Katalyst Design Emporium

This week really pushed me to slow down and actually learn Illustrator instead of just messing around and hoping for the best. The gradient mesh tool has been the biggest eye-opener. At first, it felt intimidating, but once it clicked, it totally changed how I think about shading and depth. I started seeing how my flat shapes could feel more dimensional and intentional. The pen tool also became less of an enemy and more of a precision tool. I’m still not perfect with it, but I’m way more confident placing anchor points on purpose instead of guessing and hoping for the best. I learned how to use the pen tool to make smoke, which I am SO excited about. Somehow, smoke becomes a theme in a lot of my work, so this will be very useful knowledge to have moving forward. The Seven Deadly Sins project really tied everything together. Not being able to use text forced me to think outside the box and rely on visual storytelling, which was honestly a lot of fun (and frustrating...in a good way) . I...

I chose to do Project 6 in the textbook, which was to create a candy box design. I had a few ideas, but overall decided to keep it simple. I took inspiration from the candy store in Harry Potter, Honeydukes. I wanted to convey a cute, whimsical packaging that was easy to read and wasn't too crowded with a background design. I wasn't sure how closely we were supposed to follow the book's assignment and how far we should stray, so I did a little bit of both.  I based my candy idea on Butterbeer served at Universal Studios, a vanilla butterscotch beverage topped with a marshmallow-flavored foam. I used the rectangle tool to create the stripes and added a transparent square to make the text more visible. I used a custom font for the candy company name/logo and the "butterbeer truffles" banner. I really experimented with the gradient mesh tool for this assignment! This was my first attempt at a double banner, so I knew I had to get the shadows placed correctly, or it w...

This week, we were asked to find a unique way to represent 1 of the 7 Deadly Sins. I chose to represent Wrath, which  is characterized as " uncontrolled, excessive, and vengeful anger, distinct from righteous anger, that seeks harm, leading to violence, hatred, and destructive acts like murder or feuds, rather than justice. It's characterized by rage, a desire for vengeance, and a loss of reason, transforming normal anger into a deadly sin that poisons the soul and clouds judgment" (Google AI Overview) . I chose to depict a porcelain mask, void of emotion, to represent the societal mask and the initial control over a person's anger before it transforms into wrath. The concept is that behind the mask, the rage/anger turns to wrath and breaks through, destroying the mask. I thought of the phrase "rage boiling over" while I was creating this, which gave me the idea to learn how to create smoke that morphs to represent demon/devil horns (representing the point o...

This week, I revisited the 30 Circles Challenge to see if I had improved since my last attempt. Doing the 30 Circles exercise more than once showed me that creativity gets faster with practice. The first time I tried it, I hesitated, overthought, and worried about coming up with “good” ideas. But each time after that, the ideas came quicker, and I stopped getting stuck on perfection.  What surprised me most was that I wasn’t just repeating the same concepts; I was coming up with new ones. The exercise didn’t make me more repetitive, but instead, it made me more flexible. I learned that creativity isn’t about originality in one big moment; it’s about building speed, confidence, and range over time. The more I've practiced, the more natural it feels to generate ideas. Get your free blank version here to try it yourself:  30 Circles Worksheet (FREE)

This week in Illustrator felt like one long “aha” moment. I moved past just using shapes and basic paths and started actually learning how to use tools that make Illustrator feel powerful instead of overwhelming. It was frustrating at times, but also really satisfying.  The pen tool continues to be both my enemy and my best friend. But this week, it finally started to feel like I'm actually understanding how it works, and it's becoming much easier. I'm actually finding that it's sometimes easier to use than the curvature tool, which was my go-to before starting this class.  The gradient mesh tool seemed impossible to understand at first. The textbook was incredibly helpful, but you can definitely see the difference in understanding if you reference the two assignments I submitted this week. The moon doesn't look nearly as dimensional as the banner, but I allotted more time to the second project. What I love about this tool is how organic everything looks. I was shoc...

Let me start this blog off by saying...I got very familiar with the gradient mesh tool, symbols, and the pattern tools while making this poster.  I chose to highlight  EPCOT's Flower and Garden Festival, which takes place from May to June this year. I skip most of the festivals hosted at Disney World (the crowds are insane!) , but this one is always my favorite.  At first, I had a lot of trouble using the gradient mesh tool and getting the shading right on the banner, but I ended up loving the results. The EPCOT ball took me (literally) 3 days to get right, and the banner took me another half to a full day. I would've liked to add more hand-drawn (and then designed in the program) elements, but unfortunately, I ran out of time to complete this because I prioritized the EPCOT ball and the banner. On the positive side of this dilemma, this allowed me to explore the Symbols panel! I was surprised to see how many nature-related symbols were available, and I feel like that ga...

