Curator's Collaborator – Graphic Designer

Holding an exhibition can be compared to drawing an organic map. Here, the designer is a co-creator of the map, drawing visual indicators that allow viewers to better grasp the map. The designer's role is to indicate the starting point, destination, and stopovers, showing potential paths just like a net that can be crossed at any time. Depending on the visual grammar drawn by the designer's interpretation, the exhibition’s message can be either powerful or soft to the eye.

– Miji Lee (DCW 2022)

Shin Shin selected and shared five projects from their collaborative works with artists, curators, and institutions deemed interesting from a designer’s perspective. Though the method and content of the five design proposals varied, learning the meticulous design adjustment and detailed communication processes with clients through real-life cases was interesting. I discovered aspects I was unaware of about the Shin Shin designs I saw as a spectator and about this exhibition. By hearing directly from the designers on how they reflected the client's requests and suggested the direction and texture of the designs, I could see and connect the missing dots and fill in the blanks. By showing how the designs pierced the exhibition composition and content and how anecdotes in the program were linked as if an algorithm, the cases offered insight into how to collaborate in a fun and productive way with graphic designers in projects.

– Min Ah Lee (DCW 2022)

We discussed the meaning of design for an exhibition and collaboration with designers. An exhibition is a complex product in which elements such as artworks, text, spectators, and space combine organically to create a new image. As a device conveying the first impression of an exhibition, design attracts visitors and is thus responsible for the before and after of the event. Its function is to form the exhibition's landscape. The greater scope and importance of design have resulted in the need for curators to study the relationship between designer, design, and exhibition just as much as they research artists. Ultimately, this goes beyond whether design is considered as an appendix of the exhibition or a kickstarter of the event.

– Minjoo Lee (DCW 2022)