the design stalker

THEDESIGNSTALKERthe portfolio ofMelissa Schrenker

BY BECOMING [OR STALKING] THE SUBJECT OF MY DESIGNS AND RELYING ON ALL MY SENSES TO COLLECT INFORMATION, I AM ABLE TO FULLY DEVELOP MY PROJECTS. I THEN LET THOSE FINDINGS PLAY A ROLE IN THE DESIGN.

CONTENTS

SUBJECT 1OBTRUSIVE...pg 7

SUBJECT 2TRY TO STAY AWAKE...pg 17

SUBJECT 3SPLATTER...pg 29

SUBJECT 4OBSESSION...pg 37

SUBJECT 5PUT YOU TO SLEEP...pg 49

SUBJECT 6TASTE TARGET...pg 57

SUBJECT 7BUZZING AROUND...pg 63

SUBJECT 8NO WAY OUT...pg 73

SUBJECT 9COMMUNITY FOCUSED...pg 81

FIRST SPOTTED : October 30th, 2008

PURSUIT TACTICS : Took many pictures

DATE OF CAPTURE : December 18th, 2008

DAILY PATTERNS : Subject cleans camera

equipment, does not stick to a specific sleep

schedule, walks the city every night

NOTES ON PERSONALITY : Subject travels

frequently and makes friends easily. Always

travels with a set of cameras. Likes to experi-

ments with art, and is not bothered by any

one else’s negative opinions.

OBTRUSIVE

SUBJECT 1

BRIEF To capture William Kleins shooting

style, the design of the book compliments his

“in your face” method, using type, grid and

imagery to mimic the emotion in the photo-

graphs. Type invades photos, colors are bold,

images are grainy, and overall the book feels

slightly uncomfortable to thumb through, due

to the overly large and cut off type.

STALKING METHOD To better understand

William Klein’s approach to photography, I cop-

ied his shooting style. Getting into people’s fac-

es, letting high grain take over, and under/over

exposing images. Then, I experimented with my

own “poor shooting” to understand how he felt

when experimenting with his work. I tried differ-

ent lenses, shot hand held with a long shutters

and felt relaxed and creative when shooting.

WILLIAM KLEIN, MASTERS OF THE CAMERA

pg 10 William Klein

The Design Stalker // Melissa Schrenker Subject 1 // William Klein Type Compositions // Carolina de Bartolo pg 11

pg 42 William Klein pg 14 William Klein

The Design Stalker // Melissa Schrenker Subject 4 // William Klein Type Compositions // Carolina de Bartolo pg 43The Design Stalker // Melissa Schrenker Subject 1 // William Klein Type Compositions // Carolina de Bartolo pg 15

FIRST SPOTTED : September 5th, 2009

PURSUIT TACTICS : Physical pursuit


DAILY PATTERNS : Works a 9–5 job. Keeps

to a normal schedule, hangs with friends on

the weekend

NOTES ON PERSONALITY : Is low key from

day-to-day, but likes excitement once in a

while. Enjoys hiking, and being outdoors.

TRY TO STAY AWAKE

SUBJECT 2

BRIEF To bring the work of Wes Craven to life,

this festival gives the attendants a chance to

experience living within a horror movie. They

will be scared, hunted down and terrorized

throughout the weekend. Craven’s movies are

playing, food is be served, people will camp,

all while being in fear of being “killed off”.

The concept of campy horror visually comes

through in the blurred images, dark colors,

and hand-made type out of burnt cork.

STALKING METHOD To better understand

the characters of a Wes Craven movie, I put

myself in the mind-set of the villan, and also

the victim. I first read about psychopaths, and

tried to understand what may be going on in

their head. I then let those findings into my own

thoughts, which felt uncomfortable and wrong.

Doing this step first, allowed me to more easily

understand, and become the victim. I was able

to let the thoughts of “what could happen” take

over. My nightly walks became scary, I did not

enjoy a dark home, and I got little sleep for fear

I would be broken into. These thoughts led me

to the overall idea of the weekend long live hor-

ror fest. It also led me to the dark, confusing

look and feel of the festival design pieces.

CAMP NIGHTMARE

pg 20 Camp Nightmare

The Design Stalker // Melissa Schrenker Subject 2 // Camp Nightmare Integrated Communications // Marc English pg 21

FIRST SPOTTED : September 9th, 2010

PURSUIT TACTICS : Starts up conversations

DATE OF CAPTURE : October 18th, 2010

DAILY PATTERNS : Reads comic books, paints

on canvas

NOTES ON PERSONALITY : Subject enjoys

reading, daydreaming, and being creative. This

subject is interested in bold colors, lines and

the story of comic books. Compelled to defy

those in authority.

