the job:
Kasidie
type: adult social community/networking, business network, dating
skills: user experience design, graphic design, web design & development | online: www.kasidie.com
An event and travel hub for Kasidie members.
An event and travel hub for Kasidie members.
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About the Project:
The idea behind Kasidie was to create a Facebook for swingers. Using Web 2.0 technologies and modern design methodologies, we set about creating the first online social/sexual community built with the subscriber, not the service provider, in mind.
Obviously this task required constant application of interface design best practices... but on a very tight timeline and budget. This combination exposed me, to my delight, to guerilla usability testing methods for the first time. So we set about creating a full-featured suite of social networking/community apps, with a sleek and sexy aesthetic... our mission was never to build porn, but to build community... and based on consensus we were successful.
Working as the senior designer on such a deep and complex interface was a very rewarding experience and convinced me of the value of user-centered design standards, even back then when modern web UX principles were in their infancy.
My responsibilities included user experience and user interface design across all aspects of the site, as well as page design, architecture, and corporate branding. After creating a viable visual environment for users and partners, I set about translating those designs into html and css, which could then be brought to life by our engineers.
My responsibilities included user experience and interaction designs across all sections of the site (mail, profile, communities, parties, travel, shopping, admin, etc.), as well as being in charge of creative direction and development of the larger identity of Kasidie Entertainment. I also codified corporate guidelines and created the procedures for an affliate/partner co-branding system and created a library of promotional banner graphics as part of a massive banner exchange program with other sites within the swinger/sex-positive online community.
Non-digital duties included developing and designing collateral print marketing pieces such as outdoor banners, posters, postcards, clothing, condoms, wine labels, industry goodie bags and cross-promotions (the largest of which were with Hustler, Playboy, and Fascinations ).
Toolkit: wireframing, prototyping, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, PageSpinner, TextWrangler, HTML, CSS, javascript.
Kasidie is an award-winning, national online social community, designed specifically for the swinger community. At the time of its creation, a few other such communities existed, but they were mired in outdated design practices and a Web 1.0 mindset.
Through the most up-to-date technologies and a proprietary back-end, our new entry into the niche online community market boasted member chat and email, fully fleshed out member profiles and profile search (think OKCupid or Match), social communities (inspired by MeetUp.com), travel calendars and connectivity for travel providers and destinations, parties and events listings, forums, shopping, and a web magazine.
Kasidie.com won the Sybarite Award for Best New Adult Website in 2009 and Best Swinger's Website in 2010. Kasidie's emergence and design had a decidedly disruptive influence on the adult/swinger social community sphere (which accounts for millions of dollars a year in total profits).