About Me
Thank you for visiting my online portfolio. My name is Ryan Wakefield and I'm a professional graphic and multimedia designer living within the Tampa Bay area. I have 20 years of experience working for various marketing/communication teams within the following industries: food service, toy manufacturing, medical, transportation, and education. In addition to design, I'm a skilled photographer and videographer with a deep understanding of lighting, sound, composition, and video editing with multimedia software. Illlustration (branding, infographics) and editorial writing are two more services I provide.
Since I was young, I loved fantasy and had a strong desire to breathe life into a new world. I recently published an award-winning middle grade fantasy novel titled Journey to Jumbalot. Visit www.jumbalot.com to learn more about this exciting project!
Ryan Wakefield
Latest Projects
I was recently tasked with creating a sizzle reel for the USF College of Engineering. The video featured action shots of faculty and students working in various labs. I shot most of the footage and synchronized each scene to the beat of an uplifting music track. It's incredible to see engineering students building and improving robots, drones, automated vehicles, and even a small satellite that was launched by NASA.
Augmented reality (AR) has proven to be incredibly entertaining. I envisioned transforming a new poster design that showcases the University of South Florida's mascot, Rocky the Bull, into a superhero akin to Iron Man. Having recently started learning an AR-related program, I decided to make the poster interactive. Now, by scanning the QR code with a smartphone, one can activate a 3D animated version of the poster complete with music and a video backdrop.
It's been a while since I dived into the world of web design, and I recently had the pleasure of creating a new digital home for the TECO Clean Energy Research Center (CERC). Specializing in solar and hydrothermal energy research, CERC wanted to update their outdated site with a modern, clean look using USF’s preferred CMS, Omni Update. They also requested new photos of faculty and students working within their lab, so I organized a photoshoot and captured those images myself. The CERC team was thrilled with the new look, and it was wonderful to return to web design, a field I used to work in regularly. View site: TECO Clean Energy Research Center | University of South Florida (usf.edu)
When I was a boy, my mom told me that my grandfather was a great baseball player (pitcher). Scouts from the majors wanted him to play, but WW2 forever changed those plans. He lived in Chicago most of his life and he was a devoted Cubs fan. I'm sure that he imagined himself standing on that pitcher's mound whenever he watched his beloved team play. I created the illustration below in Adobe Photoshop as a gift to my mom for her birthday.
This is a New Year's social media animation created for the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR). Since CUTR's logo is circular in shape, I thought it would be interesting to somehow add it to a moving car. The moving car represents driving into the new year and Adobe After Effects enabled me to track CUTR's logo to a moving wheel in the video background.
During the last few years at the USF College of Engineering, I've been tasked with creating animated holiday video messages for Dean Robert H. Bishop. This year's theme is the combination of an illuminated holiday tree built from computer circuits and a hologram delivering Dean Bishop's message. I filmed the dean in front of a green screen and dropped in amazing special effects with the use of Adobe After Effects. The result is a fun, creative video message that adds a touch of engineering to the holidays.
It was a wonderful experience accepting my book’s gold medal on stage at the annual Readers’ Favorite Book Awards. Journey to Jumbalot won a gold medal within the preteen fantasy category last year, but I was unable to attend since my wife and I were both sick with pneumonia. I’d like to thank the event organizers at Readers’ Favorite for allowing me to accept my award this year on stage - it meant a lot to us both! We also attended the massive Miami Book Fair and enjoyed chatting with several fellow authors. Please visit http://www.jumbalot.com to learn more about my first award-winning fantasy novel!
The Gift that Keeps on Giving!
This is one of my latest video projects I filmed/edited for the USF Department of Computer Science and Engineering. This video features the department's new Student Success Coach Stacey Sepulveda. In the video, she discusses her position and the importance of assisting students in need. I don't have access to the greatest video equipment, but I do my best to give these college information videos a professional look.
I'm currently exploring the world of 3D and this is a preview of a new USF-themed table vase and pencil holder I created for the USF College of Engineering. These promotional items will be 3D printed and displayed on information tables at upcoming conferences. Visit the links below to view rotatable 3D previews of both models (click and drag to rotate): USF Twisted Vase USF Pencil Holder USF Rockybot Toy
Portfolio
Select a category image below to view samples of my work.
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