Lilian Zepeda
Make funky art!
Index / Brand Identity / Publication / Illustration / Stickers
Senior Thesis: Como Dice?
The idea of language is extraordinary. It's how we human beings communicate and show emotion. The words, phrases, or slang of a language that in itself is a gift. Growing up, I constantly heard Latino phrases through family members, music, and Telenovelas. All these words sounded delightful, and I desired to talk just like them. Plus, everything sounds way better in Spanish.
This project shows an appreciation of Latino culture and phrases through the design of postcards. Each card contains a Spanish word and illustration, along with a translation. Emotions categorize the postcards: Positivity, Sassy, Rude, and Loving, with a set of colors for each category. It creates a deck of cards to share with friends, family, or your community.
The Plan
So, as a senior about to graduate with zero clue where to start with my thesis, I was kind of all over the place. I barely documented my thought process at the beginning. Right before the spring semester, I went to Argentina to visit and take care of my sick tía. While I was there, Buenos Aires was buzzing with World Cup energy, and there I was, sitting at home thinking about this thesis I’d have to do into as soon as I got back.
To get inspired, I started visiting art museums. They were beautiful, of course, filled with work from the masters. But nothing that really clicked with my style or the kind of message I wanted to bring to life. Then one day, I stumbled into this art store selling locally made prints. Each piece was inspired by Argentine culture, they were all bold, funny, angry, honest, and totally unapologetic.
Boom. My idea for this project was born. I left Buenos Aires and came back to Baltimore ready to make it happen.
The Process?
For the process, all I knew starting out was that I wanted fun paper, cool illustrations, and to print everything with the Risograph. Simple enough, right? It was going great, until the Riso machine completely broke down… three weeks before thesis submission.
Yep. Total chaos.
But instead of scrapping the whole idea, I had to move fast. I found workarounds, adjusted my designs, and focused on keeping that bold, vibrant energy I had planned from the start. It definitely wasn’t what I imagined at the beginning, but the end result still worked.
to emulate the Riso effect just right.)