For the past four years, ARTCRANK has worked with Neenah Paper to offer our artists access to new choices in fine papers for screen-printed and letterpress posters. In 2014 we’re following four artists from each of our U.S. shows as they develop their ideas and print them on a Neenah Paper stock. We’ll post these behind-the-scenes poster stories after each event, and share more exclusive content on Neenah Paper’s Against The Grain blog, as well as The Beauty of Letterpress.
Making herself at home in new creative community
ARTCRANK Minneapolis artist Hannah Johnson thinks of herself as at least as much of a verbal communicator as she is a visual communicator, and both influence her creative process. “Design, which has always had its roots in communication, can be a lovely merger of both,” she says.
Hannah has experience working in both editorial design and in a design studio. Recently, she’s made the transition to freelance.
“With less than two years under my belt as a Minneapolis resident, I’m still incredibly impressed by the concentration of quality design studios and amazingly talented designers here.” she said. “For a city of this size, it’s uncommon to have such a saturation, and it’s a fantastic resource for everyone.”
Panic, impatience and glitter handlebars
Stylistically, Hannah tends to be bold, bright, graphic. She’s shape-driven with a vintage-modern feel, and bold textures creep into her work. Her 2014 ARTCRANK poster — and her bike — fits pretty perfectly into this description.
“After riding my newly revamped vintage school-bus yellow 1970s Raleigh out of a bike shop in Philadelphia, I made it about a block toward home, when I decided to turn back around and add custom glitter handlebars. Best. Decision. Ever.”
Her process is bookended by panic and impatience. (She swears it works.) “In between I get started by “sketching” on the computer — I rarely sketch by hand.” Hannah said.
She starts with shapes and colors to get the feel of the layout and then add layers and levels of detail as she goes. “I’m usually working on a couple or more ideas at once to see which one will translate best conceptually and will feed into my stylistic leanings.”
Inspired by a longing for spring
Hannah’s poster was inspired by her first winter in Minneapolis. She thought it was the worst. “All I’d had on my mind since around Thanksgiving was Spring, so I wanted to incorporate a bike wheel into a spring setting in an active and dynamic way. Dandelions seemed right. They’re absolutely everywhere right now.”
With a recent move to Northeast Minneapolis, you can find Hannah wheeling around on her bike, getting her bearings in a new area. She also likes to ride along the Mississippi, too. “Simply put, bikes are just great eye-candy.” she said.
The endless shapes, angles, lines and colors are tools Hannah likes to experiment with in her designs. “When it comes to imaginatively designing or illustrating a poster, bikes are a literal vehicle for endless scenarios.”
“Windblown,” by Hannah Johnson. Printed on Neenah Paper CLASSIC CREST® Cover NATURAL WHITE.
NOTE: Hannah’s poster and the rest of the posters in the ARTCRANK MSP 2014 show are on display and for sale at Handsome Cycles and One On One Bicycle Studio in Minneapolis through Saturday, June 28. Details on the ARTCRANK MSP page.