Todos los días de noche o de día
Se aparecen una y otra vez y ni siquiera respiras
ya sea mi sombra o mi yo en el espejo
es diferente la manera en la que te miro y me miras
no elijo ni los momentos ni lugares
como si fuera un esclavo de mi propio reflejo

A veces más colorido a veces más raro
Parece que nunca me he visto atreves del cristal
Siempre me miras y no me parece normal
Quieres decirme quien soy, pero eso ni yo lo tengo claro
Parece que jugamos a ver quien es el real
Hasta el punto de no saber si yo soy el original

Mi sombra, me sigues a todos lados
Desde mi cuarto hasta los lugares más alejados
Siempre me copias, te apareces y te vas
Cuando lo único que quieres es saludarme nada más

Solo eres la silueta de mi ser
Sin rasgos ni detalles, todas son iguales
Oscuras, guardando algo que no se puede contener
Y para verlas hacemos los mismos rituales
Salir a la luz donde solo esa oscuridad se puede ver.

Yo no soy mi reflejo yo no soy mi sombra
Yo estoy hecho de la sociedad y de lo que sobra
Mi sombra me dice solo donde estoy, pero no a donde voy
Y mi reflejo solo me dice como estoy, pero nunca quien soy

Los momentos y recuerdos en luz todos se terminan convirtiendo
Navegando por el cosmos en un barco sin velas y sin viento
De perder el rumbo es el miedo de todo marinero
Perdernos y no recordar todo lo que vivimos y seguimos viviendo
En el camino olvidando esa experiencia y ese sentimiento
Sabiendo que para volver vivirlo no hay suficiente tiempo ni dinero.

A todos mis familiares y amigos, no se preocupen ni abrumen
Siempre estarán conmigo ante la inmensidad del cosmos
Nuestra luz viaja por los lugares más conocidos y sin explorar
Siempre estaremos en algún lugar donde nunca nos olviden
Recordando lo que hicimos, quienes fuimos, y lo que somos
Adiós les digo, y de necesitarme en las estrellas siempre me podrán encontrar.

Muchas Gracias. 💛💛

Cubespective

In my early university years, a class assignment presented the challenge of creating a smart bottle equipped with various sensors. I was assigned the task of prototyping the bottle, and given my familiarity with Fusion 360, this aspect posed no significant challenge. However, aspiring to elevate my skills, I decided to export the bottle design to Blender to produce a promotional animation for the product.

I applied textures to the bottle, set up lighting, and designed backgrounds. Nevertheless, the most intricate aspect of the process involved simulating water. While I aimed to achieve an eye-catching effect, I was unaware of the considerable computational resources required for such simulations. Consequently, I found myself dedicating six continuous hours to rendering the animation, as the simulation proved to be resource-intensive. Ultimately, the effort invested was well justified by the resulting output.

3D Bottle

I have always been a fan of Adventure Time. I recall that in my childhood, it was one of those series that would make me drop everything just to watch. Jake the Dog is one of the most amusing characters I've encountered in a series, and often, my own dog reminds me of him due to both his behavior and the resemblance Jake bears to a pug.

Some time ago, I attempted to create a version of myself in the animation style of Adventure Time. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I was unable to complete the project. However, in the summer of 2023, I acquired a new drawing tablet, presenting the perfect opportunity to finish the drawing I had started. The final result met my expectations, and I feel that it captures an appearance suitable for an Adventure Time episode.

Adventure Time me

When I was starting college, I was still using my previous computer. I always wanted a MacBook Pro. I know many people would argue that there are better computers for less money, but for me, it was the best decision at that time. It had a good screen, good materials, and the ports were back. The introduction of the M1 MacBook Pros with MagSafe sealed the deal for me. When I finally got mine, I wanted to improve my skills in Blender.

I started following the tutorials of Blender Guru to create a 3D donut and watched all the videos until I reached the rendering section. I knew my computer was great in many aspects, but graphics were not its strong suit. Despite that, I had high expectations and created a spinning animation with the donut. There were a few moments when I could hear the fans of my computer working hard, and while rendering that animation, it felt like my computer was screaming at me, "Why are you doing this?!"

Here's a fun fact: rendering all those Blender animations made my MacBook get a little too hot. After finishing the renders, I usually closed my laptop. One day, I noticed that the keycaps had left marks on the screen. I went to Apple, and they explained what had happened. So, to anyone reading this, if you have one of the new MacBooks, regardless of the model, do yourself a favor and buy a screen protector. I learned this the hard way, so I'm telling you this so you don't have to make the same mistake.

