The intent was to design a catalogue that would attract the brightest potential applicants to the college (ages eighteen to twenty-three). On the visual side, the strategy was to design a book-as-object that would interest students of industrial design; that would reflect and define the current state of graphic and typographic design for the next generation of graphic designers; to demonstrate an innovative use of photography; and that would have enough “edge” for fine artists, and so on. Overall, the creative strategy was to present Art Center as a vibrant, multidisciplinary environment in which to study and prepare for a career in the creative professions.

Our most significant parameter last year, unfortunately, was economic. The budget for the catalogue was cut by 25 percent after the initial design was already completed. No copy could be cut, so the pacing of the book became especially challenging. Criteria that influenced the design included a decision not to attempt to top the idiosyncratic 1994–’96 catalogue, but to uphold the standard of quality established in previous years.