The Persuasive Appeal of Web Design

I have spent nearly four months working on my latest freelance project which is in part why it's been so long since I have written. When a seemingly surefire job lead fell through at the end of March, I was instantaneously presented with a serendipitous opportunity from a former boss. When people say, "It's who you know that counts," they are dead serious. But more poignantly than who you know is an outlook I so wholeheartedly adhere to:

When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us. -Alexander Graham Bell

This notion has been a prominent theme in my recent past. When I hold onto faith that good opportunities fall through so better ones can enter my life, the exact phenomenon happens. I was invited to consult for a startup launching a commercial real estate crowdfunding platform. I love accepting challenges outside of my comfort zone (finance is not one of my fortes). With a logo and some initial design brainstorming under tow, I entered the picture to fully refine and develop the brand.

There is something magically inspiring about working at a startup with so much vigor among everyone involved. I was honored to be lead design consultant for the public facing website. Without a full blown-brand already in existance, I got to run free with the creation of the first branded experience for Fund.com (talk about a gold mine for a domain).

I opted to use Style Tiles, a tremendously helpful tool to create the look and feel for a website and to get sign off before investing time on full comps. Created by the genius that is Samantha Warren, Style Tiles will stir excitement and invoke passion client-side while forcing the designer to think through design and UI features long before an entire style guide or home page is created. Visit the Style Tile site or get Samantha's perspective in A List Apart.

I got to circumvent the all-too-familiar flat design style to create an old-world feel imbued with textural layers of enchantment like a rich tapestry. I acheived this through transparent glassiness, depth and sparkle. I gleaned inspiration from golden amber gradients from whiskey bottles and molten glass, midnight blues of starry nights and geometric patterns from wall and floor tiles. My intent was to evoke pathos in the user with a sense of whimsy and wonder; to feel as though they have stumbled upon an elusive gemstone. This design style would not only reflect the high quality of the product, but simultaneously set them apart from the endless competitor sites using the same, two-dimensional bootstrap theme.

Through sophisticated design and usability, I aimed to appeal to the users by establishing ethos. They are entrusting the site with exorbitant amounts of investment funds, so the design must speak to the credibility of the platform. Gabe Roeloffs' article Using Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to Design Effective Websites is a worthwhile read when creating a persuasive website. Roeloffs explains:

The fact is that people are more likely to do business with those they trust. Design passively tells the user whether they can trust you or not, design establishes the ethos of your website.

With multiple Style Tiles in tow, we narrowed down the details and I began creating interior comps. The idea of skipping the home page felt unfamiliar to me, but I felt confident after the Style Tile process. Looking back now that the site is nearly finished, I can't imagine starting another web design project without Style Tiles. The few templates and patterns created among the Style Tile and preliminary interior comps allowed me to seamlessly develop the other UI patterns and page layouts.

The design process for this passion project reinvigorated my affinity for the brand and user experience. Such careful attention was paid to the sparkle of each page to maintain the elusive quality and make even the simplest content pages shine. It is rare opportunities like this one that makes me in love with life. Creativity is a lens through which I view the world. It reminds me who I am through and through: a creative soul.

What I Know For Sure

On January 26, 2014 my world was turned upside down when I received shocking and devastating news. My 27-year-old sister, Kali, discovered she has three brain tumors. After immediate surgery to remove the largest tumor and perform a biopsy, the results we never wanted to hear were delivered. Her tumors were in fact malignant glioblastomas - grade 4. You cannot imagine how news like this will change your life in an instant. Suddenly, your problems and trials seem much less significant. Overnight, life takes on a new meaning with an underlying sense of urgency. You see, Kali just got married seven months ago to the love of her life and best friend, Chris Youngblood. They could not have fathomed that their new marriage would be tested in this way. Luckily, Kali is an extremely strong person (both mentally and physically), and has an incredible attitude. Her husband and rock keeps her smiling through every moment.

Kali has made a choice to kick cancer's ass and beat this thing against all odds. She has an incredible support system of family and friends. Her community in Billings, Montana has rallied to raise awareness and funds for Kali's treatment. The love, kindness, generosity and prayers from people around the world has been incredibly humbling for Kali and keeps her uplifted and filled with positivity and hope. Elizabeth Lesser shares a touching insight in her book, Broken Open. She explains the affect that the dire situation with my sister can have on our hearts.

