Dianne Saumenig

This project was all about creating a comfortable and engaging orientation experience for new students to the university. Using a system of playful icons, student guides, tote bags and buttons, the experience was intended to be useful to new students without being overpowering with too much technical information. I worked closely with staff writers to also help develop a more casual tone to presenting information to students.

Role: Designer & Art Direction

Pocket guide branding, design, and layout for the annual Savannah Film Festival hosted by Savannah College of Art and Design.

Role: Design & Art Direction

How to advertise for an art school with international campuses while celebrating it’s heritage?

In collaboration with staff photographers and copy writers I designed a print ad celebrating the southern roots and international branches of the university. SCAD started in Savannah, Georgia and has expanded to include several locations across the globe.

Role: Designer

Invitation design for the university's annual SCADSEEN Gala, held on the Atlanta, GA campus. This gala highlights fashion student's work and designer Zac Posen served as an honorary chair of the event.

The invitation features a custom blind deboss, a custom die-cut for the branding of the gala and was printed using foil stamping on French Paper's Razzleberry stock.

Role: Designer

Design and layout of the Vectorworks 2017 What's New brochure.

Each year the company launches a new version of the signature software offerings. The What's New Brochure serves as a central piece of marketing collateral highlighting the newest features of the latest software release.

Role: Designer

The Vectorworks product flipbooks serve as small introductions to the company’s family of software products.

The layout is designed to be navigated with ease, using smaller easily-digestible amounts of copy and large memorable headings throughout. Various graphic treatments, such as a diagonal element used for larger blocks of color or image containers, carry throughout much of the corporate materials.

Several factors guide the design decision making process: the collateral usually needs to be translated into several different languages. Designing a universal layout to be utilized across various regions presents interesting challenges and careful planning in the ideation phase.

Role: Designer

Working with the lead event planner for SCAD’s Commencement ceremonies, we worked to provide a more memorable commencement program for graduating students. The university had historically used a very business-like appearance for the commencement programs.

Having graduated from the university myself, I brought my own experience as a SCAD graduate into play in making design decisions for this project. A few colleagues were also SCAD grads whose feedback throughout the process helped guide the design. As we discussed the challenges and possibilities, I quickly developed several iterations of what this program could become.

Throughout the process, I found a solution that presented the graduates with unique keepsakes worthy of their hard work and dedication as future creative leaders.

The front cover was blind debossed, I chose a custom French Paper color for the fly sheet within the program, and silver ink was used throughout to add a sense of whimsy and elegance.

Role: Design & Art Direction

Marquee poster design for the university's annual student fashion showcase, SCADFASH.

Role: Designer

Cyber Monday sales campaign for Vectorworks. I designed several emails and series of landing pages to create a cohesive sales experience for new and existing customers. Collaborated with front-end and back-end web developers to turn this campaign around within a tight deadline.

Role: Designer

The landing page for General Device Type Format, known as GDTF. The goal of this simple landing page was to introduce the idea and present the concept of GDTF to help gain support throughout the industry and allow an easy way to navigate to the GDTF wiki page for developers. This has begun to make a huge impact on the workflow of lighting designers and manufacturers. I also created a visual asset page to pass off to the global back-end development team who set-up this page along with file icons to be used for the open source files.

https://gdtf-share.com

Role: Designer

I Less Than Three You or I <3 U: Examining Personal Communication in the Digital Age

My thesis is published on the SCAD online library in the Graduate Thesis Collection.

In the current age of digital communication, we are supporting an environment where we now cater to technology; we adjust our language to fit pre-determined, human-designed interfaces. Technology should adjust to our needs, not the other way around. The future generations will learn from us, and we are responsible for setting up the communication landscapes they will inherit.

Video: [Dis]connect 2 [Re]connect

This is documentation of the visual component for my MFA Thesis; I created an experiential installation that was only available for the one-night exhibition. Highlighting the experience and reception, included in the video are comments from Professor Robert Newman, former Graphic Design Faculty at SCAD Savannah.

Design for the university's annual International Festival celebrating the diversity among the SCAD community.

I wanted this design to be playful with a slightly nautical feel, as Savannah is on the east coast and 20 minutes from the beach. Also, I wanted to get away from a typical "world" theme which would include an image of a globe or people holding hands and opted for something a bit more abstract.

Role: Designer & Art Direction

Vectorworks lighting designers and engineers participated in the Rock-in-Rio in 2016 in Portugal. The goal of this design was to provide a shirt for all Vectorworks employees and any co-sponsors for the Vectorworks Lighting design booth. These are a few of the options I came up with for the event.

