DSACO
Graphic Design, Marketing, Print, Digital, Social Media, Event Campaign, Informational Design
Project Overview
While working as a Graphic Design Intern for the Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio, I was given full creative control over their largest deliverable of the year: the Faces in the Community Calendar. Every year, families of people with Down syndrome submit their loved ones for this project, a piece that is beloved and purchased by over 200 members with each iteration.
I took the project in a fun, child-like direction, representing the community as a family tree art project.
Previous iterations of this deliverable lacked a clear creative direction. The design and graphical elements did not tell a story. I aimed to counter this pattern with a bold, message driven look.
I started by making a word cloud/brainstorming from the terms in the project title. I was drawn to the word “community” and all of the possible visual allegories that could be connected to it. In my own branching method of ideation, I realized that a “family” tree was a perfect representation of the close ties associated with the Down syndrome community and their loved ones.
Making the leaves of the tree watercolor dots came about from researching family fun and crafts. These trending art projects are an activity that both adults and children alike find joy in together. The goal was the use this overarching theme to imply the creation of this community takes everyone’s individual contributions to make a mosaic of love and connection, one dot (or person) at a time.
