Happy accident

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One of the obvious challenges of presenting a historical but compelling visual story is the lack of images from days long past. “Telling the 185-year history of the house, the land, and the City of Milpitas—in a format that would be digestible and engaging for all visitors, including school groups—that was challenging!” says Ray Chi, Senior Visual Designer, who has handled art direction for our work on Alviso Adobe House.

The team leaned into what our Content Director Christine Murray describes as “the poetry of illustration,” researching and developing a fitting aesthetic, with Ray creating designs using Adobe Fresco on his iPad. The style is reminiscent of sketches from an old-world travel journal, backed with watercolour washes, silhouettes and shadows.

Here, Ray says he exported his Adobe Fresco drawings to his computer and all the layers displayed at the same time: "Kinda dig the look of it!"

Adobe House sketches

Acknowledgement of Country

In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge the many Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and honour Elders past, present and emerging. We respect their deep, enduring connection to their lands, waterways and surrounding clan groups since time immemorial. We cherish the richness of First Nations Peoples’ artistic and cultural expressions.