The Dark Edit

Stories, culture, design, and life online through my lens.

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about

I’ve always been fascinated by how fashion businesses create stories and build communities. This fascination inspired me to get a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from SUNY Cortland and is now fueling my pursuit of a Master’s degree in Interactive Media and Communications at Quinnipiac. My goal is to become a Social Media Manager, where I can create intriguing digital storylines for a fashion company. I’m excited to master the abilities required for this program to help bring that vision to life. This blog will serve as an outlet for me to reflect, practice new skills, assess industry trends, and analyze the subjects we cover in class.

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  • Mental Models: Designing for How Users Actually Think

    January 29, 2026 Every time we use a website or app, we don’t start fresh. Our past experiences shape our expectations about where buttons are located, how navigation works, and what happens when we click or tap. These expectations are called mental models, and they play a big role in whether a digital experience feels…

  • Where Aesthetics Meet Analytics: Rhode Skin’s Organic Social Performance

    January 29, 2026 In a quickly growing beauty market, standing out on social media requires more than just attractive visuals. Brands need to balance new ideas with careful planning, using data to shape their content creation and distribution. Rhode Skin exemplifies a brand that effectively merges minimalistic design with strong organic social media engagement. By…

  • Understanding Social Media Performance via Metrics: Lemme

    January 25, 2026 Lemme, the wellness and supplement brand established by Kourtney Kardashian Barker, has developed a robust presence on social media, particularly on Instagram and TikTok. The brand’s social media approach combines organic interactions and paid advertising to establish its identity, expand its audience, and convert followers into customers. By drawing on concepts from…

  • Looking Through My Versions: An Overview of the Topics I Have Been Writing About

    I have been writing a longer post lately about a topic that has been on my mind for years: how social media subtly influences the self-perception of young women and girls. Not in the stereotypical “social media is terrible” sense, but rather in the realistic, messy, intimate way that the majority of us encounter it.…

  • My Head’s Been Feeling Crowded Lately (So Here’s What I’m Doing About It)

    November 16, 2025 The Weight of a Constantly “On” Mind Lately, I’ve noticed my brain feels packed. Like it’s always “on.” Even when I’m supposedly relaxing, there’s this constant hum of ideas, a mental to-do list swirling, images flashing, and creative thoughts popping up. Additionally, there is the constant pressure to keep up with everything…

  • The Efficacy of Brevity: Defining a Voice in a Saturated World (AI Generated)

    November 9, 2025 The Dilution of Discourse The exponential increase in accessible communication channels has inadvertently led to a dilution of discourse. As individuals and entities contribute to an ever-expanding pool of content, the distinctiveness of any single contribution tends to recede. This phenomenon suggests that the quantity of output often correlates inversely with its…

  • The Art of Saying More with Less: Discovering My Voice in a Noisy World

    November 9, 2025 When I realized that simple writing is not easy. I am reading On Writing Well truly resonated with me. Zinsser’s instruction about reducing phrases to their simplest form reminded me that writing effectively is far more difficult than it appears. I have always enjoyed words and the rhythm, originality, and personality that…

  • Writing for Me… but Also for You?

    November 2, 2025 Paradox of the Audience While reading William Zinsser’s On Writing Well, I could not help but pause while reading Chapter 5, “The Audience.” He offers seemingly contradicting advice, which is, “Do not lose the reader,” and “Do not write for the reader.” At first, I laughed because it felt like the jargon…

  • Becoming the Best Version of Myself Through Media, Meaning, and Motivation…

    November 2, 2025 Introduction: Finding My Path Gabriella Rinaldi, who adds a new perspective on pop culture and digital branding to the batch. Her family often refers to her by her full name, but she is better known as Gabby to others. She is a proud Virgo who recently turned 22. Family Roots and First…

  • Why We have All Become Scroll Zombies and How I am Learning to Read Again…

    October 26, 2025 The Attention Span Crisis I have noticed that my concentration is deteriorating. I can spend hours organizing Pinterest boards or scrolling on TikTok, but when I try to read a lengthy piece, my concentration wanders halfway through. It is as if my brain is wired for perpetual refresh mode, needing the next…