research

My first introduction to Marian Bantjes and her work was through her TEDtalk, ‘Intricate Beauty by Design.’ As a second-semester designer, I was just beginning to learn about famous designers and how they changed the field. Bantjes was one of many designers we focused on, but her video and creations resonated with me the most.

Bantjes can create something from nothing— an admirable trait. She believes in sharing the wealth and inspiring others to create. Putting myself in her shoes was not a difficult task for me as we are, at the core, similar people. After browsing through her work, I had some ideas in mind and began piecing together fonts and images to create this design.

design

Using a piece of Bantjes’ work, combined with my own type choices, I put together a publication design that played on her work as a designer. Her color choices are often eclectic but harmonic, so it was fun to experiment with this palette.

I love the patterns she creates, so I wanted to incorporate them throughout the design while leaving enough white space to keep that ‘dainty’ feeling she has in some of her other pieces. I decided to use the patterns as accent pieces around a photo of Bantjes.

For the title, I chose a typeface that had thick strokes and thin serifs, which paired well with the chosen piece. I used a serif typeface for the body text as well, which helped maintain the delicate feeling I was aiming for.