This project was a commission for an academic symposium whose theme was the art of the book. My client gave me certain images to incorporate into the poster and programs, but otherwise gave free rein with the design. I took inspiration for the aesthetic from one of the manuscripts discussed during the symposium (a biblical concordance made in Little Gidding, Huntingdonshire in the 17th century, created by cutting and pasting Bible verses onto pages, which were then bound along with collaged engravings of Biblical scenes).
The program layout was inspired by a folding-paper metamorphosis which hides a skeleton "inside" a rich young dandy. To preserve the surprise of opening the body to see the skeleton, I placed the dandy on the front of the cover, arranged so that the opening of the program copied that of the original folding image. This created a memorable program interaction, which I continued to use in the second version of the program that simply used different images.
My first concept of the program included more folds, separating the text on the cover from the folding-paper metamorphosis and creating space for the symposium description, but when the additional text was cut I could simplify the program into the final product.
Who's Keiran?
Keiran Pillman is a designer, illustrator, and researcher living in Rochester, NY. They have a BFA in New Media Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology (2015), and a MFA in Art History from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (2017). They have worked as a freelance designer and illustrator for seven years, doing projects for a variety of clients.
In their spare time, Keiran enjoys running, hiking, writing both fiction and non-fiction, and serving as a loyal minion for their cat.