Current Events Editorial Project
This project is a combination of the best images and some experimental images I created for the Editorial sector. I use paper collage as my primary technique of creating images in this context, as well as using some Adobe Photoshop adjustments to enhance the images. The main stories I focus on in this project are the Hong Kong Protests of 2019, Covid-19, and some Chinese-centric subjects. My main website is sophieelliot.com, and my social media links are available in my profile.
Two news website mockups of two of my editorial pieces that I made for my Major Project at the Arts University Bournemouth.
This image was created in response to the travel restrictions and public health protocols that China was implementing due to the spread of Covid-19. When the height of China's infection rate was really taking off, this was around the time that the Chinese New Year Holiday in early Feburary was meant to start. But the pandemic caused all travel to be cancelled.
The image above represents the use of PPE and the reality of the Year of the Rat celebrations in a pandemic-restricted China.
This image was made in response to how the Hong Kong protests affected the local economy, this was mostly due to how much Hong Kong usually relies on tourism (and especially from Mainland China) and how the Pro-Democracy message of the protest (as well as the depicted violence on mainstream news) affected peoples view on Hong Kong, and no one really wants to take a holiday to a place with "violent" protests.
In this image I used the icon of the Hong Kong protests, the yellow umbrella, and a stock line bursting through the umbrella. This represents how the protests failed to protect the economy of Hong Kong (and also a visual referance to how the front-line protesters used umbrellas to defend against tear gas canisters and projectiles fired by police).
These images I made in response to the Coronavirus outbreak. On the left is a piece I made in referance to the Covid-19 strain being initially spread around China. I was inspired by the Da Jiu festival that happens every year on the island next to where I grew up, also colloquially known as the Cheung Chau Bun Festival. These buns are usually designed with an edible red stamp and are a main part of the festival, by using a biohazard symbol instread of the traditional stamp, It's a very simple and effective piece.
The piece on the right reflects the cycle of how protection, suseptability, and infection can happen at any time in the current climate of the coronavirus outbreak. Much like the wheel of fortune, the virus itself can just be carried by people, or infect and kill someone who was generally healthy, the unknown and no current vaccine for this disease is a big reason why it is so scary to many people.
I enjoy using stylized Chinese dragons in my current events work as a way to represent China as a country (it is a very effective shorthand for the representation of the East Asian country) . I also just really enjoy creating mythical creatures in my work.
In the left image, it is a representation of newly introduced US-China trade sanctions that took effect in spring 2020, This negatively affected China.
The middle image is about the general issue of Internet Censorship in China.
The image on the right was inspired by American Factory, namely China's use of free-market capitalism to engage in financial imperialism.
These are some more Covid-19 pieces I made in response to the media coverage.
The left image was created in response to headlines pointing out how the food hygine of meat and fish markets in China could have contributed to the rise of the most recent coronavirus outbreak.
The right image is about how the United Kingdom ignoring the early lockdown rules will evetually put more and more people at risk and cause high levels of infections and death.
These images were more targeted at the 2019 protests in Hong Kong. I found that the events that took place at the Polytechnic University and the Local Elections were very interesting.
The image on the left is about the large amounts of students being active in protesting and creating the methods of modern activism.
The middle image depicts the fires and property damage that happened at the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong. Protesters barricaded the University campus and engaged in a siege with the Hong Kong police force, the siege lasted 3 days.
The right image is a representation of how the 2019 local district elections saw a massive surge of pro-democracy politicians winning seats, and forcing out the pro-CCP politicians from district seats.
These are some alternatives to the headline "How have the Hong Kong protests effected the economy?" I wanted to incorporate the semiotics of bankers and finance, as well as the yellow umbrella (a symbol of the Hong Kong protests).
In the left image, I used a simple paper-collage technique with coloured pencil details to create a playful and simple look. The image itself depicts a downward stock trend with a businessman style character shocked at the economy tanking.
The right image has a similar layout and theme, but was created purely in Adobe Photoshop with added paint textures and using the polyganal select tool to create similar edges to the image on the left. It is a more complex image, but I appreciate how the aesthetic reads a bit differently to the image on the left.
Project Tags
Companies
BBC
- Media Production
The Guardian
- Publishing
The Telegraph
- Publishing
D&AD New Blood
- Events