DIALOGUES: A Soviet Poster Show
In 1989, Ron Miriello acquired 300 original posters from the Secretary to the Union of Soviet Artists, and in 2015 wanted to showcase a handful of the historical posters next to contemporary posters created by San Diego's finest designers. The students of the portfolio class of that year were tasked with putting on an exhibition at the City Gallery on campus, where the show would start out before traveling the world.
Service
Print Design, Exhibit Design, Brand Identity Systems
Role
Collaborated from concept to final production
Client
Ron Miriello, San Diego City College
Year
2015
A Proposal of Posters
An idea was brought to the class to display the original
Soviet posters next to contemporary posters created by several San Diego designers. The juxtaposition between
the two types of posters was designed to foster a conversation about politics, foreign policies, and how
society influences the designs of its times.
The students needed to come together to create an exhibition from start to finish in three months, including social media marketing, wayfinding signage, gallery design, event management for the opening night, and creating paraphernalia to sell in the shop.
Plans & Projects
After creating a design language for the entire exhibit, the students separated into several teams: social media management, environmental design, event management for the opening night event, and designing and creating accouterment. I worked in several groups as needed: I designed the cover for the catalog and the page layout for the interior and helped in the print process. I also helped create the vinyl for the gallery's decor, put up the vinyl wall wraps, and positioned posters and signage. I was a greeter for the opening night event and helped manage the gallery shop after it opened.
A Radiant Result
Over the next several years, the exhibit would go on to show in several cities and even in Colorado. The show will feature at the La Jolla Historical Society gallery in 2022.
Follow the Dialogues: Soviet Poster Show here.
The Soviet Poster Show Story / AIGA San Diego, Ron Miriello
"A fast-paced look at how AIGA/San Diego and Ron Miriello worked with Moscow in 1989 to collect a historic time-capsule of over 100 original Soviet posters marking Glasnost and Perestroika. The poster collection is now among the most comprehensive collections on the subject and marks a unique period in US/Soviet and the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) history. sovietpostershow.com"
– Ron Miriello
