Process Work: The original concept of this poster series was focused on three strong female artists who were popular in the 1980s. As a young woman who was raised in a female centered environment, this felt comfortable to me. Stevie Nicks, Whitney Houston, and Madonna are all musicians that I grew up listening to, however I did not feel a cohesive theme uniting them. Eventually I turned to the concept of “redefining masculinity”, which was inspired by the iconic artists Elton John, Prince, and Little Richard. These three artists broke toxic down stereotypes and rewrote the narrative of masculinity in the music industry.

I began this design process by printing text on paper then cutting them into strips and placing them in water. When the strips were a bit softened, I shaped them into ribbon-like forms, inspired by the freedom of expression amongst these artists. The movement of the words on the flexible paper inspired the wave style on the final pieces. For color, I wanted to steer away from stereotypical masculine hues and embody the expressiveness of these artists through orange, yellow, and pink. The final touches of the series were the iconic symbols on each poster. Little Richard’s keyboard, Prince’s guitar, and Elton John’s sunglasses added the necessary touch of individuality to these pieces.