For my senior thesis project, I wanted to look back to my roots and create something very meaningful to me. I grew up on old music that my dad showed me, and as I got older and listened to modern day music, I noticed that music doesn't seem to have the power and influence on social justice and political issues as it used to in previous decades. The power and impact that music has on the world has always inspired me, and I wanted to show in this project the power of a protest song, and how these songs have made me feel. With everything that has gone on in the world in the past year, specifically the recent racial injustice and police brutality in our country, I wanted to express how important music and art is in bringing people together and making a change in the world.

In this thesis I wanted to design powerful pieces by using a mix of illustrations, photography, color, and typography to express the power and story of each song. I wanted to use real protest photos as well as photos and illustrations of the influential artists to bring the movements and songs to life. I also implemented variety in terms of the decade, movement, and emotion of each song; I wanted the viewer to feel moved in different ways through out the narrative of the songs and show how protest songs can make you feel angry, sad, hopeful, empowered, etc. I used colors, fonts, illustrations, and photos that I felt were representative for each emotion portrayed in the song.