3D Donnut

At the beginning of 2022, I found myself contemplating the concept of change. Throughout my life, I have experienced numerous transformations, both physical and mental. However, there was a moment when I felt stuck in the desire to revert back to my 2019 self. I had idealized that version of me, believing it was the pinnacle of who I could be. I longed to regain what I thought I had lost. I tried extreme diets, pushed myself to exercise excessively, and more.

During this time, I began delving into philosophy. I remember walking my dog and pondering, "Why do I want to become someone I already was, instead of allowing myself to become something more?" I often reflected on Heraclitus' famous quote, "One cannot step into the same river twice, for it is not the same river and you are not the same person." This realization dawned upon me: I could never truly go back to being that person. That version of me hadn't experienced the things I would encounter in the future, nor did it possess the wisdom gained from past mistakes.

Thus, I arrived at the phrase, "Yesterday I was, Today I am, Tomorrow I will be." This phrase signifies that I am in a constant state of change. I will never fully know myself, as I will continue to make mistakes, improve in certain aspects, and evolve. I am not the same person I was before. Inspired by this realization, one of my high school teachers reached out and asked if I would be interested in giving a talk at the school about this quote. I gladly accepted the opportunity, although unfortunately, there are no photos as evidence. Nonetheless, it was gratifying to know that I left a positive message with those students.

I was, I am, I'll be

During the summer of 2023, I spent some time in the United States. I had always had the idea of creating my own pins, and I knew a company that made custom ones there so I made sketches upon sketches, endlessly refining my designs. At one point, my roommate asked me, "When are the pins going to be ready?" because I often talked about how the design was progressing but never had the courage to have them made.

In the end, I never got around to having the pins made. However, while creating the background card for the pins, I came up with a phrase - "Change Ur Perspective" - which I feel symbolizes a significant part of my life philosophy. Everything depends on how you look at it. Inspired by this idea, I started doing lettering and eventually completed the letters. It pained me not to share this idea and creation because I knew it resonated deeply with me. So, I decided to post it on my Instagram, adding some frames around the phrase to further emphasize the concept of perspective and change.

Change Ur Perspective

For a while, I've been following a designer on Twitter named [Soren Iverson](https://twitter.com/soren_iverson). He tends to share amusing ideas for applications, such as a feature in the Uber app that allows the driver to exceed the speed limit if enabled, with the rider assuming responsibility for any resulting fines. His posts are highly creative, and I appreciate the humor in his playful critiques of certain concepts. Intrigued by this, I decided to set myself a challenge to create a humorous piece about something widely popular.

While personally skeptical of manifestation and energy-related ideas, I noticed a recurring visual theme in posts discussing these concepts on social media—a circular gradient background and vintage serif typography. I thought it would be amusing to juxtapose the theme with a literal and mundane phrase like "Lithium Ion Battery," as that is, in fact, stored energy.

Upon completing the artwork, I shared it on my social media platforms. To my delight, the post caught the attention of another designer I admire, [Ramin Nasibov](https://www.instagram.com/raminnasibov/). I greatly appreciate his creations and creative prowess. This particular post led to him following me on Instagram, a moment that brought a smile to my face throughout the day.

Aesthetic Gradient

Every year at Christmas, I go to my grandparents' ranch to spend the holidays. I have always loved going there; it's a stark contrast to the cities, whether big or small. Everyone knows each other, the businesses are small, and you can see the horizon for miles. As you drive, you can see countless crops of corn, chickpeas, onions, tomatoes, and more.

During those times, I was still using my Wacom tablet for drawing, but I hadn't drawn in a while. One day, I decided to go outside with my laptop and tablet to draw something from the landscape. That's when I spotted an old tractor on my grandparents' ranch. I said to myself, "I'll draw that tractor then." It took me less time than I expected. Afterwards, I showed the design to my grandmother, and she praised me, saying that even with 20 years of experience, she couldn't draw something like that.

Love you nana!

Old Tractor Drawing

During my high school years, I enrolled in a digital drawing class, already having begun freelancing primarily in graphic design. In this class, I delved deeper into aspects such as perspective, color management, anatomy, and character design. As the Christmas season approached, our instructor organized a Secret Santa gift exchange among the students, with the requirement that the gift be a drawing. We were instructed to list our preferences to guide our Secret Santa in creating a personalized gift.

Regular Show had always been one of the cartoons I enjoyed, appreciating its humor and compelling narratives. I included it, along with the color yellow, among the things I liked. My Secret Santa, Alex, pleasantly surprised me with a drawing portraying me as if I were a character from Regular Show. To this day, it remains one of the most cherished gifts I've ever received.

