VAR*RL
Claire Collins, Dani Chang, Michelle Nie, Julia So | Impact & Empathy
Introduction
As we mindlessly scrolled through projects on Hyperakt to start our Impact and Empathy project, Krystyn called for Group 1 to discuss their project idea. We quickly realized that we were group one and then scrambled to decide that we wanted to address graphic student’s mental health in some way, after reading the Generation Z project. Our conversation with Krystyn was very unplanned, but that allowed us to grow an honest, authentic, and relaxed conversation with her. We asked ourselves — how do we deal with mental health as graphic design students? — and answered that we have become so tight-knit, we can endure our workload and hardships together. But then we wondered, how did we become so close as a class?
Our community grew the more people went to the Junior studio out of classroom hours last year, and took on a sense of ownership over the space. We would go to the studio at night with blankets and mats, and play a communal Spotify playlist while working. This led to a lot of documentation of our time together to the point where we created a class Instagram account just for fun. Gradually, the Instagram account evolved as a way for the whole class to get to know each other and look back at our time together. Other people started taking notice, and the class below us started their own Instagram account. This impact could not have happened if we didn’t voluntarily take ownership of our space. Sure, the teacher must invite students to a secure and welcoming learning space, but the student must accept that invitation.
After conversing with Krystyn, we developed our thesis question: how does physical space initiate conversation and build community? At first, we were thinking of creating a series of social experiments in different classrooms at CFA and 808 and seeing where those results lead us, but then saw potential in the SVA Library. By rebranding the visual identity and design of the SVA Library, we thought this was the most effective way to explore how designing a physical space would attract more students to visit and build relationships with one another.
Visual Identity
After the 25 iterations critique, we learned that our visual system felt too graphic-design centric when our audience is directed towards all SVA students. We then came up with a “rule of five” to reference the five undergraduate majors: printmaking, painting, sculpture, graphic design, and art education. We chose five colors to make up our palette and a five point asterisk as our icon. The asterisk comes in five variations dependent on different line weights and textures to depict the personality of each major. An asterisk is usually used for footnotes to relocate the reader’s eye from one point of information to another section of expanded information. By introducing an asterisk to the viewer’s eye, we hope to redirect their attention to the SVA library, a place full of research and resources. The asterisk can also be seen as five pathways intersecting at one point or location, encouraging students from different majors in SVA to build relationships with each other by meeting together in the library. One last interpretation of the asterisk is someone opening their arms out to indicate the welcoming and friendly tone of our rebrand. During one of our last meetings with Dana Clancy the Director of SVA and Bella Bennett the Research Fellow of CFA, Dana suggested the name V.A.R.R.L., an acronym for the Visual Arts Research and Resource Library. We decided to place an asterisk in between the two R’s to bring more focus to those words, creating our rebrand of the SVA Library into VAR*RL. The rest of our type treatment was informed by the monotype, indented or staggered text, and thin lines seen on the historical typewritten documents about the SVA library preserved by Logen Zimmerman, the Operations Manager of SVA, after meeting with him about the history of the room.
Printed Deliverables
Claire’s Process
The most important aspect of this project was finding ways to not only get students to come to the library, but get them to interact and get to know each other once they got there. For my deliverables I created a series of interactive posters and print material.
Deliverables included:
- 1 general VAR*RL poster
- 2 interactive posters
- 5 VAR*RL library card designs (60 copies)
- 5 question card designs (60 copies)
- 2 posters to explain the library and question cards
- 5 bookmark designs (60 copies)
For the actual design of the posters, I wanted to take a lot of inspiration from the layouts of the historical documents that Logen showed us. I began by studying the grid structures and type setting of those documents.
Using the colors, typefaces, and 5 asterisk marks, I made a few drafts of my posters. For all the posters and print items, I made sure to stick to the visual identity that we came up with so all of our different parts would blend seamlessly into one project. I also added the VAR*RL word mark that includes the location of the library to most of the deliverables. For the VAR*RL poster, I wanted a simple design to show what VAR*RL actually means. I was inspired by these photographs of the old building and floor plans and actually ended up using them in 2 of the posters. I also experimented with rotating the type to break up the grid a little bit and contrast against the straight lines. I think it makes the posters a little more friendly which was definitely the tone we were going for.
For the interactive posters, we thought of 2 ideas as a group: an interactive and collaborative gallery and a library scavenger hunt. I designed the collaborative gallery poster as basically signage for people to put up their work, view others’ work, and leave feedback and comments. I left spaces on the poster to add sticky notes for people to leave their feedback.
