(no images downloaded yet)
# Project Description Given by Blood Ielyzaveta Usanova Summary Final work My work often engages with themes such as body politics, queer residues, displacement, wartime identity, and the broader question of human agency. Like many artists, I seek both to find my own place and to build community through visual motifs and metaphors. I am fundamentally driven by the desire to bridge the gap between medium and message, so that others might find the same solace and reflection in my work that I experience during its creation. My approach is both personal and political. I believe that design and art are powerful tools for challenging silences and amplifying marginalized voices. I strive to create work that is not only visually compelling but also invites critical engagement and dialogue. My work often engages with themes such as body politics, queer residues, displacement, wartime id... College Central Saint Martins Course BA (Hons) Graphic Communication Design Graduation year 2025 Given by Blood is an interactive-visual novel that interrogates how graphic design and interactive storytelling can resist the aestheticization of war and challenge the silences that design often perpetuates. Illustrated, designed, and coded by Ielyzaveta (Lisa) Usanova, written by Ayra Alex Thomas, and translated by Olena Usanova, this work centers the Ukrainian body—both literal and metaphorical—as archive and witness, confronting the ongoing violence of invasion and the deeper legacies of colonial domination in wartime Ukraine. In an era of rapid, surface-level media consumption, Given by Blood disrupts passive viewing and invites audiences into a deeper, more critical engagement with the realities of war. Rather than reducing conflict to sensationalized imagery or romanticized suffering, the project foregrounds memory, amplifies marginalized voices, and exposes the enduring structures of power that shape identity and resistance in Ukraine. Through immersive visual storytelling and interactive design, this novel insists that war cannot be understood in isolation, nor can neutrality be an ethical response. Given by Blood stands as both an invitation and an imperative: to remember, to resist complacency, and to recognize that solidarity—rooted in memory and active engagement—is our most powerful tool against erasure and violence. Final work View Gallery View Gallery View Gallery Given by Blood Trailer View Gallery View Gallery View Gallery View Gallery View Gallery Share this project Given by Blood is an interactive-visual novel that interrogates how graphic design and interactive storytelling can resist the aestheticization of war and challenge the silences that design often perpetuates. Illustrated, designed, and coded by Ielyzaveta (Lisa) Usano... A link to this page has been added to your clipboard Browse related work Body Digital Experiences Conflict & Its Effects Politics Realities Histories VisualCommunication Coding
# Links ## Official page - https://ualshowcase.arts.ac.uk/project/632286/cover ## External - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ielyzaveta-usanova-18bb26220/ - https://www.instagram.com/lis4nova - mailto:lisaausanova@gmail.com - https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fualshowcase.arts.ac.uk%2Fproject%2F632286%2Fcover&text=Given+by+Blood - https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fualshowcase.arts.ac.uk%2Fproject%2F632286%2Fcover&media=https%3A%2F%2Fportfolio-tools.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F05%2F29185737%2F124.png&description=Given+by+Blood