Kate Sheldon

Give Day Campaign

adkater — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 02:25:01 +0000

Give Day Campaign

Research, Content Strategy, Design, Infographics

For Give Day at GRTC, I collaborated with my Communications & Marketing teammates to create a fundraising campaign that educated the public about the impact of the Zero Fare program and encouraged community support for accessible transit.

Call to Action

I designed a cohesive visual campaign that included a fundraising landing page, email communications, flyers, outreach materials, and a special event banner in Transit App.

My key goal was driving audiences to a central landing page where they could make a donation or learn about other ways to get involved. Every campaign touchpoint funneled riders and readers to the landing page, creating a unified, multi-channel experience while maintaining consistency with GRTC’s overall brand.

Bus Shelter Signage

To make sure the fundraising program stayed visible, this campaign was paired with the installation of permanent signage for buses and shelters. I illustrated portraits of real riders paired with quotes from their personal stories about the value of public transit, and designed the inside wall of the shelter with statistics and info about transit’s impact on the economy and accessibility of the region.

Earth Day Campaign

adkater — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 01:26:23 +0000

Earth Day Campaign

Research, Content Strategy, Design, Infographics

For Earth Day 2026, I helped develop and execute a weeklong digital marketing campaign that highlighted the environmental benefits of public transit and reinforced GRTC’s commitment to sustainability. The campaign was published across the organization’s digital channels, including social media, email, and web platforms.

Content Strategy

A key challenge was distilling complex sustainability data into engaging, shareable content for online audiences. I conducted background research, gathered organization-specific data points from GRTC’s Planning department, and collaborated with communications and public relations staff to develop a focused content strategy.

Together, we identified four key themes: the emissions benefits of compressed natural gas (CNG) buses compared to diesel vehicles, the impact of transit on reducing single-occupancy vehicle trips, GRTC’s annual sustainability achievements, and the direct impact of event a small charitable donation.

To support the campaign, I developed a visual style that aligned with GRTC’s established brand while incorporating an Earth Day-inspired leaf motif. The resulting campaign carried cohesively across the website, social media, and email.

Homepage Carousel Takeover

To ensure the campaign stood out among routine service updates, I proposed a temporary takeover of the website homepage carousel, dedicating each slide and accompanying caption to a different Earth Day fact and linking users to a longer-form sustainability article. This approach increased visibility for the campaign and resulted in a 12% increase in engagement compared to the organization’s baseline for comparable news posts.

Event Identity & Promotion

adkater — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 03:42:56 +0000

Promotion & Experience Design

Design, Illustration, & Strategy

I helped plan, brand, and promote TAP Into Transit Day, a public event that launched GRTC’s community fundraising program while engaging sponsors, community partners, and local residents. With just one month to develop and execute the campaign, I balanced tight production timelines with the need to quickly create and launch promotional materials across multiple channels. The campaign was recognized with the VTA Outstanding Transit Marketing Award in 2026.

The email above was one of several promotional communications that I edited, designed, and formatted for distribution. To support accessibility, the layout relies primarily on live text rather than text embedded in images, ensuring compatibility with screen readers and assistive technologies. Prioritizing accessible communication is a core organizational value and an important consideration in all marketing materials.

Multichannel Campaign

I developed designs that carried the brand from initial promotion through to the on-site attendee experience. My work included designing the event website, email campaigns, social media content, a print ad in Richmond Magazine, save-the-date flyers, and onboard graphics for the bus infotainment system.

Here is a sample of social media posts I designed, including a Save-the-Date teaser image and graphics supporting the impact of public transit on equity and accessibility.

Event Signs & Swag

At the event, I extended the brand through custom apparel and giveaway items, planned and implemented a wayfinding system, and designed educational exhibits that informed, engaged, and guided visitors throughout the space.

Results

The event attracted more than 400 attendees and generated more than $25,000 in initial donations, helping strengthen relationships with donors and with the community.

Webinar Deck Design

adkater — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 21:43:47 +0000

Webinar Deck

Contribution: Design, Icons, Copy-Editing

Designed a deck to appeal to young professionals by using bold, trendy colors, playful shapes, and hand-drawn elements to guide the eye.

Example Slides

Sample slides showing the use of bright colors with high contrast for visibility and a sense of urgency. I illustrated custom icons to add visual interest to the text-heavy content.

Note that client information has been removed.

Storm Response One-Pagers

adkater — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 20:03:13 +0000

Info Sheets

Contribution: Design, Graphics, Editing (logos were provided by client)

I worked a series of information sheets for an alliance of organizations that help those affected by storms and other disasters. The objective was to create engaging, easy-to-read fact sheets in a format that could be quickly printed and distributed in response to the Houston storms.

For the first flyer, the client wanted to steer clear of a somber tone and create a positive and community-focused design. My part in this began with collaborating with the writer to condense the key content to one page. I then used Adobe Illustrator to create graphics and design the layout. I selected the Barlow typeface for its flexibility and support of multiple languages, as the client required a Spanish version and wanted to be ready for the possibility of adding other languages.

In order to facilitate easy printing, the design includes margins large enough to print on any home printer. I also created black-and-white versions for environments without color printing.

