I knew my research for Unbound was going to be extensive. I started at the local library and briefly spoke to a Pennsylvania College of Technology alumni about her own journey working with banned books. This is where she gave me the permission to use the phrase, “Stand with the Banned,” a term she had previously used on a poster. From there, I needed to learn more about where and how books are banned. I used the American Library Association and Penn America for much of my research surrounding where, how, why, and when books are challenged and banned.

I also knew I wanted to create an anthology of banned short stories early on when developing the brand. Gathering these stories was a matter of using free .pdf’s online of each story. Many of them were originally published in magazines, but can now be found on the internet.

The overall design of Unbound is reminiscent of Russian Constructivism Design specifically when it had a resurgence in the USA during WWII. The three posters are the most obvious example of this as they show typical elements of the style—geometric lines, bold colors, large typography, and textured print. Unbound is a bold brand, so I needed a bold style to be able to get their message across. Constructivism is based on principles of construction. A lot of designs in the 1910’s Russia and 1940’s USA look like they are pieced together or “constructed.” This movement takes inspiration from cubism, Futurism, and Dada. This is also present in my posters as the weaponry is “constructed” into the composition. For the rest of my elements, I kept this style in mind, but needed to add a modern feel to them to fit in today’s world of design. This need up with me adding another calligraphic type to contrast the textured sans serif in my posters, and using typographic elements rather than many photographic elements in the designs.