Design speaks by making people feel something. Logic leads to understanding, but only our feelings lead us to action. I help brands use design as the language of feeling.
UI / UX
Addy
Addy is a transportation network that reduces the high cost of weekend ride-hailing services by allowing people with shared destinations to ride together and equally split the cost of a ride. The cost of transportation in urban areas has grown to be expensive on weekends and evenings, punishing those who may already be on a tight budget.
User Research
Wireframes
Logo Design
Advertising
The growing number of people traveling through services like Uber and Lyft when going out on the weekends creates heavy traffic and can damage the local environment. Addy is aiming its services to be used
by young adults looking to save money on the cost of these rides. Addy permits anyone who would like to reduce the cost of travel, long or short distances, by ride-sharing.
Design Strategy
The target demographic is young adults, meaning the product should communicate a casual and cool tone with them. Users should feel like they’re accomplishing something by using this service, almost like helping a friend out. A casual but most importantly friendly UI and UX will bring users back to the app. Showing how much money they can save among other benefits will provide incentives for using this product which fosters a familiarity and satisfaction with the service. A simplistic UI and a frictionless UX would yield the most satisfaction from users of this app and make them feel like this app offers an experience they can obtain nowhere else.
User Research
Being a college student, I have been able to see how a service like this could change the way younger people travel. I decided to start researching the issue with a few rounds of interviews from some other college students. The interviews were
conducted seperately in a controlled environment and the respondants were asked to be as unbiased as possible. Questions asked pertained to how much reliance the individuals placed on ride-hailing services.
The interviews helped significantly with my research and understanding of the audience. I was able to confirm my initial outlook that people would use this service if the conditions were right, and gained the insight that the actual coordination of a ride and especially split payment can be difficult.
Personas
I developed personas to hone in and understand my audience even further. In order to meet the needs of this group, these two personas helped align this project’s goals with what’s necessary for them.
User Flow
Now that I had conducted initial research on the problem Addy would solve, it was time to start planning the functionality of the app. Starting with the information architechture and then creating user flows. I was able to
prototype a low stakes footprint of how the app would function. I started with the account creation screens and ride-share request features to begin forming a sense of layout.
Before I went to the next step in my process for creating wireframes of the app, I created a moodboard to serve as a visual style blueprint that I could model off and reference.
Wireframes
Logo Design
A logo for Addy started with an approach combining iconography and typography. I wanted the mark to end up bein easily recognizable. Sketching out some initial ideas was helpful.
Thinking of animation as well, the letter A could allow for some sort of animated path, like a person traveling down the road. The crossbar of the shape symbolizes ones destination from that path.
Advertising
Creating a promotion spot for Addy was fun because I got to think of why someone would use this service and the best way to show them that. In this advertisement, I got to show video of the fun destinations and activities that users would go to with description of how Addy can enhance those experiences among friends.
Idle
Idle is a habit-forming app for students aimed at increasing academic performance. This app aims to replace negative habits with healthy ones when it comes to phone dependency. Idle’s platform uses psychology and design to help students regain control of their academics.
User Research
Logo Design
User Interface
WatchOS
Motion
College students are especially susceptible to distraction from habitual phone use. Idle helps students by showing them that phone dependency severely limits academic performance, offering customized solutions for each user.
Constant phone checking results in shorter attention spans, meaning lower information retention. Idle identifies distractions a student faces while studying and helps them stay focused longer.
User Research
I started my research at my university’s library. Not only did I learn from resources I could find on the shelves, but also by observing the students sitting around me. While their activities varied, I saw that there were several students constantly checking their phones.
Assuming students are at the library to get work or studying done, I was surprised to see how much time they were wasting. Once someone opened their phone they dropped whatever it was they had been focused on.
Literature review
I began with a literature review on general phone addiction and it's cause, I found several insights:
- Mobile devices are in fact habit forming, more specifically forming checking habits
- Companies exploit habit formation traits humans have as an opportunity to make devices more “personal and ”persuasive”
- Informational rewards are very accessible
- Personality traits correlate to mobile phone dependency
- Some studies conclude a direct negative association of phone use with GPA
- Phone addiction can impact learning
How can I fix this?
