mountain College in
North Carolina - as the head of the art department. In
1950 Josef became the head of the design department
of Yale University. During this time Josef and his wife,
Anni, began making frequent trips to Mexico. They fell
in love with Mexico and the art that they saw there. He
was amazed by the way that colors looked different
under the Mexican sun. Josef began his Homage to the
Square, the work he is most well know for, around the
time he moved to Yale. In 1971, he was the first living
artist to be honored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York. During his life he completed work in print
making, glass assemblages and stained glass, designed
furniture, household objects, an alphabet, photography,
and structural constellations. In 1963, he published
Interaction of Color, a book detailing his work with
and studies of color. This book is still often used when
teaching students about color. At the time of his death in
1976, Josef was still working on his Homage to the Square
- trying to further understand the interaction of colors.
ERIKA CARDON
HISTORICAL, TECHNOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL CLIMATE MAKING CONNECTIONS
Being born in Europe in 1888, Josef would have lived I have found Josef Albers work on color fascinating!
through and seen much of the devastation caused Understanding how, 1) colors can change the mood of a
by WWI. Later, as Germany gained power and control painting, and, 2) how colors work with each other is very
prior to WWII Josef, his wife Anni, and a number of their important in regard to design. It can affect the feeling
friends ultimately left Germany as the Bauhaus chose to and viewability of the work being done. It is also amazing
close due to pressure from the Nazi party to comply with to view the optical illusions created by certain colors next
their new rules and regulations. to each other.
Josef’s time at the Bauhaus would have been filled with
a wonderful atmosphere for creativity. The Bauhaus
philosophy was that art, technology, and business should
be brought together to apply good design to industrial
objects, such as buildings and furniture.
ARTIST’S PHILOSOPHY
“Although his method seemed more scientific than
artistic, he said, “Science aims at solving the problems
of life, whereas art depends on unsolved problems.” He
considered each finished painting a variant rather than a
final solution, leaving room for endless experimentation.”
(Wing, Natasha. An Eye For Color)
As a teacher Josef rarely used a textbook, but rather
preferred his students to learn by touching and seeing
for themselves.
Josef was fascinated by colors and noticed that the mood
of a painting could change based on the colors in it. The
same simple shapes set in bright reds and oranges felt
vibrant and alive, whereas in more muted colors it felt
calm and quiet. He could also change the way a color
looked depending on what surrounded it - this was the
basis for his Homage to the Square study.
ART 130 | INTRODUCTION TO GRAPHIC DESIGN | 2
P R O J E C T | P O S T E R S: A R T I S T V I SUA L R E S E A R C H

ERIKA CARDON ART 130 | INTRODUCTION TO GRAPHIC DESIGN | 3

P R O J E C T | P O S T E R S: A R T I S T V I SUA L R E S E A R C H (CO N T I N U E D)

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P R O J E C T | P O S T E R S: G E N E R A L P O S T E R V I SUA L R E S E A R C H

ERIKA CARDON ART 130 | INTRODUCTION TO GRAPHIC DESIGN | 5

P R O J E C T | P O S T E R S: WO R D L I S T S

A word list helps you explore ideas. print making

Write every word you can think of that stained glass

relates to your artist exhibit. Make sure
furniture
you fill this page full of words. You
may need the help of a thesaurus to household objects

complete this task. Once the page is full typography

of words take some time to find and alphabet
mark those words that could be turned
America
into interesting poster sketches.
Black Mountain Collage
Europe
Yale
Germany
Mexico
Bauhaus
pueblo
teaching
rectangles
squares
doors
color

lines

optical illusion

bright

dark

dull

changes

photography

glass

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P R O J E C T | P O S T E R S: C AT E G O RY & T H E M E

Complete this worksheet before you My poster should open up the idea that sometimes what
we think we see isn’t really what is there.
begin sketching your poster designs.
Use this page to define the problem
you will be solving in your sketches. The
success of your posters will be assessed
according to the information you
provide here.
After completing the research on your artist provide
the following information:

ARTIST
Josef Albers

EXHIBIT THEME OPTIONS

What Our Eyes See

Homage to the Square

Interaction of Colors

How Colors Interact

EXHIBIT THEME
What Our Eyes See

Much of Josef Albers work deal with how our eyes see
things differently than what the actually are depending
on what surrounds them.

EXHIBIT TAGLINE
Is what I think I see really what I see?

EMOTIONAL & RATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

My poster should communicate a mood of curiousity and
wondering.

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P R O J E C T | P O S T E R S: M I N D M A P
Identify interesting
connections

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P R O J E C T | P O S T E R S: S K E TC H E S
Identify interesting
connections

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ERIKA CARDON ART 130 | INTRODUCTION TO GRAPHIC DESIGN | 9

P R O J E C T | P O S T E R S: S K E TC H E S (CO N T I N U E D)
Identify interesting
connections

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P R O J E C T | P O S T E R S: S K E TC H E S (CO N T I N U E D)
Identify interesting
connections

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P O N D E R | M O D U L E 09

My favorite thing to learn about is (fill in and make it into a blockquote

the blank). using this style.
Why do designers conduct research?
Answer

What do you enjoy about researching? What parts do

you struggle with?
I love to research! People often tell me I should become
a research assistant, or someone who does research for
their vocation. I’m not entirely sure what I love about
it, but I feel I have to be full aware of everything about
a topic that I am curious about. I struggle with finding
when enough is enough. I probably do not have to
research 47 sites to find the very best price. After the
first 20 websites I have a good idea of what is fair. When
researching a subject I love when I find that random
thing that makes a topic come to life, or connects it to
me somehow.

Why do designers brainstorm?

Answer

What do you enjoy about brainstorming? What parts

of brainstorming do you struggle with?
Take a photograph of your favorite thing to learn about. Crop it and add it to
Answer this page with a caption.

How did your brainstorming help your sketching?

Answer

A blockquote can be used to catch

a readers attention. Choose a
sentence or two from your writing

ERIKA CARDON ART 130 | INTRODUCTION TO GRAPHIC DESIGN | 12