SPLATTER

SUBJECT 3

BRIEF Designing a line of paint cans, inspired

by Roy Lichenstein opened up a new market

and audience for the home paint category. The

design positioned the paint in the bold, daring

and interesting category, which did not exist in

one line until now. They are targeted to not only

art lovers, but also the teen and 20-something

market. By using this line of paint a consumer

will feel bold, daring and unique while coating

their walls with a lot of personality. Using Roy’s

comic book artwork we relate to this brand on

a more personal level, because of the fun, artis-

tic and communicative message on the cans.

STALKING METHOD After developing the

basic concept I needed to figure out, and under-

stand, this new product’s unique selling point.

I decided to follow paint shoppers at Home Depot

to understand who the typical audience was.

I quickly discovered these shoppers were not

the same people that would be buying these

fully saturated, bold colors, so I decided to start

following other types of “paint shoppers” to stray

away from the norm. My stalking of the nail pol-

ish isle at CVS, led me to developing, and brand-

ing pop paint to appeal to the teen audience.

POP PAINT

pg 32 Pop Paint

The Design Stalker // Melissa Schrenker Subject 3 // Pop Paint Packaging Design // Thomas McNulty pg 33

pg 34 Pop Paint

The Design Stalker // Melissa Schrenker Subject 3 // Pop Paint Packaging Design // Thomas McNulty pg 35

FIRST SPOTTED : January 29th, 2009

PURSUIT TACTICS : Persistent role playing

DATE OF CAPTURE : May 13, 2009

DAILY PATTERNS : Cleans, goes to the bank

every Monday at 8:42am, prepares dinner daily

with high heat only

NOTES ON PERSONALITY : Subject avoids

public transportation at all costs, keeps to self

and keeps to a set time for most activities.

Subject has a nervous picking habit, which

has resulted in severe lacerations, but refuses

medical care for fear of being admitted to an

un-sterile environment.

OBSESSIONSUBJECT 4

BRIEF OCD causes a person to become para-

noid about the world around them, and even

themself. These feelings come and go, rang-

ing from unbearable, to moderate, but they are

always there. This paranoia makes leaving the

house difficult, and being around others, espe-

cially in public places, unbearable.

The concept for this book communicates the

ongoing obsessions and fears of an OCD suf-

ferer. The clean design has a clinical look,

while the exposed grid reassures the reader

everything is aligned. The page numbering

system allows the reader to count all of the

pages, and easily located which one they are

on. The simple 4-column grid provides a uni-

formed system of organizing the information,

and the dot repetition symbolizes the mellow

obsession contrasted to the type symbolizing

the heightened obsessions.

STALKING METHOD Following my initial

research, I took on the role, and life of an OCD

sufferer. I wanted to understand what it was

like as best I could. I double-checked locks,

appliances, and my back, and cleaned to per-

fection daily. This resulted in an extra 1/2 hour

to my morning routine and a constant feeling of

uneasiness. I became annoyed with, and petri-

fied of, other people. Although I was pretend-

ing, it affected me in a negative way, and I was

happy to be back to normal after the project.

OCD: THE CONSTANT DRONE

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The Design Stalker // Melissa Schrenker Subject 4 // Obsessive Compulsive Disorder][The Constant Drone Type Systems // Carolina de Bartolo pg 41

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder][The Constant Drone

pg 44 Obsessive Compulsive Disorder][The Constant Drone

pg 46 Obsessive Compulsive Disorder][The Constant Drone

FIRST SPOTTED : October 18th, 2010

PURSUIT TACTICS : Preyed while subject slept

DATE OF CAPTURE : November 14th, 2010

DAILY PATTERNS : Spends most nights in,

especially on colder days. Eats lots of salads,

and enjoys monthly massages.

NOTES ON PERSONALITY : Subject is

relaxed, a bit lazy, a slow walker, and a late

sleeper. A hoodie and pajama pants are the

typical outfit worn by this subject.

PUT YOU TO SLEEP

SUBJECT 5

BRIEF Celestial Seasonings is a tea making

company, that values the integrity of not only its

product, but also its business relationships and

carbon footprint. The objective of this re-design

was to reduce the packaging, while allowing the

consumer to more easily use their sense of smell

when choosing a tea. The reusable container

was designed for long-term storage of the tea to

ensure freshness, because most true tea drink-

ers have an array of teas at one time.

