02 — Poster Design
A large-format printed 2D composition built around the Shahnameh's romance of Zaal and Rudabeh, illustrated through Persian calligraphy, a halftone portrait, and a phoenix wing as metaphor for Zaal himself.
No Adobe software, and no other software explicitly designed for print design and production. I explored new and non-traditional ways of making, beyond the parameters of existing design software, refining a formal approach from experimentation to mastery through iteration and development. Form, process, archive, metonymy, and framing were used as non-narrative approaches for representing a complex idea.
Text drawn from the original Shahnameh poem describing Zaal and Rudabeh's meeting, hand-lettered after many calligraphy practice rounds.
The final poster brings together a halftone portrait, scanned wing texture, ASCII-pattern background, and hand calligraphy, composited in Photopea with no software built specifically for print design.
چنان بد که مهراب روزی پگاه
برفت و بیامد از آن بارگاه
گذر کرد سوی شبستان خویش
همی گشت بر گرد بستان خویش
دو خورشید بود اندر ایوان او
چو سیندخت و رودابه ماه روی
One day at dawn, as Mehrab set out,
He returned from the court, wandering about.
He passed by his harem on his way,
Strolling around his garden's display.
Two suns shone bright in his royal hall,
Sindokht and Rudabeh, the moon-faced all.