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Social Media Carousels

Social Media Carousels

 Get ready to be blown away by some incredible social media carousels! I’m thrilled to feature a collection of stunning designs created by me for Leisure Time Inc. – A retail company focused in outdoor living, from hot tubs to fireplaces. Each carousel is a work of art that allows complex ideas to be easily digestible to the viewer and leave a lasting impression. Whether you’re looking for inspiration for your own social media posts or just love admiring beautiful design, you won’t want to miss this post. So without further ado, let’s dive in and explore some truly amazing carousels!

Just A Sneak Peek Into Previous Carousels:

Want To See More?

Check out the Instagram page I’ve been running for Leisure Time Inc. In just one year, I’ve been able to help this company experience an 11% growth in following and engagement!

Illustrating Roku Screensavers

Illustrating Roku Screensavers

Roku has been making TVs smart since 2002. With their hardware digital media players, any television can stream their favorite platforms with just the use of an HDMI cord. When the user leaves the Roku idle for an extended period of time, a screensaver appears while the device is in sleep mode.

There are an infinite number of options for the user to choose to be their designated screensaver. Roku has a few selections of scrolling and animated screensavers that are beautifully illustrated cityscapes. Some of these illustration themes include romance, space, jungle, western, and many more.

I love changing the background on all of my devices to be themed to the current holiday. I realized that Roku doesn’t have any scrolling screensavers themed for holidays such as Christmas and Halloween. That’s why I took it upon myself to create two scrolling screensavers to upload to my Roku device for my senior project.

Each screensaver began with brainstorming and watching many Christmas and Halloween movies to get ideas for easter eggs and items to include in the scenes. Once I had an idea of characters and items to include, I created a detailed sketch in Procreate. From there, I transferred my sketch into Illustrator where I created a grayscale version of the finished design. This helped me to create the illustration and figure out the layers and looping without worrying about the colors too much. After color research, I was to design the flat illustration that would be later given highlights and shadows to mimic the Roku style while also giving the final design greater depth. With the illustration complete, all that was left to animate it through After Effects. By creating a parallax, each layer moved at different speeds to give the illusion of a 3D scene.

Through these themed holiday screensavers, I was able to refine my illustration skills while creating a project for a niche audience. Now when the season comes around, my TV will finally match the rest of the décor.

Video Presentation

Total Time Spent: 71 Hours

My senior project came together within 71 hours of work. Throughout this time, I worked on researching topics and colors, sketching compositions, drafting the scenes, refining the scenes, and animating. Each step of the way, I met with my mentor to receive feedback and know where to move forward.

Final Designs

 Here are the final still illustrations of the Christmas and Halloween Roku screensavers. Following the final illustrations is a video that pans through both finalized animated screensavers.

Roku Christmas Scene
Roku Halloween Scene

Point and Click Adventure Game: JJ McReb

Point and Click Adventure Game: JJ McReb

A blue-skinned Pajama Superhero trying to fix the weather. A talking car and his dog traveling to the moon. Guybrush Threepwood. Point and Click adventure games of the ‘80s and ‘90s were wild – and also some of our first childhood interactions with computers.

As a love letter to the genre that raised us, our team of seven set out to create our own playable point-and-click adventure in 60 days and publish it to the Apple App Store.

Throughout this project, my main focus was on item design, room design, and character design.

Please enjoy the written case study which breaks down our process and showcases our final game design within a semester’s worth of work.

You can download and play our final app on the Apple App Store.

Wellness App Design: tend.

Wellness App Design: tend.

As the world becomes increasingly digital, people are integrating technology into their health and wellness habits. With the advent of smartphones has come a new set of physical and emotional wellness challenges. But we’re entering a new era of users who are self-aware of these challenges and are taking active steps to reclaim their lifestyle and build new habits.

As a team of seven designers, we set out to design a goal-setting app with three main objectives:
     • Ease of use
     • Provides value to the user
     • Visually appealing

Throughout this project, I wore many different hats. Here are some examples of titles I earned throughout this project:
     • Art Director
     • Brand Explorer
     • Brand Style Designer
     • Style Developer
     • Animator
     • Storyboard Artist
     • Illustrator
     • Photographer
     • Content Writer

Please enjoy the written case study which breaks down our process and showcases our final app design within a semester’s worth of work.

Illustrating A Calendar: A 3 Week Project

Illustrating A Calendar: A 3 Week Project

Whenever I design, I feel like I am able to put a piece of myself into the final product. Most of the time, it’s my style or my dedication. Every so often, I decide to create a design that relates to who I am and defines what I value. These projects are the ones I’m most proud of.

That’s what this project did for me. I grew up in the beautiful Southern California sunshine that truly defined who I am and how I see the world. I never realized how blessed I was to live near some amazing locations. I’ve always wanted to create something that appreciated my roots of Southern California, but I never could think of something that was special enough.

