Shakespeare’s Globe Theater Poster, Graphic Thought Facility, 2005, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Since the early 1990s, Graphic Thought Facility (GTF), a London-based graphic design studio has been at the forefront of spearheading graphic design solutions centered on the expressive power of image and typography. For this series of posters for the Globe Theatre in London, GTF subverted standard representations of theater performance. Rather than capture performances on stage, for the 2003 and 2004 season, GTF asked photographer Nigel Shafran to capture images of actors backstage, putting on their costumes or resting in the Green Room. The photographs are unexpected and provide a rare glimpse of quiet moments behind the scenes. In 2005 the studio turned the lens to the audience, capturing the vivid expressions of theatergoers and prompting the viewer to imagine what is happening on stage. Gift of Graphic Thought Facility Size: 78 × 52 cm (30 11/16 × 20 1/2 in.) Medium: Paper

Gary Hume New Art Close-Up 1, Graphic Thought Facility, 2004, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Cohesive layouts and modular frameworks provide the underpinning of an identity in a publication series. Each of these three series illustrates different frameworks employed by the British graphic design firms Graphic Thought Facility (GTF) and A Practice for Everyday Life (APFEL). Identical elements such as the use of typeface, color, and layout combined with unique components such as photography or color to distinguish one edition from another are featured in each series. British-based GTF used a unique, folded tab cover that shapes the framework of design for the New Art Up-Close series on internationally known living artists. The tabs hold the information of the publication—the title on the front cover and the description and ISBN number on the back cover. Behind the tabs, full bleed prints of the artist’s work fill the front cover with a portrait of the artist on the back. In the Exhibition Histories series, the approach by APFEL is straightforward, with a consistent layout and typeface; each edition is distinguished by a unique color for the text and spine. The Happy Hypocrite, also designed by APFEL, unifies the varied full-bleed graphics that wrap each cover with the same placement and typeface for the title of each book. However, the fifth edition diverges from this format—the title of the book is enlarged and wraps around to the back cover as part of the background image, yet still retains essential components of the framework to identify with the series. These designers use multiple approaches to insert distinguishing characteristics in order to develop unique editions within a unified series. Gift of Graphic Thought Facility Size: 15 × 11 × .6 cm (5 15/16 × 4 5/16 × 1/4 in.) Medium: Paper

Habitat Catalogue: Autumn/Winter 2001, Graphic Thought Facility, 2001, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Gift of Graphic Thought Facility Size: 33 × 24 × .32 cm (13 × 9.5 × 1/8 in.) Medium: Paper

Antoni & Alison Post it Note Poster, Graphic Thought Facility, 1994, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Gift of Graphic Thought Facility Size: 77 × 52 cm (30 × 20 1/2 in.) Medium: Paper

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Program for "The Storm," by William Shakespeare, Graphic Thought Facility, 2005, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Gift of Graphic Thought Facility Size: 16.5 × 24 × .8 cm (6 1/2 × 9 1/2 × .2 in.) Medium: Paper

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Program for “The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare, Graphic Thought Facility, 2003, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Gift of Graphic Thought Facility Size: 16.5 × 24 × .8 cm (6 1/2 × 9 7/16 × 5/16 in.) Medium: Paper

Habitat Christmas Press Release Poster, Graphic Thought Facility, 2002, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Gift of Graphic Thought Facility Size: 67 × 50 cm (26.4 × 19.6 in.) Medium: Paper

Habitat Catalogue: Autumn/Winter 2001, Graphic Thought Facility, 2001, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Gift of Graphic Thought Facility Size: 33 × 24 × .32 cm (13 × 9.5 × 1/8 in.) Medium: Paper