Art & Design
Art acts as a powerful extension of the story. It tells a narrative in itself, evokes emotion, and can allow the reader to immerse themselves in the topic at hand. As an informative connector, the images that accompany a story draw readers in.
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Half-Mast
The Grosse Pointe community faced two losses due to the tragedy at Michigan State. Although I have not yet decided on the way that we will respond as a publication, I noticed that the flag at North was lowered to half-mast, and took it as an opportunity to capture a powerful image for future use. When I stepped outside, I took note of the brightness of the sun, and was worried that it may force me to take the photo at a specific angle. However, I chose to find the angle where the sun illuminated the flags and the school was shown in the background. The sun's light shining through the flags is what truly makes them the focus of this image and draws attention to the state of the flags. I wish that I had been able to remove some of the cars in the background, but was unable. Nevertheless, I believe that I captured the heartbreak within the Grosse Pointe community in this photo.
When the Grosse Pointe North community faced an active shooter threat and lockdown in December, I knew that it would be important to capture the fear and uncertainty that everyone felt during that moment. During my interviews with students from around the building, I learned that most students were unsure whether or not the lockdown was a drill, and were texting their parents in an attempt to get more information, but no one knew anything. I wanted to recreate those frantic text messages. I dimmed the lights, created a message, and asked someone to hold the phone. In my first attempts, the photo did not look like it was taken in real time. The time did not reflect the actual time of the lockdown, no one was typing, and there was no response. I changed those aspects to accurately capture the occurrence.
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Issue 5 Back Cover
School Board Elections
A variety of candidates with different backgrounds and beliefs ran for the GPPSS school board within the past few months. When I wrote a profile on two of the winners, Cotton and St. John, I wanted to create art that extended beyond the candidates themselves, and showcased the community's role in the elections. I acquired lawn signs, even picking one up from St. John’s residence, and set them up next to each other. I wanted to place them next to each other to show the election winners coming together as board members. While the final product may not look complex, I had many different versions of the same photo before I ended with the final. I wanted the horizon to be in the shot and the signs to be shown in a real yard, not the school parking lot, which is where I took my first photo of the signs. I am happy with the simplicity, yet deeper meaning of the photo.
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Students say an apple a day is not enough
When vegetarian students did not feel represented in the North Cafeteria, I interviewed those students to learn more about their concerns and suggestions and turned those interviews into a story. For the art, I wanted to create something that brought attention to the inequality and informed readers of an adequate vegetarian diet. I created an infographic that showcased each food group, with examples of proper foods that fit into each category. My work did not stop there. After writing the story and creating an infographic, I designed the page. I played around with the placement of the circles, starting with them in the middle and ending with them in the bottom right. I also matched the headline to the infographic. The page was award winning and brought light to an issue within the school in a visually appealing way.
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