Please contact me directly for my UX writing portfolio.
An interactive visualization of the first 1,000 creative coding experiments on ChromeExperiments.com.
Data Visualization, Web“One Day on Waze” is a data visualization of vehicle traffic in 8 cities using data from Waze, a popular navigation app. The visuals were created for Waze's Connected Citizens program. Please check out the video links below.
Data Visualization, VideoA visualization of the most popular searches on Google, updated hourly. Available in 40+ languages, with data from 47 countries. We also created a Mac OS X screensaver (download).
Data Visualization, Web100,000 Stars is an interactive visualization of the stars nearest our Sun. Click “start the tour” for an overview of the site’s features.
Data Visualization, WebWebGL Bookcase is a interactive bookcase featuring thousands of popular titles across a range of subjects. Click and drag a book cover for a summary and link to Google Books. We also made a life-sized touchscreen version that was installed at the Google offices in San Francisco, New York and Paris.
Data Visualization, WebTo support Google Ideas’ research into the global weapons market, we created this interactive visualization of weapons imports and exports from 1992-2010. Click on a country to see it’s imports (blue) and exports (orange).
Data Visualization, WebThis visualization of Android device activations was created in 2011 to show the explosive growth of the mobile OS.
Data Visualization, VideoThis installation in NYC showcased satellite images from Google Maps on a massive digital billboard. Each image was downloadable as digital wallpaper at g.co/ev.
Installation, WebsiteUnnumbered Sparks is a interactive aerial sculpture as wide as an American football field. It was unveiled in Vancouver, BC for the 2014 TED Conference. Visitors could draw on the artwork simply by connecting to a local WiFi network and opening Chrome. At peak, over 500 people were connected simultaneously.
InstallationThis Exquisite Forest is a web-based animation experiment that was installed at London’s Tate Modern from July 2012 to July 2013. Located on the museum’s third floor, the installation included drawing stations and an interactive gallery where visitors could browse the site with wireless wands. The project later traveled to DLD, Tribeca Storyscapes and SIGGRAPH.
Installation, WebsiteChrome Experiments is a popular gallery of creative coding experiments made with open web technologies. It features a mix of graphics demos, games, physics experiments, interactive films, and more. I lead the project from 2009–2015.
WebsiteJust a Reflektor is an interactive music video that uses your mobile phone and computer’s webcam simultaneously to apply special effects to the film. The project was awarded an Emmy in 2014.
WebsiteThis Exquisite Forest is a unique animation platform featuring tens of thousands of hand-drawn frames. Users take turns adding eight frames at a time, inserting them anywhere they choose. The result is a forest of branching visual narratives resembling trees.
WebsiteHouse of Cards is a music video created entirely with code using 3D light scanners. This essay, which I wrote with Aaron Koblin, takes the reader through the production process and examines how data can become a music video.
WritingFlight Patterns is an artwork by Aaron Koblin that maps the locations of thousands of airplanes over North America over 24 hours. In this essay, Aaron and I describe how it was made and the challenges and opportunities that come from visualizing data with software.
WritingIn this interview, I discuss my thoughts on how to break into the advertising industry as a creative. One of the themes is that big, relevant ideas are always needed, but in the digital world, so is the ability to make things. Software and mobile phones have made everyone into filmmakers, editors, art directors, writers and programmers. For students looking to break in, the best way to stand out is through craft.
WritingThe Wilderness Downtown (2010) was a seminal work in interactive art and advertising. In this piece, Aaron Koblin and I discuss how projects like Wilderness show how the web isn't just a platform for great ideas, it’s also a place to invent new interfaces and forms of media.
WritingI was the social media manager / writer for Chrome Experiments’ Twitter (@ChromeExp) and Facebook (ChromeExperiments) feeds from 2010–2015.
WritingUX Writer / Marketing Copywriter• San Francisco• 2015 – present
Copywriter / Interactive Producer • San Francisco• 2008 – 2015
Advertising Copywriter • Portland• 2006 – 2008
Advertising Copywriter • Auckland• 2004 – 2005
B.S. Foreign Service 1997 - 2001
I’m a copywriter with a passion for building compelling software. Right now I work on the design team at Gusto, a startup that makes it easy for businesses to hire, pay, and manage their teams.
Before Gusto, I wrote marketing campaigns at Google for products like Chrome, Maps, and Android. I also helped start the Google Data Arts Team, a group of creative technologists who tell interactive stories with data and the web. Prior to Google, I worked in advertising for several years. My work has been recognized at Cannes, D&AD, SXSW, and the Webby’s.
hello@valdean.com