KDVS
90.3
FM

As the Design Director at KDVS, a freeform community radio station in Davis, CA, I created content for and managed the station's social media accounts, made posters and other print material for station events and fundraisers, curated and designed KDVS's long-standing print publication, and helped plan and run station fundraisers.

A drawing of a textile loom with text reading Unravelled, Mr. Lawrence and Ivan Martinez. A photo of a radio station, showing stacks of records and several posters for musicians on the walls. A rainbow gradient with white text reading Fall programming begins today.

Background info:

When I took over the role, the station's social media presence barely existed, and the station was missing out on a valuable method of communication with the surrounding community. My main goals were to facilitate communication between the station and the listeners, encourage new volunteers or interested aspiring DJ's to stop by, share information about station events, and support station fundraisers. Working for a small non-profit, I wore many hats in this role, and had to be flexible and quick-thinking.

An illustration of flowers sticking through the center of a record. The record reads Ghost - Constant Anxiety. A photo of the interior of a radio station, showing lots of records and CD's and walls covered in posters. A photo of the interior of a radio station, showing a narrow hallway filled with shelves of records. Text over the photo reads Thank you from KDVS.

Spotlights:

My social media content schedule featured two weekly installments of themed series: DJ spotlights and station spotlights, which were posted to KDVS' Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. KDVS is an educational station, and I looked at these spotlights as educational content, letting the community know about exciting programming they might not have heard about before, and sharing fun facts and history about the organization.

A photo of the corner of a room, near the ceiling, showing posters on the walls and the ceiling. An illustration of a red bench, dripping as if made of a liquid. Text above and below reads Red bench radio, DJ Chewy. An illustration of a hand wrapped in metal or fabric, reaching towards a starry sky. Text near the top reads DJ Ortho Jax, Kitchen Cauldron Show.

For DJ spotlights, I worked with a different DJ or public affairs host each week to create a post highlighting their show and telling community members why they should tune in. Each post featured an illustration I made according to a prompt given by that week's host. The prompts I received ranged from very detailed ("Please draw an armchair being picked up by a UFO on the side of the road") to quite open ("Please make something fun"). This was a creative process wherein I was balancing the station's needs, the DJ's' and hosts' tastes, and the content standards of multiple platforms.

An illustration of an office with one desk, three chairs, and a bookcase. Text near the top reads Office hour, with a subscript 1. Below that is text reads 1: with professor j. A photo of the top of a wall and ceiling of a room, with both wall and ceiling covered in posters. An illustration of a burger and sunglasses on a background of rainbow cheetah-print, rainbow zebra-print, and rainbow flames. Text near the top reads Autumn Sweater, Gay Fieri.

In station spotlights, I highlighted the KDVS' unique physical space with photos capturing the floor-to-ceiling history created by years and years of artwork, from the 60's to present day: posters, flyers, collages, drawings, screenprints, and more. The station is an important site with history covering every square inch! It is also, however, located in the basement of a building that, at the time, was largely not in use. The station can be hard to find, and may seem intimidating to potential new volunteers and listeners, so my goal was to show off the art and history of the station in a way that might intice new volunteers to come check it out.

An illustration of ray guns, space ships, and planets. Text near the top reads Shock, Sasha Van Laur. A purple graphic reading New Volunteer Seminars, public affairs, news, sports, music. July 10th 7-8 pm 14 Lower Freeborn, and July 11th 7-8 pm 14 Lower Freeborn. An illustration of an armchair being lifted up into a UFO on a country road. Text above and to the side reads The Basement, Dr. L'ling.

My favorite parts of the job:

Having been a part of KDVS as a volunteer for several years before taking over as Design Director, it was a real joy to be able to help bring more local awareness to an organization I loved so much. I was also able to revive the station's zine, KDViationS, for a special edition, after a hiatus of several years due to budget concerns. Additionally, near the end of my time there, I organized a number of workshops and seminars focused on art at the station, led by myself and a number of other DJ's.