/ Turavel Kiosk Application

Client: Personal
Tasks: Project Charter, Information Architecture, Wireframes
Length: 2 Months (2011)

The Turavel kiosk application is built for travelers who want to explore a city without the concerns of linguistic or physical barriers. Each kiosk is placed in the airport and at several points of interests in the city. The user can interact with the kiosk to view the city in real time and talk to locals using cameras as if they were in the city. + More

I wanted to create an open platform for users to learn and explore a place without the external influences of media that was apparent in my Censorship Installation, as well as the language and time issues I experienced while traveling. The challenge was to design for a wide height spectrum that accommodated both children and adults. After researching and comparing different kiosks, a 10' x 7' multi-touch screen was the best solution that accommodated all users. This project is still in progress but I hope to see it live one day. - Hide

/ Bible Memory iPhone Game

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Client: Zondervan (for Momentum Design Lab)
Tasks: Information Architecture, Wireframes, Visual Design, QA
Length: 6 Months (2011)
URL: Download App

Zondervan, a successful Bible publishing company, came to us wanting a mobile application to help kids memorize Bible verses. The user can test their memory, record themselves reciting verses, and earn prizes from memorizing verses. + More

The most challenging aspect of this project was the tight deadline that forced us to focus only on the most crucial interactions. We strategized and determined which features to include meeting our deadline while keeping it fun for our 9-13 year old audience. For the visual design, we used their illustrations to stay true to the company's brand identity while applying some of our own creative ideas to create an engaging game. - Hide

/ Design Agency Website

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Client: Momentum Design Lab
Tasks: Information Architecture, Visual Design
Length: 4 Months (2011)
URL: View Website

Momentum Design Lab is a design agency that specializes in creating applications for any device with an interface. They pride themselves on their knowledge of the latest technology and design trends which can be seen throughout their work. It was felt their previous website did not reflect their core values, so I was brought in to give it a fresh new look that best represented the company. + More

Given that trends come and go so quickly, especially in the web sphere, I wanted the design to be timeless yet emphasize Momentum's cutting-edge work. Utilizing fun and flat-vector imagery against a white background helped bring to life the personality of the company. After much iteration, we finally found the right amount of minimalism and color to bring out the company's professional and quirky side. - Hide

/ Censorship Series

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Client: Personal
Medium: Paper, Ink
Size: 10' x 7' (installation); 6" x 4" (book); 8.5" x 11" (prints)
Length: 6 Months (2008)

The Censorship series was my senior thesis that started from 8.5" x 11" prints, transformed into a book, and finally a wall installation. Each medium consisted of news articles and blog entries from different countries that had politically and socially sensitive words removed. I was inspired by my experiences in China to spread awareness of censorship and highlight its universal impact. + More

Living in China, it was very easy to be misled about world events due to the extensive Internet firewalls and pervasive manipulation of the media. By manually erasing words, I could see the meaning of the articles change by comparing both the original and censored visually. I pushed the idea further into a wall installation and combined entries from popular blogs in various countries. The countries with less stringent censorship laws were placed on the left while those with the most extreme were placed on the right. Through this project, I came to see that Western pop culture and misconceptions of other countries were prevalent in these entries. - Hide

/ Face Series

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Client: Personal
Medium: Digital Photographs, Web
Length: Ongoing (2006 - Present)
URL: View Website

The Face series is a collection of photographs of people from my various travels throughout Asia. The images are organized in a linear fashion starting from the most Eastern country and gradually shifting towards Western countries. I created this project to gain a better idea of the distinctions between national identities created by governments through individuals' faces. + More

The more countries I visited, the more I saw how these countries overlapped in history, customs, and contemporary culture. I was curious to see if this overlap manifested in physical appearances. Through my exploration of the facial features of my subjects, I could see similarities along with a transformation of eye shape, skin-tone, and other facial attributes across the geographic continuum. This project is still a work in progress and I hope to add photographs from every country. - Hide

/ Learning From Hangzhou Book Design

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Client: Mathieu Borysevicz (freelance)
Tasks: Concept, Visual Design, Layout, Production
Size: 10.8" x 9.8" x 1", 330 pages
Length: 6 Months (2009)

I collaborated with the artist Mathieu Borysevicz to combine his photographs into a narrative book. Over a period of five years, he documented China's continuously morphing urban landscape in various cities. We worked together to organize all his photographs into a publication that captured the highlights and idiosyncrasies of China's rapid urbanization. + More

My role in this project was to create a concept for the book and construct it into a coherent story. The inspiration came from the photographs that displayed the simultaneous themes of uniformity and chaos, which I felt, was an accurate depiction of China. Together, the non-grid and grid-based layouts and Impact font helped bring out the bold and dense feel I envisioned. This book received the DAM Architectural Book Award for Urban Portrait in 2010. - Hide

