An Atlanta-based serial doodler with a bias for bad puns, an affinity for alliterations, a penchant for making patterns out of just about anything, and whole lot of stories to tell (and definitely not enough time to do so).
Or, if you want the short version:
A vivacious, versatile visual designer with a passion for bringing creative concepts to life.
For my topic, I chose to create beers based on the 16 personality types determined by the MBTI test, a popular quiz that categorizes people into one of 16 types based on eight dichotomies.
As a rabid quiz-taker, I've taken the MBTI test multiple times, and since I'm the best personality type (ENFP), I decided this would be a fun recipe for my brews.
I wanted to highlight the fact that each personality type was unique, but shared similarities. I used the eight core traits of MBTI as my basis for categorization.
Using the eight traits of MBTI as my basis, I divided the sixteen personality types into eight pairs. Each pair would share a color palette - two main colors and an accent color of sorts - but the colors would be used in different ways, like reversed versions of each other.
Colors were chosen based on traits of that particular personality type.
For my typeface, I chose Kurdis, since it has a variety of fonts that range from extra condensed to extra wide. This helped me give every single personality type a lot of...well, personality.
I decided to call my brand SOLA, which translates directly to 'sixteen' in Hindi, which is a pretty literal reference to the 16 personality types. For my logo, I began to explore different options, with the idea that I could create a mark of sorts to pair with a custom logo type.
My final logo came from a Venn diagram of eight circles (that represent the eight core personality traits). After all, Sola is the perfect medium between all the types.
Sleek and modern with sharp edges and geometric faces, Avant Garde, designed around 1968 by Herb Lubalin for the magazine that shares its name, is famous for its rule-breaking nature and unconventional style (and it's one of my personal favorites).
And so I thought, "What better typeface to dive into four decades of pop culture than this?"
Nothing says pop culture like bold, bright colors and visuals that well and truly POP - or at least stand out. Speech bubbles also became a tool for me to display popular slang of the decade.
For the content itself, I chose slang and phrases that were popularized during that decade, along with movie quotes, song lyrics, and references to literary material released.
I went for an outlined style that would highlight every little detail of the decade, and colors that were reminiscent of popular trends of the time period.
One of the first things I did was set up a system to organize what information would be displayed on each card - with respect to both the typeface and the decade of pop culture being reflected. Different content from the decade of pop culture I was referencing was matched to a certain aspect of the type specimen, and I tried to stick to the same formula throughout.
I came up with a grid system for each similar set, to maintain order in all the chaos, and to help identify each set of cards from another.
For my illustration style, I used a style with thick outlines to really make them pop (that's pretty on theme, if I do say so myself). Illustrations always had a reference to the time period AND the card.
Wikipedia defines zines as "a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine," and this is true. But through my own research of zines, and actually finding some outrageous ones in the SCAD library ('Breaking down the cost of high school clubbing' and 'The A to Z of common phobias' to name a few), I realized something else about zines that you wouldn't necessarily realize through Google.
Zines are stories. They're stories told by people, messages people want to share, expressed in a way that they want to tell them. They gave people a voice in before the internet was a thing. They are not bound by a fixed art, photography, or typographic style, and they capture a culture in a way that mainstream media cannot hope to achieve.
They're DIY. They're crafty. They're expressive. But most of all, they're FUN. I wanted to make sure my catalog reflected that.
I took inspiration from several eras of self-published magazines, and the results were a motley crew of various publications scattered throughout history. I wanted the exhibit will take you through zines that marked history - from the Secession to Riot Grrrl - and give the viewer an idea of the power of expression in a time before social media and the internet.
I drew tons of great imagery from early Art Noveau publications (like Jugend and Ver Sacrum) as well as magazines that depicted works of Modernism (like Bauhaus journals and Blast). For more recent zines from the punk era, I visited the SCAD library to get authentic scans of the real thing!
For my typography, I was particularly inspired by the numerous typewriter-esque-generated fonts that I came across during my research. I wanted to pay homage to the style, so I used Museo, a slab serif that's a lot easier to read.
