A Great Day To Retire

The goal of this project was to communicate a meaningful personal experience using only icons, letting the viewer interpret the narrative without the use of photographs or written text. I chose to document the day of my father’s U.S. Navy retirement ceremony, capturing key moments from a late-night drive home and early morning preparations for the ceremony itself and the family celebration that followed. Through a series of custom-designed icons, I transformed these memories into a visual narrative that guides the viewer through the day's events. Visually, the piece draws inspiration from the Naval Exchange (NEX), a shopping center known all too well to military brats, utilizing a structured grid system, bold geometric forms, and a navy-inspired color palette to reinforce the militarized theme. The final design demonstrates how symbolic imagery can convey a rich and personal story while maintaining a cohesive and engaging visual language.