When you look at a current world map, your mind tends to switch over to autopilot. You process the map for its functional purposes, while paying little attention to the aesthetic qualities. If you actually take a moment to observe these qualities, you may find that maps today suffer from poor typography and color choices as well as an overall lack of good design. A map needs to serve a geographical purpose, but does it have to lose its aesthetic beauty for the sake of functionality? Gathering inspiration from older hand drawn maps, I drew my own world map made up of layered vectored images. My goal was to create something functional, that also serves as a highly designed, in-depth, work of art.

The annual Next Wave Festival is hosted by the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The festival features various art forms including fine art, theater, dance, music, artist talks, and galas. The project is a program for the festival in the form of a small publication. My piece is designed to interact with the user through the moving lines that mimic dance and jazz. The line moves the viewer through the pages and the different fold-out pages add to the movement. The book is organized by genre, and each section (example –exhibition) creates a new mark over the past marks, building on the history of the festival and the steady addition from one year to the next.

In 2010 I competed against 30 other students to have an icon published in the New York Times. We had an hour and a half to read the article, react, and create multiple sketches. The article discussed the closing of rest room stops in Arizona due to a lack of state funding. I wanted to create an icon that immediately conveyed the main issue to the reader. It was published on March 11, 2010.

City Blossoms is a non-profit organization that takes unused urban spaces and turns them into community gardens. I collaborated with another student (Kris Carlson) to create a full set of promotional materials including a give away bag, an informational mailer, and a sign. The give away bag is intended for the 'work' days that happen throughout the year. Each family will receive a bag with a pinwheel, four seed packets, and a small informational brochure. The informational mailer will be sent to potential investors with a personal letter, business card, and large brochure. The organization is bilingual so each piece is in English and Spanish. The goal is to maintain the joyful feel of the group while creating a professional brand that investors will be willing to support and trust.

This series of bottles celebrates the purity and timelessness of olive oil. The company is fictional and the name “1492” is inspired by the year olive oil arrived in the Americas. The design is clean and simple, focusing on the beauty of olive oil’s natural colors. The three bottles are classified by light olive oil, olive oil, and extra virgin olive oil. Each tag has information specific to the type of olive and its uses.