VIEWING… UX / UI ARCHIVE
Project Type: UX / UI
Case Study :: Swizl :: Native Mobile Apps
The Swizl native mobile apps (for both iOS and Android) form the functional center of the platform, enabling brands to fully take advantage of the virtuous cycle of content and promotional savings opportunities inherent in Swizl and placing their target users at the center of that cycle. I acted as experience and design lead on the apps, leading the ultra-talented design team and working in close concert with the equally-as-talented engineering squad on the project.
Case Study :: Swizl :: Responsive Web
Another key component of the Swizl digital platform is the brand’s website. It forms the backbone of the content side of things and acts as the inspiration and discovery center of the brand. I oversaw the design of the site, establishing both overall and executional direction and worked with both designers and developers to actualize the vision.
Case Study :: Swizl :: Content and Social Marketing
For any brand in today’s marketplace, social and content marketing has become a pillar of both the outreach platform and the brand itself. This is especially true of Swizl because of its unique value proposition at the center of a nexus between savings and content. I personally led the charge on all of this for the brand, creating the social and editorial voices and standards for Swizl, marshaling internal and external resources to write, design and shoot content and often diving in hands-on and creating work myself. It’s been crazy, but a ton of fun!
Music League Identity System and Digital Experience Design
Anyone who knows me knows that I love music. I like it so much, that I actually consider it a vice on some levels. (LOL!) So, when a friend approached me about joining something called Music League, a weekly thematic competition for music lovers (think fantasy football, but with music), I was all in. After playing a couple of seasons, a talented member of the league approached me to develop an icon to mark the game (thanks, Nathan). That very quickly became a full brand, featuring custom mark, lockup, tagline, avatars, glyphs and full system redesign. I was in hog heaven. I have collected a small portion of the assets I developed for the brand and the system. We’re already talking about a healthy second phase to the project (let’s go native mobile), so stay tuned for updates. I loved this one!
Shown Here :: Mark, Lockup, Colors, Type, Avatar Set, Glyph Set, Sample Desktop, Tablet and Phone Responsive Digital Experiences
Hopster Rebates Brand Development and Digital Design :: A Case Study
I’m proud to announce the launch of a new brand in the digital savings space :: Hopster Rebates. This marks an important milestone for Inmar (where I serve as design leadership) as it is a consumer-facing brand, app and site for a company not traditionally known for that. I led the design effort on this one and was so pleased to collab with very talented folks in that endeavor. Romeo Mariano on my team absolutely rocked it with the synthesis on the final mark and the Android designs shown here. Javon Greaves totally killed it on the illustrations that, in many ways, made the brand distinct and ownable. He also did the iOS designs. Nice work, all.
I thought for this post, I would use it as a case-study in process, detailing what we created from a brand standpoint and how that was actualized in the digital space. This was a process I led and I was very pleased with the results. I also created the web portions personally, other aspects and provided strategic oversight.
The Celebrated Cold Brew Tea Situation Brand Package
This was fun, fun, fun. In conversation, a former colleague and friend mentioned that he was exploring the world of cold brew tea. I loved the concept and offered to develop a brand package in support. These are the results. This reflects all of my work, from naming to branding, packaging and digital.
Shown Here :: Identity, Branding, Packaging, Apparel, Responsive Web Designs
TasteCrate Full Package Development
This was the flagship of Inmar’s consumer exploration into subscription commerce. This one is very “me,” folks. I devised and sold the original concept, developed the identity, created the overall style, generated and designed the sales materials, scripted and directed video production, wireframed and creative directed web assets and acted as lead designer on a range of things from outdoor applications to packaging (crucially important for this concept) to “selfie walls.” We were working with a “sensible” budget, but that only added to the challenge and the fun. Though we couldn’t ultimately do everything we wanted, this was playtime to an extent for me. Fun!