I asked myself what kind of features would an app need to make a real difference in study habits?
- Studying from intrinsic motivation
- Limit distractions from outside influence, going further to prevent the chance of distraction occuring
- Decrease phone dependency
- Results based, the more you allow the app to help you the more you see improvement
- Make studying something that you could track progress on, just as much as you would track a workout or run
Logo Design
Idle's identity needed to represent focus. When people use this study tool, they should know from the logo that Idle is a reliable tool for studying and getting work done. The name idle holds two meanings. It refers to "idling," a result of distraction, but also the word's homophone, “idol," as your phone can become a priority over productivity. I started to play with the shape of an eye which has the same vowel sound.
An eye was perfect for representing focus and studying without feeling too academic or literal. This is a tool that won't help you be a smarter person, but a tool that enables success.
The expression and meaning of the mark was enhanced by adding lines radiating from the center. Showing these lines makes the eye appear to be open and alert. The hour markings of a clock also represent the timing component of the app.
User Interface
When thinking about how students would interact with the app, I realized that the service Idle provides is more of a utility than an experience. This app is a tool that helps with academic success and there shouldn’t be any kind of friction for users being able to meet their goal.
I went with a bright color palette to create an energetic feeling for users about to begin studying.
I choose Montserrat since its family is highly legible yet sleek and modern. This ensures readability and gives an appealing, contemporary aesthetic for young adults
First time user
The initial landing screens users are faced with are critical for explaining how the app will function and change their habits for the better.
Home
The home screen was designed to look like an analog clock. Offering a visual aid helps users block out their time. The clock functions as an interactive element for setting your desired habit time, reinforcing the app's emphasis on productivity.
Study session
Once a session has begun, app restrictions are changed according to the activity.
Menu
Opening the menu reveals more functions a student could find useful or insightful for their habit-forming journey.
Analytics
Seeing how attributes like attention span and phone use are improving creates personal incentive to achieve success.
WatchOS
Idle for WatchOS serves as a companion to the iOS app. Basic functions like starting and checking habits through an Apple Watch are available.
Motion
Addy
Idle
Brand
Otis Oats
While the slogan “The most important meal of the day” may have some truth behind it, the actual breakfast foods we typically eat have low nutritional value. American breakfast is often made of sugary, calorie dense foods, basically “disguised desserts” people are starting their days with.
Brand Identity
Package Design
Logo Design
The convenience of a bowl of cereal may be quick, but you’re missing out on how much a solid breakfast can change the rest of your day. Otis Oats is in the business of a hardworking breakfast, making you achieve the most out of your day. Otis Oats keep you full until lunch, a selling point that competitors rarely deliver on. If you have a hard days work ahead of you, you need a breakfast which works just as hard. Otis Oats since 1961.
Brand Strategy
Otis Oats has a rich history for their client base. Starting as a food truck, Otis Clark woke up before the sun to drive his business out to job sites. He saw local construction workers were often starving by lunch, explained by the shabby breakfast they ate that morning. Blue collar is the roots for Otis Oats. This actually drives in new customers who seek the same energy and nutrition of these workers. Introducing a retro modern design style appeals to both of these audiences while enhancing Otis Clark’s values.
How do we change people's breakfast habits?
Otis Oats is breaking down the conventional american breakfast by introducing a simple, honest, and hard-working product.
Research
As my undergraduate capstone project, I wanted to address a problem I noticed people were already trying to solve. I saw my classmates coming to class late because they had been stuck getting breakfast. I make breakfast myself every morning, and I wanted to know why people often preferred eating out to start their day. This was a great topic to begin researching since I always felt there was potential to solve the problem of a convenient breakfast without sacrificing nutrition and prep time.
I learned that for most people breakfast is a habit, part of their morning routine just as much as brushing their teeth can be. Changing this habit would require convincing. To accompany the problem I was solving, I created a poster which synthesizes my research through infographics and data visualization. The poster examines the most common breakfast option in America, cereal. When you look at the nutrition of cereal, it’s no wonder why people opt to eat out or skip breakfast as a whole because since they were young, they’ve been told this is what a breakfast should be.
