From new student to illustrator and author.

When you begin your first class at Miami Ad School your goal is to create something that you want to share and add to your portfolio. The Idea Presentation course is the beginning of your creative journey. Superstar instructor, Kim Capron Gonzalez, helps students jump right in.

The book you create in her class during the first three months of your Miami Ad School experience focuses on three main things:

•Typography

•Storytelling

•InDesign Layout

Elia Khalaf, a first quarter art direction student in Miami, took the assignment and created “A stumbled-upon journey into inner-galaxies, forgotten memories, uncharted waters, and the heroes and beasts within.” As you turn the pages of The Unicycle Chronicles short story you are drawn in. The words tumble through your mind. He brings you closer and closer to his edge then spits you out right where you began.

But, it’s the illustrations that make you want more.

The characters tell a story, they are simple yet complex and crafted to compliment the mood and feeling he is trying to portray. His lack of detail in his illustrations is whimsical and endearing and as he says, “If you take the time, you will notice that almost everything reflects you.”

Now, in his third quarter, Elia is working with a team of students who bring to the project their individual strengths. Angel Van Der Biest is bringing the story to life with animations and multimedia, helped by Jesus Acevedo. Alexandra Barberio is in charge of marketing and social media strategy. “Using the skills we acquired from classes like Thinking Strategically, we are now in the phase of figuring out how to get the project out there in cool ways. The publishing world has changed, and the wheel is being reinvented!” says the future authorpreneur. Stay tuned.

Photo Credit: Alexandra Barberio