Design
I have experience designing deliverables across a wide range of mediums. In my time running Storm Soul Creations, I have designed logos, business cards, physical banners, digital storefronts, and advertisements.
My Business
I started Storm Soul Creations as a way to start selling my paintings and jewelry online, as well as in person at local art markets. To get it off the ground, I not only needed to design the logo and Etsy page, I also had to think about the layout of my table at markets. This meant designing recognizable signage, displays, and more.
Logo Design
Before I could even get started, I needed to come up with a name. I went with Storm Soul Creations because it was broad enough to encompass the wide range of products I sell, as well as incorporating my Pagan background. I mostly sell at local Witches' Markets, and it was important that I infused the name with the sense that I was a part of the Pagan community.
For the logo, I wanted to create something that included both the "storm" and the "soul" aspects of the name. I created pages of small thumbnail designs through my brainstorming process until settling on the final design and transferring it into Adobe Illustrator.
Booth Setup and Packaging
In order to travel to venues around Austin and beyond to sell my work in person, I had to design a banner, business cards, and packaging. I also needed to decide on the layout of my booth. In the time between my first market and now, I have realized that my booth set up needs to be flexible, and varies from show to show. At more "fine art" centered events, I put my paintings and prints on more prominent display, while at the Witches' Markets, I almost entirely stock my table with jewelry. This is because I have kept careful track of what sells and what doesn't, and followed those trends accordingly.
Digital Sales and Marketing
Lastly, I used social media marketing, SEO optimization, and strategic sales to boost traffic to my Etsy site. By creating paid advertisements through Facebook and Instagram, as well as developing an organic following through networking with other creators, I was able to generate more sales online and generate interest for events.
Freelance Work
Virtual Experience Convention
In fall 2016 I was hired by VR at Berkeley to design the website, brochures, and “swag” for their Virtual Reality Experience Convention, or "VXPC."
Brainstorming
I worked closely with VR at Berkeley's event lead to get a sense of the feel they wanted for the event. They wanted to convey a futuristic, almost cyberpunk aesthetic. They needed to attract both corporate sponsors, as well as young tech-savvy attendees. I also needed to adhere to VR at Berkeley's own Style Guide. With this in mind, I created a variety of thumbnail sketches, font options, and color palette boards for them to choose from.
Digital Deliverables
By working closely with the VR at Berkeley team, I was able to create multiple versions of the VXPC logo in Adobe Illustrator for a variety of digital deliverables: a horizontal format for the banner image, a square format for social media profiles, and a vertical format for the website.
Physical Deliverables
Once the website was finalized for the convention, it was time to start on the designs for the shirts, stickers, and brochures. The shirts and stickers were simple, as they only needed the horizontal logo on them. The brochures, however, were more complicated. I was given the following guidelines for creating the brochure in InDesign:
Booklet format between 10 - 20 pages long
About section, schedule, list of demos, map, bios for speakers, and ads for paid sponsors
Conform to the VR at Berkeley Style Guide
I communicated frequently with the event lead throughout the process for feedback on the design, and we were able to complete all physical deliverables before the date of the event.