Space Shaping – Web Design

Space Shaping – Eugene, OR – 2011
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe ImageReady, HTML, CSS, PHP and WordPress

I approached the website design for Space Shaping as a fine art project. I was familiar with Niko’s artwork and became a bit nervous to think that my task would present beautiful 3D art installations with a 2D monitor. Space shaping creates modern-looking event decorations, mostly inspired by warehouse parties and festivals like Burningman. Their clients include the String Cheese Incident, Mountain Stomp, Caffeine, Symbiosis and some church events. Many visitors to this website will notice the geodesic dome in the background. These domes are often used at festivals to shelter guests from the sun and/or rain. They also provide stable support for heavy lighting effects systems and hanging art installations. The Sky Drops are one of Space Shaping’s signature art pieces, shown here with a pink/violet glow. They flank the center piece, the pink/violet flower, which also acts as the company logo. Because this site competes with today’s cutting edge graphic styles, I used new CSS code on the headings that will only be effective with the latest browsers. I love working with artists, more so when they are excited about projects like this one. Get you space shaped here: http://spaceshaping.net/

Emrg-n-see 2011 Music and Art Festival – Web Design

Emrg-n-see – Portland, OR – 2011
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe ImageReady, HTML, CSS, PHP and WordPress

The website design for Emrg-n-see was based off a poster design by WKYD ( http://thewkyd.com ). The poster featured a sphere shaped object which appears in this design directly behind the logo. The website design also features the diagonal group of lines behind the sphere. I don’t get too many chances to work with other designers, I enjoyed the process of building the festival identity with W. This is my fourth year contributing to the festival’s marketing department. In previous years, the festival was located on rural land and guests camped for 3-4 days. The material from past years always featured crystals in the graphics. This year, the festival would take place in Portland. I saw the opportunity to slice a photo of downtown Portland in such a way, so the river looked like crystals. The site has some fun roll-over images (I use the sprite technique to reduce download time). Emerge online and see for yourself: http://2011.emrgnsee.com/

dhavir productions – Web Design and Logo Design

dhavir productions – Istanbul, Turkey – 2011
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe ImageReady, HTML, CSS, PHP, Prestashop and WordPress

I had originally done the website design for dhavir’s WordPress installation. Transferring the WordPress html/css templates over to the Prestashop installation was smooth. Prestashop is the fastest growing opensource ecommerce application. It allows dhavir to sell physical DVD and CD products as well as audio and video downloads. Over 50,000 websites run Prestashop at the time of this writing. Take a look at dhavir’s products here: http://www.dhavir.com/shop

RamJack – Web Design, SEO and Graphic Design

RamJack – Eugene, OR – 2011
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe ImageReady, HTML, CSS, PHP and WordPress

I was originally hired to re-do the graphics for RamJack. After learning that we would need to move the site to a new server, the client agreed that the new install should be rebuilt from the ground up, using a domain with the key terms “oregon foundation repair”. This web design project proved no simple task. I spent days researching RamJack’s printed material and comparing it to other foundation repair websites. My search engine optimization plan was set early in the beginning. I used over a dozen SEO website tools to formulate a marketing plan all while organizing 60+ pages of content. The site is a powerhouse of key terms and phrases and currently has only two competitors for the search terms “oregon foundation repair”. If there is anything you need to learn about foundation repair? You will find it here: http://oregon-foundation-repair.com

Helios Resource Network – Web Design, Graphic Design and Logo Design

Helios Resource Network – Eugene, OR – 2011
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe ImageReady, HTML, CSS, PHP, Helios Calendar Application, Coldfusion and JQuery

I am in the process of upgrading the web design of Helios Resource Network’s web site. The site was built over ten years ago and runs it’s directories with Coldfusion. The database is maintained with online forms and with a Microsoft application called Access. The directory holds a variety of information on hundreds of non-profit organizations. I recently installed a calendar system on the site. Twice a month, I research local websites and add events to the calendar that relate to sustainability. Once the calendar is full of events, a newsletter is sent out to over 600 Eugene residents. The events are submitted by myself and by the public through online forms. Members who sign up for newsletters only receive events in the categories they sign up for. The calendar also features the ability to embed it’s information on any other website. The website also features a jQuery section on the Grant project page and the homepage here: http://www.heliosnetwork.org

Jerusalem Pulse Radio – Web Design, Graphic Design and Logo Design

JPR – Jerusalem, Israel – 2010
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe ImageReady, Macromedia Flash, HTML, CSS, PHP, Jquery, iTunes Podcasting, YouTube Video Channel and WordPress

