Paralympic stamp
TASK:
to create a stamp series that celebrates the American story of people or a topic different from me or my lived experience.
ROLES:
visual designer and researcher for the Paralympic games and athletes
PROGRAM(S):
Adobe Illustrator
About
The stamp series highlights four notable U.S. Paralympic athletes who achieved significant milestones or secured gold medals during the Paralympic Games within the past decade. As numerous Paralympians are representing the U.S. team, the goal was to personalize each stamp by featuring the athletes' initials
Process
As the stamps were to highlight the achievements of the athletes, the goal was to create an illustration based on the events they won. Thus, screenshots of interesting poses and moments were gathered for each athlete. For example, the image below served as the base for Tatyana McFadden’s pose:
Afterward, rough silhouettes of the athletes were sketched to provide a better grasp of the movement and shape of each individual.
While the main concept of “movement” was already decided, the challenge was determining how to best convey movement without sacrificing the athletes' individuality. Specific features, such as facial expressions or intricate details, were difficult to depict on a small stamp. Therefore, the initial draft aimed to highlight both the athletes' features and their dynamic poses, but the result was a cluttered and confusing design that did not utilize the limited space effectively. Additionally, the bright color palette did not fully reflect the themes of the Paralympics as well as it could.
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