Special thanks for working with me on the web for this, Javon Greaves. You are a talented gent! Romeo Mariano got a shoutout on the Baby Bundles work, but he was the man on the video work here. Thanks for putting up with my direction, my man. Big ups to Chris Dick on this one, too. His crazy animation skills were brought to bear.
Propper Tactical Brand Launch
I’m pleased to share the final result of the Propper Tactical brand launch. In an earlier post, I shared a colorful and engaging exploratory concept for this assignment. In contrast, the selected approach shown here is rich, textural and “engineered” with a clear lifestyle focus. It was paramount with this brand launch to do something genuinely different; something real for a real, savvy consumer target audience. The iconography and brand elements here speak to the concept of a “tactical system” with integrated imagery and clarity of purpose. Sleek, tactile textures bring touch and a decided sense of quality to the piece while the white graphic bar overlays underscore the central concept of the rank of “officer.” This is a bold, smart brand for well-engineered gear for today’s intelligent tactical law enforcement professionals.
Again, I was the hands-on designer for all of this, a co-concept lead and wrote the line descriptors (“Be Cool.,” Blend.,” “Perform.,” and “Move.”) for the brand.
Shown Here: Teaser Videos, Brand Identity Elements, Hangtags, Sample Advertising, Site Design
Baby Bundles Brand and App Design Evolution
I’m doing something a bit different with this one. I’m showing evolution here. This was a part of an exploration of subscription commerce concepts for Inmar. This concept was (obviously) focused on new mothers. The important thing to note is how the process is made manifest in these designs. The initial identity shown at top was a runaway success in consumer testing, but the name didn’t make the legal trademark gauntlet. The app designs shown below that were also not a hit. That means refactoring. The identity was originally mine (as were the less successful app designs), so I reworked that myself and also creative directed the app refactor performed by a VERY talented member of my team, Romeo Mariano. Thanks, Romeo!
Shown Here :: Identity, Round 01 App Designs, Revised App Designs
Brühaus Trademark Style and Digital Package
“A DIFFERENT KIND OF BEER FOR A DIFFERENT KIND OF BEER DRINKER.”
This trademark style and digital package for boutique beer brand Brühaus, pays off that tagline in spades. Eschewing the traditional trappings of “olde” beer, Brühaus speaks to a targeted audience with a signature look and feel that says “iconoclast.” Underscoring that central concept, the mark, type and style elements here all communicate a strong sense of the hand-done. Our content throughout and the focus and style of the app all do the same. It all adds up to a collection of fun design elements built on the DIY ethic so prevalent in skate culture.
Shown Here: Marks, Wordmarks, Custom Typography, Colors, Packaging, Web, App Screens
Snkrslktr App Brand / UI Design
Is there anything like a fresh pair of kicks? Forget the power tie… Nothing completes a fly outfit like a pair of the right sneakers, just tight and right.
The “sneakerhead” culture rose in the hazy glory of the 1980s, born of Basketball, songs like the Run DMC classic, “My Adidas” and the legendary Air Jordan brand. Its become a worldwide phenomenon encompassing tens of millions in sales and trade commerce. “SNKRSLKTR” (SNEAKER SELECTOR) is aimed at that target, giving sneakerheads a place to gather, strut, admire, sell and trade.
The brand itself offers an approachable, iconic take on the phenomenon, establishing a relatable visual language for the project. Our colors derive from the pop and simplicity of the original sneakers of the 1980s that birthed the movement while our custom glyphs underscore the sense of fun inherent in the mark. The app interface attempts to strike the balance between something high in utility and rich and layered in visual feel with a strong nod to the concept of the “quantified self.”
“Pop” is the focus in the kicks game and that’s our watchword here as well. Fun!
Shown Here: Mark, Wordmark, Colors, Glyphs, App Screens
Whole Foods Market / Instacart Shopping Experience
Delivery is revolutionizing the grocery industry. Instacart is at the forefront of that wave. Whole Foods Market is proud to be a select partner of the online grocery purchase and delivery solution provider.
