Jonathan Franzen poster by Kyle McGuire

Jonathan Franzen Poster

This poster was commissioned to promote a reading by author Jonathan Franzen for the California College of the Arts MFA in Writing program.

The design is based on the idea that Franzen uses his powers of keen observation —expressed through bird watching, a professed interest— of the nuances of daily life (empty coffee cups) and applies this frenetic energy to his writing to produce scrupulously rendered portraits of contemporary life.

The poster design was conceived, completed, and delivered to a very pleased client within three days of receiving the initial commission.

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Creative Process Diagram by Kyle McGuire
Creative Process Diagram detail by Kyle McGuire

Creative Process Diagram

This project involved mapping out and creating a representative diagram to trace the major aspects of the creative process encountered while solving a design challenge. The diagrammatic model allows for a strategic evaluation of the creative process and what steps are necessary to bring the project through the steps of conception to refinement and completion.

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Art and Artifact in Africa Typographic Poster by Kyle McGuire

Art and Artifact in Africa Typographic Poster

The design of this poster was limited to black and white typography. The challenge was to layout the text in a visually compelling way that enhanced and supported the meaning of the words. The text was provided from Arthur C. Danto’s essay Art and Artifact in Africa and addressed the relationship between an object’s formal attributes and its meaning.

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Visual Language Exercise Poster 1 by Kyle McGuire
Visual Language Exercise Poster 2 by Kyle McGuire

Visual Language Exercise Posters

The goal of these two experimental posters was to create a unique visual language from limited source material. Using only a photocopier and xacto knife, a set of found images were remixed into a dynamic composition.

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Noir Urban Experience Poster by Kyle McGuire
Noir Urban Experience Poster Detail 1 by Kyle McGuire
Noir Urban Experience Poster Detail 2 by Kyle McGuire

Noir Urban Experience Poster

This poster uses analog methods of generating typography to maximize its expressive potential. Photography was used to create the type and imagery. The poster recalls the feeling of walking through a city on a rainy night as lights rush by.

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San Francisco Architectural Heritage House Tour Poster by Kyle McGuire
San Francisco Architectural Heritage Saturday Walks Poster by Kyle McGuire
San Francisco Architectural Heritage Sunday Walks Poster by Kyle McGuire

San Francisco Architectural Heritage Posters

I designed this series of large format posters to help San Francisco Architectural Heritage promote their neighborhood walking tours and the docent-lead tours of the their historic house museum, the Haas-Lilienthal residence. The posters use photos from Heritage’s archive and 19th-century-style typography to allude to the history people will experience on the tours.