biography

Hi! I’m Nerissa Mercer and I’ll soon graduate with a Bachelor of Design Majoring in Communication Design. Ever since trying visual design in high school, I’ve been passionate about bringing visual ideas to life through graphic design.

My life has always been about creating art. What began as copying art from picture books has evolved into my drive and passion. When I stumbled upon Communication Design as I was trying to decide my direction in life, I felt like I’d finally found the right direction. In my time at the University of Waikato I’ve been able to come into my own as an artist, and developed my passion for colour, typography and the beauty of a job well done. I’ve also nurtured my side hobby of geology, which gave me remarkable insight into the importance of beautiful and thoughtful visual presentation. One day, I hope my design work can help make the world a little more beautiful.

project description

The world has a waste crisis. Every year billions of tons of clothing and furniture are discarded for the hottest new product, leading to an intensifying problem of landfills and garbage. One of the ways we as individuals can confront this problem is through buying second hand.

‘Thriftmap’ is a design for a mobile app that helps users find thrift stores near to their location. By encouraging purchasing second hand and cutting down on long travel times, Thriftmap intends to decrease the amount of waste produced by fast fashion. Users can leave reviews to help other thrifters, and search by category to improve their visiting experience.

Thriftmap