Logo Development
Capturing the history that the brand has while trying to remain modern resulted in a custom wordmark. This idea was inspired by classic American diners, and the way that their signage can draw an audience by communication honesty and a good meal. I also looked beyond food at other industries that held similar values to Otis Oats. Tools, hardware, work unions, and army surplus design were all referenced during ideation. The wordmark is versatile and unique with ability to fit in most contexts.
Package Design
The goal was to make Otis Oats stand out to consumers in the cereal aisle. Seated alongside general oats and instant oats, how would Otis differentiate? I decided to lean into the vintage aesthetic and rely on the product to speak for itself. Otis Oats offers unique flavors made from natural ingredients. This component is also a key differentiator from other products on the shelf, and was something to show off in the final design.
Jetpak
Does your printer have ink in it? Actually, what’s your printers make and model? Actually, what kind of ink do you need? Printing is almost never easy, and going to replace a printer’s ink is never easy either. Jetpak gives consumers an opportunity to undercut the wastefulness and high price tag for home printing.
Logo Design
Advertising
Package Design
Jetpak takes the cartridges that you already own, refills them, and sends them back to you. The only cost you pay is for ink and shipping. This streamlines the process of replacing printer ink at a fraction of the cost
while also eliminating the waste from throwing away cartridges entirely. Cartridges are only refilled with vegetable based inks providing a richer and more vibrant color approved by artists and professionals alike.
Brand Strategy
Jetpak is the underdog in the home printers ring, competing with other industry giants would require a different approach. First I looked at how these brands work and the response they get from their customers. I saw none of the companies were making printing exciting or even easy for their customers, this often headache causing task is being communicated by a stale oligarch of companies.
What if printing was fun?
Jetpak understands that no one really knows much about their printer. They make a complicated process easy.
A few important statistics.
Over 375 million ink cartridges are thrown away every year. About 1 million per day. The production of petroleum inks in those cartridges have higher environmental impact than vegetable based inks.
A single factory manufactures 200,000 cartridges per month, 640,000kg of monthly C02 emissions, roughly equal to the average output of 500 homes.
Logo
Jetpak is reworking the printing industry by making the products you already own new once again. This transactional service could be posed as a friendly exchange between friends.
Taking the literal ink drop shape then adding a grin and eyes helps to bridge the unfamiliarity people have with the service by giving it a friendly face to recognize.
Ink Matters.
It was hard for me to think of the target audience for this brand. My first thought for an audience was well, anyone that owned a printer. Although I thought that having this broad view of my audience would hinder me, it started to shift my perspective. This service is for everyday people who could care less about their printer.
Advertising
You know that feeling when you’ve realized you ran out of ink? The nagging messages from your printer that your ink is running low? I wanted to tap into that feeling in a comedic way, reflective of Jetpak’s brand.
I didn’t want to show a printer, and didn’t want to show cartridges. I wanted to allow the audience to connect the dots in their own mind. So instead of going literal, I asked myself “what comes to mind when you say the word ink?”
Package Design
The standard package Jetpak ships to customers is cartridge specific, corresponding to the size of the cartridge model. Jetpak labels the cartridges they’ve serviced for customers so they can later be reminded how to refill and proper handling instructions.
PEER
Logo Design
Winner
Student-to-student counseling is just one of the ways PEER makes high school better. The PEER program connects students dealing with some of high school’s hardest issues with an easy solution: other students who care.
Rebrand
Logo Design
Generative Design
Design System
I was invited by a friend who teaches at one of Loudoun County’s high schools to design the new PEER brand. Their program was struggling with engagement among students who need help, but didn’t feel comfortable approaching PEER
as a resource. I quickly saw that their problem could be solved by changing the perception of their program. I partnered with students and faculty to transform PEER to fit neatly into the high school experience.
Brand Strategy
PEER needed to show students that it’s ok to ask for help. And to do that, the brand needed to be approachable. Instead of using the same school mascot and colors found in every other part a school identity, PEER had to speak differently. Talking about your mental health can only happen with those you trust, and the brand needed to build that trust. To achieve this, I found a great question that PEER should answer.
What if every student was able to see themselves in the brand?
To gain the trust of students, we could create an identity that invited participation, even at a glance. Creating a dynamic identity could highlight each student's individuality and experience with infinite possibilities.
