GD C
3
esign ommunications
design and communications for non-profits
Websites Grant Writing Case Statements Campaign Materials
I believe there is elegance in efficiency. And in economy - of words,
images, movement. So much so that I am willing to slow down to
get something right the first time.
With family in Germany and Argentina, and having lived in London
and Singapore, I cannot help but love traveling; the challenge of new
places, learning new things, and then integrating that knowledge
into my daily life.
Someone once told me I was very good at asking questions.
I'm not afraid to ask questions. My design process starts with
questions, combined with a practical, bottom-up approach.
I investigate, digest, and reiterate in a way that is quickly and
easily understood.
slow is steady . . . steady is fast
philosophy
case studies
los colores en zoom
adventures in keeping 8 year old boys engaged on zoom
In March 2020 my son's classroom went virtual and I, having never been trained as a teacher, was suddenly faced with asynchronis learning. My challenge was quickly revealed: keep two second grade boys focused long enough to learn while on Zoom. And not just learn on Zoom, but learn another language via Zoom.
It became clear that I would need to present Spanish colors and numbers in a captivating manner - bright colors, cute animals, funny images. Borrowing from hours spent with my children laughing at crazy home videos of other people's pets, I went with the animals.
I learned that the numbers could not be in their usual order or the boys would not pay attention. It became too easy for them. And both color and number images needed to re-enforce each other so that every opportunity could be taken for learning.
the garden club of princeton
bringing horticulture shows to life online
As learning went virtual, so did all else in life, including the garden. The Garden Club of Princeton, one of the oldest garden clubs in the country, had always held their horticulture shows in person, with specimens
always displayed in a green Perrier bottles, always on green cloth covered tables, and always with an entry card.
My mandate was to create a website that would mimic the live experience, right down to the entry cards.
I first outlined the website to follow the different horticultural classes in the show's schedule. From there, I created a webpage to showcase every entrant's submissions, along with the entry card, all on a green background.
One of the greatest challenges arose when participants entered 15+ different plants. It was important to present all that information without losing the impact of all the members' work.
Recipient of the Garden Club of America 'Club Communications Award', May 2021
the garden club of princeton
hort 2.0
Having successfully staged that first Hort show, the next challenge was to do it again; the same but different. All the parameters remained - Perrier bottles, green background, entry cards. How to capture all the information but in a new way that maintained symmetry with the first show website?
I returned to the original outline of each class in the show reflected on its own webpage. Changing the format of the images displayed allowed me to differentiate the website while maintaining the ease of use.
process
My process starts with a mess. Even as a child, when tasked with tidying, I would pull everything from the shelf and begin the process of categorically sorting and separating it all. It is a way of collecting all the information to then organize it in a thoughtful manner.
goal
including who and what
- problem statement -
Determine most important element of the project
Determine
best design for
target audience
Decide the best medium for the project - the how
Determine
the challenges of the medium / to engage audience
Research: pull from personal experiences
Interview stakeholders; weigh good and bad;
read background
Organize all information
User friendly, logical
organization
Assemble
Finished
product