D23 Design Challenge
Finalist/Runner-Up | 2015
Project Summary
To mark the 60th birthday of the Disneyland Resort, the official fan club of the Walt Disney Company, dubbed D23, launched a major art competition, inviting artists from across the country to submit inventive re-designs of the Disneyland Resort's iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle.
I set out to create a piece with a clear narrative that would be truly original, appeal to both girls and boys, and celebrate the larger-than-life legacy of the Walt Disney Company. After deliberating, I chose to anthropomorphize the castle into a friendly giant named “Turret” who symbolizes the gigantic Walt Disney Company itself. Turret reaches down through the clouds to bestow a Mickey Mouse balloon on a small child, representing all the ways in which the massive company works to make individual and personal dreams come true on a daily basis.
I was awarded the status of finalist/runner-up in the landmark Disney competition. My artwork was subsequently featured at the D23 Design Expo Challenge in Anaheim, CA.
Judges for the challenge included Marty Muller, senior vice president, Global Creative, Yellow Shoes; Don Hahn, artist, film producer, and director; Adam Sanderson, Head of D23; and Steven Lavine, president, California Institute of the Arts.
