Two of The Teaching Press’ interns of Golden Era: The Heart of Wisconsin Sidelines, Alex Kunce and Jordan Sieracki, discuss the importance of preserving history through modern design techniques, challenging photo edits, and their collaboration process. 

Firstly, would you each give a brief introduction of your role in creating Golden Era: The Heart of Wisconsin Sidelines, as well as your major and what year of school you’re in?

Alex: I’m the Book Designer. I’ve been at Green Bay for two years, working toward a degree in Writing and Applied Arts.

Jordan: I did a little bit of everything to help create the book. I helped with the copyediting, design, and photo editing. I’m a Junior double-majoring in Writing and Applied Arts with a focus in Editing and Publishing and English with a focus in Creative Writing with a minor in Graphic Design. 

Jordan, what was the most important aspect of Golden Era: The Heart of Wisconsin Sidelines to capture visually?

Since a lot of the photos were older and grainy, making them as clear and high-quality as possible was important.  As for the graphics, the main focus was on making them simple yet accurate and recognizable. Visually, the photos in the book are essential for showing the excitement and encouragement that the cheerleaders and band created.

Alex, how were you able to navigate in capturing our clients’ vision? What strategies did you use in order to create designs that are trendy and timeless?

I think the best designs never go out of style, which means they’re also always on-trend. Overall, it was balancing cleanliness with character. It’s easy to find things in a clean room, but a messy room tells you who lives there. I think the colors and the artwork find that balance, keeping the look tidy without pressure washing away its heart.

Early on, the authors described their vision as like a picture book. This was a difficult idea to deliver on, as I was working with too few picture assets at not terribly high quality. I did my best to find a way to make the pictures I had feel substantial on the page without sacrificing the great information that the writing offers.

Jordan, you’ve worked closely with Alex for the graphic and design process of this book. How has collaborating impacted this process? Were you often working together or individually?
We did most of our work individually. Alex arranged the book and formatting. He made the book look the way it does. For photo editing, we split the workload in half. We each edited half of the pictures. I did most of the graphics, while Alex focused on the design. I sent him some graphics and icons, and he arranged them in unique and creative ways. He completed the puzzle while I handed him some pieces.  

Alex, you’ve had to manage following a specific style and color scheme without falling into copyrighted territory. How has this been difficult, and how did you manage to work around it?
It actually was much easier than I anticipated. I owe some of that ease to choices I made early on. The book began as a Packers book, but the more the authors talked about it, the more I realized it isn’t about the Packers at all. It’s about the Golden Girls and the Lumberjack Band, and of course, the Golden Girl Mary Jane. I thought gold was a really important color in this book. I think it captures the warmth of age and the friendly character of the writing. I believe it’s the only color in the book aside from color pictures. In Golden Era: The Heart of Wisconsin Sidelines, gold is like the lens that highlights the importance of a story that’s been mostly left in black and white.

Jordan, what previous experiences have influenced your current graphics for this project?

I took multiple graphic design classes in high school that really piqued my interest in graphic design and other digital forms of art and media. I also took a class focused on marketing in the digital era, where we built a website and sold things. I designed the logo that represented the business. I’ve always enjoyed art, being creative, and learning a new medium to create was fascinating, especially since digital art and design have an undo button.