All posts by topbean

Carkeek Studios and Beans n’ Rice partnered to design and develop a trio of websites who work to sustain a healthy democracy by engaging with women voters as well as key partners across the country in an effort to support an America that works for everyone. 

We were initially contracted to build two websites that live under the same brand umbrella but promote unique messaging. Although they appeal to different audiences, these organizations are affiliated. So the websites needed to be autonomous while at the same time making it clear that that they are related.

---

Galvanize USA is non-partisan and needs to tell the story behind the effort of supporting women to use their civic power to create an America that works for all of us. The site engages with foundations and donors as well as women interested in joining their community. The tone and voice is warm and personal and looks at topics with a larger lens.

Interact and scroll with the live website below

---

Galvanize Action appeals to an audience who is interested in taking action. Their mission is to identify, reach, and move moderate women in battleground states to reliably vote for progress. This site positions them as experts and provides space to share data and materials and form partnerships.

Interact and scroll with the live website below

Both websites shared similar goals in growing supporters via sign-ups, contact forms and donations and connecting with their audiences via blog posts and news updates. We helped find photography that is representative of their total audience without looking like it was sourced from stock.

---

This was a fantastic partnership that was efficient in launching both sites within a year and resulted in a third website, The Art and Science of Persuasion Playbook. The Playbook is a digital toolkit for ally organizations to use in their efforts to combat disinformation and advance progress on a range of issues. It engages users more through interaction rather than storytelling and provides a baseline of content like neuroscience concepts, videos and ads organized by topics that most people can see. Email sign up prompts unlock users to log in to reveal more content while collecting stats. 

Interact and scroll with the live website below

The navigation is organized into two menus to let people find content a number of different ways. Branding elements were borrowed from the other two sites but designed so that the Playbook looks unique and not simply a third iteration of the original sites. Flexible page templates support content that’s generated by third party apps that are seamlessly integrated by in-house staff.
A certain amount of content is generated from partners and this content is displayed using third party brand elements to distinguish it from the site while maintaining an integrated look and feel.

All three websites were built with a custom WordPress theme that allow for easy in-house updates.

Developed by: Carkeek Studios

Local Hens helps small farms across the US promote their home-grown goods to an online market. It is a place where consumers can find fresh food straight from their local farm stands, outdoor markets, CSAs, and restaurants.

Local Hens commissioned me to design an egg carton marketed to small farms and egg producers who want to promote their products but don’t want to spend lots of money on custom packaging of their own. The packaging needed to stand out in the dairy aisle when stacked alongside other egg cartons. This inspired farm and food themed custom illustration which helps to makes the design one of a kind.

Local farms who use the carton need space on the exterior of the egg carton where they can feature their name. Blank space is strategically included in the design so that small farms can add their name and URL. A QR code loads a web page on Local Hen’s website where you can search for the name of the farm that sourced the eggs and learn more about them.

Local Hens promotes food growers and producers who grow and make things other than eggs, so we wanted the package to be inclusive of these different products. The inside of the carton talks more broadly of Local Hen’s mission and includes illustration of other types of farm grown and raised products.

Tilth Alliance works in community with Washington farmers, gardeners and eaters to build a sustainable, healthy and equitable food future. I’ve been fortunate to maintain a longtime partnership with this non-profit that’s dedicated to building a better food future.

Tilth Alliance was created in 2016 from the merger of Tilth Producers, Cascade Harvest Coalition and Seattle Tilth. Their mission, vision and scope of work has evolved along with the organization, however their website remained firmly planted in the 2000s. Working alongside Carkeek Studios, we were designed and developed a new website that promotes Tilth Alliance’s brand, tell their story, and supports their goal of building a better food future by engaging a larger online audience. Read more about requirements and features for this site below the live demo.

Interact and scroll with the live website below

Custom Icons

I illustrated a set of farm and food growing themed icons to use on the website that would round out text and photography. Icons were prepared for print use as well so that the organization can get more mileage with them.

The Genuine Skagit Valley program is designed to increase consumer awareness and consumption of Skagit Valley agricultural related products and services. In the same way that Napa Valley is considered one of the premier international wine regions, Genuine Skagit Valley works to promote the distinctive farm-raised flavors, culture, and heritage of the Skagit Valley to the region and the world.

Interact and scroll with the live website below

Washington Trails Association (WTA) mobilizes hikers and everyone who loves the outdoors to explore, steward and champion trails and public lands. As someone who gets outside regularly, I see the impact of their work every time I step foot on a trail. It was so fun to be able to help them refresh the look and feel of their email newsletters.

I worked with Starbucks Global Digital Marketing team and helped produce email newsletters, custom illustrations and graphics for their websites and social channels.

The Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST) is a citizen science project focused on the beach environment of the northeast Pacific. We worked alongside staff to design and develop a custom WordPress site for the organization.

Over 4,000 participants on more than 450 beaches spanning four states have contributed directly to monitoring their local marine resources and ecosystem health. The website helps on-board new volunteers for citizen science marine monitoring. It provides them with the tools they need in order to pitch-in on this expansive project.

Interact and scroll with the live website below