About

A young white woman with a partiallly shaved head and long curly hair, with a nose ring and green succulent earrings, looks right off camera.

Hi there! I'm Katie.

I'm a multifaceted designer, with a passion for efficiency and accessibility. My background in makerspaces informs both my design process and my creativity. I want to positively impact people's daily lives using art and design.

A young woman with curly hair looks focused as she paints in a pink area, between a red portion and a yellow portion, on a mural on the wall. Her longboard is out of focus, leaning against a wall behind her.
Photos: Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Education

I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design, with a concentration in Experience Design, from Northeastern University in 2018. My senior thesis was Wired Weird, a multi-part exhibit about life with synesthesia.

Articles

Northeastern University's newpaper News@Northeastern wrote the profile "Campus Is Her Canvas" about me when I was painting my mural Euphotic on campus in 2017.

Design

In college, I studied graphic and information design, and later, experience design. Visually, I believe in clean typography, breathing room, and legibility before decoration.

I think the new field of experience design isn't a discrete subsection of design, but a mindset for it. In design—and in life—I've found it's best to approach a problem from different perspectives, because a holistic view usually yields the most thorough solution.

My approach to design is first to understand who it's for, and how people will use it. There are so many different approaches for designing, but they are all based in empathy: putting yourself in another's place, and seeing things from their perspective. I believe that with a strong visual vocabulary and an empathetic mindset, any problem can be tackled.

Explore my design projects to get a better idea of how I design.

Makerspaces & Lasercutting

While studying graphic and experience design, I was fostering a love for making things. I became involved with, and later ran, multiple makerspaces on campus. I was one of the first lasercutter monitors in the design college's makerspace, and became the head monitor for my last two years at Northeastern.

Design and lasercutting aren't a standard combination, but they are more similar than many people expect. Running makerspaces or a lasercutter uses skills analogous to a design studio: client interaction and communication, project management from planning to execution, understanding and responding to the users' needs, and problem-solving using the materials and tools available. Read more about my history with makerspaces and background in lasercutting.

Photo: Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Public Art

I'm also an artist, and have a particular passion for public art. Murals bring art to the masses, in ways that can reach people wherever they are. It's the most accessible form of art, and it can brighten people's day and truly have a positive impact. I believe in the power of public art to help and heal communities, and I am driven to create art and to foster more art into this world.

Beyond just murals are all projects that benefit the public as a whole. This can even translate into our own microcosms. Before the pandemic, I used to host Arties—Art Parties! I from pencils, markers, and paints, to wire, mesh, to x-acto knives, magazines, and old books. By presenting people with a space for art to happen, without any judgement or preconceptions, they bloom easily, and usually surprise themselves. It's a beautiful thing.

Photo: Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Synesthesia

I also have a neurological condition called synesthesia, where multiple senses are interpreted together. In my case, I hear music in color, read letters and numbers in color, perceive weekdays and months to have color, visualize timelines (months and years) in space, and sometimes taste in color! It's a crazy time, but I'm grateful for it.

Because of my experimenting with my synesthesia, I'm really interested in the translation between senses. I hope to work with music and perception more, especially if it can bridge gaps previously ignored. My dream would be to make an AR/VR exhibit to visually translate how I hear music, in real time while people listen.

Synesthesia

I also have a neurological condition called synesthesia, where multiple senses are interpreted together. In my case, I hear music in color, read letters and numbers in color, perceive weekdays and months to have color, visualize timelines (months and years) in space, and sometimes taste in color! It's a crazy time, but I'm grateful for it.

You can explore what it's like to have synesthesia through both my eyes, and the eyes of famous people with synesthesia at Wired Weird, my college thesis project. The exhibit includes four panels about synesthesia, and an interactive magnetic board where you can spell words using color.

Because of my experimenting with my synesthesia, I'm really interested in the translation between senses. I hope to work with music and perception more, especially if it can bridge gaps previously ignored. My dream would be to make an AR/VR exhibit to visually translate how I hear music, in real time while people listen.

In general, I'm always making something.

In the last couple years, I've made posters, stickers, lasercut coasters, trivets, and etched magnets, murals, a new format for recipes, and a cool thesis exhibit, and I've been a Maker In Resident.

Since quarantine started, I've been working on this website and portfolio, in addition to cooking lots of things from scratch, gardening, building multiple raised beds for our gardens,  and reorganizing all my art supplies. I've also compiled all the things that have brought me joy.

Besides art and design, my hobbies include cooking, reading, sci-fi, longboarding, and backpacking.

Check out my portfolio, and explore all the cool stuff I've made! Send a message if anything strikes you, and stay safe in these crazy times.

Joy in 10 Words

The world has been metaphorically and literally on fire for a while now, but this year was really awful. It's important to both recognize and hold on the things that make you happy, so I've collected some things that have brought me joy this year. Not counting their titles, I've described each in 10 words or less.

swipe to explore

Nathan W. Pyle, Strange Planet: Star Damage
Cute aliens doing human activities in strange, joyful ways.
Run The Jewels: RTJ4
Iconic duo delivers another complex, sonic punch to the face.
Glass Animals: Dreamland
Melted neon and bouncy wistfulness, puddling in the summer haze.
Birthday crème brûlée
Homemade for my birthday; best dessert that requires a blowtorch.
Zoo Tycoon
Unearthed game and old laptop: success! Immediate transportation to childhood.
Banana With Pearl Earring
Inject more art-themed banana stickers directly into my veins.
The Good Place (Netflix)
Honestly, Mike Schur's best yet; countless literal laughs out loud.
Tip: melted butter in with mashed banana. And toasted pecans!
Nathan W. Pyle, Strange Planet: Lasso Conflict (Instagram)
Cute alien artist branches out into niche design tool humor.
Tierra Whack: Whack World
Rapper's first album: 15 songs, 1 minute each. All awesome.
Living Big in a Tiny House (YouTube)
Tall, effusive Kiwi tours amazing tiny homes on YouTube channel.
65 pounds of zucchini
Total zucchini donated this summer: 175 lbs. Squashed household record.
Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj (Netflix)
Insightful presentations of ignored issues; amusing host unafraid to roast.
Shakshuka (recipe)
Brunch perfection: tomatoes, cumin, cilantro, poached eggs. Serve with bread.
Legend of Korra (Netflix)
ATLA sequel tackles complex issues with honesty and gorgeous animation.
Ratatouille (source)
End-of-summer stew; worth the work. Pair with movie.
The Umbrella Academy (Netflix)
Original, surprising, funny, exciting; quickly became obsessed. Plus Robert Sheehan!
Gardening at home
Usual family garden benefitted from lockdown; happy produce this summer!
Watchmen (HBO)
Timely continuation of graphic novel universe; music and casting perfection.
Hakuna Frittata
Easy, elegant egg dish becomes blank canvas for flavor experimentation.
Nathan W. Pyle, Strange Planet: Small Setback
We are all sad aliens holding soggy paper towel fragments.
The Amber Ruffin Show (Peacock)
Fresh voice inspires joy with whimsy, wit, and musical numbers.
Nathan W. Pyle, Strange Planet book (source)
Best quarantine purchase yet. Order from independent bookstores!