About

Plural is a creative studio based in Chicago. Founded in 2008 by Renata Graw, Christopher Kalis, and Jeremiah Chiu, we collaborate on a wide range of print and screen projects.

Contact

Plural can be contacted at
hello@pluralplural.com
P 312 804 4020
F 773 409 1251
1879 N Leavitt, Chicago, IL 60647

Clients

Partial Client List

482 Music
Altoids (Wrigley)
Ardour Bookbinding
Armstrong Foundation
Big Theatre
Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Chicago Latino Film Festival
Ciba Vision
Cloverleaf Innovation
Coca-Cola Company
DBE Software
Desenvolve Human Resources
Direct Relief International
Dusty Groove America
General Mills
Gillette
Grovesnor Investment
The House Theatre of Chicago

Hewitt
Holiday Inn
Jennifer Montgomery
Jim Beam
John Deere
Jones Lang LaSalle
Kaplan Publishing
Kimberly Clark Corporation
Kodak Company
Kohler
Isabela Capeto
Iveta Gourmet
Motorola
Museum of Contemporary Art
Chicago Navigant Consulting
Next Generation School
Nicor Gas
Obey Your Brain Records
Petrobrás

Pickled Egg Records Pivotal Click
Ravinia
Razorfish | Avenue A
Renata Heinen
Rosenthal Fine Art, Inc.
SC Johnson
Shannon Benine
Siemens Medical USA
Slover Linett Strategies Inc.
St. Paul Travelers Group
Tellabs Inc.
UCAN Chicago
Universal Music Special Markets
University of Illinois at Chicago
Unsound Records
Vale Mining Company
Wanger Investment
Wheels Inc.

Blog

Plural is interested in artistic communities. Participating in these communities and sharing new ideas is important to us. Here you will find fresh news, links, images, innovations, creativity, words, and more.

Subscribe to the Plural Blog.

Recent Posts:
TypeCon Highlights
The Ex Show Poster / Plural Store launch one week away
The moon through a telescope
AIRWALK
ICY D's / NYC

Awards

Recognition

AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers
AR100 Black Book
Communication Arts
Eye Magazine
Print Magazine
How Magazine
The Mohawk Show
The Logo Lounge II

Exhibitions

Cooper-Hewitt, NY
Center for Book & Paper, Chicago
Gallery 37, Chicago
Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago
Museum of Modern Art, Rio

Concert Poster: Cluster

A promotional poster for electronic music pioneers Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius.

Musical Architecture

A graphic score. Color and form are used to delineate the instrumentation, arrangement, and mix of the music. Created during Marion Fink’s Information Design Workshop, the Basel School of Design, 2007.

Concert Poster: Morton Feldman

A poster for DePaul’s Student New Music Ensemble performances of Morton Feldman’s “Why Patterns”.

Concert Poster: Ravinia

A summer concert at Ravinia with performances by Seu Jorge and Cesaria Evora. Interlocking typography creates two layers of information on the poster. Green was used to remind the public to bring their picnic and sit on the lawn.

Baskerville Type Specimen

A type specimen exhibiting the salient features of the Baskerville typeface. Based upon an unflattering quote about the type designer, the poster challenges the form and intended use of Baskerville, creating a modern take on an 18th century typeface.

Memphis Type Specimen

A type specimen exhibiting the salient features of the Memphis typeface. The poster plays with the counter forms of the letters to highlight their features. The unexpected colors are a combination of styles: cooper from the 1930’s—when the typeface was designed—and a hot pink and black from today's palette.

Concert Poster: The Brown Party

A promotional poster for The Brown Party music group. Using model Mike Bingaman, 54 images, each holding a single letter, were merged together to create the appearance of motion, and coincidentally, Krishna.

A promotional poster for The Brown Party music group. Using a cakeboard, assorted frosting colors were used to create the letterforms and spaces. Inviting all to share in a sweet treat.

A promotional poster for The Brown Party music group. This limited edition poster was included with packaging of The Brown Party CD. Using photography and illustration, a collage of imagery conveys the idea of connections between different facets of life.

Concert Poster: Free Monday

A poster for an Empty Bottle performance by Chicago bands Chandeliers, Michael Columbia, and Killer Whales. Bold typography and color are used to describe their “NEW MUSIC.”

Concert Poster: T. Raumschmiere

A promotional poster for German electronic artist, T. Raumschmiere.

Borders of Paradise

A promotional poster for Big Theater’s production of Borders of Paradise, directed by Ellie Heyman. A blue watercolor wash with handwritten text.

Concert Poster: Mahjongg

A promotional poster for the Empty Bottle. Halftone vinyl application on transparent film gives the illusion of movement or modulation as you walk by.

Belief

UIC MFA Studio Arts Exhibition Catalog, 2007. A collection of writings and images showcasing the work of the Studio Arts Masters graduating in 2007. Photos of flying artist and a dreamlike color palatte reinforce the idea that belief is something that is not proven as fact, so it belongs to the realm of faith, imagination and dream.

MFA Studio Arts Catalog

UIC MFA Studio Arts Exhibition Catalog, 2008. A collection of writings, poems, and images showcasing the work of the Studio Arts Masters graduating in 2008. A clean, elegant solution combines colorful images and simple typography. A color coding system makes connections between each artist and writer.

MFA Graphic Design Thesis Catalog

UIC MFA Graphic Design Thesis Show Catalog, 2008. Supporting materials also include a postcard and poster. Using the members of the 2008 class, varying sizes of letters were cut out of foam board and held by individuals at different distances creating an optical illusion captured through photography.

