portfolio

Marissa Shiner

1
Everyday Items
For this illustration project we were randomly assigned a country and were to choose two everyday items in
that country. My country was Kenya. I wanted to really grasp the culture and beauty in this country which
is why I chose this woman as my focus. I also wanted to include the wildlife so I chose elephants because
there is a large elephant population is Kenya. I wanted to do a realistic reputation of each object and
digitally drew each shape, shade, bead and layer for this illustration to be as accurate as I could.

2
Logo Design
This was a class assignment where we were too
design a logo for a student group at Warren
County Technology Center. They participate
in state wide competitions where they build
and race the racecars they have customized
themselves. We were to deisgn the logo for the
upcoming race. They work hard to create cars
that are bold, fast, and powerful and thats exactly
what I tried to reflect in my design.

3
Low Poly
This class project was our low poly assignment where we were to create a portrait of someone by using
only triangles. We were told to choose a celebrity or well recognizable person so I chose Khaleesi. As a
huge Game of Thrones fan I was torn between Khaleesi or John Snow. If you watch the show or have even
heard of it you know that she is in fact The Mother of Dragons so I had to include her dragons. I enjoyed
this project and wanted to push it further which resulted in my Amy Winehouse low poly portrait. When
I was told to create a self portrait for my AIGA student organization I chose and old photo of myself
and decide to make it low poly as well but to further push the creativity of this project I chose to do it
monochromatic in the color I was assigned. I also added elements that were not low poly to add contrast.

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5
Annual Report 2014
Annual Report
This was a class project from my earlier years of college where we
were assigned to redo an annual report of a company of our choice.
I was, and still am, a fan of Pacsun and brand their style so I chose
their annual report to redesign. I created a main sun design that
I thought embodied their brand the most and manipulated it on
every page throughout the report. Here are only a few pages of the
annual report I created.

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Find Your Giant
Find Your Giant poster was inspired by street artists Obey, Banksi etc. For this project we were
to choose an artist or person we found great interest and inspiration in. I chose musician and
DJ, Bassnectar. He is one of my favorite musicians and favorite artists to see live. The intensity
and power of his music and his fans is mesmerizing. I wanted to capture just that in this
poster. We hand drew and cut our own stencils and airbrushed every element that went into
our designs. We then scanned them into the computer and digitally altered them. Bassnectar
has a strong fan base and I wanted this poster to have hidden references only someone with a
strong interest in his music would realize. For one instance my header, “Paracosm,” not only
fits the mood of my message but is also a name of one of his songs.

“The urge to
transform one’s
appearence, to dance
outdoors, to mock the
powerful and embrace
perfect strangers, is
not easy to suppress.”
- Barbara Ehrenreich
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9
Electric Forest
This poster was designed for my own enjoyment. I am lucky enough to have experienced
Electric Forest a couple years ago and really wanted to create a design for the people that were
attending last year. I wanted something that could capture their memories and be able to bring
that home with them.

10

Internship
BY DAVID SAAR, DIRECTED BY COLIN WATERS
The Yellow Boat is presented through special arrangement with Dramatic Publishing Inc.
Gordon Wilson Lab Theatre
October 13th at 4 p.m.
October 14th and 15th at 3 p.m.
While interning at Western Kentucky University’s Marketing and Communications office I
was assigned a range of projects all involving events and announcements for WKU. One of my
favorite projects was for the WKU Arabic club, recognizing the members and their reasons for
joining. Another one of my favorites was my flyer for, “The Yellow Boat.” A play about an artistic
boy who is faced with an illness but continues to create and inspire. I had a lot of fun playing
around with the illustrations and reading the plays for all of the theatre department. Exploring
other peoples creativity and being able to capture it in a design is a great feeling. They had
certain requests and I enjoyed illustrating them and making them come to life.
11
Theatre & Dance
Western Kentucky University is an equal opportunity institution of higher education and upon request
provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. www.wku.edu/eoo © 2017
Western Kentucky University. Printing paid from state funds, KRS 57.375.
$5 Admission
Order your tickets online: wku.showare.com
Fine Arts Box Office: 270.745.3121
Monday through Friday, Noon - 4:00p.m.