STALKING METHOD The company is proud

of the unique illustrations on all of their pack-

ages, which is why I chose to continue with

them in the re-design. What I needed to know

more about was the mood and experience of the

Sleepytime Tea, to understand the best packag-

ing system. To do this, I bought every package

of Sleeptime tea I could find, and kept them with

me everywhere. Averaging about 10-15 cups of

tea a day, caused me to spend most of my time in

the bathroom, but I also spent a lot of time with

the cup cuddled in my hands and to my face.

I enjoyed the tea with all of my senses, because

of the comforting aroma, warm feeling, light

taste, and interesting story on the box. Before

choosing which tea I wanted, I smelled each to

see which one I was in the mood for. This led to

the use of the mesh bags, so we can easily smell

the tea even before we get it into the cup.

CELESTIAL SEASONINGS, SLEEPYTIME TEA

pg 50 Celestial Seasonings

The Design Stalker // Melissa Schrenker Subject 5 // Celestial Seasonings Packaging Design // Thomas McNulty pg 51

FIRST SPOTTED : November 14th, 2010

PURSUIT TACTICS : Sent romantic gifts


DAILY PATTERNS : Makes 3 meals daily, has

an indoor or outdoor fire every night

NOTES ON PERSONALITY : Subject hosts

a family dinner every Sunday, sleeps late on

the weekends, and enjoys a glass of red wine

every night. Subject also enjoys traveling and

keeping active outdoors.

TASTE TARGET

SUBJECT 6

BRIEF The objective of this re-design is to

highlight the history and passion of the compa-

ny and products. The process of making the oil,

from the beginning of growing the olive, is very

important and highly crafted. The label and the

bottle needed to convey that craft by looking

special and presentable.

The current label has many important marks

and symbols that were kept, but reducing the

label size and location, have made those marks

the highlight.

STALKING METHOD My first step to under-

standing the needs of the olive oil package was

to understand the oil. Filipo Berio has three types

of oil to be used for different cooking methods,

therefor I read about, and happily tested each

one. I began to rely on olive oil for every single

meal and this resulted in leaving the oil out on

the counter, rather than in the cabinet. Because

of this, I decided the bottle should be not only

used for function, but should also be a beautiful

shape that compliments the kitchen décor.

FILIPPO BERIO, OLIVE OIL

pg 60 Filippo Berio Olive Oil

The Design Stalker // Melissa Schrenker Subject 6 // Filippo Berio Olive Oil Packaging Design // Thomas McNulty pg 61

FIRST SPOTTED : April 14th, 2010

PURSUIT TACTICS : Hung around

DATE OF CAPTURE : May 19th, 2010

DAILY PATTERNS : A busy worker, rarely

rests, enjoys sweet foods

NOTES ON PERSONALITY : This subject

is very warm and friendly, unless provoked.

If danger is sensed this subject attacks with-

out warning. Aside from this, the subject

tends to stay to themself and keeps busy.

BUZZING AROUND

SUBJECT 7

BRIEF This short book is a simple celebration of

bees, and is meant to educate. The celebration

is brought into the design with the honeycomb

patterns, and the product of bee’s, the honey.

This decorative book is encased in a slipcase

and comes with a keepsake clam shell box. The

accordion fold book reveals cut windows, which

represent peeking into the world of bees.

STALKING METHOD My fascination with

bee’s began before this project started, which

is why I decided to design a book celebrating

and educating about bee’s. My fascination with

bee’s relates to my love of food. We ultimately

need them to survive, but people view them

as a threat and a pest. I admit to seeing them

the same, but eventually became fascinated by

them and have been known to follow a bumble

bee around the yard a time or two. Watching

their dedication to pollination, their slightly

erratic flight pattern, and the fuzzy body led to

my adoration.

B’S

pg 66 B’s

The Design Stalker // Melissa Schrenker Subject 7 // B’s Book Arts // Christine Rolik pg 67

pg 68 B’s

pg 70 B’s

FIRST SPOTTED : November 9th, 2009

PURSUIT TACTICS : Persistent role playing


DAILY PATTERNS : Travels to and from

work during rush hour. Spends lunch time

waiting in lines at the area diner.

NOTES ON PERSONALITY : Subject is

in constant state of panic from the stress of

driving during rush hour. Spends over three

hours on the daily commute. Subject works

downtown and is always waiting in lines, and

working in tight spaces.

NO WAY OUT

SUBJECT 8

BRIEF To communicate the feeling and aggra-

vation of traffic in the design, a few methods

were used. Overall the book was designed to

feel as if it were too big for itself. The book

pages are larger than the cover, the page num-

bers came out of the top because they do not

“fit” inside, and the butterfly fold pages puff out

the book, so it is not easy to close. The closely

packed type and photographs of other conges-

tion instances, helped to further communicate

the concept.

