In what was a rather challenging year, a few good notes have surfaced. A few sites I worked on while at the Horn Group in San Francisco were recognized in the 2009 W³ Awards for creativity and innovation in web design.

The first site was Charlene Li’s Altimeter Group (.net). I acted as the visual design lead for Charlene, a social media thought leader, co-author of Groundswell and former Forrester analyst.

This was an exciting opportunity to work with a recognized industry name and I gained a ton of respect for her strategic, big-picture mind. She demonstrated the “I get it,” personality by responding to abstract ideas and presentations with questions and ideas for the next step rather than the practical application that would eventually occur. An open mind early in the project life cycle made this a very enjoyable experience.

Next, I was the creative lead on the Sirona Biofuels brand development. I worked on everything from the original SOW and briefs to the hands on design.

This client was a particular feel-good project since they not only provide an environmentally friendly product but a large portion of their stock is purchased at fair market price from farmers in Haiti. In turn they help to build orphanages and town centers in those regions.

Last, I worked as a hands on designer and video editor on the Horn Groups website. This gave me a chance to work with the design rebel, himself, Arthur Asmonov. We completed green screen shoots in New York and San Francisco with After Effects and Final Cut software used to compile it all together in a ridiculous amount of time.