ISU MASTER’S IN HISTORY
ADVERTISING
PRINT (9” x 16.5” DIRECT MAILER)
ILLUSTRATOR
The direct mailer for the Department of History's Master’s Program expresses the journey and transformation that those who choose to enroll in it will experience. Schroeder Hall sits atop a staircase in the central area of the poster with open doors. Its white color contrasts against the black outlines, and rays of colorful light expand outwards. The stairs are the challenging but rewarding path that creates an essential foundation from which one can build on and rise from, and the building is a symbolic prism, where those who enter or enroll leave transformed with entirely new understandings and perceptions that will continue to lead them to a bright future. The open doors of Schroeder are the opportunities and possibilities that the Master’s program will continue to provide even after graduating.
This bold, geometric style is inspired from the existing Art Deco branding that the History Department enjoys and uses on their faculty shirts. Small pops of red add the characteristic and necessary ISU identification without being overwhelming. The Avant Garde ITC typeface complements this style and furthers the intention for innovation and experimental thoughts. Yellow is used predominantly in this poster and is one of the earliest colors used in art; historically, it was used in cave paintings and to represent various tonal values like the revered metal, gold. In addition to this historical connection, yellow signifies warm light, which coincides with the ideas of transformation and elevation in knowledge and thinking that the program seeks to promote.