STALKING METHOD To understand what a

daily commute through traffic would feel like,

I chose to drive on highways, while hungry,

during rush hour. The hunger, traffic and feel-

ing of being rushed allowed me to understand

the feeling of overreacting negatively to traf-

fic. I then put myself in other situations where

I would feel congested and realized traffic is felt

even more so when people are on foot. For this

reason, I opened up the photography to show-

case the multiple areas of congestion while

allowing the type and book design to commu-

nicate the impacted feeling.

CONGESTION STUDY

pg 76 Congestion Study

The Design Stalker // Melissa Schrenker Subject 8 // Congestion Study Type Experiments // Lian Ng pg 77

pg 78 Congestion Study

The Design Stalker // Melissa Schrenker Subject 8 // Congestion Study Type Experiments // Lian Ng pg 79

FIRST SPOTTED : June 10th, 2010

PURSUIT TACTICS : Multiple methods used

(following, buying gifts, calling repeatedly)

DATE OF CAPTURE : May 7th, 2012

DAILY PATTERNS : This subject shops for

groceries more than twice a week, enjoys con-

versing with neighbors daily, goes to the gym

three days a week

NOTES ON PERSONALITY : This subject is

a social butterfly, always talking to neighbors,

entertaining friends and chatting up strang-

ers. This subject is always available to lend

a helping hand and take care of anyone in need.

COMMUNITY FOCUSED

SUBJECT 9

BRIEF City Farm is a community and food-

centered retail experience, and the overall

concept highlights this in a number of ways.

The look and feel of all of the pieces is hand-

crafted, un-polished, relaxed and “earthy”.

By designing a custom typeface, designing

food packages to educate, and developing

programs centered around food, the concept

comes through on many different levels.

All of the pieces are used for function, to eas-

ily help the shopper create meals, learn about

nutrition, or to have a shopping bag with

a fun message.

STALKING METHOD I began to learn what

people want from food, by following them

around the grocery store and farmers markets.

I compared their shopping styles, what they

bought, looked at, decided against, and the

slight expressions on their face. I soon began

documentation by snapping photos of shoppers.

The second part involved wearing headphones

with no music on, and listening into conver-

sations. Because of the headphones, people

though I was in my own world, but in fact I

was in theirs. I listened to what they thought

about food, recipes, what was healthy, and

what they enjoyed about foods.

The third part of my stalking involved the food.

I bought new-to-me foods, took them home,

cut them up, took pictures, made up meals,

and devoured them. This was my favorite

part. My floors, counter tops, and my clothes

were always covered in food. My apartment

smelled amazing and I learned how to make

new meals. I also learned what needed to be

added to make City Farm special, and that

was to make it a celebration of food. Overall

the “stalking” taught me what was lacking

with our current food system, and helped me

to develop the multiple programs that run a

City Farm.

CITY FARM

pg 84 City Farm

The Design Stalker // Melissa Schrenker Subject 9 // City Farm Thesis // Matt Moffatt pg 85

pg 86 City Farm

pg 90 City Farm

pg 92 City Farm

WE CAN BUY LOCALLY GROWN ALL YEAR LONG.


WE CAN SHOP AT OUR CONVENIENCE WITH INFORMATIONAL GEAR.


pg 100 City Farm


WE CAN EAT PREPARED MEALS, THAT ARE GOOD FOR US.

pg 104 City Farm


WE CAN TEACH OUR KIDS THE VALUE OF GOOD FOOD.


WE CAN WELCOME THE NEW HARVEST EVERY SEASON.


WE CAN TELL SOME FRIENDS, WHO TELL SOME FRIENDS.

pg 116 City Farm

THEDESIGNSTALKER

I’m awesome, yo! So awesome, that I complete-

ly forgot to write an about me section in my own

portfolio. No biggie, though. It’s not like I’m

planning on sending this to print in two days.

I’ll just be sure to take back a bunch of coffee

and write it before I print. Or maybe, I will leave

this as my bio. Says a lot about me, right?

BOOK DESIGN

Copyright © Melissa Schrenker 2012

PUBLISHED BY

Melissa Schrenker at The Academy of Art University

San Francisco, California

PAPER

Mokawk Premium, matte finish

PRINTED AND BOUND BY

Blurb

PHOTOGRAPHY

Melissa Schrenker

TYPEFACES

Univer, and Serifa

the design stalker

Documents

william klein pg

bartolo pg

subject travels

william kleins approach

stalking method

shooting style

poor shooting

face method