Hi, I’m Robyn.
I’m a designer working invisuals and product.
Freelance Status: Open Let’s chat!
c.2013
RECENT WORK [click to interact]:
NYU AGSA:
Immortalizing the African Graduate Student Experience
Overview:
The African Graduate Student Association (AGSA) is the preeminent student-run platform for Africans at New York University (NYU). As a cornerstone community, the AGSA needed a publication to document student life, culture and the work being done by the organization’s members throughout the year.
Project Specs:
Timeline <4 Weeks
Format Print and Digital Magazine
50-60 pages
Platform Adobe Suite
InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop
Summary:
When discussing the goal for this project, the team from AGSA shared that they wanted the magazine to be a seamless blend of professionalism and creativity. This publication is the third annual student magazine from the organization, and the group emphasized how important it was to have a more dynamic and engaging layout than in years past.
One challenge that this project presented was ratio between the amount of textual content to the amount of visual content that the clients had to work with. Additionally, a large portion of the visual content provided was low-resolution, presenting issues for achieving the print size and quality desired. In order to overcome these challenges, I worked with the group to find additional visual content which would reflect the student’s experience at NYU. I asked the group to consider all the senses when reflecting upon the year: how did this year smell? what did it sound like? how did it feel? As a result, we decided to include sections with playlists full of songs played throughout the year and student art that embodied the feelings and challenges the group faced. This approach turned was was once a challenge, into a win that more accurately immortalized a moment in time for AGSA.
A second challenge that this project presented was content organization. When beginning this effort with AGSA, the content Editor shared that they were struggling to find an organization for magazine that felt balanced and well paced. Collaboratively, we decided to switch from three large and uneven sections, to 8 smaller sections. Each section is marked by a unique print, which is listed on the Table of Contents page, on several transition pages and subtly in the background of the section’s pages.
OAT GOAT:
Building community engagement wins customer loyalty for Colectivo and Minor Figures (US).
Overview:
Colectivo Coffee Roasters is a Milwaukee-based restaraunt chain consisting of 21 cafes throughout it’s Midwest-only market. Minor Figures is a UK-based brand of plant-based consumables for coffee lovers. The Oat Goat Classic is an annual Oat Milk-only Latte Art Throwdown, drawing coffee professionals and enthusiasts to the Wicker Park Colectivo Cafe.
Project Specs:
Timeline <4 Weeks
Format Event Administration and Marketing
Platform Adobe Suite
Illustrator, Photoshop
Summary:
Community is at the epicenter of Colectivo’s mission: describing itself as a “neighborhood cafe aspire[ing] to bring communities together”. In the company’s hometown of Milwaukee, it is easy to see why locals would call Colectivo thier neighborhood cafe, but in it’s expanding Chicago market, the brand lacks familiarity. I designed the Oat Goat Classic to help Colectivo leverage it’s “paradoxical small business feel” in order to seek integration with the Wicker Park cafe’s community in exchange for customer loyalty.
The Oat Goat Classic appeals to Chicago’s characteristically coffee-loving community; The City being recently ranked as one of the most caffienated in the nation. The event co-sponsor, Minor Figures won brand recognition paired with the added twist of an oat-milk only competition drew attendance from throughout the city: including first time guests from neighborhoods such as Andersonville, Logan Square and Lakeview.
For Minor Figures, this was a golden opportunity for coffee professionals to work with their product first hand. Participants came from cafes such as Side Practice and Caffetiandola, and judges included Ariel Nava Jr., Headroaster for Metropolis Coffee and Scott Bufis, Founder of the Chicago Coffee Collective.
TEACHING
TEENS:
Instructing and developing a course on sustainable fashion consumption and production for pre-college students.Overview:
The Summer Arts Clinic is a week-long residency program for pre-college students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The course “Streetwear and Sustainable Style” has been a popular draw for participants, reaching full capacity each year since the program’s start.
Project Specs:
Timeline ~3 years (seasonal)
Format In Person Instruction
Platform Google Suite, MyUW
Summary:
In 2023, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Continuing Studies began an effort to build upon it’s already renowned Summer Music Clinic to include a week of programming dedicated to Visual Arts. As a selected member of the inaugural staff, my co-instructor Ian Vailliencourt and I have been asked back each year to continue developing and instructing our course.
“Streetwear and Sustainable Style” is a week-long program targeted toward pre-college students (grades 9-12) with a range of sewing experience. Our course includes three sections:
[1] Fashion Theory, [2] Textile and Apparel Demos and [3] Inter-personal Collaboration. Each day builds upon the last, leading students through the entire design process from concept generation, to sewing and debuting a final look, all-the-while incorporating collaboration and review at each stage.
Each year, I make an effort to secure corporate sponsorship for our class. Past sponsors, including Fiskars Group have generously donated sewing equiptment and supplies for our students at no cost, assuring that each individual can continue their creative process after the program.
Photos courtesy of Keegan Gering.
Learn more about the Summer Arts Clinic and our course here.
NUMBERS
A/W 2026
:
A visual exploration considering the future of fashion through the lens of craft, culture and utility.Overview:
An Autumn/Winter 2026 collection for the collaborative fashion label titled “Numbers”. Permafrost is a conceptual textile and apparel project which investigates how fashion will continue to evolve in response extreme weather conditions over time.
Project Specs:
Timeline ~6 months
Format Textile and Fashion Design, Creative Direction
Platform Notion, Adobe Suite.
Technique Wool Processing, Sewing, Felting.
Summary:
Permafrost paints a future world where fashion is forced backwards in order to move forward. The collection utilizes natural materials at traditional techniques to solve modern problems. From beeswax coated, 100% cotton canvas snowpant chaps to hand processed merino wool felted vests, each piece carefully deliberates the time and emotion invested in heirloom clothing made to last.