SECOND LIFE UX
Linden Lab, Summer 2009



Dialog Boxes

During my summer at Linden Lab, I modernized a series of dialogs to match a new Second Life viewer. First I would make several iterations of the dialog in OmniGraffle, trying out various configurations and states.

SECOND LIFE UX
Linden Lab, Summer 2009



Photo Editing Dialog

This is a complete wireframe of a dialog with all of the advanced settings available for power users. This dialog allows users to take cool pictures in the Second Life world.

SECOND LIFE UX
Linden Lab, Summer 2009



XML Layouts

Once the wireframes were finalized (left), I would lay them out in XML (right) to match the new Second Life viewer's visual theming. We made sure that the dialogs were fully localizable and consistent with the rest of the UI.

SECOND LIFE UX
Linden Lab, Summer 2009



Buy Currency Dialog

Here's one of several "dialog makeovers" I did over the summer. I would evaluate an existing dialog in the product, plan a series of improvements, and lay out a new version in XML.

SECOND LIFE UX
Linden Lab, Summer 2009



Advanced Features

One of my biggest assignments was to take inventory of the many (850+) advanced features that Second Life power users like to mess with. I spent some time figuring out what all these features really did, whether they're actually useful, and where they should go in the product.

UX SAMPLES
Autodesk, Fall 2011



Feature Score Card

Here's how I'd capture and color-code results from our standard satisfaction questions. This one was popular with the AutoCAD designers; they liked to see all their data at a glance.

UX SAMPLES
Autodesk, Winter 2011



Study Reports

After each usability study, I'd whip up a slideshow report with key findings, screenshots, and lots of quotes.

UX SAMPLES
PlayFirst, Spring 2010



Game Tutorial

I designed the help and in-game tutorial for Diner Dash: Grilling Green on the iPad. I was responsible for the writing, the timing, and the interactions to ensure good pacing for beginners.

UX SAMPLES
Reactrix, Summer 2007



Play Observations

I watched people play gesture-based games and collected data on how they behaved. If you're into graphs, here's the report:

Reactrix Data Report 2007

UX SAMPLES
Reactrix, Summer 2007



Design Presentation

I distilled my big report down to a few key findings, and I presented a slideshow to the game designers. Changes were incorporated into the next round of playtesting.

MACHINES OF PERCEPTION
Summer 2010



Poster Presentation

For my Master's project, I made a game to teach the biology of vision. Here's the poster I presented at the annual Learning, Design and Technology Expo.

MACHINES OF PERCEPTION
Summer 2010



Storyboards

To get started on the game, I sketched out my ideas in a series of storyboards. This one shows a step-by-step process of how our eyes work.

MACHINES OF PERCEPTION
Summer 2010



GameInterface

I built abstract 3D models of the eye in Maya, and brought them into Unity to add interactivity. The Unity setup looked something like this.

MACHINES OF PERCEPTION
Summer 2010



Screenshots

Here's a stack of screenshots from the game. The objective was to put together a complete model of the eye, using a few puzzle pieces and tools.

MACHINES OF PERCEPTION
Summer 2010



Final Screenshot

This is what the game looked like in its final form. At this stage, the player is almost finished assembling the model.

VIRTUAL FISH PROJECT
Spring 2010



Interface Mockup

This was a fun project: I made an interactive model fish for a neuroscience lab. The interface allowed researchers to manipulate the fish for behavioral experiments.

VIRTUAL FISH PROJECT
Spring 2010



Pipeline

There were a lot of moving parts to get this project to work: I had to build and rig a model fish, skin it, animate it, and make it interactive. I started with a flowchart to get my ideas in order.

VIRTUAL FISH PROJECT
Spring 2010



Design Elements

The interface design was totally open-ended, so I got to pick a color scheme, draw icons, and generate about a million sketches.

VIRTUAL FISH PROJECT
Spring 2010



Model

The fish model had to closely resemble the anatomy of a real cichlid fish, especially a few key parts used for social signaling.

