This educational reference poster designed for middle and high school history classrooms focuses on the 2008 Housing Crisis. The goal was to visually narrate this pivotal event, emphasizing its causes, effects, and lasting impact on society. To achieve a design that felt distinctly financial, I drew inspiration from the bold, dynamic visuals seen in editorial article thumbnails by Ben Kothe and Ryan Haskins. Their approach to composition inspired me to use collage techniques to reflect the complexity and fragmentation of the housing bubble burst. The final poster balances collage, financial symbolism, and data visualization to convey the chaotic collapse of the housing market. By combining thorough historical research with an editorial-inspired aesthetic, I created an engaging and educational tool that immerses students in the story of the 2008 Housing Crisis.
The Process
Sketches
Sketching was a really important part of this project. I started out with some initial sketches, but after I realized those weren't working, I returned my sketchbook to quickly figure out the best layout. Spending a few minutes to think about my layout of paper helped me solve my issues, and the final sketch is almost the final poster exactly.
Iterations
I started this project right before I left on a trip, so I just wanted to get a quick idea down at first so I knew what I was thinking when I got back. After I finished the first finalized version, the next iterations focused on decluttering the poster, fixing some type size readability issues, and ensuring that the bubble really read as a POP.