MFA Texas State University
BFA University of Georgia |
Patrick Gosnell is an award-winning graphic designer and an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Austin Peay State University. He earned his BFA in Fine Art Photography from the University of Georgia, and his MFA in Communication Design from Texas State University, where he taught from 2012 – 2015. With an ever-watchful eye, Patrick captures images of vernacular type in every city that he visits, and his research concentrates on international typeface design education. He currently lives in Clarksville, Tennessee with his wife, Karen, and daughters, Jane and Samantha.
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As the opening of the new Art + Design building drew near, Assistant Professors of Graphic Design, Rachel Bush and Patrick Gosnell, sought input from faculty, staff, and students to aid them in designing a new visual identity system for our department. This new system is flexible, optimistic, and bright, reflecting many the department’s core ideals. Aspects of the building’s architecture, such as the rotated axis running through its central corridor, were injected into the distinctive plus sign which joins the words “art” and “design”. The plus sign acts as a container that may be filled with any number of visual patterns, textures, or images—creating a customizable identity that is as diverse as those who work and study in the department. A custom typeface was also created to express all text elements of the department’s branding. The letterforms were designed on a proportional grid derived from the building’ architecture, and the alphabet’s style is monospaced with rounded terminals, which promotes an official, yet friendly, tone in written communication. The visual identity system has been implemented across a variety of collateral, promotional items, and even the new building itself—showing up in signage throughout the building, on t-shirts, stickers, and banners, and featured prominently throughout the newly published student handbook.