Plan B: Clip Art Lotería

Over the years, preparing for gallery installs (well, 2D) and art openings has become second nature. It’s a mixture of good old-fashioned to-do lists and flying by the seat of the proverbial pants. Before a show, I run down a mental checklist of all the usual supplies I need. Hammer? Check. Scissors? Check. String? Check. Business cards? Check, etc. Plus contingency plans in the case of improvised display techniques, or “rigging,” euphemistically. Rule #1: Always have a Plan B. My Plan A for yesterday’s AIGA Austin Chapter tradeshow, The Mix, was to display printing samples from the company I work for. I set everything out on my table, and critiqued the layout. Bor-ring! Also, none of the other printers had work samples out, probably for reasons of client secrecy. And so, on to Plan B: Clip Art Lotería. I wanted to not just get people’s attention, but give them an experience to remember myself and the company with, instead of a business card and run-of-the-mill shop conversation. It was also a good outlet for a little personal frustration through poking fun at clip art clichés, and designers love inside industry jokes!


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