I’m Allison Chow(der), a freelance Artist, Writer, and Designer based in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Art-Based Services
❤ Community Engaged Art Making
❤ Art Based Research
❤ Art Direction
❤ Editorial + Runway Styling
Design Services
❤ Illustration
❤ Monthly/Annual Reports
❤ Presentation Design
❤ Copywriting
❤ Campaign Management
❤ Brainstorm Friend
❤ Qualitative interviews
❤ User Design Research Probes
✌︎
Dream it
✔︎
Make it
〤
Try it
✌︎ Dream it ✔︎ Make it 〤 Try it
My Chinese name, 彥廷, roughly translates to “the pursuit of knowledge” and “balance or justice.” I used to joke that it’s because my parents met as civil servants, but over time, like a well-worn wool coat molding to a body, these big ideas have shaped the way I move through the world.
The more I learn, the more I understand that justice is always intersectional. You can’t unpack sustainability, for example, without addressing colonialism or the unequal distribution of resources like wages, food, and water. For me, design is hope in action. It’s a way to use tools like research, systems thinking, material innovation, and data visualization to surface non-dominant narratives and offer clear, nuanced perspectives for more meaningful conversations and decisions.
I believe in design that is joyful, honest, and opens doors to courageous conversations and diverse perspectives. After spending the past four years focused on gathering and designing from qualitative data, my current passion lies in social impact design and art-based research. I'm interested in how co-creation can generate meaningful ethnographies and uncover insights that inform decisions about products, systems, and services.
For a more detailed look at my past and current work experiences, please visit my LinkedIn profile.
Let’s work together!
“When I was working with Allison in a small but diverse team, not only was I impressed that she can quickly understand the message my brand is trying to convey but also what the customer wants to hear. Her creative solution and artistic design had me won praises from customers”
“ I’ve really appreciated and admired Allison’s capacity to craft juicy and compelling newsletters for our community plus multi-faceted partner reports for our funders and allies. She is able to transform our data, stories and updates into visually appealing, flowing, accessible and engaging assets! I actually enjoy reading what she creates from our source materials so thank you so much Allison for all your communications magic!”
Clients + Collaborators
Connect with me on Instagram
We can send each other memes!
