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Pronghorn: Room to Roam

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Pronghorn: Room to Roam Editorial Concept | Research • Writing • Photography • Art Direction • Conservation Storytelling After seeing local coverage of more than 130 wildlife biologists and managers gathering in Colorado Springs to discuss challenges facing pronghorn, I saw an opportunity to translate a timely conservation issue into an engaging wildlife story for young readers. Pronghorn are familiar animals across Colorado, but their story is more complex than simply being incredibly fast. Habitat loss, roads, fencing, development, drought, and fragmented migration routes can affect their ability to move through the landscapes they depend on. I developed this concept to introduce those larger issues through something immediately interesting to children: an animal built to run that increasingly needs safe places to run. The Editorial Approach Rather than beginning with conservation terminology, the story begins with curiosity: pronghorn are extraordinarily fast; they are not actually ...
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Ruddy Turnstone: From Field Observation to Editorial Story

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Ruddy Turnstone: From Field Observation to Editorial Story The idea Wildlife photography often starts with observation, but for me it rarely ends with the photograph.  Seeing an animal in the field usually sends me looking for the story behind what I witnessed. I had photographed Ruddy Turnstones along Florida beaches before, so I associated them with the coast. When I unexpectedly photographed one along a Colorado shoreline, I immediately wanted to know what had brought this shorebird so far inland. That question became the starting point for this editorial concept. The story The Ruddy Turnstone has one of those wonderfully descriptive names that gives young readers an immediate way into the science. The bird searches for food by flipping stones, shells, seaweed, and other objects to uncover what may be hiding underneath. I built the story around two discoveries: how the turnstone got its name and how a bird I knew from Florida could also appear in Colorado. “Who Turned That Stone...
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What’s Up With Those Feet?

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What’s Up With Those Feet? American Coot Editorial Concept Research · Writing · Photography · Art Direction · Editorial Design · Digital Content The Idea Wildlife photography often starts with observation. While photographing American coots, I became fascinated by their oversized feet and unusual toes. That visual detail became the starting point for a story. Rather than beginning with a list of facts, I wanted to begin with something a young reader could immediately see and wonder about: What’s up with those feet? From there, the story introduces how the American coot’s unusual anatomy helps it move through its wetland environment. Research + Photo Inspiration My original wildlife photography provided the initial inspiration for the concept and a visual reference for researching the species, its anatomy and behavior. The photographs are not intended as a proposed image package. They demonstrate how firsthand observation can lead to questions, research and ultimately an editorial idea....
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Make Art that Sells Monthly Prompt Challenge

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As a designer by day, these monthly prompts are my creative outlet — a chance to stay sharp with illustration technique and reconnect with drawing, even if it's on Procreate. 01. San Francisco Cable Car —A surrealist take on environmental conservation, imagining San Francisco submerged beneath the bay with a blue whale as its sole passenger. 02. Tiramisu —A bold crow, my first photography subject, claims the tiramisu, blurring the line between the wild and the domestic. 03. Tarot Card —​​​​​​ (The Moon) Inspired by my own field photography that pairs a jackrabbit and barn owl in a hand-lettered tarot card steeped in nocturnal mystery. 04. Cell Phone —A pika nests inside a vintage car phone case, reclaiming forgotten technology as a cozy home in the wild. My reflection on time gone by. 05. Vintage Television —A fox portrait from my own field photography appears on screen, bridging the analog past with the living natural world. 06. Sardine Can —Imagining my rescue cat Shandy as a ca...
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Springs Echo Contributions

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For a master’s degree project, I reached out to the local independent newspaper The Springs Echo and offered to contribute to an upcoming issue. I was assigned to photograph a Colorado Springs community event and also assisted with the accompanying interview, contributing several of the questions (highlighted in blue) used in the conversation. Below is a selection of my contributions to the published story. Getting To Know You... ...Meet Crystal Karr Q. For the benefit of our readers, who do we have the pleasure of speaking with today? A. My name is Crystal Karr, and I am the new Homeless Prevention and Response Coordinator for the City of Colorado Springs  Q. And would you mind telling us where you were born? A. I was born in the small town of Garnett, Kansas.  Q. How long have you been the homelessness prevention and response coordinator for Colorado Springs? A. I began working for the City on October 3,2022. I'm still new in this role and am excited about learning and gr...
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Salt & Pines

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Salt & Pines started as Roberson Designs. The rebrand wasn't a cosmetic update — it was an honest one. The name comes from two places that shaped how I see and work: the Gulf of Mexico, where I grew up reading light on water, and the mountains of Colorado, where I landed and found a different kind of stillness. Salt and pines. Coast and elevation. The tension between those two things is where the creative practice lives. The visual identity reflects that same balance: natural, grounded, and designed to hold up across design, illustration, and photography without any one discipline overpowering the others. Playfair Display for warmth and editorial weight. Poppins for clarity and accessibility. A palette built from the landscapes that named the studio — Soft Pine, Driftwood Beige, Deep Ocean, Clay Rust. Every client project that comes through Salt & Pines gets the same thing this brand did: a clear point of view, an honest brief, and design that means something specific rathe...
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Buddha Cocoa

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Buddha Cocoa is a vegan hot cocoa brand competing in a market crowded with rustic farmhouse aesthetics and bold health claims. The challenge was to stand apart — to feel warm without feeling dated, minimal without feeling cold, and premium without pricing out the audience the brand was actually speaking to. I developed the complete brand identity from the ground up: logo design, brand color system, typography, visual language, and packaging. Every decision was made to hold two things in tension — the ritual comfort of a warm drink and the calm clarity of a mindful lifestyle brand. Nothing fussy. Nothing loud. Just a brand that felt like the product tasted. The work earned an American Advertising Award for brand excellence. Services Delivered: Logo Design · Brand Color System · Typography · Visual Identity · Packaging Design · Brand Style Sheet
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