A new journey begins.

School is over, but the learning continues, and I hope it stays on a steep uphill curve. I cannot imagine living without learning something new everyday.

Spring is here, the birds are singing (really, literally outside my house everyday). They remind me that life is like a song; it has rhythm, it has a story, and it has meaning. How beautiful you want to sing your song lies in your own hands.

I decided to go to design school after a Business degree and 5 years of working experience in Finance, Sales, and Marketing. I realized I did not want to spend the rest of my career working on spreadsheets, instead finding more meaning and satisfaction in creating visual arts to communicate with people.

I feel I can, and should make a difference, in anything I design.

Design is problem solving.
Design is thoughtful.
Design is to communicate.
Design is to experience.

I am a graphic designer. I am me.

Project: Create a new magazine along with a masthead and twelve cover designs for its first year.
Solution: A literary magazine focusing on short stories and poems was created called Peek Magazine. Its name is to incite curiosity among its readers as to what each month has to offer and an image is used to illustrate one main article per issue.

Project: Redesign the book Exploring Color by Nita Leland.
Solution: A more interesting typographical treatment, layout, and use of color throughout the book were used to make the book more fun to read and color theory more interesting to learn.

Project: Create a give-away item for my graduation portfolio show.
Solution: A card holder was created using the pattern of logos to connect to the cover of the portfolio book. The recipient had to go through the act of opening and unfolding, like a gift, as the resume and name card emerged. The resume is designed in an accordian fold with each panel focusing on different sections of a resume: contact information, career summary, work experience, education, and skills.

Project: Graduation portfolio book
Solution: The concept for my portfolio book was to showcase my work and craftsmanship. The whole portfolio was handmade with the book bound in a Japanese binding (the sleeve case was handmade at a bindery). The cover was a pattern of all the logos within the book.

Logos for PT Empat Saudara, Liz Claiborne, scooter maker Mogy, Peek Magazine, and Seedlings Asia.

Project: Design an identity for the limited bottling of Thirteen Meritage wine in Napa Valley.
Solution: A mirror image of the number thirteen resulted in what looked like a butterfly, which signified the coverage of the thirteen vineyards that made up this meritage wine. The dots represented grapes. The logo design was then cut onto linoleum to give the wine an organic feel.

Project: Design the packaging for an eco-friendly version of Apple's iPod named iPod eco.
Solution: Recycled and unbleached cardboard printed with biodegradable soy-based ink were incorporated into the packaging. The padding used inside was a flexible material made from recycled tires; and an iPod sleeve was included using the same recycled tire material.

Project: Redesign Bihun Melati's identity and packaging for its vermicelli.
Solution: In order to stand out from its competitors on the food shelf, a recyclable and reusable cardboard was designed with minimal printing instead of commonly used plastic wraps that would end up in a landfill.

Project: Design a publicity poster for the San Francisco Public Library.
Solution: A type-only poster was designed to complement the library-going experience. It also served to remind the public that they could contact the library to have their books placed on hold, as the library hours were noted below.

Project: A pro and con poster were to be designed to represent opposite sides of an argument.
Solution: These posters were meant to inform and influence the public's opinion about stem cell research, so they needed to quickly grab attention. They were designed using only two colors that were strong and highly contrasting. The deep, blood red color brought attention to "life".

Project: Inform, educate, and promote proper recycling on campus.
Solution: A series of recycling posters were designed using such familiar icons as the coffee cup while bold type was employed, as not to be ignored by the students. The design was also incorporated onto t-shirts to further raise the awareness.

Project: Design an identity for British band, Keane's new album.
Solution: Expressing hopes and fears, the girl in the image looked up to the tree to seek hope or an answer. This identity was then applied consistently throughout all the promotional materials.

Project: Design a poster for the Belles Lettres exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The poster could not be designed using a computer, only found objects could be used.
Solution: As the exhibition showcased some notable typographers and printers who made their name in letterpress, wood type was aptly chosen to reflect this. They were found objects and using lively colors, they gave the poster a modern twist.

Project: Information design
Solution: In an effort to remember those persecuted under Adolf Hitler's Nazi rule, data was collected on the different groups executed. An image of Adolf Hitler was put together using small icons representing these groups of people. Hitler's "Aryan Standard" became non-existent. Here he became one with those he killed. (credit: photograph by Kjetil Vatne)