Role: Designer

Posters design for various academic initiatives at the university.

Role: Designer

I had the opportunity to have a photo shoot and design the website for a Savannah-based beauty salon. [Unfortunately, this salon is no longer in business, and the website is no longer live]

Role: Photograper, Website Design, Art Direction

T-shirt design for the university's Hong Kong campus.

Role: Designer

GrowEatRepeat is designed for those living in small urban settings with little or no room to garden. By presenting a growing and composting system in one, the goal of GrowEatRepeat is to provide a full-circle experience; one which Starts with one small plant and blossoms into a lifetime of seeking out healthier eating habits and more connectedness with the environment.

This project taught me the value of seeking out user experiences and expert opinions on subject matters with which I am not intimately familiar. I compiled a series of personal surveys and read books on gardening in small spaces. I met with dieticians, composters, and gardeners. I created rapid prototypes to allow for user testing. This product evokes an eco-chic sensibility by combining clean, minimal design with hand-drawn illustrations and warm, earthy colors. Surprises of color appear throughout the interior packaging, printed on recycled paper (and intended to be printed with soy-based inks).

The entire contents of the package are compostable. The product consists of a white ceramic container, seed planter, soil, seeds, Bokashi composting mix, charcoal filter, and composting lid. The idea behind the process is to remove all of the contents, plant the seeds in the small planter, and begin composting immediately in the outer container. Once composting is complete (per included instructions), the entire small plant (planter included) transplants into the compost (mixed with soil). The purchase of another plant kit/container allows the use of the lid from the first kit to recycle the process.

Role: Design research, art direction, design

A historic local record shop in Baltimore, MD, The Sound Garden, held a t-shirt design contest for it’s 25th anniversary.

My designs were unfortunately not selected, but I had a blast work ing on something that was close to my heart and could contribute to the local music community.

Role: Designer

I truly love being able to contribute to special times of celebration in people’s lives. I have been fortunate enough to have been asked to design various invitations for weddings, baby showers, bridal showers, birthday parties and more.

I feel very lucky to be able to use my skillset in a way that brings true joy to someone’s life experience.

Role: Design & Art Direction

For this project, I chose to create a visual comparison between typography and music. By incorporating photographs of various musical instruments (tools for sound) juxtaposed with various typefaces (tools for visual language), I created a cohesive layout that anyone, regardless of prior typographic knowledge, could read from and learn. I completed all the photography, illustration, and production of this book.

Role: Art direction, photography and design

Graduate Student Project, SCAD

For this project we were to use only two typefaces, two spot colors and create a series of six stand-alone prints all surrounding a singular subject matter. The goal was to find quotes or lyrics that pertained to our subject choice and create a system of design through the six pages. These pages were to function as part of a visual design system, yet also serve as stand alone visual communications. With the two typefaces we chose, we were to work with layout and typographic forms to create a more experimental design. I chose philosophy as my subject matter. I am very interested in philosophy and enjoy learning about it. I found several quotes and pieces of poetry that I felt most embodied my concept. I wanted the pages to start out simple and build to a deeper more layered and complex layout.

After sketching and designing a series of six key glyphs for four different type classifications, I chose one set (sans-serif) and developed that into an entire uppercase typeface.

I wanted to maintain a bit of the trace of the human hand in developing this digital type. I used Adobe Illustrator to draw out the letterforms from my hand-drawn sketches, and then, FontLab Studio to complete the typeface. I learned how to create open type features, create kerning pairs, and along with an entire uppercase alphabet, also developed numerals and punctuation.  (And, honestly, it is really exciting to see the font you created in a WYSIWYG character selection menu!)

Role: Design

These pieces are a culmination of discussing design methodologies, creating hand-made visuals and learning how to translate what we had created into a refined visual communication. Along with hand-made artwork, I completed several posters and the final project, which was a handmade book. The goal for the book was to be experimental and not be overly concerned with mass-production possibilities. One theme that stood out to me was the idea of walking a fine line between graphic design and fine art—from which I derived the title, Thin Line.

Role: Design research, art direction, photography and design

Dynamic typography as an animated narrative scene from the movie, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Project assigned and completed within a 2-week timeframe; allowing very little time for a large learning curve. Requirements called for the use of only typography and minor vector imagery per the designer’s concept and synchronizing this animation with sound using only Adobe Flash. 