Regular Show me

One of the best friends I made during college is [Javier](https://www.linkedin.com/in/javier-eric-hern%C3%A1ndez-275012200?miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_miniProfile%3AACoAADNCX_kBCTP8jeaVKBxPdgkV4pWvaz2NBEM&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_search_srp_all%3BPOSt%2FBYgQv21MEv8NzMd%2Fw%3D%3D). I vaguely remember how I made this drawing. If I recall correctly, we were eating at our usual spot one day, and I started drawing his face on my tablet while he was talking with my friends. I think he mentioned that it turned out better than he expected, haha. He is wearing a face mask because we met when the Covid-19 pandemic was almost over, but we continued to wear masks as a precaution.

I collaborated with Javier on several projects, and I was impressed by how easily and quickly he could learn something new. He excels at problem-solving and is an incredibly talented individual, and I hope that when this page becomes visible to the world, everyone will be curious to meet this remarkable person.

Javier Drawing

Apenas sales todos se esconden
Las calles solas quedan
Y los negocios se cierran
No hay nadie y tampoco desorden

Muchos solo te ven y te olvidan
Otros se quedan hasta que te vas
Los recuerdos salen de donde se escondían
Y yo no puedo parar de ver lo bella que estas.

Tus ojos me siegan antes de dormir
Haces que el día fuera solo un sueño
Que solo contigo puedo vivir
Aunque ni de mi mismo soy el dueño
Solo soy un hombre que quiere conocerte
Saber de donde vienes y porque viniste
Conocer mi ser con solo verte
Y seguir el camino que tu me diste

Te veo siempre y aún no sé quien eres
A veces solo soy yo y otras no soy nada
Te miro y te miro para descubrir lo que quieres
Para siempre terminar perdiéndome en tu mirada

Quiero decirte que tu eres parte de mi vida
Un segundo hogar en el que puedo ser
Escuchar esas cosas que la gente olvida
Y después de todo volver a nacer.

Muchas gracias, amiga noche.

Night Drawing

In the fall of 2021, I was contacted by one of the construction companies in my city through a mutual acquaintance who was familiar with my expertise in brand design. They offered me the opportunity to redesign their brand in honor of their 20th anniversary.

We began sketching based on the notes and insights provided by the owner. One key aspect that stood out was the owner's strong belief in the importance of his employees, considering them the backbone of the company. He emphasized his commitment to their well-being, recognizing that their contributions were essential to the company's success.

Furthermore, the owner highlighted the company's distinctive approach of building its foundations from scratch, in contrast to competitors that relied on pre-made structures. This unique approach set them apart in the industry.

In the end, we arrived at a minimalist and modern logo that retained colors from the previous version of the brand. It featured two significant elements: a yellow circle and a gray bridge, abstractly forming the silhouette of a person. This design effectively conveyed the company's core values, as articulated by the owner.

Eicon Company

In November 2021, my friend Katia contacted me to redesign the brand **Doris Tejidos**. This business specialized in creating knitted garments using yarn. Mrs. Doris would knit these garments during her free time and sell them. Initially, it was just a hobby, but they wanted to take the brand to the next level, so their old logo had to change.

The old logo featured knitting needles with hearts at the ends, which was a detail they wanted to keep, along with the yarn ball. It occurred to me that the yarn ball could be incorporated as the **O** in the word **DORIS**. However, I wanted the logo to be **SIMPLE**. At first, I thought about drawing a heart wrapped in yarn, but then I decided to create a stroke where only certain strands of the **O** were visible, giving it a three-dimensional effect.

In the complete word version, I modified the **I** in the text so that instead of being a circle, the dot became a heart, referencing the knitting needles in the previous logo. Additionally, the shape of the **I** reminded me of Greek pillars, which, in my opinion, gave it a more elegant and simple appearance. It is one of the best solutions I have created to date.

Many thanks to Mrs. Doris and Katia for believing in me with this project. :)

DorisTejidos

KipMUN is a United Nations model that takes place in the high school I studied, is an open event in which students from other schools can participate. The main goal of this event is to make the students talk about issues that are happening worldwide, at the end a plan needs to be created to solve the issue that was presented.

This event had some logos in the past, one was a ONU logo with my High School logo beneath it. I took the initiative to re-design the logo and give it more personality, on that time my high school just made a Re-design of their logo, so I took inspiration from that logo ad inspiration. My purpose was that the KipMUN logo and my high school logo could feel great together.

After multiple sketches and multiple iterations this was the logo that was approved, It has my high school logo on the top (The ‘K’), in the middle we have a world map built from polygons trying to keep that K logo style. Around the logo we have a wreath using triangles, the triangles are divided in half, if you add all the triangles pieces you get the total amount of people that work on this event, presidents, staff, and delegates.

