I was on the digital first team that designed, developed, and created the Covid-19 microsite project for Western University. My work for this project included concept and UX design, development, and project management for the web team. Since it went live this website has won numerous awards including an IABC award for Best of the Best 2022. It also won a CASE Circle of Excellence (Silver) award.
Early on I created a few concept pages to show how different types of content could be treated. Created in Adobe XD.
I mocked up a couple of prototype pages showing how data points may be shown on desktop and mobile. Created in Adobe XD.
An image showing the grid I used to lay out a data point about Covid-19 testing done in Ontario. Created in Adobe XD.
A few concepts of how stories might be treated on mobile, including a possible timeline treatment and how video might be included in a story. All assets created in Adobe XD.
I was on the team that redesigned and redeveloped Western News. My work for this project included original UX design and research, and I was the sole designer on this project, taking the wireframes to a fully designed product.
Western University's Western News website, launched in 2020. This is how the homepage looked on August 10, 2021.
The site was designed to look good and optimize for mobile. This is a demo of an early page prototype. Created in Adobe XD.
An example mockup of an individual story page with the full-length verison next to it. Created in Adobe XD.
A couple of different background versions for the final product (dark and light mode). Created in Adobe XD.
I was soley responsible for creating Western Entrepreneurship's visual identity in 2020. I then translated that brand from a concept to their web presence and beyond.
An early, on-brand concept for Western Entrepreneurship's website. This mockup was intended to be a pitch-piece, to show what the website would look like without having any real content in the page. Mockup created in Adobe XD.
I was asked by the Western Entrepreneurship team to come up with something vibrant that stood out and would appeal to students. After looking at what other schools were doing, I spent some time digging into the world of athletics and the colour purple. I very quickly came across the Nike Air Max 90 Sd Sunset sneakers and immediately started working with them. I realized then and still do now that the colours are really intense; but it was fun working with such a dazzling colour palette. Swatches made in Adobe XD. Shoe photos via chausport.com.
I spent some time working with the brand style guide (codenamed Nike Sunset) I invented and came up with a couple of layout ideas. The general idea was to lay out pages with plenty of breathing room, in a much different way than other Western websites were traditionally done. In this version the navigation at the top, left would scroll down the page with the user. Created in Adobe XD.
Another concept for Western Entrepreneurship, this time much closer to what the final product was going to be: better bucketed out into distinct audience categories with a slightly muted colour scheme. Created in Adobe XD.
A quick example of some attempts to add texture to otherwise simple white pages. Rather than having flat grey or purple backgrounds I proposed using blurred or muted images and even halftones as backrounds so everything wasn't so flat. Concepts created in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
I was on the team that originally created iWestern, Western's app starting back in 2011. My role was sole designer of the app's UI as well as project management.
I designed the icons and UI for WesternU Mobile in 2011. Icons designed in Adobe Illustrator.
Images I created in 2020 to invite students to download the app. Inspired by Nike. Created in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
Among many other things, I was responsible for coming up with creative ways to engage the university's audience on social media.
I worked with the Western Communications team to create a meaningful way to honour the lives lost on Flight PS752.
My role on this project included building an English and Farsi website, leading a student to have all of our content translated accurately into Farsi for the greater community, and ensuring that the translated product was appropriately used in a video shown at the vigil.
This project won Western Communications an IABC Award of Excellence for Issues Management and Crisis Communication in 2021.
I created unique art for a Detective Pikachu movie-themed post on Twitter that was well recieved by the campus Pokemon community. Among many other social media projects, I also created paper lanterns floating in front of the moon for Instagram. Created in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, respectively.
I find it hard to sit still and am constantly playing with designs and concepts for new logos.
Personal branding exercise for HELLA. Took inspiration from power tools and valkyries. Created in Adobe Illustrator.
I created this character-based icon (named the Eyedol, a take on Killer Instinct 1's final boss) for my Twitch channel. I plan to animate it as action happens onscreen. Created in Adobe Illustrator.
Personal branding and Illustrator exercise for myself based on my love of gaming and SEGA. Rather than use a trademark symbol I used an M to represent my first name. Created in Adobe Illustrator.
After playing a lot of Mass Effect, I created a NASA worm-inspired logo for myself using sci-fi shapes. Created in Adobe Illustrator.
While reading an article on Geddy Lee, I noticed that one of his bass guitars was adorned with an arcane-looking symbol. I decided to experiment with a crest to reprsent my four-person family.
I wanted to design a 3d logo based on the shape of an M. After concepting out some ideas in Illustrator, I turned to paper and knives and cut out a real version. Created in Adobe Illustrator and with paper and x-acto blades.
Desktop and mobile verisons of the 2014 Project Play website, featured overlapping polygons for a seamless transition between sections. Created in Adobe Illustrator.
I created this floorplan for Project Play so that visitors could find their way around the venue. Created in Adobe Illustrator.
A crest I designed for my Destiny clan (Five to Win or FTW), inspired by space mission patches. Created in Adobe Illustrator.
An icon I designed used in Western University's mobile application to denote "marking your calendar". Created in Adobe Illustrator.
An icon I designed for an Alumni Western project to denote "pack your bags". Created in Adobe Illustrator.
I like to draw images of many of the characters my players meet in my tabletop adventures. This was Captain Hogar, a caravan leader. Created in Clip Studio Pro.
I created this pattern as a fresh concept for "spring" for Western University that could be shared on social media. Created in Adobe Illustrator.
Icon iterations on the concept "mental health" I designed for Western's mobile app. Created in Adobe Illustrator.
A Christmas gift for one of my wife's coworkers. Created in Photoshop.
As a fun side-project I redrew all of the web icons that Western uses and exported them in .SVG format so they could scale for any purpose. Created in Adobe Illustrator.
Part of a map I created for a tabletop RPG I was running. Created in Photoshop.
I created this icon for Western's mobile app. This image shows an iteration to a simpler image that conveys the same "maps" concept. Created in Adobe Illustrator.
Rather than use the same 3d stock photo of the organ, I created this illustration to represent the human heart for a Valentine's Day social media post. Created in Adobe Photoshop.
I created this drawing of a modern Buddha, connected to all information. Created in Procreate on iPad.
A logo I designed for an RPG blog I created called EpicRoll.net. Created in Clip Studio Pro.
An assortment of small icons created for Western University. Created in Adobe Illustrator.
A promotional drawing of a GamesDay Podcast character to advertise our Diablo 2 video series on YouTube. Created in Clip Studio Pro.
Icons I designed for an in-class lecture series for entrepreneurs at Western. Created in Adobe Illustrator.
I created this art as a tribute to my colleague at Western University. I was trying to mimic a Soviet-style propaganda poster. Created in Photoshop.