Poetry, a means to healing:
Book Cover + Character Drawing
MISSION
Visually capture a woman’s pain through the lens of spiritual healing. Resilience, stoicism and transformation were the core concepts that shaped this book cover illustration.
The client wanted the cover to represent the elements of her experience. The author wanted the cover to draw the reader inside the pages. There they would encounter light, and an understanding of what healing from covert abuse looks with an offer of hope and spiritual freedom.
OUTCOME
At first glance, readers are mesmerized as they study the cover. The intentional symbolism marrying nicely with the title of the book has readers wanting to explore the interior. Inside the pages they are met with the beauty of the illustrations that are carried from the cover to the section breaks that designate a new element of the book.
Published by Luna Literary Press, available everywhere books are sold.
IMPACT
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DESIGN PRACTICE CONTRIBUTION
My design played an integral part in shaping the visual narrative of the book by translating emotion and story into form.
“Carmela,” the fictional woman on the cover was inspired by the memory of the author’s grandmother whom she admired.
“Carmela” began with a single conversation. In a deliberate and unhurried manner, ideas, intuition and research evolved into the introduction to the author’s story.
My first sketches came to life in Descanso Gardens, at their beautiful Japanese garden where I was inspired. Surrounded by nature, I felt a sense of magic and spirituality. “Carmela” came to life as I was immersed in Mother Nature. A deeply intentional and transcendental experience.
“Carmela” was sketched entirely by hand, not traced from any reference, emerging from a shared visual and emotional space between my client and myself.
From there, I brought her into the digital world and completed the illustration in Procreate on my iPad.
Throughout the feedback and revision phases, my client and I worked very closely in a collaborative and intuitive way.
In the final stages, I realized it was important to leave some elements of the design uncolored. This choice honors unfinished healing and the reality that healing is ongoing. We grow little by little, learning and evolving along the way. Healing is not a destination, but a continuous journey.
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Arizona State University: Borderlands Cinematic Arts Logo Creation + Event Collateral
Event Identity Final Horizontal Logo
Event Identity Final Horizontal Logo in action (Projected on the wall).
Master Elements for Living System:
MISSION
To visually support and elevate ASU’s Borderlands Cinematic Arts Film Program— a visionary initiative dedicated to reframing the narrative of the borderlands as a dynamic space of cultural exchange, imagination, and transformation. The mission centered around The Border is a Story, a public convening designed to seed collaboration among filmmakers, journalists, novelists, and historians, while cultivating a new, interconnected storytelling network.
OUTCOME
The design assets provided a visual framework that aligned with the initiative’s themes of storytelling, imagination, and cultural dialogue. These materials supported the communication goals of the public events and contributed to a unified, elevated experience for participants.
IMPACT
The work helped create a thoughtful visual atmosphere that reflected the poetic and visionary spirit of the Borderlands. By supporting an interconnected network of storytellers, the designs became part of a broader narrative effort to reframe the borderlands not as a dividing line, but as a fertile space for grounded, authentic, and transformative narratives.
DESIGN PRACTICE CONTRIBUTION
As part of this initiative, I contributed design work that helped shape the visual identity and storytelling environment of the program. This included:
Designing the event logo for The Border is a Story
Creating digital screen backgrounds and master graphic elements
Designing printed event banner for an affiliated event
(Coming soon)Designing invitations for an affiliated event (Coming soon)
Developing the original logo for the Borderlands Cinematic Arts program (Coming soon)