OVERVIEW
Passing You By is a film festival concept for the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) exploring the idea of “passing” across race, gender, class, sexuality, religion, and identity.
SKILLS
Typography
Graphic Design
PROBLEM
The challenge was to create a compelling poster that promoted individual films while maintaining a unified festival identity. Each composition needed to communicate screening information clearly while capturing the complex themes of identity, perception, and belonging explored through the festival's films.
RESEARCH
I began by researching the historical and social meaning of “passing” across race, gender, class, sexuality, and identity. I watched each featured film and explored personal accounts of people who experienced passing firsthand, seeking to understand the emotional complexities of visibility, concealment, and belonging. I also analyzed BAM's existing visual identity and festival campaigns, studying its approach to typography, composition, and cinematic storytelling. These insights informed my experimentation with fragmented typography, overlapping imagery, dramatic scale, and visual tension, translating the festival's themes into a cohesive poster series that balances conceptual expression with clear film information.
SOLUTIONS
The concept informed a bold editorial system featuring cropped black-and-white film stills that reference BAM’s visual identity, paired with oversized typography, dramatic shifts in scale, and fragmented words extending beyond the poster’s edges. The irregular grid, high contrast, and interrupted imagery communicate concealment, transformation, and the tension between self and outside perception.
The concept informed a bold editorial system featuring cropped black-and-white film stills that reference BAM’s visual identity, paired with oversized typography, dramatic shifts in scale, and fragmented words extending beyond the poster’s edges. The irregular grid, high contrast, and interrupted imagery communicate concealment, transformation, and the tension between self and outside perception.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
What we choose to reveal, and what we feel compelled to hide, can tell two very different stories.
Designing With Empathy and Intention
Researching real experiences of passing and watching the featured films taught me that visual storytelling requires more than aesthetics. I learned to translate complex themes of identity, concealment, and belonging into thoughtful design decisions without losing their emotional significance.
Breaking the Rules With Purpose
Experimenting with oversized typography, fragmented imagery, and unconventional compositions challenged my understanding of traditional design principles. I learned how to create visual tension while maintaining clarity, hierarchy, and a cohesive identity across multiple posters.