/ Theatre Design Degree Show Catalogue /

Client: UAL - The University of the Arts London / Project type: Book Design

The Central Saint Martins within UAL offers a BA (Hons) Performance: Design and Practice - an interdisciplinary performance course for students developing both live and screen-based practices. This program focuses on performance-makers and the makers of performance, exploring both live and screen-based practices, challenging long-established models of authorship encouraging work that is experimental.

We were asked to design the Degree Show Catalogue for the Academic Year 20001-2002. The course students graduate into wide ranging careers in performance-related industries , so we decided to focus on the idea of performance and multiple scenarios, both literally and metaphorically. The catalogue is designed as a set of cards. One side is coated white and features student’s work printed in duotone. The other side is light brown and left uncoated, printed in monotone with the student’s contact details, their picture and a word/sentence of their choice. The choice of materials is effective both visually and in terms of costs.

Slotting into each other, the cards give shape to many different ‘theatre stages’ and provide also a different narrative at any new combination. In facts, the sentence or words, running horizontally on each card do form a unique meaning at each construction. We could say that the catalogue performs a new performance each time, very much as the graduating students do in their career.

The cards, taken singularly, function as business cards. The package of the 45 cards is vacum-packed in clear film, held together by a thick brown elastic band with printed title. The set includes: course information card, game instruction card and the invitation to the private view.

Graphics and concept: Stefania Trofino, Stefanie Schneider, Daniel Koch and Karl Bolander.