"...that we are sent here to love each other and to help each other - that our lives are about each other. All of our other plans fly out the window in such moments of awakening. Plans for great things are replaced by the greatest thing of all, which turns out to be love, in its simplest, most tender, most personal form."

The outpouring of love has surely touched Kali's heart. Cancer cannot break her positive spirit, but it does do one thing. It awakens all those touched by its wrath and breaks open our hearts if we allow it to work through us. Kali's diagnosis has given me a very real dosage of reality and a fervor for life. What truly matters is brought to the forefront: how we express our love for those we care about. Life's many distractions and diversions no longer serve the purpose they used to. We cannot deny what significance our lives have or the power our love holds. We cannot know what lies ahead on our journey, but we can certainly relish in each moment we are blessed with and love with every ounce of our heart. I was touched deeply by an excerpt from Mary Oliver's poem, "The Summer Day:"

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

If I have learned one thing from the past few months, it is that we are sent to this Earth to grow. We are called to grow in our capacity for love, kindness, forgiveness, awareness, understanding and tolerance. Everyone is fighting their way upstream, so let us put our ego aside and go with the flow of the blessed life God has given us.

I am fighting this battle with Kali. God knows I wish I could fight for her, but I can love her and send her positivity every step of the way. If you would like to support Kali in her fight, please visit her GoFundMe page to donate or just leave positive words of encouragement. Every little bit helps.

To donate to a local cause that is raising money for brain tumor research, visit Students Supporting Brain Tumor Research's page.

Watch HBO's latest Vice episode, Killing Cancer, here. I am eternally grateful for the research these doctors are doing to save lives.

Kari Kards

Art is positively a lifeline for me. As a child, I bled cerulean blue (my go-to Crayola crayon). I was mesmerized by the vibrant array of color options in a 64, 96 or (dare I say) 120 count boxes. My intrigue and obsession grew as I took as many art classes as possible. I explored endless mediums at ASU's Herberger Institute for Art and Design workshops. As my perfectionist personality developed, I tediously refined every little detail of every project. I had found my calling and nothing else would come between me and my true love for art. My passion carried over into every aspect of my life. I found a way to insert art into any school project, craft or handmade card. I hauled my art supply collection to Mrs Thomas' 7th grade humanities class where I was known as the "art girl." I spruced up any mundane project to showcase my personality. At home, I especially loved making cards. I was branding my cards before I knew what branding was. I brought Kari Kards to life with a signature logo on the back of my designs.

Fast-forward to 2013 at Terralever where I created social media content for brands like Massage Envy, De-Solv-It, Fox Restaurant Concepts and Goodyear Tire Company. I loved creating typographical images full of beautiful imagery and patterns. I realized how my childhood passion for art and cards had prepared me for the career I embrace now. When Terralever merged with E.B. Lane to form LaneTerralever, I was honored to design the new website along with catchy social images for our Facebook page. I happily played with the new brand which had only been slightly developed at the time. I took a playful yet dignified approach to the social content which allowed for more flair than the website and business collateral.

Creating these type of images reinvigorated my passion for image and card making. The timing could not be more relevant to create art for myself, from my heart. I experienced a rather tumultuous start to 2015. The devastating events have tested my strength more than ever before. I have surrounded myself with positive quotes and affirmations which I have collected in my journal and the cloud. I want to share my unique perspective on the world by combining my love of inspiring words, art and photography. By unlocking the potential of this vision, I hope to inspire others going through difficult times. I wholeheartedly believe that every person you encounter is battling an inner struggle, so it's so important to spread kindness and compassion to every person you meet.

My fellow libra and dear friend, Erica Tighe, has been particularly inspiring to me. Not only is she a beautiful person, but she is a magnificent artist. She recently combined her creative soul with life experiences that molded her heart to launch a calligraphy business aptly named Be a Heart. I find many similarities between us, other than being artistic libras. We both create from our hearts and love to give back to the community. I am inspired by Erica's tenacity. It is downright scary to follow your heart, but so far, it has paid off greatly as her business expands into illustration, wedding invitations and event design. Follow her on Instagram to see more of her gorgeous work.

