In 2002, I joined three friends to create a Web-based successor to Exchange and the sorry state of calendaring applications available. We developed a revolutionary approach to online calendaring. I was in charge of the interface for the front-end and back-end and, as a result, became an expert at time zones and Daylight Savings Time. We sold the company in 2004. more >

From 2000-2002, I helped start this company startup, including all of the customer experience (website, packaging, print media, promotions, etc.). The company provided a unique, proven nutritional formula to patients undergoing serious illnesses (like cancer and HIV) and HIV was the company’s first focus. I built the first prototypes and products, communications, visual identity and packaging (and testing), as well as investment materials.  more >

My first company, I joined with two friends to create an interactive media and programing firm back in 1990. We grew it for 10 years, riding the CD-ROM and online service booms, and became probably the second Internet services firms on the planet (back in 1993). We sold the company in 1998, bought it back again in 1999, and sold it again at the start of 2000. At its height, it was over 175 people and we helped educate the industry on customer experience, interaction design, and online strategy. more >

In 2000, I helped found a new kind of search engine with three others. Jux2 was a great idea because it combined results from two to four different search engines, using the extra data to help prioritize the most relevant results. In addition, it became the best way to tell the difference between the search algorithms used by each. I was in charge of the interfaces and identity and did extensive research in refining and differentiating both, while visually telling the story of the technology. We sold the company in 2002. more >

In 1996, I flew to Sydney, Australia to consult with News Limited and build for them a strategy to innovate their newspaper classifieds with unique features. This extended their strategy to new ways to differentiate their offering from growing niche competitors. It was backed-up with research and communicated with prototypes. A small part of this work became their first strategy for online classifieds and its relation to the print products they already sold. Sadly, they headed none of the recommendations or designs and quickly lost market share to other print products as well as missing the online classifieds that would later eat into most of their business. more >

I was asked by Tiffany Shlain to consult on the strategy for the Webby Awards she created. (2000) more >

At the same time, I build a similar online strategy for the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), the organization that runs the Webby Awards. (1999) more >

In 1997, Nike hired my company, vivid studios, to develop their first online strategy. At the time, they had online animations on their site that amounted to companions to their television advertising. Our strategy, built with the hep of Doris Mitsch and Clancy Nolan, leveraged Nike’s authentic performance heritage into the digital world and the strengths of the Internet, at that time. Called “little nike,” it was aimed at creating a more personal relationship with customers than the television, print, and outdoor advertising could. We ran their website for over a year, initiating product stories, features, and special events. more >

In 1997, the founder of Purple Moon, Brenda Laurel, asked me to consult on the online strategy for her company, focusing on “computer games for girls.” It was a fantastic company with great products and it was a pleasure to work with her. more >

In 1997, the early days of the Web, Swissbank flew me and a colleague to London to understand their brand and business and build the beginnings of an online strategy for them. At the time, it was seen as a curiosity by the majority of investors and managers in the company, who promptly ignored most of the recommendations. more >

In 1996, some forward-thinking folks at Kodak asked us to build a proof of concept for a new idea: hosting pictures online. This was before Snapfish, Flickr, Shutterfly and all the rest. We built the proof of concept in only a few weeks and helped prepare the business case and internal investment presentation. Sadly, the management just couldn’t see the value in such a service. more >

I lead the team that worked on this new Internet service for Bell Atlantic, including the creative direction and online strategy. (1996) more >

Women’s Tennis Benefits Association (2006)

This logo was for a community-supported solar association. (2006)

I built several generations of decals for this carbon-offsetting service as well as helping determine the name. (2004-2008)

This logo was for a sustainable events planning firm. (2006)

(2002)

(2002-2004)

(1999)

Internet Content Coalition (1998)

(1997)

(1996)

(1994)

This was the second incarnation of the logo (the first was purely 2D.

(1994)

(1993)

(1990)

(1987)

(1980)

The original site is gone but the dictionary lives on in a new design. (2006)

There were many iterations of this innovative search engine that I lead and produced. (2004) more >

I was the main customer experience strategist consulting for Herman Miller on their new division, Red. It was a fantastic team and company that got swamped in the first big dot.bomb downturn. (2000-2002) more >

I designed and built the website for this company I helped found. (2000-2002) more >

I was the creative director for several incarnations of the vivid site throughout its ten-year history. I was privileged to work with several great visual and information designers. more >

I designed and built the first version of this community. After two years, the website was pulled into the overall AIGA website and now no longer exists. more >

Internet Content Coalition (1998)

In 1998, Kellogg’s, Mattson, and Cheskin worked on this groundbreaking customer cereal design, commerce, and fulfillment system. more >

In 2007, I was asked to consult on the interface of a new kind of home control system. more >

In 2002, I joined three friends to create a Web-based successor to Exchange and the sorry state of calendaring applications available. We developed a revolutionary approach to online calendaring. I was in charge of the interface for the front-end and back-end and, as a result, became an expert at time zones and Daylight Savings Time. We sold the company in 2004. more >

Interface for MacOS photo-editing application in development. (2002)

Online Service Interface. (1994) more >

This was a ground-breaking product that encapsulated the market-based business strategy approach pioneered by legendary strategist, Regis McKenna. There is still nothing like it as it was an application focused on developing business strategies, starting with customer insights, through competitive research and positioning. These were more than the templates used to this day by businesspeople and business students alike. It was application software complete with tutorials and case studies. Think of it as Excel or Word for developing business strategy. I was involved with the strategy, design, and interaction of the product and in order to conceptualize the outcome, I had to learn from Regis his methods and tools for developing sound strategy. It was my first encounter with smart market strategy and has informed my work to this day. (1994) more >

Online service interface development. (1994) more >

Online service interface development. (1994) more >

Another now failed and abandoned online platform, eShop was a separate online service that was to feature many traditional retailers. This screen was the very start of the Tower Records online store, facing a virtual mall, we were developing before the project was cancelled in 1995. more >

This was a prototype application for General Magic’s MagicCap OS and device. It was an early system to trade stocks online funded by SONY in 1991. more >

In-car navigation system interface (information and visual design). (1993)

vivid developed the system interface for this in-car CD-ROM-based navigation product. ETAK contracted vivid to design and document the interface standards to SONY’s latest after-market navigator with Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) sensor and color active-matrix screen. The device is installed in the dashboard near the driver and allows both drivers and passengers to view maps and related travel information from regional CD-ROMs.

