BOW Collaboration
digital design / social media design
BOW is a design collaboration between myself and fellow designers Jennifer Bagheri and Kristie Wu. With every project, we aim to create engaging and thoughtful content based on topics that inspire us.
For our “Pandemic Diaries” series, we thought we would take a moment and reflect on our experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using my own handwriting and photography for a more intimate and personal look into my life, this series serves as a time capsule for this most unusual year. (Hover over or click through for captions.)
As I combed through all my photos of this past year, I was able to take stock of what was most important to me during these unprecedented times — my loved ones, good food, and the great outdoors. This year will forever be memorable to me for all its extreme highs and lows. And if one thing gave me comfort, it was knowing that I wasn’t going through any of it alone.
I’m incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful home. But after the Shelter-in-Place order was enacted, my relationship with this space definitely evolved. At first, I enjoyed the novelty of being home all the time. After a few months, the novelty wore off, and days on end indoors started driving me a little nuts.
Before the pandemic, I already had a pretty large plant collection, but it’s now grown to over 40 plant friends. Being home all day just made me want to fill every available space in our apartment with as much greenery as possible. The best part is seeing their growth after putting love and effort into them.
For obvious reasons this year, I wasn’t able to travel for camping trips as often as previous years. But on the few trips I did take, I was reminded of how connected we are to this earth, and how restorative and invigorating that connection has always been for me — physically, emotionally, and even spiritually.
Honestly, like 95% of the photos on my phone from this past year are photos of food we’ve made. I have such an appreciation for good, thoughtful food, and cooking is one of my favorite things to do with my husband. I’m just sorry more photos couldn’t fit into this graphic!
On July 16, 2020, I married my partner of 5 years. It was just the two of us, sitting in our living room, getting married by a clerk from City Hall via video call.
2020 has been a year full of emotions. My year has been flooded with tears of frustration and despair, but also tears of joy. I took this video of myself to capture one of these emotional moments of joy and relief, the morning Biden was announced President-elect.
Baking has truly helped me keep my sanity. Whenever I have a headache from staring at a screen, or I’m feeling anxious or sad, I head to the kitchen and bake something. Focusing on a fun task soothes me, and then I get rewarded with a delicious treat in the end. I always feel accomplished afterwards.
I couldn’t have made it through this year without the unwavering love and support of my family and friends.