Karoleen Decastro :: Santa Barbara/Los Angeles based graphic designer

23 Things I have learned in my life so far

Karoleen — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 05:36:29 +0000

Few designers can say they haven’t been influenced in one way or another by Stefan Sagmeister, seeing as he is one of the most influential designers in graphic design history. Whether it is his Grammy award winning design for Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (David Byrne), or the words he carved into his own [...]

Content-Aware Feature in PS CS5

Karoleen — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 03:47:50 +0000

I must have been under a rock when CS5 came out because for that 9 week trip abroad this past spring I was taking photos and not paying attention at all to the design world (except for what I saw in the cities I visited, and I do this whenever I go abroad). Therefore, I’ll [...]

Europe and Egypt in Photos

Karoleen — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 06:09:00 +0000

After a few weeks since returning from my Spring backpack trip (list of cities) I finally found some time to gather a set of my favorite photos. This inspiration trip/photo safari/living for life journey resulted in around 3000 photos (actually very little for 9 weeks) and many good memories and experiences. The following are some [...]

Paris/Barcelona Custom Canvas Shoes

Karoleen — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:27:53 +0000

While doing a routine and much needed hard drive cleanup I came across these photos of an old pair of canvas shoes I customized, and since I’ve just returned from a 9 week adventure around Europe, it seemed fitting to post them. These shoes were a gift for my sister (an architect major) who lived [...]

Backpacking Europe

Karoleen — Sun, 02 May 2010 20:52:36 +0000

I’m terribly late with this post but I’ve finally found decent internet connection (not through my Ipod Touch this time) that actually lets me use WordPress. There are also no people looking over my shoulder waiting for the internet, so it’s a perfect situation. I’ve been traveling Europe since March 27 starting off in Madrid, [...]

Happy Birthday to my Website, Plus Some

Karoleen — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:23:24 +0000

January was a hectic month, so much that I didn’t have the chance to post anything. While I have a few minutes though, I’d like to catch you all up on a few things. First off, Happy 1st Birthday to karoleendesign.com. My site launched on Feb 1st, 2009, so I’m a few days late but [...]

Merry (early) Christmas

Karoleen — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:04:47 +0000

Fish celebrating Christmas underwater, with kelp Christmas lights around a coral tree and all. Because deadlines tend to wrap up at the end of the year and clients simmer down, December provides me time to design/illustrate this Christmas card for our fellow offices and clients, and for all of you too. In case I don’t [...]

New Blog Theme for Erin Saldana Photography

Karoleen — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:57:26 +0000

I recently wrapped up a WordPress theme for the talented wedding/art/lifestyle photographer, Erin Saldana. She was a fellow Art major with me at UCSB while we were learning the basics of everything. We took the same digital media and photography classes, building our first web sites and taking (my) first photos. (Yes, she knew for [...]

14. Coffee Joint Studies

Karoleen — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:01:57 +0000

I draw a lot when on coffee breaks, days out in LA or Santa Barbara, when traveling, etc. So I’ll have to thank whoever this man is for being my subject on his (what must have been) usual study night at the local coffee spot. (Also, just a note, he was quite far away. I [...]

13. Showgirl

Karoleen — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:44:57 +0000

Originally a piece of a Vegas themed sleeve tattoo I designed.