KipMUN

[Creeadetalles](https://www.instagram.com/creeadetalles.ang/) is a small business located in Angostura, Sinaloa, Mexico, specializing in the customization of gift boxes for special events. They approached me to assist them in rebranding their identity. Since many other businesses in the area used the same style and color, I opted to create a simple yet impactful logo.

I drew inspiration from the two **e's** in the name **"creeadetalles."** The previous logo featured balloons, particularly one in the shape of a heart, and it was important to retain this element in the new logo. To make it stand out from other similar businesses, we experimented with the golden ratio.

Using the **Phi** method, I constructed the logo using circles, aiming to create an aesthetically pleasing design. It was an exciting challenge to explore a new technique. We chose more refined and elegant color choices to differentiate Creeadetalles from other brands that commonly used vibrant and repetitive colors. In addition to the logo, I designed various brand assets, including ribbons, business cards, and stickers to enhance the customized boxes.

Creeadetalles

One day, when I was still in high school, my friend Arianne contacted me to help design a logo for a YouTube channel her dad wanted to start. Her dad was a watch enthusiast, and she knew I was good at graphic design, so I happily agreed. The name of the channel was going to be **"EseReloj"** (ThatClock! in English).

I remember the first time I met with her dad, he mentioned that he wanted the logo to feature two hands pointing at each other to represent the channel's expression, a nod to the natural reaction someone has when they see a watch and recognize it. This was a challenging concept because combining two hands pointing at each other to create a clock was not easy.

After creating several sketches and having multiple meetings, we arrived at the final logo. It shows two hands pointing at each other, where the wrists represent the watch strap, and the hand indices represent the clock hands. I am proud of the final result, and I hope that one day this channel will see the light so that we can all learn more about watches.

Many thanks to her dad and my friend for trusting me! :)

EseReloj

During my third semester in university, I met my friend Adriana. One day, I remember working on an Illustrator task, and I noticed that the way she duplicated objects in Illustrator was not very efficient. I gave her the advice that using **(Option + Shift + drag with the mouse)** would quickly duplicate an object, and if you then press **(Command + D)**, it duplicates it with the same distance as before.

She mentioned that her family had a laser engraving business that needed a redesign, and she asked if I was interested. I gladly accepted the offer. LGC (Laser Grabado y Corte) is located in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. I knew that most laser-related businesses used the color red, so I proposed using blue to differentiate the brand and give it a more professional and technological look.

The slant of the letters represents the speed at which the cuts are made, and the line in the logo represents the laser used in the business. I came up with the idea of creating an adaptive logo that could respond to different formats. The complete logo would feature all three letters, a medium-sized logo would only have the letter L, and for small applications, only the laser line would be used.

I loved the final result and how the applications turned out. Many thanks to Adriana and her family for trusting in my expertise :)

In mid-2023, I was contacted by the startup **Synapse**, which was looking to build its brand identity. They approached me to help design their logo, the visual representation they would use to introduce themselves to the world. Synapse specializes in consultancy for automation and offers solutions and training for companies.

After several sketches, I drew an **S** within a grid, taking inspiration from the shape of a classic star. I converted this **S** into vectors and used the same grid to construct the other letters, completing the entire word. We chose the color green, which represents technology, nature, and the quality of their service.

Each letter is formed simply using squares and circles, making it extremely simple and friendly. I had the same vision for this logo as I did for the laser cutting business logo. The complete logo would be used for larger applications like shirts, cars, etc., but for smaller applications, only the **S** would be used to leave a mark on all the products designed by the company.

I loved the application and design of the brand. Many thanks to the people at Synapse for trusting in my expertise :)

Synapse

Every year, at the main campus of my university in **Monterrey, Mexico**, one of the largest hackathons in the country takes place. Hundreds of students from all over the country fly to this city to participate and create software products that have the potential to revolutionize the world.

The first year I wanted to participate, I coordinated with some friends to attend. I knew I wanted the team to have a logo and a name that could easily identify us, which is when I came up with the name **Binarios** (Binaries in English), referring to the binary code of computers.

For the logo, I wanted to represent these two digits, **0** and **1**. Playing with the numbers, I thought of using the **0** as the circle of a lowercase **b** and the **1** as the stem to form the **b**. I used a grid to ensure that the logo was consistent in all its parts. In the end, we couldn't attend that year, but we did the next year, and it's safe to say that no other team had the quality of name and logo that we did ;)

Binarios Team

I’m part of the staff of the Algorithms Student Club, this club has been usefull for students from the computer science major, on saturdays we use the library to solve some coding problems to improve our ablities, also if someone has issues or doubts with and specific topic someone from the community can help him. For a while the club didn’t gain to much impact in the community, alot of students didn’t know what the benefit of being in the club was.

