STA Blog

Asha Rountree

Asha Rountree

2026 STA Presentation Poster

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2026 STA Presentation Poster

This goal of this project is to create a poster for the 2026 STA Presentation following an “art gallery” theme. In the project specifications, I was instructed to split the STAs into two posters while still thinking about how these posters would fit side-by-side cohesively.

This was a fun assignment, because I got to explore different ways to present the STAs within an art gallery format, emphasizing their unique poses and expressions.

★ Design Drafts: To get an idea of how I could lay out the posters, I created a few rough sketches on paper. The left sketch was more classical inspired (primarily focusing on sculptures), while the right ones have a more modern gallery look.

I received feedback to incorporate both sculptures and paintings, and to simplify the layout of sculptures into a 2-D view (my original left sketch used one-point perspective to add depth). Using this feedback, I created the following sketches on Illustrator:

I created drafts of columns to place in the background, and played around with the layout of the photo cutouts. I tried to group interesting poses together in scenes that could be interpreted through sculpture or painting.

On this iteration, I formalized the background a bit more (adding texture, patterns, ect), and made the choice to include the poster title on a plaque to align with the museum theme. I also decided to orient the posters horizontally instead of vertically to leave more room for standing statues.

★ Pivot to Modern Gallery: Next, I received feedback that the current artistic direction leaned a bit too much towards Greek-style architecture, and that LAITS wanted to emphasize a more modern gallery aesthetic. This involved removing the pillars (which left more room for frames), and including more wooden/warm accents.

For my first draft of the modern gallery, I experimented with the layout of a few frame assets Shanda provided me, and thought about how statues could be organized.

I received some feedback to add light fixtures, and to make the frames more organically structured with breathing room around the sides. I also adjusted the frames so that there are even pockets for statues to be placed. I also made the backgound a little darker to make the paintings/statues stand out more.

I’ve begun thinking about how the two posters will fit together and what paintings/photo cutouts will be used. I scoured free photo archives online to find fun and recognizable paintings to include, many of them from the impressionist era. Overall, I want the colors of the paintings, the poses, and expressions to feed harmonious. I also adjusted the height of the pedestals to make sure they are visible over the title plaque.

★ Pivot to a new background: I have received feedback that in order to fully bring attention to the paintings, we will remove the statues, change the wall and floor to lighter, textured assets, add velvet ropes, and move the text to the wall. This edit in background will be accompanied by a re-ordering of the picture frames to better convey movement. I was given this reference to work off of:

★ Reflection: Working on a poster with so many assets is definitely a challenge. Although I have creative liberty in my designs, there are specific criteria that I must adhere to, so it was important to strike a balance. The following are a few lessons I learned:

  • Project Scope Flexibility: When I first started drafting the poster, I wanted to include grand archways and columns, reminiscent of an ancient art display. However, when the project scope changed to focus more on a modern gallery look, I realized I would have to pivot my creative direction. I learned that even if I’ve started fleshing out one idea, the outcome of the project ultimately depends on the client’s needs and scope, and it’s important to be able to adjust accordingly.

LAITS T-Shirt Design

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LAITS T-Shirt Design

I was tasked with creating two designs for the annual LAITS T-Shirt: one Retro/Y2K inspired design and one Music Festival inspired design!

➜ Design Drafts: I started out by creating a Pinterest board of music posters/y2k designs that inspired me, and then ideated a few sketches for each theme. For the y2k designs, I was inspired by abstract shapes and stars, and dynamic lettering. My music fest designs incorporated more chunky lettering, and a more boxy structure. The y2K sketches are on the left, and music fest sketches are on the right:

My first semi-polished draft was for the y2k/retro vibe, and I took heavy inspiration from the abstract forms in the Pinterest inspo photos. I had fun playing around with different effects on Illustrator and Photoshop for this one:

Ultimately, I wasn’t sure the design felt cohesive enough for the T-shirt (especially between the smooth line art and pixelated graphics), and I thought I could convey the retro y2k theme in a stronger way. I then created a second draft for the y2k theme, inspired by a retro DS:

For the music fest theme, I created an illustration inspired by 80’s style 3-D lettering, and I included a sun because typically music festivals happen in the summer (and at ACL Fest, the hot sun is definitely a big factor). I created versions with and without a little music fest turtle, adding halftones for texture and duotone colors for contrast:

➜ Design Finalization:

The design that was chosen was the music fest design! I was then asked to create a version with a different animal as a mascot. I made two variations of the original design with a silly racoon:

➜ Tee Mockups:

I was then asked to mock up the existing music fest designs on tee shirts. I also was asked to consider different color options (monochrome vs duotone, different color combos, ect). Because of the amount of variables I had in my options (3 design options, monochrome/duotone, shirt color), I ended up making a whole bunch of tee shirt mockups and color combinations:

Spring Break Recap – Post

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★ Winter Break Recap ★

Hello! Over the break, my family visited my brother in Kyoto, Japan, and we spent a few weeks traveling to nearby cities. I had an amazing time exploring the local foods and desserts, wandering around gardens, temples, thrifting, admiring the unique sewer covers, collecting stamps, and using the wonderful public bathrooms. I will definitely miss the convenience of the konbinis on every street, where you can find pretty much whatever your heart desires (I personally go for the banana milk smoothie).

My favorite location I travelled to is a little island called Naoshima, which is a small, mountainous location known for the public art scattered all over (and the island is in the shape of a cat!). I journaled some of my trip in my sketchbook, so here are some of my spreads:

Although I had a great trip, it’s nice to be back in Austin. I’m excited to see what this semester has in store for me, and am looking forward to getting back into STA projects. My goals this semester are to continue working on illustrative and UI/UX projects, and to grow communication skills with clients and fellow STAs.

GOV350K Statistical Analysis in Political Science: Course Graphics

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GOV350K Statistical Analysis in Political Science: Course Graphics

I’ve been tasked with creating a Tier 1 (Base) package of course graphics for Professor Stephen Jesse’s course GOV 350K Statistical Analysis in Political Science!

➜ Design Drafts: I started out this assignment by ideating on a few designs that could be used in the different components of this course graphics package (including Canvas banner, dashboard, ect). My instructions were to use blue tones, and blurry imagery of data/charts. I used Adobe Photoshop to combine different stock images I found, and added different effects and elements until I came up with these designs:

Here is a visualization of what these graphics may look like on a Canvas Homepage Banner:

We decided to stick with the rightmost graphic. Using this graphic, and the “Topaz Blue” color requested, I created the PowerPoint Backgrounds, iPad Overlay, Canvas Callout Buttons, and Canvas Banner and Dashboard (in style B).

These assets were finalized after a few adjustments, such as making sure the UT branding on the Canvas Banner is white to provide contrast with the background, and bolding the Canvas Callout Button text to better fill the space. I also ended up lightening the contrast and de-emphasizing deep blue tones on the Banner and Dashboard graphic to better match the topaz blue coloring of the text box.

➜ Reflection: This course graphic set helped me practice timely communication both my Art Director (Lila) and the client, ensuring our client received all final assets in the timeframe that was requested. I also feel like I now have a strong understanding of how to use the course graphics template to create original assets.

➜ Project Status: Completed (02/06/26)

TGDP Posters

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Donor Dialects and Language Variation (TGDP) – Banner #18

I’ve been continuing to create posters for the UT Department of Germanic Studies, and the most recent one I’ve worked on is Banner #18, which covers the topic of Donor Dialects and Language Variation.

➜ Draft 1

  • When I initially created this draft, there was too much content to fit everything into a single column on the poster space allotted, so I decided to split up the content into two columns (reading left to right)

  • The main feedback I received was to re-organize the three headers so that each section reads left to right and is separated by a horizontal line. This structure is easier for a reader’s eyes to follow, and makes logical sense.

