Freelance Work
Designing for startups or just for fun in my freetime
INTRO
Jumping into Freelance Design
Freelance work has played a major role in launching my professional career, especially after graduating during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. What started as a way to gain experience quickly became a creative outlet where I could explore new ideas outside of full-time work.
Through freelance opportunities, I’ve collaborated with other designers on a wide range of projects across industries such as transportation, e-commerce, and startups looking to establish their digital presence. I enjoy diving into each client’s vision, uncovering their goals, and bringing those ideas to life through thoughtful UX and digital design. This page highlights a few of the projects I’ve had the opportunity to work on along the way.
Bookstory
Book Community Startup
Bookstory
Logo Design / Email Design / UX / Web & App Design
Bookstory, pronounced Book-st-a-ree, is an app designed for book lovers and every type of reader in between. The books we read tell the story of us. This app serves as a place to record that story. By providing an outlet to document the reader's journey, it also serves as a place to connect with others, crafting a community where bookworms unite to share their literary adventures, swap recommendations, and bond over shared passions.
The Design Vision
With their app concept, the client saw an opportunity to revolutionize the book community by addressing the gaps in the reading experience. They recognized a common trend: digital readers often juggle multiple apps to fulfill various aspects of their reading journey, from discovering new books to discussing favorites and keeping track of completed reads. Yet, surprisingly, there wasn't a single app that encompassed all these functions under one roof.
The design vision was clear: to streamline the reading experience by offering a comprehensive platform where users could seamlessly explore, engage, and document their literary adventures without ever having to switch between multiple apps. By consolidating these fragmented aspects of the reading journey into one cohesive application, they aimed to enhance user convenience and satisfaction. While this work was done high level to get the ball rolling, I felt I was able to dive in and provide design value to the project.
Step 1 : Competitive Analysis
Analyzing the many apps in the book space (ie. Goodreads, Libby etc..) to find out what users like/dislike and what makes these competitors successful. In terms of content, disecting the language used across these applications and how to differentiate with Bookstory.
Step 2 : Establish Brand Elements
With close collaboration with the client, I created a set of moodboards with various creative directions to determine the design aesthetic the client wanted to achieve. From there I worked on creating font pairings, color schemes, iconography to set the ground work before constructing wireframes and low fidelity mockups.
Step 3 : Design
This client specifically was in the early stages of their start up so establishing the brand identity was a key component of this process. This work focused on email design, logo / app icon design and of course the UX / native app design. Email design was a large focus for the design since Bookstory was working to reach new users via email.
UI Design Elements
Typeface
Montserrat | Merriweather
Color Palette
Final Takeaways & Lessons Learned
- Defining a brand's identity can be complex but also incredibly rewarding to see it come to life.
- Atomic Design is your friend.
- Having clients with a clear vision goes a long way in assisting your creative process so working closley with your client to understand their vision is key.
Pave Motors
Transportation Start Up
Pave Motors
UX / Web & App Design
This was my first freelance project coming out of college, I worked closely with a senior graphic designer to design the mobile application for Pave Motors Inc. and later worked to create their website design as their brand continued to evolve as a start up.
Pave Motors focuses on electric and autonomous e-bike vehicles. Their lineup features sleek, eco-friendly models that seamlessly blend style with functionality, offering drivers an unparalleled driving experience. Their partnerships with tech giants and forward-thinking startups, they're pioneering new solutions for smart cities, ride-sharing platforms, and sustainable urban mobility. My design worked to share their product vision and enable a seamless ride share / driving experience for their customers.
Wegmans / Grocery Web Design
Design Challenge
Grocery Design Challenge
Visual / UI / UX / Web Design
The Grocery Design Project was a self-led design challenge I completed as part of an interview process with a prospective employer. I really enjoyed taking it through the full design cycle — from research and ideation to prototyping and final presentation.
The prompt was to redesign the landing page of a grocery provider’s website within 48 hours. I had the freedom to choose an existing brand or create my own, and I decided to focus on Wegmans — the main local grocery store here in Western New York. It felt like a meaningful and personal choice, given its deep roots in my hometown.
For a closer look at the project, I’ve attached the final presentation below — feel free to check it out!
