Sarah Barkowski
Experiential & Visual Designer
About Me.
I’m a multidisciplinary designer working across print, digital, and physical spaces to create experiences that help people reconnect — with themselves, each other, and the world around them. With a background in graphic and experiential design, I bring together storytelling, spatial thinking, and visual systems to shape everything from publications and exhibitions to websites and campaigns. I’m especially drawn to work rooted in nature, community, and education, and I believe that curiosity, play, and reflection are essential not only to good design, but to a meaningful life.
01
Listen to the content.
In good design, form reinforces its content. The form — or design — should provide subliminal clues that reinforce the purpose and values of the content to its audience. Without that communicative relationship, what more is design than a pretty face? Content gives design its substance, and design gives content its intrigue: an interesting facade to reflect a sound building. Trends change — a unique, thoughtful, and relevant solution doesn't.
02
Find the right problem.
Before jumping to solutions, make sure you’re solving the right problem. What feels urgent is often a symptom — not the cause. Fixing these squeaky wheels without understanding their source guarantees more problems down the line. Look for the roots before you reach for the fix.
03
Empathize.
Everyone has a story, experience, and perspective worth understanding, and every project should have the user at the center of its considerations. Walk a mile in their shoes, and see things through their eyes: empathize with them deeply to understand their problem, their needs, and thus their unique solution.
04
Have fun.
If you are bored, so is everyone else. Dig deep and go on tangents. Allow yourself to be taken in new directions to new ideas, approaches, and executions. Don't be afraid to mess up: design is iterative, and innovation follows bravery.
05
Challenge yourself.
You want to do something, but don’t know how to? Go learn how. Experts never became experts by sitting and wishing they “could.” Don’t wish – do.
The Boston Gallery
Creating a gallery-forward environment that aligned a textile studio’s physical presence, team mindset, and client experience.
Brand Identity | Environmental Design | Project Management | Art Direction
Studio Series Rebrand
Repositioning Merida Studio's legacy collection to clarify its role within an art-first brand and restore growth through focus and restraint.
Brand Identity | Art Direction | Photography | Project Management
Atelier: Symphony of Yarn
Creating an artist book that documented Merida Studio's first artist series while positioning the studio's textiles as collectible design.
Publication Design | Copyediting | Photography | Project Management
Exhibitions Webpage
Creating a dedicated digital space to document exhibitions and reinforce Merida Studio’s art-forward identity beyond its physical galleries.
Web Design | Wireframing | UX Design | Brand Identity
Yarn Card Boxes
Designing a refined, tactile packaging system that transformed yarn cards into both a customization tool and a storytelling object.
Package Design | Brand Identity | Project Management
Erosions Exhibition
Curating an exhibition that welcomed legacy clients into a new understanding of Merida Studio's textiles as works of art.
Curation | Graphic Design | Project Management | Art Direction
Studio Series Lookbook
Designing a digital lookbook that introduces Merida Studio’s customizable Studio Series rugs while clearly explaining the customization process.
Publication Design | Copywriting | Brand Identity
Tearsheets Redesign
Transforming product-heavy tearsheets into clear, intuitive customization tools that aligned brand identity with real-world sales conversations.
Information Design | Graphic Design | Research
Sketches
& Such
Drawing is the way I explore new concepts, characters, and worlds.
The Play Book
Passion Project
A personal, reflection-driven activity book designed to help adults reconnect with play, joy, and passion.
Content Development | Research | Graphic Design | Project Management | User Testing
Creative Services
Visual Design,
Experience, &
Brand Identity
