Portrait of Derek Torsani

Derek Torsani

Designer, musician, friend to all.

About

I'm a multidisciplinary designer and multi-instrumentalist creating work that focuses on diverse inclusion, social impact, and explores the boundaries of art, language, and communication.

Currently, I live in Washington, DC and work remotely designing digital products and managing a design system for Oracle. I am a strong believer in the strength of community and helping others, so in my free time I mentor new designers through platforms like Out Of Office Hours and LinkedIn. In that spirit, I also volunteer in DC helping people obtain their necessary life documents.

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"Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live, and let's change the way we treat each other."
— Tupac Shakur, 1992

Principles

Communication

Communicating honestly and transparently helps me to understand others and allows me to better be understood. Listening to someone speaking takes precedence over checking the latest notification received, so I keep my phone on 'Do Not Disturb' to ensure I am fully engaged in the present moment and giving the human or task at hand the attention it deserves.

Tangibility

Instead of being very active on social media, I value in-person interactions which provide a more welcoming space for emotion, clarity, and appropriate silence. This is difficult as an introvert, but I've found that staying connected with the world beyond the screen improves the wealth of my mind and the health of my heart.

Altruism

Giving back of my resources and gifts is worth more to me than receiving clout or money. Monetization is never the first goal of any project I create. It is important to me to be present among marginalized communities and educate myself on the way others experience the world. The more empathy we gain for others, the more harmonious we can live among each other and help give of what we each have to benefit the greater good of humanity.

Recognition

Creative inspiration and spiritual growth occur most when I listen to people who are different than myself share their stories. Recognition of privilege by way of race, class, and access to resources is necessary for me to acknowledge differing perspectives. I typically find this in music, podcasts, books, film, and most of all, through engagement with others.

Studiousness

I believe that practice makes progress. Striving for perfection limits my ability to connect to my purpose. Design and music are both forms of communication I use that can transcend barriers of culture, language, and emotion.

Work

Oralce Logo

Oracle Data Cloud Analytics

Oracle Data Cloud Analytics are a set of enterprise tools to help companies and agencies make more data informed decisions.

Role

Product Design

Goal

Surface data ingest and campaign delivery analytics into a usable interface that allows users to filter data and receive summarized reports and alerts.

Target

Existing users who identify as Data Analysts on accounts that ingest first-party data and delivery audience campaigns.

Earth Tone Pattern Illustration

Oracle Data Cloud Design System

Oracle Data Cloud uses a design system influenced by Oracle’s design system, Redwood, and is built on React with a separate HTML/CSS framework.

Role

Visual Design, Management

Goal

Create cohesion between design and development to build more efficient, consistent, and aligned workflows. Enable end-users to benefit through UI familiarity. Encourage more progression through monetarily performing features to meet business goals.

Target

Internal design and development teams, with impact on end-user clients.

ADT Logo

ADT Control

ADT Control, built on Alarm.com infrastructure, is a native iOS and Android app which allows homeowners to manage their security and automated devices.

Role

Product Design, Interaction Design

Goal

Design a way for users to quickly and easily control their home automation devices, and allow them to see information at a glance that is pertinent to their needs.

Target

Homeowners with security and home automation installed.

Halfdollar Logo

Halfdollar

Visit

Halfdollar is a free spreadsheet budgeting template built to help people log transactions organizationally, share with others, and take control of their finances.

Role

Creation, Design, Development

Goal

Create a manual budget that can be easily accessed, used, shared, and translated to different currencies.

Target

People with more than one income source, more than five recurring expense transactions, more than ten nonrecurring expense transactions, and goals to save money every month.

Flashing options to file a transaction.
Quickly Flashing Colors

Sound Color

Visit

The Sound Color Project is an exploration to enable accessibility to sound through light and color, particularly for people experiencing hearing impairment.

Role

Creation, Research, Design

Goal

Explore visual mediums to experience music and sound digitally.

Target

People who play and listen to music, especially those who experience hearing impairment.

Letters F and N on a purple background

FeedNurses.com

Visit

FeedNurses.com helps connect people willing to help buy a meal for a hospital worker on the frontlines with hospitals full of these people.

Role

Co-Creation, Design, Frontend Development

Goal

Create a simple way to help people donate to hospital workers in the form of providing an amount to cover a meal.

Target

Hospital workers who work shifts that span across 2 or more meals and have to normally purchase these meals for themselves.

Home page website for feednurses.com
SamCart Logo

SamCart

Visit

SamCart is an eCommerce platform focused on channeling the entire shopping and checkout experience into a one-page user flow.

Role

Product Design, Animation, Marketing Design, Branding

Goal

Redesign the SamCart platform to build consistency in the user interface and improve user experience for managing their products.

Target

Users selling single products with different tiers and promotions, needing one place to manage sales, orders, affiliates, and customers.

Eat Chesapeake Logo

Eat Chesapeake

Visit

Eat Chesapeake is a brand representing a fleet of restaurants with a catering arm of the business, with a culinary theme revolving around the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

Role

Web Design, Graphic Design, Branding

Goal

Develop a visual brand, voice, and all design assets including website, menus, signage and advertising.

Target

New and returning customers to the restaurant interested in learning more about services or placing an online order.

Front page of eatchesapeake.com showing a picture of a glazed chicken breast and menu options.
Android Marshmallow Booting Animation

Daily UI

Visit

Daily UI is a series of design challenge prompts sent to your inbox everyday for 100 days.

Role

Participant

Goal

Challenge myself to animate every single design prompt and never miss a day.

Android Marshmallow Booting Animation