"Here let death's poetry arise to life."

> PURGATORIO, CANTO I

Dante's Divine Comedy is a behemoth of a poem that can leave many readers, like Dante himself, lost and far off the path. And like Virgil, a visual guide is required to follow the text through to the end.

The Dante Diagrams is a project initiated by Dante scholar Dr. Matthew Moser. Although many maps have been created and included in the various editions of the Comedy, few are visually comprehensive... and fewer still look good. Matthew asked if I could help fill this gap.

Over the course of two years, I transformed Dante's masterpiece into a series of three posters to guide future readers along Dante's journey through hell, purgatory, and paradise.

Color and a careful attention to typography help pull the eye vertically towards Dante's end goal while also categorizing the themes of each book. Concentric circles and soft shadows imply the depths of hell and the heights of heaven. Cantos are helpfully printed on the side for reference.

The full posters were printed at 18"x24" and hang in the hallways of the Mary Hill building in Azusa Pacific University. They face the doors of the Honors College, where humanities students embark on Dante's journey their sophomore year.

Dante's Diagrams

Poster design and layout, including copywriting, typography, colors, and initial concept

STUDIO Honors College Creative Team, APU
ROLE Sr. Creative Designer
COPYWRITING ASSISTANCE Matthew Moser
PROOFREADING/EDITING Curtis Isozaki, David Weeks, Rhonda Roberts
FONTS Garamond Premiere Pro

Dante's Diagrams by Caedon Spilman is licensed under CC BY 4.0

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