Sam Spaeth

The Passion Project is a collaboration by three curious design students looking to discover what it means to “pursue your passions.”

We made our way across the country and back in 53 days to interview 20 designers and other creatives about what their passions look like today, how they got there, and where their passions will take them.

With the help of our Honda Accord, cameras, coffee and podcasts we created a video series to document these inspiring stories and our journey across the country.

Much love, spiltmilk.

Tearing Down & Building Up is an exhibition concept that celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Office of Minority and Diversity Affairs at the University of Washington. The five walls represent the five demands made during the 1968 occupation of the UW president's office, and uses the visual language of construction to demonstrate tearing down in order to build up. This concept was completed and built in the North Allen Library on the UW Campus as "Revolution and Evolution".

Final exhibition designed and implemented by Studio Matthews, exhibition photography by Ben Benschneider
Main concept and visual language ideation by Angela Piccolo, Christen Miyasato, Monica Niehaus, and Samantha Spaeth
Information and timeline layout concept by Dana Golan, Eva Grate, and Jazmine Hoyle

The first amendment allows Trump to spew hate speech until explicit racism and bigotry are the new norm. Under the current administration there has been a drastic rise in hate crimes, especially shocking, in K-12 schools due to kid’s increased exposure to this language. This poster is designed to raise awareness around and combat the effects of hate speech on children by calling on parents and educators to talk with children about what they hear.

This poster won Typographic Excellence in the Type Directors Club's Communication Design Competition and was published in PAGE, a German magazine for the creative industry.

Between The Lines is a concept for a 28-day educational exhibit on the Seattle Public Library's fourth floor. This installation is intended to reeducate all people on periods and elevate the voices of people whose stories haven fallen between the lines in order to present the social inequity in the way periods are currently treated in an accessible and relatable way. The information is presented through five personal testimonies sharing their experiences with the issues of period education and taboos, periods in prison, periods and gender, periods and poverty, and period changes.

Garden shears redesigned to fit into an urban indoor gardening environment. Minimal aesthetics over the complex bulky forms most shears have. The hook on the handle allows the shears to be hung on the side of a plant pot when not in use.