I drew two horses sharing a drink, because the new year is about togetherness and sharing a meal. Simple, warm, and a little silly, which felt right for a cup sticker.

Then one day while doomscrolling, I started seeing my sticker pop up in the wild. Designers and food influencers promoting the campaign kept picking mine out of all 50 options, even though it was listed toward the bottom.

On the mobile app, after selecting a drink, there's a section to customize your cup sticker. Tap "Customize Now" to browse the available designs and select one before checkout.

The project started from a conversation over lunch. I was sharing my summer travel plans with friends when someone asked if I could send postcards during my travels. I loved the idea, it felt more personal and precious than sharing stories on social media. Around the same time, I was curious about vibe coding and wanted to try building something real through that process. I knew I wanted to combine something tangible, hand-drawn illustration, with something more technical, building and shipping a product through AI collaboration.

I started with a rough layout: a postcard canvas on the left, a control panel on the right, and a template carousel at the bottom. The goal was to feel closer to a stationery studio than a digital tool.

Illustrations. I drew five postcard border templates and four food sticker illustrations in Procreate. I love illustrating pastries and desserts, so I started there, knowing I could expand the library later once the site was shipped.

Interface. The UI uses a cream palette pulled directly from the postcard backgrounds, with deep green, rose, and slate blue as accents, inspired by the colors of papers and menus. Typography uses Playfair Display for headings and Work Sans for body, a pairing that feels editorial and refined.

Building with AI. I used Claude as a collaborative coding partner to bring the product to life. Rather than writing code from scratch, the process was conversational: describing what each interaction should feel like, reviewing, and iterating. The editor includes drag-and-drop stickers with resize and rotate controls, inline text formatting, and a custom canvas renderer that captures the postcard exactly as designed.

Shipping. I connected GitHub, Vercel, Resend, and a custom domain (aliupost.com) so the postcard arrives in the recipient's inbox as an embedded image, from hello@aliupost.com. The experience of receiving it is part of the design.

This project wasn't built by writing code, but by being able to clearly articulate and set a clear vision for building a product. During the iteration stage, Claude would suggest alternative options or interactions, sometimes even distorting images. In that case, I would screenshot and explain what to fix.

Shipping is part of the design process. Setting up the domain, email delivery, and password protection turned a prototype into something people can actually use.

I built a library of custom characters pairing the pickleball paddle with different drinks and seasons. What started as personal fun expanded into t-shirts, sticker packs, animated GIFs, and surface patterns. One of the stickers even made it onto a celebrity's Instagram story.

Leading the event's creative direction, I developed three concepts drawing from San Antonio's cultural landscape: from traditional papel picado paper cutting to imagery inspired by the River Walk and the city's Western heritage. The marketing team selected Concept 1, which was then expanded across all touchpoints: print collateral, name badges, signage, and digital assets for presentations and on-screen displays.

I supported the Worldwide Distribution team in creating custom Salesforce email templates and animated signatures for regional sales teams across the event season. Each piece required balancing the LA Screenings event brand with the distinct visual identity of each show title. The team was introducing four new shows that season, each with its own title treatment and branding, and the design challenge was making every asset feel cohesive as a campaign while still honoring what made each show distinct.

I designed a range of digital assets to build awareness and introduce the museum's brand ahead of opening day. Deliverables included paid social advertising, digital display banners, and custom achievement badges for Hollywood Past & Present, the museum's mobile app feature. For the digital ads, the creative focus was showcasing the variety of objects and programs the museum would feature, a sneak peek to build anticipation ahead of opening day. The interactive app feature invites visitors to discover Los Angeles landmarks and learn about their history. For each destination they visit, they can unlock a custom badge and try to collect them all.

The Natural History Museum's Annual Bug Fair is one of the largest public entomology events in the country. For the 31st edition, I refreshed the logo and developed key art extended across digital banners and merchandise. I used a mandala-inspired layout to bring different species together into one symmetrical composition, turning scientific variety into a visually compelling centerpiece. The event attracted over 13,000 visitors.

Reikiflo is a virtual reiki practice started during the pandemic. The existing website was not effectively converting new visitors or supporting repeat bookings. I led the end-to-end UX/UI process: competitive analysis, user research, persona development, user flows, information architecture, wireframes, visual design, and usability testing.

To understand where Reikiflo sits within the health and wellness space, I conducted a competitive analysis on three major mental health platforms, evaluating similar services and auditing usability strengths and weaknesses. I then interviewed seven potential users (ages 25–35) via Zoom to understand their motivations and frustrations when trying a new health practice and booking appointments online.

After identifying pain points, I created an ideal client for Reikiflo: Lindsay, a busy professional who prioritizes personal growth and mental health. I mapped two key scenarios: a first-time visitor discovering Reikiflo through Instagram and booking a session, and a returning client booking a follow-up.

Homepage focuses on a general overview of the service. About Owner and History of Reiki pages are informational, adding more images helps break down content-heavy sections and improve engagement. The Treatment page is visually organized by session type (1-on-1 and group) using the hand icon from the logo. After speaking with the client, the booking system was outsourced and integrated with Squarespace checkout. The site is built on Wix, so wireframe sketches also accounted for the platform's build constraints.

Drawing from market research and client conversations, I developed a design system rooted in the energy and fluidity of reiki practice. The color palette is calm and grounding, inspired by natural elements. The hand symbol references the energy points of the palm, a nod to the healing intention at the core of the practice.

After designing the interface, I conducted a remote usability test to observe how participants navigate the site to book an appointment, specifically first-time users new to reiki wanting to book a group session. The client was happy with the redesign hand-off, noting it aligned with his vision for the brand in the health and wellness industry.