angelakaquino

I knew I was an artist when I had to go home with a note for daydreaming in Mrs. Partlow’s first grade class. Being a daydreamer continued to get me into more than my fair share of trouble as a kid. Lucky for me, it was great training for my career as a designer and artist.

As a designer, I specialize in making work that serves as much as it informs, specifically focusing on design for social and environmental impact. My 25±year career has spanned corporate advertising, product campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, video art direction for small businesses, strategic branding for nonprofit organizations, and more. I founded Lightdaughter Studio to put my design ethos of marrying systems thinking with the eye of a fine artist to use for greater purpose.

Though the Studio has always been around in some form or other as a source of freelance and passion projects, I made the leap to full-time independence in 2020—on the cusp of what would become a massive pandemic. Still, it has proven to be the right path.

As independence is in my nature, so is creativity and exploration: I’m also an artist working in various mediums, including photography, painting and ceramics. My most recent venture is into ceramic jewelry design, which is still very much in its dream state. I have also made the odd piece of furniture from time to time.

I was born and raised on the wrong side of the tracks in Tupelo, Mississippi. No, I am not a great fan of Elvis, even though I grew up a stone’s throw from his birthplace. I have a BFA in Graphic Design and Photography from Mississippi State University—a whirlwind of over-achievement and perfectionism that I’m still, to this day, trying to work out of my system. Now I live in Atlanta, Georgia with my nerdy software engineer husband and two furry kitty babies, making messy art and designing cool stuff.