Elyse Walter

Membership Newsletter

The Flagship Niagara League's membership newsletter was relaunched in 2023 after a four-year hiatus. With most previous files lost due to staffing transitions and the introduction of FNL’s updated branding guidelines, I took the opportunity to completely redesign the publication. I retained the original format, as the newsletter is folded in half for mailing.

I managed the entire process: choosing the content, curating and editing article submissions, selecting appropriate photos, and sourcing competitive print and distribution quotes from local vendors. The examples below demonstrate how I applied a balanced yet asymmetrical grid layout to improve visual flow and overall readability.

Membership Brochure

For Flagship Niagara League's membership brochure, I used a color scheme of light creams and blues to evoke the look of water and a ship's sails.Each photo was carefully selected to highlight key membership benefits: free family-friendly admission to the museum, discounts on merchandise in the museum store, and reduced ticket prices for day and sunset sails.

Holiday Membership Event

This flyer was created for a Christmas-themed event designed to engage current members and attract new ones. I used bright, bold typography to highlight key event activities and ensure visual impact. The flyer was used across multiple platforms, including print, social media, and email marketing.

Dobbins Society Invitations

The Dobbins Society is a higher-tier membership program, and the Director of Development requested invitations with an elegant feel. To achieve this, I incorporated thin lines and classic serif fonts.

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Tall Ships Erie 2022

Signs
The Flagship Niagara League hosted a kickoff party the week before Tall Ships Erie 2022. I was tasked with designing a Facebook flyer to promote the party and creating tabletop signage to advertise Tall Ships Erie.

Calendar Ads
While preparing for Tall Ships Erie 2022, I designed two advertisements for FNL's store inside the Maritime Museum. The ads were featured in the calendars sold during Tall Ships Erie 2022.

Mariners Ball 2023

Live Auction Signs
The Mariners Ball is a black-tie event, and during the live auction, the captain and crew hold up the signs for each item as bidding takes place. To reflect the sophistication of the event, I selected a legible, italicized serif font for the auction item titles, complemented by thin white borders to enhance the elegant look. For maximum readability, the item description, retail value, starting bid, and donor information were set in a clean sans-serif font.

Sponsor Signs
Each sponsor level had the opportunity to support a specific aspect of the Mariners Ball. To distinguish between the levels, I used a different color for each group, aligned with FNL’s branding.

Wine and Walleye Festival 2023

The Lettie G. Howard served as a day sail vessel for the 2023 Wine and Walleye Festival. A few weeks before the event, my director asked me to create a flyer and social media graphics to share with the Wine and Walleye team. I incorporated neon and bright colors to align with the vibrant aesthetic of their website and promotional materials.

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Facebook Posts

Day Sail & Voyage Program Promos

Timelapse Video (click to view)

Event Promos

Seasonal Posts

Profile Pictures

Banners

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Project Overview

I was contracted to design the logo and accompanying mailing materials for the Back to the Boats fundraising campaign.

Logo Design

As part of the creation process, the director requested that the logo include:- One boat modeled after their Erie vessel
- A small wave
- The text “Back to the Boats”
- A color palette limited to one or two colors, consistent with the BMC logoI suggested that, since the campaign supports their entire boating program, it would be more representative to incorporate additional vessels. The director agreed and provided reference materials for their sailboats and shared details about their rowing program.To ensure versatility, the director requested three logo variations: an image-only version, a text-only version, and a combined image-and-text version. For the typography, he was drawn to the idea of the lettering reflecting elements of their fleet.

Campaign Booklet

A volunteer initially created a template for the campaign booklet using BMC’s Canva account. The director granted me access to complete the layout and refine the image placement and spacing as needed.To align with the BMC’s branding—much like the logo—the booklet incorporated the organization’s brand colors and nautical elements. Curved shapes were used to evoke the flow of water and to complement the background design elements featured on the BMC website.

Donation Card & Envelopes

The director requested that both logos be included on the donation card, along with designated space for the donor’s information. The cards were designed to be printed four per page for efficient production.

Email Header

For email communications via Mailchimp, the director preferred a simple header. He asked me to use the text-only version of the campaign logo alongside the BMC logo.

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T-shirt Logo Recreation

The Bayfront Maritime Center faced significant challenges recovering from the 2020 pandemic. During my time at the Flagship Niagara League, we supported our neighbor by assisting with their events to help them get back on their feet.Due to staff turnover at BMC, many files were lost. The event coordinator showed me a photo of the staff shirt from the 2019 regatta and asked if I could recreate the logo so new shirts could be ordered for the 2023 event. We intentionally left the date off the design to allow any unused shirts to be worn at future regattas.