12
I am
Arabic
Jonathon Wurth ‘15
Arabic and Anthropology
Refugee Case Manager
Community Action of Southern Kentucky
I am
Arabic
Kent Johnson ‘16
Arabic, International Relations, Political Science
Masters Student in Organizational Leadership
WKU Veterans’ Assistance Office
U. S. Marine Corps 2004-2008
I am
Arabic
Kelsey Hatcher ’18
Arabic and Dance Major
I am
Jonathon Wurth earned his B.A. in Arabic and
Anthropology in 2015. He participated in an
archaeological dig in Jordan, through the University of
California, Berkeley in the summer of 2013.
Jonathon wrote the first Arabic Honors thesis, a graphic
novel on Palestinian political cartoons. Jonathon
now serves Bowling Green’s refugee population as
a refugee case manager with Community Action of
Southern Kentucky.
Modern Languages
ARABIC
I graduated from WKU in 2016 and am now pursuing a
Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and I also
work at WKU helping my fellow veterans and military
students pursue their educational goals. I am very thankful
to WKU for helping me fulfil my dream of going to college
and learning the Arabic language. Many people I have
talked to assume that Arabic is too hard to learn, but
from my experience, it was not as difficult as many think.
WKU has a quality Arabic program and excellent Arabic
professors, who make learning the language fun and who
inspire you that you too can learn Arabic!
When I joined the Marines
in 2004 I had no intention of
going to college. When I was
in Iraq, I can remember seeing
the school children walking
down dangerous roads, going
to and from school every day. It
was from seeing those children
brave danger to go to school
that I grew determined to go to
college when I got back. I was
so glad when I learned that WKU
offered a degree in Arabic. When
I was deployed, none of us knew
Arabic, and I told myself that
someday I would learn it.
Modern Languages
ARABIC
I have been a dance instructor for the past seven
years and I love that I have the opportunity to
share my love for dance with children. I hope to
incorporate my studies of the Arabic language
into my dance profession. Eventually, I would love
to be able to teach Ballet in the Middle East in
Arabic, as well as to preserve Arab cultural dances
and traditions. I believe that there are not enough
opportunities for women and girls around the
world to be exposed to Ballet, especially in highly
conservative areas.
Additionally, I aim to work with
Arabic-speaking refugees in the
United States to help preserve
their cultural traditions and to
offer them an option for personal
creative expression through dance.
There is something so incredibly
beautiful about being able to
express a message effectively in
an individual’s native language,
not only due to the impact that it
has on the individual, but society
itself. With Arabic & Dance, my two
great loves, I hope to help people
abroad and in the U.S. connect and
communicate through dance.
Modern Languages
ARABIC
Arabic
Noah Stevens ‘18
Arabic, International Affairs
Outstanding Senior, International Affairs
U.S. State Department Foreign Service Intern
When looking for
colleges, I did not intend
to study Arabic. Soon
after I discovered the
Honors College, I was
introduced to the Arabic
Program at WKU. After
speaking with students
in the program and reviewing the curriculum, it
was clear that the Arabic major program here was
the truest embodiment of the “Leading American
University with International Reach” motto.
Noah was one of only 34
students in the country chosen
as a Foreign Service intern. He
served in the Political-Military
Affairs Bureau in 2017 and
will work in an embassy in the
Middle East in 2018.
The Arabic program at WKU has allowed me to
supplement my interests in the Middle East with
practical language skills as well as study abroad and
I have fallen in love with the language and culture
along the way!
I look forward to putting my Arabic to use and then
further developing my language skills during a
graduate program in Global Policy and International
Security.
Modern Languages
ARABIC