‘When Dada Meets…’ Changran Du
“Curious, passionate and hard-working, Changran Du is the ideal SCAD graduate student,” says professor Melissa Kuperminc, Du’s thesis chair. “Her empathetic spirit is a hallmark of her work, and her innovative projects are gaining notice in the greater design community.”
This year, the International Design Awards (IDA) honored Du (M.F.A., graphic design) with the IDA Gold Award for her speculative exhibition catalog, ‘When Dada Meets…’ created in Kuperminc’s graduate level class Design Research, Analysis, and Discourse (GDVX 701). Du’s award-winning catalog is comprised of three books, held together with a belly band, that explore how Dada principles influenced Surrealism, Constructivism and DeStijl. “The innovative format for an exhibition catalog, along with Changran’s attention to design and detail, make this project stand out,” says Kuperminc.
The GDVX 701 assignment was to create an exhibition catalog and design accompanying collateral including posters, banners, and badges, and write a research paper examining visual communication theories from 1900 to present.
Du explains her process: “While doing research, I was fascinated by how Dada was influencing and being influenced by Constructivism and Surrealism and De Stijl. They all have their own language, yet are in dialogue with Dada. The title ‘When Dada Meets…’ came to me naturally, because Dada is for me like a person — you meet someone, you should shake hands.”
An interior spread of ‘When Dada Meets…’ reveals type bleeding past edges of pages. “I wanted to make it very loud,” Du says. “I went to the SCAD library and scanned in typefaces from 1920s art books, then transited them into my computer, traced them, created a vector, and made my own interpretive typography. That page says WHEN CHAOS MEETS HARMONY, which is my central theme.”
The catalog also contains hidden design details: “The cover is actually two pages folded over, so you can open the space slightly, and when you open it up you see the solid red color inside.” Du used matte, 10% gray paper to “create a feeling like back in the day” and avoid bright white gloss.
In her superb essay in her process book, Du analyzes the collaboration between Dadaist Kurt Schwitters and De Stijl artist/designer Theo van Doesburg. “To think about those artists actually hanging around together and having these revolutionary ideas is just amazing,” she says. “I’m following in their footsteps and going through a similar process collaborating at SCAD.”
Originally from Xiamen, China (“a pretty fishing city”) Du attended Sichuan Fine Art Institute in Chongqing before coming to SCAD Atlanta “when I knew I needed to keep improving.”
“At SCAD, even though my major is graphic design, I’ve leaned into the digital world, embracing motion media and UX design,” Du explains. “Professor Kuperminc has taught me fundamentals and theory-based knowledge, the history of layout design and branding. Professor Holly Quarzo taught me the digital base, and with SCAD providing resources, I’m integrating those two together.”
Du also acknowledges professor Peter Wong for pushing her to submit her own work into competitions. (She won an IDA Bronz award in 2019, and was named a 2019 AdobeEDU Top Talent.) This summer she is a design intern at the Atlanta headquarters of Rooms To Go. She will graduate from SCAD at the end of 2021, having completed her graduate thesis on how innovation in graphic design can support dementia patients emotionally and psychologically.
In addition to her conscientious work, Du is not averse to fun.
“As soon as I found out I won the IDA award, I grabbed my roommates and friends and we went to Hot Melody on Buford Highway to celebrate.”
Written by Peter Relic.