Role: Design and animation

CD set and poster for a fictitious 40th anniversary concert tour for Miles Davis’ album, Bitches Brew. The ideation process likened to the development of Davis’ music itself. Finding a way to make the typeface, Univers, more unique, the removal of several crossbars on letterforms proved a simple change that creates a powerful impact. The final poster and CD set represent Miles Davis’ ideals and the artistry of his album, Bitches Brew. His album is an iconic masterpiece that would forever alter the landscape of jazz music. The poster and CD represent the quality and attention to detail with a touch of fusion and free-form image creation inspired solely by the very music it represents.

Role: Design research, art direction, photography and design

I have long been drawn to the psychedelic posters of the 60’s & 70’s and the peace movement of that time. (I think I am a flower-child at heart.) Since we currently find ourselves in a somewhat consistent state of war in many parts of the world, I wanted to create a fictitious event promoting peace through music and art. Inspired by the beauty offered in Savannah’s downtown landscape, I took my camera everywhere I went. I thought that there could be no better illustration of beauty and peace than a flower in full bloom. 

Role: Art direction, photography and design

Identity and brand development for a wellness business based on the principles and philosophies of yoga, with a threefold focus: mind, body and spirit. Project includes the creation of company logo, stationery set, identity manual and product packaging.

The word “bodha” (pronounced boh-dah) is the Hindi word for ‘wisdom’. The logo mark is composed of hand-drawn typography intended to feel both organic and grounded.

I created a “meditation bento box” to carry forth the ideals of the company. Using natural elements of wood combined with modern elements of vellum, this product communicates a modern, clean design that carries over from the identity development.

The brand identity manual helps to ensure the brand’s consistency both internally and when items are handed off to an outside vendor.

This project was created during my graduate studies at SCAD.

Role: Design research, art direction, layout design, brand development, packaging design

I am a sucker for a Didone-style typeface. Bauer Bodoni is one of my top five favorite fonts. Since it carries its own strong personality, finding a project in which to employ it has not come along too often. This project required me to choose any typeface I wanted and create a printed type specimen poster. What better outlet to use a typeface I love than in a communication intended to focus on the typeface itself?

Role: Art Direction and design

Pan's Labyrinth Movie Poster

Pan’s Labyrinth, is one of my all-time favorite movies, so I was delighted for the opportunity to work on a related project for a Poster Design course at SCAD. The film is essentially a fairy tale for adults;  a quite complex story—visually the movie is both dark and poetic. I wanted to somehow capture that feeling. I had to create my own images that could clearly depict the message of the movie, without the Hollywood resources of still photos from the film. Using a DSLR, ink and, a vase of water, I experimented with image creation and illustration.

Role: Art direction and design

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival Poster

The Sheep & Wool Festival poster won 2nd place in 2003 for the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival Cover Art Contest. While my poster was not used, I was excited to have my primarily typographic poster beat out so many of the traditionally utilized poster image styles (painting, photography, etc.)

Role: Art direction and design

Shakespeare in the Park Poster

The Shakespeare in the Park poster was a student piece and my first attempt at completing my own illustration back in my undergrad days.

Role: Art direction and design

La Bohème Opera Poster

The poster for the opera, La Bohème, is the first project I completed as I began my graduate education at SCAD.

Role: Art direction and design

Vinyl Appreciation Night Savannah Event Poster

The Vinyl Appreciation Night Poster was for a Savannah local monthly event. Vinyl Appreciation meets once a month and is starting to experience a lot of success and branch out in the downtown Savannah area.

Role: Art direction and design

I was assigned the typeface, Officina Sans, for this project on typographic exploration. The goal was to study the typeface glyph shapes, combine them to see what kind of imagery or patterns we could see, and develop a full set of 52 playing cards utilizing only typography. Originally designed for office correspondence, this typeface holds its legibility when printed in a low-resolution output. While designed for a corporate and business-minded communication, this type, to me, also lends itself to a more casual voice.

The weight of the strokes of the letterforms reminded me of the work of 20th century contemporary artist, Keith Haring. Whether this was the full intention of the typeface designer or not, it is the outcome I reached after examining the letterforms and their unique relationship to each other and the world in which they reside, in this case, a set of playing cards. I chose colors consistent with Keith Haring’s work and employed a system of color designation to differentiate suits in the deck. The completed set, branded as a limited edition set of playing cards inspired by Keith Haring’s work, successfully showcases the nuances of the typeface, Officina Sans.

Role: Art direction, research and design