illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
Illustrator and designer with a passion for diverse and accessible design
Illustrator and designer with a passion for diverse and accessible design
Featured Projects
© Rivera Matos C. All rights reserved 2024.
illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
Illustration
Cooking Time!
Airpods Promotional Art
Petfest 2023 Poster Competition Honorable Mention
3D Type Poster
Henry Green
My Casita Criolla: A Pop-up Playhouse Book
Spot the buns!
3D Alphabet
Penfield Poster Competition 2022
Bluebear Blue
Dream Room
Character Explorations
© Rivera Matos C. All rights reserved 2024.
illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
I am a Puerto Rican illustrator and designer currently based in Milwaukee, WI. As a designer I strive to create diverse and accessible media for young audiences. I graduated from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design with a BFA in illustration and a minor in digital media production. When I am not working on new designs you can find me crocheting, making collages and exploring antique stores!
© Rivera Matos C. All rights reserved 2024.
illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
Graphic Design
Website Redesign
Catalog Design
Visual Identity
Textile Design
Illustration & Graphic Design Internship
Visual Identity
Packaging Design
Textile Design
© Rivera Matos C. All rights reserved 2024.
illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
Nature and Ocean Adventures Website Redesign
NOA’s mission is to cultivate meaningful connections through culturally immersive
experiences, sustainable travel, holistic education and nature conservation.
Challenge
As a team we were tasked with redesigning the existing NOA website to better connect with existing students and expand their services.
Task
As a UI designer I collaborated in the creation of lo-fi prototypes, hi-fi prototypes, visual design and project management.
Team
2 Lead UI/UX designers
5 UI/UX designers
Role
UI Designer
Visual Designer
Deliverables
• 23 pages
• 20+ icons
Tools
Figma
Adobe Illustrator
When designing the NOA website we researched the best way to disseminate program information in an easy to digest way for students.
Explore our prototype!
Students and teachers can quickly browse between programs and determine which volunteering experience will best be fit to create long lasting impact according to their background.
Program details, itinerary, student testimonials and program components are now all accessible on one page.
Sample Itinerary
Visual Language
Assets such as the program component sea turtles and the NOA icon library were created to support the non-profit's visual language.
Icon Library
© Rivera Matos C. All rights reserved 2024.
illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
Nature and Ocean Adventures 2024 Catalog
NOA’s mission is to cultivate meaningful connections through culturally immersive
experiences, sustainable travel, holistic education and nature conservation.
Task
As Lead Graphic Designer I designed the layouts of the NOA catalog and a vast icon library that was used for both the NOA Catalog and the NOA Website. I also kept track of project deadlines, organized meetings with team members and coordinated the art direction of the project.
Team
3 designers
1 content writer
Role
Lead Graphic Designer
Deliverables
32 pages
1 cover
Tools
Adobe Indesign
Adobe Illustrator
© Rivera Matos C. All rights reserved 2024.
illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
Amplify Illustration & Graphic Design Internship
Amplify is a pioneer in K-12 education since 2000 currently serving over 15 million students nationwide through
supplemental curriculum, assessment and intervention programs.
Challenge
When working with educational material it is our highest priority that all deliverables represent are accessible to our student population. All illustrated assets must be created with color blindness and low visibility in mind to best adhere to student needs.
Task
As an intern I worked alongside the art content team to create illustrated assets for K-5 student facing products such as educational virtual games as well as assets for teacher facing products.
Team
Art Director Veronica Tolentino
Art Content Team
Role
Illustrator
Graphic Designer
Deliverables
• 50+ characters
• 28 editorial illustrations
• 3 illustrated icons
Tools
Adobe Illustrator
As an illustration and graphic design intern I worked alongside the art content team to create illustrated assets for
K-5 student facing products such as educational virtual games as well as assets for teacher facing products.
For my second project at Amplify I was given definitions that I would turn into editorial vector illustrations for a reading game.
During my time with Amplify I was also tasked with creating illustrations for their newsletters.
© Rivera Matos C. All rights reserved 2024.
illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
Mi Casita Criolla
Welcome to Mi Casita Criolla! Open the book and tie back the strings to reveal four rooms inspired by Puerto Rican homes.
Architectural details such as losa criolla, soles truncos and cultural decor can be found within.This dollhouse includes three
characters, two pets and a variety of accessories to play to your heart's content.
Recognition: Selected to represent the Illustration Major at the 2023 MIAD Juried Senior Thesis Exhibition
© Rivera Matos C. All rights reserved 2024.
illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
My Process
The creation of Mi Casita Criolla required learning about different processes such as paper engineering, laser cutting and book binding. The research for this self directed project not only went into its visual design but its functionality.
Paper Engineering
My goal was to create an interactive book aimed at children who move or travel often.
When I first started this project I was completely unfamiliar to paper engineering and the creation of pop-ups. I studied books such as The Elements of Pop-Up and studied pop-up books with similar structures in the library. To be able to accomplish my own pop-ups I sketched, measured and created multiple prototypes till I found the most functional pop-up mechanisms for my book.
Laser Cutting
I used a laser cutter to be able to create the precise and clean cuts in the openings above the doors, the pop-up template and the dolls that come with my book. This required me getting trained on how to use the machine and through trial and error I created the entirety of the insides of the final book.
© Rivera Matos C. All rights reserved 2024.
illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
Research
Losa Criolla
Made out of cement “losas criolla” or creole tiles are typically found in historic homes in Puerto Rico. These tiles are also known as “losa hidráulica” which translates to hydraulic tiles due to the use of the hydraulic press in its production. They are created by mixing loose pigments, cement and water. These materials are then compressed under a hydraulic press creating what we know as a hydraulic tile.During the height of its production these tiles were manufactured in multiple factories around Puerto Rico. The most famous of these factories were: Puerto Rico Mosaicos in Yauco, La Fábrica de Mosaicos Hidráulicos “La Mayagüezana” in Mayagëz, Ponce Mosaic in Ponce, Jimenez Ribot & Co in San Juan and La Fábrica de Mosaicos de Miramar in Santurce.
Soles Truncos
The architectural feature denominated as a “sol trunco” is a semi circular transom in the shape of a fan. This is used to provide light and ventilation to interior spaces while simultaneously serving as a decorative element. Soles truncos can range from simple shapes that can be mass produced to intricate wooden fixtures similar to leafs on a hand fan.
Home Decor
Throughout the entirety of the house cultural elements such as a vejigante mask, a pilon, a güiro and traditional antique furniture can be found. I researched historic homes on the island, took inspiration from my own friends and family's homes. The style of this house in particular is grounded on historic homes from the early XX century.
© Rivera Matos C. All rights reserved 2024.
illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
Kami
Visual Identity
© Rivera Matos C. All rights reserved 2024.
illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
Sucré
Visual Identity
© Rivera Matos C. All rights reserved 2024.
illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
Kids' Summer Collection
Ocean conservation with a bilingual twist!
Through numerous sea creatures and ocean motifs this collection brings a fun and educational outlook to next season's summer apparel.
© Rivera Matos C. All rights reserved 2024.
illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
Sullivanesque Collection
For this surface design project I worked under the guidance of Kohl's art directors.
While working under their direction I had the liberty to chose one of their brands and create a summer collection for it. I chose to design a women's apparel collection for Croft and Barrow inspired by sullivanesque architecture from Milwaukee and Chicago. Croft and Barrow is known for its timeless designs targeted at women age 35 to 55.
Sketches
© Rivera Matos C. All rights reserved 2024.
illustration _____ design _____ about _____ shop
Fresh Coast Swag
Packaging Design
© Rivera Matos C. All rights reserved 2024.