November 2014

In collaboration with Kevin Ballon

These photographs document a typographic installation project.

The project brief instructed us to “create a site specific artwork that interprets and conveys a given quote while expressing our distinct viewpoint.” From a list of potential quotes, Oscar Wilde’s remark that “Life is too short to be taken seriously” stood out. 

We agreed with Oscar. Life is too short. This theme of time was influential in developing the project. Things shouldn’t be taken seriously. To promote a light hearted and whimsical approach to life, we wrote the quote on a giant three foot white balloon. It’s anchor; time. The balloon and the timer were stationed in the middle of a large path in Central Park.

It was important for us to engage the public with our project. We wanted people to reflect on what they take too seriously and use our installation as an outlet to let those troubles float away, literally.

The timer was set for one hour and the installation began.

February, 2015

A promotional video project with Hyperion Media, for the latest innovation in public relations technology: ROBIN8.

ROBIN8 makes reaching out to reporters and influencers effortless and effective. They are changing the face of PR with technology that’s been years in the making. Predict the success of every pitch you make to a reporter by knowing with confidence they will share your content. It’s simply intelligent.

August, 2014

This is a movie poster commissioned and designed for the film Valley Inn. Valley Inn is "the story of a big city Yankee who lose herself, and the small southern town that finds her."

Plot Outline

“Valley Inn” is the fish-out-of-water story of a Yankee college student who finds herself in a hot, dusty, dying small Southern town selling Christian books door to door for the summer. Emily’s travels take us from the book company’s New Jersey headquarters on the last frenzied day of “Sales Camp” (where the company’s questionable sales tactics and rhetoric are drilled into the heads of over-pumped college recruits eager for the huge summer commissions promised by the company) to the tiny rural towns of Northwest Arkansas and the highly entertaining local country music jamboree, the cattle auction yards of the “Sale Barn” and the biggest event of the year, “Rodeo of the Ozarks” where local hero, Gary Noble, a.k.a. “The Don Juan of Hindsville” will attempt to break his own bull riding record despite his advanced age, previous injury, and the probability of losing, forever, a chance to win the heart of his one true love. 

Through a series of misadventures in “The bookfield” that leave her stranded in a flooded, fish-filled car on a low-water bridge, chased by dogs, confronted by a shotgun wielding meth-head and finding unlikely romance with the local preacher’s son (who has a few secrets of his own), Emily’s growing friendships with the uniquely comical and completely endearing residents of Hindsville teaches her what it really means to follow your heart

Launched: January 2013

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Studio: Kindred Films, LLC

Awards: Chris Spencer: Emmy Award-Winning director

Starring: Jordan Scott, Joey Lauren Adams, David Lansbury, Colley Bailey, Natalie Canerday, Candyce Hinckle

Directed By: Kim Swink and Chris Spencer

Written By: Kim Swink

Screenplay By: Kim Swink and Nelsie Spencer

Produced By: Kim Swink and Samara Yeshaiek

December 2014

This typographic motion short investigates the The Futurist Manifesto through properties of language. Syllables, vowels and stresses are visualized through color changes, geometric lines and shapes.

Soundtrack: The Anxious Battle for Sanity by Antonio Sanchez

May, 2014

This information design project entitled “Back to the Future” explores the nature of predictions and their predictors. Spanning the start of the 19th century to present day, this piece analyzes the timelines of 20 predictions from their conception to their outcome along with the lifespan of their predictors. Through the use of symbols, color and line, rapid visual comparisons can be made between each prediction and predictor.

This project is executed in two mediums; a card set and an interactive tool. The card set is created for the user to form an intimate and tactile relationship with the information and hone in on the details of each prediction and predictor. More specific knowledge is earned from handling and observing the cards such as a predictor’s nationality, the categorization of prediction as well as written background context of each. The interactive tool explores this information in a broader setting while utlizing the cards themselves. As well, it incorporates the ability to add a prediction to the map and existing card set. Here, timelines are visualized in a larger scale and clicking through different interactive cards and their elements allows for a different form of rapid comparison to take place. 

