NYC Dance Culture
Sticker Collection

  • This project explores the vibrant dance culture of New York City through a collection of custom stickers designed for three distinct dance communities: ballet, Cuban salsa, and swing. Each sticker captures the unique personality and movement vocabulary of its respective dance form while creating a cohesive collection that celebrates NYC's diverse dance scene.

  • New York City's dance community is incredibly diverse, with each dance form having its own culture, terminology, and aesthetic. The challenge was to create stickers that would:

    - resonate authentically with dancers from each community

    - translate the physical essence of movement into static visual design

    - use typography and imagery to tell relatable stories through dance terminology

  • Drawing from my personal experience in the Cuban salsa, swing communities in NYC, I have an intimate knowledge of these dance form's unique culture, terminology, and energy. Combining this insider perspective with additional online research on ballet, I analyzed how each dance's personality could be visually captured. This dual approach revealed distinct characteristics: ballet's graceful precision and classical elegance, Cuban salsa's fiery passion and rhythmic intensity, and swing's infectious joy and playful spontaneity—each offering rich material for visual translation into a sticker design.

  • The final collection features stickers that speak directly to NYC dancers through authentic use of dance terminology and visual elements that reflect each dance’s unique style. Each design successfully translates movement into visual storytelling, creating pieces that dancers can immediately connect with and proudly display.

    The stickers serve as both community identifiers and a celebration of dance culture, allowing dancers to showcase their passion while being able to connect with others who share their love for movement and music.

Moodboard Development

For each dance style, I created comprehensive mood boards that establishes:

- Color palettes that reflect each dance's emotional tone

- Thematic elements specific to each community's culture

- Key descriptive words that capture what each sticker should represent

- Movement references to guide the visual translation of dance into design

NYC “Junglescape”
Tote Bag

  • This project explores the paradox of urban living through a playful tote bag design that celebrates the phrase, "Concrete Jungle"—a term synonymous with New York City. The design captures the ironic relationship between NYC's towering skyline and New Yorkers' growing obsession with bringing nature indoors through trendy houseplants.

  • New York City embodies the ultimate "concrete jungle," but there's a delightful contradiction happening inside NYC apartments: residents are filling their spaces with lush houseplants such as Monsteras and Alocasias, creating their own indoor jungles. The challenge was to create wearable merchandise that would:

    - celebrate this uniquely NYC paradox in a visually compelling way

    - reference iconic NYC architecture that defines it’s concrete landscape

    - balance playfulness with sophistication for everyday wearability

  • I incorporated recognizable NYC building silhouettes to establish the "concrete" element while integrating botanical illustrations of trendy houseplants (Monstera and Alocasia) to represent the "jungle" component. The design plays with scale and layering to show how nature and architecture coexist in the NYC experience.

  • The final tote bag design creates an instantly recognizable visual pun that speaks directly to the New York experience. By combining iconic architectural elements with popular houseplant imagery, the design captures both the literal and metaphorical meaning of "concrete jungle."

    This becomes an inside joke that only New Yorkers fully appreciate—a wearable piece of NYC culture that reflects the city's intensity while giving a nod to residents' desire to bring nature into their urban environment. The tote serves as both a functional everyday carry and conversation starter that celebrates the unique quirks of NYC living.

Moodboard Development

I created a comprehensive mood board that establishes:

- A color palette that reflects jungle tones

- Thematic elements specific to the iconic NYC skyline and trendy house plants

- Key descriptive words that capture what the tote should represent

NYC
“Island Life”
Tee

  • This project reimagines Manhattan through an unexpected lens—island living. While most people associate "island life" with tropical paradises, Manhattan is technically, just with skyscrapers instead of palm trees. This t-shirt design playfully challenges perceptions by celebrating Manhattan's unique version of island living in a sophisticated, wearable format.

  • Manhattan residents live on an island, but it's far from the typical tropical island fantasy most people envision. The challenge was to create a design that would:

    - present Manhattan from this fresh, rarely considered perspective

    - make a clever visual pun without appearing gimmicky

    - maintain sophistication and wearability for everyday use

    - create a subtle nod that would resonate with both locals and visitors

    - balance humor with elevated design aesthetic

  • I focused on creating a refined typographic treatment and minimal graphic elements that would suggest "island life" without relying on stereotypical beach imagery. The goal was subtlety—allowing the wearer to be in on the pun while maintaining a polished, elevated appearance suitable for Manhattan's style-conscious residents.

  • The final t-shirt design presents a sophisticated take on Manhattan's island identity through carefully balanced typography and subtle visual cues. Rather than loud graphics or obvious beach references, the design uses refined elements that hint at the island concept while maintaining the elevated aesthetic Manhattan residents expect.

    This creates a conversation piece that works on multiple levels—locals appreciate the clever geographical reference, while visitors discover a new way to think of the city. The design successfully transforms a simple geographical fact into wearable wit that feels authentically Manhattan: smart, subtle, and stylish.

Moodboard Development

I created a comprehensive mood board that establishes:

- A color palette that reflects the overall island tone

- Thematic elements specific to the iconic NYC skyline

- Key descriptive words that capture what the tee should represent.

FULLBEAUTY Brands
Catalog/Garment Tag

Ellos Catalog Covers
& Spreads

These designs showcase the Ellos Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter catalog covers along with interior catalog spreads. Working within the established creative direction for each season, I designed covers that aligned with the brand's aesthetic while refreshing the visual approach to maintain customer engagement and interest.

Cinch-Back Blazer Garment Tag

I designed a garment tag for Jessica London’s Cinch-Back Blazer based on a creative brief that required an illustration showcasing the brand's innovative blazer design. The garment features an internal drawstring system that allows customers to cinch the blazer for a customized, superior fit. My illustration clearly communicates this unique functionality while maintaining the brand's visual identity.