My friends and I as the new staff started making some changes to improve the community and make everything more organized, fun and formal, we didn’t have a logo before to identify the club, I got the tast to design one. At the beggining I though that using the basic coding keys was not an option, the logo started as a bynary tree trying that looked like an A, It semed a little bit off for me so I started Iterating and we ended up with this logo.

Algorithms Student Club

My logo represents the essence of my ideas, beliefs, and values. It goes beyond being just a logo; it is a true reflection of who I am.

The logo embodies the concepts of light and perspective. It reminds us that everything can change depending on the angle from which we view it, and the interplay of light and darkness reveals things that were previously unseen. Sometimes, things happen so quickly that we are unable to fully grasp them.

At the heart of the logo lies a square or cube created using negative space. This symbolizes myself, while the surrounding four figures represent the boundaries of that square. The underlying message of the logo is that, just as the square cannot exist without the shapes that define it, I would not be the person I am today without the individuals in my life who have played a crucial role in shaping me. Their guidance has helped me discover my preferences, taught me valuable lessons, and provided clarity on what to change and what to preserve.

As a Graphic Designer, one of the greatest challenges arises when designing for oneself. In such instances, we become both the artist and the client. This logo has been a project I have nurtured since high school, and I am proud to finally share it with the world. It may not be perfect, just as I am not perfect, and that imperfection is what makes it beautiful.

Thank you very much.

💛

Hi! It's me

Apio Software Solutions is a Mexican startup specializing in software development and consultancy. In early October 2023, the team at Apio approached me to undertake the rebranding of their company. The previous logo featured a depiction of a celery stalk, and I found the name particularly appealing as it served as a strong differentiator. Conducting preliminary research before the design process, I identified an excellent opportunity to create a logo wherein the letters of the name would be intertwined with elements reminiscent of celery.

The "A" in the logo is crafted to resemble a section of celery, while the "P" is a composite of various pieces. The "I" is designed to represent a celery stalk with its leaves, and the "O" mirrors the appearance of celery when two pieces are joined together to form a circular shape. This project has been exceptionally enjoyable for me, as Apio represents a startup bringing innovative ideas to our society. I am delighted to contribute to this project and be part of Apio's forward-thinking initiatives.

Apio

On Friday, September 22, 2023, I embarked on a journey with friends to Monterrey, Mexico, to participate in HackMTY, one of the largest hackathons in Mexico. During the hackathon, the concept of FINK emerged, derived from the fusion of the words "FINANCE" and "THINKING." FINK was conceptualized as a chatbot designed to respond to queries related to finance, ranging from inquiries about optimal credit options across various banks to more intricate financial recommendations. The participating banks would provide information on all their offerings to users, and the artificial intelligence (AI) would assimilate this data. Depending on the user's needs, FINK would then deliver the best recommendation among the available options.

The design of the logo proved to be a particularly intriguing aspect of the project. Given a time constraint of less than 20 minutes, the logo was crafted to deviate from the conventional imagery associated with financial products. Its tilted orientation was purposeful, symbolizing the economic growth that users could anticipate by utilizing the application.

FINK

Earlier, I was contacted to create a logo for a company, and right from the beginning, I became genuinely interested in the project. Immediately after our initial discussion, I started sketching out ideas. My goal was to combine the concepts of "Egg," "Chicken," and "Nature."

I aimed for simplicity, ensuring the logo would be easily recognizable and effective even when scaled down. Throughout the sketching process, numerous ideas came to mind, but eventually, I gravitated towards a version that utilized negative space to depict the shape of an egg. The beak, with its distinctive hairstyle, along with the eye, clearly represented the chicken. To symbolize nature, I incorporated a leaf from a plant in the lower portion of the design.

Although the project couldn't be completed to my desired level, I thoroughly enjoyed working on it. Thanks for reading 💚

Egsy

At the end of 2023, I finished reading the book **How to Build a Second Brain** by **Tiago Forte**, without a doubt, it has been one of the most important books I have read throughout my life. The idea that I liked the most from the book was that all applications had a share option, he commented on how if he found something on the internet he shared it to a place where he could consult that content later.

Having used **Notion** for a long time, I knew it could be that place where I save all the content that I want to consult in the future. In my blog post [Share is the new Save](https://www.nolbertocastro.com/blogs/658289bb7d6b53c5ba3790cd) I explain a little more about the idea of this project, but in summary, the idea is to use the share function of all apps **(Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, Internet Pages)** to save the content in **Notion**, the detail is that the content created in Notion is created within pages, that's why I created **EmbededShare** a **Notion** extension that organizes all my content in a simpler and more beautiful way to organize it later.

