Elyse Walter

Membership Newsletter

I gained the approval to reboot the newsletter in 2023 (it was halted in 2019). With the exception of the 2016 and 2017 editions shown below, all previous files were lost from staffing changes and so I only had hardcopies as reference. Since FNL rebranded in 2019, I redesigned the newsletter from scratch using Adobe InDesign to match the new guidelines. I oversaw the entire process - choosing the messaging, collecting and editing the article submissions, selecting the photos, and comparing price quotes from local print shops for the printing and distribution of the newsletter.

Membership Brochure

I kept the color scheme to light creams and blues to mimic the color of water and a ship's sails.The photos were chosen deliberately to show what a membership offers: free admission for a family fun day at the museum, merchandise that can be purchased with their membership discount, and the the experience of going on a day sail or sunset sail.

Holiday Membership Event

Flyer created for a Christmas-themed event for current members and to draw in new ones. Printed and used on social media and email marketing.

Dobbins Society Invitations

The Dobbins Society is a higher tier membership program, and the Director of Development wanted the invitations to have a touch of elegance to them. To do so, I used thin lines and serif fonts.

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Tall Ships Erie 2022

Signs
The week before Tall Ships Erie 2022, the Flagship Niagara League had a kickoff party to promote the event and the ships that were arriving in Erie. I was asked to create a flyer for Facebook to promote the event, and tabletop signage for the kick-off party.

Calendar Ads
Advertisements for the Shipwright Shop that were included in the calendars sold at 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 during bidding. Keeping that in mind, I chose a legible, italicized serif for the title of each auction item and thin, white borders to create an elegant feel, while the item description, retail value, starting bid, and who it was donated by were a sans serif for maximum readability.

Sponsor Signs
Each sponsor level had the opportunity to sponsor specific parts of the Mariners Ball. Using FNL's branding, I used a different color for each grouping.

Wine and Walleye Festival 2023

The Lettie G. Howard participated as a day sail vessel for the 2023 Wine and Walleye festival. In the weeks prior to the event, my director asked me to create a flyer and social media graphics to share with the Wine and Walleye staff. I used neon and bright colors to match the vibe 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 hired as a contractor to create the logo and accompanying mailing materials for the Back to the Boats fundraising campaign.

Logo Design

For the creation process, the director asked me to include the following:
- One boat, modeled after their Erie boat
- A small wave
- The text "Back to the Boats"
- Keep it to one or two colors, using the same colors in the BMC logoI had suggested that since the fundraising campaign is about their entire boating program, it would be a nice touch to include other vessels. The director agreed, and sent further reference material for their sail boats and told me about their rowing program.The director wanted to be able to use the logo in a variety of ways, and asked for three versions - an image only version, a text only version, and the image and text combined. For the text, he liked the idea of the letters appearing as more of their fleet.

Campaign Booklet

A volunteer started a template for the campaign booklet using BMC's Canva account. The director gave me access so that I could complete the layout and adjust the images and spacing as needed.Like the logo, the director wanted the booklet to match the BMC's branding colors and to have nautical elements. Curved shapes were used to simulate the flow of water, and also to compliment the background shapes on the BMC website.

Donation Card & Envelopes

The director wanted both logos included on the card, along with space for the donor's information. The cards were able to be printed four per page.

Email Header

For email communications using Mail Chimp, the director wanted the email header to remain simple and asked me to use the text version of the logo and to include the BMC logo.

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T-shirt Logo Recreation

The Bayfront Maritime Center had a hard time coming out of the 2020 pandemic, and so during my time at the Flagship Niagara League, we helped our neighbor get back on their feet and assisted with events.With BMC staff turnover, 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 that she could order new shirts for 2023. We specifically left the date off so that any unused shirts could be used at future regattas.

Awards

Previous regatta awards were silhouettes of people in rafts or kayaks, engraved onto standard plaques at local trophy shop. The event coordinator asked me to come up with something different and more fitting of the event.Leaning into the cardboard theme of the regatta and how many of the boats were once boxes, I created a simple box and positioned it on top of crossed oars. A gradient created a sense of depth to separate the box flaps from the box. Then in the negative space between the oars, I placed the oar man logo that the BMC uses and the initials for the Bayfront Maritime Center.As the BMC itself is a workshop for creating student-made sailing vessels, I took it one step further and utilized the local library's glowforge to engrave the designs onto wooden plaques to match the handmade, workshop feel.The awards were such a huge hit that the staff used the same design and process for the regatta in 2024.

