Websites
My role as a NASA-JPL Web Content Strategist involved Brainstorm Facilitation (via Figma and Mural), Research & Development, Card Sorting, Auditing, Site Mapping, Information Architecture, User Persona Creation, A/B Testing, User Workflow Optimization, UX Design, Content Editing, and more. The following is a sample of the external websites that I helped guide toward deployment.
Planetary Cloud Aerosol Research Facility (PCARF)
WordPress CMS
NASA Electronic Parts Engineering School
Wagtail CMS
JPL Annual Report
Wagtail CMS
A Plan for JPL 2023-2026
Wagtail CMS
Featured Print & Digital Projects
The following projects were completed while working for NASA-JPL’s DesignLab.
Edward Stone Voyager Exploration Trail
In December 2024, JPL unveiled a memorial honoring Ed Stone, project scientist of the Voyager mission. Designed with simple line drawings, 24 disc-shaped plaques offer career and mission highlights while evoking the famed Golden Record aboard both spacecraft.
My involvement: Wrote the descriptive copy for all the memorial plaques, as well as the brochure handed out at the dedication.
JPL Annual Reports: 2022 & 2023
JPL’s Annual Report highlights the Lab’s accomplishments, milestones, and mission updates over the previous year. It has a limited print release, but digital versions are made for internal and external distribution.
My involvement: Wrote Campus & Lab and Communications & Education sections, as well as all the captions. Proofread the layouts. Designed the information architecture (IA) for the JPL Annual Report website and built out all the pages.
Dare Mighty Things Together: A Plan for JPL, 2023-2026
In June 2023, a three-year plan for JPL was introduced to help the Lab focus on expanding its positive impact on the space ecosystem in the near and distant future. The plan was distributed digitally (PDF), and a printed version was available in newspaper format.
My involvement: Wrote all the captions and provided extensive editorial guidance for writing and copyediting the layouts. Designed the IA for the Plan for JPL website and built out all the pages.
Europa Clipper Press Kit
NASA’s Europa Clipper mission enjoyed international media attention, and the media campaign reached millions of people. This mission press kit was developed to provide necessary mission information and stir public excitement. The press kit was distributed as an external website (Wagtail CMS) and as a downloadable PDF.
My involvement: Provided developmental guidance with the writing of the content, copyedited all the text and captions, designed the IA for the press kit website, and built out all the pages.
JPL 101 Brochure
In 2024, a new JPL 101 brochure was made to summarize the Lab’s purpose, goals, impact, demographics, and partnerships. The brochure has limited print distribution—at the Director’s discretion—as well as some digital distribution.
My involvement: Researched and wrote the “JPL by the Numbers” section and copyedited the document.
Ryan Smernoff 