Artist Biography
Alexandra Santoro is a graphic designer from Waltham, MA who also loves to paint, draw, and explore photography. Growing up, Alexandra’s family always encouraged her creativity—whether it was by making sure she had endless paper to color on, keeping sketchbooks within reach, or saving every crayon from restaurant kids’ menus to add to her ever‑growing bucket of art supplies. Her early love for making things eventually helped her discover graphic design, and she quickly realized it was the perfect blend of creativity and problem‑solving. Today, she continues to build on that foundation through thoughtful, visually driven work that reflects her lifelong connection to art.
Throughout her time at Endicott, she has discovered her passion for branding, incorporating photography into her work, exploring color, and drawing inspiration from nostalgia. She is driven by the challenge of going beyond simply creating an eye‑catching design, focusing instead on how people interact with and think about the work she creates.
Portfolio:
alexandrasantoro.myportfolio.com/home
Email:
alexsantoro323@gmail.com
Thesis Abstract
Past N Pop aims to reimagine decade‑inspired beverages with a modern, design‑forward twist, creating a set of 16‑ounce drinks that each capture the spirit of the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s in their own unique way. Every can pairs a distinct visual identity with flavors that resemble the feeling or past popular tastes of each decade, turning nostalgia into something bright, approachable, and fun. Each can has the kind of personality people might want to collect or display like they would with other iconic pop‑culture pieces. Past N Pop leans into clean aesthetics, lighthearted illustrations, and a sense of familiar charm that invites people to enjoy the decades they love through a new, flavorful lens.
Beyond the drinks themselves, this project explores how a strong visual identity and a sense of nostalgia can shape a beverage brand. By inviting people to connect with the cans through their own memories and experiences, the concept creates a small but expressive world around the product, one that celebrates the decades that inspired it and the joy of rediscovering them in the present.