dimensions 38 book — ryan karczewski

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karczewskiryan@gmail.com

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dimensions volume 38

As Creative Lead for Dimensions Volume 38 at Taubman College, I spearheaded the conceptual and graphic direction of the publication, shaping both its visual identity and narrative framework. The volume was structured around the idea of process, positioning design not as a fixed outcome, but as an evolving series of actions, transformations, and material experiments.

Drawing inspiration from Richard Serra’s Verb List - a catalog of generative actions such as “to fold,” “to tear,” “to suspend,” and “to repeat” - the publication was organized through verbs rather than themes. This action-based framework reframed student work as dynamic and iterative, foregrounding making, testing, and reworking over final form. Each project was curated and sequenced to emphasize movement, progression, and experimentation, allowing the book itself to operate as a spatial and temporal narrative.

Visually, the design language was rooted in the cyanotype printing process. The deep blues, layered transparencies, high-contrast silhouettes, and textured overlays referenced the act of exposure and development; mirroring the way architectural ideas emerge through layering, light, and time. Cyanotype became both aesthetic and metaphor: a process dependent on contact, reaction, and transformation. The layout system emphasized negative space, bleed conditions, and moments of imprint, reinforcing the sense that the publication was less a static archive and more a record of design in motion.

Through close collaboration with editors, faculty, and contributors, myself and the other leads guided the publication from conceptual framework to final production: developing typography standards, image treatment strategies, pacing, and material consistency. The result is a volume that reads as both document and artifact: a cohesive narrative that foregrounds experimentation, making, and the generative power of process within architectural education.

On top of this publication, I designed and spearheaded the development of various collaging workshops - put on by Dimensions, for Taubman Students - that culminated in a Calendar for 2025. Due to this production, and the proceeds from each sale of the printed calendar, we were able to afford various items we wanted to include in the book: a rubber band to hold it closed, various paper types, and specific folds in the cover.

full book