Logo
Creating an identity that students could trust needed to have an authentic platform to spring off of. Initial sketches aimed to identify what students would find cool or edgy, even. But with many students predisposed to finding high school lame already, these ideas would ultimately fall short.
This needed to be something any student, at any age, could relate to. Through continued sketching, I stumbled upon a surprisingly simple idea. PEER just needed to put a smile on its face! The identity began to fall into place. I knew I had landed on the correct answer to this brand’s problem because the more I thought about it, the more excited I got.
The final mark was tuned to have just the right grin. I worked to carefully create a balance between the initials of PEER and the smile being formed by them. The new face of the PEER brand was a friendly one.
Generative Design
One of the most exciting parts of this project was watching it take off once it left my desk. The identity had evolved into many different variations I had never seen before. The students were eager to create their own personal versions of the logo.
Every poster, t-shirt, social post, or campaign now offers a unique and fun design opportunity. I’ve also been able to talk with students about how to think about logo design and ways to create unique versions of the mark.
I was happy to find such a seamless design solution that ditches the traditional function of a ‘logo’ and unlocks an infinite range of emotions through the people who interact with it.
Results
The new PEER brand found a way to reposition itself from just another school resource into something students feel personally connected with. The teachers I worked with find worksheets and homework covered with PEER doodles (which may be the highest compliment I’ve ever received for my work). County-wide, the PEER brand is spreading to the 18 high schools, where we think it will transform PEER's capabilities, making high schools healthier than ever before.
Academies Film Festival Awards
My senior year of high school I had the opportunity to rebrand the county wide student film festival. I saw how great the work being submitted was and wanted to seize the opportunity to make the image of the festival as comprehensive as some of the films being submitted.
Logo Design
Poster Design
Web Banner
The Academies of Loudoun creates opportunities for students and faculty to innovate, explore, research, and collaborate in a new environment. I had the pleasure to enroll in their film program and quickly became involved
with the film festival group. The hands on experience I gained from this project piqued my interest in design, particularly because of the amount of creative freedom I was given for the new face of this competition.
Brand Strategy
The Academies of Loudoun emphasizes a primary focus on STEM. A few trade classes are offered as part of a career readiness program such as HVAC, Welding, Automotive repair, etc. Strangely, they also offered a film program falling under the same category. The class was so substantially different in curriculum and practice than the other classes offered, yet when it came to the image for the classes biggest event of the year, they saw no need to capture the magic that was happening in the classroom.
What makes this student film festival unique?
The identity for the classes biggest event of the year was failing to show the magic that was happening right in the classroom.
Logo
A completely new identity focused on the only creatively based program in the school would need to be eyecatching. Like any new identity, I started to develop a logo that would encompass all aspects of the festival.
When looking at the existing logos for the school and the festival, both were missing the mark where it mattered most. The energy student film submissions possesed was not being shown through either of these marks.
From sketches, logo iterations moved towards iconography surrounding film and film production. Several marks were made exploring this theme.
Considering that the festival name would have to be shortened if used in the space the mark would provide, I began to experiment with typography and shape.
If the positive space was going to be used, a busy image couldn’t detract from the legibility of the festival name. The type was changed and shape was tweaked slightly for a new mark.
Poster Design
The promotion of the festival involved launching the new visual identity to students. Showing off the visual identity and spreading awareness of the festival are tied together in this poster. I was able to take the
space given from the logo to hold contest details. The juxtaposition of information alongside the different colored AFFA logos shows a dynamic identity using all of the selected brand colors.
Web Banner
The promotion of the festival involved launching the new visual identity to students. Showing off the visual identity and spreading awareness of the festival are tied together in this poster. I was able to take the
space given from the logo to hold contest details. The juxtaposition of information alongside the different colored AFFA logos shows a dynamic identity using all of the selected brand colors.
Supercharge
EVs are changing the way humans travel. One major limitation to EV’s are their fixed range distance. What kind of solution would this problem need? Super fast charging letting you get back on the road quicker, to your destination faster. Cut your charging time in half with Supercharge.
Logo Design
Advertising
Signage
Supercharge is the leader in EV charging distribution. Supercharge’s patented technology enables drivers to charge their car on the go roughly two times quicker than standard charging stations.
