Excited for my 1st day on the job at Madwell agency today.
Thanks to the support and help of a hundred or so friends, family, former co-workers, Doozers and Laura, I am emerging from this six-month work-sabbatical-chrysalis as a newly formed User Experience Designer.
Without you all, I'd still look like this guy (see attached for reference)
UXDI Project 04: Sixpoint Brewery App
This UXDI course project case study details an app design for Brooklyn's very own Sixpoint Brewery. The range of tactics deployed throughout encompassed everything from rigorous research & synthesis, concept ideation, clickable prototype builds & usability testing.
From first pour to last call, this one has it all!
UXDI Project 03: Kickstarter Fuel →
This detailed case study for a General Assembly UXDI course project outlines a group project. Our process involved conducting rigorous user research and synthesizing our findings into personas for prototype development& usability testing.
Our goal involved bringing even moreAwesomeness to Kickstarter.
Read MoreUXDI Class Project 02 →
In this User Experience class project, we were assigned both a client (New York Costumes) and a sampling of personas to re-design the skeleton of an existing online shopping experience. Our main focus was to apply lessons in information architecture, content strategy & heuristics analysis to the following processes:
- Card Sorting & User Interviews
- Site Map & User Flow Analysis
- Journey Mapping & Medium-Fidelity Wireframing
- Prototype Building & Usability Testing
- Assessing Business Goals & Presentation
During the course of this project, the following tools were used: Omnigraffle, Sketch, Invision, Adobe Illustrator, Keynote & TRUE GRIT.
Read More
Our instructors asked for a volunteer to design a poster for our Class Ground Rules. After an interminably long pause, I reluctantly raised my hand. It came out a bit more cutesy than I usually go for. But hey, what are you gonna do?
We’re Doozers.
UXDI cohort: Doozers // Class Ground Rules
UXDI Week 1, Project 1 - COMPLETE!
Week 1: Complete! It’s definitely been an active and exciting first week of UXDI class at General Assembly. In short order, we’ve learned about:
- User Research & Interviews
- Site Maps & Process Flows
- Rapid Prototyping
- Usability Testing
Today we present our first paper prototype app in class and see how the whole enchilada comes together! Thus far, this course and field of study have lived up to every expectation –from the real-world practice and application of knowledge to the community of passionate and smart classmates.
Being nerdy never felt so good.
design motivator →
As a graphic designer, I’ve drawn inspiration from countless resources. From hand painted calligraphy to bold use of geometry, I enjoy a range of influences and you can see a curation of some of these on my Pinterest board.
As I develop as a UX designer, I’ll be curious to see how these interests grow and further impact my choices.
Today was the kickoff to My Most Excellent UXDI Adventure!
This is the first of (no doubt) many photos of the inside of our classroom. Our class cohort designation: “Doozer.”
Not pictured: Team Doozer
Storytelling
A year ago, I ran across Sarah Doody’s article on the storytelling value of UX Designers to organizational Product Development. The article drives home the importance of knowing your product’s story. Before implementing, before iterating, we have to ask: what is the story we are telling?
Here’s a story:
Contrary to popular urban legend, the infant Ben X Trinh was not rocketed to Earth from a dying planet. He was in fact born in Arkansas and raised in Memphis, Tennessee.
The details of his storied adolescence have been lost to a pre-internet bygone era. One legend purports, however, that he once saved his city from an invading army of cyborg Catholic School children. Today, it is known that he now currently resides in Brooklyn; but again, details do remain somewhat hazy.
There remains but one incontrovertible truth about Ben X Trinh and it is this –he loves to design a good story.
I’m pursuing a career in UX because it begins with stories: the telling and the reading, the creation and the experience, the currency of human connection.
My UX class at General Assembly begins next week. Time to learn.
Pre-History
A degree in Psychology, another in Fine Art. A lifetime of drawing characters. An MFA in something called “Illustration as Visual Essay.” Years spent waitering, bussing, bartending. And a near decade designing signage, packaging, ads & more for a global entertainment brand.
Looking back on all these experiences, I’ve realized one simple truth: I love stories.
I am drawn to storytelling. It’s how I relate to the world and how I feel invested. From painting to comics, my artistic pursuits have always been rooted in characters and relationships. And likewise, my professional goals are underlined by a desire for collaboration and connection.
Reboot
Howdy!
So it’s time to dust off this old, forgotten Tumblr account. Years ago, I retreated from the arena of social media sharing because I feared I would only add to the noise, distract from the signal.
As of now, the Era of Lurk is at an end,
Today, I’m embarking on a journey into User Experience Design and part of that journey is a class at General Assembly. And part of that class is (re)embracing this long-neglected Tumblr account.
I’m going to talk about that journey here –this should be interesting!
Teepublic
I've started illustrating t-shirt designs over at Teepublic –great for kids and adults!
This first group is inspired by animals of the Chinese Zodiac.
What's In a Name
Lately, I've been playing around with my main logo. It's evolving.
Also, to clear up confusion I'm spinning off my comics/illustration work over to a separate Kingbennie site (coming soon!). Over there I'll feature new sketches, character designs & comics –also, t-shirts!
The King has left the building, long live the King(bennie)!
Flashback Friday
Almost nine years ago, I finished up my MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay at School of Visual Arts. While I didn't go on to pursue a career as an illustrator, the lessons gleaned there formed a backbone for how I apply storytelling to all of my work –from graphic design to writing and everything in between.
Here are some illustrations from part of my old thesis: Tele-vouyerism, 2004
Secret Origin
It's unlikely but possible –you stumbled across this humble beginning of a site by pure accident. Well, hello there. Thanks for stopping by!
Over the coming weeks, this site will fully blossom like a shy spring flower, ready to shake off its winter-wear. Please take a look around and come back again soon.
“Dear Lord…” title page. Last month I finished up a new Rabid Rabbit comic short, which should be debuting at both MoCCA and Stumptown comics festivals later this month.