Web Development
The key to being a successful freelance designer is having knowledge of not only graphic arts but web design and development as well. Many of the same elements apply in web development as in print and electronic media distribution. The use of color and design fundamentals are just as important in web development as they are in any other design process.
The four sites represented were created for various reasons. Two were redesigns of existing sites, one was developed as a setup for an ecommerce situation and the fourth was a previous portfolio layout and design.
In the case of three out of the four sites, I was involved from design to developement. All the designs were created by me and I continued to work through the development process and posting of the site online. For the Jay Howard site, my primary function is keeping the site up to date. Constant site monitoring of the number of visitors is performed as well as adding photos and updating news headlines and bio information.
Screaming Talent Kart Racing Team
This php based site was developed for IndyCar Series driver Jay Howard's Screaming Talent kart racing team. This site is a redesign of a site built by another developer. The team has gone through a makeover of team colors and drivers, thus making a new look necessary for their web presence as well.
The original site was developed using the color scheme of an old chassis manufacturer. This site was given more of a neutral color scheme, making it easy to update if a new chassis is chosen. A redesign would not be necessary. The idea is for the team presence of color to be given by the represented photos.
Much of the layout and design choices were made to create a bit of a hybrid site. We wanted to keep some of the elements from the original site, such as the header with scrolling team images and the helmets in the right corner. We also wanted to incorporate the look of a few features from Jay's personal site to tie his presence in as well.
Some of the main features of the site include an event timer that displays the track map and event information of the upcoming races for the team, a rotating top news scroller was added to the home page to give the site a dynamic feel and a full team description with bios of each driver, engineer and mechanic.
The live version can be found at www.screamingtalent.mattlong.us
JayHoward.co.uk
This site is one that was not originally designed or heavily developed by me personally. This site is a fully functioning flash-based site that I maintain.
Many of my duties with this site include coding the function of the photo gallery as new photos are added, keeping news headlines and biography information up to date as Jay's stats build up, and periodically swapping out the splash page image to give the site a continually progressing theme.
Another key feature that was added and maintained was a stat tracker. This shows much information regarding who is visiting the site, how long their visit lasts and where they were refered to the site from (i.e. search engines, links from social networking, etc.).
This site can be found live at www.jayhoward.co.uk
eCommerce Site Template
This site was created as a template for an ecommerce setup. The idea was to chose or create a company with a need for an ecommerce site and develop the site around that need.
The site has the storefront, which is linked to from images on the frontpage as well as the menu bar. There is a FAQ section included listing product questions. There is a section devoted to job positions available within the company and top headlines from product representatives.
This template can easily be modified for a setup that is non-ecommerce. This would be a great template for a personal business or professional looking to show off talents or skills.
The live version can be found here.
Amber's Story Redesign
This site was a redesign for a woman who wanted to share her story about her struggles with a very dibilitating disease. Her main purpose is to be able to share her life experiences and struggles with those who are also living with the same disease.
She had attempted to create a site of her own before her disease took away much of her sight and some muscle control. This new site incorporates a color scheme that mimics that of the foundation devoted to finding treatment for her disease.
It also includes links to the foundation and endurance fundraiser. The site shares her story of living with the disease with a blog section available on the home page. It also provides information on what the disease is and what effects it has on her daily life.
The live version can be found here.
