SpeakOut Case Study Non-Profit Website Redesign to Increase Awareness and Engagement.

Project Scope

SpeakOut is a national non-profit organization that educates, inspires and empowers young people to become activists for social justice.

SpeakOut works with colleges, universities, schools, organizations, government agencies and the private sector, promoting critical analysis, creativity and innovative strategies for 21st century problem solving.

They are the nation’s only non-profit speakers agency, providing educational and cultural speakers, resources, and programs nationally.

On the volunteer site Catchafire, SpeakOut posted a design brief to redo their website, branding and communication with their audience. …

While freelancing for the design agency AKQA, I worked on a project for the snack company WheatThin.

For the Superbowl, WheatThin wanted to celebrate the event by handing out snacks to their customers while they are at home watching the excitement of the game. But this would be based on which city had more users interacting with the WheatThin marketing site.

Challenges:

• Responsive layout. I lead one of the first projects the agency created using responsive design.
• Twitter And Instagram Integration.
• Handle unknown factors as to which city will make it to the Superbowl.
• Legal restrictions. We could not show…

A fintech app for a new generation of mobile inventors.

The Problem

Building wealth is complicated for many families of the current generation. Investing is at its lowest since 1995. Many families are underserved by banks and investment houses.

Objective

Create a mobile app that will allow users to interact with an automated investing platform that selects investments and invest money without the use of a financial advisor.

Challenges:

• Mobile Application
• On-boarding questionnaire to determine users investment profile
• Design for both older and current generations who are turned away from the concept of wealth management

Team:

• Founder (Project Owner)
• UI / UX Designer (Myself, Freelancer)…

Redesigned an antiquated desktop tax application into a custom software cloud system. A B2B product.

The Problem

Users originally had complicated folder structures with excel files that lived on their individual computers and shared drives. This led to complex review processes with many costly printouts, and storage of year old documents.

Objective

Redesign a desktop tax filing system into a cloud based application.

Moving to a cloud system allows users to:

• Have quicker rounds of review
• Capture notes
• Earlier review throughout the work process
• Archiving of tax filings (no longer having mountains of paper printouts)

Challenges:

• Custom software
• Created tax forms
• Reviewed and approval workflows
• Ability to classify, organize and archive data

Team:

• …

Bitcoin and all of crypto started as a niche concept. It’s aspirations are high and honorable. Create a currency that transcends borders and governments that will allow everyone, no matter economic background, to send currency across the globe. But I’ve always wondered why most people find it hard to use bitcoin or any crypto?

We have Venmo, Cash App and Google wallet. Why are these apps more acceptable for the average person to use then QTUMs or even Jaxx (Sorry Jaxx). I think I have the answer, bad design.

Can Design Save Crypto?

Yes, design can save cryptocurrencies. How? The…

In our industry there are so many different ways to go about doing user experience. Visit producthunt.com and you’ve find a web app for any single task or situation. From creating personas, to flowcharts and of course hundreds of wireframing apps. But all these apps have one or two features that are missing. Therefore no single app has a complete solution.

So why use web apps when pen, paper and sticky notes work just fine. Paper doesn’t crash or require a system update. And unlike many web apps they won’t get bought by Adobe, Facebook or Invision and shut down.

Sticky notes

…

From my years of working in both advertising and SaaS (Software as a service) , the communication between the designer and the project manager can easily go from friendly to frenemy.

First, let’s talk about what these two roles are:

The Project Manager (PM)

Sits in meetings with clients or higher level management on the needs that for the client company. The PM listens to theses needs and synthesizes this information onto a document detailing goals and requirements. They get face time with the client and should have a deep understanding of client’s business infrastructure and that of your own company’s capabilities. That face…

A couple of months ago a trend emerged in the design and tech community. Sites featuring individuals that the website creator admired began to spring up.

Some of these sites are focused on women in the design and tech arenas, others are a list of inspirational individuals in the industry the site designer might look up to. Many of these sites feature mostly Caucasian designers with a few having at least one or two people of color. …