Doing the web design for Jerusalem Pulse Radio was no small task. Over a two year period, I reskinned the Drupal site, moved the site’s host twice and transferred the entire site to run a WordPress content management system. I also created the animated header in Flash, the site administrator produced the Flash audio. The JPR empire consists of a YouTube channel ( http://www.youtube.com/user/JerusalemPulseRadio ) and iTunes Pocast channel ( http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id382166679 ). The YouTube channel design is based off the main site and it’s videos are also embedded on the main site’s video page. The audio shows are available with flash audio players on the site and then exported automatically to the iTunes channel. The JPR site displays content by type (audio, video or blog post) while also organizing those media types by author/show. The WordPress content management system is running a complex plug-in that pulls RSS feeds into the site database. These feeds are acquired from over 30 different web sources and automatically updates the site content every day. The feeds are organized into 9 Headline categories, exploding the overall content of the site. As of this writing, there were over 33,700 news headlines. The controversial website has attracted a large audience, due to my SEO techniques and the subject matter. As of this writing, there are a number of debates going on in the comment sections. I have a feeling the processor on this web server may need some extra cooling fans! Join the discussion here: http://www.jerusalempulseradio.com

1) Why are you making a website?

Your website should have a goal (other than providing information). What is your goal?

• Checkout process: Products are sold online in a shopping cart environment
• Contact form: The first step in ordering a product or service
• Contribute: Your site may rely on visitor interaction (like a dating site, social network, forum or directory). Getting the visitor to sign up and add information would be your goal in this case.

2) Who will be using this site?

Make a list of the types of visitors that may visit your site.  Include traits like:

• Experience: Will your site cater to first-time users or will your content address well informed customers?
• Location: It may be important to qualify a customer?
• Age
• Sex
• Income: Make sure your image is aligned with your customers’ wallet.  Sounding too expensive will discourage low income visitors.  Wealthy visitors may lose interest if your product/service looks too “middle class.”

Question: Will each group of visitor require a different goal? If so, you’re site may require repeated content on some pages.

Circle the type of visitors that are more likely to navigate to your goal?

This may be a good time to disregard certain types of visitors and develop content to those who are more likely to navigate to your goal.

3) CONTENT!

Your navigation will be based on standard pages, information pages and your goal page(s).

HOMEPAGE

The “Elevator speech” or mission statement: If you just met a nice person in an elevator, how would you explain what you do in a minute or two? I have this elevator speech on my website:

I am a Eugene, Oregon Graphic Designer with experience in designing, coding and hosting professional web sites. For over 5 years, terrytoledo.com has been a creative graphic design company serving:

* Small businesses needing brand development and advertising
* Established organizations needing printed materials and a web launch
* National companies in search of experienced professionals

My clients are as diverse as the design solutions they require. I offer professional, fast and inexpensive solutions in the communications industry. I have 10 years experience creating great designs. I have a casual demeanor, but I am serious about representing my clients.

Call me for a free estimate on any project (illustration, graphic art or web design).

Your intro can include:

• duration of experience
• types of services/products
• call to action

The homepage may also include

• new services/products
• multimedia (flash or video)
• a list of your webpage highlights. Each bullet explains the content on that particular page and includes a link to that page

CONTACT US

• Mailing address
• Fax
• Phone
• Social network links
• Email address
• Contact form

ABOUT US

• Your passion for ______
• Short and long-term goals
• Number of employees
• Experience & education
• Awards, Permits and licenses

TESTIMONIALS

The most influential marketing tool, ever.

PRODUCTS/SERVICES

Organize them by:

• New products/services
• Best Sellers
• Popular (featured on other websites, TV, radio or other media)
• Sales and specials
• Manufacturer
• Use

Identify your product/service

• Quality
• Durability
• Reliability
• Convenience
• Safety
• Comfort
• Status
• Style/Image
• Luxury
• Time-saving
• Workmanship
• Economy/Savings

REMEMBER! All content must talk to the group of visitors that you circled in section 2!

Include links to these pages from each product page

• Warranties
• Shipping Terms/Time frames
• Returns
• Customer Service

ASSOCIATED INFORMATION

Each page that falls within this section will cover general information about your industry.

• History of the industry (Wikipedia is a great inspiration)
• Trade Shows
• Manufacturing process
• General uses of your types of product/service

LINKS

• Social Network
• Contractors
• Manufacturers
• Business partners

4) Fill in the holes and take a good look at your competition!

Compare your content to your competition, focus on these topics:

• Price
• Service
• Location
• Quality
• Information

What topics are your strengths?

What are your weaknesses?

Have you promoted your strengths on your homepage?  Your product pages? Make sure your strengths are front and center! Does your competition cover information you do not? Include this content if it is relative to your product or service. Make sure it is located in your navigation so that the viewer is encouraged to click on your goal page!

5) Reorganize your content to influence your search engine rankings!

I’ve written about search engine optimization.

• Google Page Rank (Part 1)
• Google Page Rank (Part 2)