An innovative internet portal/blog for the circulation of political information, news and ideas. Discover Politics strives to provide readers with facts, insight, and fast-track information from Minnesota’s capitol.

The project included: complete branding strategy, UI design, information architecture, and custom background for Twitter. The website uses WordPress as it’s CMS.

• “This product not intended for use as a dental drill.”
• “Caution: Do not eat toner.”

…well, maybe not ALL of us have seen those in particular, but I’ve developed a special fondness (read kink) for the design and intention of warning labels. The “birth” of the warning label, if you will, was created to not only protect the end user from any danger of misuse, but to also provide some level of legal protection for the manufacturer. In other words, “When hazards cannot be completely removed by design, the next step is to provide a “guard,” a physical means of reducing the danger.” – Marc Green PhD, Visual Expert Human Factors.

Researching the psychological and legal history of a warning label is fascinating, but this doesn’t even begin to take into account the sheer ENTERTAINMENT value of these suckers! Heck, you can even make your own with this snazzy little Warning Label Generator.

In the meantime, here is my growing collection of warning labels that have caught my eye while I’ve been operating large machinery, holding the wrong end of a chainsaw…and yes…while eating toner.

If you have any to share, please send them my way!

I’ve culled some of the best shots of this last year…from parties to lonely email vigils in the dark, I present to you Smith PhotoBooth ’08.

Tejas offers an array of cultural influences from the Cajun creations on the Louisiana border, the fresh seafood of the Gulf Coast and the home-style cooking of the plains with deep roots dating back to the original settlers and the generations of immigrants, Texas cuisine is as vast as the great state itself.

Creation of a website, menu, and signage really help set the stage “for all things that are Texas”. Collaboration with Brianna Capra on illustration used on large barnboard mural and Dale Manor with production of mural.

Internet Broadcasting (IB) builds local websites and applications for online consumers, advertisers and publishers. The network totals more than 70 local media sites, primarily television station websites, with an aggregated audience of more than 16 million users per month.

As the Director of Site Design, I led our television station partners in the process of extending their trusted brands onto the Web. I created efficient, repeatable design and development processes that enabled the expansion of Internet Broadcasting’s network from 6 to 75 sites in 3 years.

Additionally, I facilitated the core processes and integrated philosophy of HCI, and the on-going user testing for all of the IB network sites and products. Low-budget/planning phase user testing consisted of: extensive demographic research, focus groups, paper models, and wireframes. High-budget/QA user testing often consisted of: one-on-one user sessions with a moderator (myself), focus groups recruited at the University of Minnesota’s User Testing lab in conjunction with the Rhetoric Department, and real-time interactive testing/prototype models with thousands of users nationwide. (EX: Test Drive).

The Rice County Growing Up Healthy initiative was organized with the intention of better understanding the needs of low-income families with young children in Rice County. With ideas that had originally begun as a simple printed newsletter solution, ended up being a fully interactive community blogging website that engages the residents of Rice County.

A complete identity was created for the group consisting of: logo, business system, and website.

With the philosophy of “less waste, more innovation”, Green Packaging concentrates it’s Packaging Engineering and Design Services in the use of using biodegradable, reusable, and recyclable materials. As a new start-up, Green Packaging was in need of a complete branding system, as well as a website that allowed the firm to make periodic content updates. A custom blogging template was created using WordPress and Dreamweaver.

Working with filmmaker Darren Johnson (Northern Dawn Media), I created a media kit for the independent rockumentary “Live Wide Open”, in which Johnson tracks musician, Martin Sexton, around the country while on the Live Wide Open tour.

While the film “Live Wide Open” has yet to be released, the poster, DVD cover, and promotional mailer were sent out nationally to promote the pre-release screenings of the film.

While the Class Reunion website (www.sshs88.com) will go “dark” in a few weeks, I’ve posted the movie that I put together for our reunion from July ’08 up on the site. It was great working on it…can’t get enough of Prince and AC/DC. Heh. Enjoy and we’ll see you in five years. BTW, we’ll be re-launching the class website in 2012. Gawd…that sounds like a huge number.

While the Senior Art Director at Internet Broadcasting, I was tapped to lead the interface design team for the development of the NBCOlympics.com website for the Athens Olympic games. The site represented a partnership between Internet Broadcasting and NBC Olympics, a division of NBC Sports.

Crucial emphasis was placed on maintaining the well established NBC Olympics brand, while creating an interface that was easy-to-use and highlighted the real-time results, up-to-the-minute TV listings, and an array of exclusive, in-depth content, with an integrated video player providing hundreds of hours of free video. Additionally, I directed the creative for online ads deployed on 3rd party websites.

During the development process I worked closely with Leede Research of Plymouth, MN in the development of the user testing recruitment requirements, task-based activites, and creation of the final report submitted to the NBC Olympics oversight board.

An exclusive feature of the site offered localization to nationwide NBC television markets allowing users to cut directly to content about Olympiads from their hometown.