PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
The groundbreaking Eat My Feelings 10 makes late nights in the studio more delicious by surrounding your foot with cookies, candy, pretzels and more, eliminating vending machine runs. Our shoes merge convenience with comfort so you can keep creating uninterrupted while satisfying study munchies on-the-go. With one side for your sweet tooth and the other for your savory days, we reinvented the wheel for hungry students’ active lifestyles.
Hero of the scene: Slice of pepperoni pizza
I tried to create a cozy, homey, summery vibe with this pizza picnic at Volunteer park on a brisk sunny day in February. The golden hour light dapples across the paper plate with ripped parmesan cheese packet cozied up to the slice. The plate sits on a quilted placemat, bohemian tapestry cradling it all. I’ve placed a stack of vintage dixie cups, which is a not to this being a picnic that involved more than just one person. There is a cooler and plat mesh back to the upper left. Grass peaks through the corners.
I managed to create a summertime vibe in February because of the fabric textures, the red, white, an blues, feeling a little patriotic, and the paper plate all connotes the casual easy vibes of warmer days to come. The quality of the light along with the mixture of textures, the design of the dixie cup, the plaid of the bag also infuse the image with a retro vibe, something I do with much of my prop styling, invoking the 1960s-70s.
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“An American Love Story,” the Volkswagen USA 2024 Super Bowl ad, captures this football audience with its heartfelt narrative and nostalgic visuals. Set against the backdrop of an American landscapes, the ad follows the journey of a family through generations, showcasing their love for Volkswagen vehicles. From a classic Beetle to the latest electric models, each car represents cherished memories and milestones in the family’s life. The ad’s basic message revolves around the idea of Volkswagen being more than just a car brand—it’s a part of the American experience, a symbol of family bonds, adventure, and innovation. Through the ad’s emotional storytelling, Volkswagen aims to evoke a sense of nostalgia and connection among viewers, emphasizing the brand’s longstanding presence in American culture.
Since this is a Super Bowl ad, I feel it’s intended for a wide audience, appealing to both existing Volkswagen enthusiasts and those who may not yet own a Volkswagen but resonate with their values.
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“Thank you France,” the Etsy 2024 Super Bowl ad, delivers a heartfelt tribute to the artisans and creators of France while celebrating the spirit of craftsmanship and creativity. The ad showcases a diverse array of handmade products sourced from Etsy sellers across France. From artisanal jewelry to handcrafted home decor, each item reflects the passion and skill of its maker, embodying the essence of French artisanship.
The ad’s basic message revolves around gratitude and appreciation for the rich cultural heritage of France and the artisans who contribute to it. By highlighting the unique stories and craftsmanship behind each product, Etsy aims to honor the creative community while also inspiring viewers to support independent artisans and shop local.
Intended for a wide audience, the ad appeals to consumers who value authenticity, craftsmanship, and sustainability. It targets individuals who appreciate unique and personalized goods and are likely to be interested in supporting small businesses and artisans. Additionally, the ad may resonate with viewers who have an affinity for French culture or aspire to incorporate elements of French style into their lives.
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My interests include: food styling, collage, vintage homeware, film photography, thrifting, and street fashion.
Here are my ten ideas for potential personal projects:
Why do you feel it would be a good experience or addition to your portfolio?
It only takes a quick scroll of my instagram profile to see that I am drawn to the visual splendor of food.
I was brought up in a family who’s major expression of love was through food. So I’ve been fascinated by the ritual surrounding it for as long as I can remember. In particular, I’m interested in the link between food and the spaces in which it takes form. From our kitchens and dining tables to hole in the wall mom and pops to fine dining experiences, I see the beauty and the universal language of gathering over a meal transcend through each of these environments.
We all have a romanticized version of a dream job in our heads. I am no different. I’ve always dreamed of working as a designer within the food industry, whether that is packaging design and branding for food brands, or styling editorial shots for food magazines like Bon Appetit. I’m aware that generative tools are becoming part of the food styling landscape so this seemed a perfect opportunity to leverage my natural eye for styling food and props with a deeper knowledge of those analog practices as well as dive into the growing AI side of the industry.
What skills do you hope to gain?
Research skills – I’ll need to research visual designs, decor, food, and presentation styles from the specific time period to style an authentic scene. This involves investigating aesthetic trends.
Sourcing skills – To find good vintage items, I’ll have to source from estate sales, flea markets, antique shops, etc. This requires persistence at hunting down the right props.
Food styling – Carefully styling the food, dishes, and decor to craft a pleasing overall tablescape composition and evoke the time period I’m going for. Considering color palettes, arrangements, etc.
Photography – Photographing the tablescape in a way that captures the nostalgic tone and strong visual details. Experimenting with lighting and angles.
Prompt writing – Carefully crafting a text prompt for MidJourney that describes the tablescape imagery in detail so the AI can generate a close representation.
Technical skills – Manipulating the AI output images to fine-tune colors, sharpness etc. to match the original photo more closely.
A Visual Proof of Concept piece, moodboard, sketch, etc.