Awards

In previous years, the Cardboard Boat Regatta awards were standard plaques engraved with generic silhouettes of people in rafts or kayaks—designs that didn’t truly capture the spirit of the event. Wanting something more unique and representative, the event coordinator asked me to create a new award design.Inspired by the regatta’s cardboard boat theme—where many vessels begin as ordinary boxes—I designed a simple box placed atop crossed oars. To add visual depth, I used a gradient to distinguish the flaps from the main structure. In the negative space between the oars, I incorporated BMC’s Hawaiian paddler petroglyph along with the organization’s initials.To tie the awards more closely to BMC’s identity as a hands-on workshop where students build their own sailing vessels, I took it a step further and used the local library’s Glowforge to laser-engrave the design onto wooden plaques. This approach echoed the handmade, craft-focused nature of the center.The awards were so well received that the staff reused the same design and production process for the 2024 regatta.

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Bayfront Maritime Center Signs

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Diocese of Erie School Wellness Newsletters: 2024-2025 School Year

As part of the Wellness Initiative, the Catholic Schools Office is required to create and distribute two newsletters—one for elementary students and one for secondary students—to all schools within the diocese three times per school year. Each newsletter must include a prayer, a healthy snack recipe, a mental health activity or resource, a physical health activity or tip, and the "Good for You" logo.I begin by researching content and developing age-appropriate activities for each group. With the required elements in mind, I also design the newsletters using seasonal color palettes—warm tones for fall, cool hues for winter, and pastels for spring—to create a visually engaging and timely presentation.

Professional Learning Team (PLT) Worksheets for the 2024-2025 School Year

The Director of Educational Leadership asked me to redesign the Professional Learning Team worksheets. Although the content changed each year, the forms remained visually similar, which often led to them being overlooked. To address this, I introduced color and reformatted the layout to ensure charts fit neatly on a single page. These changes helped highlight the updated information and encouraged greater staff engagement.

Evidence-Based Grading Timeline

The Catholic Schools Office in the Diocese of Erie launched a four-year plan to implement the grading strategies outlined in Fair Isn’t Always Equal across its schools. To visually connect the timeline to the textbook, I used colors inspired by the book’s cover.

Flyer for an Executive Functioning Masterclass Webinar Series

The Director of Educational Leadership requested a flyer to be emailed to all teachers within the diocese to promote registration for a webinar masterclass series. I was provided the registration link and webinar topic summaries.

Principal Goal and Evaluation Forms

The Assistant Superintendent restructured the Catholic Schools Office’s principal evaluation process, with a primary goal of reducing the number of pages in the evaluation form and ensuring a consistent design across all worksheets.As part of this effort, I was tasked with creating a quick reference sheet summarizing the evaluation standards for in-house use. The challenge was to fit all the relevant standards onto two pages, front and back, to simplify access compared to the original 20+ page document.The original standards booklet used color-coding to differentiate each group of standards. I incorporated these colors into the reference sheets and evaluation forms, allowing principals and evaluators to quickly identify which set of standards each sheet corresponded to at a glance.

2024 Christmas Card

In the lead-up to Christmas, the Catholic Schools Office traditionally sends a card to all teachers and a small gift to the principals. While the Superintendent usually tasks the Communications Office with designing the card, he instead asked me to create the 2024 design.Building on that, I also took the initiative to design labels for the 5x7 envelopes used to send the gifts to the principals.

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Project Overview

#iGiveCatholic is the organization behind the annual giving day for the U.S. Catholic Church on #GivingTuesday. In 2024, the Catholic Schools Office participated for the first time. The Superintendent's aim was to not compete with individual schools within the Diocese of Erie, but rather offer an option for donors who wish to support multiple causes.

Giving Portal

#iGiveCatholic was hosted on GiveGab, which allowed users to upload an image header and format the description area for their cause. Since the Catholic Schools Office was focusing on a tuition assistance program, I reached out to teachers who had previously benefited from the program and requested photos for use during the campaign. To reflect the program’s focus on supporting elementary teachers, I framed the photos with playful colors.The Superintendent provided a write-up for the campaign description, which I segmented and rearranged to lead with the most impactful message, capturing the reader’s attention from the start.

Animated Email Banner

The Superintendent of the Catholic Schools Office wanted to personally email some of his contacts about the campaign. He was interested in including photos at the bottom of the email but was concerned they might look out of place, so he asked for my input. When I suggested creating an animated banner instead, he liked the idea and wanted to see what I could design.Sticking to the #iGiveCatholic branding colors, I incorporated the Catholic Schools Office logo alongside photos of the 2023 tuition assistance recipients. The banner was designed to fit neatly beneath the Superintendent’s message, allowing recipients to see how the campaign positively impacted real families within the Diocese of Erie.

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Before the launch of this webpage, all key documents were emailed weekly to principals. I proposed creating an online hub where important documents and their due dates could be easily accessed, aiming to streamline the administrative tasks of school principals. Centralizing all files in one organized location would save time and eliminate the hassle of searching through multiple email attachments.The proposal was approved, and I was granted access to the ParishPlace interface to create the table, input the information, and link the files.

