Institute of Art Design + Technology
Dún Laoghaire

Kate Sheehan 

BA [Hons] Visual Communication Design

Hey, I’m Kate! I am an Irish designer passionate about storytelling with the use of bold visuals, balanced typography, and strong copywriting. I also love to use photography and art direction in my work. In my spare time I enjoy experimenting with new areas of design, recently I have been working on my motion graphics and illustration skills. One of the illustrations that I worked on recently was featured in one of my favourite publications; Slanted magazine, other recent illustrations can be seen in my project below.

Project Description

The canine gut microbiome is the unique collection of bacteria that live in a dog's digestive tract. When these gut bacteria are out of balance, dogs can suffer from a large range of digestive disorders. Beyond digestion, an unbalanced gut plays a prominent role in developing allergies, diabetes, depression, anxiety and more. Today, there has been an increase in dogs as pets due to Covid-19, which in turn has meant an increase in canine illness and disease; now more than ever dogs need a healthy gut to prevent and tackle illness. Kompoocha (kombucha for your poocha) is a canine gut health company that brings awareness to dog gut health, enlightening dog owners on the link between common health issues and their dog's gut, while offering a customised probiotic drink tailored to individual dogs’ health needs, because every dog’s gut is different. Kompoocha's visual identity aims to capture how it feels to own a dog; silly, bold, energetic, playful, and full of surprises.



Thesis Title: '"Sometimes I feel like I created a monster" The growth of The Paris Hilton Brand and the subsequent explosion of influencer culture.'

My thesis explores influencer culture through research on celebrity culture, the origins of influencing and the birth of new media, with a focus on American media personality Paris Hilton. The writing explores the concept of the human as a brand, discussing how Hilton utilised reality-style media such as paparazzi photographs and reality television to present a curated persona in her journey to becoming an individual who is often hailed as the ‘original influencer.’ Hilton is an example of how visual expression and the art of performance through a persona presented by reality media can contribute to an individual garnering mass influence.