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The 1999 Design Insights Lecture Series poster for the Walker Art Center (co-presented by AIGA Minnesota) is simply the most thorough and exhaustively produced poster I have seen in my day. Thus the poster is a deserving addition to our Flat Files collection.
With the informational side of the poster designed by Daniel Eatock and Andrew Blauvelt and its opposite side including an intensive drawing by Conny Purtill, this poster appears to have required the full attention and the contributions of the entire Walker design and editorial staffs. With such a well-crafted and carefully considered poster as proof, their efforts are hard not to appreciate.
Intended to act as a regional and informational “guide” for the out-of-town lecturers, the shear information overload (which could be considered a theme of Eatock’s work) of the poster references the overwhelming nature of traveling to a large city and being presented with a disproportionate number of resources about the city. Conny Purtill’s mosaic pencil drawing of an airplane in flight (best viewed from a distance) also compliments the informational side of the poster in regards to the reference of traveling as well as in its obsessive nature, its relation to “making” and in the attention to detail.
The amount of content showcased on this poster is more on par—in terms of the research, structural and editorial work required—with a small book. To give you an idea of the extent and depth to which this poster extends to, here is a sampling of what is included:
– Full lecturer biographies (with footnotes)
– A detailed description of the selection process and the meetings that were held to discuss the lecturers
– A short history of the AIGA
– A 21 paragraph description of AIGA’s Standards of Professional Practice
– Information about AIGA memberships, conferences, competitions, initiatives and much more
– The Walker Art Center’s Mission Statement
– A history of the Walker Art Center
– A list a practical information about the Walker (such as information on admission, gallery hours and how to contact the Walker)
– A complete column detailing the types of Walker memberships available
– An comprehensive collection of regional information including travel information, parking, airport, taxi and bus information, information about weather conditions and safe winter driving, as well as a listing of hotel accommodations, restaurants and clubs
– A description of the Walker Auditorium, its rules and an inventory of each lecturers audio-visual technical needs
– A column of 27 informative footnotes
– A glossary containing 15 entries from sources including the Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary and Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary
– A large listing event and design credits as well as a printer credit which specifies the press used, the paper size, the inks used, the folded size, the folding machine used and the number of posters printed.