➜ Draft 2

  • This draft was created by reorganizing the three main sections according to the feedback above.

  • I also adjusted the colors of the dotted map to be more accessible, as the previous colors used had low contrast and may have been difficult to view for people who are color-blind. The updated colors are much more saturated and distinct.

  • This poster is now up to the most current version, and I am awaiting feedback.

➜ Project Status: In Progress

Selected Features of Texas German Morphosyntax Banner (TGDP) – Banner #17

The past few weeks, I’ve been iterating on layouts of the Texas German Morphosyntax Banner (Banner #17) for the UT Department of Germanic Studies. This involves translating written text to a visually appealing poster using Adobe Indesign. I’ve been tweaking the layout of the text blocks and images based on I’ve gotten from my project admin. My fellow STA Kate has also been guiding me throughout the process, so shoutout to her!

➜ Text Clarity/Organization: An important piece of feedback I received was to align the “word-for-word” translations evenly, so that it’s intuitive for a reader to understand which words belong together. To fix this, I made the “word-for-word” spacings more standardized using a transparent table, with a word or number in each cell block. On the images below, the left image is before I added the tables, and the right table is after.

Before I added transparent tables

After I added transparent tables

➜ Draft 1: After two rounds of feedback, I rearranged several headers and adjusted text content:

➜ Draft 2: I ended up condensing the poster to make it much shorter, as I had accidentally elongated the original version. After rearranging some text, here is the most current draft:

➜ Project Status: In Progress

➜ Reflection: I’ve been enjoying my first project working with an actual client, and I’ve learned a lot about designing with a specific audience in mind (in this case, individuals wanting a clear way to learn about Texas German Morphosyntax). I’m also enjoying expanding my skills within InDesign.

Post Orientation + Training Thoughts/Deliverables

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Post Orientation + Training Thoughts/Deliverables

After spending the past few weeks working on completing the initial STA orientation and training tasks, I can say I’ve got a much better understanding of the different programs within the Adobe Creative Cloud. I had a lot of fun designing a bio for myself, especially playing around with image effects and patterns within Adobe Illustrator. I also enjoyed creating a caricature of myself on Procreate!

★ Orientation Graphics ★

★ Course Graphics Training ★

For this training, my main task was to create a comprehensive set of course graphics for a UT course. I chose to work on creating assets for LEB 320F Foundations of Business, Law/Ethics, taught by Professor David Quintanilla, as it is a course I am currently taking.

➜ Design Direction: My goal is to create a puzzle design that represents the intersection between law, business, and ethics, using distinct images from each field. Also, understanding law cases are about putting pieces of the puzzle together, so this imagery fits in multiple ways!

➜ Wall Monitor: Next, I iterated upon a wall monitor design.

Shown below is my first wall monitor design (left), and the design I created in response to initial feedback (right). After creating the first design, I was advised to add a more centralized component to draw attention to the presenter, and to follow a more collage-inspired concept.

After creating the second design, I received feedback that the central image was a bit distracting, and may take away attention from the presenter. To address this, I created a full collage with all images/cutouts equally emphasized. After playing around with color and texture, I arrived at my final wall monitor design:

This was my first time using Adobe Photoshop, so it took me a bit of time to get acquainted with all of the tools! However, I had a lot of fun, and definitely learned a lot, from using the background remover, overlaying textures, adding drop shadows, and more.

➜ Full Course Graphics Set: My next step was to use this main graphic/imagery to create a full set of course graphics, including a vertical monitor, Ipad overlay, canvas assets, and a powerpoint template.

➜ Reflection: I think this training helped me get over the hurdle of being intimidated of Adobe products and the vast amount of tools available within them. I learned that as long as you have a clear vision, and are willing to ask for help (thanks to Lila and Google), it doesn’t take too much for a design to come to life!