I decided to make an illustrative calendar, but I wasn’t exactly sure what the theme would be. I debated about national park locations and even fictional illustrations. Then I realized that I could highlight some of my favorite locations across Southern California that give me fond memories.

Due to the short amount of time for this project, I was going to create six finalized illustrations, along with six more drafts for the remaining months. Each month would highlight different locations around Southern California that were dear to me.

Please enjoy my written case study which breaks down my process and showcases my final designs after 3 weeks.

18 Days of Logos

18 Days of Logos

Logos act as the frontman of a brand. Without a strong logo, a brand communicates that loyalty is not what they are after. For a brand to have absolute success, it is almost crucial for them to be represented by a strong and unique logo.

For 18 days straight, I designed a new logo each day. I brainstormed names and personas for 36 different companies. Using those personas as an inspiration, I created the main logo and an alternate logo.

Please enjoy my written case study which breaks down my process and showcases my final logo designs after 18 days of hard work.

Good Vibes Sticker Set

Good Vibes Sticker Set

The idea was to create a sticker set of three designs that communicated the good vibes that summer brings. Growing up in California, I figured I’d dig deep to my roots and design stickers that reminded me of the beach. I immediately thought of Volkswagen vans, surfing, and palm trees.
The stickers had to be vibrant, look good in print, and remain cohesive. I wanted them to be able to stand alone or work well together.

Sketching

I took to the sketch books with my ideas in mind. Sketching out variations of similar designs and even other ideas I came up with along the way, I was able to commit to the three designs I wanted to take digital.
sticker set
sticker set
sticker set
This sketching process helped me to decide on three specific subjects. With different variations, I was able to narrow down my designs.

Drafting Process

With my sketches to guide me, I took to Adobe Illustrator to create my three sticker designs.
sticker set
Each design had their own quirks that needed tweaking. Little by little, I was able to work on each sticker to give them a more professional feel.
 
The first problem I ran into was with the surfer. The first design was way too abstract for my liking. Through trial and error and using a lot of reference photos, I was able to create a shape worth keeping.
sticker set
Once I got the basic shape down, it was smooth sailing (or should I say surfing) from there. Through following reference photos, I designed the basic silhouette of the surfer. Although, something still wasn’t quite right. I decided to apply the detailed lines from my other designs to keep a consistent feel and to apply more depth to the flat shapes.
 
The next problem I ran into was the palm trees in the sunset sticker. I had similar issues with my palm trees being too abstract for my liking. I took again to the internet to find palm tree reference photos to help me along in my design process.
sticker set

From an abstract palm tree, to a better shape, to depth, this palm tree saw a lot of improvement throughout the drafting process. The final look included the detail lines on the trunk and different shading of the leaves to give the design more depth.

Finalized Design

This finally brings us to the finalized sticker designs! I was able to reach my overall goal and meet my objective of creating three stickers that communicate the feeling of summer. I was also able to meet the vibrant goal and to have these stickers work well both independently and in a set.
Though I met many challenges throughout the course of this project, I was able to exceed my overall objective and work on determining my own style.

sticker set
sticker set
sticker set
Photorealistic Vector Watch
sticker set

Photorealistic Vector Watch

Challenging myself by creating a photorealistic vector watch.

The idea was to create a photorealistic vector watch based on a photograph. From the beginning, I knew I wanted to find a women’s watch that was sophisticated and unique. I tried throwing myself in the deep end and figured out how to swim. I came to find this watch from Girard Perregaux that fit my idea perfectly.

Sketching

Before I decided on the specific watch, I wanted to test out a couple different watches. Using different photo references, I got to sketching. With each watch, I broke it down bit my bit. I wanted to fully understand how each individual item truly looked. This helped me to know which watch I liked the most. 
Photorealistic Vector Watch
Photorealistic Vector Watch

This sketching process helped me to determine which watch I wanted to design. By breaking down the watch from Girard Perregaux, I determined that I was up for the challenge of designing the small details. Though, I knew it would be a challenge and I would hit many roadblocks.

Drafting Process

By moving the sketch digital, I had the photo reference next to the artboard at all times to help me understand the shapes, highlights, and shadows. To say the process was difficult was certainly an understatement. 
Photorealistic Vector Watch
Little by little, I improved my watch design as I inched closer to getting it just right. At the beginning, I had a hard time getting the diamonds to look more realistic. 
Photorealistic Vector Watch
As you can see from the images above, my diamonds went from a flat and dull shape, to a more realistic looking diamond. With the contrast in colors, to adding shadows and highlights, I was able to create a shape that contained the depth of a diamond.

Finalized Design

 
That brings us to the finalized design. Through fine tuning and receiving feedback from a mentor and peers, I was able to create my first ever photorealistic vector watch. Though this design was fairly difficult to gain an understanding, I am proud of my design and it helped me to realize that I can get through any difficult things.
 
