Gallery
I provide a one-stop-shop for all things creative: project expertise, writing, editing, illustration, design, evaluation, community building, big-picture thinking, and more. Plus, I deliver a deep passion for bringing the maker movement (including emerging art-tech, programming, rapid prototyping, and electronics) to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Below, please enjoy some examples of what I've been busy doing.
Guides
For the Maker Camp Playbook, I led the editing, writing, research, design, and illustration of its entire contents. Some writing was adapted from other internal sources, as is usually indicated. Here are a few of the first pages of a manual I wrote to share guidelines and ideas for facilitators running summer Making activities.
I have written and designed dozens of other guides.
Logos
Two logos for the MIT Media Lab: The Lifelong Kindergarten logo, still in use for over two decades, evokes the research group's orientation to children of the future, playfulness, and transparency. For a lab colloquium, Digital Nations needed to communicate to a multilingual audience. The 1s and 0s of binary code form an active image. Is it an assembly or discussion circle, a rotating gear, or a sun? The ambiguity worked well for a group delivering tech to emerging markets around the world.
Templates and Style Guidelines
The School Maker Faire program needed to have a self-service identity system that each sponsoring institution could use in an open-and-go fashion, or adapt to their needs.
I developed a suite of templates and guidelines for fair use of the logo and templates for schools to adapt.
Illustrations
We wanted to offer a mostly self-directed, hands-on, low-cost yet playful and satisfying experience for youth and families who came to Maker Faire. This instructional diagram was laid out as a long strip on each work surface. It showed visitors how to make a simple pinwheel.
The pencils we used had Maker Camp branding to remind visitors to sign up for more simple do-at-home projects the following summer.
We prototyped this experience with users and adjusted the language and diagrams to ensure success. Thousands of pinwheels went home!
I illustrate in multiple styles—see a few more!
Calendars
From 1991 through 2002, and again in 2007, I produced an annual calendar. I elaborately illustrated, designed, published, and constructed each one—and these limited prints were both true labors of love and experiments in book design.
Writing
I write stories, blog posts (maker profiles, advice on making with youth, gift guides), lesson plans, academic papers, grant proposals, killer party invitations, and more.