PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Branding & Event: CAUSE USA
Goal: To create cohesive illustrative and design elements for the CAUSE USA annual Soirée that align with the event’s 30th-anniversary theme of pearls, community, and rebirth.
After discussing event ethos and logistics with the client, I sketched rough drafts based on our discussions (top carousel). I wanted to convey the spirit of togetherness, renewal, and resilience through water, lotus, and plant imagery. The illustration needed to be elegant and modular. The client chose the lotus with a pearl as the primary illustration and lilypads and water as secondary illustrations.
I finalized the illustrations and created a deck to demonstrate how they can flexibly work together to produce any assets the event might need. As the client had an in-house graphic designer, I wanted the illustrations to stand independently yet harmoniously integrate. I also incorporated the illustrations into a one-page style guide for easier referencing (bottom image).
“It was such a pleasure to work with Van. She took the time to understand our brand, event goals, and audience—creating materials that brought to life the ideas we discussed. She listened to our wants and needs and brought ideas that pushed what we thought could be possible. Her visual work and creative foundations allowed our internal team to easily understand the visual brand and build off it, tying our whole Summer Soirée event together. I highly recommend Van for your next project!”
Editorial: Full Pour Magazine
Goal: To create 1 full-page and 2 half-page illustrations for Full Pour Magazine’s inaugural issue. The illustrations are based on an article about wine called “Funk & Soul”.
After discussing with the editor and reading through Anna Lee C. Iijima’s wonderful article, I sketched rough drafts based on my interpretation of the piece (left carousel). As the article discussed what “funk” in wine is and how losing it can mean losing a wine’s uniqueness, I wanted my illustration to convey the joy and playfulness a wine’s “funk” can bring to wine lovers while also depicting what notes of “funk” could derive from. The client reviewed the drafts and had minor revisions. After completing the revisions, I submitted the final illustrations for print (right carousel).
Non-Profit: AAPI Victory Fund & VietRise & Asian American Futures
Goal: To create a series of fun mailers for the AAPI Victory Fund, in collaboration with VietRise and Asian American Futures.
These non-profit organizations were looking to develop political mailers that were not only educational but colorful, fun, and memorable — something people would want to keep. These would be distributed to Asian American youths in Orange County before the 2024 presidential election to raise awareness for voting, rent control, and non-citizen voting. The imageries were based on narrative research conducted by Asian American Futures and VietRise on messaging that best connects to the target demographic.
Due to the rushed nature of this project, there were a few revisions between the rough drafts (left carousel) and the final drafts (right carousel) — save for a few wording changes.
“We collaborated with Van to create illustrations for mailers that would resonate with a young AAPI audience. Van was very communicative, met deadlines, and had great ideas and suggestions for revisions. She is both professional and creative and it was an absolute joy to work with her! ”
Product: Passion Planner
Goal: To create a set of four sticker sheets for Passion Planner’s Friendship-themed sticker book.
The client required around 30 to 40 stickers per sheet sized to fit in their planners with each sheet having a cohesive color palette and theme. The sticker sheets needed to be formatted for sticker printing on Adobe Illustrator upon delivery. I wanted to create fun stickers with lots of relatable phrases that would encourage planner usage.
I submitted the rough drafts (right top carousel) for revisions. After revisions, I submitted the final drafts (right bottom carousel) with the sticker print-ready Illustrator files. The left bottom carousel showcases the final printed sticker sheets produced by Passion Planner.
“Working with Van on Passion Planner Sticker Book projects was a pleasure. She was very communicative, completed every step of the project on time, and was easy to work with. From her initial sketches to the final full-color sticker designs, her artwork was professional, clean, and full of whimsy. We worked with her on two separate projects, and both turned out amazing. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for fun and expressive illustrations!”
