Margaret, the Designer

An Orlando-based graphic and product designer.

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The request: “Essentially, a half circle with a skyline at the bottom (with some depth, so maybe a few gradient layers of building shapes?) and then the sky is actually the globe, where you can see the continents and oceans and such. The title of the exhibition is ‘The Anthropocene: Is this the Age of Humans?'”

This is drawn entirely in Adobe Illustrator, using the pen tool. (If you ever need to practice the pen tool, pick a building and draw it. #ProTip) The logo was intended to be shown in large scale, which allowed me to put a lot of detail into the buildings. It took a long time, but was really fun.

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Love, Strength, Courage - Pride 2016

I made these for Pride month.

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“Listen to the Mustn’ts”, by Shel Silverstein, Poster

A close friend recently had a baby. This was my gift for his nursery.

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Central Florida Slug Club, Logo, 2012

I joined the Central Florida Slug Club, the local, adult Harry Potter club, soon after it was born. I was asked to help run the club as a Head of House (#Ravenclaw), one of four. Along with my help to organize events, I offered my design services. I made their logo, which they still use today.

Shown are the logo in two orientations, the business card, and the post card. Also attached are the digital “sketches” that the other Heads of House were given. These raw pieces were based on discussions of what the logo should be. Most were not even entirely finished; the final choice was easy.

The cauldron is a reference to Professor Slughorn, the potions professor, who, in the books, is the creator of the Slug Club. I used purple because it already has a magical connotation, and I wanted to stay away from the four House colors (yellow, red, blue, and green).

This logo has been made into t-shirts, lapel pins, bumper stickers, etc.

(I resigned my position a year ago. If you are interested in the club, we have about over 1000 members, and about 200 active members. You can find out more about the CFSC here.)

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Phoenix, Valencia College’s Literary Magazine, 2010

In 2010, I was the Lead Designer for my college’s literary magazine. It was an awesome experience that gave me an initial taste of designing for a company. I had a designer working with me, had to learn how to keep him as well as myself on track, had to answer to various opinions - an excellent trial run prior to graduation. It was all worth it; we ended up winning almost all of the design awards for that year.

Above are a few spreads from the book, themed around the parts of a mosaic.

Awards: 1st Place Best Overall Design · 1st Place Best Cover Design · 1st Place Best Contents Page Design · Inner Circle Award Honoree (given for winning so many honors)

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Wedding Invitation

This is a wedding invitation I designed for a childhood friend of 20 years. I have changed the names and private information, of course, but otherwise kept the design the same.

She told me she wanted wood textures, baby’s breath, cotton blossoms, and “maybe a magnolia or something”. She also wanted a garland with their initials (thankfully they were removed) and horns. Soft colors, rustic but feminine. These instructions became these.

I loved how they came out, but, more importantly, bride and groom were blown away :)

Shown: The Invitation (blue), the (rather detailed, per the bride’s mother’s request) Response Card (pink), the Notes insert (beige)

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“Come Home”, Ladies from Hell, 2010

One of my older pieces, though definitely one of my favorites, I took on the challenge of creating a CD for a fictional band. Ladies from Hell are a Scottish pipe and drum group, taking their name from the men of the Scottish regiment in WWII. (Their kilts looked like skirts, which gave them their nickname.)