I'm not dead, just been busy

I have been working full time as a Graphic Designer/Animator/Video Producer/Web Programmer/etc. for a little over a year now, and I have not been able to share much of what I have been working on. Well, recently I have been given a little more creative freedom to work on some Web/Programming stuff, so I thought I would take some time out to share a snippit with you all :)

Speed Demon - eBay Store Template
This is a single eBay template, that carries some of the theme and branding from the main website over to eBay. Single .html file with all styling and Javascript done in line.

Speed Demon - Website
This is a responsive single page website, using html5 and css3, so it will change format to fit screen size and orientation dynamically. It is broken down to sections and mostly all information and links are optimized for search engines.

Stay tuned for some more stuff. I have a few CSS3 and HTML5 tricks up my sleeve that I can't wait to share with you all soon. 

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Finished Another Site: OneCraneSource

December was quite a month, besides the obvious holiday celebration and preparations, I was also helping out my churches Arts Team and creating a Christmas set to remember. I also was able to finish up a clients website and also optimize the site for best search results, which all worked out beautifully ;)

The client was Star Crane, located in Allendale MI. And this job was a two part deal, first, fix their current mail forms that they had on their site, and second, build them a new site that will help them move into the year 2013, and also be flexible and secure, as well as help promote a better search result.

This site took me about 50 hours to complete from start to finish, and with three designs and four revisions, along with a mobile version to boot, that's not too bad. With that said though, this brings me to a place I'm all too familiar with, looking for more work ;) You can check out some of the screenshots of the design below, or you can head out to http://www.onecranesource.com and check it out for yourself.

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How-To - Using Joomla to build mobile Web Apps.

This rough How-To will go through using Joomla to build a simple mobile Web App.

You will need a few things first:

• Joomla 2.5 or 3.0+ - http://www.joomla.org/
• Add2home plugin for Joomla - http://download.waltercedric.com/downloads/joomla/917-apple.html
• A good responsive template. I used the YooTheme Warp Framework with the Yoo_master template for this one - http://www.yootheme.com/themes/warp-framework
• The MobileJoomla framework or one like it, this one is free at least and only used in this case to load a different template on Mobile devices. - http://www.mobilejoomla.com/

Start off by reading the setup instructs for the YooTheme Warp framework, and set up your pages accordingly. I will sometimes make it so the content of the page doesn't go down too far on the first screen, this will give the users an overall good first impression on a mobile device. Once that is complete, we will set it as the default template. With this design, it automatically detects screen size, but if your client wants a different design for Desktop users, then you can use the MobileJoomla plugin and component to assign a different template to mobile devices. 

Next we will have to download the Add2Home plugin, but don't install it right away. Once you download it, navigate to your download directory and extract the file into a folder. then navigate into the plugin folder, and change the photos there (Unless you absolutely love the ones the developer uses)

Once we are done editing and replacing the graphics, we will then re-archive the files back into a .zip and then we will add the Add2Home plugin to your Joomla extensions. Once it is installed, Just make sure you enable it.

Then it's time to start testing it out and making sure all the content is in the right places. Have fun with it and make it yours :)

Till next time!!

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Projects - Star Crane Mobile site design

Did some more work on the mobile app for Star Crane today. I was able to get it to finally show the Add to Home Screen pop up for mobile phones and tablets, and I also added a custom Icon and Start Screen for the web app too.

I wasn't happy with the menu design I was using to start with on this, so I decided to use the native UI controls so that it will appear smoothly on all mobile devices. I have some messing around to do in order to get the slides how's to show up right on the mobile side as well, but the good part of making the entire mobile app just a themed wrapper for the website makes upkeep on the app almost completely automated.

I like the direction this is moving, so I think I will keep it like this unless the client doesn't like it, then I may be able to change what they need, but for usability across the board, this is the way I feel it best presents it's self.

 

 

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On to other things - new site design

So I have been working on a new project recently, and this one was a two part project. The first part was making sure that their current site has a working contact form. and the second part is redesigning a new look and feel on top of a Joomla site, so that they can expand in the future with components like an online storefront, or deeply integrate a social marketing campaign into their website.

