VISUALIZING COMPLEX DATA
In this project I was tasked with capturing the content and voice of BruceMauDesign.com in one large format poster. The result provides a quick-glance at the people, links, and categories, in addition to a feel for the style of the site. A closer inspection shows the relationship (and lack thereof) between content, details on individual pages, and more. Working with such intricate details was a challenge for me, but it was also wonderful to craft an image that turns something analytical into a thing of beauty.
Individual | Grad school coursework | 4 weeks @ 20% time | 2012
DRAWRINGS
I'm never been a naturally-gifted artist, but I really enjoy visualizing ideas and scenes, and continue to work on realistic sketching as well as more conceptual rapid viz techniques.
playing with 2-d animation
This was a final assignment for a sketching course, we needed to study an animal and then created an animation of them moving a natural way. All that was required was a few seconds of motion, but I couldn't resist making mine a little story.
Individual | Grad school coursework | 1 week @ 30% time | 2014
3-d PRODUCT PROTOTYPING
TSA-APPROVED
This is my quick attempt at creating a better way to travel with carry-on toiletries. I was interested in creating a case that would allow air travelers to carry their favorite travel-size toiletries in the TSA-required plastic bag but also protect them from being spilled or squished in transit.
My initial concept was simply a hard shell that would protect travel toiletries of various sizes and shapes. I sketched out a few different configurations of this same basic idea. My instructor encouraged me to package the object not as a stand-alone case but rather as a case plus toiletries which would allow for a more precise fit (and a higher price point).
The prototyping process entailed making a wood inner mold for vacuum forming, conducting the vacuum forming, and then making a sample travel bottle out of “Friendly Plastic” molding material. It turned out imperfect at best, but it was a great deal of fun working in the woodshop and with the vacuum press to bring my concept to life as a quasi-working prototype.
Individual | Intro to Industrial Design coursework | 4 weeks @ 5% time | 2009
Toothbrush defender
I wanted to replace my boyfriend’s gross travel toothbrush holder with a better solution. I made a few sketches and then grabbed some Sugru and went to work!
Individual | Side project | a few hours | 2009
INSTRUCTIONAL WRITING & DESIGN
While instructional writing was the primary focus of this assignment, I attempted to parse the deluge of words with some layout and basic symbols. These instructions aim to guide, reassure, and enable the user not only to try on a new pack successfully but also to gain knowledge and comfort with the subject matter along the way.
As I found, it’s no easy task to provide reassurances, advisories, contingencies, and tips that could help a variety of users succeed without overwhelming the reader. Professor Kaufer declared that my piece not only was successful, but also that I had ‘invented’ a new instructional writing tool: the Contingency Advisory.
SERVICE DESIGNING FOR FUN
CAMPING RESERVATIONS
This project was completed prior to my time at CMU. I would handle the brief a bit differently now, and look forward to updating this project and actually submitting it NPS when time allows.
While visiting Glacier National Park I was confronted by a damning combination of an awful service process and lackluster customer service. The way the campground handled the first-come, first-served system turned what should have been a vacation highlight – camping in one of the most beautiful campgrounds in America – into a bit of an ordeal. After later chatting with Rangers and confirming this was a known problem without a good solution given the Parks’ constraints, I decided it would be fun to take a stab at it.
In this project I considered the various stakeholder positions, looked at the advantages and disadvantages of the current system, the constraints created by Park culture and costs of system improvements, and I was even able to get some direct feedback from campground users. I then worked to develop a concept of a better system that retains the positive qualities of the current system and is appropriate to the Parks, yet creates a much-improved visitor experience. I also created a few specific guidelines and artifacts that could be touch points in the new system
