In 2005, while I was studying at UT, Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans on an unthinkable scale. I can remember seeing new faces pop up in several classes almost immediately. They were displaced students from schools that were literally underwater. (Side note, I know that Texas wasn't the only college to grant immediate transfers and waive tuition in order to assist hurricane refugees at the time, but this still makes me extremely proud to be a Longhorn.)

Meanwhile, my cohort in the Design program was utterly inspired by the Hurricane Poster Project, which gathered the work of dozens of talented designers to raise money for the Red Cross. The work was absolutely stunning. Better still, there was no "client," at least not in the traditional sense. By then we had all studied amazing commercial and political design, both past and present. We had all seen incredibly powerful artwork made in response to bygone historical events. This was different — it was contemporary design work that reflected our society's emotions about a subject that we were still witnessing at the time. Despite the somber subject matter, this was an exciting moment for a class of young, impressionable designers.

This week, Hurricane Harvey dredged up a lot of those same emotions for me. This image is a tribute to anyone who is hurting right now. I especially want to acknowledge those Katrina refugees who found their way to Houston while trying to rebuild their lives not so long ago.