The logo is a cube representing the idea of Embeded which means **"inside"** and the share icon which is an arrow coming out of a box, but here the detail is that the information does not have to come out of the box, it will be inside the box because it is already on my Notion page, resulting in this logo, if you want to learn more about the programming of the extension you can consult the project in the programming part of my project page :)

EmbededShare

I've been friends with Mike since I began my major in computer science. One day, as I was showing him my project progress and asking for advice, he requested that I design a monogram using his initials "M + S + N". I wasn't aware that England's royal family used monograms until he showed me some examples.

I began sketching and after numerous iterations, we finally settled on a design. The 'M' is formed by the side shapes, the 'S' is visible at the center of the 'M', and the 'N' is found at the bottom of the 'S'. I thoroughly enjoyed designing this monogram and look forward to creating more in the future :)

MSN Monogram

I have a vague memory of a time when I was on a family vacation at a hotel, and I watched this movie that I really liked. For a long time, I couldn't remember its name. Some time later, I realized that the movie I had watched was called "Speed Racer." I watched it again, and it took me back to that moment as a child in the hotel, watching that movie.

I've been a fan of this character throughout my life. I've seen the live-action movie and the animated series. The Mach 5 is one of my favorite cars, and the whole story is incredible to me. Earlier this year, various AI tools for image creation were released, and I saw a tutorial on training one of these AIs with my face. I ended up with several images of myself in the style of Speed Racer, and also with several images of my dog. I took on the challenge of creating a poster where I would be the main character, just as Speed Racer has his companion monkey, I have my dog as my sidekick.

I used StableDiffusion for image generation, Photoshop to combine different images, and Illustrator to create the checkered background pattern and the title typography.

Speed Racer

Before choosing to study computer science, I contemplated pursuing industrial design. The notion of conceiving a real-world product or object and transforming it into a drawing, prototype, or final product fascinated me. Over the years, I have taken various drawing and lighting courses. For a considerable period, my aspiration was to create exclusively photorealistic drawings, while objects in perspective posed a formidable challenge.

During my academic journey, I crossed paths with a friend majoring in industrial design who happens to be a fervent Formula 1 enthusiast. This inspired me to present him with a gift. I had long harbored a personal challenge of attempting to draw a race car as realistically as possible. I saw this as an opportunity to both gift my friend and refine my design skills.

The process proved to be arduous, beginning with the mere selection of background color and lighting. I encountered several challenges with perspective, with some of my initial sketches resembling cars involved in accidents rather than sleek racing vehicles. Ultimately, I resorted to sourcing scaled images of the car from side and top views, which I then adapted to fit the desired perspective. I began by sketching rectangles to represent the car's primary components and subsequently added intricate details. Finally, I incorporated colors, lighting, and shading. This project stands as one of my most ambitious undertakings to date, and I take great pride in having achieved my goal of rendering a realistic depiction of a car despite my limited experience.

RedBull Racing Car

During high school, I took a photography class where I learned many new things, sparking my interest in the world of photography and design. I decided to delve deeper into this world and consulted my teacher from that time. I asked him if it would be worthwhile for me to invest in a drawing tablet, to which he unequivocally advised me to do so. I proceeded to negotiate with my family to acquire one.

I obtained the tablet and also began using Photoshop. During that period, I had concerns about whether my computer could handle the workflow I had in mind. I encountered issues with the screen, which did not accurately represent colors, so I had to connect a TV to my computer for color calibration.

I remember visiting my teacher's office frequently to seek guidance on Photoshop-related queries, recommended commands, various tricks, and often just to discuss life in general. I learned many things from the course more quickly than originally anticipated. On some occasions, I was offered design work, but as a 17-year-old with no experience, I always turned to him as a mentor when it came to pricing and the appropriate procedures to follow.

One year, there was an event at my school called KipMun, which involved organizing a Model United Nations event attended by students from various high schools. The event organizers approached me to create the event's website, knowing of my web design experience. I accepted the task, but at the time, I felt that the event's logo lacked personality. Consequently, I decided to rebrand the event. Naturally, my first point of consultation was my teacher, who helped me with the sketching process, vectorization, color selection, and taught me more professional aspects, such as creating a corporate manual, among other things.

During the pandemic, I continued attending his classes, even though I had already completed the course. I simply enjoyed being in his classes due to his teaching style and his incredibly energetic and inspirational attitude. One day, I realized the profound impact my teacher had on my life. Thus, I decided to express my appreciation, respect, and gratitude in a meaningful way - by elevating my digital drawing skills and creating a personalized poster as a gift.

