Aditi Desai

Edge of Eden

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:45:14 -0400

Client: College of the Atlantic’s Publications Committee

I was asked to design the 2011 issue of Edge of Eden. Edge of Eden is College of the Atlantic’s yearly arts publication showcasing student’s talent in the literary and visual arts.

BETA: Maine Magazine Client: Beta Magazine & Matador...

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:57:00 -0400

BETA: Maine Magazine

Client: Beta Magazine & Matador Network

Along with my partner, Jill Piekut, I created a design sample for the fictitious new travel quarterly “BETA: Maine” Pulling from the identity and core values of the existing Beta Magazine, we chose “Texture” for our theme for the visual direction of the new magazine.

Our challenge became creating a design that related to the young, adventurous readership of Beta Magazine while still staying true to Maine’s more traditional identity. Our solution was to mix clean design and generous white space with sprinklings of bold graphics, and playful typography.

"A Reader"

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 19:02:00 -0400

Client: Architecture and Design Museum Los Angeles & The Basel School of Design

The project brief, as part of my publication design class, was to design a promotional poster / mailer for a lecture series hosted by A+D, and curated by The Basel School of Design. The goal was to represent the general mission/scope of the lecture series in a style that represents both the aesthetics of the school and the museum. Since most of the speakers are from Switzerland or speaking on behalf of the Basel School of Design the poster had to be designed in the traditional Swiss Style of the 1940s and 1950s. Additionally this promotional poster had to be able to be folded down to a 6” x 9” mailer with more detailed information about each speaker.

The lecture series itself is about “what lies beneath the finished product… By highlighting the passion and hobbies of graphic and type designers and people from fields not directly related to design,… ‘A Reader’ wants to reveal the process which leads to design, or even what leads to the process itself.” A concept which I felt could embody these ambitions visually was “Clockwork”- to show the inner workings of the artist’s processes and “what makes them tick.”

This concept, along with the requirement of using the Swiss International Style dictated the design of this piece. My aim was to create a final product that had a big visual impact while remaining simple and following a strict & purposeful grid system.

Prospect Park Event Calendar

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:39:00 -0400

Client: Prospect Park Alliance, Brooklyn, NY.

As part of my publication design course, I was assigned to design a monthly events brochure for Prospect Park Alliance advertising and informing local borough residents of the activities being held around the Park in May. The following requirements were given for the brochure: it must be able to be produced without a large marketing budget, must only use grayscale and 1 additional color, must be easy for the user to read and carry, must compete visually against all other flyers / printed media, and be presented in a form different than the traditional grid calendar.

My concept for the event calendar was a treasure map. This concept supplied the visual direction for the project. The result is a brochure with a warm, clean, eye-catching cover, that folds out into a organized lists of events, and further folds out into a map of the park highlighting the “treasures” of park and surrounding area.

The Anatomy of a Coconut

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 19:54:00 -0400

Client: Personal

I wanted to make a book about my experience as a third culture kid. What resulted is a self-portrait in the form of a 5.5” x 5.5” book made from images found on the internet and self-generated infographics juxtaposing statistics about the U.S and India.

While I wanted the book to be from my perspective, I wanted it to remain without narration. I instead sought to present facts and have the reader grapple with synthesizing them the same way I have to within my own identity. Though the book doesn’t have any direct narration, it isn’t voiceless. My voice is still very much present in the facts and subject matter I chose to portray and my visualization of them.

Milkshare Brochure

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:54:00 -0400

Client: Smith Family Farm

Smith Family Farm- a small local organic dairy farm, needed new order forms for their milkshare CSA that also addressed buyer’s most common questions about organic dairy and the CSA.

I created a compact brochure that highlighted the farm’s variety of products available for the CSA, contained an order form, faqs, and a farm bio, and would be able to be reproduced economically by the small family-run farm.

2011 Mini Calendar

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 03:39:00 -0400

Client: Personal

A small & simple mini calendar using vintage botanical illustrations of seasonal edibles for monthly culinary and botanical inspiration.

Maine Apple Seminar

Fri, 27 May 2011 03:29:00 -0400

Client: The Maine Apple Seminar

The Maine Apple Seminar is to be held fall 2011. It aims to highlight the heritage apple varieties originating in Maine and put Mainers back in touch with their roots as an apple culture through events and talks by pomologists as well as cider pressing, apple tasting, workshops, and kids activities.

To advertise the event, I created 1 large poster and 2 series’ of smaller posters. Though these posters take slightly different approaches, they were made to be visually consistent with each other so that they can be used together effectively as a larger campaign.

My first design for the seminar was a large 34” x 22” poster that highlights the location where the event is to be held- the historic and locally iconic Black House.

Next I created a series of posters around the idea of meeting your local varieties of apples. Each poster in the series highlights a different apple variety and some background about where and how it originated. When displayed next to each other, they showcase the visual diversity of Maine heritage apples and their unique characteristics.

Lastly came another series of posters highlighting fun facts about apples. These may later be turned into educational cards for kids

Battery Recycling Poster

Sun, 01 May 2011 02:18:00 -0400

Client: College of the Atlantic’s Campus Committee for Sustainability

As part of the college’s initiatives toward sustainability, the Campus Committee for Sustainability set up a Battery Recycling Station to collect used batteries. I made an informational poster for the station showing which types of batteries could be recycled.

Jazz Fusion

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 03:08:00 -0400

Client: Jazz and Fusion Music Event

As part of my school coursework, I created a promotional poster for a jazz music event in Midville, MI.

Nataraja

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 02:55:00 -0400

17” x 12” | Pen + Color Pencils

Nataraja (The Lord of Dance), is one of the forms of the Hindu god Shiva. His dance represents creation and destruction. In his upper right hand, Nataraja holds an hourglass drum that symbolizes creation and the pulse of the universe. The opposite hand, the upper left, counters the upper right with flames that represent destruction. The second right hand is held in the Abhaya pose, bestowing protection. The image of Nataraja represents the balance of the opposites of the world, and the cyclic rhythm of the universe, and additionally is full of many such meaningful symbols.

Krishna's Dream

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 02:52:00 -0400

9” x 12” | Color Pencils

Krishna is a Hindu god who is sometimes seen as the supreme god, from which all other gods originated. His name means many things including “dark one,” “bluish black” (his complexion is described to be “that of a storm cloud”) and “existence of knowledge and bliss.” He is associated with the Hindu concept of Lila, which explains the universe as a cosmic “purposeless play.” Krishna is always depicted wearing peacock feathers in his crown, therefore I chose to represent his manifestation of the world, his “Lila,” in the form of a peacock. Instead of giving Krishna an actual form, I drew only his eyes and nose to show his oneness with the universe and the cosmos. Krishna’s eyes are said to be incredibly beautiful and play an important role in many Hindu myths.

Matsyawatar

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 02:47:00 -0500

9” x 12” | Pen + Color Pencils

In Hindu mythology, Matsya was the first avatar, or incarnation, of the God Vishnu. He came to earth in the form of a fish during one of the universal periods of chaos to save Manu, the father of present day humanity, from the flooding and destruction of the earth. Vishnu restored order, and with his help, Manu re-established life on earth. In this drawing I tried to show the excitement and wonder of the re-creation of the world, and the birth of new life.