From The Bayou

From The Bayou, art toy, 2024

Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, physical materials

Given a theme of 'religions, deities, and mythology' for a project involving art toys, my partner and I chose to portray Louisiana Voodoo. The art toy guidelines required packaging, figurines, and a booklet to serve as a guide for the understanding and exploration of the art toy's themes. After thoroughly researching voodooism as a practice and element of New Orleans culture, we wanted to represent a playful, cartoonish side to the practice, and tie back to the rich Louisiana bayou environment.

Constructing a wooden altar box from scratch to house the hand-made clay figurines and booklet, we leaned into the Roman Catholic influence and paid close attention to detail and aesthetics. Dark and rich, yet with moments of bright color and thrilling personality, From The Bayou explores the history, culture, and concept of Louisiana Voodoo.

Currently on exhibit in WORK 2024 at the IE Tower in Madrid, a showcase projects from students of the School of Architecture and Design throughout the 23-24 academic year.

I focused on the graphic design for the project, designing a double-sided, accordion-style booklet. The stark black contrasting the electrifying yellow and violet color palette recalls New Orleans Mardi Gras design styles. Posterizing all images and using halftones brings forth a vintage, eerie tone. Overall, the design balances new, modern techniques with a vintage rockabilly styling and inspiration.