Artist Biography
Ashley Alberghini is a graduating senior at Endicott College, with a BFA in Graphic Design. She grew up in Raynham, MA, and plans to work in Boston after graduation. When she started attending Endicott, she was a Digital Media/Digital Film major but felt as though it wasn’t the right fit for her. Barely into her freshman year, she quickly changed to majoring in Graphic Design so she could show her creativity. Throughout the past four years, she found her style: retro, colorful, and full of illustrations. She has developed her skills further by using her unique style during her semester-long internship where she created promotional flyers and posters for food truck festivals to be shared on social media with a large audience. Ashley also found an interest in 2d animation during the COVID-19 pandemic and has used it to her advantage in projects where she sees fit. Throughout her thesis project, you will see the use of illustrations and animation to highlight the brand and showcase her skills. She likes to incorporate wordplay into her projects, such as “Bee’s Meads,” a play on words for the bee’s knees. Activism/giving back to the community is important to Ashley which is why it was a crucial element to include in her thesis. You can always feel good when you know a percentage of proceeds is going towards a good cause; hence why Ashley chose several different organizations to highlight, educate others on, and donate to.
ashleymarilyndesigns.myportfolio.com/ [email protected] | @ashleymarilyndesigns (instagram)
Thesis Abstract
Bee’s Meads is a sustainable Boston-originated meadery with an activist twist. Each month, a flavor is dedicated to a specific organization and 15% of the proceeds will be donated to that organization. For example, in the month of May, when a bottle of the Berry Zesty flavor is purchased, the proceeds will be donated to the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). The mascot of Bee’s Meads is a bee – which is a no-brainer. While doing research in the wine and mead industry, it was found that bees play a huge role in a vineyard’s sustainable ecosystem and keeps everything happy and healthy. It seemed to be the perfect fit for the brand since it aims to create a beautiful product while taking steps to save the planet and the bees.
The website is not only a storefront to purchase products such as the mead and merchandise but also an educational experience. The site has an ‘activism/community’ page that speaks on the different organizations partnered with Bee’s Meads as well as providing articles that consumers can read and further educate themselves on what each organization does. Ideally, it would be a consistently updated page that will contain recent activity or doings from each organization to keep up with the ever-changing world. There is also merchandise such as sweatshirts and stickers that are profitable on the website where 15% of proceeds would be donated to The Bee Conservancy, similar to Buzzingly Sweet Honey Mead being purchased.
The packaging’s illustration was important because it highlights the fresh and organic ingredients that are infused into the mead. The color palette for each bottle goes hand-in-hand with the ingredients to create a cohesive look. It was important to create bold and colorful packaging so it would stand out to consumers to intrigue them to learn more about what Bee’s Meads has to offer and the impact they have on the environment and communities that are a part of so many lives.