M{ ART + DESIGN PORTFOLIO }

My name is Rebecca Strasburg and I am a graduate of Miami University with a BFA degree in interior design. An interest in Art and Design has played a defining role in my life. It figures prominently in my personal, as well as professional, activities. It is the lens through which I see the world. While in school I had the opportunity to study design in Copenhagen, Denmark, an area synonymous with innovative and fresh design. My semester in Scandinavia was a dream come true and I took a lot away from the experience, including a new perspective and approach to design. I now rely on abstract concepts to guide my design and finding inspiration in these concepts is my favorite part of the design process. I believe in order for design to be truly successful, it must be functional, practical, and environmentally and socially conscious.

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Summer after graduating from college I had the opportunity to work for Anthropologie as a visual display intern. During the course of this three-month internship I worked with the display manager and coordinator to take corporate concepts and craft them into our store displays. Through this internship I grew a better understanding of what it takes to not only display a product effectively but also create an unforgettable customer experience. This internship was full of hands on projects, which truly made it a great experience for me. { }

Researched and designed during my senior year, my capstone studio project, New Roots, is a re-entry center for recently incarcerated men to live, work, and learn after being released from prison. The goal of New Roots is to provide a supportive environment for ex-convicts to gain the academic, vocational, and interpersonal skills necessary to successfully transition back into mainstream society. To symbolize this process, I developed the concept of “to seam” throughout my design. I created a space that “seamed” the Venice Beach community together by integrating and creating powerful connections between individual and spaces. { }

Inspired by Delancey Street Foundation: http://www.delanceystreetfoundation.org/

New Roots is a re-entry center for previously incarcerated men. The vision behind New Roots is to successfully integrate ex-convicts back into the community by providing a supportive place for them to work, learn, and live after being released from prison. Work: Residents of New Roots run the restaurant-Venice Bistro- that is part of the center. Venice Bistro works towards the center’s goal of seaming the community back together by providing a vehicle for residents to interact with their neighbors in a productive and positive way. Learn: In addition to onsite vocational training, residents have access to an education and counseling center located above the restaurant. Individual academic and interper-sonal support is available to help them return to the job market. Live: The center contains two levels of apartments where the men can live singly, or with their families if they so choose. At New Roots, residents begin their new lives by providing a service to the community they once harmed. The hope of New Roots is that each resident will leave the center with the skills and knowledge they need to successfully re-enter the community and prevent a return to crime.

W H O W E A R E . W H A T W E D O . W H Y W E ’ R E H E R E .

Venice BistroNewRoots.

8 Brooks Ave. Venice, CA 90291

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Completed during the first semester of my senior year, I developed this corporate office concept for the design company Marimekko. Drawing inspiration from their boldly colored and graphic textile patterns, I created a spaced-base concept of contradiction. I kept a neutral color and material palette throughout the plan to allow their signature design to make the state-ment within the space.{ }

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Partnenring with an architecture student during my study abroad semseter in Copenhagen, Denmark, I created the graphics and branding for the kunsthal she was designing. A kunsthal is an art gallery with a non-permanent, revolving collection. My task was to develop the kunsthal’s identity, including name and logo, and all of the site graphics, including way-finding and pictogram signage. Working collaboratively with the architecture student, I used her design as inspiration for mine.{ }

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During my semester in Copenhagen, I developed a sketching journal as part of a visual journal class. Placing an emphasis on learning about architecture through sketching it, the class required me to be sketching constantly. I experimented with many different mediums including ink, pencil, marker, watercolor, color pencil and charcoal. These sketches are my favorite souvenirs from my time abroad.{ }

During my third year furniture design studio, I designed and built a full-scale chair. Designing furniture, thinking not only about aesthetic but comfort and function in a real life application, was a new experience for me. This was by far my favorite project. I began with sketches and mini models and progressed to a life size mock up. After critiquing the mock-up, I crafted the final product of cherry wood and metal. A smooth, flat front is contrasted with an uneven, textured back.{ }

{ Idea Sketches and Models }

Focusing on European architecture and culture, these pictures were taken in Fall 2010. They are some of my favorite images of my semester abroad. { }