Hydro Flask x VSCO x WWF (concept campaign+animation)
12/23/2019
+ TOOLS:
After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator+ DELIVERABLES:
Animated corporate logo, campaign logo+identity, social media ads, marketing campaign brief+ CHALLENGE:
Conceptualize a 3-way collaboration between Hydro Flask, VSCO, & the WWF to capitalize on the VSCO GIRL meme, sell exclusive products, and hopefully save the turtles.FULL PROJECT BRIEF HERE (PDF)
+ TOOLS:
Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop+ DELIVERABLES:
Brand guidelines, logo, social media templates, mockups+ CHALLENGE:
Create a full-service brand identity package for a NY-based multimedia agency with a focus on activism, creative strategy, and social change.2020 changed everything for all of us, that’s certainly no secret. The double-whammy of COVID and social unrest gave me a major reality check, pushing me towards more radical views (in a good way). Fortunately, my first fully remote client was on the same wavelength as me. We worked together to create a well-defined set of brand guidelines + templates (complete with an organized file system), empowering the entire team to collaborate freely and get their message out quickly and effectively.
FULL STYLE GUIDE HERE (PDF)
Interactive prototype below! Click on a blank part of the screen to see input hints.
+ TOOLS:
Adobe XD, Illustrator, Procreate+ DELIVERABLES:
Interactive mobile prototype, research presentation, process documentation+ CHALLENGE:
Graduate by any means possible. Even if it turns out to be a huge joke.I was once ashamed of this project because I felt it didn’t have a practical purpose. Many graduation projects have large ambitions to change the world or a particular community, and most of my classmates knew what they wanted from the very start.
I knew that I wanted to research the ethics + intentions behind modern UI/UX design, and I’d say I did a pretty good job of gathering data and insights. Unfortunately, I probably started and neglected maybe 10 different deliverables throughout the whole year. Spring rolled around, and I decided to get over myself and just make an app based on my research. I cared way too much about saving the world, but I needed to save myself first.
By the time I knew what I wanted, it was almost too late, and I was fed up with trying to make something “good.” So I poured my frustration into a bizarre “satirical UX,” essentially a parody of itself and a shell of what I originally wanted. I grabbed elements from dating apps, video game acheivements, and social media profiles, and merged it together with internet memes and questionable illustrations. I placed primary emphasis on the “pull to refresh” functionality, and its “slot machine”-like behavior. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t what I originally wanted, I just had to make something worthwhile so I could graduate.
I hated it for years, but I see it in a much more positive light now, and I look fondly upon this bizarre yet charming experience. It’s about time that it finally got a spot on my portfolio!
DOWNLOAD FULL RESEARCH BOOK
DOWNLOAD RESEARCH SUMMARY
+ TOOLS:
iPhone apps (Triller, Alight Motion, iMovie, Prequel), Logic Pro X, Affinity Photo (cover art)+ DELIVERABLES:
Full-length music video, highly personal song+ CHALLENGE:
Film + edit an entire music video by myself, express vulnerability, accept my mortality, find the will to live, create a legacy I can take to my grave.+ CREDITS:
Produced by smooks, missing, + martinleib. Mix+master engineering by me. All video editing by me.(CW:suicide/trauma/flashing lights) I was at rock bottom when I recorded this song. I listened to the instrumental for hours on end, just crying to myself. It sounded as though I was in the waiting room to the afterlife, as if I’d already died and yet was at peace with it. I essentially created a “reverse suicide note” in which I defied my suicidal thoughts and made an oath to stay alive for the people who love me. I knew that if anything ever happened to me, this piece of art would be my swan song. I‘m not immortal, but my art can be. Or maybe I am. At this point, anything is possible. So why not? I can at least be immortal in the material realm through my creativity.
The video itself is a reflection of my fragmented but fluid identity, corrupted and distorted by technology, still haunted by the grief of losing my mother and my past mistakes and failures The video intentionally reclaims and reuses spiritual imagery, taking symbols from multiple religions and providing a metaphorical map of my soul. When I finished everything up, I had a feeling that I had finally “won” in a sense, that I could die feeling truly proud of my artistic legacy. All I need to do now is claim my prize. <3
+ TOOLS:
Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop+ DELIVERABLES:
Print+digital flyers, tickets, floor signage, volunteering, wholesome photos, and a beautiful celebration of Pacific Indigenous cultures.+ CHALLENGE:
Help the Pacific Islander community at Oregon State University market & execute a beautiful celebration of the Pacific diaspora.This is one of the projects I am most proud of, and it opened up my mind to a new world of possibilities.While most of my job at the time consisted of creating advertisements for small on-campus events, this event was one of (if not the largest) of the year, with many traveling overseas to attend and support their loved ones. I felt indebted to the Pacific Islander community on campus for the passionate kindness & generosity they have shown me, and I wanted to repay the favor. Instead of merely “creating deliverables,” I got deeply involved in the event, volunteering as both a stage dancer & a kitchen helper, and deeply researching any topics or imagery I used for inspiration. I embodied the spirit of the event, immersing myself in the story being told by the performers & organizers. This gave me a first-hand sense of “why” I was designing in the first place, and gave me the insight required to create something that worked for everybody involved. This project was not simply to “help” an outside party from a detached perspective, but to fully embrace love and compassion and use that power to help create the wondrous experience this community deserved. To live is to create, and to create is to live, and that is the most important part of my process.