sara

balsamo

Image of Sara Balsamo
Hello, I’m Sara! As a designer, I enjoy discovering different techniques to achieve my ideas. Through experimental typography, digital collaging, and more, my goal is to develop interesting and unique visual systems. Outside of design, I enjoy hanging out with my cat.

Senior Capstone: Arcade Culture

Arcade Culture is a place where people can experience retro gaming systems and learn about arcade history. As a museum and arcade, the company aims to educate its visitors on the beauty of arcade games and why it is important to preserve them. This project focuses mainly on three animated posters paying homage to arcade history and advertising the Arcade Culture location. The project also focuses loosely on Arcade Culture branding, including some deliverables and a website homepage.

Package Design: Zuma

Zuma is a hot chocolate brand based in the UK that aims to be both vegan and fairtrade. This mission makes their company widely more accessible to sustainable shoppers and people with dietary restrictions. The design uses more traditional botanical sketches of cocoa beans combined with bright colors that can stand out on a shelf. The design also aims to feature different fairtrade farmers and their experiences. Inside the box, the dividers can be taken out to reveal more artistic sketches and fairtrade quotes. These dividers can be pulled apart and used as coasters for the hot chocolate. Each hot chocolate flavor is individually packaged so that it can be taken on the go if desired.
The holiday version of Zuma features all the amazing elements that the original packaging yields with a chilly twist. The color palette features more greens and reds, and the flavor profile changes to reflect the season. Similarly, new design elements, such as a Santa hat, Christmas trees, mistletoe and snow are added to the box’s overall design.

Artist Catalogue: Robert Rauschenberg

This 34-page artist catalogue features some of Robert Rauschenberg’s famous and unique works. Each chapter delves into a specific series or subject that he focused on. The book itself is 8.5 in x 11 in and is meant to be easy to hold and display. The cover of the book features a white sleeve with Robert Rauschenberg’s name cut out. This sleeve can be removed to open the book. The cover features a collage of Rauschenberg’s work, which pays tribute to his discography, as well as his method of creation (often through collage). All of the images within the book are scanned images of Rauschenberg’s pieces. The typography is meant to emulate some of the collage and printing methods that Rauschenberg implemented in his work. This can be seen in the variation of weights, the smudginess, and the half-toning.

Valentina Angelkova

Carter Benoît-Myer