The Absinthe Ritual
October 2021
Concept: My assignment was to visually describe the process of preparing absinthe. I decided to include a True or False quiz featuring common misconceptions about the spirit because dispelling these myths was central to the story I wrote in conjunction with this graphic.
This spread was created for District Fray Magazine in Washington, D.C. as an addition to a feature story I wrote about absinthe.
Work: As soon as this idea came to mind, I knew exactly how I wanted it to look. I called up my photographer friend, Steel Brooks, and we set up a makeshift studio in my living room complete with lighting and black seamless paper. My partner set up the fountain and got it running while I directed the shoot. I did a little bit of Photoshop work to clean up the photo, then took off with the graphic portion of the design.
Inspiration: I was inspired by my partner's love for absinthe. He first introduced me to the spirit, and even bought his own absinthe fountain so we could enjoy it at home. The fountain, glasses and absinthe spoon featured here are all his. The dotted and curly stylized arrows were inspired by Cosmopolitan Magazine, and the fairy illustration was inspired by vintage absinthe posters.
Challenges: Setting up the photoshoot to get the picture just right was the biggest challenge I faced because I had only directed one other shoot before, but even this wasn't too straining. I had a lot of fun with this project and felt it came together pretty easily because I knew what I wanted to do from the start.
Programs: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop
Timeline: 3 weeks
Process:
