Like so many others, I believe in the importance of protecting our environment and conserving resources for future generations. However, the ideas of conservation and 'going green' can often feel daunting or overwhelming in terms of work, commitment and scale, particularly considering the volatility of our current social and economic climate. In a society that is more resistant to change than ever, our inner skeptic is left wondering: “I’m just one person; how can I ever hope to make a difference?” This is the critical voice that I wanted my poster to address. My hope with this design was to ease the sense of intimidation, inspire thought and emphasize the idea that even the smallest step can make an enormous difference. The use of a ripple seemed to be the obvious vehicle to carry this message; what makes ripples so beautiful and interesting is how they appear to be so minuscule at first, but over time they grow exponentially, to sizes we never could have imagined. In this case, the ripples expand outward from the 'steps' (represented by humanistic footprints) as they would from a single drop of water, further accentuating the effect that a single act can have and how these acts can overlap or intermingle with one another. The ‘steps’ themselves are portrayed to show a sense of moving forward and a progression that could be interpreted either as progression in thought or action. Overall, I believe that this simple poster speaks to the skeptic within us all. While we might not be able to make an entire world of difference individually, a single step can resonate with others on a global scale; a single step can grow and inspire.

Designed for a class project in Advanced Graphics, submitted to the Utilità manifesta 2011 design contest (theme: "Design for Volunteering, Peace and Human Rights")

A proposed logo redesign for the Asian Studies Center at Bridgewater State University. The idea was to use shape and repetition to symbolize the minimalistic and elegant qualities present in Asian culture, while also bringing some youthful modernity to the center’s image.

Designed for a class project in Advanced Graphics; we were tasked with taking at least two statistics from Harper's Index that illustrated an interesting, thought-provoking comparison and turning them into an understandable, aesthetically-pleasing graphic.

My statistics focused on the differences between education in Japan vs. education in the USA, particularly in terms of foreign language skills (which are becoming ever more important, given the expansion and outreaching of technology, business and culture on a global scale). I used a simple graphic of the globe (color-coded to each country) and treated it as a typical pie chart, portraying the shocking visual difference at a glance. I offset the simple graphic with the actual statistic, done in an interesting, interlocking typographic style. The intention is that these graphics could be used either on an informational poster/ad, or as a graphic in a magazine article about the importance of global education in the USA.

A rebranding and redesign of the waste collection system in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts. This project was done as part of my Advanced Graphics class and in collaboration with a group of students at Hanyang University in South Korea. We brainstormed as a group and communicated via social media to come up with a list of things that were necessary to display and communicate through the packaging of the trash bags and on the bags themselves, as well as design idea on how to go about doing this. My solution dealt initially with removing all information about the program from the trash bags themselves and making them purely visual/aesthetically pleasing; from a consumer point of view, I would never personally look at the bag for all of the required information on how much/what to put in them. Instead, all necessary information about Worcester's program was placed on an informational poster and insert which could be kept by the consumer for future reference. The design itself was based around using the colors from the city of Worcester's existing logo, but recreating it to be more fun, playful and informative by using the ever-popular smiley face (which was actually patented in the city of Worcester back in the 1960's). It is my intent that all of the packaging and informative materials would be printed on recyclable paper in order to reduce waste production and encourage the use of the city's recycling program.

Created for my Graphic Design III class at Bridgewater State University; our project was to design/redesign the title credits for the groundbreaking film "Rashomon" by Kurosawa Akira. My solution dealt with the concept of mirrors, reflection and the complicated search of absolute truth. Much like the progression of my animation, the film starts out fairly simple/straight forward, but becomes more complicated as each character tells their version of "the truth", creating a web of interrelated stories and forcing the viewer to reflect on the meaning of truth, lies and the motivations of man.

Animation © Sabrina Watt
Program: Adobe After Effects CS5
Song Title: "Restoring the Balance"
Album: World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Soundtrack
Composer: Russell Brower, Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, David Arkenstone, Neal Acree

A "wordy" typography exploration

A typography exploration done for a college class. We were tasked with creating an interesting typographic arrangement using one word with at least six letters (one letter per square/panel). Legibility of the word itself was of little importance; instead, the focus was on making it visually interesting and meaningful.

A project done for my Publication Design class in the Fall of 2009. We were tasked with designing a large-scale (16x20") informational poster to advertise the upcoming AIGA Conference in Memphis, TN (for practice mainly, not for actual production!). My poster was designed specifically to be folded up into a smaller, pocket-sized piece; it could then fit into a standard-sized envelope and be sent out via mail. The front is meant to be a display poster, one that could be hung on a wall; it features an impressionistic skyline of Memphis and many word bubbles containing different symbols, indicating the broad spectrum of ideas and opinions held by the city's occupants (and the attendees of the convention!). The back is the purely informational piece, showcasing the convention's main theme, the large array of speakers coming to the convention, the registration costs, etc.

Though seemingly unconnected at first glance, these three concepts (words, life, and time) are all interrelated. Words define our life; the passage of time and the events that occur along that journey define our life as well. My animation visualizes these connections through stop-motion imagery, taking the word "LIFE" and showing how the positive and negative events that we encounter can affect us (both physically and emotionally); such as being “created” and living happily, to suddenly being crumpled, torn, and forced to put our life back together from ruin. It is an idea that is accessible to everyone, as it reflects the personal experiences we all share and feel throughout the course of our lives.

Student work created for the 2012 Adobe® Design Achievement Awards Contest

Animation and Audio © Sabrina Watt
Programs: Adobe After Effects CS5, GarageBand