Greetings!
My name is Xiaoyi Zhu. I am the design editor for Iowa City West High School’s newspaper, the West Side Story, and have been on staff for three years. One of my favorite activities to do is scour the web for design inspiration and learn new adobe suite techniques. Being curious has helped me develop my own design style as well as open-mindedness towards new creative trends.
I believe the most important duty of a designer is to create visuals that enhance the reader’s understanding of the article, directing their attention to the most critical points. I strive to impact my community by raising awareness of societal problems through creative designs.
WORK 01
The Division Decision
West Side story Volume 53 Issue 5, April 23, 2021
On the cover, one detail to note is that the figures in the inner circle all have their backs against the pink ELL/Special Ed student, trying to depict that other students are unwilling to approach the student because of the language barrier. My Ultimate goal with this design is to use the art to enhance or symbolize the isolation of ELL students.
WORK 02
Overlooked
West Side Story Volume 54 Issue 2, November 19, 2021
I wanted to incorporate sports elements into this design, so I used the mesh tool in Adobe Illustrator to create the flowing nets and waves, and the 3D effect tool to create the sphere. I made sure those elements and the gradient won’t dominate but add a cool effect to the spread.
WORK 03
Breaking Barriers
West Side Story Volume 54 Issue 1, October 01, 2021
Font, shape, and photo outlines are very popular in sports designing so I decided to use them in this design.
WORK 05
Trigger Warning
West Side Story Volume 54 Issue 3, January 21, 2022
Collage is a great way to pile illustrations and photos. For the graphic, I made sure that the person’s face is pointed to the title because direction can make the graphic seem cohesive with the design and more interactive. I really liked how this design turned out.
WORK 05
Epidemic
West Side Story Volume 54 Issue 4, March 04, 2022
In this design, I chose grayscale colors to represent the unknown areas behind this drug epidemic; it also ties in very well with the tone of the article. Another concept I used to portray the “unknown” is the squares blocks which act like mosaics that censor us from seeing the problem.
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