When were people making predictions? What types of predictions were being made? Who were the people making them? Are they creative visionaries, unfounded mystics, or statistical forecasters? Where are these people from? When in their life did they make these predictions?  How far in the future were these predictions being made? Which types of predictions are accurate? Which are upset? Through visual analysis spanning multiple mediums, “Back to the Future” aims to answer these questions.

May, 2014

This information design project entitled “Infected” explores communicable diseases; their primary characteristics and their frequency. The piece analyzes 40 contagious diseases and the number of cases of each reported in New York State throughout 2012. It provides a detailed look at the symptoms each disease carries, as well as their methods of prevention, transmission, diagnosis and treatment. The data comprising this project is derived from the source “ny.heath.gov.”

When conceptualizing this project it was important to provide both a broad and detailed picture of these diseases. Diseases affect individual people on an intimate case by case basis as well as larger communities through epidemics. As well, application was considered when first conceptualizing and designing the project. Many diseases are misdiagnosed throughout the health care system, so providing a tool for both doctors and patients to cross check symptoms, preventions and transmissions across a substantial amount of contagious diseases could aid accurate diagnosis and, later on, treatment. The project is able to serve as a comparative tool to analyze and cross-check multiple diseases by color codes, labeling and symbols.

This piece is executed in two mediums; a poster and an interactive website. The poster provides a broad view of these diseases, their reported cases in New York and their characteristics, most effectively conveying information through color and symbols. The interactive tool provides a more in depth, detailed and customizable experience in understanding the information.  

Through color, typography, symbols and structure “Infected” aims to visualize the types of diseases that are highly reported and what epidemics New York is facing, as well as the symptoms that are most common, the methods of diagnosis that eliminate which types diseases, ways to prevent most diseases, kinds of treatments to seek and transmissions to avoid. 

May, 2013

Adobe Design Achievement Awards Semifinalist: Motion Graphics Category.

"We Can Be Heroes" is a motion graphics short that captures the essence of the human spirt through a personal narrative on running. My father’s story centers around the idea of man conquering both physical and mental adversity and building a sense of communion with other runners, space and yourself. A runner starts something, steps in some dark spots along the way and comes out the other side stronger and filled with pride. Anyone can be their own hero and a hero to someone else.

The design centers around the theme of a circle. This represents the cyclical nature of running, repetition and oneness. Simple lines represent movement, balance and imbalance. The combination of the two throughout the piece aims to take you on this runner’s journey and illustrates it’s highs and lows.

Narration by: Tony Lardaro

December, 2013

This is a title sequence created for  for the movie "The Fault in Our Stars" based on the novel by John Green. (This was made before the release of the movie and the concept/design is based solely on the novel). This piece is created with handwritten typography on acetate, hand manipulated and shot in a clear basin of water on a light box. The visual and sound editing was done in After Effects.

The story is narrated by a young cancer patient named Hazel, who is forced by her parents to attend a support group, where she then meets and falls in love with 17 year old amputee Augustus Waters. I found most of my inspiration from the novel’s epigraph which states: “As the tide washed in, the Dutch Tulip Man faced the ocean: ‘Conjoiner rejoinder poisoner concealer, revelator, Look at it, Rising up and rising down, taking everything with it.’ ‘What’s that?’ Anna asked. ‘Water,’ the Dutchman said. ‘Well, and time.’”

Water is such a prevalent metaphor throughout the story; it’s both a nourisher and a destroyer. Hazel must drink water to survive as a human being but it is also what is killing her as it fills up her lungs.This idea of water, eternal, bringing life and death was very compelling to me and I utilized it as a central component in my piece which I shot in water. Also, in the story Augstus has a fascination with the intertwining shadows of branches in Amsterdam which is symbolic of Hazel and his “darkness” or sickness intertwining. From this I play with shadows and lighting reflections in water to visualize the contrast between “nourishing/light” elements and “destroying/dark” elements. I also composed the piece in black and white.

The uncontrollable and drowning nature of the illegible/legible type in water mimic the characters grasp for control in their lives.

Summer, 2013

While holding the position of Graphic Design Intern at Tom Colicchio's sandwich shop chain, I designed store signage and collateral materials for events, brochures, e-blasts and store promotions.

