New Work – The Bejeweled Matchmaker
January 28th, 2011
Recently I had the great fortune to design and build an interactive Flash application for PopCap Games. The goal of the project was to produce a “wizard” of sorts to help people that are new to Bejeweled decide which version of the game is right for them. The interface mimics a combination lock with three question and answer pairs. The answer combination you pick determines which of the five Bejeweled options you get.
The Bejeweled Matchmaker was not only fun to design, it was a great exercise in coding. The logic and UI elements have some complexity to them, and because this had to be done by the Bejeweled 3 release date (read: ASAP), I got a lot of object-oriented ActionScript practice in a short amount of time.
It’s been out for a couple of months now and depending on the type of traffic it receives, I may have to opportunity to expand upon it and make it into a more robust application. Cool!
Title screen for the Bejeweled Matchmaker
Recent Work – Conner Homes
December 20th, 2010
New Conner Homes Logo
A few months back I was asked by the good folks at Stoke Strategy to help out with a rebranding for Conner Homes. A long-time builder in the Northwest, Conner positions themselves as builders rather than mass-market developers; they create homes with Character, with the homeowner and communities in mind. The concept of “character” drove the creative process, leading us to a look and feel that was modern and fresh, yet familiar, with a taste of old-world craftsmanship. The project included a logo design, presentation folder, website and a series of ads.
New Conner Homes Home Page
Community Features Page
Site Refresh
November 28th, 2010
Six months ago I decided my website needed an overhaul, partially to freshen up the look, but mostly to organize things under the hood. I figured it would take me a couple of months. And here it is, mostly complete, if slightly tardy.
The revision includes a bit of housekeeping, including: narrowing down the number of portfolio pieces, reducing the required clicks to get to them, and expanding my illustration samples. I’ve also added a few cool items to the Fun Stuff page, and included a documentation page for a WordPress plugin I wrote earlier this year (it’s pretty neat, if I do say so myself).
I’ll likely be making a few tweaks and corrections while testing over the next few weeks. If you see any disasters please let me know!
Today’s Sketchbook Add
August 30th, 2010
Today's sketch
This weekend while meandering through Georgetown, I picked up a great book at Fantagraphics about the life and art of Dan DeCarlo. I didn’t know him by name, but recognized his work from the long-running Archie comic series. I’d seen his strips and books in passing, but never took the time to really look at the artwork. Thanks to this book I have a new appreciation for DeCarlo’s amazing talent, particularly for how expressive his characters are. I’m even more in awe of his ability to capture the human form in such an economy of line. Today I was inspired to do a couple sketches in the spirit of his style, mostly as practice and to learn how he (so successfully) simplifies faces and figures.
This gal represents no one in particular, but the facial features, which are more realistic than the Archie characters, are based on a style DeCarlo used for a proposed Bettie Page comic book series.
BallardWorks Group Show
August 10th, 2010
A group show and art party!
It’s the summer of Ballard! I’m showing again, this time at BallardWorks, an artists’ studio space in same building I used to haunt in my printmaking days. Come for the drinks and art, stay for more drinks and music.