I am constantly yearning for an outlet from the daily grind. I want to use my passions along with new art mediums to create pieces that heal my soul and move others. Throughout this difficult period, quotes have been the positive reminder that it gets better. I want to share my collection with others in hopes that they will find peace and comfort in those words. This quote is among my favorites:

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. -Rumi

Stay tuned for more on my future quote pieces. I plan to create prints, cards and whatever else feels appropriate. When the time comes, my desire to own a card shop will manifest. In this digital age, I can imagine my Kari Kard's shop will live on the interwebs. I am certain my seven-year-old self will approve.

Writing and Art: My Gifts to This World

Writing is another passion of mine, so when presented with the opportunity to write blog posts for Terralever on design, I did a happy dance. Okay, so maybe that dance was in my mind. But, when you love something and are as passionate as I am, work just doesn't seem like work. Even if I am fine-tuning my articles at 2am (since I always seem to choose timely subjects), I am still chipper as can be. Plus, like any seasoned artist and writer, I thrive on deadlines. You see, my Grandpa, Bob Amento, was a prolific writer, blogger and all-around wordsmith. He chose to follow a stable, lucrative career path in sales rather than journalism, but his love of writing wry snippets and family anecdotes never left his heart. He returned to writing in his retirement not merely as a hobby, but as a lifeline. And when a debilitating skin disease prohibited him from golfing, he turned to writing as a way to exercise his mind since his body was no longer capable.

Aside from writing anecdotes about his childhood and family, my Grandpa wrote a copious amount of op-eds for the Arizona Republic, most of which were sardonic in nature. He was eventually granted a coveted spot on AZ Central as a guest blogger. His repertoire consisted mainly of politics, business and finance. Readers either loved or abhorred his left-wing perspective on nonsensical national or state politics (especially living in an overly-saturated, red state of Arizona).

I fondly remember helping my grandpa with his technological learning curve. (How many 80-somethings use computers as part of their daily life?) As I was helping him upload a new profile picture to his blog, he proudly showed me the snide comments on his blog post. Grandpa refused to encourage such comments by responding. He wasn't there to fire up a debate with conservatives, but rather state his opinions unabashedly. Most people allow other's comments, opinions and statements to ruffle their feathers, but not Bob Amento. I think we can all learn a great deal from him especially in the age of social media and the ruthless comments that pervade these sites. If only we took after Bob and adhered to Thumper's Rule: If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all. Now, my Grandpa would not want this message misconstrued as not speaking your mind. Rather, if your opinion is different from your neighbors, agree to disagree gracefully rather than dragging their opinion through the dirt. I truly admire Grandpa for his unwavering stance on politics, business and finance. No face hiding behind a computer screen was going to affect him adversely.

As a writer, I openly admit my ability to digress. But as a gracious person, I must give credit where credit is due. If not for my Grandpa (and my mother who also passed the writing gene to me), I would not be sitting here writing. I may have grown up winning poetry contests and taking college writing assignments much too seriously, but the ability to incorporate writing into my practical career path of graphic design has been a distinct honor and pleasure. The chance to write something as public as a blog post has been an exciting milestone in my evolution as a writer (and quite frankly the best way to honor my late Grandpa). After each of the two blog articles I wrote for Terralever's blog went live, I proudly printed each article out to present to Grandpa (first writing about branding and then on web design). Because, let's face it. Sending him an email (yes, he had an AOL account) seemed much too impersonal. Allowing my Grandpa to see the fruits of my love for writing gave me a deep sense of pride and accomplishment.

As I write this, I am grateful for the opportunity to share my past blog articles with him. He passed away recently on January 5, 2015 at the age of 93. I come to the realization that I will not be able to show him this blog post, and a raw feeling of loss washes over me. But that feeling is transitory as I know there are computers in heaven. I picture Grandpa up in the vast, blue skies, spry as ever, reading this post and smiling from ear to ear. I know he is writing once again and making jokes about heaven.

I leave you with one of Grandpa's many quips:

Two things I know for sure:

1. I will always write. I will always use my gift wisely, never to harm but to spread love.
2. I will always make art. Not to create art for the sake of creating but to move people, to make the world not only a more beautiful place, but a better place.

My legacy will be tangible and intangible as my gifts can be both seen and felt. I lead with my heart and Grandpa, you've left some pretty big foot prints.