Spark, A Creative Publication for the College of Fine Arts at Boston University
Spark was a publication from the College of Fine Arts at Boston University that featured season event highlights and unique storytelling through compelling editorial in a unique broadsheet format.
![]()
![]()
As Creative Director for Spark, I designed a color system where two colors selected from the cover image become the primary colors of the Fall issue, the complements of which then become the primary colors for the Spring issue. The system carries these colors through logo, overlays, gradients, and type treatments.
![]()
![]()
Creative Direction & Design
Melissa Marshall
Melissa Marshall
Art Direction
Brooke Yarborough
Brooke Yarborough
Spark was a publication from the College of Fine Arts at Boston University that featured season event highlights and unique storytelling through compelling editorial in a unique broadsheet format.
As Creative Director for Spark, I designed a color system where two colors selected from the cover image become the primary colors of the Fall issue, the complements of which then become the primary colors for the Spring issue. The system carries these colors through logo, overlays, gradients, and type treatments.
Disrupting the original two-issue color system, the new third-issues adopt a "wildcard" theme.
For the first third-issue's colors, published in the Spring of 2017, I found inspiration from the contrasting tartness and sweetness of a grapefruit enjoyed in early Spring.
For the next and final third-issue of Spark, I was inspired by cool and sandy Spring New England beach vibes.
Below are various spreads from Spark.
About
Studio Skiffle, shorthandedly referenced here as §, is the playful and improvisational award-winning design and art practice of M. Marshall. Marshall has passion for color, smells, culture, the real, the surreal, the known and the unknown. The work of § reflects the curious and processual methods embraced while exploring and improvising with both digital and analogue technologies.
Studio Skiffle, shorthandedly referenced here as §, is the playful and improvisational award-winning design and art practice of M. Marshall. Marshall has passion for color, smells, culture, the real, the surreal, the known and the unknown. The work of § reflects the curious and processual methods embraced while exploring and improvising with both digital and analogue technologies.
What’s a Skiffle?
The name of § was influenced by the music genre, Skiffle. Familiar to few, Skiffle music is often played using improvised spirit and music instruments alike. When happening upon the word and musical world of Skiffle, Marshall felt a great kinship between the essence of Skiffle and her own design processes which often involve improvising, playing and exploring different mediums and techniques.
The name of § was influenced by the music genre, Skiffle. Familiar to few, Skiffle music is often played using improvised spirit and music instruments alike. When happening upon the word and musical world of Skiffle, Marshall felt a great kinship between the essence of Skiffle and her own design processes which often involve improvising, playing and exploring different mediums and techniques.