It took weeks of online courses, learning about drawing materials, and even restarting my computer because I had accumulated over 1000 layers in Photoshop. However, in the end, I succeeded in creating the poster. One day, I presented him with the poster, along with a frame containing the mood board I had created for the illustration and another frame with the first $100 I had earned, to demonstrate the tangible results of his teachings. It was my way of showing how his guidance had led to one of his students generating income from what he had taught.

As my teacher would say:

> *"Knowledge should not be hoarded, for as we all become more knowledgeable, the overall level rises, and we all benefit. There is no greater satisfaction for a teacher than to have a student express gratitude for their teachings and demonstrate that what they were taught has been of value."*
>

The master and the Student

During high school, I had a biology teacher whom I greatly admired. His classes stood out from the typical curriculum as he strived to make learning enjoyable and engaging. Long before the pandemic hit, a strong friendship had developed between us. However, like many others, the pandemic caught us off guard.

During those challenging times, my classmates and I often found ourselves lacking motivation and enthusiasm due to the monotony that had befallen our lives. One day, during a virtual class with this teacher, he noticed our downcast spirits and lack of energy. Instead of proceeding with the lesson, he chose to listen to us and engage in a heartfelt conversation. It was during this conversation that he allowed us to glimpse his more humane and personal side.

In response to this gesture, I realized that I couldn't let it end there. I decided to enroll in an extra digital drawing class to learn the basics of drawing and create a token of appreciation. I created the following poster as a gesture of gratitude for his support and understanding during the challenging moments of the pandemic.

This poster marked the beginning of a series of artworks that I created to express my gratitude to influential individuals in my life. Ultimately, I know that through this gesture, we were able to give back some of the happiness and energy that he always infused into his classes. I sincerely hope that to this day, this teacher is thriving and unaware of the countless lives he has positively impacted.

Super Cesar

It all begins in my high school physics class, where I had the privilege of encountering one of the finest educators I have ever had the pleasure of learning from. I spent a significant amount of time engaging in discussions with him on subjects that few students typically show interest in. Unfortunately, the pandemic forced us all into confinement, yet he never wavered in his energy and enthusiasm for imparting knowledge to us. One day, my classmates and I arrived at his virtual class visibly drained and lacking energy, a result of the overwhelming workload and the exhaustion induced by the lockdown. However, instead of proceeding with the lesson and disregarding our condition, our professor chose to listen to our concerns and engage in an uplifting conversation. I will never forget that moment, for it epitomized what it means to be an exceptional teacher.

I knew I wanted to express my gratitude, but I was unsure of the appropriate gift. I had previously presented another teacher with a poster, so I thought, "Why not?" I began sketching the poster for this particular professor, enlisting my classmates' help in recalling moments we had shared with him in the classroom. I enrolled in several courses to enhance my knowledge of lighting and Photoshop workflow, and in comparison to the previous poster, there is a distinct improvement in the final product.

In the end, on a particular day, my fellow students and I surprised him in his classroom by presenting him with this poster as a token of our appreciation for everything he had done for us. We included the signatures of all his soon-to-graduate students, a gesture he is unlikely to forget. Within the frame, I included a verse of my own creation, which read:

> *"This drawing is a journey through space and time,
Preserving the memories of your years as our teacher prime.
No matter where you or we may find,
In this drawing, our presence is enshrined."*
>

Physics Teacher

KipMUN is a United Nations model that takes place in the high school I studied, is an open event in which students from other schools can participate. The main goal of this event is to make the students talk about issues that are happening worldwide, at the end a plan needs to be created to solve the issue that was presented.

For a lot of years the web page of the KipMUN was a problem. One year the staff of the event hired a company to design and code the web page but they didn’t gave access to the staff to modify it later so the next year the new staff designed the webpage in Wix. After hearing all the problems that happened through the years I took action and started learning HTML, CSS and Js, I didn’t knew anything at the beggining but at the ened I ended up learning about the different requirements for the different browsers and the responsive design.

I wanted that the web page became an opportunity for students that were interested in programming to gain experience for the university or in general to know if they really like it, I created a github repo, I leaved instructions and all the code so the next generations could modify.

KipMUN web Page

One of the projects I am most proud of is a project I did for my Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) class. The challenge was to create a video game in C++ using all the concepts of this programming paradigm. I liked the idea of creating a horror-themed game, so I came up with the concept of the game being set on one of the floors of a campus building, where you couldn't use the elevator without a key and the stairs were blocked.

You had to enter the classrooms on that floor and find objects that could help you throughout the game, such as health potions, weapons, coins, and more. To win the game, you had to defeat one of the two enemies in the game, who would attack you randomly and cause damage. If you died, it was game over. But if you defeated one of these enemies, they would give you an access card that allowed you to exit through the elevator, and that's how the game ended.

