The University of Virginia is an American public research university, founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, a founding member of the nation and its third president.
The university’s library published its annual report in the wake of a shooting which took the lives of three students. Its tone is muted and it honours the murdered students with newly commissioned artwork and words from faculty and administrators.
The report is built around 29 short pieces of writing that celebrate recent renovations, the work of the library, and aspects of its collection that celebrate women and black Virginians.
Careful attention is paid to the selection and presentation of images. The report benefits from the sheer beauty or rarity of objects and books in its collection. This fact alone elevates the visual aspects of the report.
The images in the report balance the archival with the modern, with screenshots of social media feeds mingling comfortably alongside a ship’s bill of loading, dated 1774. Likewise, tintype portraits and modern digital images
Type is simply set; ragged right and with plenty of leading. Adequate space is left around text blocks, allowing the images to breathe. This report is a pleasure to browse and despite the tragedy suffered by the students of the university, the spirit of the organisation is presented as resilient and unbowed.
