Designer of the Year Applicant:
Designer of the Year Applicant:
Kaitlyn Dolphin
Kaitlyn Dolphin
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Top Five Designs by Kaitlyn Dolphin
Top Five Designs by Kaitlyn Dolphin
IT’S GAMEDAY! The Cougs face Dowling Catholic at Valley Stadium tonight for the first game of the season. The game starts at 7:30!
August 30, 2024
In game-day designs, it’s easy to get repetitive or fall flat as they usually yield the same color scheme and style. This design got me out of my comfort zone and brought something new to game-day posts.
The way the text was displayed gave clear insight to what the subject of the design was. The way the design was split (text to one side, photo to the other) was a way to ensure the design had balance and left off unnecessary white space, but also did not overcrowd the design.
The photo design aspect of this graphic was something new to me, but a welcome change. Being such a striking action shot, finding ways to highlight the intensity of the photo through design was a priority. Pulling the subject of the image to the front, and then creating a duo-tone shadow brought life and color to design.
The Cougar Basketball Teams take on Xavier tonight for a DOUBLEHEADER! They play at Xavier High School, girls at 6 and boys to follow!
March 8, 2023
When designing the double-header graphic above, I worked through multiple layers and experimented the best way to display information creatively and effectively, but still showcase the imagery that draws attention to the designs. The green divider made the text easy to spot, and created for a seamless look between the two photos. Additionally, pulling subjects to the front for the photos brought attention and dimension to the design.
Finding photos that had different levels allowed for mirroring without complete uniformity, which may be less appealing. The yellow and green of the shapes and text brought in school colors and tied well with the jerseys of the players.
ELF THE MUSICAL JR. is opening at Kennedy TONIGHT! Tonight’s show is 5, with shows at 5 & 7:30 on Friday (12/06) and shows at 11, 2, & 5 on Saturday (12/07)!
Be sure to support the cast and crew of this exciting production this weekend.
December 5, 2024
These graphics were created for social media as promotional material for Kennedy’s winter musical “Elf Jr.” Pulling colors from individual photos for each graphic was an interesting way to keep them cohesive, but also unique to each of the character and actors. Elf is a very playful, uplifting show, so I wanted that to carry through into the designs through the fonts, colors and imagery.
The format of the first slide was a slightly modified version of the other designs so that it showcased the whole cast and the show itself.
For the individual actor designs, the subject of the image is brought out to the front of the design, which allowed each character/actor to be specifically highlighted.
drive ihspa.pdfThe Spring Magazine: The Senior Pages
May 20, 2024
Torch Digital Archive - The Senior Pages: Volume 1, Issue 1
The Senior Pages, designed in April 2024, was the first edition of a new specialty magazine by the Torch. I designed unique graphics for each page that represented and showcased each article.
For the pages centered around individuals, I utilized cutouts to highlight the students being showcased (pages 19 and 20) or using unique graphic specific to the story, like in "We Did It, Safal" on page 2 where I took his election poster, and designed traditionally recognized “campaign merchandise” to be displayed on a bulletin board.
The nature of this magazine brought some additional challenges in design. For example, the “Seeing Double” and “College Reviews” pages brought unique writing structures and required design elements to match. The shorter, more individual “blurbs” about each college needed their own graphic while remaining cohesive on the page. For “Seeing Double” on pages 15/16, each set of twins was given a unique color scheme for their photos, all outlined in the longer photo strip picturing the twins together. This allowed for an easy to follow spread. Another interesting element of this design is the header, the reflection of the header gives a nod to the title, and reflects the playful nature of the magazine.
Another element in this magazine was the articles with less obvious imagery (see “The Senior Blues" on pages 11/12) that allowed for more creative freedom. The computer screen was a unique and representative element that provided more insight into the topic.
The “Who’s Who” game brought colorful fun to a senior showcase and the games scattered throughout such as Connections, Escape to Graduation and The Senior Scramble kept readers engaged.
The cover was one I am especially proud of. The graduation caps are hand drawn, and the simplicity of the text allowed that art to speak for itself.
Overall, finding ways to create a cohesive magazine was a welcome challenge, playing with color palettes and creating imagery with photos and other design elements created an interesting contrast in each page.
2024 Fall Newspaper - PRINT READY.pdfThe Fall Newspaper: The Homecoming Edit
November 1, 2024
Torch Digital Archive - The Torch: Volume 58, Issue 1
The 2025 Fall Newspaper (“The Homecoming Edit”) was a fall round-up type focus that I designed by myself from August-October. The hardest part about newspaper design, as opposed to magazines, is that you cannot rely on color nearly as much. Trying to find a balance between a traditional newspaper style and creating a design unique for our publication led to the various games and other elements, like the “Meet the Court” designs scattered throughout the newspaper. I found different way to format images and text so that nothing became repetitive.
The heading on the first page was another way to incorporate interesting dimension and unique elements to the newspaper, while keeping the traditional “newspaper look.”
For smaller articles, finding pictures that supported the length was important (see “Going the Mile” on page 2), the portrait images allowed for a longer look to the article, but still didn’t take up more space than necessary.
My favorite part of designing this newspaper were the elements like “Meet the Court” and “Get the Picture,” as they added character to the overall paper and kept it from getting dull.
Overall, the biggest lessons learned from this paper was text and image formatting and finding ways to pull creativity into something that can have a reputation of being “dull” or “boring”
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