Next, the “scavenger hunt” poster was meant to get students to explore different parts of the library. I took photos of various areas in the library and printed them out to put onto the poster in little pouches. The goal is for people to take a photo, search for that spot, and look through the books there. I printed all the large posters on the plotter in A2 poster size.
The library card and question card idea was sparked from an old set of drawers in the library that was previously used for the dewey decimal system. I wanted to make some smaller printed deliverables that were able to fit inside the drawers. Both sets of cards are meant to be filled out, left in the library for others to read, or even kept as something to look back on. They are meant to create conversation and collaboration between everyone in SVA. On the back of the library cards, I chose to include a QR code that leads to the SVA library resource page.
For a little more clarification and to add to the friendly and welcoming tone of our project I thought it would be a good idea to make a few posters describing the library and question cards as well. I printed them at 8.5x11 and put them in acrylic stands to add a sense of permanence and to match some of the other acrylic pieces in our project.
Lastly, we thought it would be fun to make bookmarks! I made 5 different designs using the different asterisks focusing on color and pattern. I wanted to make them all different and bright. For the final presentation, I printed 60 bookmarks, library cards, and question cards on card stock and cut them all on the ream cutter so our classmates could take some!
Internal Wayfinding
Dani’s Process
Research Phase
I created a group on Are.na where we could organize our initial thoughts and research. We created channels including “Meeting Notes/HW,” “Key Points,” and separate “Moodboards” for each team member to work on. As we were thinking about what physical space to study or work with, I remember talking to Dana about how the SVA Library is such a hidden and underrated working environment, after Professor Mary introduced the space to me my junior year. Mary said that she would bring her students on field trips to the library until the pandemic hit, and Dana mentioned that especially since Covid, less and less people have been coming to the library and let alone heard about it. I reached out to Dana soon after to introduce our proposal to her, and she was immediately excited about a student-led project creating a space that contributes to resource sharing. This trifecta between space, community, and knowledge was something I wanted to keep in mind throughout the project.
My process is informed by the notes I take during library meetings, class critiques, and group or individual work sessions. After recording these notes, I annotate them and decide a plan of action after each session to keep me on schedule. After deciding to take on the interior wayfinding portion of the project, I visited VAR*RL again and made observations about what made it hard to navigate the space, as well as reflect on the past times I came. There is a small piece of paper with the library hours on the window of the front door, so it is hard to tell whether the library is open or not until you pull on the door to see if it is locked or not. Then when you walk in, the bookshelves have a sign naming the different genres, yet they are very small and the material seems to be peeling off. The current bookshelves have a red circle sticker on the spine to indicate it is the library’s property, but there is no clear distinction of the book genre themselves. At the end of the bookshelves, there is a door leading to Room 500, where faculty meets up; I noticed some students walking into the room, unaware of the meeting going on. With these concerns in mind, I decided to create an open/close sign to hang on the front door, as well as a standing entrance sign with further information about VAR*RL’s message and hours. Then, I wanted to design bigger library signage to pin on the bookshelves, book classification dividers and bookshelf dividers to more clearly show the different sections within the shelves. Last, I wanted to make a double sided “Do not disturb” sign to clearly indicate when a meeting was held or not in Room 500.
Design Phase
While measuring the dimensions for my deliverables, I visited the library to check how big each signage should read from either close up or far away, and considered where the eye level for each signage would sit to someone walking by. The choice of material and production process was my biggest struggle throughout my process. It was important to create both a sense of permanence and flexibility through these materials. I laser cut acrylic for a previous project and had a positive experience in the laser cutting room at EPIC, so I wanted to use this method for the wayfinding. Acrylic is also durable and the most affordable and accessible material to order.
Production and Installation Phase
The first visit to the laser cut room was extremely unproductive because it took around six hours to print only two pieces of acrylic, due to the shortage of working printers and crowded users. Michelle helped me finish laser cutting the rest of the signs.
The installation process was the most rushed because of the delay from the production process. Instead of ordering fluorescent colored acrylic, I taped paper printed with our color palette to the back of the clear acrylic by its border. After working with Michelle on attaching the acrylic to the wooden frame, I attached the two sides of the “do not disturb” sign with double sided tape first to check if the weight wasn’t too hefty, and then hot glue. I also tied the sides of the open and closed sign by looping string through the holes of the sign. The open and close sign resembled a shoulder bag that I grew to wear throughout our critique.
Exterior Wayfinding
Michelle’s Process
When we consulted with Dana and Bella, VAR*RL was not heavily visited because it’s been tucked away in a small corner near the staircase. Prior to Covid, people would usually visit the library. Professors would often bring their students to the library to look at the resources. Students knew of the place through word of mouth. However, ever since covid struck, the newer generation of students doesn’t know that there is a student at 855. So, we thought of different ways to bring students to the library by creating exterior wayfinding materials.
