my work.
collage || depression
self-portrait || "i found you"
Depression is all too prevalent in today’s world; people suffer in silence from it each day, though the symptoms aren’t always so easy to see. My goal with this collage was to bring together visual elements to attempt to show what depression feels like: Being in a fog, feeling as though you’ve been shattered inside, straining to reach out but not being able to break through the veil, all the while a monstrous creature looming overhead, threatening to swallow you whole. I found the images on Unsplash and used layers, as well as the masking feature, in Photoshop to arrange the images into a more cohesive product. I learned how to successfully use layers and the masking feature in Photoshop through creating this collage.
As someone who came from an unstable childhood, I’ve often felt as though there was a break between my adulthood self and my childhood self—that there was no possible way the two could be the same person. Recently, I’ve reconnected with the girl I used to be through therapy, and it’s helped me open eyes to many truths about myself. This self-portrait was my creative way of showing that reconnection: The older girl following the younger girl into the void (which represents self-actualization), the forest of their story lining the way, the old self (the trampled butterfly) evolving into the new (the alive butterfly), and the reflection of the two girls touching hands to symbolize a reunion. I used Photoshop to create this portrait, as well as Unsplash to find relevant images. I learned how to work with multiple layers in Photoshop, as well as how to manipulate the settings for those individual layers.
logo || edutainment children's theater
During my internship at ASU-Mountain Home, I was tasked to create a logo for Edutainment, a children’s theater program. Christy Keirn, my supervisor, requested a fun, whimsical logo that used the ASUMH colors (muted medium-blue and muted medium-green). I decided to go with the traditional comedy and tragedy masks, though I made them more cartoonish so that it would be clear that the program is geared toward children. I used Illustrator for this project, and mainly learned how to use the pen and curvature tools, and how to add and delete anchor points to ensure lines have clean intersections.
ad || arkansas state university-mountain home
My second task during my internship at ASU-Mountain Home was to create an ad for the college for both digital and print use. My supervisor provided photos from the ASU-MH website and an appropriate logo for branding purposes. I used the inspect element function on the site to identify one of the prevalent fonts used; this helped me create an ad that matched the style of ASU-MH’s site. To create the ads, I used InDesign. The most useful skill I learned was how to use the smart guides to ensure everything was aesthetically lined up and cleanly presented. I also learned how to draw frames to place images, text, and blocks of color (this was tricky during my first experience with InDesign, though returning to it helped me practice).
logo || balance yoga
As a licensed 200-hour yoga instructor and someone who enjoys supporting small businesses, I thought it would be neat to create a logo for a fictional yoga studio (as I would someday love to create a branding package for a small business). I started with the name “Balance Yoga”, then sketched out some ideas that would fit the idea of “balance”. I settled on a yin-yang side, along with a sun and moon, and muted but contrasting colors. For this branding package, I used Adobe Illustrator, including the shape, curvature, and live paint tools.
app || storytree
As mentioned, I’m a writer by hobby and love any tools that would be of use to writers. Since there are no apps geared specifically toward writers or writing ideas in general (at least, ones that are mobile friendly), I started brainstorming app ideas during my time in Human-Centered Design. The result was an app called “StoryTree”, which would help writers and non-writers (students, professionals, etc.) alike organize ideas and better help their loose ideas become fully-fledged works in progress. I used Adobe XD to create initial wireframes, then added images, buttons, colors, and transitions to achieve the final product.
game scene || "hexaverse"
Game Design was a class I unexpectedly came to love. During the class, I was able to develop a game concept; as a writer by hobby, this was a lot of fun since I enjoy creating stories and fictional worlds to accompany them. My story idea evolved into a scene I created in Unity using models built in Autodesk Maya. This game scene is my favorite project out of any I’ve done in this degree program. In Unity, I learned how to create scenes, build terrain, adjust lighting, and much more. In Autodesk Maya, I learned how to build different shapes and apply textures to those shapes.
