I am a graphic design and web developer. I am experienced in using HTML, PHP, Javascript, CSS and database solutions such as MySQL to create dynamic web experiences for the user. I live and work in Port Angeles, WA on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula. When building websites not all browsers are the same and tend to have varying results when it comes to the graphic layout of the site. Internet Explorer still holds the major share of users, but the rest are gaining popularity. Internet Explorer is also the browser that least often displays the latest HTML/CSS combinations correctly. It is vital to test on all browsers to ensure the site looks correct.
My personal computer runs: I have several computers in my home network, but only work on one. That system is an Intel i7 core system that can load into Windows XP, Windows 7 (64 bit), Mac OS X 10.6.2 or Ubuntu. The Operating System is selected upon start up. This unique quad-boot system allows me to develop cross platform applications and test them in their native environment without the need for multiple computers.
I have been using Adobe products since before some of them were Adobe products. As a web developer I find the use of Dreamweaver and Flash to be invaluable in helping manage and develop new websites. Although I do have a tendancy to write web pages and applications in Notepad, I always use Dreamweaver to manage the files. Photoshop and Illustrator are also great assests to have when designing the graphics to be used in a website. These programs in combination with InDesign allow me to create incredible print designs which can mirror the sytle used in the website. Due to the nature of my previous position as PrePress Department Manager I found myself automating a great deal of tasks with these products. Applescript is the easiest way to automate tasks between programs, but Adobe has included within the CS5 products a powerful automation engine of their own. The use of this form of automation allows the scripting of the CS4 line of products to be cross platform unlike Applescript.
I recently decided to recreate this website and do away with the bulky Flash version I had created a few years back. I can do nearly anything Flash can do without the use of flash. In fact using Javascript to do all the work is a lot easier and does not require the software involved. A website can be written in notepad and still get a Flash-like effect. Other things that are more complex can still be done, but working in just notepad is not effective. The linked examples are created using the Canvas tag which is just recently being supported by Internet Explorer, which means some of my most recent work might not work the way I want. There are work around and I include as many as needed to make the site functional. The site you currently on is an example, it in fact looks and works the best in Opera or Safari. The rest of the browsers will catch up which means the sites I build today will not look dated, instead they will be seen to their full potential in time.
A website used to manage digital proofing for AGS Publishing.
A website for a youth baseball team.
A website for a local cake designer.
A large scale tournament for the game Smallball.
An add-on game I created for Smallball.
While a picture says 1,000 words, these images have a story behind them.
Craters of the Moon KOA campground guide I created.
Flipping an image doesn't always work.
Age hasn't been kind to this baby photo.
Coloring books are fun too.
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American Guide ServicesPort Angeles, WA Prepress Department Lead Jan. 2008 - Jan. 2009 Graphic Designer May 2007 - Dec. 2007 • Prepared digital media for commercial printing. • Provided technical support for staff and customers throughout the United States and Canada. • Responsible for developing and maintaining web site for online proofing. • Created advertisting design training manual detailing specifications for designers and instructions on how to meet them. • Developed automation processes reducing average production time 120 to 35 days. • Designed advertising for publication. • Created maps for use in publications.
ProSboPort Angeles, WA Web Site Developer and Database ManagementJan. - May 2007 • Designed templates for web sites using HTML, PHP, Javascript and SQL databases. • Provided technical support for customers and technical training to staff. • Resolved a 6 month backlog of web sites developing over 1,000 web sites including: The Port Angeles downtown association, strait thunder, coldwell banker.
Peninsula Nurseries, Inc.Sequim, WA Assistant Manager1998-2003 • Scheduled employees. Planned and conducted staff training sessions. • Organized seminars providing training and information to the public. • Developed and maintained company web site. • Assessed computerized register software and advised on which best suited the needs of the company. • Installed network hardware, computer registers and software.
While I worked at AGS Publishing proofing materials were sent via USPS. Needless to say a great deal of time was spent waiting for the proofs to return. In order to lower the overall production time it was decided to develop a method of processing digital proofs. The website had the requirement of being simple to use for people with limited technical skills. The system links uploads and downloads to user accounts and e-mails were automatically sent by the system to let users know a proof was waiting for them as well. Use of this online proofing system dramatically reduced the production time of nearly all jobs in production.
Southern Oregon Whitesox is a youth baseball team in of all places southern Oregon. For this site I created a complete CMS system which manages players stats and bios. It will allow the team to use the site for many years to come. The coaches are able to input their schedule and later add statistics for that game. Season stats are tabulated by the site and everything is stored in the SQL database. There is a calendar and photo gallery as well all linked into the main CMS admin. To facilitate the uploading of photos to the site I created a Winodows application that resizes the photos and uploads them to the proper places on the server. The coaches wished to have some statistics only visible by using a login system, such as on player bios. The login panel is gained by clicking the SOX logo, which I also created for them as they were using the Chicago WhiteSox logo. The version I created for them now adorns their uniforms as well as the website. Notice also player images are placed into a 1987 Topps baseball card frame, one of my favorite parts of the site.
