Blog Posts

From design breakdowns and advice to industry trends, this is where I share ideas, insights, and inspiration.

A behind-the-scenes look at my creative world.

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Visual Storytelling Ashley Smith Visual Storytelling Ashley Smith

Designing What Doesn’t Exist (Yet)

When I played The Thing from the Future, my cards dealt me a strange mix: Collapse Future, Zoo, and Candy. At first, it felt impossible to connect them, but that’s exactly the fun of it. After some brainstorming, I imagined Creature Candy: brightly colored animal-shaped sweets that give people temporary powers in a post-collapse world.

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Visual Storytelling Ashley Smith Visual Storytelling Ashley Smith

Photographed Pockets of Peace in the City

Most cities never stop moving. There is a constant hum of traffic, chatter, sirens, and footsteps that soon blend into your usual rhythm. Recently moving to New York City, I’ve gotten more comfortable with that background noise and constant motion. With that said, I’ve also learned to look for something else: quiet moments tucked between the chaos.

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Digital Product Ashley Smith Digital Product Ashley Smith

Week 3 of Building my Digital Product

After weeks of building, refining, and polishing, my digital product is complete and almost ready for launch.

The Study Abroad in Korea Survival Kit started as an idea to make studying in Seoul less overwhelming for future students, and now it’s a designed, interactive resource packaged for the market.

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Digital Product Ashley Smith Digital Product Ashley Smith

Week 2 of Building my Digital Product

If the early weeks of building my Study Abroad in Korea Survival Kit were about getting all my ideas on paper, this past week was about refining them into something that actually looks and feels like a real product.

The “middle mile” of development is tricky and it’s easy to feel stuck between drafting and final polish. But it’s also where the biggest progress happens.

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Digital Product Ashley Smith Digital Product Ashley Smith

Week 1 of Building my Digital Product

The first week of building my Study Abroad in Korea Survival Kit has been an eye-opening experience.

I went in thinking the hardest part would be coming up with content, but the bigger challenge was narrowing down what truly belongs in my MVP (minimum viable product) versus what can wait as “nice-to-have” extras.

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Digital Product Ashley Smith Digital Product Ashley Smith

My Product Concept Evolution

In Week 1, I explored three possible digital products: a Social Media Template Bundle, an Academic Planner, and a Korea Travel Kit. That stage was all about understanding the market and identifying opportunities where I could apply both design and personal experience.

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Social Media Ashley Smith Social Media Ashley Smith

HQ Pages = New Fan Clubs

Have you ever felt like your favorite artist deserves more hype, more love, more visibility? That’s how I felt after seeing BIBI live in Seoul. Her creativity, charisma, and connection with fans…

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Social Media, Writing Ashley Smith Social Media, Writing Ashley Smith

Hooked.

Attention spans are short. Time is limited. People have better things to do. If you want to catch someone’s attention, especially in writing, you have to hook them immediately. If you don’t, they’ll move on, quickly.

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