I've spent a lot of time over the years developing my own personal brand. That includes my logo, as seen here, but it also includes all of the work I carefully choose to complete. 

I originally produced this logo as a high school co-op project. Working with my supervisor (a freelance graphic and web designer, and a long-time friend of my mother's), I built this logo to embody who I was as a designer. I gravitate towards fun, whimsical projects that communicate a similar message to the viewer. While I prefer a clean, aesthetically pleasing design over something more complex and elaborate, I chose the circle as the main shape of this logo to keep it dynamic. The same applies to my script style typeface of choice. 

This work conveys to the viewer that my brand is modern, versatile, and spirited. 

In recent years, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) has seen a decrease in the available foster and adoptive homes for children and youth in care. JF&CS is one of the Children's Aid Societies in the GTA and is responsible for placing children and youth in care in safe homes within the community.

It was important to me to spend some time with the Children in Care team to understand the diverse needs of our kids. I worked with one of the social workers to develop messaging that would resonate with the current audiences that follow the agency on social media. No one is perfect, but someone out there could be the perfect fit for one of our children or youth, so we created this campaign to reassure those who might be considering reaching out.

I also worked with the Manager of Communications, Director of Communications and Development, and Director of Child Welfare to finalize the messaging. Then, I designed the flyers, and once those were approved, we began sharing the campaign on social media. The first post did tremendously well and has already started drawing in interested families.

The Jerome D. Diamond Adolescent Centre (JDD) is an educational day program, offered in partnership with the TDSB, for youth ages 11 to 17 who face mental health barriers in attending a mainstream school. One of JF&CS's fundraising events, Dining at the Diamond, is hosted in support of the JDD.

The 2024 event took place in the school's newly renovated backyard, offering guests a unique culinary experience crafted by JDD Alumnus & James Beard nominated chef, Jordan Wagman. This program book was placed at each table setting during the event. It contains letters from the CEO, Board President, and Manager of the JDD, art from the students, quotes from some staff, and more.

I also designed the menu, which was included in the program and printed separately to accompany the program on each place setting. I wanted to convey the youthfulness, hope, and creativity of the JDD exhibit students. For the last three years, I have met several of the students at their graduation ceremonies, and I am constantly inspired by their drive and resilience.

In January of 2021, on the heels of the global COVID-19 pandemic, I became part of the MLSE Foundation Game Changers Executive Committee. Brought on as the Director of Digital Creative for the year, it was my responsibility to create designs that would market the many events hosted by the committee in support of the MLSE Foundation. The events for 2021 were looking a little bit different, however, and we as a committee had to adapt to the new normal of virtual event planning and fundraising.

Our first event of 2021 was a virtual Speaker Series; a panel event comprised of illustrious sports and entertainment professionals discussing what their given industries would look like after emerging from quarantine. This was Game Changers’ first-ever pay-what-you-can event, so it needed to be advertised in order to reach our donation goals.

We were lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to display our ad on all of the MLSE buildings such as BMO Field, Coca Cola Coliseum, and Scotiabank Arena. Anyone driving by on the Gardiner Expressway would be able to see this design, increasing our registration and donation rate beyond our wildest dreams. Any money raised from the event was then donated to the MLSE Foundation to reduce barriers to sports and help youth reach their potential.

The Canadian Creative blog was created in August of 2017 as a way to express my passions, and share recommendations with friends and family. Over the last four years, the blog has turned into much more than that. It’s become a brand that reaches over 70 different countries across the globe with 20,000+ page views and a dedicated following of 13,000+ unique visitors.

Some of the topics covered on the blog are food, fashion, beauty, and travel. I’ve reviewed everything from restaurants and skincare products to wellness centers around the city of Toronto, created travel guides for hot spots like Las Vegas and Maui, Hawaii, and offered a safe space to discuss any and all of life’s challenges.

