This redesign was actually apart of an in-house working interview. I had only completed roughly 20% of the design when I left the office that day, but felt compelled to finish it.

I tried to keep the corporate branding as integrated as possible with the sleek feel of the ‘blox’ and ‘stacks’. Each of these indicates knowledge or a collection of pieces which then make up a test, tutorial, or portion of knowledge.

I ended up turning the position down, but as a sign of good faith, I decided to continue on with the creative process and send it to the owners free of charge.

Old site can be seen here: studyblox.com

Fungus Man

Two nights ago, I had created a sketch of a small fungus person after being inspired by some of the work in Michael Heald’s portfolio. This character will fulfill a villager or NPC type within the game.

Tombstone Ted

I’ve dubbed this character ‘Tombstone Ted’. I’m not entirely sure what his function will be as of yet. I could see him becoming a minor baddy in a platformer or possibly a main character in a haunted house style adventure game!

I’ve never liked the game interface from ©Sony’s Shadow of the Colossus, so I redesigned it. Quick note: Aside from some major UI design changes, the layout has remained intact.

The major problem I had with the previous version was the ‘pancake’ design of the grip meter. Its design took up too much space in a UI that needed to maximize as much visual space as possible. When the colossi start trying to shake you off, you need all of the camera space you can get. Trust me.

I decided to change the grip meter to a depletion based bar in order to create a more cohesive layout for the player UI. Health bar, grip bar, etc. This decision also compacted an otherwise space-eating design component by shrinking the overall height of the in-game information.

Lastly, I decided to forgo the invisible selection method of items with the d-pad and simply display a selected and de-selected option of items by using opacity. The contrast in active vs. inactive icons allows players glance quickly or peripherally identify which item they have selected without distracted them from their in-game experience. Again, shaking colossi are very distracting.

Please remember this is a design based on personal preference and that Shadow of the Colossus is ©Sony.

Its not often that I post internal work. That being said, I felt the redesign of my illustration site (danselleck.com) solved numerous display problems for online portfolios as well as common usability issues.

Read the rest of this entry »

I was contacted by Amazon Web Services training department to create a brand for their internal knowledge base. The goal was to create a simple icon which combined the pre-existing branding standards of the Amazon.com logo and the culture of the hard working recruiting department.

The completed mark combines the existing brand standards and the spirit of the AWS training department: hard work, smart, and clean.

I was thrilled when Dr Robinson asked me to expand his digital marketing efforts to include a mobile website.

Early in the planning phases, I decided to forgo the traditional mdot sub-domain and integrated a mobile detection script with PHP into the pre-existing CMSMS platform instead. Using the detection script allows the website to ‘detect’ a new device and display the proper stylesheet. This technique has proved to help both myself and Dr. Robinson cut down on site maintenance, domain costs, and database monitoring.

Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I was asked to work with GTS Services on introducing HTML5 and CSS3 elements into their new web based retail application (SaaS). My primary responsibility was to consolidate much of the functionality from the previous VB application into a flexible and accessible web format. This was very exciting since I was responsible for not only how work-flow of the application but the entire visual and interactive development as well!

1. Primary Design & The Login Screen

The first step in the design process was to create a palette and design standards for the project. Since our team was creating an application designed to find glass and glass types, I knew the I wanted to keep the palette clear and lite. The login screen was the perfect testing ground for implementing various design standards into the project because of its high-visibility and simple layout.

Read the rest of this entry »

The challenge for the Eastisde Wellness Center web redesign was a matter of warmth. I felt the previous design, while very practical, was too clinical. I hit the drawing board for a few days and began integrating various portions of the EWC branding standard into a new web template.

Read the rest of this entry »

Illustration integration and typographical treatment created by Fish Marketing.

We love working with the gang from Fish Marketing. They’re projects are always interesting and their management of assets is always very thorough. Recently we were contacted to some ‘old sketchy realistic linework’ for a logo.

Even though this was the first time any of us had some anything so photo-realistic in a non-photo-realistic way, the project was finished and we loved the result so much that we thought we would share it with everyone!

All visual assets and information within the layout are ©InfiniteAmmo.ca.

Visit website.

This project was completed while under contract at CMD.

Visit website.

This material is trademark Kaleidoscope™.

We had a great time working with Kathryn and Brett at the Portland State editorial office!

Visit website.

The Mygoldbee.com website design was done while under contract at Fish Marketing.

The Bergstrom Nutrition website redesign was done while under contract at Fish Marketing.

Visit website. Great working with you Max!

Visit website.

Design for this site was created while under contract with Fish Marketing.

Visit website.

Banner for this site was created while under contract with Fish Marketing.

Visit website.