Graduates
Back to Projects

Shakeel Mohamed

MFA in Graphic Design - 3 Yr Path — Graduate Graphic Design
Course:
501 Graduate Studio 1
Faculty:
Christian Perez-Morin

Mark Rothko Documentary Campaign

I designed a wordmark, posters, and accompanying booklet for a campaign promoting a PBS documentary about Mark Rothko, the abstract expressionist. My design concept was: in memoriam. Depth of research and critique helped me to clarify the forms and vocabulary used throughout the project.
Project Website:
https://shakeelmohamed.com/projects/mark-rothko/
A poster series promoting the documentary episode. By placing content over the paintings, the reader is required to view the painting more intimately.
Extending the identity to a booklet required a special consideration for messaging. I chose the title “Art for Mystics”, based on the following definition for mystical: inspiring a sense of spiritual mystery, awe, and fascination. This sense of awe is due partly to the scale of Rothko’s paintings.
Key spreads from the book, showing my take on typographic layouts. By keeping the layout quiet, the content becomes the primary focus for the reader.
Colors were inspired by the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas. The non-denominational Chapel was one of Rothko’s final projects which he never saw completed.