It was a great experience creating this video game, especially because it only ran in the terminal, so I couldn't add more advanced visuals. I had to find tools to create ASCII art for drawing the map, the start screen, and the menus. But in the end, it is one of the projects that I put a lot of enthusiasm and love into.

ASUSTATEC

During the same semester, while working on analyzing COVID-19 RNA samples, we also undertook a project in another class. The project involved simulating the interaction between two magnets and a blood cell in Matlab. The objective was to investigate if the blood cell, when contaminated with malaria, would exhibit changes in its internal charges and consequently be attracted towards either the positive or negative magnet.

The simulation was successful, as we observed that the blood cell indeed adhered to one of the magnets after passing through them, indicating the alteration of its internal charges. This technology holds the advantage of being cost-effective and easily producible, making it suitable for implementation in developing countries.

Malaria Detection System

In the second semester of college, we had a class where we used R for data analysis. This course was more focused on biology, so the final project involved using the NCBI database to obtain RNA sequences from different variants of COVID-19 around the world. Our goal was to explore the relationships and differences between these sequences.

We generated several graphical representations to explain these RNA chains. Interestingly, we discovered that most of the COVID-19 variants had nearly identical RNA sequences, with only minor variations in nucleotides. We also observed patterns where the variants from one country closely resembled those from another country, providing insights into the possible global spread of the virus. Working with this type of data was fascinating, especially considering the context of the times we were living in.

Covid19 Variant Analysis

In the first half of 2023, my friends and I developed a data management platform for the Mexican company Kueski. This company specializes in offering small but long-term payments to individuals. In Mexico, we have something called ARCO rights, which stands for Access, Rectification, Cancellation, and Opposition. These rights allow individuals to request information held by companies about them.

They can ask for a change or update of their data for any reason. Opposition allows them to object to the use of their data while still keeping it stored, and cancellation requires the company to delete all stored data about the users. To achieve this, we created a Web App using React and MaterialUI. We used Vercel for hosting the website and planetScale for the SQL database. The app displayed all the users, allowing them to exercise any of their ARCO rights if requested. Additionally, all actions were recorded in a history log for any inconvenience or confusion.

Kueski ARCO System

In September 2023, my friends and I participated in [HackMTY](https://hackmty.com/), an annual hackathon where companies present challenges for teams to propose solutions. We chose to tackle the challenge from Banorte, a bank in Mexico. The challenge involved integrating Banorte with the chatGPT AI to enhance the user experience by providing personalized recommendations.

To address this challenge, we created FINK, a platform where banks could contribute information for the AI to learn from. Based on user needs, FINK would recommend the best options from all the banks. We developed a web application using Next.js and Tailwind CSS, as well as a mobile application using React Native. We utilized the OpenAI API to obtain responses from the chatbot. Additionally, our friend Miguel Perez built a Python-based Neural Network to predict stock prices over time, enabling us to recommend optimal investment opportunities with associated risks. It was an incredibly interesting experience that provided us with valuable insights and learnings.

Fink

During this past semester from August to December 2023, I contributed to a project that had the [Banco de Alimentos de México](https://bamx.org.mx/) **(BAMX)** in Guadalajara as its main client. The food bank informed us that they had difficulties in promoting their existence and encouraging people to donate.

My colleagues and I designed an application programmed using **Flutter**, so that people could make their donations in a simpler way. I contributed by using my design knowledge to create all the views of the application and its flow, using **Figma** to create the prototype and **Procreate** for the wireframes.

In addition to working on the donation views where you can see all your past, active, and rejected donations, I also worked on the detailed view of the donation content. I also worked on the rewards view where you could see all the rewards obtained for donating.

The most iconic feature of our application is the donation validation system. When you make a donation, it is added to your list of pending donations, which contains all the information about the donation, such as the donation ID, the products to donate, and the number of points you will receive.

When you take your donations to one of the food bank branches, an administrator will have an admin panel where they can use the phone's camera to scan the QR code of the donation and choose to **Reject** or **Approve** it based on the state of the products.

We encountered a problem with the structure of the database we had, as this idea was not possible since we did not have a quick way to relate the donation to the user. We thought about combining the random donation ID with the user ID and putting it in the QR code, and then parsing it. However, due to technical issues, this was not possible. In the end, I proposed to have a table with all the existing donations and the user ID in each of them to avoid using filtering algorithms. This solution offered us greater speed at the cost of space, but in the end, the solution worked wonderfully, so this was not a problem.

I really enjoyed working on this application, and I hope that at some point, the food bank can implement an idea like the one we proposed to increase donations throughout the country.

Graphic Design

Programming

Illustration

3D - Animation