Parsons School of Design
BFA Communication Design
Thesis 2018

Parsons School of Design
BFA Communication Design
Thesis 2018

The Journey
JD Stephenson Jr.

“The Journey” shows the impact of motion graphics in telling stories. Having a disability can have both positive and negative consequences. Laws have been increased to protect the disabled from work, or interact with students, coworkers, or other family members. Those who have a disability are less likely to pursue a creative career because of stereotypes.

“The Journey” is a Claymation animation that centers around a disabled rat named Jimmy. Jimmy firmly believes he can pursue a career as a graphic designer even though he is missing his hand. It’s targeted for children, ages 10–18 who have a desire to pursue a goal or career that seems almost out of reach because of their disability. The entire set as well as characters were made by hand.

The use of Claymation and motion graphics tells a story to allow the disabled to dream. Claymation requires problem solving skills, hands-on creativity, and creative writing. “The Journey” is based on personal experience about overcoming life’s challenges even if your family or friends are not standing with you. It challenges stereotypes of being disabled—that you can succeed if you put your heart, mind, and soul into your dream. Even though you have a disability, the disability does not have to limit or define you.

Maxine Joy Almendra

Daniela Al-Saleh

Amon Dario Appelt

Shruti Ashok

Whitney Badge

Jaire Berkel

Ingrid Bonetti

Victoria Boyd

Madison Bozinoff

Malulani Bria

Kaylin Brown

Rachel Brownjohn

Olive Burd

Germán Castellanos Reyes

Madeline Cericola

Vicky Chau

Amber Chen

Victor Chen

Wendy Ching

Connie Chu

Channon Chung

Leonardo Cilmi

Emma T. Conway

Nicole Corso

Qamile Dani

Magdalena de la Torre Suárez

Amanda Ericson

Dan Feldman

Anna Feng

Natalia Flores

Peter Frasco

Lucia Garza

Mariana Gaviria

Mikey Hefez

Adrianna Hinsey

Avinash Hirdaramani

Marielle Holland

Grace Hong

Surkho Shane Hong

Pauline Hotelier

Dylan Hughes

Jiyoung Hwang

Sonali Jain

Andrea S. Jassir

Christina Jenkins

Maria Jessica

Erin Johnston

Javarius Jones

Yea Ji Jung

Rachel Kahn

Anastasia Kharchenko

Jonathan Haojaq Kho

Alexa Kim

Cindy Dawon Kim

Sang Dennis Kim

Somin Kim

Yoonji Kim

Kyungmin Ko

Sidney Law

Kevin Lee

Jane Lee

Matheus Dal Santo Lewis Sage Smith

Kristiana Marcon

Hannah Marshall

Kruti Mehta

Gabriel Mester

Charlotte Miller

Mintra Morrison

Tamir Moses

Kaisha Murzamadiyeva

Thomas Nghia Nguyen

Lanie Nowak

Satoe Onizuka

Steven Orts

Owen Pace

Tatyana Palacios

Herin Park

Olga Pavlova

Luli Peralta-Esquivel

Lindsay Petricca

Constanza Pinto

Shreya Razak

Costanza Reiser

Vincent Riportella

Bateel Saber

Ahana Seth

Cristina Soberon

Rebecca Speiser

Natalia Spotts

Sabrina Steck

JD Stephenson Jr.

Richard Supriano

Eden Tartour

Jissaura Taveras Hernandez

Nathalia Tello Arias

Liz Tsai

Altyn Turdukulova

Amena Tyebji

Gabriela Vieira

Juan Diego Villegas

Yige Wang

Evelyn Wu

Jessie Yao

Crystal Yin

Rebecca Jiayi Zhou