I took a peek at their current site, and found out that the issues were with the current request mail form, which mind you is written in .PHP, which I kinda hate. I was able to fix the issue though, and got it working perfectly. I know its working perfectly, because the client is now getting SPAMBOT requests :) Too Funny!! But I have them covered already, because the first thing I implemented into the new request form on their new site was a ReCaptcha security method. This should stop the spam from coming through.

I then took my time and started working on a nice responsive theme, but wanted to keep it looking like it was more for their Corporate Office vs a large crane shop. I remade their logo based on some of the feedback they gave me and then used the main colors of their logo and equipment for the highlights of the site. I also used a simple menu system that will adjust to smaller mobile screens and provide a mobile dropdown menu in those cases. Overall, the site is pretty solid so far, with no real issues other than having to rebuild Apache with multibyte strings enabled.

My next stage of this process is to dismantle the site and modules I have now, and rebuild it with a darker, more progressive theme, and after that, another lighter theme, so once they choose from one of those, I will put it all back together with the look and feel of their choice, and then it goes live. I gave the client a timeframe of two months for the project, but the pace I am working, it may only take me three to four weeks, so that's a good thing ;)

Till next time, enjoy your adventures!

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Until then, this is Untitled

I have spent the past days trying to think of a good blog post, and nothing cool came to mind at all. I went through tech projects, art projects, and even an invention or two, nothing! But then I remembered what an awesome week I have had so far, not much to complain about at all.

I started work on a new clients site, got that first down payment, then I also received a check from a back owed client, so that was nice too, not much, but together I was able to pay a little towards rent and pick up one gift each for the kids. This year we picked a gift that has the potential to offer gaming, learning, and communication... but that will end up becoming a whole other post on it's own.

The wife cooked the entire Thanksgiving meal by herself this year, and I didn't even realize till the next day that I didn't have a single complaint about it, it turned out pretty awesome! (That, and I didn't have anything to do with it this year), just awesome! There were also an assortment of baked goodies too, from Pumpkin pie, to some kind of Spice Cake and even cookies. She went all out this year and it turned out awesome.

My mother came over, and we spent plenty of time playing games and socializing. There was even a spy game in there I think, found the to-do list from my little spy... Just not sure why finding Willow is so far down the list :) Overall, it was a good week spent with the family, so there are never any complaints about that. I did plenty of art and even some music in between. I'll update my post later with a live recording of a song I'm working on.

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Quick and dirty UFO timeline

Here is a quick and dirty UFO sightings timeline I made for Tablets and Laptops/PC's. You can view it HERE

If you are interested in making your own, Head out to joshfire ( http://factory.joshfire.com/)

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Giving a webapp a try

Today I set out to make a web app. One that will pull a lot of the different media I have to offer online and present it all to the user in an easy to digest manner. Well, I have something along those lines, but not quite the experience I was rooting for at first. You can check out the latest version of my web app HERE. I will also be working on a Windows 8 app, just as soon as I figure out a couple things first.

If you are interested in making your own, Head out to joshfire ( http://factory.joshfire.com/)

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Watching the kids bloom

Summer has finally hit at my house, the kids are all out of school and Donna has been working days as often as possible, while I have been trying to fit in my Web Design work as much as I can surfing the day. On a good day, I can fit in a good 3-5 hours worth of work, so I have to change something soon to allow me a little more time each day to dedicate to my work. I should also remember to fit in my family time during some evenings, since I'm spending the days primarily with the kids during the week, and the wife has the weekends off. I'll figure it all out, it just might take me a couple weeks.

On a different note, I started to do some stretches and katas with my kids during the days. They are seeing the katas more like yoga right now, whatever floats their boat I say. Taking what I learned from Kuk Sool Won and Aikido, I'm trying my best to only show them things that will help others around them. Mandie has really been the one who likes it the most so far, the boys haven't found what they like about it. I keep on telling them that they will eventually find what they like about it, they just have to practice with me. I'm not planning on showing my kids how to hit, kick or even block. I'm planning on showing them how to redirect. This way we can not have any focus on violence, and the focus is on finding a balance. I figure we get into it over the summer, and when winter hits, we find ways to use some of the fluid motions around the house. Who knows, this might be the key to getting them to clean!!