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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 has to create and send two newsletters (one for elementary students and one for secondary students) to all schools within the diocese three times per school year. The newsletters must include: a prayer, a healthy snack recipe, an activity or information for mental health, an activity or information for physical health, and the Good for You logo.I begin with researching information and then creating activities that best fit the age groups. With the above criteria in mind, I use color schemes that fit the season of the newsletter (warm colors for fall, cool colors for winter, and pastel colors for spring).

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. His reasoning was that each year, the papers always looked very similar despite the information on them changing. He wanted these to stand out and look new so that staff would give the forms more attention.

Evidence-Based Grading Timeline

The Catholic Schools Office in the Diocese of Erie began a 4-year plan to implement the grading strategies from the textbook, Fair Isn’t Always Equal, into their schools. To tie the timeline to the textbook, I used colors from the book’s cover.

Flyer for an Executive Functioning Masterclass Webinar Series

The Director of Educational Leadership asked for a flyer that could be sent via email to all of the teachers within the diocese for registration. The registration link and text were provided.

Principal Goal and Evaluation Forms

The Assistant Superintendent reworked the way that the Catholic Schools Office would evaluate the principals. Her main priority was to minimize the number of pages in the evaluation form and for the worksheets to be uniform in design.As part of this, I was asked to make a quick reference sheet for the standards used in the evaluation process (for in-house use only) and fit them onto two pages, front and back. This would make finding the standards easier than flipping through the 20+ page document they were listed in.In the standards' original booklet, each grouping of standards are color-coded. I took those colors and used them in the forms so that at a glance, the principals and evaluators would know which set of standards the sheet was for.

2024 Christmas Card

Leading up to Christmas, the Catholic Schools Office always sends a card out to all of the teachers and a small gift to the principals. Usually, the Superintendent asks the Communications Office to design a graphic, but instead, the Superintendent asked me to design the 2024 card.After doing so, I took the initiative and designed labels for the 5x7 envelops that contained the gift sent to the principals.

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Project Overview

#iGiveCatholic is an organization that runs the annual U.S. Catholic Church’s giving day on #GivingTuesday. This was the first year that the Catholic Schools Office participated. It had to be done with a gentle approach, as the Superintendent did not want to compete with the participating schools in the Diocese of Erie, but be an option for those who wish to donate to more than one cause.

Giving Portal

#iGiveCatholic was hosted on GiveGab, which let users upload an image header and format the area for the description of the cause. As the CSO was focusing on a tuition assistance program, I asked teachers who benefitted from the program previously to send in photos that our office could use during the campaign. I used playful colors for the photo borders since the program's aim was to help elementary teachers.The Superintendent provided me with a write up for the description. I broke it into segments and led with the part that had the most impact to draw the reader in.

Animated Email Banner

The Superintendent of the Catholic Schools Office wanted to personally email some of his contacts about the campaign. Wanting to include photos at the bottom of his email, but fearing they might look out of place, he asked me for my opinion. When I mentioned the idea of an animated banner, he liked the idea and wanted to see what I would come up with.Keeping to the #iGiveCatholic branding colors, I added the Catholic Schools Office logo and the photos of the STAG award recipients from 2023.The banner was able to be tucked neatly underneath the Superintendent's message so that the email recipients could see how this campaign impacted real families within the Diocese.

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Prior to the launch of this webpage, all key documents were emailed to principals weekly. I pitched the idea of having all of the important documents and their due dates be made available online with the goal being to streamline the administrative side of the school principal's job. Having all of the files in one, organized location would save time and reduce the hassle of locating files from multiple email attachments.The idea was approved, and I was granted access to the ParishPlace interface to create the table, insert all of the information, and link the files.

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Project Overview

Over 1000 people participate in the Barber Beast on the Bay, a 10 mile obstacle course race along Presque Isle Bay in Erie, Pennsylvania. The proceeds go to the Barber National Institute, which provides a range of job training, education, and residential and behavioral health services to children and adults with disabilities.The Barber National Institute held a design contest for their 2022 participant medal with the following parameters:
- Keep to a maximum of four colors
- Include the Beast logo, the year, and the text, "Barber Beast on the Bay"
- Submissions must showcase the mission of the Barber National Institute and the Barber Beast on the Bay

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Project Overview

To create a logo for a podcast series called By the Bay. The podcast was still in the early stages of production at the time of the commission, but I was told that the series will focus on maritime stories of Presque Isle Bay in Erie, Pennsylvania.Two versions were requested, one showing the bayfront in the daytime and one in the evening. I was to include the Bicentennial Tower with different maritime vessels. The ship to the right of the tower represents the U.S. Brig Niagara, a staple of Erie's history in the War of 1812.

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About Me

I live in Erie, Pennsylvania, and graduated with a BFA in Applied Media Arts from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.Currently, I am accepting work as a freelance graphic designer outside of my daytime administrative job, and have a side business where I sell my own 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