They Are Missing

They Are Missing

They Are Missing is an ACLU California Action multimedia campaign submitted for the 2026 American Advertising Awards under the Intergrated Campaign section. communities.

They Are Missing is an ACLU California Action multimedia campaign submitted for the 2026 American Advertising Awards under the Integrated Campaign section. communities.

Gold Winner @ 2026 AAF SF Bay Area

Best Copywritting @ USF Advertising Show 2026

THEY ARE

MISSING

1 minute read

SKILL & GROWTH

Designing For Today's Political Climate

This project had an ambitious scope. Rather than appealing to one political party, our goal was to build empathy across communities. Through many rounds of copywriting, I learned how carefully language must balance awareness, empathy, and sensitivity—especially when addressing an issue that remains a painful reality for many people in America.


I also learned that developing an integrated campaign involves much more than resizing the same design. Each platform requires its own approach to communicating the message and capturing attention. For our call to action, we moved beyond the conventional QR code and invited viewers to physically tear off and take a strip from the flyer. This small interaction made the campaign more memorable while encouraging people to carry its message with them.

They Are Missing is an ACLU California Action multimedia campaign that highlights what the absence of immigrants would leave in our communities. Through striking visual storytelling, the campaign challenges viewers to recognize immigrants’ contributions and transforms a politically divisive issue into a moment of gratitude. The campaign concludes with a call to action that leads to the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights website.

ACLU California Action Campaign

ABOUT

MY ROLE

Copywritter

PM

Copywriter

PM

TEAM

Adrianna D

Mani E

CONTEXT

AAF 2026

2026 AAF SF Bay Area

TOOLS

Figma

Photoshop

Illustrator

TIMELINE

Oct 2025 -
Jan 2026

Oct 2025 -

Jan 2026

SKILL & GROWTH

Designing For Today's Political Climate

This project had an ambitious scope. Rather than appealing to one political party, our goal was to build empathy across communities. Through many rounds of copywriting, I learned how carefully language must balance awareness, empathy, and sensitivity—especially when addressing an issue that remains a painful reality for many people in America.


I also learned that developing an integrated campaign involves much more than resizing the same design. Each platform requires its own approach to communicating the message and capturing attention. For our call to action, we moved beyond the conventional QR code and invited viewers to physically tear off and take a strip from the flyer. This small interaction made the campaign more memorable while encouraging people to carry its message with them.

They Are Missing is an ACLU California Action multimedia campaign that highlights what the absence of immigrants would leave in our communities. Through striking visual storytelling, the campaign challenges viewers to recognize immigrants’ contributions and transforms a politically divisive issue into a moment of gratitude. The campaign concludes with a call to action that leads to the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights website.

ACLU California Action Campaign

ABOUT

MY ROLE

Brand Designer

UX Researcher

TEAM

Adrianna D

Mani E
Emma W

CONTEXT

UCI's 2026
Design-A-Thon

TOOLS

Figma

Photoshop

Illustrator
Perplexity

TIMELINE

3 Days

SKILL & GROWTH

Designing For Today's Political Climate

This project had an ambitious scope. Rather than appealing to one political party, our goal was to build empathy across communities. Through many rounds of copywriting, I learned how carefully language must balance awareness, empathy, and sensitivity—especially when addressing an issue that remains a painful reality for many people in America.


I also learned that developing an integrated campaign involves much more than resizing the same design. Each platform requires its own approach to communicating the message and capturing attention. For our call to action, we moved beyond the conventional QR code and invited viewers to physically tear off and take a strip from the flyer. This small interaction made the campaign more memorable while encouraging people to carry its message with them.

They Are Missing is an ACLU California Action multimedia campaign that highlights what the absence of immigrants would leave in our communities. Through striking visual storytelling, the campaign challenges viewers to recognize immigrants’ contributions and transforms a politically divisive issue into a moment of gratitude. The campaign concludes with a call to action that leads to the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights website.

ACLU California Action Campaign

ABOUT

MY ROLE

Copywriter
PM

TEAM

Adrianna D

Mani E

CONTEXT

AAF 2026

TOOLS

Figma

Photoshop

Illustrator

TIMELINE

Oct 2025 -

Jan 2026

They Are Missing is an ACLU California Action multimedia campaign submitted for the 2026 American Advertising Awards under the Integrated Campaign section. communities.

THEY ARE

MISSING

Best Copywritting @ USF Advertising Show 2026

Gold Winner @ 2026 AAF SF Bay Area

1 minute read

THEY ARE

MISSING

1 minute read

Best Copywritting @ USF Advertising Show 2026

Gold Winner @ 2026 AAF SF Bay Area

MY ROLE

Copywriter

PM

TEAM

Adrianna D
Mani E

CONTEXT

AAF 2026

TOOLS

Figma

Photoshop
Illustrator

TIMELINE

Oct 2025 -
Jan 2026

MY ROLE

Brand Designer

UX Researcher

TEAM

Adrianna D

Mani E
Emma W

CONTEXT

UCI's 2026
Design-A-Thon

TOOLS

Figma

Photoshop

Illustrator
Perplexity

TIMELINE

3 Days

Inspired by Irvine brands Menya Hanabi and Auntea Jenny, the professional track challenges participants to design products, identities, or experiences that are culturally rooted and community-driven. Like a great meal or neighborhood spot, the mission is to create brands that forge genuine connection and become part of people's everyday lives.

