Manfred Olson Planetarium
Senior Designer | 2014-Present
The Manfred Olson Planetarium is housed in the Department of Physics at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. The theater is equipped with a Spitz A3P optomechanical projector, and we welcome thousands of visitors every year to our Friday Night Shows, AstroBreaks, stargazing, and special events.
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Long before I was a graphic designer, I was obsessed with movie posters. I love how a poster can summarize a film in a single composition. Whenever I design a poster for a new show at the planetarium, I approach it as I would a movie poster. I want to incite the same excitement I got out of posters as a kid to the next generation of leaders in STEM. This approach also helps draw in crowds that might feel intimidated by topics in astronomy and astrophysics.
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Our shows are created using Apple Keynote. Yes, they are slideshows, but these aren’t your typical, boring, bullet point lectures. We approach each show with the intention to make it entertaining in addition to educational. We need to encourage people to love STEM, and nobody wants to feel like they're in school on a Friday night!
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Once I have the poster design finalized, I’ll adjust the composition to match all of the required formats necessary for social media, mailers, banners, and more.
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Every year, the planetarium hosts a number of special events open to public. In the past we’ve celebrated eclipses, space craft launches, anniversaries, and cultural heritage. For each event, I’ll take photos that will be used for social media and future marketing needs. I’m also an avid night sky photographer, so I always try to capture night sky phenomena when they happen to share with our patrons.
Inspired by movie posters, I also try to make our shows look as exciting as can be. Space is awesome, and everybody should know about it!
Fun Slideshow Presentations. Really!
Our shows are created using Apple Keynote. Yes, that means they are slideshows, but these aren’t your typical, boring, bullet point lectures. We approach each show with the intention to make it entertaining in addition to educational. We need to encourage people to love STEM, and nobody wants to feel like they're in school on a Friday night! Don’t believe me? Check out this montage of some of my favorite slide designs over the years.
A few examples of Instagram-ready designs. The image of the lunar eclipse is a composition of two photographs I took during the total lunar eclipse in 2019.
Field trips are an important source of income for the planetarium. I was asked to design this brochure that is mailed out to local science teachers that might be interested in bringing their class to the planetarium.
One of the special things about the Manfred Olson Planetarium is that we still have a working optomechanical projector to display the night sky on the dome! I designed this sticker to pay tribute to our beloved Spitz A3P.
I’ll also usually design coffee sleeves to promote our shows for the university’s student-run coffee shops, The Grind.
Photography
Every year, the planetarium hosts a number of special events open to public. In the past we’ve celebrated eclipses, space craft launches, anniversaries, and cultural heritage. For each event, I’ll take photos that will be used for social media and future marketing needs. I’m also an avid night sky photographer, so I always try to capture night sky phenomena when they happen to share with our patrons.
