Through the History of African American Dance
Design a Forever USA Stamp
DES_321 Images in Communication
Design a Forever USA Stamp
DES_321 Images in Communication
Forever stamp set honoring two centuries of African American dance styles: tap, swing, disco, and break dance.
Tools Used: Adobe Illustrator, Cricut
I wondered: how could I use these beautifully minimal folk figures to capture a sense of narrative?
Dance seemed like the perfect topic to investigate. I wanted to portray the motion and excitement of African American dance using the broad, swooping lines of folk art.
I traced my sketches, traced photos, built figures from only rectangles. With trial and error, and the work of Bill Traylor to reference, I decided my dancers should have long, bendy limbs that were very expressive.
I also used many reference photos to see how I might represent each dance style in a still frame. I found it was most dynamic to include multiple dancers in each composition.
I got rid of unnecessary design elements, adjusted colors based on my printer, and made expressive details like the dancers' limbs and eyes more prominent. I also had to reconsider how to best balance the figures in each composition harmoniously.
Creating a sticker sheet also required trial and error but taught me how to work with a cutting machine.