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Hello there.

As you can probably tell, I'm a huge fan of bright and bold colors. Whenever there is an opportunity to be bold, why not take it? I like to bring this aspect into my designs while ultimately creating something that appeals to the desired target audience.   

Alana Alicea Graphic Designer

Becoming Star Pop Studio

Born and raised in South Florida, with a bachelor's in Psychology and no real plan, I packed up my Honda Civic and drove cross-country to sunny San Diego. I was young, dumb, and broke but with a heart full of passion and curiosity.

Two best friends traveling to Bali with Osprey Backpacks

After living in San Diego for 2 beautiful years I decided to once again make a major life decision on a whim. I sold everything I owned and packed up nothing but a bright red Osprey travel backpack and moved to Bali, Indonesia. I really had no idea what was in store for me or how I was going to make money. This is where I started photo editing. I would do it for my personal Instagram account. I had to have amazing Bali photos for the gram! This personal love for editing and Photoshop grew like the rising gas prices are growing around the globe and I started dabbling more in the Adobe programs.

The summit of Mt. Batur in Bali, Indonesia

While roaming the dormant volcanos of Bali sipping on Arak and honey, I happened to fall in love with an Australian man. It came to a point where he was flying back and forth to Bali to see me for months. So, to make our dynamic easier, I flew to Perth Australia and unpacked my red backpack into his closet. Covid hit while I was there, turns out we quarantine perfectly together. Thank God.

We became bored living in one place; he shares the same love of travel as I do. We ended up converting a VW Crafter into a very spacious studio apartment. When I say "we" I really mean "him". We drove across Australia and up the east coast for 8 fascinating months. He is a rock climber so I found myself on cliffsides with no skin on my fingers and eyes filled with tears most days. But it was fun... 

Living in a VW Crafter Van, Vanlife
Bouldering at Copper Rocks Western Australia

Although it was a blast being on the opposite side of the globe, a feeling started occurring in me that I have never felt before. I was homesick. After two and half years of being away from home, I decided to come back and bring him with me.

I moved back to San Diego and finally appreciate the feeling of being grounded, or dare I say "settled". While I was away, I was taking online design courses, creating mock designs, editing photos for friends, designing t-shirts and stickers, and gaining bigger clients via online job boards. This is what I've been searching for since I graduated college. Instead of exploring foreign lands, I now explore deeper into my craft which is graphic design and photo editing.

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