I was pretty certain that I wanted to use some form of speech bubbles in my design, which could even act as a recurring element throughout my catalog. They seemed natural to use, since my focus was on the fact that zines were personal tools of expression.
Collages are vital in punk zine culture. It was only right that I incorporated them in my own work.
Let's be realistic. For a catalog this size (15+ curated works], it'd be hard to design every single spread. Besides, if every spread was drastically different, the catalog would be missing that crucial piece tying it all together.
I decided to make 'container spreads' for to showcase different aspects of my catalog. Think of them as empty containers in which I could drop my content (and mixing them up between spreads would keep them looking fresh)!
What gripped me about zines was how versatile they were. They came in all kinds of different sizes and shapes and folds. Every page turned brought on a whole new surprise and a whole new wave of delight, and that's something I wanted my catalog to reflect as well.
I made a folder of mini-zines that folded out into punk band posters. I printed out stickers and used little accordions that popped out from the pages. deZINE is truly the DIY project that all zines are.
What's
an Atlanta-based serial doodler with a bias for bad puns, an affinity for alliterations, a penchant for making patterns out of just about anything, and whole lot of stories to tell (and definitely not enough time to do so).
Or, if you need the short version, Bhavani is:
a vivacious, versatile visual designer with unfortunate initials and a passion for bringing creative concepts to life (with just a lil' bit of BS, of course).
Design + Storytelling + Strategy +
Ideation + Exploring + Creation +
Change the text and add your own content, including any information that is relevant to share. Then customize the font, size and scale to make it your own.
an Atlanta-based serial doodler with a bias for bad puns, an affinity for alliterations, a penchant for making patterns out of just about anything, and whole lot of stories to tell (and definitely not enough time to do so).
Or, if you need the short version, Bhavani is
a vivacious, versatile visual designer with unfortunate initials and a passion for bringing creative concepts to life (with just a lil' bit of BS, of course).
After visiting Grant Park several times (and loving it), and talking to its residents, I struggled initially to find an 'issue'. Grant park is a beautiful neighborhood with many of Atlanta's historic attractions. It's got a defined visual identity that is widely used throughout the neighborhood.
Then it hit me. While Grant Park's neighborhood had a defined visual system, it did nothing to showcase the beauty and history associated with the neighborhood itself.
My challenge was to create a visual identity and brand for Grant Park that would accurately reflect the neighborhood's classic roots.
Grant Park is one of Atlanta's oldest neighborhoods, with a wealth of old churches and elegantly designed residencies from which to draw inspiration.
I selected my color palette directly from several Victorian-era houses of Grant Park, using muted shades as a call back to the neighborhood's history and classic roots.
My first run of the logo imitated the sunburst logo that the original Grant Park still uses to this day, but with a leafy twist. I also flipped it around to give it more of an impression of a rising sun. I wanted to portray Grant Park as a community that's still rising, but also connected to its roots.
I figured that using tree and leaf-esque symbol in conjunction with Grant Park's iconic sunburst would be a good way to combine what had worked in the past - and so well, too! - with a symbol that makes the park itself the hero.
After testing a ton of typeface, one of them, Wainscoted, gave me an idea that ended up sticking.
The serifs of this font are leaflike, which is why I chose it to begin with, but it occurred to me that I could build my logo - and subsequent patterns - from this same shape. I created a single leaf from the serifs, and used it to create not just my logo, but also the same iconic sunburst that I'd wanted to recreate right from the start.
Social awkwardness and social anxiety are vastly underrated on the spectrum on mental health.
My research started from - well, me. I noted down how I reacted in sticky social situations, and noticed which scenarios were likely to trigger my own response. I interviewed friends and family, and then began to cast a wider net.
The reddit forum r/SocialAnxiety proved to be a super helpful resource. I began to collect stories of people describing their own experiences and what helped them (or what didn't). I began to see patterns in the nature of social situations that caused social anxiety responses to trigger, and I started to categorize them.
