GRAPHIC &
MEDIA LITERACY
Love the game, hate the player? My academia is focused in advertising, a part of the media school at UIUC. It isn't hard to guess I l̶o̶v̶e̶d̶ had most fun in the creative courses. Advertising research and insights are fun too, I guess (nerds). The patterns are cool, they're like puzzles. My mom likes puzzles.
I was given the opportunity to become a promoter for UIUC's premiere music venue: The Canopy Club + Jay Goldberg Events & Entertainment. The mid-sized venue featured artists ranging from Excision, Portugal the Man, The Girls Next Door (a badass all-female a cappella group), etc. This turned into a four-year endeavor of promotion, with me as a street-team coordinator for two years. We had a lot of shows in that time. Like, a lot. Met tons of people, was offered a bunch of knowledge (and other things). Did you know there's a difference between electro-nautica-post-modern-house-techno and electro-post-modern-nautica-techno-house? Because there is.
Fun work from this era (MyTyde, Spotify, AMC) - unaffiliated with these brands; I love looking back on this type of stuff. I was so... little. The "almost there" quality of these designs definitely stems from my faux understanding of media – and the world – a̶t̶ t̶h̶e̶ t̶i̶m̶e̶. Or something like that.
Getting back on track – using academics to sharpen the skillsets of creative branding, audience communication, graphic design and marketing strategy has been invaluable in creating spaces for myself and community to thrive – as well as given me an edge in several key areas of my professional acumen. Also, I know so many more words now. Prestidigitation. Confabulate. Eerily.
BRANDING & DESIGN
Since school, I have tried a bunch of jobs - but none more endearing than working with quality individuals and organizations in creating a strong brand presence - specifically in the nonprofit world. Copy, design, and media literacy are strengths I apply within my communities to help aid in uplifting the voices of others. Or maybe I'm lying. This is the internet. Also you don't know me. I'm still getting to know me. I really like taking walks? I don't feel like that is a personality trait though. Usually, I buy fudge for family members or co-workers when I am unsure what to get them during the holidays. Hopefully that's something.
The Alliance (Four Corners Alliance for Diversity), has been an ongoing project working with a Southwestern LGBTQIA+ non-profit. New efforts for organic brand awareness have been created including new alias (The Alliance), brand assets, graphic design, website design, full copy, SEO optimization, and website URL re-vamp (thealliance.gay). These were coupled with community efforts to implement improved community awareness (e.x. Co-Founder of the inaugural and highly successful Durango World AIDS Day fundraiser & workshop, Giggles & Glitter.
Vote Vivian is a campaign logo design for a client in her 2024 candidacy for Colorado State Senate District 06. I do not have any political affiliation with this candidacy or candidate.
And for those who are wondering - I designed this website to only gather the visibility I want. Yeah, I know. I know. I KNOW! Below are some examples of the website mock-ups versus the final designs.
FREE CANVA
TEMPLATES
Was bored.