These designs for a new customized WFM / Instacart Pilot Experience attempts to strike the balance that great e-commerce experiences do between simple, elegant brand-oriented design cues and user-centered design principles. When combined correctly, they create something that at once serves the needs of the brand while creating a system that is clear and seamless for our target audience and their goals. That was what I was going for here. I personally created these designs and have been working with the talented Instacart squad as we march towards fully realizing them through launch and iteration.
This is different than the Online Ordering experience that I have shown on here, as it is primarily focused on grocery and delivery ordering. It is designed to work in-concert with that Online Ordering experience from a design standpoint, however.
Shown Here: Full Desktop Design + Detail Views of the System, Tablet and Phone Versions As Well
Midmodernism App Brand / UI Design
I am a huge devotee of the Mid-Century Modern movement. It was a time when design thinking was king, spurring optimism and creativity across the world. New and progressive approaches were everywhere and perhaps at no other time more than that period, did we strive for that perfect balance of utility and artistic form.
Our house is almost entirely vintage MCM (we have a little 70’s and 80s thrown in for good measure) and every piece we have acquired inspires us every day. Speaking from experience, the process of “doing” a house MCM is BIG fun. AND… It all starts with inspiration. That’s the impetus behind this app: “MIDMODERNISM.” These designs show how that focus comes to life in a way that attempts to strike that same balance that the movement attempted to :: utility made beautiful.
The brand itself draws from the clean, modern geometry of the style, using type, placement and form to create the staccato conversation of pattern so prevalent at that time. Our colors and our custom glyphs here are inspired by the period as well, driving home elegance, richness and whimsey in turns. The system itself leverages simplicity to achieve solid user interaction and seamless flow. In all, a fun and inspiring project inspired by an amazing time in design.
Shown Here: Mark, Pattern Sample + Colors + Glyphs + Inspiration Photos, App Screens
Whole Foods Market “Values Matter 2.0” Experience
One steadfast theme of my work at Whole Foods Market has been evolution. It is the process of listening to both user needs and the ever-changing the needs of the brand and adjusting the product to match that keeps things alive and very well targeted.
Since I had posted the initial development of the Values Matter campaign here, I thought I would post its evolution as well.
Very recently, I led the creative for the first phase of a revamp of the campaign in the digital space along side partners across the marketing organization. I am sharing the new landing experience here. This will be a part of a large rich media push, content effort and storytelling initiative and will change as the campaign grows and progresses.
The design strategy here offers an immersive and cinematic approach to the content. This underscores the broad brushstrokes of the campaign at large while communicating both the richness and tactility of food and the dappled sun and warmth of a sunny summer’s day. I personally created the overall style for this phase of the campaign and have been thrilled to work with talented internal design support for input and to bring it to life.
This is a very bespoke approach, tailored to specific action goals and KPIs as well as the stories we are telling. It will evolve and change as the campaign winds its way through the summer.
Whole Foods Market Flagship App
The Whole Foods Market App is a discovery engine. With almost 4000 recipes and the ability to search, filter and add them to a shopping list in addition to cooking guides and other rich content, it’s meant to be a tool to both enable that discovery as well as help users begin to actualize that discovery.
I recently had the wonderful opportunity to lead a massive UX / UI redesign for that flagship app and am leading the process of reworking and augmenting it as we move forward. Whole Foods worked with the team at SapientNitro on the project in addition to our robust internal iOS team. I creative directed the entire project, both managing the agency creative relationship and our internal design resources while partnering with the tech resources leading the development process. As a part of the relaunch of the app, we created our first Android version as well.
The app itself is an immersive look at the recipes, guides and content within, leveraging rich photography, typography and bold color to draw users in. This was a big step forward for the 4 year old app. We are, however, already beginning a process of evolution of elements of this design system to both optimize, capitalize on any shortfalls and create further opportunities for engagement.
