Texas Political Project
Original Site: https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/
Updated Figma: https://www.figma.com/design/sAZbUgqWs6FWOHyneXm7HB/Texas-Politics-Project?node-id=14-612&t=HtHnhDJ8vY6wF3KT-1
Shriya Atreya
Woolley Labs Site Redesign
Woolley Labs Site Redesign
Project: UT Psychology Labs: Imagination and Cognitio Lab
Client: Woolley Labs
Staff Guidance: Stacy Vlasits
Tools Used: WordPress
Started: Jan 14, 2024
Completed: Jan 16, 2024
The Task
This week I was asked to redesign Dr. Jacqueline D. Woolley’s Lab Website. The outdated structure of it was not built on WordPress and was very hard to navigate and old. With many of the links broken and interested student/participants not able to find what they need this site was definitely due for a redesign.
Old Website:
Starting Out
The ask was pretty simple with some small requirements that did increase the difficulty.
- Finish the redesign in the span of 2 shifts (6 hours)
- Incorporate the current header image
The lack of direction and the short amount of time definitely gave me a interesting type of challemge which required me to think in a quick efficient way creatively.
To start this process I very quickly, setting a timer for 10 minutes, reimagined how the key pages could look experimenting with different layouts of the nav and how the content was organized.
Moving to WordPress
After having this rough idea, I went to WordPress to bring my idea to life. This run of using WordPress was very interesting because they actually updated their editor interface. Luckily after a quick tutorial from Stacy I was able to learn the Template to Page structure
Using my own “Imagination & Cognition”
One of the key parts of this site I wanted to come through is taking the colors and themes from the header into the rest of the design. By sampling these colors as my pallete and using rounded croners on most things I was able to keep a clean theme throughout the site
The Final Design + Reflection
View the final site here: https://labs.la.utexas.edu/woolleylab/
Overall this quick sprint of a redesign taught me a lot. In this project I learned:
- How to utilize WordPress’s new Editor interface effectively
- Designing in a quick timeframe
- Learning how think creatively efficiently without much guidance or restriction
Christmas At Winedale
Christmas at Winedale
Project: 2024 Christmas at Winedale Poster
Client: LAITS Service Center
Staff Guidance: Leilani
Tools Used: Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop
Started: Oct 9, 2024
Completed: Oct 22, 2024
The Task
This year I was tasked with making the annual Christmas at Winedale flyer for the LAITS service center. I was super excited to take on a project like this because I love creating holiday themed designs! For this project the requested deliverables I had to create were a 5×7 postcard along with a 11×17 flyer that included all the information about the event and had a Christmas theme.
Starting Out
After reading thru the prompt I started my first draft. They wanted a Christmas theme color scheme and wood and garland embellishments, along with some necessary information.
So I created the poster below as my first draft.
On this first draft I got some great key feedback points to change.
- The audience is an older generation so this modern like design doesnt really fit their aesthetic.
- Three photos should be included so that people get to see more of the event
- Christmas should be cursive and Winedale should be in the font of their logo.
- Add more rustic Christmas elements
Making Changes
From here I created a new layout that more aligned with what the client wanted.
On this draft I got some great feedback to edit:
- Find a more holiday cursive
- Pick images that holistically represent the vent (one inside, one outside, & one of the venue)
- Make the images take up more space
The Final Design
After a couple more small tweaks and applying the previous edits I was able to get to the final!
Challenges & Takeaways
Overall this project was super fun to work on and allowed me to build my layout design skills. Some challenges I faced along the way of this project were:
- The Timeline :One request as a part of this project was a specific amount of hours I worked on it, such as only one hour to make edits due to cost reasons. This was definitely a different way of working I had to approach which taught me how to work efficiently and design quicker with still good results.
- The Audience: As a younger designer I naturally lean toward more modern designs so it was definitely a challenge to cater to the audience I was designing for. This was a great opportunity to work on this challenge and make sure audience is a key factor I am considering when designing.
