Salam! I’m Alyssa Monet,
a multi-disciplinary illustrator, designer and proud zillenial who you can usually find at a bookshop, cafe, park or protest.
I have a deep-seated passion for the pursuit of knowledge and have been an avid reader since a kid. Now finding joy in my travels through engaging with different cultures, art, and histories, I seek to create work which amplifies stories of diversity to create a deeper understanding of our shared human experience. True knowledge begets action and utilizing art as a way to spread knowledge is how I aim to create a world which welcomes and celebrates our differences.
With 5+ years of design experience, I am dedicated to providing quality services to visionaries and change makers. Impactful design is not only work that looks beautiful, but work that teaches and inspires others to make change in their communities; work that showcases brand values beyond aesthetic visuals; work that tells stories that are deemed as unimportant or left untold. As an advocate for social change, I prioritize providing accessible design to Black, Indigenous, POC, small businesses, and other marginalized groups. If that sounds like you, shoot me an email and let’s collaborate in creation.
WHAT IS AUGUST MIND CREATIVE STUDIO?
A multi-disciplinary design studio specializing in brand identity and illustration. Working to create a more equitable future.
Owned and operated by a proud muslim woman of Black, Puerto Rican, and Italian descent creating a world as colorful as her culture.
August adj. respected and impressive; sympathetic; trustworthy; useful; to increase.
We prioritize providing equitable design services to Black, Indigenous, POC, small-businesses and other marginalized groups creating positive change in their communities.
Creating a more vibrant world by amplifying stories of diversity with colors as expressive as the people and values they represent.
August minds are those whose creative solutions and ideas are respected by others. A mind who deploys its knowledge in a wise and sympathetic manner.
CONTACT
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Ok so how’d I get here ?
Well honestly, a career in the arts was the last place I thought I’d be. Starting at Temple University as a Biochemistry major I had dreams of emulating Maggie Pierce and going to medical school. Outside of academics though I had always had a passion for crafting, creating art, music, dancing, or enjoying fantasy books and films. I began to find myself surrounded by creatives who were shocked at my choice in career.
By the end of my freshman year I was convinced I was on the wrong track but I didn’t know what the right one was yet, until I stumbled on a silly little comic page called @eggandbee. Chronicling life in derpy comics Abby Nguyen Steinour had me enthralled. In between comics Abby posted some of the work they had been doing in the GAID program and I was so excited by all the things they were working on. That was the first time I really discovered design. It combined all sorts of creative thinking in a way I had never seen before. So, right before my junior year, after feeling out of place for so long I took a leap and applied to switch to Tyler School of Art to major in Design. I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Since then, I’ve graduated with my Bachelors in Graphic Design and Entrepreneurial Studies from Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University. 🥳 Subsequently I moved back home to Brooklyn, New York where I currently reside taking on freelance work and commissioned projects as I build my design studio. As a designer in a city like New York I’m constantly thinking of all the ways we could improve this city from accessibility to pedestrian and bike infrastructure to increasing public and permanent art displays. I hope to build a network which allows me to play a role in implementing some of these changes and otherwise uplifting my community.
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Screaming Where are the Black Designers ‘til somethin’ change!
Where are the Black Designers is a volunteer-run, non-profit design advocacy organization created to make space for Black Designers and creators and decolonize design. According to the 2019 AIGA Design Census, only 3% of designers across all fields are Black.
I hope to create space for Black voices and experiences to be heard wherever I go. Many places I go, especially in professional or educational settings, I’ve been the only person who looks like me. I want to change that and be an example of Black excellence and success to encourage my family, friends, and little Black kids everywhere to chase their dreams, take up space, and be their most authentic selves while doing it.
my favorite stories