Handouts

These handouts were needed for distribution to attendees at various community events. Adopting a minimal style put the focus on content and supported the dense information, ensuring each topic fit on one page. Using Adobe InDesign facilitated consistency across different handouts and language versions by defining paragraph and character styles.

Walk Piece

Contribution: Design, Graphics, Photo Sourcing and Retouching (logos were provided by client)

Organizers distributed this double-sided flyer while walking through their communities. To meet the needs of the various organizations involved, I created and shared the design in Canva, allowing groups to quickly update details about upcoming meetings and how to get involved.

Organizing Resilience Deck & Report

adkater — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 09:32:00 +0000

Presentation Template

Contribution: Design & Illustration

Created a Google Slides presentation template for Organizing Resilience, balancing boldness and urgency with a human touch. Also contributed illustrations. In addition to design, contributed custom illustrations to enhance visual storytelling.

Key Slides

Responding to the client’s specifications, which included a color scheme of pink and purple along with a bold font preference, I developed a template that balanced high contrast and vibrant hues to evoke energy and wisdom. Selected the Encode Sans font for its range of weights and styles, including condensed and expanded versions, to ensure optimal readability and impact.

Icons

Illustrated custom graphics to symbolize key concepts. Graphics were converted into editable shapes within Slides for seamless customization, empowering the client to tailor the presentation to their unique needs in the future.

Report Template

Contribution: Design of Layout and Charts (Credit to the Economic Innovation Group for the Map)

Organizing Resilience needed a report design that they could reuse as a Google Docs template for other long documents. I created an easy-to-edit design that aligned with the visual identity established in their presentation template, ensuring all elements were live in Docs and Drawings.

Client information has been removed.

Ink Out Stigma Campaign

adkater — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:23:38 +0000

Ink Out Stigma

Contribution: Design

Created a graphics package for Custom Ink’s participant team in the Charlotte AIDS Walk, centered around the team slogan “Ink Out Stigma.” This involved creating a logo that embodied the slogan and utilizing it across various materials, including a banner for the fundraising website, an email template, and team t-shirts.

Brand Implementation

File Provided By Client

The design process navigated constraints such as incorporating the brand colors, seen in this graphic provided by the client. The challenge was to reference the “ink” concept while steering clear of negative associations with liquid splatter, ensuring a positive representation for the team’s cause.

Design In Use

Contribution: Design – logo, social media content, shirts, and email template

Every detail of these shirts was carefully considered to match the corporate brand while creating something unique and special for the team to wear. I extended that same dedication to creating a header for the event page and emails as well as a social media graphic, and the photos of the shirts at the event were also used to promote the company culture and charitable initiatives on corporate socials. Private information has been removed from the images.

Teacher Appreciation Collection

adkater — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 17:37:24 +0000

Math Teachers Solve Problems

Contribution: Research, Design

Recognizing a market opportunity within the printing company’s K12 design offerings, I spearheaded the development of a specialized collection aimed at celebrating and supporting teachers.

Teacher Appreciation Graphics

Contribution: Research, Design

This initiative involved creating bespoke clipart and templates tailored to educators’ needs, spanning a diverse spectrum of moods and styles, from timeless and classic to humorous and inspirational. Research was conducted to identify relevant slogans, ensuring the designs resonated deeply with the target customer segment, thus enriching the product portfolio with compelling options for teachers.

Apparel Design

adkater — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 15:38:35 +0000

Custom Apparel

Contribution: Design & Illustration

I’ve created bespoke apparel and promotional items across diverse client sectors, spanning corporate, charity, schools, and events. Handling an average of 15+ design projects weekly, I fused creativity with a systematic methodology, tailoring designs to resonate with specific customer segments. Collaborating closely with fellow designers and the sales team, my aim has been to guarantee deliverables that surpassed expectations.

Influencer Collaboration

Contribution: Design & Illustration

Collaborating on shirt designs for a “dog mom” influencer was an enriching experience. Each project was a lesson in translating her unique sense of humor into creating fun and relatable designs that resonated with her fan base.

Swag for RadAI’s meeting in San Diego

Amazon design for women in tech theme

Protein20 brand swag

JP Donovan shirt commemorating their work with NASA in the Artemis project

Full back illustration for Amazon’s Parental Support program

Walmart warehouse team shirt design

Corporate Clients

Contribution: Design & Illustration

Maintaining brand voice while balancing the needs of the individual team or event is essential when working with established corporations. Here is a selection of shirt designs for RadAI, Amazon, Protein2O, Walmart, and JO Donovan.

Frozen Dead Guy Days

Contribution: Design & Illustration

Working with the Frozen Dead Guy Days team was a blast! Bringing their quirky festival to life through custom shirt design and illustration was an absolute joy. The center skeleton character was based on a skeleton head design used on products that they already had in their store. I went with a rock and roll vibe and made sure to feature a frozen coffin to link to the festival’s unique theme. I maximized halftones and shading, cleverly managing three ink colors to ensure a cost-effective design that nailed the desired look and feel.

Groups & Events

Contribution: Design & Illustration

Depending on the project needs, I can define a brand for the customer, work within their brand guidelines, or adapt to whatever kind of style best suits them.

Love Is Love

Contribution: Design

A personal favorite of mine, the challenge here lay in integrating the irregular shape of the District of Columbia into a cohesive, balanced design that evoked a sense of harmony.