FoodFeed is a website that not only enables people to explore information about ingredients, recipes, kitchen tools and cooking techniques, it makes it easy to discover new food sites and recipes based on sites they already trust.
Anyone can use FoodFeed’s food encyclopedia to look up reference information or browse through its community-recommended collection of food sites and recipes.
FoodFeed members enjoy the convenience of a personalized home page that aggregates and searches recipes exclusively from food sites they trust. Members can also specify and save their own filters, so that FoodFeed’s search results and personalized recommendations reflect their tastes, food allergies, and dietary preferences.
My individual contributions to this project included conducting directed storytelling interviews and competitive analysis, persona and scenario development, visual research, website content collection, and HTML prototyping.
To me, a book is its own self-contained world. Reading a book opens that world up a fraction, exposing it to the reader’s perspective and expectations. But what would happen to that self-contained world if we could write directly on its pages, read notes others have written in the margins, and have online discussions about the material with classmates or with fellow readers around the world, all within the book’s covers? I envision reading in the future as a much more interactive experience. Watch my concept video on the future of reading, then see the process book to see how it all came together.
Actor and improvisor Cathy Simpson wanted a website that would attract the interest of casting directors, open doors to auditions, and connect her directly with potential employers. I met with her in person to talk about the purpose, content, and style she wanted for her website, and here are some of the words and phrases that came up during our conversation:
strong
professional
warm
natural
minimalist
muted
minimal text
no pink
no black background
Based on these notes, I came up with several potential color themes for the site. From the swatches I sent her, Cathy selected a naturalistic palette of greens and browns that really made her headshot pop on the finished site.
I decided to employ a clean, minimalist layout that would let the site’s content stand out. To facilitate the site’s goal of connecting her with people interested in hiring her, Cathy’s contact information appears above the fold on all pages, and there is a “Contact Cathy” form that enables people to send her a note directly.
In describing Life Art’s objectives, the artistic director had once used the phrase, “Discover your inner twinkle.” I thought this phrase particularly fitting for headshots, which aim to reveal their subjects’ personalities, so I decided to incorporate it into the postcard that would advertise the company’s headshot services. The postcard needed to showcase the quality and style of Life Art’s headshot photography, mention a discount for students and groups, and include the company logo and website URL. Here are a couple of my initial postcard designs:
The director came back saying he loved the “inner twinkle” line but thought that the natural, outdoor shots called for softer colors and lines in the layout. I incorporated his feedback into the next version:
This design had a more freeform, relaxed layout and played up the colors in the headshots but didn’t tie in as well with the logo’s colors. Something about it just wasn’t twinkling, and so I went back to the drawing pad and eventually came up with this next design, which the director absolutely loved and chose as the final version:
The color palette worked with both the photos and the logo, and the star trails pulled everything together with a very emphatic twinkle.
In designing the Falling Anvil postcard, I featured the anvil logo on the front with no accompanying text. Seeing the logo on a bright yellow, unusually shaped and oriented postcard intrigues people to flip it over for more information. On the back, they discover the ensemble’s name and tag line, as well as the website URL and member names running around the border. Enough space has been left under the tag line to accommodate a standard size label with time-sensitive information such as specific show dates and venues. The postcard’s 5″x5″ dimensions also make it ideal for use as a promotional drink coaster.
Brief
In designing the Falling Anvil postcard, I featured the anvil logo on the front with no accompanying text. Seeing the logo on a bright yellow, unusually shaped and oriented postcard intrigues people to flip it over for more information. On the back, they discover the ensemble’s name and tag line, as well as the website [...]
