The Denman and Blackburn galleries, which house the estimable Western Antiquities collection at the San Antonio Museum of Art, are now re-opened to the public. It was my pleasure to work closely with collection curator Jessica Powers, exhibit designer Clifford LaFontaine, and the exhibits department at SAMA on the re-opening. We created a series of interpretive text and map panels, integrating content with case-based and free-standing exhibits of objects from ancient Greece and Rome. Shown is a small slice of our detailed map work, this one tracking the progress of Alexander the Great in his ten year campaign of exploration and conquest.
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Adding fresh fuel to the already hot (haut?) upscale housing market in Southtown, Steel House Lofts has opened their showroom to the public. A loft conversion in the historic Peden Iron and Steel Building, formerly a Wittig’s warehouse, the building is distinctive for its row of columns and asymetric entry space. The developers plan to build about 60 loft condominiums and townhomes within the envelope of the existing building and an added story (townhomes stand alone on the site). Planned finishes are sleek and contemporary, and building amenities will create an urban oasis of tranquility.
Collaborating with the Steel House team, I designed a marketing identity for the loft project that draws from the contemporary sensibilities of the lofts, yet honors the industrial quality of this significant Atlee B. Ayers building. See more at http://updates.steelhouselofts.com/
School starting, fall coming, nice to have a fresh box of colors to work with. Which I got in Mexico. On a two week, 2100-mile driving trip with family and friends, I saw color and wit evident everywhere, some subtle and some not so much. This particular swatch, from the Extreme Turistico Palette, works really well with classic Mexico City green and white VW taxi colors. The taxi is parked near the local market (the most intense sensory experience of the trip). We bought pounds of dried chilis, to bring back another beautiful palette - sabor!
Alamo Architects’ new web site is ready for prime time. Well, beta version at least.
Early on, the firm rejected corporate-looking site design as not a match for them. Accordingly, the new free-form look and feel keeps a little quirkiness in play while adding cleaner navigation in content areas. So, well done, everyone, it’s a wrap… big thanks to the architects for help on the content side, and to Paul Vaughn (the Mac Guy, for those of you who read the paper), www.GraphicsGuy.org, for making the development side a breeze. See the new site at http://www.alamoarchitects.com.
Working from the pool bar at the trendy Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale may just be my new favorite telecommute. Invited for my first visit to Phoenix this June, I met with principals Lynette Pollari and Stephen Thompson of Thompson Pollari Studio. We toured two of the architecture firm’s new projects under construction, a private home in exclusive Paradise Valley, and a multi-family affordable housing project. In between work meetings and site visits we cooled off in the hot spots of Phoenix resort culture, the Arizona Biltmore among them.
The small, progressive group is tightly knit, working intensely to grow their practice. The firm anticipates significant projects to be completed this year, and has been recently published in EcoStructure magazine for their innovative sustainable architecture for Navajo Preparatory School in Farmington, New Mexico. In part to take advantage of this moment in the industry spotlight, Lynette and Steve have retained me to provide a marketing make-over for the ten year old firm. Waiter, how bout another chilled white and a fresh towel?
See Lynette and Steve’s mini-site at http://www.tp-studio.com.
This month, Zeitgraph begins design work on interpretive graphics for the re-installation of the Blackburn and Denman Western Antiquities Galleries at the San Antonio Museum of Art. I am honored to be working with the Museum’s associate curator for western antiquities Jessica Powers, exhibit designer Clifford LaFontaine, and the talented exhibit team at SAMA. The Denman and Blackburn galleries house sculptures and objects of ancient Greek, Roman, and Etrucsan origin. Our map graphics will detail the locations of important archeological sites, and the political boundaries of Greek and Roman civilizations. The galleries will re-open to the public in the spring of 2008.
The Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum received a Mitchell A. Wilder Award at the annual meeting of the Texas Association of Museums this spring for Blazing New Trails, capital campaign materials I wrote and designed for their major 2005-2008 fundraiser. The startup heritage museum found itself in very august company at TAM; other organizations receiving Gold level honors in this category: the Austin Children’s Museum, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. This is the second gold level Wilder Award for Zeitgraph, we received our first in 1998 for a contemporary arts catalog for the San Antonio Museum of Art.
Tonight I had the pleasure of attending the elegant awards program of the International Association of Business Communicators San Antonio Chapter, at the Witte Museum. Keynoting the event, Sheryl Sculley, city manager, cracked open the door to her office, giving a peek into what it’s like getting your arms around a $2B city corporation, in essence, with 12,000 employees. She made it sound so easy… well, not really. Left us all a bit breathless.
In the awards portion of the event, Robert Oliver and I accepted a Bronze Quill Award of Excellence, their top honor at chapter level, for the graphic design of Blazing New Trails, the capital campaign direct mail package we developed for the Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum. Robert is the chairman of the board of this developing local heritage museum, slated to open in 2009.
Last fall, as some of you know, I closed Zeitgraph’s studio to work with an exciting start-up venture up the road in Austin. Well, enough excitement. Having had some incredible learning experiences, I am refocusing on my San Antonio design practice. I am pleased to be working collaboratively with a great team of specialists to serve a growing list of former and new design clients. Together, we are developing projects in print, web and public relations; helping clients to forward their marketing and business goals.
Zeitgraph’s former portfolio web site is overdue for an update, so while that’s being overhauled this humble blog will have to do.
Stay tuned, and see the Contact Zeitgraph page if you would like to be in touch.
– Jenny McChesney | Zeitgraph Inc
