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Anesthesiology Graduation Designs
Anesthesiology Graduation Designs
Client: WashU Anesthesiology
Role: Lead Designer
Project Goal: The idea was to create multiple screens for the Anesthesiology graduation ceremony celebrating the accomplishments of the graduating residents. The challenge was to achieve a balance between the formality of the graduation ceremony and the department's spirit that focuses on friendliness, closeness, and human connection.
The Challenge:
Spatial & Technical Constraints: The design needed to be able to work in a cohesive system on two different sizes of screens: three tall and skinny monitors vertically arranged on one wall and another slightly bigger vertical monitor arranged on the other side of the room.
Conflicting Art Direction: I had to balance competing visions for the art direction. My director wanted a more traditional and formal design, while my manager preferred a more vibrant and fresh design to match WashU's new branding, and actually asked for a design that would "pop" and be creative.
Balancing the Persona and Professionalism: The key challenge was to balance these conflicting needs for visuals with the "family oriented" nature of the department. The design had to feel both elevated and professional for a graduation, while remaining personal to reflect on the relationships withing the residency program.
Personal Connection: In addition to the design challenges, there were personal stakes in the project. One of the residents whose graduation I had to celebrate was on my Eagle Syndrome surgery team and helped me through a complication I suffered after the procedure. (He also told me I had an immaculate airway, and one must always repay a compliment.)
CONCEPT IDEAS
Modern Concept
Traditional Concept
In order to navigate the contradicting instructions from both my director and manager, I asked for references, which were then provided. These included internal department magazines and the original invitation letter for the event to serve as a basis for the design. Art is ultimately subjective, so I try to avoid roadblocks immediately by getting a look inside my clients head. The best way to do that is allow them to pick the references, this way I avoid any theoretical discussions and give my client exactly what they want. In this case I offered two options for the design:
Traditional Concept:
This concept focused on tradition and formality of the institution.
Using the main elements of the crest of the university as a focal point of the design made it look prestigious.
The solid red coloring in the background is a classic WashU Design for a graduation ceremony.
Modern Concept:
This iteration directly addressed my manager's requirement for a "pop" factor.
It is a gradient transistion from an intense red color to a modern teal one, providing the sense of dynamics and vibrancy.
Since is utilized a stylized and minimalist shield overlay as opposed to the heavy traditional crest, this concept met the standards of WashU's modern branding, while keeping it professional and legible.
This approach proved to be very efficient, as the concepts based on different visual philosophies got approval at once due to the lack of necessity for any changes to be made.
With the design direction set, I began developing the layout for the three continuous vertical monitors. The modern concept had several revisions, going through two revisions before reaching the final version. Revisions included:
Refining Visual Hierarchy and Content:
It was decided that titles should be left out of the design while keeping the names of the graduates intact. While the inital request was for first names only, this was later changed to include both first and last names to make it more formal.
Some changes in content were introduced to relfect the names used by graduates personally.
Improving Visual Flow and Unity:
Both my director and manager found the original background too busy which resulted in simplifying the design.
One of the major structural changes included staggaring the images of residents to create a more dynamic effect of "Stairsteps."
In order to introduce some unity across all three monitors, the color gradient was strategically moved to intergrate it with the "Class of 2026" typography.
Color palettes in the gradients were adjusted and expanded.
Modern Concept
Revision One
Revision Two
Final Version "Class"
Final Version "of"
Final Version "2026"
In contrast to the modern design which utilized dynamic gradients, the traditional design emphasized clarity and formality of the presentation.
Refinement of Design: Although the development of this design came after the implementation of the "stairstep" layout for the modern one, this idea had its own distinctive visual language thanks to certain design decisions.
Adjustments in the Aesthetic: For the creation of a more sophisticated and academic visual language, it was requested to removed the thick white outer frame from the concept and instead substitute the picture frames with a thin white stroke instead.
Alignment of Revisions: Similarly to the modern, this concept underwent necessary revisions, such as using first and last names and taking into account personal preferences as to what the graduates preferred to be called.
Revision One
Revision Two
Final Version "Class"
Final Version "Of"
Final Version "2026"
With all the changes done, both the modern and traditional designs were handed to the graduation committee for them to choose.
Final Decision: The committee decided that the desgin would be mixed, combining the "modern" large screen with the "traditional" vertical screens.
Professional Suggestion: As the designer, I suggested that they should not mix the two designs to maintain consistency. However, in the end the client chose to move forward mixing the designs together, which was a decision I respected as the designer.
Outcome: With a professional approach to satisfy the client's final demand, the job was succesfully accomplished without any more revisions.
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