This evolution is part of an overarching cycle of rework and augmentation as the app marches forward. This is a key part of the project as it allows us to listen to user feedback and adjust to that feedback, making the app better in a cycle of constant deployment. I am leading the UX/ UI team making the design adjustments on all of those features and improvements moving forward. No project is perfect when launched, nor will it ever be, so this is a vitally important part of the process of continually meeting user need in more meaningful ways.
Shown Here: Sample Screens from iOS App for phone and tablet
Whole Foods Market Online Ordering Experience
Convenience is the name of the game in retail. Every day, the team I lead attempts to answer this question ::
“What have we enabled users to do in seamless ways today that they couldn’t yesterday?”
That sense of seamless enablement is the impetus behind this relaunch of the Whole Foods Market Online Ordering system. Clean, clear and responsive, this redesign offers users a frictionless experience from desktop to tablet to phone. This is a sterling example of the power of taking a mobile first approach. I led all user interface aspects of this initiative in a very hands-on way and had the pleasure of working with the talented team at XOXCO and our internal tech team as the project came to life.
The rework resulted in a 137% increase in conversion and a 173% increase in revenue YOY. That’s big news.
This is different than the Instacart experience that I have shown on here, as it is primarily focused on in-store ordering, items like catering and prepared foods. It is designed to work in-concert with that Instacart experience from a design standpoint, however.
Shown Here: Full Desktop Design, Tablet and Phone Versions + System Details
Whole Foods “Values Matter” Digital Experience
For the first time in the 34 year history of the brand, Whole Foods Market has launched a national brand-driven campaign to communicate it’s truly unique value proposition. The traditional aspects of the campaign, (print executions and written tone) were developed directly by our “E Team” (think “C-Suite”) in tandem with an agency partner out of NYC, Partners and Spade. The campaign came down internally to the digital team with only about 4 weeks to launch a fully-integrated digital experience focused on deeper storytelling. A tall order for sure.
As the global Digital CD for the brand, I was a driving force for this phase of the campaign. I was lucky to be an integral part of a talented multi-disciplinary team, from concept through development and launch who were able to all aid in bringing this to life. For my part specifically, I drove concepting around the approach we took, created the visual concepts from which we executed our final launch deliverables, and ended up adjusting and creating many of those final deliverables directly. I also acted as Creative Director on the digital advertising portions of the campaign as well.
Because of our timeline and limited resources, we did also reach out to leverage some agency partners to help with execution and rapid creation of portions of the work, Electric Pulp, Cibo, Acquia and GSD&M were all a part of that group. In some cases, I was even playing “Photoshop Tennis” with the agencies directly, soooo they were solid collaborative partners in the process. Most importantly, our internal creative and development teams were also instrumental in helping with all of this. Big thanks to all of them for their efforts in helping the vision come to life!
The initiative has been LOVED by many audiences and we are currently replacing the main WFM home page with this experience. Though that was not the original plan, it is gratifying to see it so loved. To that end, stay tuned, I will be evolving this to ensure better affordance for users long term.
Here, I will share both the conceptual design prototypes I created at the outset of the initiative for our main landing experience as well as where those ended up in a final state across experiences. This gives a solid visual slice of the conceptual and executional aspects of the work. We are already looking at phase 02 for the experience. I will provide updates as they launch.
CONCEPT 01 — Parallax scrolling experience designed to give a textured, layered view of the campaign’s messages and keep users engaged. This concept was not selected in favor of our other concept.
Shown Here: Home and Level 2 Pages at Desktop Resolution
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CONCEPT 02 — A “quilt” of tiled information that allows users to not only explore deeper into our brand stories, but also to participate in the conversation themselves.
Shown Here: Home Page at Desktop Resolution
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THE FINAL EXPERIENCE — You can see how the look and feel evolved. Please visit WHOLEFOODSMARKET.COM to interact with the full responsive experience.
