Gavin O’Connor is graduate visual communicator based in Dublin but from Tralee, Co. Kerry originally. At TU Dublin Gavin has developed skills around design principles, typography, video editing, product design and logo design among many others. He has a particular interest in developing brand identity and campaigns that communicate a social message. Through his designs Gavin strives to generate imagery and a message that is direct, challenging and impactful.
Thesis Title: Italian fascist modernist design and typography and the relationship between Ailtirí na hAiséirghe and modernism.
This thesis was a close examination of how modernist aesthetics were instrumentalized to develop a dominant right wing discourse. It discussed in particular the relationship between modernist design and typography styles, how modernism was embraced and used by Italian Futurists and the Irish fascist movement, Ailtirí na hAiséirghe, which had a small but ambitious membership during the1940s in Ireland.
The aim of They Shall Not Pass is to demonstrate the role of aesthetics in the development of any discourse be it malign or benign. Looking at the examples of modernist fascist design choices and deciding to flip it.
The aim of this publication was to create a series of maps which explore change through conflict in the town of Tralee, Co Kerry. The maps will show how Tralee has reshaped itself and how the town has coped with national and global trends.
Tralee: Mapping Disruption and Conflict contains four A1 size maps and accompanying glossy historical photographs that inform each map. The maps are folded into squares and placed in its sleeve. They are separate and can be viewed, individually or alongside each other.
What these maps show is the history of the town of Tralee as told through maps and the use of typography as points in the map. It aims to tell a story of a town that has changed from the early industrial age of the 19th century right up to the deindustrialisation felt by many other parts of western Europe during the latter part of the 20th century.