The logo and branding were designed by me, and the photos (unless otherwise specified) have been curated or taken specifically for the blog. All words and opinions are my own.

To check out The Canadian Creative blog, click here.

Throughout the last few years of my work experience, I was given the task to create sponsorship packages for several not-for-profit organizations. These packages are one of the main ways not-for-profits obtain funding for their programming and initiatives, putting great importance on the successful communication of the enclosed information. Both Jays Care Foundation and the MLSE Foundation Game Changers are sports-focused organizations, which is why I chose to showcase these two packages alongside one another.

A crucial design element I chose for both of these packages was the inclusion of many clear and impactful photos to go hand-in-hand with the details for sponsorship opportunities. I felt it important for the potential sponsors to see where their well-earned dollars would be going, and whom the funding would be impacting. Not-for-profit initiatives in particular are greatly supported by narratives and the stories of those who benefited from their programming and support.

These packages both reflect the brand identity of their given organization. Jays Care Foundation follows strict guidelines that align with the branding for the Toronto Blue Jays, and I was the one who developed and designed the brand identity for the 2021 MLSE Foundation Game Changers signature events. These examples showcase my ability to work with existing parameters set by a client, as well as parameters I created myself.

One of the core four programs at Jays Care Foundation is Girls At Bat, a baseball-for-development initiative aimed at giving girls a better chance at pursuing their goals through sport. The program aims to increase participation in sports among girls in communities across Canada.

This design project was an informative brochure created to be distributed to teachers and coaches who are looking for more details about the program. It provides a brief overview of what the program entails, what Jays Care provides, and how to get started.

The brochure needed to be easy-to-consume information that answered the most frequently asked questions about Girls At Bat, and showcased some highlights from the 2019 season. The map of Canada on the outside page which shows what communities participated in Girls At Bat in 2019 was also created by me.

Every year, Jays Care Foundation’s programming impacts thousands of kids across the country. As the Graphic Designer, it was my job to communicate this impact in a visually pleasing and easy to consume way, so that this information could be shared en-mass. The reports have since been distributed to the Jays Care Board of Directors, other organizational partners, and also reside on the Jays Care website.

From programming site maps, to statistics and quotes from participants and coaches alike, there were many types of information communicated through these reports. I made sure to fill the pages with stand-out photos and graphics that give readers a better sense of what each program is like in the field. It was important to show the outstanding work that was done to ensure a level playing field for all of these children, youth, and adults.

These are examples of just three of the eight reports that were created for Jays Care Foundation. They remain on-brand, and fully aligned with the organization’s communications strategy for 2019. To see more of these and other Jays Care’s reporting, please visit https://www.mlb.com/bluejays/community/jays-care/publications

Along with the program reports, I created numerous designs for Jays Care Foundation’s online presence - be it their website or their social media channels. This outward-facing communication had to be consistent with the Jays Care branding, and had to fit within the parameters of the MLB site templates (in the case of the website), while also being creative and new.

In the off-season, the focus shifts from fundraising and 50/50 ticket sales to promoting programming and reporting on the past year’s accomplishments. This is evident in the design for the website skins, as they showcase a number of kids from the four core Jays Care programs (Challenger Baseball, Rookie League, Indigenous Rookie League, and Girls At Bat).

As for social media, the designs had to be adaptive, depending on the part of the year they were being posted. For in-game 50/50 promotions, the designs were created to highlight where fans’ 50/50 dollars where being put to use, i.e. programming for kids across the country. As for program promotion and other Jays Care communications, the designs varied based on the program. For example, fans needed to know when Field Of Dreams applications were set to open, so that they had enough time to get theirs in before the deadline. This was a fun way to get fans and followers engaged with the organization’s many initiatives.

I graduated in June of 2017 from Creative Industries at Ryerson University. When I first started classes, the program was completely new. No other school in America had anything like it (it only previously existed in The UK and Australia). We were the trailblazers, trying new things, making waves, and creating innovations beyond your wildest dreams. 

