As we were tasked to create a yearbook spread in IDES 141, I immediately had many ideas of how I could express myself. Initially, I thought about doing it digitally, so I could explore the world of Illustrator or Photoshop, but eventually decided against it. Doing something digitally would mean facing many technical challenges that I’m not yet equipped to handle, and it would also be much too limiting for me. I wanted the yearbook spread to fully express my uniqueness, and that would mean doing things outside the box. I decided to make a messy-ish piece incorporating multiple different mediums. After a rough sketch and a general idea of what I wanted to convey, I got started with a couple pieces of paper. I applied watercolour first for a lively background, then scavenged my room for some unique items I could add. Next, I knew I wanted to draw a slightly stylized illustration of myself with the theme colours. I wanted to incorporate personality into this illustration, but not too much as to make it unrecognizable. I’m really happy with how it turned out. I had a lot of trouble with the colours, specifically balancing them as I was deciding how to present the text and backdrops. After many scrapped papers and sticky notes, I found a good balance. I took a risk with choosing to use my natural handwriting for the text, as I know it isn’t the most elegant. I do believe it works best for the design and encapsulates my identity better than any font. Overall, I’m very happy with the final result and I believe the themes evident in my project truly reflect my personality – scrappy, childlike, creative, and a bit all over the place.


Considering the time, effort, and final project, I believe my project deserves an A. I spent around 5 hours in total working on it.