Our collection of flowers and plants in the house has also taken off lately, we have over 20 plants. This is incredible for us, since we have never had a green thumb, but all of a sudden, plants are sprouting and growing up. I am thinking it is because this summer, we have a healthy Willow, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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All about Jenga

Yesterday was a bit of an odd day. It was planned out from the beginning, and most of it was executed to plan, with the exception of a few things. But the day started off on a bit of an odd note, and when I was explaining something to my wife, I used a reference to Jenga. Then later on that day, I had been doing something else, and I said it was like Jenga again. WTF? Why would I mention a game I haven't seen or played for years, twice in one day?

I spend the rest of my day doing my thing, then when my wife and I were talking about it later that night, we had both thought that if another Jenga something came into play later on that day, it has to be a sign for something. Well, the day went by, and we finished out all of our planned activities with minimal difficulty, then when I got to the relaxing part of my evening, I pulled out my iPad, and opened up Draw Something, and noticed i had one game that was my turn. I clicked the play button, and watched my friend guess my previous artistic rendering of a word, then it was my turn. And there the word was again, Jenga.

I cant seem to resist tempting fate sometimes, so I clicked on the word, and proceded to draw a Jenga game, then my iPad crashed, and the app closed. Before i could hit the send button. When I opened it back up, Jenga was not on the word list for that game. So I just picked a random word and did my best to depict it. The Jenga and the game crashing was my third sign, and it also explained what the sign was pointing to.

Earlier that week, I had been offered another contract position for a local company, and I was seriously considering taking their offer and balancing the work between them, and the company I am currently doing web work for. The prospect of doing both of those contracts would be great for our current financial abilities, but it would have also beeen a lot of work. Seeing as my Wife's current employer has adjusted her hours to allow her more work durring the week, this whole thing would have possibly come toppling down, just like a Jenga game.

The lesson here is that it doesnt matter how well i can do something, or how much money i can make doing so, because if I try to build my tower too high, using the same pieces I use as a foundation, things are likely to come crashing down with the slightest disruption. Do I really want to put myself in that position? Not really. I think I'll stick with my current pace, and when this job is done, I will take another offer.

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A life on the line

I'm trying to make myself remember to post more often, but it doesn't always happen the way I want it. This is also because I am trying to remind myself to stop working and spend more time with my Wife and kids. So it is a double edged sword, so to speak.

On the subject of employment and work, I have been happily helping out a local limo and party bus rental company with a couple websites they run. This job has been running for a couple weeks now, and I'm making a lot of progress on their sites. So far, I have mostly finished fixing all the issues with one site. The only thing left on that is adding a payment feature that somehow ties in to an old, unsupported version of Vacation Rental Script 4 (VRS4). And to make things worse, the PHP for the system has been obfuscated, and there is no record of the key... Well, there is that brick wall... So I have come up with a couple options for this: a) Pass the variable for current_property_rate to another system, like Paypal or Authorize.net, but I would have to set up a second site to handle just that one function, like a simple, but expandable Joomla site with a shopping cart and payment component. Or b) I could put a different custom package into each of the rental property listings that will just shortcut to a paypal or authorize.net payment form, but that will require me to calculate both a downpayment and pay in full number for every property by hand, and continue to do so for each new property. I so wish I could just add a payment function to this site as is. :(

Now that I am thoroughly depressed again, let's move on to some of the positive things I have done with the sites. I started a new Joomla site for the Rental Property site, already finished redoing the logo and designing a template for it. Added slideshow, payment, and rental property organization to the site already, and it will look great once I get the properties in there. But that requires a new expensive component that we are holding off on till I am ready. On the Limo and Partybus rental site, I have already finished building The site and getting 90% of the article info and links into the site. All I have to do on that is format the pages, and move the 100's of photos to a slideshow, sorted by article. On this site, I was able to build a seamless experience from mobile to full desktop browser, with no change in the UI. This is great for them, because it kills two birds with one stone, and saves me some time down the road as well as them some time in the future.

