Solace By Shundiin D. Nakai
Contents 01
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How I Got Here 1-8
Design Thesis 27-32
An introduction to me and how I ended up at RMCAD.
My thesis explaining who I am as a designer and what kind of work I want to do post-graduation.
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Creative Process 9-26
Portfolio
An explanation of the creative process I always follow when I work on any design project.
Some of my favorite projects from the past years. These are related to the areas of the industry I would like to work in.
33-50
How I Got Here
01 Who I am
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To RMCAD
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What this book is for
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Who I am This year, I had to address the difficult question of, Who are you?
art. It also reminds me how small I am in this massive world and to be present.
The simple answer is that I am a traveler and an artist.
My love of art began in middle school when I took my first art class. The major reason I created art then was to offer myself a haven from depression, which started at this time. My three favorite mediums to work in are photography, illustration, and graphic design. These ways to create art help me document who I was and what I cared about at that moment in time.
The longer answer is I am Shundiin Desbah Nakai, twenty-two and an eventual college graduate. Also, I’m a Navajo woman who loves to travel and produce art. My love of travel comes from my grandparents, who would frequently take me along as they traveled around the country. My wanderlust grew as I got older because travel allows me to connect with other cultures and their
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How I Got Here
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College Grad Solace
How I Got Here
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I am Shundiin Nakai pronounced Shun · dean Nah · k · eye
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How I Got Here
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To RMCAD High school art classes allowed my passion for art to flourish, so I took as many as I could. At the end of high school, I knew I wanted to pursue an art career. Searching for a college led me to cities like San Francisco, Chicago, and other cities. Ultimately, I decided to attend a university in Santa Fe, NM, where I majored in Communication Design. Near the conclusion of my first year, the school closed and left me to yet again find a college I liked. Soon after, I transferred to RMCAD and two years later found myself in Denver, CO, the biggest city I’ve lived in (so far). (Right) A small infographic of the places I traveled to while looking for a college to attend. I began in Albuquerque and ended up in Denver.
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Albuquerque, NM San Francisco, CA Chicago, IL Santa Fe, NM Denver, Co
How I Got Here
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How I Got Here
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How I Got Here
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How I Got Here
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What this book is for As I write this, I am in my last semester of the Graphic Design program, a senior, and set to graduate in a few weeks. So what is the purpose of this book? This book is a place to go when the world becomes overwhelming. I also hope you can learn about who I am and find a little happiness, or solace, from my work. This book is a gift both for you, the reader, and me. I hope you enjoy it. (Left) This is a map I own to record when I’ve been and want to go. Color meanings: White (where I’ve lived), Red & Blue (where I want to go), and Yellow (where I have visited).
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How I Got Here
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Creative Process
02 Establishing Project Goals
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Research & Inspiration
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Color & Type
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Hands-on Work 25 Digital Work
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Final Product
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Now you know a bit about me. So, we can move on to how I create my work, the process I follow. The steps are listed on the previous page. To showcase this approach in action, I will share the creation of my brand while following these six steps.
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Creative Process
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Establishing Research & Project Goals Inspiration This stage goes fairly fast compared to the other five phases of my process. Here I assess the desired outcomes for a project/client, so I can keep it in mind for the duration of the project. In this case, the objective was to create a branding identity to symbolize who I am as a designer. With this goal established, we can move on to the second part of my creative process.
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Learning and gathering influential materials for a project is one of my favorite components of this process. This is because after doing this I feel more informed about the subject I’m designing for. So, this stage puts me in a better place to communicate the client’s intentions in the work I create. For this project, this part was challenging considering I don’t think I know who I am as a designer (yet), which comes from me not having much design experience. I’ve also never considered who I might be as a designer until now.
Creative Process
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Creative Process
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(Left) A small collection of some of the images I used to create a moodboard. This was used to inspire me in the creation of my brand identity and to help me learn more about what inspires me. Images featured include work from: Kyle Letendre Katie Johnson Lauren Hom Pandr Design Co. Moxie Sozo Carpenter Collective Draplin Design Co. The Promotion
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Creative Process
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Some information I already know • My first name derives from the Navajo word for
sunshine
• • • is a source of • inspiration for me. • I need some form of organization when designing.
• My favorite quote about art is
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And some interesting finds from my research • I am inspired • by illustration • and photography.
• I tend to favor • design that is • minimal and
clean
• I use color to convey a project’s mood to the audience. Calm
Happy
Creative
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• My concepts usually involve causes I’m • passionate about or relate to travel.
