HOME | Jordan Elizalde Design

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Pink Poppy Flowers

Process-Oriented • solution FOCUSED • Design-driven

This typography poster romanticizes the classic 1985 font, "Optima," designed by Herman Zapf in 1985. The design highlights the stressed line weight in the iconic capital "O," as well as the concave terminals in the lowercase letters. The design has the essence of a film poster, leaving us curious as to what these letters are up to.

On Campus as It Is in Heaven was a custom T-shirt design created for All Campus Worship (ACW) Night, a student-led biannual worship event held on TCU's campus. The concept draws from the iconic line in the Lord's Prayer to reflect a collective desire for worship, unity, and holy surrender within the everyday spaces of the university. The design was developed in conversation with the ACW merch team, from initial concept through refinement, and received official copyright approval from Texas Christian University to incorporate the university name.

Mockup photography was shot atop a campus parking garage, using the elevated setting to symbolically reinforce the theme while grounding the trendy imagery in a recognizable campus environment.

Designing a school shirt T-shirt that students actually want to wear is never an easy task. When I was offered the role of designing the Senior T-shirt for the Arlington Heights High School Class of '24, there were several challenges I had to address.

I wanted the shirt to be a fun color because Senior year is a celebration. I went with a light pink. Yet, I wanted the shirt to be taken seriously, and still appeal to boys, so the design is a more trendy, masculine, san-serif sketchy illustration, which the guys ended up loving. The design captures the entryway to Heights, making it so special to the students who walk up those steps everyday.

The shirt was a success, raising hundreds for the Class of '24, and giving the student body with a design they could wear confidently.

For my Summer 2028 Olympic poster design, I drew inspiration from Native Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime art to honor the cultural heritage of Sydney, Australia. Using alcohol markers, I built the image with layered rings and flowing, organic shapes that echo traditional Dreamtime designs. I reimagined the Olympic rings so they mimic the curved language of a running track, symbolizing motion and unity. To keep the design accurate and balanced, I carefully calculated the spacing and distance between the rings before rendering them. The headline “Dare to Dream” ties the concept together, encouraging viewers to pursue ambition while connecting to the Dreamtime emphasis on identity, and the power of narrative.

This poster was selected for exhibition in the 2025 TCU Kick A** Design Competition.

During a traditional fine art workshop at TAFA, I developed two Old Master Replicas and one still life oil painting from direct observation. This workshop gave me the opportunity to improve technique with physical mediums.

TAFA approached artistry as if it was the 1600s. We didn't listen to music, and worked on our art the entire day long. Photo references and pencil sharpeners were replaced with plumb lines and sand paper. Under the supervision of critical instructors, I trained my eye to notice the slightest inaccuracies in proportion, and my work is now better for it.

This photo collage is based on the blissful poem, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth.

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

- William Wordsworth

This project began with the goal of designing a pattern that could work as a light screen motif. I wanted the pattern to be based on the natural patterns found within an artichoke. I began by studying patterns I observed, and then developed more abstract graphics using those forms.

For a studio photography project, I focused on an artichoke as my subject
and experimented with controlled lighting to highlight its natural form. I
used my lightbox — designed with patterns
inspired by the artichoke’s layered shapes—to project intricate my shadows onto the vegetable, creating a dialogue between the object and its surroundings.

This exercise allowed me to practice shooting in studio lighting, exploring how light direction, intensity, and shadow can enhance texture and three-dimensionality. The result is a visually engaging study that emphasizes the
artichoke’s structure while showcasing the interplay of light, pattern, and form.

This watercolor study of chicks was a part of the process for a larger artwork, "Cooped", shown below. It helped me get a grasp on the anatomy under the fluff of young chicks. I loved this study so much, I ended up printing copies to frame and sell.

In 2025, I sold prints of my chick study at Elle Maxine Boutique in Fort Worth.

This oil painting captures the feeling I have when I can't seem to put the phone down. I'm stuck — tied up in social media.

I took and edited photos of my brothers hands in studio lighting to use as references, and painted the cat's cradle from my imagination, resulting in a nightmarish scene of digital claustrophobia.

We're all familiar with the term, "iPad kids." I'm sure you could find one at your nearest restaurant without much trouble. Today, parents use screens as pacifiers, and the damage this causes to children's brains is catastrophic. This artwork is a representation of how Gen Alpha is being raised — sat in front of an iPad before they're even old enough to speak.

For this portrait assignment, I wanted to explore identity, self-presentation, and the tension between confidence and concealment. Sneakers — especially Jordans — have always been a personal symbol of individuality and self-expression, so I used them as the focal point of the composition. By emphasizing the shoe and distorting my body in an unusual position, I aimed to challenge traditional portrait perspectives and highlight how identity can be both seen and obscured. Everything looks off, and I love it.

This work was created using studio lighting to produce a bright, almost airy atmosphere that contrasts with the slightly strange and contorted pose. I positioned myself so that the viewer’s eye is drawn first to the Jordans, then up to my body, which is quickly disappearing into the sweep. I wore my favorite outfit — with big bellbottom jeans that pair with the forshortened perspective — adding authenticity and grounding the visual elements in something personal.

PORTFOLIO • PORTFOLIO • PORTFOLIO •

Need more?

I've always been a creator, but not everything I've made fits into a larger body of work. Check out the rest of the art I've created over the years, from AP Drawing to just-for-the-heck-of-it.

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