 
 
 
Photorealistic Vector Watch
Photorealistic Vector Watch

Buggin’ Out Icon Set

Creating a buzzing bug icon set.

The idea was to create a bug icon set of 12 icons. From the start, I wanted to design them to look cohesive and simplistic, while still highlighting the defining features each bug possesses. It was all about finding my own style and turning these creepy crawlies into something unique.
The icons had to be colorful, lively and uniform, all while displaying the clarity of each individual bug. Every icon was to fit into the set, but also be able to stand on its own.

Sketching

To start out, I wrote down as many bugs with defining features that I could think of. I took to my sketchbook to turn all the ideas in my head into a tangible form. From there, I was able to choose my favorite ideas and expand on them a little more.
bug icon set
bug icon set
bug icon set

The sketching process helped me to embrace a specific style and rules that each icon would follow. After sketching out new ideas and trying variations of each icon, I was able to narrow it down to three specific styles. Through the feedback of my peers, I was able to select one style to stick with throughout my designing process.

Drafting Process

Taking the ideas digital, I really tried to give each icon its own unique feel, while remaining consistent. With my sketches to guide me, I design each icon to a rough draft point.
bug icon set
Through feedback from my peers and mentor, I was able to alter some minor issues. One of the main concerns was the slight gap in between the head and the body on some of the icons. This was necessary and quick fix for me to work with.

Some had a hard time determining what bug my dragonfly was. This was less than ideal for me. I knew that in order to make this style work, I needed to make sure it was absolutely clear what bug each icon represented. After discussing with my mentor and taking a step back, I knew I had to break some of the rules I established for my icons. I knew that I needed to keep the head the same size as all the other icons to keep that consistent feel. One rule that I needed to break was to make it longer than the others. A dragonfly’s key features are in the wings and body, so I had to let those features shine. In doing this, I created a new icon that left the audience with no doubt. This new design had a longer body and wings, with legs attached to the body and subtle details to the wings.

bug icon set
bug icon set
bug icon set
Next, was to meet the concerns of the spider. I knew the legs on the spider’s body didn’t quite match the idea that I had. The way it looked in the draft had the spider looking very flat. I loved the look of the mantis legs and wanted to convey that in my spider. But how would I fit 8 legs on that small body? Through some back and forth in the design process, I made the decision that 4 legs on each side was too hectic. After asking around and taking a break from that icon, I thought to take out a leg on each side. As soon as I did that, had me wondering why I didn’t just start with that to begin with!
bug icon set
bug icon set
bug icon set

Lastly, I realized my icons were all looking a little flat. I noticed that the shadows on my icons weren’t really making sense. That’s when I remembered the shadow details I had on the scorpion. I loved that look, so what if I added that style to every icon? One by one, I tested it out on each icon. Through some trial and error, I added highlighted and shadows to each icon, making them look shinier and bolder.

Finalized Designs

That brings us to the finished product where I present to you, the Buggin’ Out Icon Set. Through all the fine tuning of these icons, I was able to achieve my original objective of creating 12 cohesive icons in a bug icon set. By keeping the head and eyes consistent with each icon, they all follow similar rules that helps them remain a set. Although, each icon has the ability to stand on its own without having to rely on the others to determine what it represents. I know that this process has helped me to find my own style and help me determine how I want to design in the future. 
bug icon set
bug icon set

Personal Style Photography Project

Finalizing my personal style photography project

For my personal style photography project, I wanted to create a lookbook of my work. My idea changed quite a few times, but I finally decided that I want to start marketing myself as a portrait photographer. In my lookbook, I have examples from different portrait shoots. I wanted this lookbook to be something I could hand to potential clients for them to see my work on the go. That’s why I printed it smaller rather than larger. I’ve realized that I specifically love graduation, headshots and engagement shoots. That is why I did a new engagement shoot and studio headshot shoot to have additional work to highlight in this book.

 

personal style photography project

 

Headshots

personal style photography project

personal style photography project

The first photoshoot I captured for this project was three new studio headshots. I had my models stand in front of a black sheet with a main light and a hair light. I did this photoshoot because I don’t have many examples of my indoor portrait photography and wanted to show it off.

 

Engagements

personal style photography project

personal style photography project

The next photoshoot I did was an engagement shoot. I have a few engagement shoot examples that I captured back home in California, but nothing I could show in the mountainside. Since that is my new market up here, I figured it would be beneficial to add three new engagement photos to my portfolio and lookbook.

 

personal style photography project personal style photography project

Here was my plan for my personal style photography project.

I’m grateful for this opportunity to learn and grow. I know that without setting aside this project to define my personal style, I wouldn’t be able to have my branding as consistent as it has become.

If you have liked seeing my work throughout the last few months, I ask you to follow my social media.

Instagram: @juleenphoto

Facebook: Juleen Mathias Design and Photo

I would love to capture your portraits. Please check out my calendar to check my availability.