Main Page + Detail:
Tablet and Phone Sizes + Detail
Whole Foods Market Wine Club Digital Brand + Experience
Whole Foods Market devotees already know that we sell some really great wines. Simply put, our curation team on that front is truly peerless. We’ve created a new WFM Wine Club subscription experience to capitalize on that unique expertise and to promote that offering, we have built a brand and responsive digital presence that communicates essence of the club is all about.
I acted as the design lead on the project from brand inception through digital design. I am telling that story here, showing both my design for the sub-brand’s mark and color palette as well as a bit of the process of how I brought the digital side of the project through concept to approval.
On that process :: I am a firm believer in taking a very Agile approach to the digital space. So often however, those agile principles are only applied to the development side of the equation. That’s a mistake, in my humble opinion. Agility can be applied through the creative concepting process as well, standing up multiple options that show the possibilities and allow for rapid iteration towards build. On this project, I took stakeholders through a style-tiling process, giving that balance of a solid view of potential futures while allowing us to iterate flexibly and quickly on the march to approval. That ended up being a pretty short march in this case. We were ready to head into full production design in just two meetings. That’s the process at its best!
Shown Here: Mark + Palette, Style Tiles and Final Site Home Design
STL Symphony Save Powell Hall Campaign
The Boston Symphony tweets: “Ha. Ha. Amazing. :-)”
The Riverfront Times says: “Save Powell Hall: Concert Marketing Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This”
From STLToday: “SLSO begs public: Save Powell Hall!”
An LA arts and music blog crows: “…By far, the best orchestral marketing and advertising effort I’ve seen lately — probably ever — is St. Louis Symphony’s “Save Powell Hall” campaign.”
STLMag.com states: If we don’t take action now, Powell Hall is going to explode.
And… The St. Louis Business Journal, too.
I love creating disruptive marketing solutions. I feel it’s been a hallmark of my career. This very recent campaign for the St. Louis Symphony was a wonderfully fun example of that.
I acted as the concept, design and copywriting lead for the campaign, creating the initial idea, flowing it out to a signature style for the campaign, penning copy throughout and creative directing any other moving parts with the Symphony’s internal team and contract specialists. The campaign featured postering, an engaging website that acted as a hub for the campaign, outdoor applications (both for billboards and metro transit stops) and a “viral-style” video shot by Brant Hadfield with SFX and production by Terry Coolidge.
All of the coverage for the campaign was gratifying to see, but the fact that sales were up was the real “reward,” here. In all, a fun and engaging solution for a gem of the nation’s arts landscape.
Shown Here: Campaign Video, Mark Design, Sample Poster & Wheatpasting, Website, Sample Outdoor Applications and Poster Concept
The Goddard School Video Microsite
This microsite for The Goddard School is a wonderful example of a laser-targeted solution for the digital space that puts users’ wants and needs directly at its center. Representing Phase II of a brand development / launch that I was very pleased to be an instrumental part of, this project is also a great example of how brands can come to life in very innovative and visceral ways.
Here’s how it works ::
Users select what is most important to them in an early childhood education solution for their child by clicking boxes next to qualities inherent in the Goddard experience. The qualities are all represented by branded iconography, both underscoring the brand style itself, but also encouraging users to interact and play with the intuitive interface. When users submit their choices, the system auto-stitches together a custom video showing them the true Goddard School experience based on their input. Each custom video is organized into chapters showing the qualities selected and featuring authentic video of real Goddard parents and teachers speaking to their real-world experiences. After each video users are then prompted to sign up for their own tour of a local Goddard School location. Tours are the primary conversion point for the schools and our go-to call-to-action for all outreach. Users were able to perform all tour scheduling functions on the site directly. The site is also responsive, resizing and adjusting the experience for the range of mobile screen sizes.
This was my concept and I was the design lead on the project. I also acted as hands-on creative director for the project as it moved into production and my ever-talented UPBrand team of creatives and video editors got involved.
