GOOD HOPE
For this project, I was invited by my mentor to assist in creating a poster for a documentary by Russell Webster. The film brings attention to the tragic reality of youth violence in the DMV area, focusing on the lives of teenagers lost too soon. My role was to design a visual that not only promoted the documentary but also captured the emotional weight and urgency of its message, raising awareness and prompting viewers to reflect on the systemic issues affecting young lives in our communities.
The Reference
For this project, my mentor envisioned a design inspired by the tone of the American Sniper poster something bold, minimal, and emotionally heavy. However, since this was for a documentary, not a feature film, the poster needed to reflect real-world severity without dramatization. The challenge was to convey the seriousness of youth violence in the DMV area while maintaining the documentary’s integrity and subtlety. Rather than revealing too much visually, I focused on creating a design that felt raw and honest, incorporating elements like a news article excerpt to ground the poster in real events and evoke a sense of urgency and truth.
GOOD HOPE
Symbolism
In this design, I created a paper-like texture to evoke the feeling of a real news article, reinforcing the documentary’s grounding in true events. At the center, I placed a nighttime view of the D.C. skyline, focusing on the areas most affected by violence to set the tone and context of the film. I included photographs of the two teen victims, because it was important to me that the audience immediately recognizes the human lives at the heart of the story. Beneath their images, I added their birth and death years to emphasize just how young they were a stark reminder of lives cut short. In the center of the composition is the title of the film, with the “O” replaced by a crosshair symbol to represent the constant threat of violence in their communities. Every element was chosen to create a design that feels both personal and haunting, encouraging viewers to engage deeply with the documentary’s message.
