Varicella Zoster Virus Poster

Procreate, Adobe Photoshop

The intended audience for this poster targets students studying to become health care workers along with currently practicing health care professionals. The goal of this poster is to raise awareness and dialogue around how skin conditions present differently on a range of skin tones. The varicella zoster virus causes two infamous rashes: chicken pox and shingles. The presentations of both of these infections are often thought of to be characterized by bright red and pink itchy rashes and blisters. However, both chickenpox and shingles are most often documented and taught in educational settings using examples on lighter skin tones but, until recently, rarely on darker skin, where it can present more subtly with hues of purple and brown as well. It is important for current and future health care workers to be aware of the way diseases present on multiple ethnicities so that they are better equipped to identify and prevent misdiagnoses in patients of color.

Below, you can see my ideation process for this piece, as I refine my initial thumbnail sketch into a more defined composition and consider value and color use.