Aaron's Pretty Cool

The First Straw is an episode of the podcast 99% Invisible. It covers the history of straws and their impacts in todays world and culture. I designed this minizine transcript of the episode as an exploration of creative type usage. I wanted to challenge myself to be expressive with typography and avoid using any imagery while creating a visually interesting product.

This icon set was fully designed, illustrated, and animated by me as an exploration of how visual style can evoke a sense of adventure. Drawing inspiration from my love of camping and the outdoors, each icon embraces a rounded, friendly aesthetic that captures the joy of being outside.

This explainer video was made to demenstrate basic camera properties and get beginners shooting pictures. Made in After effects, this project was a fun exploration into a new program for me.

HNTB is an infrastructure design firm that helps shape the way people travel by planning and designing highways, bridges, airports, and transit systems. In the summer of 2025, I joined their Madison office as a Graphics Intern, where I worked on a wide range of projects alongside an incredibly talented design team. From motion graphics to web content systems, I gained tons of hands-on experience and learned how design fits into large-scale engineering projects.

One of my first assignments was an intro animation for the I-43 construction social media page. I was surprised—in the best way—by how much creative freedom I was given right away. That trust continued throughout the internship, with plenty of thoughtful feedback and iteration that pushed each project further.

A welcome poster created for the ribbon cutting of the I-43 corridor.

Front and back of a trifold brochure designed for the ribbon cutting.

Covers for the Mississippi DOT’s 2050 Multiplan—a 25-year vision for the state’s transportation system. The first takes a warm, hand-drawn approach, while the second explores a more dynamic, future-focused style.

Layout mockups for the second cover design.

A proposed visual style direction for the dynamic Multiplan cover.

A proposed logo for Mississippi’s Multiplan (followed by their current logo). My design reinterprets the original’s simple geometry—a circle and three lines—to represent the flowing Mississippi River. With a bit of imagination, you can also spot an “M” and “P” for Multiplan within its form.

A social media illustration for the I-41 construction page, explaining how to read a QWS sign.

VISIT THE SITE!

ROKCON is a children's geology camp I designed a website for. This was my first experience using webflow and not just programming a site from scratch. For this site I focused heavily on interactive elements. I highly incourage you to visit the site and click all the fun buttons.

Hey! I’m Aaron Polum, a multimedia designer from central Wisconsin with a love for eye-catching, meaningful design.

I first discovered graphic design back in sixth grade, watching my art teacher work through the logo design process. Seeing ideas evolve through sketch after sketch completely hooked me. By my senior year of high school, I landed an apprenticeship at a local sign shop, where I got hands-on experience bringing designs to life in the real world. To this day, it’s still my favorite job I’ve ever had.

Once I started college, I fell even deeper in love with the design process and began exploring new avenues of creativity — from motion graphics to web development and everything in between.

I’d describe my design style as authentic, energetic, and a little playful. I love blending lightheartedness and a touch of humor to spark that sense of child-like wonder in people.