Revolutionary Biography
Honoring community organizers through vector portraiture, typographic storytelling, and animated motion graphics.
The Role
Illustrator & Graphic Designer
Portrait illustration, typographic layout, and After Effects animation for a live gallery exhibition.
Timeline
6 weeks · Delivered July 2022
Recognition
Certificate of Excellence
Salem State University · Department of Art + Design
The Context
Internship outcome at The People's Forum, this project bridges print vector artwork and digital motion graphics. The objective was to create a cohesive series of visual biographies honoring prominent activist figures in each room in the institution while creating high-impact motion assets for public broadcast and web distribution.
0.0 Award-winning gallery poster — Revolutionary Biography
Bringing static illustration to life.
Each portrait was designed with animation in mind. Layers were structured in Illustrator to prepare for complex motion paths, kinetic typography, and multi-frame timing in After Effects.
1.0 Full cast animation loop
1.1 Social card animation
Five revolutionary figures. Five illustrated stories.
Each portrait was hand-illustrated in Adobe Illustrator and animated in After Effects. The subjects — community organizers and activists honored by The People's Forum — were depicted with bold color palettes and typographic storytelling.
2.0 Claudia
2.1 Baker
2.2 Josina
2.3 Michael
2.4 Violeta
Every portrait, up close.
Explore the individual illustrations and final gallery-print versions for each subject.
Full composition series.
Each subject's poster pairs a vector portrait with biographical typography, creating a unified visual language across the series.
4.0 Gallery Poster — Award-Winning Entry
4.1 Baker Poster Composition
4.2 Claudia Poster Composition
4.3 Josina Poster Composition
4.4 Michael Poster Composition
4.5 Violeta Poster Composition
Design as an act of recognition.
Revolutionary Biography earned a Certificate of Excellence for its fusion of illustration craft and motion storytelling. The project demonstrated that design can honor real people — translating lived experience into a visual format that commands attention in both gallery and digital contexts. It sharpened skills in After Effects animation, portrait illustration, and designing for a culturally significant brief.
Skills Applied