American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions. Since its founding in 1869, the Museum has advanced its global mission to discover, interpret, and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe through a wide-ranging program of scientific research, education, and exhibition.
The Museum is renowned for its exhibitions and scientific collections, which serve as a field guide to the entire planet and present a panorama of the world's cultures.
Interning at AMNH in the Exhibition Graphic Design department has continued to provide me with valuable first-hand experience at one of the world's largest and greatest museums – one that I often visited as a kid growing up in New York. This position has allowed me the opportunity to work alongside talented designers and to assist the head of the department in whatever ways possible.
Working predominantly under the Director of Exhibition Graphic Design has allowed me to understand how the museum is generally structured, both within and beyond the graphics department, and how departments operate behind the scenes.
Beyond working on small projects involving mock-up design, signage layout, and in-house production, I have been given several opportunities to take the lead on creating signage for special exhibitions/assignments. I am particularly grateful to Catharine Weese, the head of the department, for trusting me and for granting me all of the opportunities that I have been fortunate enough to contribute to.
2016 Margaret Mead film festival art installation
The Margaret Mead Film Festival, held at AMNH, celebrates the groundbreaking spirit of legendary Museum anthropologist Margaret Mead. For the 2016 festival, an installation by Samoan artist Dan Taulapapa McMullin, a virtual reality showcase, and a host of new documentary films all aimed to transport and connect viewers to communities around the world.
Under the guidance of the Director of Exhibition Graphic Design, I was tasked with creating the signage that would accompany Mr. Taulapapa McMullin’s art installation, Aue Away.
the power of poison
After being on view in New York from November 2013 to August 2014, AMNH's The Power of Poison exhibit (like many before and after) left the city to travel around the country and throughout the world.
In its travels, the show's contents suffered some accidental damage – specifically to a display of poison butterflies. Unfortunately, the specimens were significantly damaged, and the AMNH Graphics department needed to create a new printed panel to replace the original arrangement.
I was tasked with creating this new layout and design in accordance with the exhibit’s graphics style guide.
Though printed images may never replace actual specimen, I believe that this updated butterfly panel fit cohesively within the rest of the exhibit. This new panel was able to maintain much of the original layout and information while incorporating new graphics such as the smaller/secondary butterflies as well as one of the background textures used throughout The Power of Poison.
¡Cuba!
The special exhibition ¡Cuba! explores the extraordinary biodiversity across the island’s remote forests, mysterious caves, expansive wetlands, and dazzling reefs through immersive exhibits that have been developed with colleagues at the Cuban National Museum of Natural History. The Museum's first ever bilingual exhibition highlights Cuba’s culture, its people, and its history.
¡Cuba! was particularly interesting for me to work on, having studied Cuban film at Tulane with Dr. Ana López, the director of the Cuban and Caribbean Studies Institute. I believe that this class had a powerful effect on my understanding of photography and design elements throughout film and cinematic history, in Cuba and elsewhere.
Banners
Since my start at the Museum in June 2016, I worked on the layout, cropping, and editing of the people banners throughout the ¡Cuba! exhibition. These photo banners present a broad range of Cuban identities. The main focus here was on how visitors would match up in relation to the figures' line of sight as well as their stance and surroundings.
coral reef, find the fish identification cards
These cards were created to encourage visitors to take a closer look at the various spaces and models found throughout the ¡Cuba! exhibit.
I was tasked with creating the graphics and layout for the bilingual identification cards found coral reef section of ¡Cuba!
These cards had to align with the exhibition's established color palettes and halftone/screen-print aesthetics (found on all of the various ID cards).
origami holiday tree
An annual tradition for more than forty years, OrigamiUSA decorates a new holiday tree each year with hundreds of paper models.
The theme of 2016’s tree was Origami Dinosaurs Among Us, with models inspired by AMNH's exhibitions ¡Cuba!, Dinosaurs Among Us, and Crocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World.
I was tasked with creating signage for the 2016 Origami Holiday Tree, keeping consistent with the preceding signs' styles.
Mummies
Mummies was developed by The Field Museum, Chicago. The exhibit is traveling to New York for a stay at AMNH from March 20, 2017 - January 7, 2018. The exhibit brings visitors face to face with ancient individuals and reveals how scientists are using modern technology to glean stunning details about them and their cultures.
I worked on creating introductory signage, a title banner and donor panel, featured at the beginning of the exhibit.
Gallery Banner & donor panel
"Sushi Squares"
Throughout the Museum, there are information panels that identify the various exhibits on view and assist guests in navigating their way around.
The square panels that make up these information boards are known as "sushi squares" in the Exhibition Graphics Department. I was tasked with the in-house production of the squares for both ¡Cuba! & Mummies - as well as the initial design of the Mummies square.