VIRTUAL FISH PROJECT
Spring 2010



Thesis Presentation

I presented this poster for my honors thesis. If you'd like to punish yourself, you can read my thesis too:

Interactive Behavior Research
with a Virtual Cichlid Fish

SKETCHBOOK HIGHLIGHTS
2009-2010



Contextual Inquiry

We visited one of Autodesk's major clients to study how they use AutoCAD to design theme parks. We weren't allowed to take pictures, so I made tons of sketchbook doodles to capture what we learned.

SKETCHBOOK HIGHLIGHTS
2009-2010



Brainstorms

I do a lot of sketching, sometimes just jotting down ideas for games or interfaces I might make someday. On the right side, I'm working out some interaction details for a current project.

SKETCHBOOK HIGHLIGHTS
2009-2010



Brainstorms

I usually have a bunch of different ideas going at once. Here's a page with sketches for four or five different projects all smashed together.

SKETCHBOOK HIGHLIGHTS
2009-2010



Exploratorium Exhibit

I had a wonderful opportunity to work with the Exploratorium in San Francisco for a design class. We created science exhibits and displayed them in the museum for visitors to play with. Here's a sketch of the exhibit I made.

SKETCHBOOK HIGHLIGHTS
2009-2010



Exploratorium Exhibit

I like to try lots of different alternatives before picking a final design. Before building my Exploratorium exhibit, I made some 3D prototypes in Maya to see how different shapes would look.

ZOO ESCAPE ADVENTURE
Fall 2009



Game Concept

I drew up some ideas for a children's game as part of a class assignment. The goal was not to implement a complete solution, but to describe and present a prototype or idea.

ZOO ESCAPE ADVENTURE
Fall 2009



Map

Here's a map of the game world. Each station had a different mini-game, each designed to teach a different skill.

ZOO ESCAPE ADVENTURE
Fall 2009



Backdrop

This is a background for one of the game scenes. The scenes were intended to be simple and enjoyable for young children.

ZOO ESCAPE ADVENTURE
Fall 2009



Character Design

The game concept also included a series of characters. Each character had a problem the player needed to solve. For example, the monkey was too lazy, and the turtle was too shy.

ZOO ESCAPE ADVENTURE
Fall 2009



Icon Design

With the basic concepts in place, I made a pack of icons to help describe the details of the game. These were incorporated into the idea presentation.

THE SENSE FILES
Spring 2010



Idea

For a class about educational games, my team and I made an iPhone web app called "The Sense Files." The concept was a guessing game for kids, with various pictures and sounds to choose from.

THE SENSE FILES
Spring 2010



Screenshots

Here are some shots of the game screen. I was in charge of visual deisgn, and I collaborated with the team on interaction, user research, and coding.

THE SENSE FILES
Spring 2010



Layouts

After building and testing our app, we planned the final poster presentation. I drafted these layout options as we organized our ideas.

THE SENSE FILES
Spring 2010



Poster

Here's the poster we presented at the end of the quarter. The "Process" quadrant was a series of lift-the-flaps with more info underneath.

THE SENSE FILES
Spring 2010



Poster Detail

Detail from the poster, with a summary of the idea and a handful of screenshots. The game was on display next to the poster for people to try.

SUPER LIONS
Spring 2008



Graphic Novel

I was so excited to get an art grant to make my own comic book. I wrote a 32-page full-color book called "Super Lions," and printed a bunch of copies in paperback and hardcover.

Super Lions (PDF)

SUPER LIONS
Spring 2008



Samples

I spent most of my spring break drawing furiously to make the grant deadline. The story was about two rambunctious lion cubs who happen to have super genius powers.

SUPER LIONS
Spring 2008



Cool Inventions

The lion cubs are always inventing implausible things: flying machines, invisibility powder, virtual reality computers. I always liked cool engineering drawings, so I worked one into the story.

SUPER LIONS
Spring 2008



Backgrounds

One of my favorite parts was creating the background sets. This is a quiet little farm from one of the opening scenes, just before all hell breaks loose.

SUPER LIONS
Spring 2008



Backgrounds

More backgrounds from the story. A bedroom, a living room, and a castle.