Amid the collective grief of 2020, the ASU Library’s 2020–2021 card offered a message of hope and togetherness, grounded in the poetry of Pulitzer Prize-winning Mojave poet Natalie Diaz. In a year marked by isolation and uncertainty, the Library needed a card that would speak compassionately to its community while honoring Indigenous voices and the emotional landscape of the moment.
The design needed to respond authentically to the emotional weight of 2020 while maintaining connection and hope; balancing tenderness with resilience in both tone and aesthetic. Diaz’s poem about grief as both a wound and a window to beauty served as the foundation for the card’s concept.
Inspired by Diaz’s Pulitzer-winning poetry, the card’s visual centerpiece was a continuous line illustration of a river flowing into sunrise—a metaphor for grief, movement, and renewal. Every material choice, from weight to texture, was made to reflect nature and simplicity. Diaz’s line “We go where there is love” anchored the piece emotionally.
The card deeply resonated with the ASU community. Faculty and staff praised the messaging and poetic inclusion, with some even repurposing the card into personal art. The piece achieved its goal of fostering connection, empathy, and reflection. “ASU Library always has the best holiday cards,” wrote one community member.
Special attention was paid to the texture, feel and weight of the card in an effort to evoke substance, simplicity and nature, both physically and conceptually. The illustration itself is a celebration of that simplicity and the wildness of our own desert home in Arizona as well as our own inner wildness.
According to Diaz, the Mojave word for “tears” suggests the word “river” – it is this river that we feature on the front of our card snaking through a remote wilderness and into the warm light of a golden sun. Just below this imagery is the selected line of Diaz’s poetry: “We go where there is love.” The message is intended as a tender call for togetherness – a collective embrace as we move through our river of grief, together as a community.
Credits:
Executive Direction: Jennifer Duvernay
Creative Direction: Britt Lewis
Art Direction: Amy Carolyn Watson
Graphic Design and Illustration: Kelsey Hinesley
User Experience Consult: Jordyn Kush
Project Contributors: Patricia Odle, Kristen Johnson, Christina Peck
Produced on Canaletto Felt 111C (neenahpaper.com) in Premium White, through O'Neil Printing, Phoenix, AZ.
Photography: Kelsey Hinesley and Amy Carolyn Watson