November, 2012

In collaboration with Joan Koo.

When posed with the challenge of choosing a typographic topic to research and design a poster for, Joan and I came up with several initial ideas. Should we study display type? Could we investigate the typographic elements of brail? Even Morse Code? The early written langauge of Hierogylphics? But when surveying the topics we brainstormed, they were all too broad. We wanted to narrow down on a very specific element of typography and transform it into a larger than life piece of the typographic world. That’s when the ampersand came to us. It had the perfect mix of classic elements of typography as well as compelling illustrative qualities. We were enthused to research it’s history, it’s style and it’s application throughout the world. This single little character catapulted us into a 2 month long journey to create an creative and engaging guide to everything ampersand. 

September, 2013

Brief: Investigate a chosen typeface and create a poster that evokes and displays the characteristics of the typeface, its origins and implementations. 

When choosing a typeface for the Type Specimen project, I was immediately drawn to DIN. It’s rational, clean and geometric characteristics were something I wanted to explore in this piece. DIN is a German typeface that is used predominately for signage and wayfinding. My goal with this piece was to highlight the perfect geometry and balance in DIN’s letterforms as well as evoke feelings of movement, relating back to the typeface’s original purpose.

May, 2012

This film provides a physical, emotional and sensory experience of a competitive runner in a unique and compelling first person perspective.

In this film a microphone was attached to a runner as a well as a GoPro Hero video camera in a chest harness. Some of the footage in this film was also shot with a Canon G12.

All of this footage was shot at a New York Road Runners 5K race in Manhattan's Central Park.

March, 2013

This short interprets the theme of Joesph Conrad's "The Heart of Darkness" through photographed ink along with a quote from the novel. Man is innately wild and uncivilized, and when left alone and away from social constraints, he will slowly reveal his true being.

Music: "The Eyeland" - Michael Giacchino

Full Text:
“I think the knowledge came to him at last — only at the very last. But the wilderness had found him out early, and had taken on him a terrible vengeance for the fantastic invasion. I think it had whispered to him things about himself which he did not know, things of which he had no conception till he took counsel with this great solitude — and the whisper had proved irresistibly fascinating. It echoed loudly within him because he was hollow at the core.”
- Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (Said by the novel’s protagonist Marlow about a dying Mr. Kurtz)

Summer, 2012

Photographs of some of the visual display work I helped to create and execute during my internship at Anthroplogie's Roosevelt Field, NY and Greenvale, NY locations

April, 2012

This experimental short film is an abstract representation of the human body, more specifically the "essentials" to life; breath and heartbeat. The depth of time and space could span from the most minute forms of life or that of a longer journey. As well, it centers around visually rendering the tension and release that occurs both mentally and physically in the body.

This piece was filmed with a Canon DSLR and 100 mm macro lens. It was shot on a copy stand over a clear container of water on a light box. Brown and Black ink was used as well as Windex to create the colors, forms and textures in the piece.

The sounds used are recorded human breath and heartbeat.

Novemeber, 2011

Brief: Investigate a subculture.

This is a series of illustrations based off  personal photographs taken at the 2011 NYC marathon. 10 mock ups of the illustrations were created and placed in real space and to scale. They are placed on thin sheets of glass throughout photographs I took in Central Park along side a "reason/motivation for running." The pieces of text are quotes from 4 marathon runners who participated in the race.

October, 2011

Brief: Represent type as an image. 

This is a sculpture I created using silver and black metal and copper wire and then photographed.

August, 2010

Brief (Parsons' Challenge): “Explore something usually overlooked within your daily environment. Choose one object, location, or activity. Using any medium or media, interpret your discovery in 3 original pieces. Support each piece of art with an essay of approximately 150 words. The series you create should convey a conceptual and creative response of the subject matter you have chosen to discover.”

I chose to explore how I viewed the chairs I sat in during my time in High School and in turn how I felt about the place itself. These are life size sculptures created out of mixed materials and then photographed.

August, 2010

Brief: complete a drawing of human limbs. Medium: charcoal

April, 2010

Brief: Draw hands.