AI-assisted Poster Art

A poster for the 2024 eclipse. The background image is modified from something I made with Google’s AI-powered image generation tool.  A note on the AI aspect of this: for the last few months I've used a set of similar prompts as a sort of homemade benchmark for the tools from Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI.  This is one of the resulting images that I especially liked.

Family History Graphic

I put this together for my extended family.  We grew up hearing about how Grandpa Don built airplanes during the war, and this shows exactly where it happened and some of what it looked like.  It started when I tried looking up "Weeks Ave." after I came across the photo of the house; it turns out that the street no longer exists.  So instead I found a map of San Diego from just before the war (the map is from 1940), and the rest came together from there.  

Postscript: Consolidated merged with Vultee in 1943 and became Convair, which was bough by General Dynamics in the 1950s, which was bought in turn by McDonnell Douglas in the early 1990s.  McDonnell Douglas closed all manufacturing operations in San Diego by the mid-1990s, and Lindbergh Field is now the San Diego International Airport.  All the old buildings are long gone, but you can still see artifacts from the 1940s on display at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park, including a fully restored PBY.

Branding for Wasatch Elementary School 75th Anniversary

I worked with others on the basic design, then refined it and provided multiple variations in vector and raster formats to allow for use in digital form, on posters, banners, clothing, stationary, etc.  Every time we stop by the school it's cool to see it in new and different forms and in new and different places.

Process Flowcharts for Food Ordering Systems

I created complete workflows for users and admins for two food ordering systems: a text-based system and a no-code system. The flowcharts shown here are for the text-based system.  All were created to compare capabilities/limitations and to development cost estimates/run rates between these two and a custom web app option. (Off-the-shelf systems were also considered but didn't have the right features.)

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The no-code option won out even though it had fewer capabilities, mainly because its short-term and long-term costs were significantly lower.  After we decided on the no-code option, I implemented it by:

• Making the Google survey and connected tracking spreadsheet
• Managing the transition off the old system  
• Training those that have kept the new system running ever since 

Cover design and Photography

I made the cover for the self-published book Encounters with Rabbits.  I also provided the main images on the front and back cover.

Office of Economic Development Booklet

An eight-page opportunity zone booklet I put together for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development after researching and writing the content.  As with the Campus Overview (and many of my other projects), I used existing material and created graphics and took photos as needed to get the best finished result.  

Campus Overview

A real estate report available both as a 27-slide deck and 27-page PDF.  Contains background information, photos, and floor plans for over a dozen industrial buildings.  I kept the report updated, and it grew another three slides/pages over time.  As of 2024 the newer version is still posted here.

Framed Engineering Posters

A total of over 80 items used for a mix of permanent display, VIP tours, and open house events over several years (sample set shown below). Worked with engineers and management on everything from the design of the original template to the assembly and creation of component visuals to the drafting of copy. Also worked with two different printers and framers on final production. Typical size of 60" by 38", with some much larger. 

Specs/Mockups for Update to Management Tools

This set covers several refinements to existing work order and expense tracking features as well as the addition of a handful of new features.

Starting at the top left corner: improved detail view for an expense item, below which is a visual history of the expense as allocated (accessible from the detail view).

The other image on the top row is a modified version of a summary view of all work orders for a given class code.  Below this view are two new detail views: one showing machine time allocations, the other showing summary budget info.

The third row shows what comes up if the user drills into the details for the budget: significant milestones, spending over time, and editing functions are all shown.

Note that this is only a sample of the full set of specs, and, note that, as with other proprietary items, the copyright of the component images belongs to Novatek and the thumbnails are intentionally shown at a size that obscures the finer details (alas).

Support Materials for Impromptu Management Training

A cross-section of items from different parts of Novatek's system of web tools: the Friday before Christmas we had an all-managers meeting to set the stage for changes coming in 2013.  I provided the visuals by assembling a set of mockups from the backlog of not-yet-implemented designs.  I also drove while the COO gave the presentation (switching between the live site and the visual aids, etc.).

Quick rundown of the images, left to right, top to bottom: a drill down screen with an overlay showing all time allocations of one individual, a service work order summary screen, a prototype work order summary screen with an overlay showing machine time, a profile screen with emphasis on newly added data, an alert on the main time allocation overview screen, an individual time allocation, a service work order in edit mode, and a machine time summary screen.

(As with other proprietary items, the copyright of the component images belongs to Novatek and
the thumbnails pictured are intentionally shown at a size that obscures all the good stuff, alas.)

Clean and Simple Calendars (2013)

Annual update, back after taking one year off.  As detailed in the post for the 2010 set, I started making these when I couldn't find anything suitable online (most of the blank calendars on the web are formatted one month to a page, and nothing that I could find with a full year on a page was as simple and straightforward as what I wanted).

Federal holidays shown on the bottom, as always, but this time around no indication of paydays.

iOS Work Aids App

My first mobile app, designed from scratch and coded, tested, and distributed internally, with the post-design development done in coordination with a different programming team than the one I work with for web app development.  Some features:

• Detailed profile with live updates and hooks into other system functions (this piece of the app is what's shown in the image set below).
• Media capture and uploading to user file repository (and, optionally, local saving).
• Hooks into the company's web app [overview post forthcoming, see also here, here, and here].
• A catalog of other software tools.
• Inline help/documentation.

