Female Equality and Medieval Memories: Latest New Talent 2022 Entries

Women and feminism take the stage with today’s New Talent 2022 entries, with each piece harking back to different points in the long-lasting fight for equality, from medieval England to your local gym. 

In “Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived” (above), student Sarah Scambray from the Southern Methodist University was tasked by professor Willie Baronet to create and design a book. As a huge fan of historical fiction, she opted to tell the story of King Henry the VIII and his six wives, notoriously known for their unfortunate fates. While his name continues to ring throughout history, the names of the six women victimized by his cruelty have been reduced to a rhyme poem, known exclusively through the various ends they faced. 

Evidently disappointed by history’s continued neglect of these women, Scambray dedicated her entire design work to Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Katherine Parr, the “women who really ruled medieval England.” Her book details their lives and legacies through a well-designed layout consisting of elegant typography, medieval color schemes, and famous portraits for each wife. The end result is a fleshed out novel that’s both insightful and eye-catching, and Scambray’s work was even shortlisted for a communication arts design competition. 

On the other hand, student Kathrin Teh at Canada’s Capilano University takes us hundred of years down the line and into today’s fight for gender equality. In her poster series “The Girls’ Kickboxing Club” (above), Teh designed several advertisements for an exclusive, female-friendly gym that provides a safe space for girls to work out without the threat of harassment. Under the guidance of professor Dominique Walker, Teh made the poster series to empower women to reclaim insults regularly thrown at them, all while packaging her work’s themes in a unique, captivating design that reads like a magazine editorial. 

Being bossy, unladylike, or b*thcy are celebrated feats in Teh’s work, who explains that, “The Girls Kickboxing Club welcomes these words of shame and twists them into assets – words girls can wear like badges of pride.” From the poster’s lioness logo to its slogans, every design element in Teh’s work is a reminder of female autonomy, and the many ways in which design can be used for good. 

To submit your own empowering entries into our New Talent 2022 Annual, visit graphis.com for more.