Illustration
At the heart of my enthusiasm for design is my love of illustration. Ever since I was a child, I have loved to draw and see characters and settings come to life. My ability to draw and create illustrations has been very beneficial for my design work, too, as it has allowed me to create assets from nothing and tailor them specifically to the message intent.
Linear Ground Detection System (LGDS) Fiber Optic Specifications
During my time working with the US Border Patrol, one of their systems, the Linear Ground Detection System (LGDS) was set to be overhauled. In order to accomplish this, the USBP needed to evaluate a wide variety of different types of fiber optic cables to function as the backbone of the system. My team was tasked with researching and evaluating the various available cables. To assist with the final decision, these illustrations were created to provide a clear view of how each cable worked and the various components involved.
The Terror of Chicken-Bot
Years ago, shortly after completing my undergraduate Graphic Design education, I realized that I would like to have a consistent character to represent my work as a sort of mascot. Thus MoeChicken and his associate Maria were born. Over the years, these two have graced a wide variety of my works, sometimes in the background and other times front and center. Their absurd relationship of a beautiful (mostly) mute woman and a bossy little brown rooster who likes to be in charge has resulted in countless silly situations, such as this one here, wherein Moe has turned himself into some kind of rampaging gigantic chicken robot.
Grooves Title Cards
One of my many creative pursuits is the creation of music. I grew up playing music, whether through an instrument in band or just singing in choir. (Considering my mother was an elementary school music teacher, I doubt I had much choice in the matter!) That passion has continued and I enjoy producing short pieces of music I call “Grooves” and putting them up on my YouTube channel for others to enjoy. Since YouTube is a visual platform, I have to release them as videos, so I have taken to developing background images based on the vibe of the song to represent each. The creation of these background cards can sometimes be as much fun as making the song itself, and I strive for each to have a strong identifying color scheme.
“You expertly incorporated sponsor design requirements on-the-fly and managed the structure and flow of conversations to harness the participants' energy and flow of ideas so that everyone's priorities were captured. Thanks to your efforts, the team achieved what the sponsor described as results that were 'leaps and bounds’ beyond their expectations.”
~Lisa Ide, MITRE in cooperation with the USBP Checkpoint Program Management Office