Movie Poster
My movie poster is based on the story that I created for the Worldbuilding unit in English. For that project, my science fiction story was set in the year 2056 and began at the grand opening of the Polaris space station, a luxury “space hotel” owned by billionaire Otis Dalton. Rhea Solace, a 20-year-old kitchen worker, and Jade Alexander, a 22-year-old mechanic both work on the space station. After Rhea inadvertently learns that Polaris, for reasons unknown, has lost all communication with Earth, including a source of resources, she is forced to join forces with Jade and work toward staying alive and getting out before time runs out. In my movie poster for Design, I chose to feature Polaris in its orbit of Earth.
When first brainstorming ideas for my poster, I was heavily inspired by other science fiction and fantasy posters, specifically those from Star Wars and Marvel movies. I wanted my title text to exhibit the metallic characteristic that was present in many of the professional posters I looked at. In Adobe Illustrator, I experimented with the 3D tool to extrude and bevel my text and add shading so it would appear metallic. Additionally, I found several stock images, and compiled them together using Photoshop.Ultimately, I’m very happy with how my poster turned out, and I learned a lot from this project.
Media: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
Product Pitch
The prompt for this project was to create a video pitch for a hypothetical product that would work toward solving an issue. For my pitch, I chose to focus on the problem of dehydration and developed the idea of Aqua Gauge: a product connected with an app that would help people maintain and improve their water intake. All of the elements in the project, including the concept, graphics, animations, app design mockups, script, and video editing were created entirely by me. Using Adobe Illustrator, I designed each screen for the app as well as the visual appearance of the Aqua Gauge device. Using Adobe After Effects, I compiled my graphics into the animated pitch video. This project was time intensive, but was ultimately very rewarding and showcases a number of skills I have developed.
Media: Adobe After Effects, Adobe Illustrator
Documentary Book
For the Documentary Unit, I was assigned to choose an interesting person or idea, obtain primary and secondary source material, and create a documentary product that told their story. In English class, I worked on the written portion of the project. Through conducting personal interviews and completing further research through secondary sources, I was able to write an article length paper profiling our subjects. In Design, I began to learn how to use Adobe InDesign to develop my book. I inserted my finished profile articles along with original photography and graphic design elements.
I chose to focus my documentary project on my mother, Karen McKinley, and her hobby of baking bread during the pandemic. After initially struggling to decide on a profile subject, I realized that writing about my mom would allow for the perfect blend of visual appeal and engaging written content. Her creative journey reflects the resilience and willingness to learn of many across the world during the pandemic. Despite already knowing a bit about baking and her personal experiences during quarantine, I still learned a lot and found value in hearing her story. The interview and research process was difficult, but I felt that I learned a lot through it and am glad I was able to gain that experience. I also feel that I’ve grown a lot as a designer, as this project pushed me past the limits of what I had previously thought myself capable of.
Media: Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
Mandala
Growing up, I remember seeing koi fish at a hotel in Hawaii when I visited with my family. As a child, I was fascinated by the fish and associated them with the fun I had with my family on that trip. Koi also represent love, friendship, and universal peace. I wanted this piece to build upon these sentiments. To create this mandala, I used mirroring and clipping masks I started in the center with the fish, and worked my way out to the ends, using a variety of line widths and patterns. When my design was final, it was laser engraved onto a wooden board. A new form of artistry for me, I found creating the mandala to be a calming and meditative process, and I enjoyed experimenting with different shapes and figures in Illustrator.
Media: Adobe Illustrator, engraved on wood