I still have to add up the time I spent on the web sites today, and get that sent out, but I at least got a whole lot of work done on it all this week, despite me being out of commission till Wednesday. I also got to save a friend from a live or death experience too! He had gone and updated his computer to the new Windows 8 release preview, and had lost years of photos in the process, so it was only a matter of time for the poor guy, before his wife would end his life for him, saving him the trouble of having to to do it himself. Me, being the nice guy I am, put my skills to work and was able to recover all the photos plus all of his documents and downloads too. Took me about 15 minutes, so not bad on time consumption. I am glad though that the fix was an easy one and he didn't actually loose everything in the long run. LOL, even though the thought of his wife beating him up is rather amusing.

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Fantastical Friday

So the week has trickled by and as usual, I tried to keep pretty busy. I am almost done with the first website that I was contracted to work on. Sent in the invoice for what work I have completed so far, then also sent an estimate for the added work remaining on the site.

There were a couple items that were not done, but I at least did find a workaround for everything but the menu. In the end, the only option I had to do a dynamic menu with some drop down functions required the system to be built using sections and categories. Unfortunately this system was not. If I pulled any options from the database, as soon as the client would edit or add an article, the menu would have pulled the wrong data, so that sucked.

Did I mention how much I hate oldschool PHP? Well I do. It's not a fun language to work with when your fixing other people's screw ups. I wont mention it again for a while now. I'm done.

I have a weekend ahead of me now, got Family Fun Night at the kids school, planning on being there. Then I have a whole weekend with my wife planned. Maybe I'll drive her crazy... about me ;)

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Web Work So Far

Over the weekend, I was able to find a couple opportunities for web design and maintenance locally, so that was just awesome. I was also able to start working on ClientX's first website today, and although I got off to a rough start, I quickly got my bearings with the ancient art of PHP and Smarty templates, and got through 3/4 of their requests for the week. That was just my first day working on it too, so you could say that I had a rather productive day. One thing I do to help my productivity while I'm working from home is to set a single tone reminder to go off every 30 minutes. As I'm working, I will let it go through one or two dings before I get up and take a break for a bit. This also helps me stay on task when I'm away from my work, reminding me that I have to get back to it soon.

With this client, I am dropping a whole lot of hints to move towards a better CMS, instead of the custom made one they are using. I can imagine that they have spent thousands of dollars in the past per update because each time they want to add a new function, they have to hire a coder to code that function. Why? There is a whole world of components for systems like Joomla out there that are cheap to implement. That would save the client thousands of dollars over the next few years. Heck! They could even do most of this work themselves if they went that route.

 Another thing I'm kind of liking about this job, is that my contract reserves me the rights to blog my work, and even gives me the rights to all of my code too. This way I can share it if I want to. If I ever figure out how to implement a drop-down menu into this ancient system, I do plan on sharing the menu-box.tpl file. It's been a tough one so far, so I can't be the only one looking for a solution.

 That's about it for today. Things are moving, just have to wait for the road to go up the hill :)

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IDEA - Artprize Poster

The people over at Artprize.org released their pick for the 2012 Artprize poster, and many will agree with me when I say that it did not go over very well. The poll was over 75% against it. Coming from their perspective though, they only had a select few submissions for this years contest, so I'm sure the picking was slim.

As an artist in this town, I felt that I had to do my part to show what else Grand Rapids has to offer when it comes to art and poster design. So I have decided to design another poster, instead of being one of those artists that just complains about something and does nothing to better it. This poster really does have a 3D effect to it, and won't produce migraines.

Leave a comment if you like where this is going ☺

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Google+ widget WIP

So I have been working a bit more on my Google+ widget for iOS. Right now I am using it inside Dreamboard and it is very usable. Sometimes though, the frame likes to use the screen size instead of the window size, but I will figure it out. I think it is not too shabby for only spending 20 minutes on it a month :) Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll get an offer for something that will help me afford more time on it. (hint,hint) Here are some pics of what I have so far.

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