I hope to continue this project and evolve it some time soon. We’re either portrayed as villains (think Voldemort) or superheroes (think Superman). The project was meant to address the extreme duality of the way orphans and adoptees are represented in media-film, television, books and even video games. I ended up making a short preview film and then a longer one as well as a booklet. I enjoyed the amount of time I had to develop the concept, research and create the deliverables.

This one is from a few years ago now, but I really loved working on my degree project, The Way It Is/Isn’t. What’s been one of your favorite projects to work on and why? Usually I’ll work through a few rounds of revisions, first presenting a client with a few directions before settling on one to move forward with.

From there, I like to sketch by hand, pencil and paper (thought this doesn’t always happen) before moving to digital. It varies depending on the project, but typically I like to start by doing a good amount of research and inspiration gathering-building moodboards and stylescapes. What’s your creative process like and how do you typically work through a project? I am so excited about this next chapter in my career and feel extremely grateful to have built a career thus far in design and social impact. While I was traveling, I got a LinkedIn message from Musa Tariq, GoFundMe’s Chief Marketing Officer about a role at GoFundMe, which is what brought me to the position I’m in now- Brand Designer at GoFundMe. After a year at COC, I moved on to help lead design at at an organization focused on police reform and helping the families of victims of police violence.Īfter some time there, I took an opportunity to do some to travel around Panama and Costa Rica and work remote, freelancing here and there. After my time at Purpose, I was missing being in-house at an organization, so I joined the team at Color of Change. I was at Purpose for two years and had the incredible opportunity to work with clients like UNICEF, the WHO and The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. I was looking for a change and wanted to see what working at an agency was like which is what brought me to Purpose, an agency whose focus is on social impact. I stayed at (RED) working on their small but mighty marketing team until April 2017. I was hired full-time from that internship-and actually stayed there for my fall semester of my senior year and took night classes at a university in New York in order to graduate on time. I learned so much during my time at (RED). I was fortunate enough to find a design internship at (RED), a non-profit and AIDS organization based in New York, between my junior and senior years of college. Throughout my college experience, I was nervous I would have to give up my passion for volunteering and humanitarian efforts in order to make a living. I went to RISD and graduated in 2015 with a BFA in Graphic Design and concentration in History, Philosophy and Social Science. I then went on to go to an arts high school, LaGuardia Arts and between my junior and senior year, I went to the Pre-College program at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and that’s when I got introduced to Graphic Design.

My interest and passion for art continued to grow from there and I attended a middle school where you had to pick a talent area to focus on-I chose visual arts. She thought I would eat them, but instead I started doodling. I’ve always drawn-as the story goes, when I was around 18 months old my mom offered me a set of crayons to play with. Hi Robin! Tell us about yourself-how did you get to where you are today? When did you first become interested in design? We caught up with Robin to learn more about her career path, the themes she explores through her work, and her creative process. Focusing on social justice and humanitarian causes, her work helps give a voice to the voiceless. Robin Hilkey is a designer, illustrator, and letterer based in New York who loves making work that tells a story or makes a positive impact on the world.

The noun project.