In January 2021, USAA was nearing completion on a new design system and a refresh of their brand voice. They needed help defining how illustration at USAA should look, feel, and function. I crafted an illustration style and system that integrates directly into Reveille and reflects the modernized brand, then trained and led a team of illustrators to expand the library into the future.
When I joined Circle as a product designer, I was hired, in part, for my background in illustration. But that “nice to have” soon became my central focus. I’ve spent years defining and evolving the Circle illustrative brand, cementing its place in our products, website, marketing campaigns, and more.
In 2018, CENTRE launched USD Coin, a stablecoin pegged to the value of the US Dollar. Less than a month later, Coinbase joined Circle to formally found the CENTRE consortium, and with that announcement came a whole new look for USDC. That’s right: even the most diehard crypto fan might not realize that for the first four weeks of its life, the world’s largest, fastest-growing stablecoin had a completely different visual identity. So who’s the poor sap who designed that first logo?
Circle was founded on the belief that blockchain technology could usher in a more open and inclusive global economy. But such a future can’t be built within the walls of a private company. It requires open standards and partnerships. That’s why, in 2017, Circle announced CENTRE, a “foundation, open source project, protocol, and network aimed at breaking down the barriers which cost us money and time to connect to each other financially.”
With the limitations of a small design team, early versions of Circle Pay primarily relied upon off-the-shelf icon sets. But after I joined and began creating illustrations for product and brand, I soon set my sights on icons. I made a few as needed, but replacing the old set entirely wasn't worth the design and development commitment. But with Circle Invest, I was there from the beginning.
In 2013, a team within Intel’s R&D division called the “Perceptual Computing Group” approached Fresh Tilled Soil with a curious bit of technology: a depth-sensing camera that could recognize objects in 3D space. Paired with the right software, this would enable computers to understand human hand gestures. My colleagues and I designed and developed a fully-functioning prototype application that would demonstrate the technology’s extraordinary potential.
OneVision Resources is a personal technology and health concierge company. With the dizzying array of products available, they needed an elegant way to demonstrate the promise of smart home technology to their customers. OneVision partnered with Fresh Tilled Soil to develop an interactive, fully-functional display that would allow their clients to experience and compare multiple smart home solutions.