Since beginning my journey as a product designer in 2016, I’ve completed a number of projects. These are a few that have stayed in my heart over the years.
The village of Oenock is a virtual rendition of the historic Town Creek settlement of the Pee Dee people. I choose to name this rendition Oenock to honor the future migrations of the Eno and Shakori peoples into Pee Dee territory following the Tuscarora and Yamasee Wars. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Chara, Sara, Saxaphaw, Eno, Shakori, and others would consolidate into the Pee Dee river valley of South Carolina. This project is meant to serve as an experiential gateway into the paramount chiefdom of Cofitachequi & Chicora. The 3D models I needed were not available, so I created them myself and stitched the world together in p5.
The challenge for this project was to recreate or expand upon a classic video game using p5. For our game, we kept the core ideas of Galaga: moving regular targets (pikachu), moving big monster/ targets (other monster), moving player (Ashe), and shooting Pokemon balls. Overall, I tried to work with my group mates to create a cohesive and immersive experience for the end user. I already had experience with making my own hacked versions of Pokemon as a kid, so I was already familiar with some asset resources. By partnering with my group mate Claudia, I was able to share my prior knowledge and put Claudia in the driver's seat so we could create the best theme possible. Once we had established the look and feel for the game, Claudia took the lead in bringing the assets to life while I planned out the user interaction with Claudia’s assets.
Fadr is a script I’ve been developing over the past two years. When I first made my portfolio several years ago, I knew I wanted something that was going to provide a seamless experience which emphasized fluidity or “flow” between elements. Initially, I was inspired by the fluid flow of Apple’s product pages, where web elements smoothly pull together to create the overall product image. Fadr seeks to deliver this same fluid feel by controlling the animate-in and animate-out functions of the targeted elements.
Coming from an unrecognized nation in the southeast, I jumped at the opportunity to help my tribe. The Chicoran Shakori Oyate of South Carolina were the first to recieve Europeans on the North American continent beginning in the arrival of Spaniard Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón in 1521. One of the larger barriers which my people face is the lack of a land base. I built the digital home of the Chicoran Shakori Oyate to function as our primarily visual space to reconnect and reorganize our people. We are seeking to increase our visibility within contemporary spaces as we prepare to campaign for state recognition.
AquaMine is designed to make automated, organic, high yield farming accessible to everyone. AquaMine seeks to eliminate both physical, spacial, and temporal barriers to high quality organic agriculture. Simply drop any softwood or rooted plant into Aquamine’s GrowBox and watch as roots sprout within days. Need some liquid fertilizer for your cut flowers? Simply say “hey Siri, turn on my Aquamine” and water will begin to flow from the Siri activated pump.
As any pragmatic designer would do, I utilized my understanding of aquaponics and DWC hydroponics to break each concept down to its core components to see the similarities and differences between the two techniques. Both techniques are focused on the common goal of raising agriculture though a soilless medium. Many aquaponics designs are made from plastics such as storage containers. To me, it felt like a shame to hide the beautiful biological process nourishing our food. To fully expose the process of Deep Water Culture (DWC) aquaponics, I repurposed a mason jar drink dispenser into a DWC planter.
Hooey's principal goal is to breakdown the initial barriers to romantic engagement. Hooey’s client’s were focused on an “in-person” experience, wedded to establishment geofences so that each nightlife location has a distinct pool of potential partners. The goal behind Hooey is to make the initial interaction less fought with anxiety by positioning Hooey as the initial ice-breaker tool.
Up2Code is a New York based start-up which I joined in June of 2016. At Up2Code, I ran all things design related, ranging from the hands-on creation of wireframes with clients, to crafting the user experience of each project. In addition to design, I was also the primary frontend web developer. My most visable achievement at Up2Code is the company website. During my time at Up2Code, we expanded from our initial 3 employees, to 15.
During my time at iD Tech, I taught JavaScript, Photography, and Web Design. During my time at iD, I was well known by my superiors, including both my immediate supervisor, as well as our regional recruiter, "for [my] commitment to [my] course and truly pushing it to the limits". While I could have gotten away with the status quo curriculum, my passion for design and web development demanded that I not only push myself, but also push my campers and the curriculum given to me because my goal was to help my students produce something they could be proud of and marvel at.