AIGA DC SHINE mentoring program approached their 10th year of the program 2021. Each year at the finale they like to put together a fun gift for the participants to remember the program by and wanted a past SHINE participant, an artist, an illustrator to be showcased and create the artwork to celebrate our chapter and the accomplishments of these past 10 years with a 6"x6" PVC puzzle.

We were commissioned to develop the gift for 2021.

When AIGA DC reached out to me to collaborate on their 10th anniversary for the SHINE mentorship, we were ecstatic and nervous! Thinking back to our my experience with SHINE DC in 2012 as an emerging designers / artists and how the mentorship program encouraged creative leadership beyond design abilities. What resonated most in about the SHINE mentorship was that opportunities to learn are made possible by following curiosity, even in uncertainty, and uncertainty is the key to innovation. 

We wanted to find a way to summate that experience and the freedom I'm experiencing in my studio practice for the design we composed to celebrate AIGA DC SHINE Design Mentorships’ 10th Anniversary. Luckily, the AIGA DC SHINE Design Mentorship logo has a solid and metaphorical element, the rising sun. Using the rising sun as a balancing element in the design enabled me to create a universe that allowed space for spontaneity, discomfort, positivity, and continuation. This design's movement feels constant, ever-evolving, and imaginative, reflecting AIGA DC SHINE Design Mentorship and the growth within creative processes.