My professional expertise and experience are “M-shaped,” which means that I have diverse skills and experiences that come together to give me a unique perspective on design.
I’m good at creating cohesive and consistent visual experiences across all touchpoints, and I do this using branded design systems.
A design system is a collection of standardized design elements that help everything look and feel the same. I have a ton of experience building design systems for marketing campaigns and digital products like responsive websites and mobile apps.
I know all the current design principles and best practices needed to make designs that look great and are easy to use, which helps drive engagement and conversions.
My passions (including music, singing, songwriting, playing guitar, philosophy, journaling, essay writing, and psychology) all influence my design work. Art and design are about understanding and meaning, and my interests in philosophy (especially axiology and aesthetics) have helped me develop a unique perspective on the value and importance of design in shaping culture and values.
A strong relationship exists between visual and verbal. So, in addition to my design work, I’m constantly seeking new ways to expand my linguistic and language knowledge and skills. I’m teaching myself four different languages (Spanish, French, Norwegian, and Italian).
I am always looking for new opportunities to learn and grow. I bring this perspective and diverse range of interests to my work and aim to create visually stunning and meaningful content and creations that inspire and engage.
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Media Arts from DePaul University, where I focused on media arts, photography, and digital video. I also minored in Communications with an emphasis on Media Studies and a focus on fandom and fan studies, which helped me to understand how media can shape culture and values.
In addition to my UX/UI Product Design certification from Flatiron School, where I was recognized as the Most Creative in my cohort, I am committed to ongoing professional development and education.
Through Coursera, The New York Department of Labor, and their partnership with other educational institutions, I have earned specializations in Writing and Editing from the University of Michigan, Graphic Design from the California Institute of the Arts.
Currently, I am simultaneously enrolled in two specialization certificate programs through the University of Michigan: one in Web Development and Coding and another in Public Speaking and Presenting. I am also working towards the Google UX Design Professional Certificate.
In my spare time, I am working towards additional Music Production certifications from the Berklee School of Music and another in Fandom and Popular Culture from the University of Colorado Boulder.
While my passion is working in the music, entertainment, and media industries, I’ve also been able to create designs and systems for various sectors, including the legal, food and beverage, education, non-profit, and criminal justice reform industries.
In addition to my design work, I have experience in marketing and have worked on market research and guerrilla street marketing projects.
I have also held roles as a project assistant, studio coordinator, small team supervisor, and co-manager, where I have gained experience in areas such as operations, project management, and billing and finance.
As a journalist, I have served as an editor, staff contributor, columnist, and photojournalist.
These diverse professional experiences have allowed me to develop strong communication, problem-solving, and leadership skills, which I bring to my creative works.
I have a diverse portfolio of design work that includes a wide range of projects such as creating logos (including wordmarks, logotypes, letterforms, lettermarks, monogram logos, logo symbols, brand marks, pictorial marks, abstract logo marks, mascots, emblems, and combination marks), branded assets (such as t-shirts, tank tops, hoodies, tote bags, stickers, and letterhead), websites (using platforms like WordPress with Elementor builder, Squarespace, Wix, and GoDaddy), cover and spot illustration design for books, poster design, and other compositions and layouts (such as EPK press kits and postcards), and CD package design for digipaks and jewel cases.
I have a strong foundation in various design and development tools, including the Adobe Creative Cloud suite (especially Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, and Lightroom), Sketch, Figma, Google Drive (especially Docs, Sheets, and Slides), and Dropbox.
I use Grammarly, Wordtune, and OpenChat AI for idea suggestions, proofreading, copywriting, and Miro and Mural for online whiteboard collaboration. I also have experience with Glyphs for font creation.
I am proficient in HTML and CSS. I am currently learning JS to expand my knowledge and skills in web development.
I started my blog to document my journey, share my progress with others (and throw in a little bit of fun along the way).
My website is a portfolio of my work and a way to connect with new clients.
You can find me on social media or check out my portfolio and sub-brands if you want to connect.
Thanks for stopping by and learning more about me!
