I was sad to hear that the artist Jan Johnson passed away in 2011. I was a fan of the man, and of his work. I had the pleasure to meet him ten years ago, and photograph his back yard sculpture garden. In my brief interactions with Jan, he was a generous and interesting man. A Vietnam vet, whose experiences in the war influenced his work. Much love to his widow, organic farmer Mary Alice.

To better understand the Victoria Academy of Ballet before starting their visual design, I visited a small class, met the students, witnessed the training, snapped some images.

The building of this booklet actually spanned a few months. We explored the library of existing photographs, took new photographs, wordsmithed the language, experimented with a couple dozen variations of the logo.

Some of the working drafts had stronger photography and visual design, in my opinion. But our aim wasn’t to make a visual design showpiece, our aim was to favour the photos which told the story of the school and the posture of the dancers.

I loved being involved. I’d never been close to ballet previously, and I can’t help being pretty humbled and enchanted now that I’ve had some decent exposure. I know that for many graphic designers, it’s the craft of design that they love. I share that love. But I think that’s only half of it. It’s the exposure to so many worlds through our different client jobs, that’s what makes this such a wicked job.

mix of existing photography & Rocketday’s photography;
layout & design by Emrys, supported by Rocketday’s Jocelyn Mandryk