BACKGROUND
In 2021, the Highline School District needed to pivot it’s formerly in person event, Stormfest – into a COVID-safe, video series. The series featured local stormwater professionals, sharing the science behind the subject matter and how they found careers in it. As the lead designer and videographer, I needed to spend ample time upfront, mapping out the production of our three part videos series and most importantly how we would film our interviews and BRoll in these socially distant times.
ACTIONS
Because we were filming during COVID, I didn’t know if in person filming would be possible, which meant we needed to educate our video subjects about video production so they could film their own footage. I developed a video resource guide to train our video subjects on the process, that outlined each step of production, offered video production concepts, along with guiding questions as they developed their scripts. As it turned out, I was able to film the contributors’ interviews and much of the BRoll, which made editing so much more streamlines. As lead designer, I defined a look and feel for my two junior designers who build out the bulk of the animations and visuals based on the direction I’d set. This ensured a cohesive look across all three videos we produced
RESULTS
I feel really proud of this work because of how it responded to the ever changing constraints of the pandemic and also that it allowed our three professionals to own their stories. The real goal of this series wasn’t to create the highest-production value products, but to positively impact our middle school audience, getting them excited about a topic and career paths they may have not been familiar with. I feel proud of the steps we took to make these videos accessible to our audience, both in who we featured as well as offering the series in Spanish. 3,500 students saw these videos!
Isekai: Slow Life is a relaxing life simulation role playing game set in a bucolic fantasy world. Players take on the role of travelers who have been transported to a new magical realm and must build a new life.
As I played the game, I purchased a homestead, began cultivating crops, crafting goods, cooking delicious recipes, and befriending the local villagers. Although I didn’t do this while I played, players can explore different settings, go fishing in mystical rivers, gather rare ingredients for potions, and customize their home with different decor. I was drawn to this game because there is no combat – instead, the focus is on living in harmony with nature and finding tranquility through simple homesteading pleasures.
I really enjoyed escaping to this idyllic world and relaxing with daily tasks like baking bread or brewing tea. The gorgeous Studio Ghibli-like scenery and soothing music create an immersive atmosphere. There was nothing I didn’t enjoy about this game however, players who want a more action-packed game may find the relaxed pace a barrier to enjoyment.
With its emphasis on wholesome activities and community, this game provides a healing retreat for a broad audience seeking the nostalgia of a simpler life. I could see those who enjoy Studio Ghibli films enjoying the aesthetics of the game, too.
Tools you currently have.
Tools you have that need development.
Tools you do not have that you need to learn
SKETCH
PROMPT
Showcase a rave at a dentist office. GENRE: hyper real, photographic, Y2K, | EMOTION: fun, joyful | SCENE: inside, disco lighting, rave lighting ACTORS: A dentist wearing a white lab coat and black headphones over their ears, listening to music, with their arms in the air, standing behind a dental patient, laying in a dental chair, a turn table is on top of the dental patient’s stomach | LOCATION TYPE: dentist office | SPECIAL EFFECTS: rave lighting, dark party lighting, | TAGS: dentist office, Y2K, rave | TIME_OF_DAY: evening | Interactions: none
MIDJOURNEY PROCESS
IMAGE 1
VARIATION ON IMAGE1
UPDATED PROMPT FOR VERSION 3
Showcase a rave at a dentist office. GENRE: hyper real, photographic | EMOTION: fun, joyful | SCENE: inside, rave lighting ACTORS: A dentist wearing a white lab coat and black headphones over their ears, listening to music, with their arms in the air, standing behind a dental patient | LOCATION TYPE: dentist office | SPECIAL EFFECTS: rave lighting, dark party lighting, | TAGS: dentist office, rave | TIME_OF_DAY: evening | Interactions: none
RECAP & PROS/CONS
I’ve been using Midjourney since the beginning of fall quarter. A second year student gave me a helpful prompt template as seen above where you adjust various criteria and get super specific on what you want to see. The more specific you are, I find the closer the image is to your initial vision. Midjourney got it right in that I really wanted something hyper-real and photographic. However, some of the faces look off and body parts look a bit warped in some. I like how it gives four initial options with opportunities for variations without changing your prompt at all so I wanted to try that for one of my three variations for this projects. I am defintely fascinated by MJ’s capabilities and want to learn more about prompt architecture as well as beef up my photoshop skills so that I may update MJ and other AI generated imagery to future client specifications, since it is not possible to get specific about colors used or illustrative style. It might be hard to get something exactly fitting your client’s brand guidelines right out of the box with MJ, so having post-production editing skills is a must. Also, I think it is interesting that MJ decided the dentist was a man, which highlights the biases in AI algorithms. The default assumption and data the AI surveys has decided dentist must mean man.
Blog 7
Why 3D modeling software?
It only takes a quick scroll of my instagram profile to see that I am drawn to the visual splendor of food.
I was brought up in a family who’s major expression of love was through food. So I’ve been fascinated by the ritual surrounding it for as long as I can remember. In particular, I’m interested in the link between food and the spaces in which it takes form. From our kitchens and dining tables to hole in the wall mom and pops to fine dining experiences, I see the beauty and the universal language of gathering over a meal transcend through each of these environments.
