The Southern Sudan Project

Ria Jones, an old friend of mine, contacted me about doing a piece for the Southern Sudan Project to be used on fliers, bulletins, etc. Find out more about it here. When Ria and I were discussing the project on the phone and through email, I kept going back to the idea of Sudan being "broken" or "separated." What came to mind were innocent civilians who had their limbs cut off in senseless acts of violence. Since one of The Southern Sudan Project's main focuses is bringing education, I thought of the most innocent of all victims: children. A lot are them are just born into this, but there is still hope, since they are literally the future of Southern Sudan.

I came up with this quick value sketch. If you look carefully, the child's arms are cut off at the forearm, symbolizing the broken or torn nation, yet the ghostly image of where his forearms used to be is the hope, holding his head up.

Ria really liked the idea/sketch and suggested I add colors of the Southern Sudanese flag. I just cleaned it up a little and added in some of the colors in the back. I took the intensity down so it wouldn't clash too much with the main idea. Red is the blood shed for freedom. Green represents the land. Yellow represents the Star of Bethlehem. Here is the final.

Most of the time I don't fall in love with non-personal projects. This simple floating design has become a meaningful and personal piece for me. It has actually become one of my favorite and proudest things I have ever got a chance to work on. Special thanks again to the Southern Sudan Project for this opportunity.

conceptual, design