Strong
Creative Process
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A quick note about the next steps: I critique and revise the work I’ve done, either alone or with others. I do this for the coming steps in my process to make sure my work is consistent with the project’s goals.
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Creative Process
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Creative Process
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I use color to convey a project’s mood.
Color & Type The Southwest and its multi-colored landscapes inspire me. So, I selected colors that play upon a contrast of warm and cool colors that is common in the Southwest. Then, I supplemented these colors with the addition of white and and a dark gray.
Primary
Secondary
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Creative Process
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Type is another way I can reflect a project’s mood and for this, I picked the fonts below. I started by choosing my title and subtitle text, which uses one of my favorite fonts. Then, I selected my body and caption text to compliment my title font. Lastly, hand-lettering is a major source of inspiration to me, so I wanted to hand-letter some text for my brand.
Title & Subtitle
Josefin Sans, Semibold
Accent Text
Pacifico &
Body & Caption Text
Crimson Text, Regular
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Creative Process
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I need some form of organization when designing.
Hands-on & Digital Work
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Creative Process
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(Left) This design was my least favorite with the raindrop shapes because it reminded me of juice. So, I did one more version and did not continue with it.
(Left) This design was one of my favorites, but after working with it I grew to like it less. Having the sun to the side seemed to create a competition between the sun and my name.
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The two bottom designs are my two favorites. The upper one was nice because it reminded me of sunrises and the sun really helped frame my name. The bottom one was also great because it combines the sun and my name into one mark, equally emphasizing both elements of the design.
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My first name derives from the Navajo word for
sunshine.
Final Product After working through my process, I arrived at my final logo with three variants. I then applied my logo to marketing materials with other aspects of my identity like icons and patterns.
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Creative Process
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(Above) Here is an image of my business cards and resume, both of which are a part of my marketing materials.
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Design Thesis
03 The Thesis Statement
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Further Reasoning
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The Thesis Statement You’re halfway through this book, so what else is there to know? Well, as a future grad I need to determine the kind of work I would like to do. Taking into consideration what I dicovered after researching myself, I began to form my design thesis. First, I focused on why I design.
To give viewers a retreat from the world. Then, I wanted to talk about the three things that I believe are common in my work and contribute to great design.
Organization Color Illustration Lastly, I wanted to discuss what kind of work I would like to do in the future.
I want to work to benefit the public good. All of these factors formed my thesis statement, which is on the next page.
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Design Thesis
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I design to offer viewers a visual sanctuary from a chaotic, sometimes negative world, using organization, color, and illustration to help draw attention to causes for the public good.
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Design Thesis
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Further Reasoning I started making art to comfort myself and now I want to offer that feeling to others by using Organization, Color, and Illustration in my work. These qualities, to me, result in great design and here’s why.
I grew older and took design classes, the power of color became even clearer. It was amazing to see the beauty in a small palette. Color results in successful design because it accentuates and helps convey moods.
By habit, I am organized — well mostly. I can’t think clearly when things are chaotic, so I need a clear mind and working space. Organization leads to great design makes contect easy to follow for viewers.
My attraction to illustration comes from making art using traditional methods. The first drawings I made were of Disney cartoons and objects related to my heritage. Drawing is my way of continuing to keep in touch with other ways to create art. Now, I combine modern and traditional methods of drawing. Illustration is an element of great design because it adds more interest to my designs.
Early on, when creating, specifically when painting, I would use all colors except one. This was so I could use as many colors without using them all. As
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Design Thesis
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The last component of my thesis is working for the public good. I included this because the world can become negative fast. I want to remind people of how they can have a positive impact on the world, society, or themselves.
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Design Thesis
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Portfolio
04 Qustom
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Ascent Snacks
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Culture Preservation Posters
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Qustom
Brand Identity Create a unique mobile app concept and brand
For this project, I was given the task of creating an app concept. With that I had to create a brand, including designing a logo, for my app to live under. So, the app Qustom (pronounced “custom�) was born. Qustom is an app to inform people traveling abroad about the places they are visiting. The main purpose of this app is to educate people on the customs and etiquette they should be aware of as visitors to a location. It also contains info about activities to do, places to visit, and locations of embassies.
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Portfolio
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Primary #FBE6D8
#F86C42
#3FBDA7
#223563
Secondary #FFFFFF
(Top) My final mark created for this project. I chose the elephant because they are associated with wisdom, which is an aspect of Qustom. Elephants also share a similar shape to the Earth and are considered exotic.
#000000
(Top) The color palette chosen for Qustom.
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Portfolio
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(Above) Other varitations of my final logo, which can be used when a landscape orientation is perferred.
