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

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.

Click bellow for larger images.

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 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

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.