Fueled by Passion
all images of this project taken by, styled by, and courtesy of Mikaela Armstrong.
In the spring of 2019 Mikaela Armstrong dived head-first into concepting and designing her final graphic design thesis project. As the instructor for this class, I had strongly encouraged my students to find a way to translate the previous semester’s written research into design projects that they felt both super excited about and connected to. Mikaela did just that. Her thesis paper focused on the importance of design as an educational tool. She then worked to angle her topic to more specifically educate the Western world about the Eastern practice of Ayurveda — an area Mikaela was already deeply committed to in her own life.
In describing the genesis of her final project, Erb, Mikaela undeniably proves her investment in the subject matter, and ultimately the design!
“I am a yoga teacher in training and a nutritionist at heart. I believe in the idea of food as medicine and finding a natural remedy for ailments. A year ago my mom was diagnosed with alopecia — a labeled autoimmune disorder — and so began my journey into functional and holistic medicine. After studying yoga, I had heard of its sister science, Ayurveda. I traveled to India for one month to study more deeply into yoga and Ayurveda as a lifestyle. I began taking Ayurveda and yoga classes on top of my required training. From this passion my thesis took root."
This project is two things.
A stunning example of authorship. When you work on a project with a topic that is meaningful to you, you are that much more invested in it — every step of the way — and it shows. I mean, honestly, how robust and inarguably gorgeous is this work?
Proof that a passion project / personal project can lead to paid work in the same realm. Yes, it’s true. The more you share work that is reflective of you, the better the work generally is, AND the more others can get a glimpse of who you are — not only as a designer, but as a WHOLE person. This uniquely positions you to be met with interesting opportunities down the line that can open up paid work rooted in none other than your passions, making for a lovely match!
Read on to see what happened to Mikaela.
An image of Mikaela in action styling a photo shoot for KÖPPEN. Above photo and all that follow courtesy of KÖPPEN.
Mikaela’s lovely project was unsurprisingly featured on the Dieline, and through that exposure, and reposts of it on social media, she was randomly contacted by a startup called KÖPPEN via an Instagram DM in May of 2020. They asked if she’d be interested in connecting.
“I had nothing to lose!” said Mikaela.
Thus began her relationship with Parag and Priya Shah, the brother-and-sister team behind KÖPPEN, a startup that sells Ayurveda-inspired body-care products. They were interested in chatting with Mikaela about a full rebrand of their products from both a visual and verbal messaging standpoint. It was really all about finding ways to help the Western world feel more comfortable with ideas and concepts rooted in Eastern tradition. And, that’s really what Mikaela’s well-researched thesis is centered on — making something that ins’nt necessarily viewed as “legitimate medicine” more approachable and better understood by Western culture, so it, too, can experience Ayurveda’s massive benefits.
And so, it began. Mikaela got hired on as creative lead while Parag focused on the marketing and his sister Priya managed the business and financial end.
Take a look at the work Mikaela has been doing for KÖPPEN’s array of products, both on their website and on social. They’re bringing some amazing — and very good-looking — products to life!
Lovely designs and photography by Mikaela Armstrong. Hybrid skills for the win!
And what else has Mikaela been up to these days? Well, aside from working with KÖPPEN, she’s continuing to up her Ayurvedic-knowledge game. She’s currently in a 3-year Ayurvedic practitioner program at Ayurved Sadhana Vidyalaya in Superior, Colorado, near her home. You can follow her here and check out her personal website, too.
So yeah. Follow your passions. Continue to nurture them. Keep designing around them. It’s usually not a one-stop ride. And you’ll likely have the pleasure of meeting some pretty interesting people along the way.
