Overview:

This is a commission I did in 2015 during my summer internship at an Taiwanese online news outlet called The Storm Media Group (風傳媒). The article discussed the impact of child abuse on adults, including obesity and financial instability. The illustration was completed in Adobe Photoshop.

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The narrative I initially wanted to convey here was that of helplessness and fear as a result of child abuse. To create the atmosphere, I chose a cool color scheme with relatively muted colors. In terms of composition, I have utilized negative space to direct the audience's eye movement towards the child. I have also added the Teddy Bear to convey a sense of innocence and to connect with the audience emotionally.

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After discussing with the journalist, we had decided to take a more neutral approach for this illustration given the article was more scientific than anecdotal. Hence I removed elements that can potentially distract the audience from an objective psychological assessment and discarded the shadows for a cleaner visual presentation. I have also added more color dynamics in the illustration to make the article preview stand out more on social media platforms.

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Takeaway:

Through this experience, I have learned that a firm grasp of the context is very crucial to business design. While aesthetic is important, it is also critical to assess the nature of the article and the platform it will be distributed on. Moreover, transparent discussion with the client is also key in design. Communication can help me understand the client's message and it is also great for idea generation.