Scope

Publication Design
Art Direction

Introduction

Artist catalog design for Odili Donald Odita, a contemporary Nigerian American abstract painter

Odili Donald Odita is a contemporary artist known for his bold, geometric and colorful abstract paintings. His work explores color both in the figurative historical context and in the sociopolitical sense.

My goal for the artist catalog is to have it be simple enough to highlight the vibrancy of Odita's work while leaving room for playful details that complement his paintings.

The cover features part of his painting Future-Tense (2019). The painting is mirrored in the back to represent Odita's dual identity of being Nigerian American and his approach of fusing elements from both cultures in his art.

The Process

To highlight Odita's intricate paintings, I kept the layout minimal with an abundance of white space. In some spreads like Contents and Chapters, I paid homage to Odita's work by using geometric, angular shapes and bold colors.

The headline typography is elegant and sharp, which also references his paintings.

I researched the artist and compiled all the body copy of the catalogue. The catalogue is divided into 5 chapters, each of which represents an era in Odita's work.

Here and there, the body copy "mirrors" the artwork in some way. Sometimes the text box mimics the work's composition; Sometimes the text box subtly mimics the angle of the painting.