Book Shelves
We were thinking about different methods of how we can promote VAR*RL. One thing I realized was that there’s a disconnect between the two SVA buildings, 808 and 855. In order to build a bridge between these two spaces, I wanted to reuse the current shelves outside the senior studio in 808. The shelves outside of the senior studio were initially created to showcase the senior thesis books for a previous event. The bookshelves were made out of scraps and books kept falling down because there were no reinforcements. The new shelves were made out of 2in x 3in x 24 in wood and used acrylics as reinforcements. After consulting with Professor Grady, he emphasized that if we wanted this project to be permanent, we should be intentional with the material we use. So we decided to use clear acrylic sheets and wood. The clear acrylic sheets are long-lasting and they also represent information transparency and authenticity. Julia and I installed the shelves using 3in nails that bound the acrylic sheets to the wood and onto the walls. The acrylic sheets were engraved with asterisks. The phrase “more talent like this can be found at the visual arts library” is made with vinyl and it hovers over the shelves. The phrase connects the shelves to the SVA library. The new shelves act as an extension of VAR*RL for design students to display books that they’ve created. The bookshelves are prototypes of how they can exist in multiple spaces throughout SVA/CFA locations.
Frame
While working with Dani, we wanted to create a frame that would hold the acrylic interior wayfinding materials and act as a display for the library to showcase its events. We wanted to reuse the frames that were created for the 2022 MFA Thesis show, but we realized that the frames were unstable. Since we wanted to create something that was more permanent, we decided it would be easier to build the frame from scratch. The frame was originally designed with a ladder-like structure, but we wanted to create something that is more versatile. The frame was first inspired by Bella’s poster which was 36in x 24in, but I realized that not all posters will be that size. Therefore I designed a structure that would hold any size poster from 36in x 24in (max) to 8.5in x 11in (min). Julia built the frame using 1 ¼ in nails and bound the wood using wood glue. The wood’s dimension was 1 ½” x ¾” thickness so the frame was light enough to be portable. After the frame was built, acrylic entrance signage was placed on top of the frame using hot glue and gorilla glue. The frame will be displayed outside of VAR*RL.
Book Selves and Wooden Frame
Julia’s Process
Applying Michelle’s designs I built two external pieces in our project, the bookshelves at 808 and a frame structure in front of VAR*RL at the BU Wood shop. The wooden pieces of the bookshelves were first cut to match the length of the acrylic designs printed by Michelle and Dani. Using the drill press I created two holes through both the wood pieces and acrylic pieces for all four shelves. Later after Michelle painted the wooden pieces white we installed the shelves on the wall at 808 with 3inch long nails, tightening all the pieces to the wall. To keep the consistency of making our designs “permanent” the wooden frame was made to be sturdy by gluing and screwing screw drives to bind the bigger pieces of wood together. Then the middle pieces intended to hold the acrylic and posters were applied with glue and bound by a pressure nail gun. After creating this frame Michelle and Dani worked on installing the acrylic entrance signs to the structure.
The Sketchup
Julia’s Process
When we began talking about the project in VAR*RL with Dana it was clear that she already had the intention to change and develop the space. She discussed the issues with the current layout and wanted to create a proposal on how to change VAR*RL through Sketchup, an architecture 3D modeling program. Learning this we decided to take our ideas of how we can change the space and apply it to our own 3D Sketchup model. I reached out to Dana and obtained images of the original blueprint of 855 5th floor.
From the blueprint I got the general dimensions of the space, providing the general length of the walls and doors, but to gather the furniture and smaller objects’ dimensions I had to travel over to VAR*RL to measure with a measuring tape. Going to the space to physically measure everything allowed me to become familiar with the VAR*RL itself and figure out how we wanted to change it. I then began to create the wireframe of the space, which then led back to our thesis question: how does physical space initiate conversation and build community? And the new developing question: how do we address pre existing problems in VAR*RL?
Layout
In the multiple meetings and tours of VAR*RL Dana pointed out issues with the layout of the space. She mentioned too much sunlight shining directly on the books, the need for more space for future books, the lack of wayfinding inside and outside of the library, and so forth. Taking this consideration I rearranged the furniture in the layout. One of the major changes to the space was rotating the bookshelves to be perpendicular to the windows to keep sun exposure on the books to a minimum. Another change was moving the work job desk to the other side of the room. Having the desk in its original position prevented the person working in the library from knowing who was coming into the space from the office and hallway entrance.
