IHSPA Designer of the Year Portfolio
Erinn Varga
1. CONTRACEPTIVES​
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This​ is my second cover story in my time on WSS. This cover I challenged myself with infographics and a limited palette in hopes to create a clean and simple design. I included both art and illustrator work to create visually appealing and a welcoming look to an often uncomfortable topic. I didn't want to shy away from drawing contraceptives, as we are trying to inform about misconceptions and usage. I used pink and blue interchangeably as colors to represent the stereotypical representation of female versus male products. By using them interchangeably they represent that colors do not identify with a particular gender or align contraceptives with a certain gender.
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01/20/24 Six Page Spread & Glossy Cover
2. LET'S CHAT: GPT​
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Let's Chat: GPT was my first cover story as a designer my junior year. I wanted to try out a style of art I enjoy that uses dramatic lighting, shading and contrasting colors to sharpen the subjects. I worked with Blender and Procreate to create dimensional art that uses flat colors and lighting to pop against the page. I wanted to convey a cluttered desk space that had different decades of technology expressed. That followed through the rest of the pages, starting with a full page artwork and a diagonal piece at the end. I created a character representing AI that flowed through the pages in what humans perceive AI as in a technological setting. It was also my first time working with complex infographics where I worked to break down the complex data and information on artificial intelligence.
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4/20/23 Six Page Spread & Glossy Cover
3. E-PASS EXPLAINED
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E-Pass Explained challenged my ability to convey my ideas while having space for writing, an infographic and a QR code in one page. I wanted to combine the old and new perceptions of our pass system, from paper to electronic. By being a primary writer of this editorial, I was able to design with the story to convey what I could not in words. I used muted colors of the passes in our school to represent the paper passes, and a black and white sketch for the electronic aspect.
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11/16/23 One Page Spread
4. ART-IFICIAL ART​
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When jokingly suggested that I should use AI generated art in my design, I firmly denied the notion. This design was my gift to myself and the art community. Arti-ficial Art was both written and designed by me, and it let me work with a new program called Blender where I learned three dimensional artwork skills. I was starting from zero experience in a very complex program and I worked hard inside and outside of class to get the result I wanted to convey. It let me express my art in a visual way that did not rely on the use of artificial intelligence programs as well. I used blue and red as contrasting colors, as they are commonly used in artwork to express emotional scenes. Being a close subject to my heart, I thought this would accurately represent my emotions with the subject. Finally, I use hands as the representation of humans due to the trouble AI has with generating hands correctly. Artists also commonly struggle with hands, being an important part of an artist's journey that AI does go through. Reaching for the television represents the temptation to use AI over human artists.
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04/02/23 Two Page Spread
5. EMPOWERING EDUCATION​
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While designing this four page feature on Tate High School, a school that many West High students have transferred to, I wanted to emulate the school colors and themes represented on their online website and their school. I primarily used a color palette of light blue with dark blue font and art, while including pops of orange accent color. I used a mixture of photos, art, and cut out pages from typical school notebooks to demonstrate the academic side of the story. I used drop shadows to create depth and layered elements to show a complex and intricate style. I worked with a writer in a different journalism class than me to intersect the print and online classes offered for West Side Story and encourage those the in Broadcast Lab to produce their works in the WSS.
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04/01/24 Four Page Spread