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Poetter Hall was purchased by the SCAD founders in March 1979. Classes began in September of that year.  
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The Arts

Take me out to the exhibition

Part of Jeremy Reiss' thesis, “If You Brand It, They Will Come”

Jeremy Reiss created baseball posters in the style of the 1950s and the present for his fictitious league, the Louisville Colonels. The invitations to his thesis exhibition were designed to look like baseball tickets.

By Hannah Pittard
Published: Friday, May 30, 2003

With more than two years of experience in advertising, it’s no wonder that graphic design M.F.A. candidate Jeremy Reiss has combined his affinity for a big publicity push with his thesis exhibition, “If You Brand It, They Will Come.”

“There has to be something that’s attention-getting to make people interested,” said Reiss, whose reception for his baseball-themed show featured everything from a turnstile and AstroTurf to hotdogs, popcorn and Cracker Jacks. “I have absolutely nothing against ‘average’ shows with pieces on the wall, those are fine. … [But] I tend to think big and push things as much as possible,” he said. “Since this is my thesis show, I wanted to go all out. There’s just so much that makes up a baseball experience that I wanted to include as much as possible.”

But “If You Brand It, They Will Come” is about more than just eating baseball snacks and walking on fake grass. In addition to developing a fictitious major league baseball team, the Louisville Colonels, Reiss has also created a history for the team. Not only did he design modern-day logos, posters and baseball cards for the team, but he also designed logos, posters and cards as they might have looked in 1900, 1925, 1950 and 1975.

“At first I wasn’t sure exactly what kinds of pieces I would be producing, but I knew it had to focus on baseball,” said Reiss. “I love everything about the game. I’ve always had it in my life — from playing T-ball at an early age to achieving my goal of playing at the collegiate level (Georgetown College, Kentucky). So it’s kind of in my blood.”

Printed visuals and computers seem also to run in his blood. “[They] are what led me to this field,” said Reiss. “I find myself looking at pretty much everything that has to do graphic design. I love to create solid, balanced visuals that communicate. There’s something about the act of creating that gives you that ‘high’ when you can stand back and look at a piece that you feel so strongly about.”

Reiss will take a break from his studies and his career in June when he plans to accompany a church group from Louisville on a mission tour to Kenya. “We’ll be building playgrounds and repairing church buildings,” he said. “It will be a needed escape … I’m pretty exhausted. After that I’ll start knocking on doors.”

“If You Brand It, They Will Come” is on display at Alexander Hall Annex Gallery, 668 Indian St., through June 2.