JustWink App and Website

The justWink app paved the way for mobile apps at American Greetings when it was released in 2011. It helped revolutionize the way the company looked at interactive, innovation, and consumer experiences.

Not only was this one of the top Projects I worked on over two years, but it was also one of my favorite, and required a variety of my skills. From icons, to new screens, to managing monthly app and web updates, and taking new marketing design requests, you could honestly say I worked on it all for this brand. There were were multiple brand partnerships, including one with TOMS which required some extra – last minute design needs (I am no stranger to the fast-paced world).

This app was definitely a learning app. I was able to work out different techniques to export, design, and deliver assets for the developers. We worked closely together to continue enhancing the general components as well as adding new features. One of the best learning opportunities I shared with the developers was when we decided to incorporate print-on-demand functionality into the app. We had one month to design, develop and launch the feature. The coding was all left to the developers, however I had to spend an intense amount of time organizing the screens and assets needed, and work with my teammate in Cleveland (where the main headquarters is located) to coordinate a complete conversion of all the content – within one day.

We succeeded in finishing a week early, just before Christmas break 2011, and the feature launched on January first. As an extra bonus, there had been an incentive offered if we finished in time: the developer team managers would voluntarily take part in a “dunk” booth. Needless to say, the two leaders took a bit of a swim in the cold Cleveland air of January 2012.

Project Basics

• Duration: Summer 2011 - January 2014
• What I did: Senior Creative: UI/UX Design, Website Design, Mobile App Design - iOS & Android, Iconography, Updates - Web & Mobile, Marketing Banners - Print & Mobile, Presentation Mocks, Asset Production & Developer Collaborations - iOS & Android, Content Creation/Ideation, Product Demos
• Programs Used: Photoshop (CS 5/6 at the time), Illustrator (CS 5/6 at the time)
• Brand Partnerships: TOMS, Apple, Microsoft
• Links: justWink.com

I always felt drawn to any project that incorporated a digital and physical experience. JustWink was a great example of a project that had both of those experiences, and utilized every skillset in my arsenal.