We all have a romanticized version of a dream job in our heads. I am no different. I’ve always dreamed of working as a designer within the food industry, whether that is packaging design and branding for food brands, or styling editorial shots for food magazines like Bon Appetit. I’m aware that both generative tools and 3D rendering software have entered into this sector, so I wanted to look into two software options.
Adobe Substance 3D Modeler and Blender offer powerful 3D modeling capabilities, but have key differences when it comes to ease of use, cost, creative features, and industry applicability.
Pros and Cons
Substance 3D Modeler features an intuitive interface making it relatively easy for beginners to start constructing 3D assets. Its smart brushes, meshes and selection tools speed up organic and hard surface modeling with just a mouse. Being able to quickly conceptualize ideas or model variants has advantages for us designers. However, Blender offers a free open-source option which could be more cost-effective for students or hobbyists not needing advanced texturing for commercial projects. Its hotkeys and denser UI mean a steeper learning curve though.
Creatively, Substance leverages “Physically Based Rendering” materials to achieve photorealistic rendering in concept models with accurate lighting behavior. This helps showcase designs impressively from early ideation. However, Blender has vastly broader modeling capabilities for animation, rigging, simulations and game asset creation. While Substance streamlines model creation, Blender provides more customization over topology for specialized 3D projects.
For food stylists and product designers aiming to build commercial design portfolios, choosing a tool aligned to industry needs makes sense. Substance models can be deployed across Adobe software and game engines for greater versatility, while Blenders game/VR strengths suit interactive projects. Simplicity versus full creative control presents the core choice.
With the massive growth in 3D visualization adoption since 2020 in ecommerce and augmented reality, 3D skills greatly boost designer employability. Being able to quickly mock up photorealistic lifestyle scenes and product variations or prototype food arrangements in 3D gives creatives a competitive advantage. Learning either tool is wise, but those focused specifically on modeling for UX/UI, AR or graphic design may favor Substance for its efficient, visually-oriented workflow. In tandem with Adobe suite proficiency, it equips designers for the increasingly 3D-native future.
No additional purchase necessary for SCCA as Substance is already part of my Adobe subscription, and Blender is a crowd-sourced and free application!
Blog # 6 prompt: What do YOU bring to the table in your work (design, photography, video, etc…) that is distinctly your own? How does your past influence your approach to what you are learning in this program? Please be specific about the ways you are aware of the singularity of your perspective in your (newly) chosen field.
I credit five key elements of my experience that factor into the unique perspective I bring as a designer.
First– My innate sense of playfulness and my investment in a relationship to my inner child. I’ve always been a silly and playful person, someone who trends more toward humor and delight than seriousness and earnestness. However in recent years I’ve learned how important that relationship with an inner child is to creativity. After completing the Artist’s Way I developed a practice called Artist Dates. The book makes the argument that creative generation is much like the energy a child brings to most aspects of life- openness and curiosity. Kids have so much energy and it’s about tapping into that. An artist date is where you take your inner child out on special experiences that allow that childlike curiosity and wonder to take the lead. By engaging this part of myself, I am able to build neural pathways around non-judgemental inquisitiveness, by literally exposing this part of myself to interesting and creative environments like antique malls, indie films, or walks through a new neighborhood. In these spaces I notice what I’m drawn to and ask myself why. I also refill my creative-well of inspiration to call back on when I may be engaged in a creative process at work or school.
Second– My fine arts background is a major factor in my identity as a creative and while I understand there are key differences between fine arts and graphic design, there are more similarities than I think is given credit. I have nearly two decades of artistic and creative practice under my belt. The practice of brainstorming, sketching, writing, researching, iterating, prototyping, playing, seeking feedback. As an artist-designer combo, I bring an ability to discern where I need to stay within the conventional guardrails of graphic design and where I may be able to bring some fine-arts ethos into a creative project.
Third– My time living abroad and being exposed to another culture absolutely factors into the kinds of creative spaces I am drawn to. I lived in London and the experience gave me the self-knowledge that I am a city person at heart. Growing up in the suburbs, I often felt stilted and lethargic by the slow pace and homogeneity. I am so stimulated by densely populated international cities, full of competing and coexisting cultures and visual landscapes. I know I am most inspired in an urban city. It is where I do my best work.
Fourth– As a queer person I’ve had the privilege to be given a vocabulary for questioning and interrogating the cultural norms that are projected onto us from the moment we are born. It has instilled in me a philosophy that nothing (except death) is immovable, unchangeable, and static. It has encouraged me to question most everything and to always bring a critical eye and to ask “why?” at every step. It’s allowed me to embrace the idea that there is no singular right way of doing anything.
Fifth– Over the past four years I’ve developed a mindfulness/meditation practice. What this offers me is habits around processing intense feelings directly, which allows me to stay grounded and less overtaken by moments of intensity that are inevitable in life. Staying embodied through the ups and downs of life, allows me to get out of my own way and reduce my suffering, which allows me to better focus on my life and my work instead of getting caught in false narratives my mind is concocting.
I appreciate these five aspects of myself and the ways the support me in being a designer and bringing my own unique perspective to my work.