When I was assigned this project, the guidance I received was that the design needed to be simple, professional, and visually appealing. I was given creative freedom with what the style and elements were, so I immediately looked at the previous year’s program [featured on the right].

My initial thought when given the project was to incorporate a Japanese art style. After researching, I fell in love with the ink art native to Japan and the natural elements, such as water, mountains, and trees, that it featured. I made a list of elements that I wanted to include in the design, which were mountains, trees, and a red sun as an accent, and began creating some drafts.

After updating the program cover, I began creating the interior pages. My thought process when designing these pages was to incorporate elements from the cover, ensuring the entire program was seamless. These pages featured cherry blossom branches tied to Japan, the tree on the cover, mist-like ink, mountains, and flowers.

The challenge I faced when designing each page was placing the elements in a way that avoided overlapping with the content, while also not overwhelming the page with too much content. Each page presented new challenges in terms of how the design would be placed, but it ultimately came together to create a seamless and professional design.

Once the program was complete, it was relatively simple to identify elements to incorporate throughout the rest of the promotional materials for the event. Below are additional materials I completed for the dinner, such as table numbers and sponsor signage.