Summer in the City
Summer In The City
My Corporate Era
This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to intern at Siegel + Gale’s New York City office as an Experience Intern. It was an extraordinary experience to work in such a big city at one of the top branding agencies in the country. Additionally, the chance to explore my passion for user experience and user interface design in a real work setting was truly invaluable. This experience allowed me to find how much I did actually enjoy UX/UI and how badly I want to keep working hard so post-grad I can return to NYC with a job in this field.
The Internship consisted of two main responsibilities one being the intern project, a prompt given to all the interns to complete as a team, and second being the client work assigned by manager. While both challenged me in different ways these tasks allowed me to grow as a designer and see where I have room to improve as well.
Overall, the friends and connections I made throughout this experience were invaluable. Working alongside talented professionals and fellow interns not only expanded my network but also provided me with a wealth of knowledge and support. The collaborative environment and mentorship I received greatly enriched my understanding of the industry and helped me refine my skills. I am excited to leverage these connections and lessons learned as I continue to pursue my career in UX/UI design, with a clearer vision of my future goals and a passion to contribute to the field of experience design.
The 5-9 After The 9-5
Along with the incredible work experience I gained, I also had the opportunity to live in New York City for three months! Exploring the city’s food scene, hanging out with friends, and soaking in the energy NYC has during the summer made every moment outside of work truly unforgettable. When coming to NYC I had the goal of going to a different coffee shop every chance I got and rating them all so I have a collection of pictures and notes. I am happy to announce that I did complete that goal and have succeeded in making the best list of NYC coffee shops!
Being in New York City for the summer has always been a dream of mine, and I feel incredibly fortunate and grateful to have had the opportunity to experience it. The combination of an enriching internship, city life, and meeting friends made this summer truly the best one ever. This experience has not only reinforced my passion for UX/UI design but also made me more motivated to continue my hard-work this school year. I will cherish these memories forever and I look forward to carrying these experiences with me into the future.
Shriya – Week 3/1 – 3/9
SAVE THE DATE:
2024 STA PRESENTATION EMAIL INVITE FLYER
START: March 7, 2024
COMPLETED BY: March 14th, 2024
BRIEF:
This week I was tasked with creating the email flyer for the 2024 STA Presentation. For this flyer they wanted a concert/festival theme to match with the rest of the graphic assets.
IDEATION:
To start this poster I first wanted to outline my vision for what I wanted this 600px width graphic would look like. For this, I referred to a mix of both Last year’s SAVE THE DATE flyers and other concert festival graphics and posters.
From here I took the direction of a wristband style that would use the idea of concert wristbands to display the required information
DESIGN + ITERATION:
Through this process of design and iteration, I experimented with various elements to capture the essence of a concert/festival theme while drawing inspiration from the festival wristabnds and last year’s SAVE THE DATE flyers. Iterating on this concept, I refined the layout, color scheme, and typography to create a visually striking email flyer that resonates with the spirit of the event along with icons that represent the multiple different sections of LAITS.
FINAL PRODUCT:
WHAT I LEARNED:
This project challenged me to think creatively and adapt design principles to fit a specific theme and audience. By exploring different visual styles and experimenting with layout techniques, I gained valuable insights into effective communication through graphic design. Overall, this experience reinforced the importance of flexibility, iteration, and attention to detail in creating impactful design solutions.
Shriya – Week 2/12 – 2/16
UTFC Banners: 10.1 Québec & 9.5 Port Villa START: Feb 7, 2024 COMPLETED BY: Feb 14th, 2024 DESCRIPTION: This week I was tasked with creating UTFC Banners for two different units. 10.1 Québec Step 1. Images Cutout For this section I started with these three images and used photoshop to erase the background.
From here I put the cutout images into Illustrator and used the image trace feature to create vectors of each of the images.
Once I had image traced versions of these photos I created a layout that would compliment the banner text and center Tex & Tammy.
9.5 Port Villa I repeated the same process for Port Villa to get this final result:
WHAT I LEARNED: Through this process I learned a lot about being very attentive to detail. Going through multiple rounds of feedback and iteration for these banners, I was able to learn the expectations for these projects and how to apply them properly.
