The Native Student Alliance at the University of Denver is continuing to provide a safe space for themselves and future Indigenous students. This graphic acknowledges the land and its original inhabitants before colonization.

Photography: Viki Eagle

After the completion of First Laugh – Welcome, Baby, I began illustrating my second picture book, Hey, Dog.

I received the script and began sketching summer 2018 and wrapped up final, revised artwork in December 2018.

Hey, Dog was released June 18, 2019.
Learn More about Hey, Dog at Charlesbridge Publishing

The Tribal College and University Research Journal was looking to redesign the cover and create a logo for its publication. The American Indian College Fund (AICF) wanted to abide by its branding guidelines of color and typography. It also wanted to include the elements of education, higher education, tribal communities, and Indigenous knowledge. Other elements needed: the Henry Luce Foundation logo and AICF logo.

The project began by familiarizing myself with the research articles within the upcoming and past publications, the past publication cover designs, and AICF branding guidelines. The project began with the logo design, then the cover design.

From the sketches and client feedback, we ended with a tree design that incorporated a braided design and leaves based on the Star blanket. Braids are associated with hair and hair is important to many Indigenous cultures, which represent one of many aspects, knowledge. The Star blanket design is related to honor and is given to individuals as part of recognition of their contributions to their communities. The “V” symbol relates to an open book symbolizing education, whether K-12, college, or Indigenous knowledge.

The cover design is utilizes AICF branding colors, initials of Tribal College and University Research Journal (TCURJ), and a braided circle loop.

Denver Arts and Venues wanted an illustration that commemorated Denver and Colorado in a unique way. They wanted to highlight the things that make Denver what it is.

The For the Wisdom of the Children: Strengthening the Teacher of Color Pipeline is an Early Childhood Education (ECE) initiative addressing STEM and Indigenous populations at the American Indian College Fund.

The logo design keywords include refinement, clean, technical, student/teacher, learning, growth, and Indigenous. They client wished for a clean, straightforward design that conveyed the essence of the ECE STEM initiative.

My collaboration with the University of Denver (DU) continues. My familiarity with the student organization, Native Student Alliance, at DU grew and we were able to work more closely for the marketing collateral of the pow wow.

2018’s theme was a revisit to a 1989 film called Pow Wow Highway. It lives today among many Indigenous people as a cultural icon, especially in North America. The poster, flyers, outdoor banners, web banner, social media graphics, and t-shirt designs play on the movie title and movie poster.

First Laugh – Welcome, Baby is my first picture book. Besides being my first picture book, it is especially special because of the story. It is about a Diné (Navajo) family and addresses a few contemporary topics through the story and the art.

The work began late spring of 2017 and final, revised artwork was completed January 2018. First Laugh – Welcome, Baby was release July 2018.

Learn More about First Laugh – Welcome, Baby at Charlesbridge Publishing

The Center for Multicultural Excellence (CME) at the University of Denver approached me to create a unifying theme for the 2017 New Beginnings Pow Wow. As with all of my projects, I researched their past events and their competing events to gauge my approach.

The theme they decided on was “Water is Life.” This theme revolves around the environment issues in the current social and political landscape. DU has a strong branding presence and I used it within the project, which made the DU marketing department very happy. The photography and copy were provided by CME. With the wealth of information they provided, I was able to create a hierarchy to fit all the information on the correlating marketing collateral.

The teaser flyers were a 4-up on letter-sized, which included veterans of the armed forces. The campaign rounded off with letter-sized and tabloid-size posters and t-shirts for participants and made available for sale. For the first time in the events history, the shirts made the most sales and positive reviews of the design.

While completing my Master’s degree, word about my skills and artistry reached out to a couple of departments on campus. Projects began with a logo design and t-shirt graphics. Since graduating in 2012, my work has continued and I have collaborated with various departments on websites, marketing collateral, and illustration projects.

Departments

• American Indian Studies
• Native American Student Association
• Department of Women and Gender Studies
• College of Medicine
• College of Education
• Office of Tribal Relations
• University of Arizona Alumni Association
• Early Academic Outreach