Freelance Design Websites
Originally conceived as an opportunity to teach myself PHP and MySQL, Inherently Funny also proved a good test case for holistic web design. Launched in April 2006, the site's submissions, search engine referrals, page views, and ad revenue continue to grow.
Site functionality includes the ability to submit, search, sort, rate, and comment upon entries.
Conceived as a personal SEO challenge to capture some of the thousands of daily searches for the word "bored", the site also provided an opportunity to eschew the clichés of Web 2.0 design and look backwards for inspiration. Ultimately I consulted David Ogilvy, dusted off Helvetica, and dismembered my favorite red jacket to produce a cheeky interpretation of the classic HTML button.
What does the site do? Press the Bored Button to find out.
A talented character actor influenced by experimental theater and Buster Keaton, Shams naturally wanted his online portfolio to reflect his distinct sensibility. We chose Massin's innovative visual treatment of Eugene Ionesco's The Bald Soprano as a starting point for the design.
After shooting dozens of photographs of Shams, I posterized several poses before selecting four for the website.
The first website I built, Meat Junkie remains one of my most successful efforts, having prompted dozens of emails both positive and negative and threats of legal action by Burger King and Jack in the Box.
Originally designed with a WYSIWYG, Meat Junkie has since been re-coded several times and now uses PHP includes. The recent addition of text ads made the site self-sustaining, but the original, ad-free version also remains available.
Still working at age 83, Blood is widely recognized as a master sculptor. Given the breadth of his achievement, the main objective of the portfolio was simply to provide a structure and navigation that would allow his work to speak for itself.
Agency Design Websites
I joined IgoUgo as a junior graphic designer in the spring of 2003 and subsequently held roles as a user experience designer and Director of Project Management before becoming the Director of Design and Usability in fall 2005.
During my years at IgoUgo I've contributed to redesigns that led to the Webby Award for Travel in 2004 and the acquisition by Sabre in 2005. Most recently I've worked with the IgoUgo team on site advertising, usability, converting layouts to CSS, and search engine optimization.
This project required duplicating and then converting IgoUgo site files to match the branding of ASTA's consumer website TravelSense. While much of the functionality remained the same, the ASTA travel community did require entirely new CSS and the addition of a travel agent directory.
A project very similar to the ASTA website, the Coast to Coast travel community required applying a new design to existing IgoUgo site files and functionally. Coast to Coast provided the retro logo and asked that I design the site with a complimentary look and feel.
Project Management Websites
As lead project manager I worked with Travel Channel contacts and IgoUgo designers and programmers to ensure this custom travel community matched the high quality of the Travel Channel brand.
Managing this project required writing detailed specifications for new functionality, directing the redesign of the existing Duncan Hines website, and working with the client to ensure a smooth migration from the old site to the new.
Banners Websites
Created to run in an email campaign for the alternative travel website GoNomad, this banner ad was designed to showcase the adventurous side of the IgoUgo brand.
Employing aggressive typography to convey the excitement of the relaunch, the original banner also used ActionScripting to dynamically display the days remaining until the May 5 event.
This small banner combines retro and script fonts to suggest the kitsch appeal of a Hawaiian cruise vacation.
Logos Print
As a small company just starting in a competitive business, Fighting Monk needed a logo that projected both size and trust, so I appropriated those qualities from the abstract corporate logos popularized by Paul Rand.
The logo was created by breaking the initials “F” and “M” into component strokes and reassembling them into a diamond.
A friend was kind enough to roll up his sleeves and pose for the silhouette in this logo. His long limbs and large, flat feet serendipitously echoed the font's stems and serifs.
Unfortunately, this logo was not ultimately used by the New York Writers Coalition.
I chose American Typewriter's curvy, anthropomorphic "g" to anchor this logo for a nonprofit organization that pairs teenage girls with professional women writers. While the logo suggests both eyeglasses and a typewriter key (reading and writing), the letter's playful, curled ear also signals that the organization knows how to have fun.
I subsequently designed a postcard using this logo.
Business Cards Print
Gallagher asked for a simple, modern calling card to hand out socially, so I used an asymmetrical layout of red and black text set in Trade Gothic.
Miscellaneous Print
From 1998-2000 I drew a comic that appeared in the Chicago Reader, the San Diego Reader, and the Proper Gander. Each single panel comic depicted the thoughts of a deceased icon.
Mailed to restaurants reviewed by IgoUgo members, this window sticker was designed to establish the relatively unknown IgoUgo brand via a prominent logo and URL.
Despite the obvious flaws (especially in typography), I include these two designs for a non-existent book because they were the final project in my first graphic design course.
SEO Documents
From March 2005 to November 2005, I used search engine optimization to almost triple monthly Google referrals to Meat Junkie. The Excel document charts what strategies did and did not work and the effect increased search engine referrals had on overall site traffic and ad revenue.