Words have often been associated with story telling. Words, to some, are not usually connected with art. However, to a particular designer, words are what makes designing art a representation of what he wishes to express.

Kit Hinrichs, a prominent design partner for the international firm Pentagram, has a showcase of his work in the Sacramento State Library Gallery.

The gallery, titled “The Storyteller’s art: A Retrospective of The Work of Designer Kit Hinrichs,” is taking place from Sept. 5 through Nov. 15.

Hinrichs has been in design for more than 40 years and seeks to draw in his audience by using letters, words, as well as humor and irony to get a point across with his design.

While some designers who need to make something as bland as a business catalog choose to make it in black and white, Hinrichs opts to use vibrant colors and large fonts to appeal to the eyes.

“I have drawn all my life. Teachers would say that it was so nice, and I have just gone on to tell stories through pictures,” Hinrichs said.

Hinrichs has done pieces for magazines, exhibitions, annual reports, recruitment books and even business catalogs. But he always manages to get a story told or has the main idea of a company expressed through his art design and his usage of typography.

“I am very editiorial when I draw things, whether it is a corporate report or brochure or even a website. However diverse, it can all be enhanced by telling them (the audience) a story,” Hinrichs said.

Typography is how text may appear or looks on a page, and Hinrichs intertwines that idea with his colorful designs.

Designs for the American flag can be seen in many abstract ways in the exposition, along with a display of colorful alphabet letters that could look bland. However, Hindrichs uses each letter to show a picture that he believes represents the letter.

“Typography is something we all deal with. (The letters) have individual emotional values through the typeface; it helps tell the story,” Hinrichs said.

Leslie Rivers, assistant director of the Sac State Library, wants design students to take advantage of this lucrative opportunity.

“We thought it would be instinctively enriching for design students, as well as the students at Sac State,” Rivers said.

The students will be able to see the work of a professional and see what he does that is different, she said

Being an artist herself, Rivers said that it is sometimes hard to get your work to have a lasting impression on anybody who is looking at it.

“I think what intrigues me the most is when you work as an artist you try to condense your vision, but his work is broadening the vision and that is very hard to do…He is telling a story,” Rivers said.

Different things may inspire an artist, Rivers said, however she thinks that letters are something that inspires Hinrichs.

“What inspires a designer has always been a fascination of mine. Hinrichs is clearly looking to the font and how a letter can suggest things,” she said.

Hinrichs has done pieces for the Boudin Sourdough Bakery, Gymboree, Columbus Salame, NapaStyle, The Nature Company, Stanford Law School, United Airlines, PG&E Corporation, The San Francisco Zoo and many more.

Hinrichs said he enjoys the profession he has chosen.

“It is what I do and what I love to do. It is what I am good at,” Hinrichs said. “I am happy to be in a profession where I see the results of what I do right in front of me.”

Apart from being a designer for prominent companies, Hinrichs also has a collection of United States flag memorabilia.

He has pieces in his showcase that depict the flag in different lights.

“It is amazing how you could tell the same story in such different ways,” he said. “The flag, too, can be shown in many variations but still represents the same thing.”

His art can be seen by any who wish to be told a story in a different way, he said.

Charrlotte Donovan, a member of the Renaissance Club on campus, admires the work of Hinrichs.

Donovan said the art in a certain business catalog that dipicts pictures of lumber jacks and nature reminds her of where she grew up.

“It is reflective of everybody’s life. It (the art work) includes most of life’s everyday things,” Donovan said. “I feel enveloped by it because it has to do with experience that everybody in the country has and it is a new way at looking at those experiences.”

The exhibition hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday and it is free admission.

There is also a designer lecture that will be given by Hinrichs from 4 to 6 p.m. on Oct. 7 in the Hinde Auditorium in the Union.

Hinrichs said he wants to reach many people with his art.

“I am hoping to bring a broader story to a more local university. I would hope that it would attract students and professionals to be enriched by it,” he said.

Vanessa Johnson can be reached at [email protected]