Perhaps the best feedback one can receive for a project like this is that it’s working in spades for the client. The conversion numbers have been great here. A recent potential customer sent a follow up email to his local school after experiencing the site that read :: “If your school is half as impressive as your microsite, I know I’ll be sending my children to The Goddard School.”
PS — I can’t share a link to the site here as it is a private direct-marketing tool for each school.
Shown Here: Screens / Interaction Paradigm and Detail Images
Bocek Bros. Brand and Product Launch
You have to love working for clients that really feel your creative work on their bottom line. Clients that see the impact of your ideas and designs very directly. That’s the case in spades with Bocek Bros., a charcuterie start-up here in Missouri that I recently branded. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have always had a deep love for great charcuterie and let me tell you, the product Bocek Bros. is selling is great. Smoky, authentic and artisanal, this stuff is the real deal.
I was involved in all aspects of this one, from naming, to positioning to brand design and packaging (even copywriting and tagline development in the mix for me here as well). Self-performing isn’t something I do everyday with my role as VP / Creative Director; most of the time I’m trying to give the best creative opportunities to my team. I don’t say that solely altruistically, it’s just a great way to keep them motivated and engaged as an integral part of the agency. HOWEVER, this one was too much in my sweet spot on a variety of levels to pass up. LOL!
The goal was to create something that was hip and irreverent, but that retained a high-end “Napa Valley” artisanal sense to it. From the tagline and copy attitude to the mark and wordmark themselves to the site and packaging designs, I think that balance was conveyed.
Shown Here: Identity and Tagline, Brand Colors, Packaging Designs (with Detail), Photography Style (THANKS to Vince on my team for shooting), and Site
Hardee’s 50th Anniversary Campaign + Tour
50 years of great Thickburgers, beautiful girls and good times, now that’s something to celebrate. When Hardee’s was looking for a unique way to spread the word about it’s 50th anniversary, 4ORCE got the call. This concept incorporates a heavy brand push into a buzz-generating tour and social media campaign. The central idea: building the ultimate girl country band for a national Hardee’s 50th birthday party — “Electra Starr and the Heartstrings” (and then “Stealing Angels”). The campaign is a home run for Hardee’s midwestern values with a mildly sexy wink and builds on existing brand sentiment while providing bold new texture to Hardee ’s reputation in the marketplace. I lead the development of all aspects of this brand campaign. From development of the campaign’s central theme and brand integration down to design of all touchpoints personally, I had a ton of fun with this one.
I’ve included just a few selected examples of my design work for the campaign for flavor below. Shown here :: Posters, Vehicle Wrap, Apparel and Digital Assets
Blood Moon Records Identity System and Digital Design
This ID system for an indie label, complete with digital assets, was pure fun. I loved bringing the juxtaposition of elements here, from the clean mark and type to the vintage etching style to the clearly edgy attitude.
Shown Here :: Identity, Colors, Illustration Style, Apparel Designs, Responsive Web Designs
The Goddard School Rebrand
In this business, we all have projects that are as rewarding as they are challenging. This rebrand for peerless early childhood educational leader The Goddard School falls directly into that category.
At once contemporary, approachable, bold and authentic, this new approach to the brand breathes a very fresh wind into the sails of the 25+-year-old franchise education provider. I was a creative lead on the project, filling the roles of Creative Director, Lead Designer, On-Set Director, Producer, Motionographer and (in some cases) Copywriter. Operating on a tight timeline, we executed a full rebrand plus campaign-driven materials to better tell the Goddard story. I was very blessed to work with a very talented crew internally at UPBrand that brought the signature style established here to a variety of additional projects not pictured here, a totally first-class DP and shooting crew, a really great editor / video team and a savvy and very hip client on this as well and I wanted to give props.
When the brand was rolled-out to both internal and franchisee stakeholders at an annual event in Florida, I am gratified to say that the work actually inspired some tears from those closest to the brand. A rarity, but always fun to see.
