This digital illustration of a moth draws inspiration from icons of divination and alchemy. Throughout various forms of media, we often see moths and other insects associated with positive magic. Using imagery from the black arts, this whimsical insect is representational of the bridge between horticulture and natural magic.
Design a gender neutral brand and product for an assigned kids playhouse.
During my time in college, I was asked to develop a brand identity and package design for an existing architectural playhouse assigned. I chose to pursue a sandcastle concept that would appeal to children of both genders. Regardless of gender, everyone can agree that kids love sandcastles. I used this common interest as inspiration for this project, and developed a concept of a crab themed sandcastle. From the package design, to the pieces of the kids playhouse itself, the theme is communicated efficiently and cohesively throughout the brand. The playhouse set also features an on-theme paint set with a brush to customize the castle, washable, of course. Whether your kid colors inside the lines or out, the included paint is washable to make cleanup a breeze.
This project combined my branding and crafting skills, and challenged me to build a brand and product that is cohesive throughout. It also challenged me to focus on a broader audience, being a gender neutral product for children. Knowing and being able to appeal to your audience is an important skill in the design world.
Formulate a unique concept and design a monthly subscription box and website.
For Digital Media Studio II, we developed a brand, corresponding website prototype, and subscription box on a topic of our choosing. Artistic expression was my main focus of this assignment, and this prompted my concept of an art and wine subscription box named Dabble; a brand that promotes dabbling in various arts. I’m sure that I am not the only one who prefers to drink and do my art at home, as opposed to in public. I used this common interest as inspiration for this project, and developed a wine and art box; similar to that of a “wine and paint” event. It was my intention to communicate artistic expression throughout all aspects of the brand (using brush strokes, homemade patterns, and more).
The monthly subscription box features a bottle of wine, an art project with supplies, and a cracker and cheese pairing, as well as offering several ways to get creative, even down to the lid of the complimentary supply box.
This project encompassed an array of my skills, such as branding, crafting physical prototypes, photography, and web layout design. I took this project as a new challenge, and used the opportunity to come up with a unique concept that was executed beautifully. From the box, to the contents, to the website; this brand and product screams “creative” in a way that is elegant and artistic. I would consider this project one of my strongest yet.
Click the button to view the working desktop prototype for Dabble Creative.
Develop a catalog based on a product of your choosing, complete with branding elements.
For Digital Media Studio I, I created a brand centered around fresh, artisan preserves. Growing up, I always helped my Grandma (Fijak) pick fruits from her gardens, and tried my best, as a five year old with mediocre cooking knowledge, to help her create her fruit preserves. To this day, I drool over the thought of her jams in my Christmas baskets ever year. I took inspiration from these cherished family moments to develop the company Fijak Gardens. Since my inspiration came from the concept of homemade, preserved memories, I chose to go a rather “kitcshy” tone for the brand aesthetic. Fijak Gardens is all about farm to table, fresh ingredients and cooking with care. When these aspects come to mind, the first thing that always comes to mind is a “homemade-grandma” vibe, so I honed in on this tone in my packaging methods, logo design, and even photo composition.
We are set out amongst the rest of our competitors, and I wanted the catalog to shout this from the rooftops, using high-end and kitschy elements to create an all-around successful farm-to-table brand.
The passion I put into this project is definitely more than usual, but then again, not all of my projects have a personal connection behind them. Due to this, I feel like I could really pour my heart and soul into the copy, photos, packaging, and logo. I was even able to take this project above and beyond, creating real labels with my Cricut. Crafting my own labels and taking my own photos, rather than using jar mockups, really took this project to the next level.
Develop a creative, innovative shoe brand or collaborative ection complete with brand assets and unique illustrations.
When developing this concept for my Digital Media Studio class, it was at a time where I was really starting to take off in my vector art. Acknowledging that my skills were improving tremendously, I wanted to create a brand centered around vector art and icons. For a few projects, I had been toying with the concept of space, but it had usually been scrapped for a different concept. This time, I decided to take the theme of space and run with it. Finally trying my hand at a space themed design, I wanted to create a brand that could appeal to all ages, but still give off a high-end vibe, inspired by Vans and their famous skate shoes.
I accomplished this by using a thin, clean, unique typeface as the center of the logo, and kept it relatively minimal. The color palette was pulled straight from a photo of the solar system to ensure that the tones used were reflective of our galaxy itself.
I had a ton of fun with this project! I feel like this really showcased where my illustration skills have come from, say, three years ago to now. Not only did it show off my vector icons, but I learned a lot about apparel design in itself, and how to really bring my work to life through the clothes we wear from head to toe.
Challenge: Utilizing illustrations designed for a previous project write-up, create a limited sticker collection of iconic Rhode Island heritage.
