Sharing Dreams/Compartiendo Sueños 2008:
Design in Music/Diseño en la Música

Todd Childers

My poster celebrates the music of Nueva Trova, specifically the work of song writer and musician Silvio Rodr’guez. Rodr’guez is represented by the silhouetted guitar player near the center of the poster. The dominant image in the poster is located immediately above the representation of Rodr’guez, in an image of voice bubbles "morphing" into shaded three dimensional clouds and then finally into a dove.

I selected the dove, a symbol of hope and peace in western culture, in light of the content found in Rodr’guez's songs, many of which deal with social, political or topical issues. I have long felt that any artist who endeavors to write songs on challenging social issues does so in the hope of promoting a better world.

In my design practice I often research vernacular and/or historical sources as a venue for connecting with the audience(s) for virtually all of my designs. In keeping with this key component of my design process, the poster alludes to the work of several of famous Hispanic and Cuban artists and designers. For example, the deep perspective landscape is inspired by Salvador Dal’, while the previously discussed dove is inspired by the famous "Blue Dove" drawing by Pablo Picasso. The work of Cuban graphic designers is seen in the bright Pop Art color scheme and expressive halftone screens.

In summary I am with happy with how my poster has synthesized multiple styles, periods and vernaculars in to a vibrant and coherent design.

Bio

Todd Childers is a tenured Associate Professor of Graphic Design at the School of Art at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. He is originally from Western North Carolina and has been a member of the BGSU Graphic Design Faculty since 1994.

Todd’s educational background includes earning two degrees in graphic design. He earned a Master of Fine Art in Visual Communication from California Institute of the Arts in 1993. In 1986 Todd earned a Bachelor of Environmental Design in Visual Design degree from the North Carolina State University School of Design.

Todd’s designs have been recognized in major exhibitions and collections. Several poster designs were selected for the Graphisme Collection of the Bibliotech Nationale in Paris in 2005. International exhibitions that have included his designs are the Siggraph Digital Art Gallery in 2000 and American Center for Design 100 Show in 1995. Since 1993 his designs have been published in 23 graphic design journals. Most notably, six of Todd’s designs were selected for Steven Heller’s Letterforms: Bawdy, Bad and Beautiful and three typeface designs were published in Graphis’s Digital Type.