amanda anstett
To Be a Lady
To Be a Lady is a publication design that aims to highlight women icons from the past and present in an intersectional manner. The title itself is a bit ironic - begging the reader what it actually means to be a woman. This book and poster series focuses on bringing women's voices and history back in. Even after being pushed down, these women prevailed.
This is an alternative type publication that focuses on women icons from past to modern times. I made collages by printing individual layers, cutting things out, and rescanning them in. I love to do graphic design by hand and practical means if I am able to. The typeface is a combination of Futura, Neutraface and my own personal tweaks. I was inspired by constructivism specifically due to the meaning behind the movement. I want to use bold shapes and lines to reflect the boldness of each women icon.
Inspiration
I took inspiration from the constructivism era of design. Constructivism was a period of design that was all about creating art for social justice and art with a reason and purpose behind it. Developing after World War I, the movement sought to push people to rebuild society in a Utopian model rather than the one that had led to the war.
Publication Design
The publication design itself was created in a hand made way. As mentioned above, I printed separate elements and images on transparency paper, cut them out and created collages, rescanned them in and added text. I love incorporating tactile work into design when I can.
Poster Design
The poster designs play off the ironic nature of the name - I covered each influential women's eyes with a black ink smear and words that are constantly said to demoralize women.