Passion Projects

Whether they lasted six years or six hours, below you will find a catalog of some moments when graphic design blurred the line between work and play.
SUMMER 2024
Fate and Free Will in Adobe
After Effects
After years of using the Wiggle effect, a question haunted me: Was the movement created truly random? How does a computer even define randomness? Is a composition in After Effects predetermined?
This weekend, I was bored enough to find out. Click here to read the full investigation.
SPRING 2023
A Small Fish Story
I created an animated short about the adventurous life of my fish, canonical Washington Post Intern Bruce Swimsteen. In this episode, he talks to Ron DeMantis supporters, does a quick segment on Sea NN, files a story on banning books (in schools) (of fish), and gets home before I even notice he was missing.
WINTER 2022
Spotify Wrapped Redesign
After seeing this year's edition of Spotify Wrapped, I had some ideas for new approaches to data and design.
FALL 2021
Punch Needle Rugs
Recently I've been making an effort to try creative projects that don't involve any technology—other than YouTube tutorials, of course. My most recent "craft" endeavor (read: the Christmas gift everybody is getting this year) has been punch needle rugs.
SUMMER 2020
Instagram Infographics
It's hard to imagine, but there was a time when the now-infamous Instagram Infographic format felt new, fresh, and potentially change-inducing. I spent a summer crafting my own, questioning my authority, and diving into my research before sitting down to write a personal essay about what it means to inspire change in the digital age.
SPRING 2020​​​​​​​
The Rise of Handwritten Album Art, As Told Through Data
I analyzed over 1,000 songs dating back to 1975 to determine the typography trends in chart-topping songs. The Data Visualization Society ended up publishing it! Click here to explore the project.
WINTER 2018
EmPower Magazine
Over winter break in 2018, I had my wisdom teeth removed. The sudden surplus of free time led to the creation of EmPower Magazine, (named because it is a magazine powered entirely by Emma). The final mag is a collection of stories I wrote during 2018—most during this the four-day span—redesigned and reimagined to fit into one magazine. Every page is designed, illustrated, written, edited, photographed, and fact-checked by me.
Click here to see the full mag.
SPRING 2018
Curlz Emma T
I made my second typeface exclusively in lectures in my sophomore year Astrobiology class. (Click here to see all of my typefaces.) It was meant to be a digitized version of my faux-calligraphy handwriting, named after the ever-popular script font, Curlz MT.
FALL 2008–FALL 2014
Pegasus Magazine
 For six years of my childhood life, I published a bi-monthly horse magazine created entirely by myself and shipped to (a very small handful of) subscribers across the country. Pegasus Magazine has long been out of print, but I still treasure it as the original passion project.
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