Interviewing work job students who work in VAR*RL we learned that lots of people come into the space for different reasons. Students for class come to study books as references, professors would have faculty meetings and office hours in the space, or people come in to use equipment stored in the library. I started to look at how we could divide spaces into different sections to better encourage people to come into the VAR*RL for these individual needs. We divided VAR*RL into two sections: a workspace and a relaxing area. This was done by transforming the corner of the room with black couches into a floor seating area. The type of seating added a more welcoming and inviting space for students to come in and browse books. The main work desk was move to the center of the library for more space for work and collaboration.
We began to include Room 500 (the classroom space next door to the library) in our design proposal. Dana mentioned plans to move books into the space because of the flexibility of the space. It is currently being used for classes and faculty meetings and there was a lot of available space in the room. As long as the center of the classroom was left untouched for meetings and classes we could consider using the walls alongside the room. I developed the new space as a solution for the lack of storage space for books by adding two shelves along the walls. My intention with the new space was to design it to be the quiet workspace of the library, this was because of the preexisting desks setup and existing rocking chairs in the back.
To call attention to VAR*RL I included in the Sketchup design the hallway space of the 5th floor from the elevator to VAR*RL. In this area of the design, I created a simple 3 inch wide line of Vinyl that would go down the hall from the elevator to the main entrance of VAR*RL. The reason for this was to give direction and notice to VAR*RL as it is tucked away in the corner. On the vinyl cut line I placed the asterisks design and the phrases “SVA LIBRARY” and ”VAR*RL”. This external wayfinding was kept very simple as it should not take away attention from the main Gallery 5 displays, but still, give attention and guide to VAR*RL.
Finally I installed all the designs from Claire, Dani, and Michelle. This helped tie all our designs together in the space and help us visualize how our designs developed the space. As this was a six week project we could only keep the ideas at a proposal-level deliverable. Creating the Sketchup model allowed us to gain a better understanding of space and how we could develop it without having to physically change things in the limited amount of time we had.
Conclusion
This project acts as a blueprint for other design students to take over in the future so they can expand and improve the library. After consulting with Dana and Bella, we wanted to think about how we can build community in other ways. We realized that we can build community by creating opportunities for design students to take on this project as a potential UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program) project or those who have work study to work directly with Dana or a graduate student. In doing so, we are building a community of student leaders which reiterates the importance of authenticity, design authorship, and sustainability.
Critiques
LAURA:
Coming from a perspective of knowing the importance of shared space is a perfect way to approach a rebrand like this. The project you guys settled on leaves so much room for a variety of deliverables, and I’m glad you guys really committed to revamping the space at both the macro level (mindset of transforming a physical space, overarching brand identity) and the micro (details, smaller deliverables like bookmarks, and typographic elements). The asterisk is a really versatile form to work with, and there was definitely a lot of thought put into making sure every section and function of the library was included and highlighted. I’d love to see a temporary library exhibit branded in this style too, I think it’s really versatile
EUGENE:
This was a very well-planned and executed project. There were so many layers and deliverables and I think they were all successful in trying to accomplish your mission. The idea of bringing part of the SVA library to 808 resonated with me and I believe through your project you guys are leaving behind something long-lasting once your proposals get approved and the space really comes together in your group’s vision I believe all the hard work will pay off. But the logo, wayfinding, shelves, and visual language is really successful.
CHRISTINE:
I love how much effort you all put into this project! Your craftsmanship is so amazing! XD I feel like this proposal would really help the SVA to get together even better as a community considering how the space in the library could be utilized than how it is right now. Considering all the possibilities of how the SVA library could be changed and the virtual walk-through really made your project professional. I really hope the SVA considers this proposal into serious consideration!
PROFESSOR GRADY:
Sketchup ties the project together and it brings the vision of VAR*RL to life. I’m sold on the branding system and I’m very excited about how this project will grow into. Minor technicalities can be worked on such as engraving deeper into the acrylic sheets to make the text appear clearer. Other than that, the attention to detail like making an adaptable architectural frame that fits any size poster makes the project really successful.
Meeting with Dana and Bella on Nov. 09
Several weeks after we presented our project to the class, we scheduled a meeting with Dana and Bella to talk about the next steps of this project. Recently, a Junior graphic design student, Kennedy Harwood, created a review series, using our branding system. In the meeting, we talked about how this project is an example for sophomores and juniors on how to get involved in their community. We discussed how to pass on this project to future students as a potential work study or UROP project. As a team, we understood the importance of creating a community through a physical space and creating opportunities for future students. All deliverables were delivered to Dana and displayed at the SVA library.
