Project Title: Chloe Clark Elementary Yearbook

Role: Lead Graphic Designer

Client: Chloe Clark Elementary PTA / Yearbook Committee

Timeline: Spring 2026

The Challenge

The Yearbook Committee wanted to move away from generic templates and create a publication that felt deeply personal to the student body. The goal was to incorporate authentic student artwork—specifically space-themed "doodles"—into a cohesive, professional layout without losing the charm of the original hand-drawn sketches or taking away focus from the image-heavy content and text.

The Creative Solution

I developed a visual system that celebrated "organized whimsy." By transforming physical student drawings into high-fidelity digital assets, I created a "doodled-in-the-margins" aesthetic that felt both playful and intentional.

1. Digital Transformation

To ensure the hand-drawn elements felt premium and print-ready:

• Digitization: Scanned student artwork at 600 DPI to capture every graphite stroke and paper texture detail.

• Vectorization: Utilized advanced Image Trace techniques in Adobe Illustrator to convert sketches into scalable vector graphics.

• Texturing: Created a custom watercolor galactic clipping mask. This allowed the simple black-and-white doodles to transform into vibrant, cosmic elements that served as the primary background motif.

  
  

2. Visual Identity & The "Spacey" Mascot

For the cover, I established a "watercolor-meets-cosmos" theme:

• The Gradient: Developed a deep, celestial gradient with a heavy watercolor texture to provide depth.

• The Mascot: Designed a whimsical astronaut (the school mascot) orbiting Earth in a paper airplane, serving as the focal point of the cover and the anchor for the rest of the book's assets.

3. Systems & Continuity

To maintain a cohesive flow across dozens of pages, I:

• Standardized the watercolor palette and doodle styles.

• Designed a library of "filler assets"—extra stars, planets, and stippled textures—to ensure no page felt empty while maintaining the minimalist, hand-drawn vibe.

The Result

A fully custom, 100+ page yearbook that feels like a collaborative art project. The final product successfully balanced the messy, nostalgic joy of elementary school with the crisp, high-quality production standards required for a professional keepsake.

Key Deliverables: Custom Cover Design, Vector Asset Library, Layout Theming, and Image Processing.