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(Below) A mockup of my logo on the first screen a user would see as well as two other screens.
Portfolio
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Ascent Snacks Packaging Design Based on personas, create a packaging concept, as well as a brand for it to apply to.
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This project involved creating a package concept for pine nuts and developing a brand for the packaging to apply to. My target consumer for this project was 20 – 30 year old individuals who spend a lot of their time outdoors. So, I created the brand Ascent, who focuses on creating small, durable packages you can take with you on outdoors excursions.
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Primary #FFFFFF
#CCD9DB
#6B8D4D
#1A2626 (Top) My final logo created for this project. Since the target consumer were people who spent a lot of time outdoors, I wanted to showcase a scene you would see on a hike.
Secondary #B1C4B1
#3C5148
(Top) The color palette chosen for Ascent Snacks.
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Portfolio
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(Above) My final mark and other variations of it, for when a single color is preferred.
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(Below Left & Right) Two patterns I created and later used on my final package design.
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(Above) Final package design, Front. My design places emphasis on the logo, flavor profile of the trail mix, and a description of what is in the mix.
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Portfolio
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(Above) Final package design, Back. For the back label, I wanted the focus to be on the nutrition label. Since it takes up the majority of the label, I made the rest of the content concise.
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Portfolio
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Cultural Preservation Posters
Marketing Campaign Choose a topic important to you and create a poster triptych for it.
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For this project, I was given the assignment of creating three posters based on a topic that is important to me. My Navajo culture and its language are slowly disppearing. So, I wanted to create posters asking viewers to help preserve my heritage by visiting various locations on the Navajo Nation.
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Primary
Secondary
#F0B91B
#F07F21
#C2472E
#FFFFFF
#B87C3D
#B1DAC6
#939597
#333234
#593657 (Top) I chose the primary colors in my palette based on common colors associated with the Southwest. The secondary colors were then picked to compliment the primary colors.
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I chose the location for this poster based on the fact that the Navajo Nation’s capital is in this city. Also, you can visit museums about Navajo culture and history here.
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(Above) First poster in a series of three. For this one, I showcased the rock formation the city is named after. I chose to also depict an older woman in this poster to contrast with the other individuals in this series.
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I chose Monument location as another location to highlight in my poster series. I selected this place because it is one of the major tourist attractions on the Navajo Nation and helps support the people.
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(Above) Second poster in a series of three. I chose to depict the mitten rock formations commonly associated with this location. Also, shown in this poster is a Navajo man who I chose to contrast with the two female figures in the series.
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The third location I chose to depict is Shiprock, New Mexico. I chose this location because it is another major tourist attraction. It also has cultural stories related to it that people visiting can learn about when they visit.
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(Above) Third poster in a series of three. For this poster, I showcased the rock formation that bears the name Shiprock. Also, shown in this poster is a young Navajo woman who I created to contrast with the two older figures in the series.
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Thanks for listening to (or more accurately, reading) what I have to say. Until next time.
See what I have been up to
shundiinnakai.com /in/shundiinnakai @shundini
This is a quote from my all-time favorite musician David Bowie.
Credits Design, Illustration, Photography, and Writing by Shundiin Nakai, unless otherwise noted. This book is set in the fonts Josefin Sans, Pacifico, and Crimson Text. To my mom and grandparents, thank you for teaching me determination and the importance of school . To my uncle, thanks for pushing me to apply for scholarships and helping me save money. I also want to thank my family from Naschitti, NM and beyond. You all gave me company when I needed to decompress from school. To my best friend, Teah, thank you for
letting me rant to you when school got too stressful. To my high school teachers, Mrs. Mafchir and Mr. Richards, thanks for giving me a place to express myself and love art. To the leads at ALMA, thank you for giving me my first job and showing me that having a career in the arts is possible. To those I worked with during the summers, thanks for inspiring me with your love of art and choice of music. Lastly, thank you to all the teachers I had classes with during college. You’ve taught me so many things and helped me learn more about myself and for that I’ve very grateful.
Solace:
[sol-is] noun 1. To give comfort or relief.
This book is the result of four years studying at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design (RMCAD). It is one part of my Senior Graduation Exhibition. The main purpose of this book is to explore the question, who are you as a designer? Prior to the start of this project, I had no idea how to answer that question, but through writing and designing this book, I now know who I am (as a graphic designer). This book will walk you through my creative process, why I design, and some of my favorite graphic design projects. I hope you enjoy reading this book and that it can act as an escape for you, it certainly was one for me. Stay Tuned,