Graphic Design Portfolio 2021
Gender and Sexuality Explainer Videos
The Brief
Create an explainer video of any topic of choice. The video should be between 1-2 minutes in length, should present the information in a clear and compelling way, and should have a cohesive style and color palette.
As a trans queer individual, gender identity and sexual orientation are topics that are close to my heart. It was important to me that the videos be accessible to children in language and visuals, but also that they are not so overly simplified as to talk down to any adult who is also curious and open to learning
The Process - Goals and Challenges
The biggest challenge with this project was in writing the script. I knew the basics of the concepts that I wanted to explain, but I had to consult many different sources to confirm that my information was correct and to see how others had gone about explaining such complex ideas. Once my script was written I moved on to making rough boards in order to give myself a point of reference when animating. If these boards were for pitch to a client or were to be used by multiple designers I would have taken the time to make them more clear.
The Process Continued
I settled on the ghost design very quickly because they were easy and quick to draw, but also because they added a level of abstraction to the concept that would make them accessible to a wider audience. Similar reasoning was used when creating the symbols to represent sex, gender, and sexuality. I wanted the designs to be simple and easy to understand, but I also didn’t want them to be read as meaning any particular sex, gender, or sexuality but rather to be read as a broad marker. The squiggles I felt filled this purpose because they were ambiguous but it was also easy to see that two squiggles were not the same when placed near each other.
The animation process was fairly simple and mainly consisted of clean transitions between assets. I feel like this simple animation style is suited best for these particular videos because it helps to display the assets in a compelling way while not detracting from the information.
The Final Product
I am incredibly proud of these final videos. Not only did they come out visually pleasing, but I was able to share them with family and friends to help them understand my own identity better. As I’ve increased in my motion design skills I would probably improve on the transitions I used in these videos beyond just the basic ones, though I wouldn’t want to overdo the complexity of the video because I do believe in the value of its simplicity.
Interactive Infographic: OCD
The Brief
Create a thoroughly-researched interactive infographic utilizing InVision with assets created in Adobe Illustrator. Emphasis should be placed on creating and utilizing a clean and consistent visual style that impactfully communicates information.
As an individual with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), I am passionate about spreading information about the disorder and dispelling common misconceptions. With that in mind, I utilized my own personal experience to guide my research and vet sources. Once I had built a solid base of research I organized it into categories that could be easily illustrated and navigated by a viewer.
The Process - Goals and Challenges
My design process always begins with two things: storyboards and a color palette. The boarding and wireframe process for this particular process was key because the navigation of the infographic needed to be intuitive and easy. Once the boards were completed I found a color palette that I felt conveyed the dual sense of calm to make the user at ease, and anxiety to convey the seriousness of the condition. The blues brought in the desired calming effects, while the purple and reddish-pink created tension in the palette.
One of the biggest challenges of the project was curating the data in a way that was easy to understand and navigate. OCD is a complex and multifaceted disorder and it was easy to fall down a rabbit hole in trying to communicate the data in a very specific way, and there were multiple times when I had to step away and figure out the general message I wanted to convey was, and what information was pertinent to that.
The Final Product
This is a final product that I am very pleased with and at the same time do see how I’ve grown as a designer and what things I may go back and change in the future. I think I treated the vector graphics in a unique way which made them approachable, but not overly simple and sterile. Additionally, the layout of the first three slides—which are all displayed here—I believe do an excellent job at capturing the viewer’s attention and presenting the core information in a clean and interesting way.
Getting into the more specific areas of obsessions and compulsions is where I believe there is the most room for improvement. Though I do believe the unique organization approach taken in these slides is effective and fit the format of an interactive infographic well, upon further iterations I would do some more careful copy editing to shorten descriptions into a more concise format. There are also some areas where the size, weight, and color, of the text make it more difficult to read on a small screen and this is something that I think would be a high priority in addressing in later iterations to make the product that much more accessible.
View the full interactive design here
The Incredible Kid’s Crossbow Instructions
The Brief
The client is an outdoorsman with a passion for sharing his knowledge and love of the outdoors with children and families. I was asked to create a simple and fun downloadable PDF instruction sheet to offer as an incentive to future clients and as a way of demonstrating the value that Ready Set Adventure Box brings to a home.
The Process - Goals and Challenges
To begin the process, I was provided with rough sketches of the crossbow design, as well as a small bit of copy. The client cited National Geographic Kids, as well as Boy Scout and Girl Scout manuals as sources of inspiration for the design. From there, I began with the illustrations of the crossbow building process, submitting sketches to the client before moving on to final lined and colored illustrations. I made sure to keep a loose and fun illustration style while still being clear and well defined. From there I added text instructions to provide clear and precise instructions. Finally, the top and bottom banners were added to create a cohesive and well-branded printable with colors taken from the provided logo design.
The Final Product
The final product was delivered to the client as seen above. The biggest challenge in this project was incorporating the fun and cluttered style of the client’s inspirations while also keeping the product easy to read and navigate. The addition of the top and bottom banners where what solved this problem best as they framed the main subject and provided extra space for further instructions and branding.
The area where I believe improvements could be made is in the text instructions on the second page. I believe the typed text may detract from the fun design aesthetic and if I were to get a similar brief in the future I would attempt to handwrite those instructions to fit into the design more cohesively.