10 favorite designs of 2011

It's hard to believe another year has passed! As I've been telling everyone, I'm a little freaked out that we're in the year that I turn 30. At least I still have nine months until that happens.

Upon reflecting on this past year of ministry, I'm grateful for the many different opportunities I've had to use my design skills to minister to students, staff and donors. Here are 10 designs I'm particularly proud of:

10. Illustration for InterVarsity blog, August

One of my ongoing projects this year has been to find or create images for InterVarsity's national blog. While most of the images end up being photos, this was one of the first illustrations I did, for a post entitled "Life After Summer Missions." I've enjoyed working with my teammates Abi and Matt on these images, and for the opportunity to grow in illustration skills.

9. Compelling 2011 conference, July-November

(original blog post)

flycard

Compelling was a great experience for a number of reasons. This was the 5th year I worked on the design for the conference and each time I feel like I learn something new. The challenge of working with a familiar theme like Jonah was to create something that wasn't cliché or boring. I hope I achieved that with this design.

8. Asian American Women's Leadership Conference, November

This is my first time showing the final design! You may remember I talked about the inspiration and process for this project a couple of months ago. I really enjoyed working on the texture on this piece - it has an old weathered look, but I think the bright colors from my Southeast Asian fabric palette keep the design engaging and hopeful. 

7. AIV t-shirt, July

(original blog post)

It was so fun being able to work on this tshirt for my old chapter. Even though I don't get to directly interact with those students anymore, it makes me happy knowing they're walking around wearing the shirt I designed for them. I also enjoyed working on this design because it was one of the first times I used 2100's iPad to draw the lettering by hand. It gives the design a unique and personal feel that a premade typeface would not have done. 

6. The Comfort Zone movie poster, July

(original blog post)

A significant accomplishment in my work this year was directing and producing my first video! While I still don't know anything about operating a camera, I definitely learned a lot about the filmmaking process. I also learned that humor and parody are some of my favorite methods of communication. Working on this movie poster was icing on the cake! Kudos to Katie, our awesome actress and model, and Matt, for the great photos I got to work with. The finished piece is an authentic-looking action movie poster!

5.  ICF t-shirt, February
(original blog post)

This t-shirt was designed for an international student chapter in California. I like it mostly because it's asymmetrical and different from the usual shirts with designs centered in the top middle area. Plus, blue and gray are my favorite colors as far as clothing goes, so it was a bonus to get to work with those colors. They sent me a shirt and I love wearing it!

4. Bible Study bookmarks, March
 (original blog post)

I think this may be the most functional, useful piece I've designed this year. This bookmark was especially fun to work on because I am passionate about inductive Bible study. In fact, learning how to study the Bible was possibly the most significant thing I've gained as an InterVarsity student and staff. It excites me to think that I'm helping hundreds of others learn this very important skill that will impact their lives forever.

If you are interested in ordering some, you can get them at the InterVarsity store, 10 for just a dollar!

3. Languages Thank You card, April

There wasn't a whole lot of concept behind this design other than wanting to make it appeal to people of many different languages. It was a challenge working with languages that did not have the same alphabet as English, but I think it came together. I like this mostly because I think it's pretty. :)

2. IFES infographic, August
(original blog post)

For the past year I've designed over 30 infographics for 2100's weekly infographics on Facebook. Most of them are funny or silly, but this one was designed with real data (or as real as I could find on the Internet!). Infographics are fun and give me a way to use humor, color and love for organizing information in my design work. I liked this one particularly because I got to work with IFES' World Assembly color palette.

Check out other infographics on 2100's Facebook page.

1. Staff Conference 2011, January
(original blog post)

It seems understated to list Staff Conference only as one thing, as I think I designed maybe 40-50 different pieces for the conference, and that's counting something as large as the stage as one design. When I look back on my work for Staff Conference, I recall the experience as stressful, tiring, but also rewarding. During that overwhelmingly busy period, I definitely felt God providing me energy and insight into this work. And what resulted was a collection of work that I am very proud of. The conference itself went really well and I'm grateful to have had a big part in making it happen.

If I had to pick one piece from Staff Conference that I love the most, I would choose the signs. I just really liked how they turned out. I tried to snag one as the conference was ending but they disappeared.

It's been a busy but productive year! Thanks to all of you who support me and make it possible for me to do what I love for God's kingdom. Looking forward to another year of seeing what God will do through InterVarsity.