Sherwood & Forbes Design
Welcome to the online portfolio of Emma Sherwood-Forbes. Check out my work below, read a bit more about me, or get in touch.
Bicycle Shop Website & Collateral
Tasks: Branding and visual design
Year: 2011
Box Dog Bikes is a worked-owned cooperative in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco that was opened in 2004 with a focus on used bikes, track bikes, and a somewhat irreverent, do-it-yourself attitude. The owners wanted to update their image to better communicate the more mature shop they are today while maintaining the intimate, personal, connected feel of their old branding; they wanted everyone to know that this is a place of passion for each and every one of them. I chose an image rich, elegant style that takes the user along for a ride in some of the Bay Area's more famous roads, and kept the site simple and modern to show the maturity of the shop while avoiding an overly corporate feel. Before redesigning the Box Dog Bikes site, I worked with members to create brand collateral, such as water bottles, jerseys, a team kit, and a limited-edition spoof "Bicheal Jordan" shirt. See more at boxdogbikes.com.
Family Location Service Web Application
Task: Visual design
Year: 2010
Location Labs had built several white-label applications for mobile phone carriers that allowed users to track the whereabouts of other people on their mobile plan via cell tower triangulation or the phone's built in GPS. They approached my team with the idea to create their own carrier-blind service based on this concept. Their target was moderately tech-saavy mothers who wanted to keep tabs on their family; to appeal to this user, we created a bright, friendly site that feels confirming and safe and avoids the somewhat invasive, creepy side of the process. I worked with the client and a small team at Momentum to create wireframes and visual design, and provided art direction for my team.
Personality Analysis Web Application
Tasks: Feature development, information architecture, wireframes, visual design, and branding
Year: 2011
MindSight developed a testing system that interprets the user's reactions to various images to create a picture of the source of their motivation in life. The client initially came to me looking for a logo to use with an existing system; this system was being used in a HR setting to help optimize employee satisfation and performance. As our conversation around the product deepened, they decided to create a spinoff application for consumers that leveraged this technology towards personality testing. Because they wanted the design to be able to be repurposed for the business setting at a future date, I went with a light, airy look that feels fun without being silly and intelligent without being stuffy.
Microblogging Web Site, Mobile Sites, & Applications
Tasks: Feature development, information architecture, wireframes, visual design, user testing, and more
Year: 2006-2009
Zannel was a microblogging startup before microblogging was a thing. One of the joys of working at as an in-house designer at a startup is that you get your hands in everything, and those hands get dirty. There is no clear division of labor; any and all talents a designer has are brought to the table and there is ample room to cultivate more. In my three years at Zannel I touched almost everything. I did competitive analysis and feature design, use-case modeling, persona development and wireframes, visual design, branding, and art direction; I took my designs all the way through production, user testing, and QA. I worked on many incarnations of various web and mobile sites, helped develop several embeddable widgets and spin-off applications, and created print and interactive promotional materials; during my tenure, we won a Webby for Best Mobile Social Network.
Customizable Concert Tour iPhone Application
Tasks: Feature development, visual design, branding, user testing, and more
Year: 2008-2009
Along with its own site, Zannel developed several template applications for entertainment professionals seeking to reach their fans in new ways. The VIP Pass app presented a rich, interactive, brandable fan environment using Zannel's microblogging platform. Artists could select different features depending on their needs such as a feed with social media from Zannel, Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere, a fan club or community feed, tour schedule and tickets, and media. Published VIP Passes included Dane Cook, Keith Urban, and KISS.
Social Metrics Web & iPhone Applications
Tasks: Feature development, wireframes, visual design, branding, user testing, and more
Year: 2009
Tap11 is a social aggregation and monitoring service that grew out of Zannel. Geared toward towards bloggers and brands, the service allows users to manage their social presence from a robust, interactive dashboard. Users can broadcast and interact with fans throughout the social web, create branded landing pages for media links, monitor keywords, and track the buzz around their content and brand over time. Tap11 was recently acquired by AVOS, a new company by the founders of YouTube.
Beer Logo & Branding
Task: Branding
Year: 2011
Bhupaling's Aleworks is the brewhouse name for two forward-minded backyard brewers in San Francisco. They came to me with great homemade beer and a good story about a rouge sea-captain in the West Indies of 1873, wanting a logo that represented their quirky character and his escapades. I created the logo in a woodcut style, with a wide banner that could be later repurposed for various brews as they expanded their line.
Crowdsourced Development Gig Web Application
Task: Visual design
Year: 2010
Appirio is an industry leader in cloud computing, providing a range of products and services to help companies modernize and use the cloud. They wanted to create a developer community centered around projects to help support their offerings and increase brand awareness; this community acts as an elite crowd-sourcing job platform for companies to submit small projects to the members. We developed a style that would appeal to developers and managers alike, a game-like, fun and modern look.I was responsible for visual design and art direction in a team of three.
Portable Desktop Application
Task: Visual design
Year: 2010
The client came to us looking to reskin an application that comes preloaded on their USB drives; when plugged in, users can choose to launch a portable desktop with operating system-like capabilities to interact with their stored files. Targeted at users who do not have their own computer, the application allows users to structure their documents, music, and photos on the drive to provide a consistent, PC-like experience. We created a semi-transparent window system with a user-defined background to emphasize the personalized aspect of the application, keeping the application chrome simple and familiar. I provided visual design and art direction for the team at Momentum Design Lab.
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