We’re thrilled to announce our Volunteer of the Month for January, Adriana del Mar, former design intern and publication designer extraordinaire. Really—our design team has nothing but glowing things to say about her.
Our Production Manager Amy tells us “Adriana is truly one of our most dedicated and prolific design volunteers, having donated hundreds of hours over the past 3 years, and has designed many first-time publications for us, in which she creates the template and look and feel of the book, including series branding. She is always professional and on the ball, incredibly creative and really gets the 826 brand, has a huge warm heart and a genuine desire to support our work and community, is an excellent designer, and a joy to work with.” One of our favorite publications from Adriana is our coloring book, Let’s Get Pizza Instead!, which she designed from scratch. Lately, Adriana has been the creative hand behind the cover illustration and book design for our new series of poetry books with Bessie Carmichael Elementary, the chapbooks Superkiddos! And Where We’re From, and the 24th edition of our Quarterly. Here’s Adriana, in her own words:
“I am a Puerto Rican native graphic designer based in San Francisco, with a serious passion for storytelling, pins, 80’s music, salsa dancing, Renaissance architecture, and everything mermaid/unicorn related. I find inspiration in everyday stories where people come together and use art and design to express themselves and to improve their lives and communities. I’m particularly interested in typography, print, publishing, and human-centered design.
These interests and my desire to use my skills to give back to the community are what led me to intern and later on volunteer at 826 Valencia. During my time at 826 I fell even more in love with books, publishing, and the wonderfully weird and amazing stories told by the 826 students and community, and I had the opportunity to work alongside a great team who mentored me and made my internship an incredible and exciting learning experience.
Since volunteering at 826 Valencia, I’ve also had the opportunity to intern at Ideo.org. Working with their Communications team on various projects and growing my passion for human-centered design. This semester you can find me finishing up my MFA in Graphic Design at Academy of Art University, so if you’re curious about my work, interested in collaborating, or would just like to talk salsa and 80’s music—feel free to get in touch or visit my Behance!”
Adriana, we’re so grateful for your years of support. Cheers to the next project!
Read more about our previous Volunteers of the Month.