Hi, my name is Jenna.

I'm an interactive designer from Omaha, Nebraska. Here, in my attempt to describe myself as a creative professional, I'm going to avoid using clichés like "rock star," "ninja," or "guru." The truth is, I'm more like a penguin. On an iceberg. You know, the kind where only 1/10th of it is above the water. That's because I thrive in challenging environments where there's always more to learn. I'm ambitious, outgoing and competitive — qualities demonstrated not only in my unwillingness to settle for "good enough" and my meticulous attention to detail, but also when I'm leading my co-rec slow-pitch c-division softball team to runners-up glory. Want to know more? First things first, check out my work. If you like what you see, let's get in touch. I have recently relocated to the North Carolina triangle area and would love to work with you.

Download Resumé (pdf)

Work

• Client: Profile Products LLC
  Project: Turface Athletics Website

  Turface needed a website that would serve not only as a means to buy their products, but also as a library of educational resources for athletic field groundskeepers at every level — from Little League to MLB. Though my official title at the time was Production Artist, I served as the lead designer on the project. The client needed the site to be highly adaptable, and both the end user's experience and client's ease of use were top priorities. I designed it to be developed and managed via Drupal CMS and it includes multi-tier navigation, a dealer locator tool, and advanced search functionality. (Sidenote: I was promoted to designer shortly after launch.)

  Visit Turface.com »

  

• Client: Cushman
  Project: Cushman Website

  I designed the new Cushman.com as part of a total re-branding initiative for the client. We completely revamped the existing site architecture and I needed to design it to be highly flexible, so after my team completed front end development, the client's internal team could integrate it into their CMS of choice. It utilizes current techniques like CSS3 multiple backgrounds and Typekit font replacement, while providing browser-specific back-up options. The site is also mobile friendly, utilizing no flash, but instead relying on a combination of CSS and Javascript for interactive functionality and animation effects.

  Check out the brand new Cushman.com »

  

• Client: Minn Kota
  Project: iPilot Rich Media Digital Ads

  I created a series of rich media flash ads for Minn Kota's launch of a new product: iPilot. Using PointRoll's AS2 API, the ads expand upon roll-over and allow the user to learn about the iPilot by watching short animated videos — one for each of the product's four main features — all within the ad's interface. These ads were awarded an AMA PRISM.

  Check out this PointRoll demo link to experience the ad »

  

• Client: The Fertilizer Institute
  Project: 4R Nutrient Stewardship Website

  4R Nutrient Stewardship is a movement that calls for responsible use of fertilizer. The bulk of 4R initiatives will live on this new website and will serve as a resource bank for both large and small farming operations across the United States. I designed the site to be highly flexible and adaptable to allow for frequent content updates to be made by the client via Drupal CMS. This complex, content-heavy site was a great exercise in SEO, UX design, and information architecture. I loved not only being in charge of its aesthetic design, but involved in the strategy behind the scenes as well. (See following slide.)

  Visit the 4R Nutrient Stewardship site »

  

• Client: The Fertilizer Institute
  Project: 4R Nutrient Stewardship Website - Wireframing Stage

  When planning the 4R Nutrient Stewardship website, it was important not to dive into design right away. This is a developing initiative by the client, therefore it was difficult at first to pin down not only the content of the site, but even its general purpose and target audience. This, we realized, was because it actually needed serve multiple purposes for different audiences - from small family farms to product distributors to agricultural lobbists in Washington D.C. Because of its complexity, it was important to me to first find a way to organize content and then create a design that wouldn't overwhelm the user. It wouldn't matter how useful the information was if users got too confused and frustrated to find it! To further complicate things, we needed to think of the site from a phased approach and consider the future goal of the client - which is to eventually divide content by geographic region to provide crop and climate-specific resources. We provided solutions that would transition easily as content shifted, without requiring a total restructuring of the site.

  I feel this site was a tremendous exercise in information architecture and UX design. I'm proud to say the client was thrilled with our work and has now tasked us with redesigning their corporate site as well.

  Visit the 4R Nutrient Stewardship site »

  

• Client: Scotts Horticulture
  Project: Scotts Professional Website

  The client has several brands under its umbrella. However, before now, they lived somewhat autonomously, spread over several microsites. This was bad not only from a user-experience perspective, but also in terms of SEO. I took the existing look and feel of their corporate site, merged the content from the others, redesigned and expanded upon a new series of layouts, and voilà! The site was developed for integration with Drupal CMS and launched in April, 2011.

  See the new Scotts Professional site now »

  

• Client: Intervet Scherring-Plough Animal Health
  Project: EyeD Microsite

  EyeD is a new method of horse identification developed by Intervet Scherring-Plough Animal Health. It includes videos, news, and product information.

