April 21: Virtual Graphic & Interactive Design Exhibition
Is Love Real
2020
Illustrated Book
Cool Party
2020
Board Game
Artist Statement
Justine Kelley is a Filipino-American, Philly-based designer and illustrator. Her work utilizes personal narratives, vibrant colors, and humor to explore the social barriers between people, while seeking to create new structures of meaning and connectivity. Most of her work is drawn by hand, infusing it with a personal and intimate quality which differentiates it from the conventional landscape of digital and corporate design.
In her artist books and branding work, Justine pulls on her daily practice of journaling to explore vulnerabilities and interpersonal bonds, as both a form of therapy and a service to the viewer. Using these skills of introspection, she synthesizes emotion as raw material, creating a magic funhouse mirror which reflects the world back at itself. Her process is both cathartic and symbiotic, as she strives to create a sparkly feeling within the viewer and herself, by tapping into the nostalgic and mysterious feeling of listening to music, dancing with friends, or singing karaoke.