Laura Borowski | Graphic Designer - PORTFOLIO

I moved my first steps in the world of computer graphic thanks to a Commodore Amiga 2000 computer that my father purchased for me when I was a kid: that’s the computer that stimulated my creative thinking. As a self-taught graphic designer I developed skills in photo/video editing, and built personal websites and forums that participated in graphic contests and got second and third place: this gave me the idea that I could transform this interest into a profession. Years later I worked for publishing companies, creating magazines for international readers.

My artworks dictate precision, aesthetic sense and out-of-the-box thinking, along with a strong knowledge of color theory, typography, layout and printing. Although I keep up with design trends, I am committed not to become victim of design homologation.

My works as a freelancer include logo design, illustrations, web design, infographics, posters, flyers, brochures, photo/video editing, newsletters, banners, GIFs, signs and more. I grew up with technology, so I understand how crucial communication and social media are nowadays. I am always up to new and exciting challenges, and I love to learn something new everyday.

Hurtmeplenty!

“Hurtmeplenty!” is the concept for a quarterly publication targeted to video gamers. The name is inspired by one of the skill levels of the famous 1993 shootem up “Doom”. The title typeface is called Lakmus Fenotype. Subscribers will receive a magnet with the logo of the magazine. The website has an easy-toread graphic created to be simple but functional at the same time. Every season, “Hurtmeplenty!” will also offers its readers the opportunity to play games released in previous months for a special price.

Monochromatic Abstractism The minimalist look of “Monochromatic Abstractism�, a concept design for a future exhibit, is a journey into the functional and innovative architecture of the de Young Museum of San Francisco: a peculiar style where the absence of color is fully compensated by a plenitude of shadows, highlights and shapes with their concavity and convexity that creates the illusion of depth and tridimensionality.

Tickets, Street Signs & Postcards Simplicity is the main theme of this artwork. Respecting the idea of monochromatism, the poster and the postcards have been created in two different versions, with a complex process of warping and overlapping shapes and images, and the creation and application of intricate reflections, lights and gradient effects. The tickets come with a sticker containing the letter chosen for the exhibit in two different colors (brown and black) to better distinguish the between members and general admission. The typeface is called SF Florencesans: a clean, elegant but at the same time modern and easy to read sans serif font originally designed in 2001 by Apostrophic Labs.

Bus Stop Billboard The bus stop billboard consists of a minimum of five layers in order to preserve the original shadows, remove the original poster and its reflection, recreate the environment behind the glass, apply the new poster, and to recreate the right perspective and reflection. Finally, a glass layer has been applied to enhance the realism.

Discover San Francisco Japantown This clean, simple and minimalist concept design for a new San Francisco Japantown logo comes from my passion for Japanese design, art, culture and architecture. It is inspired to “origami�, the ancient art of paper folding that, during the years, became extremely popular around the world.

Brochure & Postcards Drawing the map of Japantown with 3D buildings has been the most challenging part of this project, but the result has been a clean design with effective space management, especially in the case of the photos and the event calendar.

All of the photographs I used for the brochure and the postcards are some of my original shots, except for an historical photography of “Benkyodo Candy Factory”, a popular family owned and operated business located on the corner of Sutter and Buchanan in San Francisco’s Japantown.

JAPANTOWN NIHONMACHI

The Making Of San Francisco Japantown Nihonmachi Logo “Sakura” (or cherry blossom in English) is a beautiful flower that has always

face designed with straight, monolinear lines and circular or square shapes

been associated with the Land of the Rising Sun. It is especially important in

has been chosen for this logo. The letter “W” slightly resembles the top of

San Francisco where, every year, the city celebrates one of the biggest Cher-

Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan, making this great typeface even

ry Blossom Festivals outside of Japan. A modern geometric sans serif type-

more perfect for this project.

Nom Nom! The best way to bring people together is through food. Japanese food in particular is becoming one of the most popular and requested around the World. That’s because Japanese food is not only something you eat to satiate your hunger: everything must be prepared according to “moritsuke�, also know as the rules for arranging food on dishes. Because Japanese food is beautiful and deserve attention, I decided to create a packaging design for an imaginary fast-food chain.

The Cutest Sushi Box Ever!

The first step has been starting to work on the sushi box logo, then drawing cute (or “kawaii”) illustrations of different types of Japanese food to create a pattern. I began to wonder how I could include it to my project: that’s when I envisioned a giant salmon nigiri similar to the one of the letter “B” of the logo. I then decided to add a nori seaweed strip around my box to make it look like a real nigiri sushi. The negative space of the seaweed proved to be the perfect place where to insert all the illustrations.

More Packaging Design Other products have been created with a similar style, with the logo containing illustrations to make the content more recognizable even by people that are less familiar with Asian food.

