Institute of Art Design + Technology
Dún Laoghaire

Ava Shepherd 

BA [Hons] Visual Communication Design

Hi, my name is Ava. I am a multi-disciplinary designer from Mayo with a love for identity, storytelling and graphics. I have always been drawn to the concept of ethical design and designing for good, and always try to implement that into my work. I am lucky enough to have gained great experience during my agency internships over the past few years, including Red Dog in Dublin and WeThink Nordic and Co/Plus in Copenhagen, Denmark. I'm excited to get into the working world and start designing for good.

Makers in Mind

Born out of concern for the future of creativity in the new age of AI, Makers in Mind is an online archive of AI information for digital creatives of any discipline. The project goal is to provide a space for designers to explore, learn, discuss and debate on key issues/developments surrounding AI. This editorial space will always remain neutral and unbiased, and present both sides of the story to allow the reader to come to their own conclusions. Makers in Mind presents the facts, and encourages insight and opinions from its readers. It is anti-fear mongering, doom scrolling, ignorance and bias. It is pro creativity, education, community and discussion.


Visualising the Invisible: Communicating the Coronavirus - The Irish Experience

Dedicated to my Grandad, Graeme Guthrie.

My thesis investigates the means in which the Irish government and the HSE communicated and visualised the coronavirus to the population of Ireland through data visualisation between 2020 and 2022.

As a result of the unprecedented nature of this global event, it was essential to communicate the complexity of the coronavirus to the public as clearly, efficiently and effectively as possible. My thesis examines the methods the government utilised to accomplish this monumental task, through examples of the HSE’s public awareness campaign, with further considerations of the lead up to, and the emergence from the use of the campaign materials to frame the analyses.