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Open books and pamphlets are scattered across a bright yellow background. One page features a large, stylised eye illustration in green, white and purple, while another shows the “Esso” and “Coca-Cola” logos.

Graphic Design: It's raining graphic design! Meet the talented Jessica Svendsen

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Date
30 January 2014

When you’re tired on a grey, raining morning such as this one it’s hard to find something that really cheers you up. Sometimes I feel that even if someone gave me a flower on a cold winter morning I’d probably boff them in the face. Hopefully this unbelievable portfolio of colour and informed design from Pentagram’s very own Jessica Svendsen will kick the life back into you as it did me. We came across Jessica’s work on aesthetically-pleasing scroll-fest But Does it Float and were instantly drawn in like horny little bees to a pretty flower when we saw her Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library and Haas Arts Library identity. It’s raining really good graphic design! Come on, Let’s get WET.

A collection of folded papers, brochures and a magazine are scattered across a vibrant blue background. One page features the headline “The Adaptable House: Instead of Limiting the Inhabitants It Grows and Changes with Its”.
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Jessica Svendsen: Proposed identity for displaying archival books from the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library and Haas Arts Library

A collection of open books and pamphlets from the Bauhaus school are scattered across a black background. One prominent page features a photograph of a building and the word “FIAT”, while another reads “MALEREI PHOTOGRAPHIE FILM”.
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Jessica Svendsen: Proposed identity for displaying archival books from the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library and Haas Arts Library

An arrangement of open books and pamphlets on a bright orange background. The pages feature bold, abstract splashes of red and blue ink layered over maps and black and white photography. One cover reads “The Naked City” and another reads “Fin de Copenhague”.
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Jessica Svendsen: Proposed identity for displaying archival books from the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library and Haas Arts Library

Several open books and magazines are scattered across a bright yellow background. The pages are curled and folded, displaying bold graphic designs, logos including “Coca-Cola” and “Esso”, and a stylised bee illustration.
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Jessica Svendsen: Proposed identity for displaying archival books from the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library and Haas Arts Library

A collection of black and yellow brochures and programmes for the “Windham Campbell Prizes”. The covers feature bold, white typographic symbols resembling brackets and curly braces.
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Jessica Svendsen: Identity for the Windham-Campbell Prizes 2013

An invitation card with an orange border and a matching orange patterned envelope. The text reads “Donald Windham Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prizes” and lists event details for 10 September 2013.
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Jessica Svendsen: Identity for the Windham-Campbell Prizes 2013

An open invitation card with a bright orange left page and a white right page. The orange side reads “Prize Ceremony” inside large white brackets, while the white side lists the date “Tuesday September 10” and the venue “Sprague Hall”.
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Jessica Svendsen:

A typographic poster for a talk by “Joel Sternfeld”. The text reads “Monday April 16 2 pm” at “The Pool” for the “Photography Department” at “Yale School of Art”.
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Jessica Svendsen: Joel Sternfeld and Richard Misrach

A green poster with bold white text reads “MONDAY”, “APRIL 16 2 PM” and “JOEL STERNFELD”. Smaller text below the date reads “THE POOL”, while the bottom of the poster reads “PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT” and “YALE SCHOOL OF ART”.
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Jessica Svendsen: Joel Sternfeld and Richard Misrach

A black and white poster for a talk by Richard Misrach. Bold text reads “Wednesday April 18 2 pm” at “The Pool”, with the name “Richard Misrach” appearing in large letters across the centre. Smaller text at the bottom reads “Photography Department Yale School of Art”.
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Jessica Svendsen: Joel Sternfeld and Richard Misrach

An open book with a bright yellow left page and a white right page. The right page contains a block of text under the heading “Decontextualization and Reframing” about using a projector as a design tool.
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Jessica Svendsen: Catalogue Raisonné

An open book displays a grid of fragmented, monochromatic photographs across two pages. The images show distorted silhouettes and close-ups of feet and legs against a pale, textured background.
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Jessica Svendsen: Catalogue Raisonné

An open book shows a grainy, blurred photograph of a person sitting alone in a wide grassy field. Dark, dense trees frame the top and right side of the scene.
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Jessica Svendsen: Catalogue Raisonné

An open book shows a grainy, blurred photograph of a person sitting alone in a wide grassy field. Dark, dense trees frame the top and right side of the scene.
Above

Jessica Svendsen: Catalogue Raisonné

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About the Author

Liv Siddall

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Liv joined It’s Nice That as an intern in 2011 and worked across online, print and events, and was latterly Features Editor before leaving in May 2015.

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