This website was created for a local cake designer. For this site I created a custom gallery which pulls images from the owners Flickr's account. When she uploads a new picture to Flickr (in a defined set of images) it will appear on her page in the gallery. Using this method allowed the user to be able to rearrange the order of photos via Flickr and it allowed me to not recreate all the functionality available already. Also having the images come from Flickr's website also reduced the traffic from the site's host server and increased the overall speed of the site. Additionally this site is created using Semantic Markup and all pages are editable (at least the text/image content of the pages) via the custom CMS I created. PHP pages are viewed by the end user which use include to pull the html content pages (which are editable by the owner of the site via the CMS). A change made in one php file will propagate throughout all pages.
Clan Wars is a website used to create and monitor a large scale tournament played by users of the online game Smallball. The users have formed groups called "clans" and each year these clans compete to see who is the best. In years past the entire tournament was held in a bracket style system that required a lot of work on the part of the administrators of the tournament. I decided to create a web application that could automate the process. The system creates invitations to allow users to register. I, being the Admin, create invitation tickets for the Clan Leaders. This allows them to create their clan and input data such as clan logo, website, etc.. The clan leaders are given a set of invitation codes to distribute to their users so they can in turn register on the system as a member of that clan. User registration is a quick and painless process due to the system already knowing a good deal about the user prior to their completing the registration form. They only have to provide their username, a password and their team id (from smallball). Using cURl functions the system logs in on the smallball forums (using my account) and sends the person a private message to complete the registration. This method is used to limit cheating since the forums are moderated by a team who monitor user accounts. It spared me from having to create more safeguards into the system. Once everyone is registered and ready to begin the system creates a schedule of play over a period of multiple weeks. A good deal of error checking goes into the entire process along the way to prevent user error and cheating of the system. This system does a lot of checking of data versus the webpages of the games using PHP's cURL function. The system also parses boxscores (stats of the games provided by the smallball game itself) that users submit from each game and add all the data to the system. Users are able to then check the stats for a player, team or a clan updated in real time. This is the largest scale tournament ever seen in the 10 years Smallball has been around. Tracking statistics for clans, teams and players over the course of 1,000 games was no small feat if I do say so myself. I called the system SCAM which stands for Smallball Clan Association Manager. See the site in action here.
Once again I built a system for use with Smallball baseball. This time I created an 'add-on' game which created a rich role playing experience. The system made use of Google Maps to create real time traveling. The concept is that the player is the Manager of the team ( a team from Smallball they own) and they take their team on the road to play other teams. As teams play more games they gain fame, the more fame a team has the larger a crowd they draw in and the more they can charge for tickets. Managers can select stadiums their teams play in which have varying requirements and seating capacity. As a traveling manager they also must have a means of transport and there are a variety of buses available to be purchased. Each bus has unique stats such as miles per gallon and maximum speed. Each also has a hidden statistic which controls the frequency of breakdown and end of life based upon total miles. The GPS portion of the game utilizes the Google Maps API and interacts with the database to gather information on the players current location and available destinations (places other places have selected as their home towns).When traveling users are given a 'live' GPS to follow the status of their journey. Due to it being simply a game, routes are plotted in a straight line and not a realistic route as would be driven.
The new owners of the Craters of the Moon KOA in Idaho contacted me and requested to have a single page double sided guide to replace the previous owners. KOA is a national brand that has a strict branding imaging standard that must be followed when making their publications. It includes exact color specifications (KOA Red or KOA Yellow), fonts, and names (such as Kamping with a 'K') that must be used. This guide follows that standard and packs a lot of information into a small area. Due to this project being completed by me personally there is no copyright line on the publication. Generally the guide is copyright to person who created it.
I had a request to make an advertisement with RV's facing each other. Most photos of RVs are from the same side however and the advertiser was unable to get a photo of the specific model from the other side. I had to create what I thought the other side looked like in photoshop. The sales representative had this to say about my work:
You are beyond incredible...with a price above rubies! Don't know how you work your magic, but it truly is wonderous! Checked with the advertiser and they LOVE the full page ad...lovely, lovely job, and many thanks for your hard work, as well as getting it done so quickly! Why on earth would they pay an advertising agency to do something you do soooooooooooooooooo much better?? - Hugh Finklea
This is a well worn image of my father as a baby.As you can see in the image on the left it spent to much time in a wallet. For a Father's Day gift I decided to clean up the image for him. It took longer than I had expected and I left the photo as you can see it on the right in order to present it to him on time. The overall effect was to leave some aging to still leave the photo looking aged.
Sometimes it is just fun to draw things in Illustrator.
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