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Project Overview

Barber Beast on the Bay is a 10-mile obstacle course race held along Presque Isle Bay in Erie, Pennsylvania, attracting over 1,000 participants each year. Proceeds from the event benefit the Barber National Institute, which provides education, job training, residential services, and behavioral health support to children and adults with disabilities.In 2022, the Barber National Institute hosted a design contest for that year’s participant medal. The design guidelines were as follows:- Use no more than four colors
- Include the Beast logo, the year, and the text “Barber Beast on the Bay”
- Visually reflect the mission of both the Barber National Institute and the event itself

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Project Overview

I was commissioned to create a logo for By the Bay, a podcast series in development that will explore maritime stories connected to Presque Isle Bay in Erie, Pennsylvania.Although the podcast was still in its early production phase, the client requested two logo variations: one depicting the bayfront during the daytime and another at night. Both versions were to feature Erie's iconic Bicentennial Tower and various maritime vessels. Notably, the ship to the right of the tower represents the U.S. Brig Niagara, a historic tall ship pivotal in Erie’s role in the War of 1812 and a significant symbol of the region’s cultural identity.

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Project Overview

I was contracted to design a logo for the local alternative rock band Lanternflies, along with supporting social media graphics, including a Facebook profile picture and cover art.

Logo Design

For the logo, the band requested block lettering, so I incorporated that along with elements inspired by a lanternfly—the red of its wings and distinctive black spots.

Social Media Graphics

The band liked the imagery of both an actual lanternfly and flies gathered around a lantern in a dark forest. For the Facebook profile picture, I created an illustration of a lanternfly with a visual pun—part of its body forms a lantern. For the cover image, I brought in the forest theme. The band was concerned that the spotted logo wouldn’t stand out against the dark background, so they requested a different font. I chose one with a slightly sketchy, hand-drawn feel to complement the look of flies buzzing around the lantern.

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About Me

I’m based in Erie, Pennsylvania, and hold a BFA in Applied Media Arts from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.Currently, I work full-time in an administrative role while accepting freelance graphic design projects. Additionally, I run a side business where I sell my own original art and designs.

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Skillset

Graphic Design, Illustration, Drawing, Painting, Photography, 2D Animation, Concept Design, Character Design, Storyboarding

Software & Applications:

Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects), Canva, Sony Vegas

Experience & Accomplishments

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April 2025—Current
Owner and Designer of Chaotically Cute Creations. My own business, where I sell my artwork and designs.March 2024—Current
Completing design work for the Catholic Schools Office of the Diocese of Erie in addition to my administrative duties. Projects include: document design, nutrition newsletters, and updating their webpage.May 2024
Designed logo for podcast series, By the Bay, by Christopher Cusson.March 2024
Designed logo and graphics for Bayfront Maritime Center's Back to the Boats campaign.2021—Dec 2023
Graphic Designer for the Flagship Niagara League. Projects included: creating content for social media; designing event signage, flyers, and invitations; rebranding the membership program brochure and membership newsletter; designed and crafted event award plaques using the local library's Glowforge2022
Winner of the medal design contest for the 9th annual Barber Beast on the Bay 10-mile obstacle course race along Presque Isle in Erie, PA.2016—2020; 2024
Participant in Annual Art Show hosted by the Barber National Institute; Erie, PA.2018
Featured Artist at The Elusive Fox Boutique during December's Gallery Night; Erie, PA.2017—2018
Artist and Custom Framer at Michaels. Mounted and framed artwork and taught the Grumbacher drawing and painting classes held within the store.2017
Logo update for AmericanEagle Accounting & Bookkeeping, LLC, logo originally designed in 2013.2016—2017
Art Therapist at Fine Art Miracles. Traveled to local nursing homes to work hands-on with the residents during the activity hour. Created lesson plans based on the work of famous artists and shared prints of their artwork. Talked about the artist’s history—family, art, careers, adventures—and drew parallels between the artist’s life and the residents’ lives so that the residents could relate and contribute to the discussion. Engaged residents by presenting lessons which used a variety of art mediums, including soft pastels, oil pastels, acrylic and watercolor paints, air dry clay, colored pencils, and charcoal. Helped residents complete projects based on the lessons.2016—2017
Participated in various art shows including the Downtown Edinboro Art and Music Festival, MARC Artisan and Craft Show, and Light Fest arts festivals in northwestern PA.2013—2015
Artist at Painting With a Twist. Led classes consisting of adults and children demonstrating how to paint step-by-step in a Bob Ross way, with good music, good food, and good fun. Provided one-on-one assistance
as needed.2013
Guest Speaker for Girl Scout Troop 22123 Franklin Service Unit for the Cadette Comic Artist badge. Presented the process of creating an animated film from start to finish and discussed different types of animation; Pittsburgh, PA.2012—2013
Private drawing instructor for after school junior high students; Pittsburgh, PA