Crafting the narrative of visual expression with precision and passion, the graphic designer Jiminie Ha emerges as a trailblazer in her role as the Director of Graphic Design at the Guggenheim Museum. From her humble beginnings to her current role, Ha’s trajectory saw her transition from running her creative agency to spearheading global rebranding efforts for one of the world’s most iconic cultural institutions. Ha’s approach to graphic design at the Guggenheim transcends the conventional, blending strategic insight with boundless creativity in visual storytelling. Her curatorial language is a symphony of bold typography, vibrant colours and nuanced compositions, all woven together to enhance the museum’s visual identity while celebrating the artists within its walls.

The visual artist’s latest venture delves into the world of literature with the design of the book cover for Jonathan Well’s debut novel, The Sterns Are Listening. Drawing inspiration from the rebellious ethos of punk culture and the iconic imagery of CBGB, Ha’s design encapsulates the novel’s exploration of familial complexities, ageing, and the pursuit of passion. Through her artful interpretation, she breathes new life into the literary landscape, captivating readers with her bold aesthetic and unwavering storytelling ability. 

As she navigates the evolving landscape of graphic design, Ha remains steadfast in her commitment to pushing boundaries and challenging conventions. With each project, she seeks to provoke thought, and emotion, and ignite the imagination, leaving a lasting impression on the creative canvas and beyond. In an exclusive interview with STIR, Ha explores her role as Director of Graphic Design at the Guggenheim, her curatorial approach and the creative process behind her recent venture into the world of storytelling.

Aarthi Mohan: Can you share a bit about your journey and background that led you to become the Senior Director of Graphic Design at the Guggenheim Museum?

Jiminie Ha: The journey has been circuitous and atypical, to say the least. I have been running my creative agency since 2012, which used to operate more in the arts in the form of gallery space, art publication and design practice. I was recruited by the museum to lead its global rebrand, right around COVID-19’s NYC shut down, I was living upstate at the Wolfhouse, which I had just bought with my business partner, and knee-deep in home renovation. I had just successfully finished launching a new South Korean beauty client, Nonfiction (It is now apparently the fastest growing beauty brand in South Korea). At that point, my office had experience resurrecting some well-known brands from dire straits, so I was ready for a new challenge (Bidoun, Art Asia Pacific, Capricious, Surface, UOVO Art Storage, Crozier, Metlife Global, Condé Nast).

The possibility of rebranding a museum is always a designer’s dream, and the timing couldn’t have been any better. The state of the world was in upheaval. Many art institutions were in the hot seat. I felt like I had an opportunity to contribute to real change from the inside out. In the most superficial sense, a rebrand looks like a visual makeover or reskin. But if you truly want to change a brand’s trajectory, there are so many hidden phases before even engaging in the visual explorations. You need to dive into their brand DNA, their mission and start to dissect it from its core.

Aarthi: Were there specific experiences or mentors who have deeply influenced your design philosophy?

Jiminie: I happened to get an internship at 2×4 (a global design consultancy) a couple of years after I moved to New York City after undergraduate studies. There were maybe more than a dozen of us in the studio, and we all worked closely. The internship turned into a full-time job, Susan and Michael guided me towards graduate school at Yale School of Art, advised me during grad school, and continue to advise me well into the present day. Their focus on concept and strategic thinking was very influential in how I shaped my practice.

Aarthi: Managing graphic design for an institution like the Guggenheim can be both rewarding as well as well as challenging. How do you approach maintaining the museum’s visual identity whilst incorporating innovative design elements in your role as a Senior Director?

Jiminie: We are endlessly experimenting with how far we can push the boundaries of the museum’s graphic language and how we can celebrate the artists in the exhibition. Creating great work is one part of the longer process. We also need institutional buy-in, and this takes time. I always tell my team to think of the other departments in the institution as our clients. I think I arrived at a moment when many aspects of the museum were in flux, and I was lucky enough to incorporate my decade of experience working with clients in the arts to know how to contextualise and set up an approach that helped build trust between key stakeholders.

Aarthi: When working on an exhibition, how do you ensure that your graphic design choices align with the curatorial narrative and enhance the viewer’s understanding of the artwork?

Jiminie: We defer to the curator’s thesis of the exhibition as the basis of our starting point. We look at their writing, and the artists’ biographies to identify compelling themes that might be interesting to explore as visual identities and dynamic systems.

Aarthi: Graphic design is constantly evolving. How do you stay innovative and keep pushing boundaries in your role at the Guggenheim and in projects such as The Sterns are Listening?

Jiminie: I do think that ideas are what keep things fresh. I am not really into creating designs that follow trends, most of my references come from music, art, fashion, architecture, landscape and nature. My references are rarely purely graphic design. More importantly, it is about working with young designers who are equally as passionate about making, pushing themselves to present ideas that they would want to stand by, but also deeply interested in the creation of form in all various platforms, and not solely focused on one medium. We are dedicated to starting from the concept first and determining our mode of communication and visual execution from that conceptual and strategic framework.

Aarthi: Are there any emerging trends or technologies in graphic design that you find particularly exciting or promising?

Jiminie: Obviously AI is top of mind for everyone. I do see optimising Artificial Intelligence as a production and generative tool in graphic design. I think everyone would agree that the production phase of any project becomes tedious in its repetition, and would be great to get back that time to dedicate to more creative thinking.

Aarthi: As a graphic designer working with various artists, how do you balance preserving the artist’s vision while incorporating your creative interpretation in your design work for the exhibitions at the Guggenheim?

Jiminie: I don’t necessarily think great graphic design is about having a signature style, but something that enhances and compliments the collaborators we work with, be it a client, an artist, or another creative. We work in the public sector and we are tasked to help attract visitors. Finding a way to distil and articulate the client’s vision; in this case, the artist; through a visual language that resonates beyond themselves is what I want to achieve ultimately.

Aarthi: The collage of celebrity ears is a distinctive touch on the book cover. What inspired this design choice, and how did you approach creating compositions that capture attention and convey the essence of the novel?

Jiminie: Working on a novel set at a time when CBGB was still around and felt very close to my passion for music. Music was hugely influential on me growing up in France. I had been playing piano and violin for decades at that point and yet only listened to punk music wrapped up in teenage angst. My obsession with punk went as far as me interviewing Hilly Kristal, Ivan Julian of Richard Hell and the Voidoids, John Holmstrom of Punk Magazine in college for my thesis on race and subcultures in punk, met Ian MacKaye at a Fugazi show in Paris to continue the work. So the manuscript spoke to me deeply and inspired my nostalgia for the punk scene, DIY flyer art and collages. Since the book is also about hearing loss tied around family, we thought it was great to collect the ears of famous musicians for visual art.

Aarthi: The book explores themes of family derangement, the stigma of ageing, and the entrepreneurial journey of a CBGB hearing aid. How did you visually represent these complex themes while maintaining a balance between subtlety and impact in the book cover design?

Jiminie: Something we always do during our concept and creative phases is see how we can inject a sense of humour into the mix. The themes explored in the book are universal; we all can relate to them, and even the most successful musicians and rock stars with fame and money can’t avoid it. We thought that the play on iconic and recognisable ears in musical history was a great way to touch upon the book’s focus on music, family, and ageing. Documenting a timeline focused on the development of the hearing aid throughout history was something we thought of as a nuanced illustration, and would pair well with a more tongue-in-cheek approach to the poppy book design. 

Aarthi: What’s NEXT for you? 

Jiminie: I am excited for 2024 regarding art and cultural programming for the Wolfhouse, and projects at my agency. We are looking into developing products for the home.