Olivia Dean
Interdisciplinary Artist and Designer
Originally from Jacksonville, FL, I moved to NYC to study at Parsons School of Design. I am currently completing a bachelor's degree in Integrated Design with a minor in Environmental Studies. Integrated Design has allowed me to further explore my passion for interdisciplinary arts and collaborating with other designers.
This spring I have been assisting the nonprofit Earth Celebrations with their graphic design needs. In 2024 I had the privilege of working as a Website Design Intern at Nassimi LLC and an Art Direction Intern at Ogilvy Health.
Title Page - cyanotype on muslin with embroidery and grandfather's shirt spine
Explanation on Why Tobacco, Textiles, and Data Visalization
Research on General Tobacco History
Cyanotype experimentation
TEXTILES PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKMAKING THESIS RESEARCH
Fall Process Book in Integrated Design Thesis - 2024
1 of 3 artist books printed on linen for my BFA Thesis project.
My BFA Fall Semester process book was made to document the progress I had made throughout the first semester of working on my thesis project. A lot of initial research went into the actual creation of my thesis project so I wanted to document this in a formal manner. I chose to print on linen rather than paper for two reasons; my final thesis project involves images developed on fabric like linen and my research for the semester involved textiles, photography, and data visualization.
My Thesis project is called Tobacco Quilt, in which I will be creating a quilt exploring the tobacco industry on the Florida-Georgia border with my grandfather's plaid shirts and cyanotype images on tobacco cloth. This process book shows how I reached that concept through the research on the tobacco industry's ties to colonization, racism, and the addiction of millions where me and many generations of my ancestors have lived. My initial research involved exploration of how other artists have achieved combining data visualization, photography, and textiles, as well as how tobacco has been explored in art in the past.
The book was very successful in accumulating all of the work I did in the fall in preparation of making my quilt in the spring.
Main poster size advertisement
Subway or train car size and themed advertisement
Timeline of Campaign Launches
Data Visualization on Cost of Type 2 Diabetes
INTERNSHIP ADVERTISING ART DIRECTION BRANDING HEALTH
No Pilot Should Fly Blind - 2024
Stelo by Dexcom for Pre-Diabetes Launch at Ogilvy Health
At my Summer Internship with Ogilvy Health four interns and I constructed a creative campaign pitch for the second launch of Stelo by Dexcom to target the pre-diabetes audience. In this team I was responsible for the art direction and also generated the creative campaign ideas for our pitch. The other four interns were responsible for strategy, data analysis, and PR.
Our concept, No Pilot Should Fly Blind, revolved around that critical time when you are diagnosed with pre-diabetes, that you may be able to successfully still prevent diabetes. However, navigating your blood sugar alone can be extremely difficult and isolating. Stelo, the first over the counter continuous glucose monitor, can act as your guide through navigating pre-diabetes. Other than ideating this campaign concept, I also generated all visual mockups of social media ads and commercial spots as well as created the presentation deck in adherence with branding.
At the end of the summer internship, each intern group pitched our creative campaign concepts. Our group tied with another for first place. The creative components were well accepted by the creatives and art direction team and our campaign was their first pick for winning pitch.
Presentation setup
Close up of plant pot weaving
Antifungal Fabric Plant Pot - 2023
Experimenting with Propolis in Material Fabrication
In my junior year of my Integrated Design program I studied the potential benefits of propolis through the fabrication of a fabric plant pot. Propolis is a byproduct that honeybees create as glue for their hives. When honey is harvested by beekeepers, they often will harvest some of the propolis as well. Propolis has been found to have varying anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant effects on human health. I was introduced to propolis through another course I took junior year called Honeybee Colonies where we studied the entymolygy of honeybees and culture and history of beekeeping.
The idea to create a plant pot with fibers soaked in propolis came from my inability to keep house plants alive. They always end up getting root rot. I wondered if there was any benefit to housing a plant in a propolis infused environment. I created a propolis solvent by melting it in heated ethanol, then soaked recycled fibers in the solvent. Then I hand wove the fibers in a honeycomb inspired pattern.
For the presentation of my project, I created themed posters to document my research and creation. I was inspired by historical honey packaging and Constructivist graphic styles.