Early on, it became clear to me that while many people's stories carried an air of hopelessness about them, there was also a determination to keep trying. People were using the reddit forum to ask others what helped, and sharing their own success stories.
I realized that people on the spectrum of social anxiety truly do want to get better at navigating a social situation with ease and comfort.
After conducting primary and secondary research, it occurred to me that social anxiety isn't just about freezing up in a social situation (which is how I personally experienced it): it's about the spiraling. People on the spectrum of social anxiety tend to jump to the worst-case scenario in just about any sticky social situation, and it's that spiral that manifests as a fear of the social situation itself.
Operating based on my insights: People on the spectrum of social anxiety tend to jump to the worst-case scenario in just about any sticky social situation, but here's the thing. The TRUE worst-case scenario is never as bad as we usually think it's going to be, and there's always a way to make the best of it.
My task is to put my audience in a sticky social situation and then get them to ask themselves: what's the worst that could happen?
My solution is to create an experience that lets people feel and get used to the discomfort of being in a social situation, while also giving them a range of tools to get through it.
And...since this is an experience that simulates discomfort...well, the least I could do as a designer was let people have some fun by making my experience a game.
The name of the game went through several variations (What's the worst that could happen / Worst-case scenario / Never gonna happen) before I finally settled on Sticky situations.
For my logo, I chose the font Nutmeg in a heavier weight, since it seemed to accurately capture the heaviness of being in a sticky social situation. I used Wavehaus as my primary font for the cards themselves, and took inspiration from the tilted axis of its lowercase 'e' to add some whimsy to my logo itself, a style that carries forward to the card backs.
Based on my research from online forums and talking to my friends, family, and other acquaintances, I identified specific scenarios that triggered social anxiety spirals, and then categorized them into the following:
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social situations involving professionals (giving presentations, talking to figures of authority, giving/taking an interview etc)
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social situations involving friends and family (dealing with fallout, interacting at parties/meet-ups, catching up etc)
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social situations involving strangers (joining a conversation, making small talk, breaking the ice etc)
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I was heavily inspired by quotes from user stories that described social anxiety as drowning, and I drew my color palette from there: a deep blue to depict the feeling of drowning, an orange that mimic bouys, and a calm white to denote solutions.
My secondary palette came from my categories of sticky situations.
Testing the game had me cycling through several versions, but here's what I noticed with the one that finally stuck:
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It started a conversation about social anxiety, which is a largely underestimated and lesser-talked-about aspect of mental health. I want to invite discourse, but also keep it lighthearted and FUN.
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It gets people on the spectrum of social anxiety used to the discomforts of being in a social situation. I had participants actively cringing and relating to the sticky social situations they were put in during the game.
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It gets people WITHOUT social anxiety to put themselves in shoes they might not have considered before.
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The game is FUN. Like, for real.
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Design + Storytelling + Strategy +
Ideation + Exploring + Creation +
Change the text and add your own content, including any information that is relevant to share. Then customize the font, size and scale to make it your own.
an Atlanta-based serial doodler with a bias for bad puns, an affinity for alliterations, a penchant for making patterns out of just about anything, and whole lot of stories to tell (and definitely not enough time to do so).
Or, if you need the short version, Bhavani is
a vivacious, versatile visual designer with unfortunate initials and a passion for bringing creative concepts to life (with just a lil' bit of BS, of course).
without a lil' bit of BS?
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BHAVANI SITARAMAN
Sticky Situations
Social awkwardness and social anxiety can cause you to feel uncomfortable and out of place in social situations - but here's the thing, some social situations are pretty much...unavoidable, and we also WANT to get better at navigating a social situation with ease and comfort.
Sticky situations is a game designed BY the socially awkward (me!), FOR the socially awkward. It isn't a cure, but I promise a lot of good conversations, and a LOT of fun.
The challenge
game design/ identity design
Skills Used
Winter 2024
Completed
the social awkwardness survival game
What's