The Filomen M. D’Agostino Greenberg (FMDG) Music School is a community school of the arts founded in 1913 to empower individuals of all ages to pursue their interest and study of music while addressing the challenges posed by vision loss.
Their students are children and young people enrolled in public and private schools, professional musicians, college-bound students and people who wish to enrich their lives through lifelong learning in music.
Through performance and public presentations, their students demonstrate what can be achieved with accommodation and accessibility.
The Project
Role: Art Director / Production Designer, contract
Client: The Filomen M. D’Agostino Greenberg Music School.
Timeline: March-June 2025
Output: Print / digital Photo Tribute honoring retiring Executive Directors after 28 years of service, combining archival materials into a museum‑level narrative.
Format: 120+ page printed book and companion digital experience
Problem & Context
Why this mattered
- The school wants to honor two long‑serving Executive Directors in a way that felt emotionally resonant, accessible, and timeless.
- The tribute needed to celebrate their career and impact for the community with image‑based storytelling.
Constraints & goals
- Tight deadline with no room for print errors.
- Museum‑level production values (paper, binding, color, finish).
- Cohesive narrative across archival photos, documents, and new portraits.
My role & scope
Art Direction
- Defined the overall tone, color palette, and typographic hierarchy.
- Ensured that the school brand was used correctly and respectfully throughout.
- Created a consistent grid and layout language that carried across every spread.
- Tell an emotional, heartfelt story that captured the incredible impact of the directors from the perspective of the students and their families.
Production & Workflow
- Scoped the entire print and digital production pipeline:
- Photo editing & color‑grading of archival material.
- Typography and layout refinement for readability and emotional pacing.
- Print‑vendor coordination (specs, proofs, color‑management, delivery).
- Worked independently, making final creative and technical decisions to hit deadline.
Tools
Process & key decisions
Step 1: Research & mood
- Collected archival photos, documents, and stories from staff and alumni.
- Defined a visual mood board: warm, intimate, timeless, with a restrained color palette.
Step 2: Narrative structure
- Organized content into two halves, with the dividing line being a school milestone of gaining independence.
- Decided where full‑bleed images, text‑heavy pages, and spacious, reflective spreads would land for emotional pacing.
Step 3: Layout & typography
- Designed master pages and grids that allowed for flexible photo‑text combinations.
- Chose typefaces and sizes that prioritized clarity and hierarchy, while still feeling elegant.
Step 4: Photo editing & color
- Retouched and color‑corrected archival photos to unify them under a single, warm palette.
- Balanced contrast and detail so images remained legible at smaller sizes.
Step 5: Print production
- Finalized bleed, trim, color profiles, and file prep for the print vendor.
- Managed proofing rounds, catching small alignment and color issues before final run.
Step 6: Digital companion
- Adapted the print narrative into a digital format that preserved the emotional arc.
- Ensured consistent typography and imagery across both formats.
Outcome & impact
Deliverables
- Defined the overall tone, color palette, and typographic hierarchy.
- Created a consistent grid, layout language, and storytelling across spreads.
Achieved
- Emotionally powerful tribute for staff, students, and families.
- Praise for the high‑end production quality and cohesive storytelling.