Shown Here: Sample Television Advertising, Brand Identity Elements, Responsive Site Design, Collateral, Print Advertising
Propper Tactical Brand Concept
Sometimes I showcase here the concepts that aren’t selected. I believe strongly in presenting only options to clients that are both artful and viable. However, of everything presented, only one can make it. This concept for military and tactical icon Propper International is a great example of something that was not selected, but that retains a strength and beauty that makes it worth sharing.
Let me just say, I love these guys. This assignment was a hell of a lot of fun to create and trust me when I tell you that though I really did love the work featured in this post, the concept they selected (and I have since executed) was the right choice and is VERY compelling. Frankly, I can’t wait to show you that work. We’re all very excited for the official launch.
This concept brings a heavy infusion of lifestyle to a powerful new tactical line of gear Propper is bringing to market. Colorful, iconoclastic and real, the work treats the target audience here with both the intelligence and consumer savvy so often absent in this sector. I was the hands-on designer for all of this, a co-concept lead and wrote the line descriptors (“Be Cool.,” Blend.,” “Perform.,” and “Move.”) for the brand.
Shown Here: Sample Advertising, Brand Identity Elements and Site Design
Flying R Mopeds Brand Exploration
Warm, chewy pizza, soft velvety gelato, the very beautiful Monica Bellucci… The Italians have given us so much that makes our lives rich and rewarding. And very few things maintain the cosmopolitain, outsider sense of cool that the Italian moped does. That’s exactly what fledgeling Flying R Mopeds of Menlo Park, CA thinks, too.
This brand package exploration draws its inspiration from all of that history and savvy sense of cool. Fun and quirky with a clear nod to the classic moto Euro style of yesterday, the package brings a whimsical elegance and pop to the brand and communicates its essence. I also created custom, hand-done typography for the “R” and “FLYING R” portions of the identity. The other elements in the mix add up to a collection with both a classic flair and a sly wink. Fun.
Shown Here: Sample Advertising, Brand Identity Elements, Business Card (Front and Back), Apparel and Site Design
Ready + Willing Site
The St. Louis-based not-for-profit “ready+willing” represents an amazing idea — ready+willing forms mentorship teams in the creative industry (experienced creatives with those at a lower experience level) and connects them with non-profit organizations to help them with their marketing needs. A wonderful and timely concept.
This site for the organization strikes a great balance between a clean, easy-to-understand typographic approach and organic, dimensional hand-wrought elements. Engaging and engaged people shots representing the young, diverse St. Louis creative community that is the lifeblood of r+w are included throughout the designs and in a rotating home page animation. The doodle patterns in the designs bring a sense of fun and personality to the site as well — each section has a unique pattern integrated into the page.
Overall, something very fun and engaging that I was proud to be a part of. The site is currently in development.
Connexio Media Presentation Materials
Connexio Media offers college and university campuses a new way to reach students, faculty and visitors with information and alerts. Each campus gets its own network of state-of-the-art outdoor digital displays to connect the campus community with vital information — providing both safety and better engagement.
On this project, the client came up UPBrand with a logo and nothing more. As part of our storytelling approach, we took Connexio through a full discovery process, giving them a complete brand platform to work from. These presentation materials came out of that.
Bold, engaging, dimensional and textured, the visual “signature style” I developed was devised to convey a strong sense of movement and inter-connectivity. Coupled with a system of iconography, the overall approach balanced clarity with excitement and engagement. This rich style was a natural fit for a motion graphics piece and the animation I created leverages the dimensional overlays and shapes to interesting effect.
Shown here: sample presentation screens, iconography samples and motion graphics company overview
Children’s Home Society of Missouri Site
Another recent launch I was very pleased to see was the site for the Children’s Home Society of Missouri (CHSMO).