Summer Basel 07

A collection of travel experiences documented as a video and book. Making connections of color, typography, symbols, shapes, and experiences, a loose narrative follows 4 students through Germany to Basel, Switzerland.

Memories from the Seventies - 70/1801

A collection of short stories about growing up in the seventies. The cover and box set are covered in wallpaper from that time. Limited Edition Letter Pressed Book.

Here Then There

Mapping explorations based on the question: “How can we visually describe the directions from place A to B in a city?” Created in Michael Renner’s Inquiry by Design Workshop, Basel School of Design, 2007.

Relax, It’s Nuclear Medicine

Cardiology Nuclear Scanner launch book for Siemens Medical Solutions. The book highlights the approach used to develop the machine itself, instead of focusing on the technological advances, the scanner is designed to be comfortable, friendly and more human. Each page is printed on a different surface, making the book a tactile experience. Limited edition of 15.

The Actual, Factual, Practical Guide to Package Design

A marketing training manual for S.C. Johnson. Vibrant colors, light-hearted language and straight forward typography are the elements for this book.

MCA Brochure

School Programs 2005-06 brochure for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.

Shannon Benine, photographer

Artist website displaying the portfolio of Shannon Benine. Using a gray background and simple typography, the vibrant photographs pop out from the page allowing viewers to experience the images.
shannonbenine.com

Rosenthal Fine Art, Inc.

Located in the heart of the Gold Coast, this gallery displays work by prominent post-war artists including Robert Motherwell, Louise Nevelson, Joan Mitchell and more. Site created with Mike Bingaman.
rosenthalfineart.com

UIC MFA 2008

Website in conjunction with UIC MFA Studio Arts Catalog. This website displays the work of the 2008 Studio Arts graduates, as well as their locational connections, places they were born, and have lived.
uicmfa2008

Stone Touch

An interactive catalog of marks left by a stone on different surfaces.

DesEnvolve

A human resources company in São Paulo, Brazil.

Isabela Capeto, Fashion designer

Identity system for a whimsical fashion boutique in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The typeface was designed based on the couturier's handwritting.

Paola Siqueira, Filmmaker

Logo and identity system for São Paulo-based filmmaker Paola Siqueira. Letter press business cards and modular address label.

Next Generation School

Kindergarten school logo.

I Love Brazil

Logo parody for Brazil.

OneView

A Jones Lang LaSalle software company logo.

Direct Relief International

Not-for-profit organization for medical relief logo.

Golden Rondelle Auditorium

Logo for community theater.

Yeeha Foods

Logo for line of gourmet mixes with a southwestern flavor.

Rock for Life

Logo for series of rock concerts to raise funds for breast cancer relief.

In Motion

5 Channel video installation for Hyde Park Art Center. Filming from 5 CTA trains, this 15 minute video seamlessly loops as the trains travel towards Chicago's downtown loop. At the Hyde Park Art Center January 26 - February 7, 2008.

Newsworthy

An interactive art project built for the public screens at the Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC) in Chicago that ran live from March 10 - March 23. A live RSS feed of headlines from the Chicago Tribune supplied streaming content, while visitors to the project's website could post comments that would appear live on the website and at the HPAC. Collaboration with Gretchen Schulfer and Eric Mika.

The Thrush

Digital video in a series of videos for the Chandeliers synchronized live show. Video is manually triggered in realtime, corresponding the sound with abstract visual imagery.

Passing Time

A timeline displaying a sequence of musical instruments being played with the same set of hands over a period of time.

Jennifer Montgomery, Filmmaker

A handmade box and set of 5 dvds and booklet for the films of Jennifer Montgomery at the 2008 Whitney Bienial, Limited Edition.

Dusty Groove Reissue Series

Reissue series for Dusty Groove America in conjunction with Universal Music Group featuring releases from Jorge Ben, Pete Jolly, Dorothy Ashby, Bill Cosby, and more.

Chandeliers, The Thrush

CD Packaging for Pickled Egg Records release 071. Linear imagery is used to reflect the pattern and structure of the music as well as an informational tool to indicate performers and instruments for each song.

Chandeliers, Circulation EP

7" vinyl packaging for Ghost Arcade LTD, release 005. Non-objective photographs of light echo the Chandeliers elecronic music and the theme of circulation.

Interpretations of Magnetic Tape

A collection of typographic experiments based on the interpretation of a single object, a cassette tape.

Visualizing Soundscapes: The Aestheticization of Noise

UIC MFA Thesis project documenting the process of formulating a visualization of sound in the environment. Attempting to diminish the negative connotations associated with noise, this project provides viewers with a multimedia interactive experience. Documented in a 57 page perfect bound handmade book.

Visual Timbre: Graphic Identities for Modern Music

UIC MFA Thesis project documenting the process of creating new formal identities for modern music.

There was a Stone

Experimental Typographic Exploration about language, poetry, and rhythm based on a poem by Carlos Drummond de Andrade.

Chaos

A typographic study of the word Chaos, stop-motion animation.

Brown Party Promotional Buttons

A series of handmade fabric buttons individually cropped from found textiles. Used as promotional material for The Brown Party live concerts.

NovaChicago, A New Typeface for the 2016 Chicago Olympics

UIC MFA Thesis project documenting the process of creating a new typeface that captures the spirit of the Olympics and Chicago. NovaChicago is a bold, sans serif typeface that exudes characteristics of Chicago while still maintaining the integrity and beauty of the Olympic games.

Gel Type

Part of a study in creating NovaChicago. A typeface attempting to capture the fluidity of Chicago’s lakefront.

Handmade

A typeface created using hands. Available only in Capitals... well, except for the r.