The User Interface design for TripAdvisor involved a great deal of coding in XML, and the challenge was to make tons of data appear “pretty”. (In these early days of web design the lowest common denominator for screen resolution and to which one had to design was 640 x 480).
Steve Kaufer, the company’s founder and current CEO was so happy with the work at the time that he repriced my invoices from $35/hr to $50/hr – scribbling by hand on each one “should be $50 per hour!”
My graphic contribution to the TripAdvisor logotype was a parti (figure 1); this symbol which seemed ubiquitous. It appears on bridges, roadways and is the symbol that indicates the distance (both meters and yards) to the nearest standpipe connection. I argued for the symbol as a representation of knowledge, a known metric.
Though I participated in the discussions and development of the TA logo, I take no credit for the the final form it took, or the “wise owl”. I thought the idea was brilliant, said so, and surprisingly, the owners and I disagreed about it, but it was voted upon and won.
fig 1. TripAdvisor Logo Idea Proposed by Carella
Interactive web site design for the Signal Building, a 75 unit apartment complex for which I participated in the creation of construction documents.
Instructor’s teaching portfolio as of 2013.
Data visualization of building heights in the financial district in Boston that exceed zoning height limitations.
Study of the human scale of signage in and around Roslindale’s Washington Street.
