Control your big screen with your little screen. That sums up what the product known as “Snapstick” was all about. The idea is more common place now, but back in 2011, it was a revolutionary idea; turn your cell phone into a universal controller by leveraging any WiFi connection. Want to control your music selection anywhere in the house? No problem. Need to pause a movie to answer a phone call? Easy-peezy. Interested in surfing the net on your 60+ inch TV screen while chilling on your couch? Of course. How about playing a party game with an infinite amount of players? Bring it on.
As the Art Lead, I was responsible for designing the user interface for all smart device platforms as well as the TV dashboard. Management desired to have the overall aesthetic be warm, inviting, casual, and non-intimidating. We went through quite a few iterations before settling on the look you see above. In addition to the UI, I was also tasked with generating art assets for a couple of the proprietary casual games we were doing in house to help with the launch of the platform. Motion graphics trailers, web design, and ViDocs were also a part of my daily contributions.
Photoshop
After Effects
Zbrush
3D Studio Max
Illustrator
Axure
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Russ is one talented, hardworking dude. I have met few artists as truly versatile as Russ. I mean this guy is captain multimedia. When it comes to graphic design, illustration, animation, video editing, photography, wacky voices - you got it covered. Amiable, funny, and good spirited, Russ brings a little bit of sunshine in his pocket each day. Welcome voice in all product, creative, and design conversations. All around excellent one stop art shop!
Eduardo Baraf, VP Gaming & Social Media at Snapstick
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Russell is a joy to work with. He has great energy, a great attitude and works very hard. At Snapstick we were fortunate to have Russell create awesome art assets for us. He will be an asset for any company that needs an artist with a UI sense who is adept at all the recent technologies.
Rakesh Mathur, CEO & Founder at Snapstick
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Russell is the kind of person who puts love into each piece of work, no matter how big or small. He is a talented artist and a very creative person. Working with him, I watched him produce a great volume of inspired work, in a timely fashion. His enthusiasm and light hearted sense of humor made him a joy to work with.
David York, Game Designer at Snapstick
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It is pointless for me to say that Russell is talented, as he has a lot of portfolios of his awesome work available- but what i can say is that he is the most feedback-accepting and hardworking artist and UI guy I have met. I have no idea how many hours he actually was working at Snapstick, but I know they were beyond the pale- and the crazy thing is that his work was remarkably consistent and quality, no matter how much was on his plate. Also, he saw a real personal responsibility for the usability of his designs and UI work, and he took time out his crazy schedule to look at and incorporate the feedback and research I was producing, from his own interest and passion. It was a pleasure working with him.
