Online Log
Last Updated 24.10.31
Sweeter Studio
SARAH WONG
Graphic Designer | Zine Maker | PAPER CUTTER
sarahewongdesign@gmail.com
LA-area designer, working since 2018. Loves bright colors, fun outings, and being direct. Currtly studying at ArtCenter as a graduate student.
Contact for resume and PDF portfolio.
Has Worked for
A Noise Within Theater
Vietnamese Film Festival
Nova Community Arts
Brannan Center
Loves
Evil Clowns
Tattoos
Killing Plants
Iced Coffee
CONTACT
12.5.25
Almost Christmas! I’ve been doing a little work and a lot of preparation for the holidays. Ordering gifts, making more gifts, answering a commission that will be a gift have fully entrenched me in the holiday spirit. The only non-festive thing is the weirdly warm weather. It feels like we’re having Christmas in the summer. I suppose nothing new for an LA native, but every year it’s warm still feels a bit odd to me.
☆ Graphic Design Work Updates:
I have a little work this week, just enough to make the Christmas presents pay for themselves. I’m still applying to jobs, applying to programs, and shopping my zines around, but I’m not making any giant career moves.
The most professionally relevant thing I did this past week was that I made a guest appearance at a graphic design class at Cal State LA. I am friends with the professor and she asked me to come by, show my work, and serve as a guest for critiques. The experience was fun, if not a bit strange. I’ve been asked to come and speak before, but this was the first time I had something prepared or participated in a critique afterwards. I basically showed my portfolio, but I wish I had added more interactive elements to my presentation. I do care about the emerging graphic designers, but, rather selfishly, I want to focus on making enough money to support myself. If I influence the youth in a positive way, that is a complete accident.
Another professor friend who works at Santa Monica Community College has invited to me to be a guest lecturer. I think my friends think of me highly as a designer, but I mostly see myself as a little design gremlin who wants to sit in a corner and layout books in InDesign. The thought of sharing my work is appealing, but my natural habitat is the shadows.
I tell my friends that I’ve felt like a demonic entity ever since starting art school. Because I feel like everyone else wants to be professional and polished and I want to be angry and messy. Is that wrong? I don’t like the idea of graphic design only being for making things more palatable. Graphic design should confound people occasionally, just to keep them on their toes.
☆ Zine Work Updates:
Last week my risograph artwork was featured in the annual Nova Community Arts exhibition at Junior High. I even won a silly award for having the most clowns in my artwork, which I take with great pride. I’ve had my work in the show before, so it doesn’t always strike me as outstanding that I have my art in an art show. But it is a big deal! I’m proud of my artwork and I’m glad I got to spread the good word about clowns.
I’ve started handing out my 1895 zine to friends and family. I handed a copy to my Mom and another copy to a friend who gave their helpful critique on the book. I love seeing people react to a project that I put so much love and thought into. It made my Mom almost cry, which means the world to me.
Some of my clown stickers are now on sale in an actual bookstore for $5. There’s a small bookshop near me called Fables and Fancies who bought 20 of my stickers wholesale to add to their stock. I had to fill out a tax form for them and everything. I suppose the next time I stop by I should take some pictures, because having my stock in a bookstore has always been a small dream of mine. I want to keep on selling my zines and stickers to stores!
☆ Other Updates:
Since I have not very much money, I’ve been taking a DIY approach to many of my Christmas presents. My gifts that I’m giving to a lot of my friends requires some very basic woodworking and a lot of cutting things using my Cricut. So I’ve been spending a lot of time in the garage, but also in my room, hunched over, slowly peeling decals from transfer paper. Honestly, I cannot complain. Any time spent away from my computer is probably good time.
I also spent some time at the Here Clubhouse in K-Town. I’ve been volunteering and co-working there every once in a while just so I can get out into the community. This week, we did a mutual aid grocery run for families affected by ICE. Going to the Clubhouse has turned out to be a great way to make friends and connections and get more involved in the local community. Want to spend more time volunteering in LA in the coming year, because our little city has gone through so much this past year.
Finally, I spent my Friday night visiting Heavy Manners Library for the first time. I just wanted to come for a general event, because I’d heard a lot about the space, but I kinda hit the jackpot in terms of days to check out the place. The event at Heavy Manners was holding that night was a comic reading with a lot of out-of-town cartoonists who were visiting for Comic Arts LA. The comics were funny, beautiful, and touching. I was blown away by the beauty of a lot of the art and it made me reflect on how amazing it is to listen to other people’s stories, especially in comic form. These people were seriously redefining what comics could look like and communicate and it was such an honor to hear their stories.
In summation, my week was filled with art events and outreach, deeply concentrated on my hometown of LA. I seriously love my city and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. If only I could make enough money in LA to get my own apartment. But aside from that pesky detail, I feel like I’m living my artistic dream.