simeon poulin » Web

4th Wall

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:41:43 +0000

My MFA thesis for Parsons Design and Technology Department was called 4th Wall. It is self-contained, casual Alternate Reality Game (ARG) that explores the expanding boundaries of interactive narrative in the digital age. The game lives entirely within an alternate reality that is created by several fictitious organizations and characters that exist solely online. Unlike traditional ARG’s this one tracks and saves a players progress using a MySQL database and PHP and Flash interfaces. I was assisted by Eric Chung on the project.

The project was presented as part of the “Keeping it Casual” Panel at ARGfest in Atlanta, GA in 2010.

An ad for Pantazon that gets disrupted by theyknowweknow

4th Wall Installation at Parsons

Mapping the entire user experience took some time and energy, but was well worth it.

UX Whiteboard Sketch

User experience refined and mapped

Players must interact with these sites in order to solve the mystery of a missing reporter named Paige Stein who works for the Daily Informant online news organization. I built a site for the Daily Informant that streams live news from 4 different RSS news feeds and mixes it with news stories that are in the cannon of the game.

The Daily Informant

The players encounter a story on the front page about Paige going missing while working on a story about an unethical pharmaceutical company called Tyger Pharmaceuticals. The paper is asking for readers to help locate her.

Tyger Pharmaceuticals Home Page

If they fill out the contact form on the site, they will be emailed by Sam King, the Editor of the Daily Informant. He asks players to help find Paige by filling out a letter found in the wreckage of her apartment. The letter outlines her story about Tyger Pharma. The problem is that there are six missing key words. Players must pick up where she left off to find out what they are.

Letter from Paige

When the player gets a clue correctly, they are sent another email that will lead them to their next clue. The missing clues are hidden in the content of the sites in the game. As the players discover more about Paige and her story, they discover other organizations including the mysterious Metatonic Society…

Metatonic Society

…and theyKnowWeKnow, a conspiracy theory group dedicated to finding out the truth.

They Know We Know

Players must also interact with web-based games and videos to get further information to fill out Paige’s letter and discover the real conspiracy.

Paige Chat Video

A video of a chat between Paige and Sam King also offers clues to the players.

Chemistry Diagram Game

A game where players must match up pieces of a chemical diagram.

Cipher Game

One of the last in-games in the project involves using a cipher to discover the truth of the relationship between Tyger Pharma and the Metatonic Society.

Full project site here.

Netbiquity Branding and Site

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:56:17 +0000

I was contacted by Netbiquity to develop an identity program and build their site. The site is using WordPress as a CMS to allow the Netbiquity Team to make changes to the site on the go. View the site here.

Click bellow for larger images.

VIP Art Fair – Site Redesign

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:38:28 +0000

This is the new Face of VIP Art Fair. I was working as their Creative Director and was responsible for updating the overall brand as well as the UX and layout of the website and online art fair that will launch in February of 2012. See the site live at vipartfair.com. I was also responsible for print and digital advertising as well as designing and producing motion graphics.

VIP Art Fair Overall IA

VIP Art Fair Home 2011 (Pre Fair)

VIP Art Fair - Galleries List (Pre Fair)

VIP Art Fair - Press Page (Pre Fair)

Kaplan Test Prep Blog

admin — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:00:25 +0000

In 2011, I was hired by Kaplan Test Prep to design a blog for their Marketing Department. I worked directly with their Art Director and Marketing team to assess the needs of the blog and how I could best serve their needs. The blog is built in WordPress and the theme is a customized one based on Gemer.

I began with mapping out the IA for the entire site.

Kaplan Test Prep - Overall IA

I then broke down how this framework would function within WordPress’s system of Posts, pages, and Tags.

Kaplan Test Prep - WordPress Structure

I then moved on to wireframing all the pages within the site.

Kaplan Test Prep - Wireframe Example 1

Kaplan Test Prep - Wireframe Example 2

Kaplan Test Prep - Wireframe Example 3

Finally moving on to full comps and building the site in WordPress.

Kaplan Test Prep - Home Page Comp

Kaplan Test Prep - Individual Post Comp

: Kaplan Test Prep – Home Page Comp

Lauren Redniss

admin — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:34:41 +0000

Lauren Redniss is a NYC-Based illustrator. She is published in the New York Times and her work has been recognized internationally. In 2010, I worked with Lauren to help her develop her online identity and build her a site that would be the hub of that identity. The site includes major areas for her three publications that include synopses and image galleries as well as a gallery of her on-going work for the New York Times.
View the Site Here.

Here are a few samples of the site planning and Information Architecture.

Overall Information Architecture for the site

Wireframe for the Home Page

Wireframe for the Blurbs page

Grace Church School Auction

admin — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:58:40 +0000

I was asked to build a site to help facilitate an auction that the school does every year to raise funds for student scholarships. The works on the site were primarily donated by David Zwirner and Chris D’Amelio (of D’Amelio Terras). The sold works raised over $450,000 in scholarship money.

The site was built in WordPress to enable easy updates as work is updated. View full site here.

The auction was mentioned on the Wall Street Journal.

Streaming Culture Collab at Parsons

admin — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 20:50:20 +0000

I am thrilled to have taught a class at Parsons the New School for Design with Anezka Sebek. The goal of the class is to explore and develop a proprietary system to shoot, stream and archive faculty research at New School and Parsons.

The class is composed of students from a variety of backgrounds. Including, web design, video production, and interactive development. We will be designing a production process for the events as well as designing a system to showcase streams. We are utilizing WordPress for the front end and Parson’s Flash Media Server for the back end.

I functioned as instructor to the class as well as producer of the shoots as well as creative director of the site design and build.

Kapitall Blog

admin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:08:30 +0000

I have been freelancing for the last couple of weeks building a blog for at a great interactive agency called Kapitall in SoHo.

About Page

Blog Page

They are working on a really great product that provides a game-like visual UI for buying and selling stocks. Their UI was designed by Cordell Ratzlaff, the man behind Mac OSX. It is a great place to be working. Their site is here. I have also been helping develop wireframes for some new features they are working on.

Streaming Culture at Parsons

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:41:43 +0000

I was Brought in to help design and implement a streaming media system at Parsons. I helped organize the video equipment, help to find a real-time editing solution and assist designers Doris Yee and Chris Calmyn build the site for the project.

‘mktg’ site re-design

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:17:47 +0000

I was brought in as a Creative Consultant for the re-branding of the ‘mktg’ marketing group here in New York. I was responsible for helping the Creative Director concept and architect their new web presence.

They have since re-designed again, but here are the designs that I submitted.