Lost & Found

PROMPT

Regret is something young adults often carry as an isolating, internal burden, this is felt deeply but rarely spoken about.

Modern Day Healing Is Broken

PROBLEM

To give young adults a private, judgment-free space to release regret — and be able to move forward.

GOAL

1

3

2

Anti-archive: Nothing is stored, resurfaced, or revisited.

Emotional Release: The platform transforms regret into a moment of closure, allowing users to move forward with less emotional weight.

No Performance: The space is private and honest, not built for validation or display.

A Digital Tool For Collectors, Built By A Collector

SOLUTION

Ars Oblivion is a digital emotional-release platform that helps users process personal regrets through a private, untraceable anti-archive.
The experience is designed to encourage reflection, release, and emotional closure without permanence, performance, or public visibility.

Key Principles:

Demo

DESIGN SHOWCASE

SKILL & GROWTH

Unique Concept To Life: The Art of Letting Go

Ars Oblivion isn't magic. Releasing a regret into the void won't make you forget, and it was never meant to. The intention is quieter than that: to remind you that you are not alone in what you carry. Every regret you release joins countless others, held by people just like you, living their lives on the same earth. It's an invisible contract between you and the universe — a quiet declaration that you are ready to let go. No data saved. No one watching. No interference. Just you, and the choice to release.




This project was challenging, but rewarding in the end. Tackling the idea of forgetting while weaving in a sense of community wasn't easy — regrets are deeply personal, and finding a way to honor that intimacy while still making something that felt collective and uniquely its own was one of the most meaningful design problems we've ever solved.



User Interviews

USER RESEARCH

We conducted qualitative interviews with 7 college students, ages 19–22, to understand how young adults experience and process regret.

2

1

3

Regret is tied to identity 

Users linked regret to moments of immaturity, disappointing others, or wishing they had acted differently.



No Performance

The space is private and honest, not built for validation or display.

Emotional Release

The platform transforms regret into a moment of closure, allowing users to move forward with less emotional weight.

We archive our mistakes because they left a mark, while our joys fade because they don't linger. Just like machine learning, we need the failure to map out the flight. You have to stumble once to know exactly where you'll never walk again”

Maliyah Miller, 19

“

The palette was inspired by the universe — vast, indifferent, and swallowing. Deep navy, night sky, and frost blue were chosen not just for visual calm, but to evoke the specific sadness of letting something go. The universe doesn't hold onto things. Neither should you. The blues also carry nostalgia, that quiet ache that lives alongside regret, making the emotional tone feel honest rather than sterile.



Color & Theme

College students and young adults (19–23) who are emotionally reflective and navigating identity, academic pressure, and relationships. They journal, walk, or distract themselves to process emotions — and while familiar with anonymous digital spaces, they're cautious about privacy and trust aesthetics as a signal of safety.

Who We Designed For

DESIGN DECISION

We paired a handwritten script logo with monospaced, pixelated type to merge two worlds: the personal and the digital. The handwritten feel calls back to the ritual of writing something by hand — something meant only for you — while the coded, ASCII-influenced type grounds it in the digital interface it lives on.



Typography

Ars Oblivion's visual identity was built around a central tension — the intimacy of writing a letter and the finality of burning it, translated into a digital space.

Creative Strategy

Ars Oblivion In Context

BEYOND THE SCREEN

Ars Oblivion was designed to feel like more than an app — a brand with a presence, a community of young adults who choose release over rumination. From posters to social media, the identity extends into everyday spaces, carrying the same quiet message: how does one little planet hold so much regret? Somewhere on Earth, someone else is letting go too.

SKILL & GROWTH

Designing For Today's Political Climate

This project had an ambitious scope. Rather than appealing to one political party, our goal was to build empathy across communities. Through many rounds of copywriting, I learned how carefully language must balance awareness, empathy, and sensitivity—especially when addressing an issue that remains a painful reality for many people in America.


I also learned that developing an integrated campaign involves much more than resizing the same design. Each platform requires its own approach to communicating the message and capturing attention. For our call to action, we moved beyond the conventional QR code and invited viewers to physically tear off and take a strip from the flyer. This small interaction made the campaign more memorable while encouraging people to carry its message with them.

They Are Missing is an ACLU California Action multimedia campaign that highlights what the absence of immigrants would leave in our communities. Through striking visual storytelling, the campaign challenges viewers to recognize immigrants’ contributions and transforms a politically divisive issue into a moment of gratitude. The campaign concludes with a call to action that leads to the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights website.

ACLU California Action Campaign

ABOUT

They Are Missing is an ACLU California Action multimedia campaign submitted for the 2026 American Advertising Awards under the Integrated Campaign section. communities.