After four years of learning, growing, and experiencing with this diverse and, quite frankly, brilliant beyond their years cohort, I decided that I needed to create a tangible manifestation that showed how far we had come and how much we had achieved. This end-of-year book was the best way I could think of doing so.

The book contains photos of the 2017 graduating students, parting words written by professors and faculty of the program, and enough memories to last the rest of our lives. I feel as though this book fully embodies the essence and vibrance of my graduating class. By rallying my fellow classmates to collaborate with me on this project, I managed to create something that accumulated all I had learned from the Creative Industries program over the course of 4 amazing years: organization, time and stress management, collaborating well with others, having a great time, and so much more.

In the fall of 2015, I completed this project for one of my graphic design classes. The brief asked us to create branding for an imaginary family style restaurant in the High Park neighbourhood of Toronto.

We were given the freedom to select colours, typefaces, icons or images, and more, but were provided with the required copy. This challenged the designer to work within the given guidelines and dimensions to ensure that all of the necessary information was included in a graphically pleasing way.

I chose warm and inviting colours that matched the palette of the trees in High Park. Fall is my favourite season, so I naturally gravitated towards tones that convey the feelings one may get when seeing the leaves change colour in the cooler months. As this was meant to be branding for a family restaurant, I decided on typefaces that were kid friendly, but not too juvenile or decorative, as to cater to the older crowds as well. It was a lot of fun designing the leaf background for the menu, which was then converted into icons to be used for the rest of the pieces. I really enjoyed working on this project.

Working as the art intern at Glow Magazine was an amazing opportunity. I was given the chance to go behind the scenes and witness all that goes into putting together a fashion/beauty publication. I learned a lot from the team at Glow, but the most important thing I learned is that nothing at a magazine is ever touched by only one person. Everything there was a collaborative effort, which is one of the many reasons I am so fascinated with the publishing industry. 

From June to August, I lent a hand in the production of three separate issues of the magazine. Some of my tasks included photo research, prop creation, and dropping photo and written content into pre-designed page layouts.

Towards the end of my time at Glow, I was given the tremendous opportunity to help design the Table of Contents page for the October 2016 issue. With a little bit of help and reworking, the Contents page was completed, and I am glad to have left a few of my fingerprints on the layout. I chose images, colours, and headlines that were ultimately included in the final design.

Check out the full issue here.

In October of 2019, a friend of mine enlisted me to help put together some fun designs for her god son’s first birthday party. The theme of the party was ‘Aiyden’s First Circus’, so naturally, we wanted to include circus icons of some sort. The party’s primary colours were to be red, blue, and yellow and were to be featured throughout the party.

On the list of designs for me to create were a t-shirt that the birthday boy and his family could wear, and an invitation to be sent out to friends and family. We liked the idea of having cute animals to go along with the theme, as well as a circus-themed font for the titling.

The t-shirt design was to be relatively simple, with just the icons and the birthday boy’s name. The invitation, however, included the address of the party and information on how to RSVP. Aiyden’s party turned out to be a great success and everyone loved the designs!

Alumni are an important part of Greek life in university. The brothers and sisters that come before us shaped the fraternities and sororities that we have come to know today. As a current alumna, I know this to be true, having seen the Delta Pi Sorority grow and change over the course of my four years as a sister. One of the things that Delta Pi does to show their appreciation for the strong women who made the sorority come to life is to hold an annual alumni appreciation brunch every spring. 

A lot of work goes into planning this event, including the production of an annual alumni newsletter. I had the opportunity to work on this newsletter three years in a row. Shown here are the last two editions I helped to design: one year for the Wizard of Oz theme, and one year for the tropical Hawaiian theme. Active sisters submit pictures and written pieces that reflect their experiences within the sorority. It is comforting, which I now understand as a recent alumna, to read these notes and know that the sorority is thriving, and that the girls are making the most of their time as sisters.