/ Family Tabs Web Application

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Client: Location Labs (for Momentum Design Lab)
Tasks: Visual Design
Length: 2 Months (2010)

Location Labs develops and markets applications for mobile carriers that allow customers to track their loved ones through their smart phones. They came to us wanting their own carrier-independent application where users could manage and track their family members through a web application. + More

The visual concept reflected the values and principles behind the product as well as the tech savvy parent. It was important to capture themes of friendliness, wholesomeness and pleasantry in the design without making it feel too intrusive. After collaborating with the client through multiple iterations, we finally came up with the right concept, a light and fun interface with a bright, colorful palette. - Hide

/ Broken Tape

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Client: Personal
Medium: Duct Tape, Electrical Tape, Digital Prints
Size: 20' x 12'
Length: 6 Months (2011)

I was interested in exploring non-traditional mediums that resembled traditional mediums. I chose electrical and duct tape because it closely resembled paint, with its latex-like texture. The concept manifested from a series of pixelated and broken web images which ended up being used in the installation. Ultimately the piece, intended to reflect digital images, was constructed through organic improvisation.

/ CJA's Annual Dinner Collateral

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Client: The Center for Justice and Accountability (freelance)
Tasks: Concept, Visual Design
Size: 7" x 5" (save the date); 7" x 15" (3-fold invite); 5" x 7" (rsvp); 8.5" x 11", 21 pages (program)
Length: 4 Months (2011)

The Center for Justice and Accountability is an international human rights organization that aims to provide legal support on behalf of victims of humanitarian crimes. The project consisted of designing a save-the-date, invite, and program for their annual celebratory dinner. + More

Their main supporters are individuals who have been deeply involved with the organization. Baring this in mind, I kept to their existing brand identity in all three pieces and focused on the strong imagery of survivors that embodied the organization’s values. For a more dramatic effect, I used a grey monotone color palette with bits of red and the neutral Futura font to bring out the black and white photos. - Hide

/ Exquisite Corpse Exhibition Collateral

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Client: m97 Gallery
Tasks: Concept, Visual Design, Production
Size: 3.5" x 8.25" (invite); 9.5" x 6" (catalog)
Length: 2 Months (2009)

While working in a Shanghai art gallery, I had the opportunity to design a catalog and invite for a group photography exhibition, Exquisite Corpse. The start of the exhibition "drawing" began with a photograph of a literal corpse. The next image possessed one commonality, literal or concept, with the previous art piece and continued on until the last image. + More

I started with designing the title of the exhibition. After researching many fonts, I drew from the literal meaning of the game and created my own font by combining a mixture of fonts with the artworks. The next challenge was to design for two languages, English and Chinese, in a way that they visually harmonized with each other. This was achieved by pairing fonts that had similarities in width, thickness and curvature. - Hide

/ Blank Series

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Client: Personal
Medium: Mixed Media on Wood Panels
Size: 10" x 12", 7" x 7", 8" x 7", 9" x 7", 13" x 7", 7" x 7" (clockwise from top left)
Length: 2 Months (2008)

After several months living in China, I was inspired to create a series based on the transformation I had undergone, a process driven by my personal experiences with censorship. I collaged pieces of news articles, photographs and graffiti onto wood panels, and lathered it in white latex paint to represent how I felt at the time. + More

While living there, I could not view websites I could normally view back home. I found myself filtering my own words during discussions and I made less of an effort to be up to date with current events. As a consequence of censorship, I noticed myself detaching from the outside world. - Hide

/ Morning, Afternoon, Evening

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Client: Personal
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 36" x 24" (all)
Length: 3 Months (2008)

The Internet cafe is a place that can be found throughout China, open 24 hours, seven days a week. What fascinated me about this sub-culture was that this could not exist in America. In one country this was an acceptable communal experience and in the other it was seen as an isolated experience. + More

I began by putting myself in Internet cafes to observe and study the thriving Chinese subculture. At first it was slightly claustrophobic and alienating, but soon I began feeling comfortable. Once I got used to these spaces, I started to take pictures of different Internet cafes to capture them from an outside perspective. Revisiting these photographs spurred the same feelings of claustrophobia and anxiety despite remembering how comfortable I felt. Curious by this notion, I transferred these images into paintings, to portray my experiences of feeling trapped and safe at the same time. - Hide

/ m97 Gallery Brochure

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Client: m97 Gallery
Tasks: Concept, Visual Design
Size: 12" x 4" (3-fold)
Length: 1 Month (2009)

The client commissioned me to create a brochure for his gallery that appealed to both his current and potential clientele. The audience for Chinese contemporary art had rapidly shifted from primarily foreigners to one that included an increasingly significant young Chinese population. This big shift was something the gallery needed to address in the brochure. + More

I could not change the logo, but I could change the gallery's image through their brochure. To appeal to both audience demographics, I included the gallery's most prominent works and an image of its interior space into the brochure, giving it a sophisticated but youthful contemporary look. - Hide