CHSMO is a treasure on the Missouri non-profit scene. Founded in 1891, the Society has been focused on providing children with safe, loving and happy homes. Strong families, counseling, education and advocacy have also become hallmarks of CHSMO.
The site dovetails with an identity evolution being explored by Heidi Jost and leverages the brand’s central colors while building interest through simple use of type, graphics and bold, evocative and immersive imagery. Both this and the recently posted Trailnet site (see below this post) demonstrate the proverbial “Holy Grail” of web design for me — a mix of informative and organized information design, typographic hierarchy, supporting graphics and beautiful photography. For me, that’s a perfect mix and I think this site does a great job of illustrating the elegant power of those elements. Who says great usability, system fonts and information-oriented sites can’t be beautiful?
Trailnet Site
I was thrilled to see the recent launch of a project I provided the design and digital brand for.
Trailnet is a great Missouri organization that focuses on building healthy, vibrant communities through activity and community connections. I led and creative directed the team that established new brand standards and messaging for the organization and was pleased to be able to personally design all of the digital extensions of that brand, breathing life to a great platform for the print world created by Rob Hutti, a team member.
The result is clean and evocative, bringing both an approachable feel and a sense of simple honesty through scale, clarity and organization of design and typography. Shown here: homepage (original design), second level page (as launched) and sample interior page detail.
UPBrand Brand Package
Recently, I started my tenure as the Vice President / Creative Director of UPBrand, a St. Louis-based agency focused on building brands through storytelling. I’ve already been having fun with great design and concept and one part of that has been establishing the aesthetic and visual brand for the agency itself. A good friend and talented independent designer Ben Franklin had started the proceedings with identity work before I arrived. I have taken the mark that Ben established and created a look and feel for digital assets, packaging, presentation materials, apparel and motion / video.
The work strikes a balance between a very clean, linear, type-driven, Bauhaus-inspired approach and found ephemera and organic, hand-wrought design elements used both metaphorically and to bring a human touch to the designs. It’s always very rewarding to bring a brand that I am close to like this to life.
Duo + Quintess Brand Package
The most beautiful vacation homes in the world’s most coveted locations totally staffed to meet your every need. That is Quintess — a luxury club for discerning vacationers with resources. I recently had the opportunity to offer up site designs for the main Quintess site as well as both identity and digital brand assets for a new vacation club within the Quintess house of brands called “DUO.” The work strikes a balance between sleek elegance and a rich, textural approach. The site designs themselves use a mixture of gorgeous photography of the properties themselves, clean, elegant typography, deep, evocative color scheming and custom damask patterns. The DUO identity is at once bold, contemporary and rich. The split “O” at the terminus of the mark signifies the concept of “II,” speaking to the brand’s direct relationship to the main Quintess offering. I really enjoyed putting these together.
“Friday Night Fights” Title Sequence
This is a title sequence for “Friday Night Fights” — a series of social usability “deathmatch” videos where live lab footage is shown pitting two similar websites against each other to determine which is more usable. The FNF wordmark is also mine. It’s all custom letterforms and ties in with the suite of other 4ORCE wordmarks for various initiatives.
Scottrade Careers Site Designs
So many young designers have asked how they can impress me. I always tell them that Photoshop pyrotechnics are a ton of fun, but that I am most impressed by what a designer can do with the basics of great design, items like layout, typography, balance, color and image. Those principles are what makes this set of designs compelling in their bold and elegant simplicity.
Built on stalwart Midwestern values and a commitment to great service, Scottrade has a corporate culture that is truly unique. Recipient of numerous awards for that culture including a spot on FORTUNE magazine’s coveted “100 Best Companies to Work For” list and always looking for new talent worldwide, Scottrade knew it needed a better way to communicate it’s essence to prospects everywhere. This initiative is designed to convey both the “tangible” and “intangible” aspects of what it means to work at the financial services company. This site has been taken through a full interactive user-testing design cycle, always my preference.