  Go to EyeD.com »

  

• Client: Pure Fishing — Berkley
  Project: Facebook application idea for new business pitch

  My agency was recently involved in a RFP for the Pure Fishing corporation, specifically focusing on one of their brands — Berkley. The prospective client asked to see some of our ideas about how to incorporate social media into their marketing campaigns. I created this layout for just one of our ideas: a Facebook application called Berkley University. We've recently been notified that we were awarded the business and hope to begin developing some of our ideas soon!

  

• Client: Bad Boy Buggies
  Project: E-Mail and Digital Ads

  Bad Boy Buggies recently developed and launched a new line of vehicles called the Work Series. I performed the role of both designer and art director for the interactive portion of the campaign, which included this e-mail blast and a series of digital ads. As such, I needed to ensure the e-mail was designed in such a way that would lend itself to best practices for HTML email development, while maintaining the campaign branding elements as they spanned across different media.

  

• Client: Purina
  Project: Rich Media Digital Ads

  I created a series of rich media ads for Purina about their horse feed products. These were developed utilizing PointRoll's AS3 Flash API, and upon click, expand to reveal an interface where users can watch three videos - each explaining a different reason why consumers should choose Purina products for their horses.

  Experience the ad via this PointRoll demo link »

  

• Client: Necky Kayaks
  Project: New Business Pitch Concept

  As part of a new business pitch, I worked on designing materials for the interactive component of a proposed campaign for Necky Kayaks. The idea (in short) was to have Necky dealers across the country sponser local artists to create custom kayak designs. I came up with the "Kayart" moniker as well as designs for an interactive gallery and design-your-own kayart portal.

  

• Client: Humminbird
  Project: "VanDam Your Boat" Digital Ad Campaign

  I created a series of flash digital ads as part of a promotional give-away campaign for Humminbird. The ads ran on multiple fishing enthusiast websites including the ESPN Bassmaster site pictured in the screenshot above.

  

• Client: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska
  Project: "One Less Thing To Worry About" Digital Ad Campaign

  I created a series of flash ads to run on YouTube for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska. We utilized geo-targeting to ensure local consumers received these placements. Each ad mimicked an online chat between two friends talking about funny videos featuring (what we can hope was indeed not) bodily harm. The goal was to make users think about their own health insurance coverage, or lack thereof, and encourage them to visit the BCBSNE website.

  

Recommendations

Just in case #jennagengler is not a trending topic on twitter anymore, here's what a few people have to say about me:

• "As the CEO of an advertising company, I firmly believe the most critical thing is not your portfolio of clients, but the portfolio of talent. We need talent that is strategic, as well as creative; team players who also own their independence, and experience in their job coupled with an on-going desire to stay current in the digital world. Jenna is all of these and more. My highest recommendation of any employee is that if Jenna returned to Nebraska, we would hire her back without question!"

  — Dave Hansen, Partner / Chief Executive Officer, Swanson Russell

• "In her time here at Swanson Russell, I have watched Jenna grow tremendously as both a graphic designer, an interactive specialist and as a communications professional. She's smart. Hardworking. Willing to ask questions. Creative. And, a strong collaborator. She also appreciates the finer points of Bruce Springsteen which further raises her stock in my book. Seriously, you won't go wrong putting Jenna on the job. She's a keeper on all counts."

  — Brian Boesche, Partner / Chief Creative Officer, Swanson Russell

• "Jenna is both a talented visual designer and great strategic thinker, making her a valuable asset to any project she works on. Her work looks great, but most importantly, it works well. Jenna always pushes to understand the users she's designing for and works to create an end product that will satisfy the needs of those users. Jenna is also an excellent collaborator. During her time at Swanson Russell she developed excellent working relationships with both the Strategy and Development teams. I'm sad to see her go, but excited to see where her career will take her. I know Jenna will be an excellent addition to any interactive marketing team."

  — Courtney Rodgers, Interactive Strategist, Swanson Russell

• "Jenna dives deep into client’s products and background to have a thourough understanding of who they are and what they are about. This sets her apart from other interactive designers because she isn't just designing a pretty page, she understands which pieces of information are the most relevant. I have loved working with Jenna. She has always put in over 100% effort and she collaborates well with the entire team — both inside and outside the interactive department.

  — Jen Landis, Interactive Art Director, Swanson Russell

• "Jenna is always very passionate about design and anything interactive. It is hard to find someone this meticulous and dedicated, starting from the big idea all the way to the smallest details. She is super smart and a quick learner and is not afraid to jump into new technologies. Also, very fun to work with and always a great force in our interactive team. Another thing about Jenna that is quite unique is her passion for many other things outside of the world of interactive design, which, in my opinion, just adds to her abilities. In short, Jenna is awesome.

  — Zeljka Hassler, Senior Interactive Designer, Swanson Russell

• "I have known Jenna for more than 26 years. She is an exceptionally talented, creative, hard-working individual known for her diverse interests, keen perception, intelligence, and overall good nature. Her father and I are so proud."

  — Debbie Polles, Mom

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