2021 JCC MANHATTAN GALA INVITATION + DECOR

ROLE | ART DIRECTION, MOTION GRAPHICS, PHOTO ILLUSTRATION, GRAPHIC DESIGN, WEBSITE DESIGN WITH KWABENA APPIAH

The JCC’s Annual Benefit gala is the single largest fundraising event they hold each year. The 2021 gala was also the first hybrid (in person and live streamed) event they held since the beginning of the pandemic. The gala was honoring the co-chairs and director of the Reelabilities Film Festival, the largest film festival in the US dedicated to showcasing films by, or about, people with disabilities. It was vital to the stakeholders that the graphics for this event acknowledge and celebrate the Reelabilities Film Festival, neurodivergent people, people with different levels of physical ability, as well as the larger JCC community and institutional mission.

It was important to me that the design did not infantilize people with disabilities, and that the look and feel of the pieces matched the high price of a table at the event. It also seemed necessary to acknowledge the organization's resilience through the toughest parts of the pandemic, and that this gala was not a desperate plea for help, but a celebration of what the organization stood for. For these reasons I choose kaleidoscopes as my inspiration, because while the image in a kaleidoscope is rearranged it is never destroyed, it adapts and offers a fresh perspective. This approach allowed me a lot of flexibility in the design, and focusing on motion graphics for the decor of the event allowed for a seamless presentation between those attending in person and those at home watching via livestream.