Waking Death is a program of events exploring death and related themes through art, discussion, and community engagement. The project’s goal was to create a website where visitors could learn about the series and access an event calendar. The site’s visual identity was informed by the logo and illustrations by Shanell Papp, which guided a tone that is somber yet playfully expressive. The design challenge was to present themes of death in a way that felt approachable and artful rather than overly dark. I paired charcoal backgrounds and bold typography with soft pastel accents and a hand-drawn font. To complete the aesthetic, I incorporated brush-like shapes in the navigation and footer for added texture and cohesion.
The Waking Death Collective
Output Media
Website Designer & Developer
2023
Ensuring seamless tablet and mobile performance was essential, as the site was designed for users attending events in real time. While the event series is over, you can still visit the site.
I incorporated short looping animations with Shanell's drawings to bring subtle movement and personality to the site. These animations were triggered on hover and as users scrolled, adding interactivity without distraction. Significant troubleshooting went into optimizing transparent video files for performance and ensuring smooth playback across different browsers.
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In addition to the website, I designed two posters to promote the Waking Death event series. One served as a general promotional piece, while the other listed all scheduled events. I brought over the same branding guides to maintain visual cohesion across materials. The posters were displayed on campus and throughout the city to raise awareness and drive attendance for the program.
