R.I. artist recognized for map of WWII invasion

GRAPHIC DESIGNER John Caserta won a national award for creating interactive maps such as this one of the Normandy invasion in World War II. /
GRAPHIC DESIGNER John Caserta won a national award for creating interactive maps such as this one of the Normandy invasion in World War II. /

A Providence artist designed and won a national award for an interactive map in the visitor center at the Normandy American Cemetery, in France, charting the course of the Allied invasion of that country during World War II.
Designer John Caserta, who opened The Design Office on Westminster Street this year, was cited by the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) for information design in the “365: AIGA Annual Design Competition 29.” Out of more than 4,700 entries, the Normandy campaign map is one of 255 winning examples chosen to demonstrate the best American design work of 2008, according to the AIGA Web site (www.aiga.org). The map is one of only seven winners in the information-design category. Winners were announced July 1.
Starting work approximately one year before the Normandy visitor center opened in June 2007, Caserta found himself with “tons of stuff that has to be ordered in a way people can experience,” he said. He collected maps and atlases from the 1940s, even a Michelin “Guide to Normandy,” to help him decide what typography and colors would be reminiscent of World War II. Using government archives, he chose the main photos for the interactive screens. An army general regularly reviewed the map for accuracy. Caserta even did the computer programming himself because, he said, “I wanted control.” Deciding which rivers, towns and landmarks to include on the map was an important part of the project.
He ended up designing 10 separate video-map displays, each large enough to fill a 30-inch computer screen, that trace the invasion from D-Day, June 6, 1944, through to the Aug. 25 liberation of Paris. For instance, the display dated 14 June to 20 June is entitled: “Struggle in the Hedgerows.” Each successive display shows Allied forces occupying more and more of France, as the front line steadily moves south.
The high-resolution, touch-screen displays show troop positions, and it is possible to follow a specific division throughout the invasion. A text box provides a written description of what the division was doing at each stage of the battle. In many cases, video clips accompany the text. Caserta said the video clips are actually 8MM film taken during the invasion and show the soldiers at the time and place indicated on the map display.
Commissioned by the American Battles Monument Commission, the $30 million visitor center is at the cemetery where 9,384 American soldiers are buried in Colleville-sur-Mer, overlooking Omaha Beach. More than one million people visit the cemetery every year. The SmithGroup, an architectural and engineering firm in Washington, D.C., designed the visitor center structure. •

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