In the fall of 1979, I began a design project that involved studying a viola from its various structural and functional aspects. During the course of the project, I came to realize how little I knew about the instrument historically, which meant in a sense that l was studying an object with little or no concern for its context, as the time for thesis proposals neared, I decided to confront this issue and expanded it to include all of the instru ments of the symphony orchestra. I spoke to several professionals in the music educa tion field. They indicated that there was a need for some kind of educational tool that would introduce music stu dents to orcnestral instruments. I decided to design and produce a series of informational posters that would con tain practical and anecdotal information about the instru ments as well as photographs of the instruments. Posters utilizing pnotography and typography would serve the educational needs quite well, and also would allow me the opportunity to combine my design skills and my interest in photography.