December 4, 2025   •.  Research

Post the midterm, my thesis concept has expanded significantly. Before the midterm, my visual concepts were very structured and corporate. They lacked the emotional impact my project needed. Because of this, I looked into designers such as Ed Fella and Charles Wilkin to further expand my visual studies. Their imaging and their incorporation of artistic mediums such as collage and pastel illustration with graphic design was incredibly eye-opening to me. I saw what they were doing, and I only wanted to expand on it. Rather than using a structured grid with imagery in a box format, I challenged myself to think beyond traditional editorial/publication design. I thought about the relationships between the imagery, typography, and layout in order to create an effective visual narrative and to tell the story of my upbringing. Furthermore, to enhance my typography, I looked into concrete poetry and how the placement of words can affect the way a story can be told. I read a poem, suggested by a classmate, called Letter Sycoraz by Kamu Brathwaite to get a glimpse on how they work and how I can use their work as inspiration for mine. 

I feel that the post midterm research benefited my project greatly. Seeing what other artists and designers are doing inspired me to share my story in a way that is not just aptly laying out photographs on a page; I wanted to make my spreads come to life and I feel like I have accomplished that.