DESIGN

Summer Scholars 2025; University of Delaware Undergraduate Research Program 

This project explores how music and musicians in 1960s New York helped challenge the political and cultural norms of their time, bringing people together around shared values and amplifying movements for change.  In a nod to the self-published books that allowed artists, writers, and activists to bypass mainstream platforms and build community through uncensored expression throughout the 20th century, this project follows a zine format and draws upon the history of underground culture.  

Zines were, and are, ways for groups to create art and community through the physical sharing of small, self-published booklets where people share stories, writings, and art, without censorship from larger corporations.  This zine combines documentary photography, layout design, and historical research to create a visual and narrative exploration of how music intersected with countercultural values in the 1960s.

The research focuses on relevant venues, studio spaces, monuments, and places of historical significance across the city that contributed to or witnessed the counterculture movement in full force. The zine features personal photography from locations that contributed to or memorialized these histories, engaging directly with the physical spaces where cultural change began and grew.  By blending visual storytelling with historical context, the zine illustrates how music helped shape identity, community, and rebellion during a transformative period in New York’s history. It also brings to light how music can continue to serve as a force for community and progressive change today.

Created with Adobe InDesign and Photoshop

For this project in my Typography Methods course, we were given a brand's name, location, and most popular item.  From there, we workshopped typefaces, creating a logo and a color palette.  We honed in on our brand's target audience, creating taglines to be used in promotional posters.  

For the final part of the assignment, we were to provide 3 posters, 3 package designs, and 3 social media animations, utilizing our curated aesthetic, all part of our type-driven art direction.     

During my Visual Communications Study Abroad Summer program in 2025, one of our projects was to create a blog of our experience, communicating what we had learned throughout the program visually and through writing.  I utilized Adobe InDesign to work with multiple mediums, incorporating collage and drawing materials from my journals, and to be more experimental with my layout design.     

This project from my Core Typography course required the utilization of Adobe InDesign, focusing on layout design, text organization, and general comprehension.  We were instructed to interview a stranger and compile their answers into a book alongside black and white visuals found from physical sources. Recommended experimental facets included paragraph styles, varying margins, page numbers, pull quotes, and drop caps.