For this assignment, we were asked to create an identity package using our own subject and original artwork. I chose to redesign my business identity and go with a more "metal-inspired" approach.  For the updated logo, I created a font by drawing it by hand first. I knew I wanted it to look vampiric, but also take inspiration from band merchandise that I've seen over the years.  I was able to get more comfortable with the freeform gradient tool, which is what I used for the letters in the new logo.  I also used the gradient mesh tool for the moon, which I believe helped to give it some dimension. I learned a lot about this tool while doing this project, and I'm excited to use it more in the future!    For the second part of the project, I needed to create stationery using the new logo. I liked the idea of putting a trim at the bottom (demonstrated in the textbook), so I drew the heart chain on paper first and then traced it in Illustrator (I'm not a very skilled...

The “Explain It Wrong” Exercise Time: 2 minutes Materials: None Steps Pick som ething ordinary. An object, action, or concept. Explain what it is, incorrectly. Describe its purpose in a way that’s clearly wrong but kind of makes sense. Ask: “If this wrong explanation were true, what would change?” Write one sentence describing the new idea that comes from the wrong explanation. When I tried this exercise, this was my result:   Thing: Mirror Wrong explanation: “A device that lets your face check in on you.” What changes: The mirror reacts One sentence:  “A mirror that subtly changes based on your mood, like it’s responding to you.” What I learned: By explaining something incorrectly, I was able to break away from how the thing is supposed to be used.  It gave me the chance to think from a new perspective and come up with outrageous explanations, which, in turn, helped me develop something entirely new. 

The “One Change” Exercise Time: 2 minutes Materials: None (paper optional) Steps 1. Pick any ordinary thing.  An object, habit, place, or rule. Keep it boring. 2. Change ONE small thing about it.  Only one. No more.  (Size, timing, behavior, material, rule, location, etc.) 3. Ask: “What happens now?” -  Let the consequences ripple out naturally. 4. Write one sentence describing the new idea, object, or situation. When I did this exercise, this was my result: Thing: Coffee cup One change: It cools faster the more you talk What happens: Silence becomes valuable One sentence:  “A coffee cup that rewards quiet moments by staying warm longer.” What I learned: This exercise taught me the importance of being intentional with my decisions and letting the consequences unfold naturally. For example, if this were a real product, it would be ideal for someone who enjoys quiet mornings with their coffee. Conversely, this would be a terrible product for someone who has a chao...

I was SO excited to do this project! If you've seen me in person, you know I have a LOT of tattoos, and I've been thinking about this project since I saw it on the syllabus.  I chose to start designing a tattoo that I've been planning to get for several years.  I'm from Long Island, New York, and we're known for a few things: our pizza, our bagels, and our attitudes. While this may be a silly design, I feel like it sums up the thing I miss most about living in New York. The food. I've lived in 5 states total, and somehow, nothing compares to New York pizza. While I likely wouldn't move back to The Empire State, my top priority when I go back to visit is to enjoy as much of the food I grew up on as I possibly can, with people that I love and miss.  I really like the style of traditional tattoos, and I started body piercing at my first shop on Long Island. It felt fitting to design this in that style, as a secret homage to where I started my body piercing car...

I chose to complete Project 1 from the textbook, as it would help me gain some practice with the Pen tool (which I love... yeah, definitely). I tried to keep them pretty simple, but I also wanted to practice using gradients and other tools I'm not confident with quite yet. I based these around my small business, which focuses on "witchy" clothing. To prepare for this project, I hand-drew my ideas first and then did my best to translate those drawings into a digital rendering. I was able to get more practice with the pen tool, ellipse tool, and gradients, as well as complementary colors. I also wanted to make sure they all correlated with each other with similar color schemes and repeating shapes (specifically the stars), but were also different enough that they could be told apart.  For my first icon, I chose to do my take on the all-seeing eye, which I would use for the "About" section of a website as a shortcut.  This was a bit of a challenge, as purple is my ...

Welcome back, everyone! I hope you had a relaxing break and a wonderful holiday season!  For this week's design blog, I want to jump into the Bezier Game. I was absolutely *infuriated* while attempting to complete this, but (much to my dismay), I found it incredibly helpful. I have some experience with Adobe Illustrator, but I know I'm not using it to its full potential...and I've definitely avoided using the pen tool for as long as humanly possible. I tend to favor the curvature tool, but I'm learning how the pen tool can be more versatile.  I'm trying to convince myself that the pen tool and I are going to be friends...I'm cautiously optimistic.   Some of the test screens were more difficult than others, but they became easier overall as I continued. Learning how to adjust the direction of the curves and essentially "skip" around the image helped me to use fewer nodes while still creating the required shape. This will be really helpful in the future...