I am graphic designer who is passionate about experience design, typographic animation, editorial design and branding. I value crafting meaningful experiences and place importance on the role design has in facilitating connection and building community. I am a lifelong learner, and love trying out new processes, software or ways of thinking to solve any problem that comes my way.
At my core, I am a people person. I am most happy when connecting with others; whether that’s through conversation or collaboration. My design practice is grounded in the joy that comes from bringing people together. I’m fascinated by how design can shape experiences, strengthen relationships, and create spaces where people feel seen, included, and inspired to contribute to their community.
Over the years, I’ve explored this through many creative forms; from graphic design to DJing. I have learnt that the most meaningful design outcomes often happen between people, not just on the page or screen. Over the past year I have rediscovered a love for the tactile, often starting my creative process with handmade methods to capture warmth and human connection.
When I’m not designing, you’ll usually find me outside soaking up the sun at the beach, on one of Pōneke’s beautiful walks, or DJing at our great local venues.
Creativate workshop is a collaborative learning experience designed to help emerging creatives navigate the industry. It focuses on shared experience and learning alongside others to strengthen relationships in emerging creative communities. It responds to the need for more informal, non-institutional spaces where emerging creatives can learn from one another rather than through traditional teacher student hierarchy. Creativate workshop is supported with a shared digital space and resource booklet pack.
Creativate grew from research into how young creatives in Aotearoa navigate the creative industry and the barriers they face when finding their feet. I wanted to design something that supported emerging creatives through shared experience and learning alongside others. A workshop and resource that feel approachable, human, and community-driven. Each workshop section blends different learning styles (listening, reading, discussion, writing) creating an inclusive space that works for everyone, particularly neurodivergent creatives. The design encourages collaboration across disciplines, helping participants learn from each other’s processes and perspectives.
Creativate draws inspiration from DIY gig posters and the hand cut look of Matisse’s later works. I hand-printed textures, ripped paper, and cut out shapes to create a tactile, bricolage feel. The palette is playful and bold; colours have been chosen for emotion rather than realism. The resource pack includes a spiral-bound booklet, schedule, and conversation cards housed in one kit. This makes it easy for both the workshop facilitators and participants to use. Every section opens with a clear explainer and includes both short and long reads so people can engage at their own pace.
The experience and visual design of Creativate reflect its purpose: to bring people together to learn and strengthen the connections that sustain creative communities.
contraceptive history
The introduction of the pill was a huge milestone for women in Aotearoa. Before its introduction in 1961, contraception had been unreliable, hard to access and expensive. Information surrounding contraception and sexual health was not only taboo but also legally banned in print material with intent to share. The pill: A milestone in Aotearoa’s contraceptive history, uncovers lesser-known contraceptive milestones.
The spiral binding is a cheap and available form of binding. If this book was to be mass produced, it would be accessible to more people as it is a low-cost way of binding. The title is embossed on the white cover, being subtle and slightly hard to read, encasing all the information held inside. It folds out to reveal an explosion of side effects of the pill on the inside cover. This reflects the fold out sheet of side effects that comes in a box with the pill.
The first pill to arrive in Aotearoa was Anovlar. The packaging was informed by the medical packaging design of Swiss designer Geigy in the late 1950s. The typeface used in this packaging was Akzidenz Grotesk, selected to be legible to avoid medication mix-ups. I used Aktiv Grotesk, a similar typeface to nod to this. I layered the typeface Twopoint H over Aktiv Grotesk to further speak to the censoring of contraception information. I used Söhene mono for text in graphs and tables as a mono spaced typeface works well for information ordered in columns and rows. As an added titbit, this typeface was designed in memory of Akzidenz Grotesk!
As the book goes along, there are more spreads showing information surrounding how the pill works and contraception effectivity, reflecting how as time went on, information surrounding contraception became more accessible.
Tamariki Toa was designed in collaboration with Yana Kulishenko. Tamariki Toa is an immersive hospital journey for children who experience chronic pain. It is in a fairytale format that is familiar to kids, so they have some more control over their experience. It has elements that distract, encourage play, and get kids moving - all things that decrease chronic pain. Tamariki Toa creates a defining endpoint that symbolises the end of each trip to the hospital for a sense of closure.
We found that the current format of having multiple hospital visits isn’t kid friendly or chronic pain friendly. Kids aren’t given much agency or control over their appointment. Negative feelings, worrying and stress aggravates chronic pain as well as decreased activity such as sitting down in a waiting room or a long car journey. There is no sense of closure or completion when you leave an appointment.
Kids are sent a storybook before their arrival to the hospital. A fairytale narrative is a structure they love and recognise. It soft launches the hospital before they get there and makes the hospital less intimidating. Characters from the book are projected on the building, inviting kids inside with a friendly face. Kids can create a character and pick their costume on an interactive animated projection. They can see themselves projected alongside characters from the storybook. Play produces comfort and reassurance at a time of unfamiliar and potentially frightening experiences. It is something that is vital to a child’s life and shouldn’t be cast aside just because they are in a hospital setting. Trading cards give kids a sense of completion when they end their appointment, as well as being able to connect with others who are going through something similar to them.