Infographic

I’ve been fascinated about the process of evolution since I was a young child. The fact that random chance and natural selection could, over millions of years, create something as complex as the human body is something that I still find awe-inspiring. So, when given the opportunity to make an infographic, I took it as a chance to learn a little more about something that interested me and to create a design that I found the most engaging. I wanted to emulate the science posters I’d often see in my mother’s classroom while I was growing up.

Ideation

I gathered images from various types of infographics and compiled them into a more informational moodboard. I chose the eye over other various body parts since it not only is a very complex organ, but because the development of sight shook the very foundation of the predatory hierarchy. Animals without sight were set to the bottom of the foodchain, and it set off an arms race of
visual development.

Research

I read many articles and papers that discussed this very topic. In my ignorance, I thought that sight similar to ours would’ve taken a vastly long time to evolve, but in actuality the majority of it happened within 50 million years, which is a relatively short time as far as evolution is concerned. I realized this meant I had to render different time periods and animals than I initially thought.

Sketches

I made many sketches in order to thoroughly explore this idea and attempt to find as many different angles to come at this project as I could. There were many directions I could have taken, but I wanted one with a simple, effective concept.

Digital Drafts

Before I reached the final solution, I went through a few drafts that still needed some final touches. I chose the segmented arm since I thought it drew the viewer's eye the most and emphasized that horror behind the story rather than making it seem more clinical than it truly is.

Final Draft

We were tasked with making a dust jacket that embodied the themes of the book, to make something unique and eye-catching that would draw someone to pick it from the shelves. I wanted my design to convey the horror of the story, while also making you question how the image relates in the first place. I believe that my design was successful, as it draws the viewer in to not only see the full image as it wraps around the cover, spine, and to the interior, but also to discover what the meaning behind the segmented arm is, in context of the story.