About
Hello! I'm Shanna McDonald and I'm a Graphic Designer with a creative passion for design and art that creates a story. In my final year at DJCAD, I enjoyed experimenting and challenging myself to go above and beyond my limits of design. I strive to expand my design skills in exciting, new ways while exploring my design process that creates conceptual, insight-led designs.
The briefs I completed include the Hatch Live Brief and the International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD). It was important that I expanded my research skills to dig deep and create a story that captivates the viewer.
My Hatch Live Brief project focused on creating a forward-looking spirit brand that's deeply connected to the place it comes from. The final outcome was DaVision Malört, a Swedish wormwood distilled spirit created by Andersson Distillery & Co. based in the neighbourhood of Andersonville, Chicago. The brand strives to represent the pride and charms of Chicago while highlighting a hidden heritage; the Swedish community of Andersonville.
My ISTD publication references the 2022 brief, 'Shaping the World', a brief that investigates the significance of a novel, the time it was written, and its influence on the world. The outcome celebrates and explores Ralph Ellison's Novel 'Invisible Man' and highlights his lifelong passion for Jazz Music, specifically in this text, Bebop Jazz, and how this influences the writing style and narrative of his novel.
DaVision Malört
DaVision Malört is a Swedish wormwood distilled spirit created by Andersson Distillery & Co. based in the neighbourhood of Andersonville, Chicago. Chicago was previously the 2nd largest Swedish population in the world, second to Stockholm, Sweden, but after the Chicago fire in 1871, many had to flee and dispersed across the city. Many moved to what is now known as Andersonville. Even though that population may not be present to this day, Andersonville still preserves and holds pride for it’s Swedish heritage. The root of DaVision Malört’s vision is based in pride and community for the city of Chicago and sharing a heritage and unique spirit to the world. To do this, the label and bottle design both combines and juxtaposes the identities of the city and Swedish culture. Research into Swedish and Scandinavian design led typography and layout decisions as the label embraces principles of the style such as minimal design, whitespace and clean yet bold type. Research into Chicago street art influenced the bottle design as the raw, organic feeling of walking the streets of the city is captured on the bottle. The repeating motif on the bottle features hand-drawn, graffiti inspired designs of four, six-pointed stars, which is inspired by the stars on the Chicago flag.
Invisible Man as a Parable of our time
The Invisible Man as a Parable of Our Time is a publication that explores Ralph Ellison’s novel ‘Invisible Man’ and celebrates its impact on the world. Research into Ellison’s upbringing and personal life revealed that he initially was pursuing music as a career before becoming a writer. He especially had an affinity for Jazz music and during the time when Ellison was writing the novel, the Golden Age of Jazz and Bebop Jazz were at their peak popularity. The publication is an accumulation of articles about the novel, Ellison, the integration of Bebop aesthetics in his literary style and narrative, and the impact of his novel in today’s age. The visual style of the publication brings out flares of Jazz Design from the 40s-50s and carries out the theme of invisibility through type experimentation and texture.