Adriana Flores

The 826 project was an opportunity to create a visual identity system for an organization that already exists: 826 National. The objective was to design the branding for a new 826 store that ties into its location. I had the honor of researching Asheville, North Carolina and learning what makes the city so unique. For my store, I decided to center its identity and products around the concept of exploring Asheville, North Carolina through the five senses, hence the name: It Makes Sense.

In a collaboration with InsideOut and sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, two of my classmates and I were tasked with developing a system to categorize 99 nature-related poems written by poets of all ages. After studying the poems, their themes, and subject matter, we settled on dividing them into four categories based on the four seasons. With our concept in mind, we looked to an older publication: the Farmers’ Almanac, to guide us moving forward. Our Modern Almanac suggests a set of poems each month for readers that fit the themes of the month, with a ‘Dear Reader,’ narrative beginning each section, explaining why we categorized the poems the way we did. My teammates were Rachel Kuehnel and Johanna Moreta

The goal was to take a current federal brand and figure out how to merge with an internal/local brand The end result was to create a cohesive brand visual system with applications in print, motion, and web platforms for John Dingell Medical Center, Detroit’s Veterans’ Affairs facility. I worked with Julia St. Aubin, Mai Nyugen, and Jenna Sturges on this project and we worked together to develop personas and language that would then inform our brand identity system.

This poster set celebrates Frankenmuth, Michigan’s annual Dog Bowl, an event centered around dogs and their loving owners. The goal was to create a series of designs that captures the essence of the festival while reaching out towards a specific target audience. I wanted to engage new dog owners who may be looking for the community aspect that comes with having a pet and learning from other owners. The idea of community came up frequently as I explored the meanings of the bonds people share with each other and also their pets. A visual system was created using similar colors and imagery. Arrows and circular elements are meant to lead the viewer’s eye but also represent how people and dogs return to those they care for. Dogs also tend to run in circles when playing fetch.

I created an explainer video to discuss the current state of the concert industry and the process fans have to go through to buy tickets. At the time of this project, the events of Ticketmaster being called out by the U.S. Senate had recently hit the news and the public was questioning the role of such a huge company such as Ticketmaster (recently bought by Live Nation) in the process of purchasing tickets. More and more people have become aware of how inaccessible concert tickets are becoming.