Websites

In this section you will find a few highlights of the websites I have been involved with. My roles have including everything from content writer, to graphic artist, to web programmer.

Prince Edward Island Home and School Federation
Prince Edward Island Home and School Federation

Roles and responsibilities:
- Lead Developer
- Graphic Designer

The Prince Edward Island Home and School Federation required an update to their website, as their previous one was almost 10 years old. They approached me with the challenge, and I was happy to help them get something fresh online. A new logo had just been approved, and that was the extent of the visual identity available at the time, so I went used the logo and some basic colour guidance to come up with the final design.

The PEIHSF also required that the site be easily maintainable, but their server platform didn’t allow for a content management system. So I decided to build the site using Dreamweaver templates, which are just as easy to use as a word processor. The final site was plain HTML, with a simple but attractive structure that would allow for growth in the future.

DarkSun Atlas
Personal Project

Roles and responsibilities:
- Lead Developer
- Graphic Designer

The world of DarkSun is a gaming world that I have been messing around with for several years now. It was created by TSR (now Wizards of the Coast) way back in my college days and had many related books and maps released. I purchased nearly all those products and still have them tucked away in my office today. The DarkSun world has not received an official product update in some time, so much the material is out of print and very difficult to get. I had the bright idea to provide a one-stop source for setting material by integrating some of the information in the books onto a large map of the DarkSun world. The end product was the DarkSun Atlas.

The atlas is created in Adobe Flash, which provides a nice array of interface options. The data for the website is based on XML and can easily be expanded or contracted without affecting the interface model too much. This capability allows me to add location descriptions quickly and efficiently as they are written up. Although the interface is certainly the most interesting aspect from a development perspective, it was a small fraction of the work compared to the 15,000 words of content I wrote! Truly a labour of love.

Canadian Police Knowledge Network
Canadian Police Knowledge Network

Roles and responsibilities:
- Lead Developer
- Concept Designer

The Canadian Police Knowledge Network required a website that showcased their catalogue of e-learning courses, so I worked with them to develop a design and structure that would meet their needs. I created a new information structure and visual framework that I believed would drive traffic into that area. Once those foundations were laid, I worked closely with the graphic design team to create a consistent look-and-feel that was modern and functional. I also integrated an ASP-driven cookie system to store visitor preferences for subsequent visits to the site.

Since the release of the current design two years ago, more than 80% of the total website traffic has been generated from the course catalogue section, illustrating the effectiveness of the re-design in meeting the client’s goals.

Sketchjam
Personal Project

Roles and responsibilities:
- Lead Developer
- Graphic Designer

The Sketchjam website was designed to showcase artwork from a small group of artists that come together every week to illustrate a different theme. Geographically distributed across Canada, the only way for the artists to communicate is through email and instant messaging, so an on-line collection is a nice way to showcase works in a central location. I designed and created an easy-to-update Flash-based site that is driven by XML and JPEG files. Since I don’t actually moderate the Sketchjam group, one of the artists is able to update the gallery pages with a few simple changes to an XML document.

The list moderator and I are actually working to an additional upgrade the Sketchjam website, using a PHP and MySQL back-end integrated into an animation-rich Flash interface.

Justice Knowledge Network
Justice Knowledge Network

Roles and responsibilities:
- Developer
- Concept Designer

The Justice Knowledge Network is a research group designed to study e-learning in law enforcement across Canada. In the early stages of the group’s development, a website was required. I assisted in drafting a structure and design for the website which encapsulated all the information JKN wanted to communicate about their initiative. The graphic design team chose a darker colour scheme for this design, using large shapes to create a non-standard interface. When the design was finalized, I created all the ASP and HTML for the site and helped JKN upload everything on-line.

The site hasn’t been updated in a few years now, and is due for a new coat of paint (as well as some fixes for the latest browser versions). The research group has evolved into the primary division of CPKN, so the JKN brand-identity has somewhat diminished.

Other Website Projects
Various Clients

As I've been interested in web technologies for a long time, I have had the chance to work quite a few websites. The following table lists some other projects and my role within them.