For a year, I was a Graphics Intern at Hexbug. My day to day tasks consisted of designing/mocking up packaging as well as designing banner ads and other ads. There was never a dull moment working for a toy company. I was able to work on many different types of projects, ranging from toddler toys to battling robots. I felt that every day was a new puzzle to solve. I was able to work on every step of projects, from creating a dieline to releasing the artwork.

One of my main projects was the Lil’ Nature Babies lines. The line includes five character singles, three large sets, and three small sets. I worked on the final dielines for the small and large sets, as well as graphics and some copy on the packaging.

When creating banner ads, we must fit the information on many different sizes. Sizes including homepage, email, web, and even social media banners. Creating these banners strengthened my problem-solving skills. The ability to make a design modular, working in any different size.

To better my Adobe-Wan Kenobi skills, I've started the long trek of mastering After Effects. I've created an animated series of variations of my illustrative logos. Hope to add more logos soon!

I have freelanced at Scribe Media. My responsibilities included creating book covers for Scribe's clients. Using the project's creative brief, I'm able to create a cover that speaks to the author and their future readers. Projects can range from paperbacks, hardcovers, ebooks, and audiobooks. Because of my illustration background, I have also created extra illustrations for other cover assignments and illustrations for Scribe's website.

Pigments paint supply is a packaging design that keeps sustainability in mind. By having the packaging be multifunctional the consumer will keep and not discard immediately after purchase, I created the canvas bags as the main sustainable solution, instead of having bulky cardboard/plastic materials.

Hella fly yoyo kit is a group problem where we had to create our own corrugated packaging for 2 yo-yos that could not exceed a certain size. We went for a 90s halftone design, which we screen printed directly on the box. We also thought just having 2 yoyo's in a kit wasn't enough, so we added trick book, two keychains, stickers, and extra string. I designed the devilish Fly mascot and the other illustrations on the box, where Vanessa designed the hand lettered type used in our logo and packaging.

group credit: Vanessa Beard

Raack Rebels is a group problem where we had to create our own corrugated packaging for two Ping Pong Paddles. Amanda and I decided on a dueling side concept of the packaging, one side being a character and it's rival on the other side. We thought an interesting pairing would be a cowboy and samurai. We had eyes cutout of the packaging so you can see the eyes of the character on the physical paddles. As the consumer pulls out the tray, which holds the paddles, a hidden layer slide up covering the eye holes. Giving the consumer a surprise as the rivaling characters change their attitude to more fierce looks.

group credit: Amanda Turnage

Fentiman's was a beverage label redesign. I started with the redesign of their Ginger beer flavor, giving the label a fellow with a “ginger” beard. I decided to continue this design to two other flavors. Having a the root beer label with a fellow that has a beard made of roots, and the birch beer label having a beard made of pealing bark. I kept Fentiman's natural and botanical feel to the redesigned labels, giving earthy colors and natural imagery.

Cuckoo Condiments Co. (CCC) was a group problem involving the whole identity of a company. We decided to make a completely off the wall wacky condiment company. Our three main flavors were “Blue cheese & Peppercorn Mayonnaise”, “Rosemary & Garlic Ketchup”, and “Honey Balsamic Mustard”. My main role of the assignment was creating the characters that represent each of these flavors. Our company's mascot was a cuckoo (of course) and the only thing weirder than a whacky cartoon bird, is a wacky cartoon birdhouse-bird hybrid. After coming up with the basic shape of the bird, I started adding the different ingredients to each of the birds. We wanted to go even a step further have a crazy mailer to get people excited about our annual hamburger festival, with a huge burger with bird pieces sticking out in place of the condiments.

This was my group’s submission to the AICC Student packaging competition in 2015. We were awarded 3rd Place in the structure category. The prompt was to design a spirit/tailgate kit that would excite alumni for homecoming. The only items required for the kit were two chip bags, six bottles of soda, and a jar of salsa. Our priority was to make sure the package survive rigorous handling. Having an inner structure within the main box gave the kit the stability needed for transport. The inside structure was made with a B flute corrugated cardboard. Having three main panels that section off the main components of kit, the salsa container, the coke bottles container, and the two bags of chips. By separating the main components of the kit we hope to ensure their safety as they make their way to alumni.  This meant that we had to separate them by inner panels within the kit to ensure they made the harsh journey. Being the more heavy objects in the kit, the salsa and coke bottles were given their own packaging within the main structure. Separating the individual coke bottles insured that they would not knock against each other and resulting in broken items within the kit. By making the coke bottles structure a ring toss case, we were able to incorporate a duel function to the coke bottle structure. This also made it possible to incorporate extra features without adding more weight and making the kit as small as possible. This also cuts cost with shipping the kits to the alumni. Same with the salsa structure, having the lid hold the kit's booklet, giving the structure a duel purpose. For the outer structure of the box, we decided to go with a C flute corrugated cardboard, giving the outer structure a little more strength which is needed when shipping the kit. My job in the group was creating all the math to make this structure work. I designed all the dimensions of the structure in Artios CAD and inputed all the the artwork to print files.

Group credit: Samantha Clarke, Karen Juarez, Amanda Turnage 

Dry sparkling was a sparkling water brand which carried many interesting flavors including cucumber, lavender, and rhubarb. I redesigned their labels keeping the classic and clean look of their products and company in mind. Having the labels feature simple geometric textured circles behind bold black text that can easily stand out on any shelf.

As an intern at Wild Pony editions, a major part was to create inventory to be sold at sales and conferences. For Wild Pony's Valentine's sale I created a morbidly hilarious card of a blood bag labeled “You're just my type”. I was also able to design posters showing my illustration skills. One having a [rocket]ship in a bottle labeled “Bottle Rocket”. My latest project is to design a future poster for a festival we will be participating in. A relief print of “UTA Wild Pony Editions, live and in person” that will be part of a live printing demo. Working at Wild Pony I am able to learn the many forms of printmaking while also getting real world experience of working and selling my work.

When the monsters come out is a fictional tour that I created to work on my illustration and hand drawn type. Even though the tour is fictional, the bands are actual band. They all share the same genre that would be congruent of the themes in the poster. Having a crazy illustration of a giant robot attacking a city shares the same amount of crazy in these band's lyrics. To integrate all of the band names in the poster, I decided to put each band in to a building making up the city. Having them be part of the image, instead of just a list to the side of the image, helps make the poster more interesting and showcases the hand drawn lettering.