Design Solution: This sticker collection was actually a complete reconceptualization of a previous project write-up of a window cling series. Focusing on icons of my home state, I developed a series of stickers based off of places that help make Rhode Island what it is, and in turn, help make me who I am. The icons focused on in this project were: Del’s Frozen Lemonade, Narragansett Lager, the Big Blue Bug beside I-95, Iggy’s Doughboys and Clam Shack, Rocky Point Amusement Park, and the Flying Horse Carousel in Watch Hill (the oldest operating carousel in the US). Since I was revisiting this project specifically for the graphics, I wanted to build a design around them and make them the main focal point.
While the window series itself was not up to par, the illustrations were fantastic! I wanted to find a better medium to showcase them on. Putting on my thinking cap and doing some research, I came up with some catchy sayings to really bring these graphics to the next level.
Self-Reflection: As a designer, it never really occurs to me to reconceptualize and re-use project elements. I always initially think to create something brand new, but turning this sub-par window project into an awesome sticker collection was super fun, and not all that time consuming at all! The success of this project will influence me to try to revisit and rethink other projects in the future to really push myself and see what else I can come up with.
*Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to some of the existing logos used in these designs.
Conceptualize and build a brand around previously designed typographic patterns.
This project was actually taken from a typography exercise that I did in freshman year. We originally had to develop patterns using only type, and while one of them wasn’t too great, I’ve always loved the look of the ‘Q’ pattern. It was my professor this year that inspired me to create a notebook collection centered around typography, utilizing this ‘Q’ pattern among others.
A lot of this project was dependent on my first pattern. I couldn’t use the same font again, nor the same color palette or letter. I had to get creative, so I took to Dribble and Behance to muster up some inspiration. After playing around in Illustrator for a while, I came up with these patterns, which in a way can relate to the different side of my personalities, the side that is loud and bright, the side that is more feminine, and the side that has a great appreciation for the retro era.
Since these patterns are so busy, I chose to go rather simple with the logo, which helps to create a unified balance between elements.
I don’t think I ever would have thought to turn this simple, interesting type exercise into a full fledged notebook collection. A lot of the time, I think more about thinking and moving forward than back, and don’t really take the time to reconceptualize former work. I’d say the main thing I took away from this project is that just when you think you’ve stretched your ideas as far as you can, there is always a way to make it better. Just think outside the box a little.
*Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the existing logos used in these designs. These were made on an educational basis.
Design a poster series for a fictional museum exhibit of your choosing.
For my Print Production class, we developed a poster series, advertising for a fictional museum exhibit. I chose to pursue a pop-art concept on the topic of ice cream, paying homage to the end of the summer season. When prompted about my favorite part of summer, ice cream is the first thing that comes to mind. I used this personal (but common) interest as inspiration for this project, and developed a concept of an ice cream exhibit at MoMA. For the aesthetic of this series, I portrayed it in the style of pop-art.
This project was a excellent example of my typography and layout skills. I decided to challenge myself with this project, using a common theme of pop-art style throughout the posters; a theme in which I had never tried before. These posters helped me experience a new style outside of my typical aesthetic, and did it beautifully.
Create a motion graphics video to narrate choice audio utilizing kinetic typography techniques.
For this project, I really wanted it to be centered around the type, and for the illustrations to therefore compliment it. Keeping up with the latest trend of flat vector design, I created cohesive illustrations to tell the story of the song. Regarding the color palette, who creates a project around the song ‘Avalanche’, and doesn’t use blue? It was just common sense. As for the other colors; the song is upbeat and happy, and I wanted the colors to communicate that as strongly as the song itself.
This was literally my starter project for learning the basics of AfterEffects. It is also the project that sparked my love for motion graphics. After diving in headfirst into the program, Adobe makes it hard to want to come up for air. If I had to take anything away from this project aside from the amazing skills I learned, it would be to remember to take breaks, or next thing you know, the first light you see in hours outside of your screen will be the sunrise shining through your window.
Design an acceptance package for a university of your choosing, utilizing the five senses to create an incredible unboxing experience.
This project utilized the skills I have learned in spatial design, print design, typography, and prototyping; alongside teaching me printer specifications. Aalto University, an engineering and design institute in Finland, was chosen as the muse of this project due to the modern-style, typography heavy elements that the university employs throughout their branding. The deliverables chosen for the package included the box itself, an interactive acceptance letter, a pack of colored pencils, a sketchbook, a laptop sticker, a Popsocket, and the applicant’s student ID that doubles as a portable flash drive.
I wanted to make this college acceptance package interactive but useful for the applicant to enhance the “package-opening experience”. Bearing this in mind, I made the decision to create an on-brand and fun geometric pattern to utilize throughout the package. This includes on the backside of the acceptance letter, which presents the pattern in black and white so that the applicant can use the included colored pencils to “color their future”. The Student ID/flash drive not only gets the student excited about their acceptance, seeing it “in real life”, but it’s also incredibly practical as a way to store their school documents.
This project taught me how to follow established brand guidelines and still come out with impressive, cohesive deliverables. It also taught me how to think outside the box to create a truly immersive unboxing experience, and the importance of printer specifications in a project.
