ISHRAQ
Multidisciplinary Designer
PROJECTS
1. VOWD
Other
2. HeartStone
3. Exert Platforms
4. Dissolution
5. LiDAR Try-On
6. Performing Arts Center
7. Q-Uniform
8. SERO Mask
9. California Wildfire
10. Raccoonada
ABOUT
Resume
Films
Inspirations
California Wildfire: A Visual Language for Environmental Storytelling
Printmaking
Role
Printmaker, Visual Designer
Wildfire is a series of hands-on print works that have been developed into a visual storytelling system, addressing the ecological impact of wildfires. Using various printmaking techniques, such as relief printing, etching, or screen printing, I have created prints that capture the essence and intensity of wildfires. The series was later adapted into a digital campaign prototype and a series of motion-driven social posts.
How analog processes can be a powerful medium for emotional and environmental storytelling. What I learned was to intentionally use the physicality and unpredictability of printmaking as a metaphorical tool, where the act of carving, pressing, and inking directly mirrored the destructive yet transformative force of wildfire. I also learned that by embracing technical imperfections and "happy accidents," I could create a visual language that felt both raw and authentic, echoing the uncontrollable nature of the subject itself.
Furthermore, this project taught me the value of systematizing a creative process. I didn't just create a series of prints; I developed a cohesive visual language built on repetition, texture, and tone that could be effectively translated from a hands-on artwork into a digital campaign. This demonstrated how a deeply personal and metaphorical artistic process can be scaled to serve as a powerful tool for public awareness and narrative expression.
This project explores how analog processes like relief, etching, and monoprint can serve as powerful tools for narrative expression, systematized into a series of artworks that could be translated into a larger campaign or awareness initiative.
Emotional Starting Point
The emotional gravity of the California wildfires — fear, awe, loss — served as my conceptual entry point. I aimed to visually communicate this psychological weight through expressive textures, tonal extremes, and abstraction.
Expressive Potential of Printmaking
Inspired by the physicality and unpredictability of printmaking, I used each technique not just for form but as metaphor— carving as destruction, pressing as pressure, ink as smoke.
Influence & Dialogue
Drawing inspiration from Jasper Johns and my own previous abstract work, I created a dialogue between recognizable motifs (e.g., flames, trees, smoke) and altered, abstracted imagery — echoing the duality of fire as both beautiful and devastating.
Repetition as Narrative
My longstanding interest in repetitive visual forms served as a structural device throughout this project — reflecting the cyclical nature of wildfires, both in ecosystem and media coverage.
Texture & Tone
The strong contrasts, layered textures, and raw edges evoke a visceral visual language. Each technique offered its own voice — relief prints for stark destruction, etchings for detail and decay, monoprints for unpredictability.
“Happy Accidents”
In embracing technical imperfections — smudges, ink spills, misregistrations — I mirrored the uncontrollable force of fire, allowing process to shape outcome.