Graphic Design
My first love. The backbone of all other projects and artwork that I do. I was first introduced to the basics of Graphic Design in my first year at FIDM as a Merchandise Product Development student. We were required to learn Adobe Illustrator to execute our flats and garment sketches. These technical skills were acquired for the purpose of producing tech packs; instruction manuals sent to manufacturing companies with every detail of an item called out and accounted for. As grateful as I was to learn these rigid structures, most of which I still employ to lay out the groundwork for my art today, they were just the stepping stone into my true calling. My first degree gave me the technical skills to execute my desired outcome, but everything I learned while acquiring my second degree in Graphic Design would go on to inform my style and aesthetic.
Funk Magazine
FUNK magazine was originally an assignment for a publication class. We were to produce an entire magazine from start to finish, including advertisements, table of contents, featured stories and front and back covers, all while keeping a consistent brand identity throughout. In 2019 I decided to produce my "second" issue, showcased here. The advertisements, trendy references, and cover story have been updated from the inaugural 2014 issue. I hope to find time in 2024 to produce my third, if only to showcase my updated skillset, interests and flex some rarely used design muscles in the process.
RoseBox Stationery
RoseBox Stationery is a collection of my personal greeting card and invitation designs. Originally starting with monthly calendars that I created in the downtime of my first office job, the collection grew to include baby countdown calendars, going away cards for coworkers leaving our team, and invitations for private events. While any commissions for custom invitations would now be produced with the Pretty Lugo Things name, I keep this original collection under RoseBox for my own personal sentimentality. I went through the trouble of creating a separate logo for the collection to differentiate it from the rest of my work before I was ready to commit to the PLT name for myself and I believe in honoring the growth that leads to your present day. I ran an Instagram ad featuring the faux Mercury Reggaeton invite when I first started the Pretty Lugo Things Instagram just as a way to garner followers and possible future commissions. Despite not featuring an accurate address, as well as mentioning the event was fictitious in the caption and only created to showcase my personal design skills, I received several comments wishing for it to be real. Truthfully, I'm surprised a similar event hasn't been put together but perhaps it truly is up to me to bring it to life.
Weed Be Good Together
Weed Be Good Together was my way of coping with lockdown in 2020. I originally began the year with the resolution that I would travel more. As a California native, I've always been enamored with the counterculture of San Francisco and dreamed of attending the 4/20 celebration on Hippie Hill. Unfortunately, with a respiratory virus running rampage around the world, and a federal stay at home order in place, that dream was not going to be a reality anytime soon. However, I was incredibly inspired by the different virtual meetups I kept witnessing. Movie nights, trivia games, book clubs, birthday parties, weddings, everything! So why not a smoke circle? I created Weed Be Good Together as a way to bring the community together to help fulfill a need. Instead of the annual migration to Hippie Hill, participants would join the party virtually with raffles and giveaway events to raise money for the essential workers and their families. Each host would have been provided with the Weed Be Good Together flag to hang behind them during the broadcast which they would then sign and auction off at the end of the event. A hoodie, hat, and sticker sheet were exclusively designed and would be available for purchase or as a prize. I tried to ensure that the event was clearly notated as Not Real in order to not have a repeat of the Mercury Reggaeton letdown.
Salud Cafe
Verv Skincare