An identity built around this idea starts with a brand image of dependency and trust for the services provided. Wanting to establish trust within their customer base, Supercharge’s identity is built on the foundation of reliance.
Brand Strategy
Supercharge has the goal of giving the same continuous range a traditional combustion vehicle has to EVs. This goal is no longer fiction and is now within reach through their breakthrough research and technology Supercharge has conducted. A dynamic identity that can pitch this idea as possible to consumers would require convincing an audience through an emotional connection. This identity explores a connection established on trust and convenience, culminating in the successful launch of Supercharge stations across the United States.
How can charging stations affect the future of EVs?
Supercharge pushes the capability of EVs into the mainstream with a new understanding of how they can serve the public.
Logo
The main appeal Supercharge has to offer the public is the ability to recharge your car twice as fast as the standard EV charger. When you’re in a pinch to drive and can’t afford to wait, seeing a Supercharge station is a relief knowing you'll be back on the road twice as fast
compared to normal chargers. Focusing on this, the logo is made of two plugs to form an S shape. The plugs are recognizable and create meaning from the negative space. Tire tracks and a dollar sign are also created.
Hello Monster
The marketplace for designer goods is up in the air, held together by a hodge podge of retailers forming a loose collective idea of where customers can buy cool pieces of art. Hello Monster is interested in amping up the designer toy marketplace by speaking to the interests artists and customers value in the world of display toys.
Logo Design
Web Design
Hello Monster operates as a standalone retailer focused on high quality vinyl toys. What makes Hello Monster different is their full transparency with customers. When purchasing a product, you see the full history behind it. Who made it, how it was
made, price fluctuations, resale value, etc. Importantly, Hello Monster wants to give more meaning to toys. Having meaningful pieces of art can enhance any space, how can vinyl toys be used to bring joy into more people’s lives?
Brand Strategy
Hello Monster believes that vinyl toys, like any other crafted work of art, posses enriching qualities for everyone’s life. The toys they sell put smiles on a faces or pose thoughts which have never been considered. Toys can decorate shelves, but also a desk, a dashboard, or a doorframe. The portability of these toys evoke a childlike playfulness through their appearance and nature. So why is it so difficult to buy them? Low supply drives demand. Hello Monster offers transparency between the artist and the customer when it comes to purchasing.
Why can’t designer goods be sold at a transparent price?
Hello Monster is changing the way designer toys and goods are sold in the open marketplace.
Logo
A good brand starts with a good name, and a good name can make for a great logo. For the full branding of this business, I wanted to take advantage of how cool the products being sold were. Many of these products were weird, cool looking collectibles and I
wanted this identity to feel one in the same. The name Hello Monster comes from gathering a new accessibility to these products while continually engaging new audiences with creative appeal from artist driven work.
I started the logo by experimenting with different typefaces which started to mold the idea I had for a grittier, more sinister vinyl toy dealer. I landed on type that reflected a woodblock appearance and was able to toy with character placement. I still was feeling the type alone
wouldn’t be memorable enough for an audience seeking authenticity. I have the word monster in the name, what if I did something with that? I started to play with the idea of bringing the name to life.
I toyed with the first letter of Monster and saw the shape that the M formed would be perfect to mount a fictional component onto. Some simple horns proved to be effective and gnarly.
Web Design
How could I excite customers from the moment they visit Hello Monster? This was the question I asked myself when crafting the home page. Creating a layout that could showcase some great products and keep the viewer interested was fun.
Instead of overloading our audience with a massive selection of products, Hello Monster presents a limited number of products for sale from a curated selection. The shop update function displays an entirely new selection after the countdown.
Otis Oats
Jetpak
AFFA
PEER
Supercharge
I'm actually seven years old.
Well, at least in the photo to the below I am, but my curiosity and sense of humor haven't really changed since then. Growing up with a father in the design industry and a mother who taught piano, my creativity was always encouraged (see my awesome collage work). As a teenager I began to take design more seriously, seeking out opportunities to make cool stuff. Being awarded for my work during high school helped me see a future as a designer and is what motivated me to pursue a creative career.
I think design is fun!