The interface encompasses color photographs and information on sights, restaurants, hotels, and historical information from Fodor’s travel guides and Trailer Life RV Guides. The system allows users to filter the information and see related photos. Map portions of the system constantly track the driver’s car with relation to internal map databases and GPS. more >

CD-ROM prototype interface design. (1993) more >

CD-ROM interface design. (1993) more >

CD-ROM prototype interface design. (1993) more >

Restaurant guide interface design. (1993) more >

CD-ROM interface design. (1993) more >

This was a kiosk directory to stores and merchandise in a large shopping mall. It’s interface was built to be used by customers looking for a variety of things in a variety of ways. The kiosk allows people to navigate the mall’s three floors visually as well as search textually by name, keyword, and category. It also was designed to print a route map at the station so that users could follow it to their destination. more >

Blind Spot

In 2008, Rosenfeld media published my book on sustainable design. It’s still available from their site as a PDF.

In 2007, some colleagues from Presidio Graduate School started a company to offset carbon emissions of cars. They asked me for help and I named the company and designed the first decals. more >

This was my thesis project from business school. It was something I had been thinking about for awhile but in 2006, I got the opportunity to focus on it as both a design solution and a business. more >

This is a labeling system for consumer products that identifies which of the five major genetic origin types most appropriate for a particular product. more >

I have been very interested in this label. One exploration was a series of small additions to the standard Nutrition Facts label that could make it function better for consumers. more >

I have lead the initiative within the AIGA Brand Design community to apply Scenario Planning techniques to the area of branding. In particular, we have published a Brand Futures White Paper (PDF) that summarizes our findings so far. more >

This is a series of cards for challenging designers to think more fully about the experiences they create. It is based on the subjects in my book, Experience Design 1 and is available as a PDF and a printed cards from my website.

The publishers of this Que book asked me to write two chapters about the future.

I have been the defacto creative director for this nutriceutical company. I’ve been responsible for all of the print materials (posters, catalogs, forms, etc.) as well as the packaging, identity, and all aspects except for the design of their current website. more >

Believe it or not, this has been one of my more interesting projects with Herman Miller RED. The original instructions take over 12 pages of paper for all 4 products. They also weren’t the easiest to understand, either verablly or visually.

more >

I added some articles for this update to Richard Saul Wurman’s first edition of this book.

In 1996, I flew to Sydney, Australia to consult with News Limited and build for them a strategy to innovate their newspaper classifieds with unique features. This extended their strategy to new ways to differentiate their offering from growing niche competitors. It was backed-up with research and communicated with prototypes. A small part of this work became their first strategy for online classifieds and its relation to the print products they already sold. Sadly, they headed none of the recommendations or designs and quickly lost market share to other print products as well as missing the online classifieds that would later eat into most of their business. more >

I was asked to write a chapter for this fun book. more >

vivid wrote, designed, and produced this book for ZD Press. It is the result of many years of our experience in the multimedia industries. This book covered everything readers need to know in order to find work (or find employees). more >

Demystifying Multimedia was commissioned by Apple Computer to become the source for information about the process of creating multimedia products. more >

The book, Understanding Computers, was designed for my mother as well as all of those people who feel that they should know something about computers but don’t know where to start or are too intimidated.  more >

Danny Goodman’s Macintosh Handbook was designed to set a new standard for “how-to” computer reference books. more >

When the software utility TypeView was ready for distribution, the options available for packaging were meager, wasteful, and unacceptable. We designed a small package that could be used to ship and display the software and manual in one piece. more >

In 1989, I was asked to manage this project. It was one of the first books I did from start to finish, for publication.  It was a partnership between Steelcase and TheUnderstandingBusiness about designing better offices and workspaces. more >

I worked with Michael Everitt at TheUnderstandingBusiness on this project in 1989. It was for one of the largest seed providers in the world (now part of Monsanto). more >

In 1989, VECTA, a division of Steelcase, asked TheUnderstandingBusiness to look at their catalogs as a system. more >

My packaging class was asked to design a model kit for famous buildings. I, of course, chose the most difficult building possible (Frank Gehry wasn’t doing his organic work this early). more >

This was to be a business directory to state (in this case, California) businesses for distribution to overseas and out-of-state industry. It described the state’s largest companies with information about each.  more >

Another project from 1988 at TheUnderstandingBusiness. This was a mobile version of the Yellow Pages (back when mobile meant small for your car glovebox or purse). It was a separate subset of the listings and categories in the standard Yellow Pages for an area (only the things you might need while on the go) and a format that was a quarter of the size of a standard Yellow Pages. more >

This project was one of personal political expression in the public realm. The explorations gave me an outlet to experiment with bold messages, communicated both visually and in text. more >

I’ve saved some of the  illustrations from my days at Art Center and UC Berkeley. They’re from a variety of projects. more >

This was, I guess, my first book. I have no idea how old I was when I made it, but I still think it’s pretty cool. more >