👋 Hey there San Diego FC team!
My name is A.J. Aldana (he/him/his). I’m a Southern California born-and-raised, Filipino creative; I graduated from Stanford in 2020 with a degree in Product Design. When I’m not working you can find me frolicking outsideYou can find me hiking, biking, swimming, running, walking, jumping…you name it, I’m probably trying it!, searching for the best latteCuppa Tahoe's pistachio oat latte is the way to a great morning. around, and trying to make my way through my next book I'm currently reading Dune. I have always been fascinated by sports culture – from soccer to swimming to waterskiing. Causes that I’m passionate about are (1) fighting for the wonderful planet we live on, (2) increasing accessibility to the outdoors, and (3) education equity. I fell in love with San Diego FC quickly - the quality, the lifestyle, and the connection to fitness make me stoked!
Exciting news to hear JB is joining the team 😉 Well, we know that's not true, but here's a mock of a 'signed' post I made for y'all.
Why do I want to be SDFC’s Graphic Designer? Let me distill it into 3 core values.
1️⃣ I am humble. While I strive to perform at the highest level, I recognize that I am far from all-knowing. I want to collaborate with designers, with photographers, with brand managers, and creatives to tell the story of SDFC.
2️⃣ I am scrappy. When you have a concept, I’ll brainstorm, execute, and iterate. Having a foundation of Product Design as my educational background, I live by the notion of flare > focus, brainstorm, prototype, iterate, refine, and repeat.
3️⃣ I am flexible. The sports industry is ever evolving; you need to be agile and quick.
You might be wondering – “but A.J. aren’t you a people manager?” To answer your question, yes, was a people manager. At my core, I am a creative, a story teller, and a visualizer. I want to get back to living a life of creativity, at a company that is mission driven, people forward, and empowering to their teams.
I’m proficient in Adobe Creative Cloud (especially Lightroom, Photoshop, Illustrator), Figma, Final Cut Pro, Google Drive Suite, and Hootsuite. I’ve managed all socials including Instagram, X, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Shopify pages, and blogs.
Before you go on to my selected work, the last thing I’ll say is, I hope to make the same goals with y’all! To be on a field of dreamers, doers, and get-after-it-stoke-chasers, would be an honor.
🫂 Cheers,
A.J. Aldana
Instagram Posts made for Stanford Sierra Camp [Jan 22–Apr 24]
Stanford Sierra Camp (SSC) is a summer camp for Stanford Alumni and their families. SSC had no brand identity before my time in this role. I have since created branding guidelines, create social media posts on Figma, Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Find a sampling of posts I’ve made for SSC below!
Instagram Posts made for wikiHow [Oct 21–Dec 21]
wikiHow is the internet’s free ‘How to’ guide on how to do almost anything. Below is a selection of posts I created using wikiHow’s visual asset library, high volume search queries, relevant publicity for the company, and followed trends. I made all these posts in Figma and created a style guideline that was used after my departure.
TikTok Videos made for wikiHow [Oct 21–Dec 21]
Below you’ll find 4 of my favorite videos that I made for TikTok. Our strategy with TikTok (before engaging in an educational partnership with TikTok) was to create videos that were filled with shock and awe – appealing to Gen Z users of the app. We often communicated with various BrandToks across the platform via comments and engagement with their audiences.
A play on lawyer @erikakullberg’s TikTok series of the aside, “shhh…they don’t know I know this!”
👀 44.1k views
❤️ 2379 likes
💬 66 comments
🔖 59 saves
A lightly sardonic approach to our otherwise very serious articles to share joy with our viewers.
👀 34.6k views
❤️ 2836 likes
💬 121 comments
🔖 56 saves
We took our “How To” mentality and added some twists to bring humor and levity to our TikTok audience.
👀 39.2k views
❤️ 2183 likes
💬 121 comments
🔖 49 saves
A highly involved ‘AdultSwim Trend’ TikTok (though low in engagement) shows dedication to trying new things!
👀 7913 views
❤️ 525 likes
💬 8 comments
🔖 10 saves
Creative Exploration Assets and products made for fun
Some photos, videos, and illustrations that I’ve done over the years. For UX/UI case studies or in-depth processes for selected works, see the rest of my portfolio.
A photo I took of the beer flight I fabricated in the shape of Lake Tahoe’s elevation profile. See full project here.
A promotional video I made (featuring a logo I designed) for a pour-over coffee stand I fabricated via CNC machining.
A hat I co-designed with our Store Manager Rachel, a bag I drew, and a shirt I designed (in front of a photo I took)!
