Alice Guo interviewed by Hagar Elhanbly
Hagar Elhanbly What’s your favorite type of art and what type are you currently most familiar with?
Alice Guo I actually haven’t done much with art. I enjoy many kinds of art but I personally like polymer clay sculptures the most mainly because I have made some since elementary school. But other than that, I wouldn’t say I’m very familiar with other types of art. One thing I’ve recently gotten into though is Chinese calligraphy. I’m definitely not very familiar with it at all since I just started it but I’ve come to really appreciate it and realize how challenging it is to do.
HE What was your thought process when making your poster (reasoning behind choosing the colors/shapes/text)?
AG My poster has a pretty light meaning to it, and so I wanted to make the design as simple, light, and cheery. That’s why I decided to just have one main object of the tree. I also used some fun styles with the words to make everything seem kind of kid-friendly. The idea of my poster is just to enjoy nature more, so I did the light thing around the tree.
HE Is there a deeper meaning or message behind your poster?
AG There’s no deep meaning to my poster. Well, actually, now that I think about it, the deeper meaning could be to preserve nature and protect the environment. However, when I first created the poster I was really just trying to say that people should enjoy nature more. Just go outside once in a while and really take in the beauty of the outside.
HE Do you feel like your poster is personal or sends a message about something you are passionate about?
AG I guess something that influenced my idea was my walks back home with my mom. Throughout high school I would always try walking different trails with my mom and I loved just being outside with her and experiencing/noticing the seasons change.
HE Is there anything in your poster that you wish to change? or something you wish to add? and why?
AG If I were to change something, I would make my poster more detailed. Maybe put in the outlines of some birds, or maybe add like a little squirrel to the tree. I’d still keep it simple overall, but it would have been nice to maybe just make it a little more interesting to look at. But I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
Hagar Elhanbly interviewed by Alice Guo
Hagar’s “Terrorism Has No Reglion” poster is a protest against Islamaphobia. Getting her inspiration from anti-islamophobia protests, she uses a unique combination of pictures and words to create a somber tone for this topic. The effects of the poster creates a powerful message about fighting against the stereotypes of Muslims. Alice Guo
Alice Guo Do you have any background with art (have you done any art before)?
Hagar Elhanbly My background with art is mainly oil-painting and water-coloring. Before taking this class, I had never done any sort of graphic design nor did I know how to use applications, such as Photoshop, illustrator, or blender.
AG What is your poster about/how did you come up with this topic?
HE My poster is about islamophobia and how people try to justify it by relating it to terrorism and how they beileve Islam is behind the terrorist acts of extremist groups. It was fairly easy for me to come up with this topic because I’m definitely interested in eliminating islamophobia and fighting against the stereotypes people have about Muslims.
AG Do you have a title for it?
HE Yes, my poster title is “Terrorism Has No Religion” which is inspired by the protest posters people would hold during anti-islamophobia protests
AG How did you go about planning your design?
HE I wanted to both include a bold font with the title and at the same time I wanted to include many pictures of anti-islamophobia protests and other posters against the stereotypes of Muslims. That is why I thought of having a flag with the eye-catching font and then revealing the pictures as it would be both visually appealing and it will effectively deliver the message.
AG I see that you use images of real people and images that look like drawings, is there a artistic reason for this mix?
HE I would not say it’s a purely artistic reason but more because I thought these drawings delivered a different message from the protester’s posters and they were also aesthetically pleasing.
AG Anything else you would like to point out about your poster or anything you wish you had done differently?
HE I think I could have made the movement of the flag differently to better show the top part of the background and I also could have added more effects or colors to the background.