It would actually be fitting to call this my third or fourth mobile app, since the package has gone through several major revisions since mid-2011.  Screen mockups from earlier versions are available after the break, starting with the version that was limited to providing an automated on site/off site status indicator and basic company directory info.  (Copyright disclaimer is also after the break.)

Assorted Flowcharts

A handful of charts for various technical and business processes, including an overview of screens and functions for the third revision of my iOS app (the app of my design, at least).  These have been used both for management approval and programmer reference.

Most of my charts are created with Visio, but some are custom-made mixes that include interface mockups and other graphic-type cues as needed.

(As with other proprietary items, the copyright
 of the component images belongs to Novatek
and the thumbnails pictured are intentionally
shown at a size that obscures many details, alas.)

Org Chart Management Module

Detailed specs and interactive wireframe of interface that allows for at-a-glance review and easy updating of supervisor-supervisee relationships as well as drilldown to check on profile details of any individual.  This module has hooks into many other back end modules (profiles, time/expense allocations, etc).

All in all, another management tool customized to fit the unique needs of Novatek, built with Novatek-standard interface elements; touch-friendly parts/features that are either standard implementations or straightforward extensions of the existing code framework (reporting, search, action panels, etc.).

(As with other proprietary items, the copyright of the component images belongs to Novatek and the mockups pictured are intentionally shown at a size that obscures all the good stuff, alas.)

Company Logo and Branding Materials (ongoing)

Late in 2011, I created the original Hidden Butler company logo after talking with the company owner about the desired look.  I've since made several variations of the all-vector design, and used them for branding and advertising across many mediums. (Some of the examples noted below are more recent than the date on this post, and still more may be added in the future.)

The composite image shows some of the variety; on the top left you see an embroidered sample and mockups for use on a polo shirt and laundry bag.  Below these is a business card, in the center are two six-foot tall banners (used for trade show advertising), and on the right are two views of the branding on a fleet vehicle (a baseline version of the 2012 Ford Transit).

After the break you'll find an inverted background version, the logo as placed on the main product (cut into the metal plaque/nameplate), and, as soon as they're released, links to the company's dedicated smartphone apps.

The copyright for all of these images is owned by Hidden Butler.  Click here for more info on the company, and here, here, and here [forthcoming] for posts on my other logo design work.

Annotated Mockups for Profile Module

The image below is a composite of a few composites, all prepared in the course of working with an independent off-site programmer/developer to update the profile editor portion of the Novatek employee portal. These images were used together with standalone specs, flowcharts, and correspondence (phone, e-mail, and Basecamp).

(Standard disclaimers apply: the copyright of the component images belongs to Novatek and

 the mockups pictured are intentionally shown at a size that obscures all the good stuff, alas.)

Personal History (the rest)

As noted in this earlier post, I started a regular job while in the thick of doing a personal history.

And now it's done: adding a few dozen evenings and weekends to the mix has resulted in nearly 150 more pages, front and back covers, all final proofing and editing, and a very happy customer (she is happy with both the substance and the timing; the digital content made it to the printer in time for her to get finished copies to giver to her family as Christmas gifts).

Even though I based the formatting on what I had developed for an earlier book, this just-finished book was made as a a glossy paperback with perfect binding (rather than a stitched hardback with endpapers).

In total, the book has over 80,000 words spread over 17 chapters and complimented by over 650 pictures.

(An image with tiny thumbnails of the middle 100 pages is past the break.)

Company Business Overview Report

A multipage report made to provide a high-level overview of the company for select external partners.  As with the publicly-available press report [post forthcoming - available here in the meantime], this was designed to work both as a printed booklet and as an all-digital package.  Some design cues also taken from the capabilities report.

As indicated in the tags for this post, the project required a combination of creating new content, finding and adapting existing content, copy writing/editing, and then bringing it together into a cohesive whole.

The copyright on these images belongs to Novatek, and the versions posted are intentionally shown at a size that obscures the finer details, alas.  Though it's probably overcautious on my part, I've also blacked out some sections, just to be sure nothing even remotely sensitive is wrongly hinted at.  A further disclaimer: a period of time after the first drafts were proofed, the report was updated before further internal or external distribution, but what's posted here is the old, outdated content.

Personal History (first third)

Time to break a long drought in postings, not with a finished product, but with a snapshot of the reason for the drought: ongoing work on my last big freelance job.  I committed to it before starting full time with Novatek (see below), and I've been working on it in fits and starts ever since.

To date, squeezing in a few hours at a time has totaled in 108 finished pages (the first 100 shown to the right in miniature; a mix of fully-formatted text and just short of 300 pictures).  I've used the same basic layout that is shown here, and hope to be done before summer is over...

Novatek Capabilities Report

Copyright for this image belongs to Novatek.

A hybrid technical report and marketing booklet focused on the company's capabilities.  This started as a set of eight .pdf pages focused on existing and planned drill testing facilities, but it has since tripled in size to cover different production, R&D, and other areas.

The report also grew into a top-level page featured in the main navigation bar of the company website.  The image to the right shows a screen grab of the page, which I designed.

I was in charge of collecting all information and graphics, writing and editing copy, and producing, posting, and printing the final digital and print versions.

As shown in the graphic, the print versions were produced with formatting that took advantage of the medium by using mirrored layouts for facing pages.