Explore Our Work

The client, United Way of Central Maryland, wanted to showcase the impact they make in various communities throughout the state of Maryland, both in urban areas and beyond.

They wanted to do so in a way that would impress and engage their audience, and would help direct them toward specific facets of the community that they care most about and can direct their donations toward.

Finding a Look

The client provided a major piece of creative direction: they wanted to depict the communities they help visually. They wanted visitors to the site to be able to explore in a freeform fashion, and so the rest of the Mindgrub team and I set up a series of workshops with the client to narrow down a look & feel for that experience.

Eventually, we settled on an isometric "Sim City" style for our representation of Maryland communities, and I set about finding stock illustrations that fit the client's budget and the desired look.

SimMaryland

The final result of our hard work was a large, zoomable illustration representing Maryland and its diverse communities. This served as the key piece of artwork around which the design of the site was constructed.

Adding Local Flavor

Because we were using stock illustration assets to construct most of our mini-Maryland, we quickly realized that the result might turn out looking a bit generic.

Fortunately, I was able to use my 3D modeling skills to create additional assets to add to the mix, depicting local landmarks and even a simplified rendition of the client's headquarters.

Have a look at the final product at exploreourwork.org.