Panels & Illustrations Inspired by the initial idea of a Japanese fast-food chain, I then created the “Nom Nom Fast-Food” logo, and utilized some of the kawaii illustrations I had previously drawn for the restaurant panels. To add a final Japanese style touch, I created a very light background that is inspired to the famous “Seigaha Wave” motif Furoshiki (traditional Japanese wrapping cloth), visible in the yellow parts of the panels. All drink glasses showcase the chain logo with inverted colors for a better visibility when filled.

Victorian Alliance of San Francisco Inspired by Victorian era design and typefaces, this project includes a beautiful and stylish black and white logo, a flyer/sign for the annual “Storied Houses of Alamo Square House Tour”, a tri-fold brochure for the event, a website, and promotional products such as a pin and seven custom-made pens with the real colors of the Victorian and Edwardian “Painted Ladies” houses of San Francisco.

Custom-Made Pens “The Colors of the Painted Ladies” is a set of seven promotional pens: each of them have the real colors of the Painted Ladies, a row of Victorian houses at 710–720 Steiner Street, across from Alamo Square Park, in San Francisco. A particular metal work on the top of each pen recreates the original icon of the Victorian Alliance of San Francisco: a rendering of The Stone Mansion (built in 1883 and one of the surviving stately homes in the Mission District) designed

by Bill Churchwar, artist and one of the original members of the organization.

VASF Website The easy-to-read website offers a simply designed homepage, a small photo gallery, a section dedicated to the purchase of tickets and other merchandise, and the about and history pages where users can learn more about the Victorian Alliance of San Francisco: its mission, program, special events and more. To simplify the way users can get in touch with the organization, at the bottom of every page (except for the contact page) there is a quick contact form and additional info, such as social media icons and addresses.

Surf ’s Up Party The idea for “Surf’s Up Party” was born in September 2015, after a trip to Los Angeles and Huntington Beach. I converted two of my photos of palm trees and the pier into vectors, then edited two existing illustrations of a surfer and ocean waves until the pier was totally surrounded by the waves. For the background I created a tricolor gradient and, on top of it, I applied a plain California map to add more contrast, color, filling, but also to give a better idea of the location of the event even to people coming from different areas.

Expanding The Project In 2017 I resumed my project, adding more elements to my portfolio. The original graphic (poster) has been adapted to be applied to promotional banners, beach bags, sunglasses, t-shirts and even surf boards. For each creation I utilized the same typefaces I used in 2015, in particular the funky “BellBottom Laser� created in 1991 by Lorvad, as they better represent the seasonality of the event with its playfulness, colorfulness and ligheartedness, but also a sense of warmth.

Brikka Bialetti Coffee Maker Poster, coaster, apron, bag, box and oven mitt inspired by sweet memories of Sunday afternoons in my native Country, Italy, where an espresso after lunch would also mean it was time to watch a Formula One race on tv. For the poster I wanted to recreate a typical Italian landscape that was easily recognizable by viewers.

Bialetti Poster When we think about Italy we imagine a sunny day, a balcony overlooking the sea, the scent of saltiness, basil, bergamot and, of course, coffee. Despite this being just an image created to make Italy more attractive to tourists, there are still some places where time seems to have stopped: that is where it’s easy to recognize the pungent smell of the dark liquid made the old-fashioned way. Although the drink is extremely popular throughout the Italian peninsula, it is almost a trademark of Southern Italy; in Naples, for example, making coffee is an art.

The scene that can be observed in this illustration represents a typical Amalfi view, with its dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery made of tiny, colorful houses on the cliff and a lot of details.

Both the coffee maker and the two cups were in my kitchen, so it’s been simple to observe their shapes, shadows and reflections and to recreate them in Adobe Illustrator. I then created a glass table that would allow me to play with the shadows of the elements resting on it. The balcony has been designed with a 3D revolve effect.

Kitchen Accessories & Coasters The coasters have been created using design elements from the poster, while for the oven mitt and apron I converted the illustration of the coffee maker into a one-color vector illustration that I then used as a pattern, alternating the red and the green color on a white background. For both products I decided to use the green, white and red colors to further emphasize the fact that both the brand and the landscape are Italians, but also to make it more recognizable, to evoke memories of pleasant mornings, or an aspiration such as a dream vacation. All things that can be, at least partially, achieved by purchasing the product and by tasting a “perfect Italian Espresso at home�.

San Francisco Pride The new logo for the San Francisco Pride has been entirely drawn in each part, then scanned, traced and vectorized in Adobe Illustrator. As a part of the project, a different version of the illustration has been created in order to be used for other promotional products such as umbrellas, shoes, t-shirts and dog sweaters. Each letter includes one of San Francisco’s landmarks such as the City Hall, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Pier 39, the Coit Tower and the Transamerica building.