Web & Tech
Are your business systems integrated or are you using valuable time to synthesize data from several different sources? Are you spending money to stay where you are or using technology and resources to innovate and move your business ahead?
My years of experience in business with technology has taught me the importance of continual learning and utilizing integrated strategies when designing solutions. I excel at utilizing UX and UI skills to build intuitive web sites that integrate with business systems so your team can operate in an efficient and in a timely manner. Also, I believe in full transparency, so keeping everyone informed and providing direction is natural.
I also pay strict attention to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and have a strong background and proven track record maximizing SEO.
My experience also includes the successful custom build of a series of web sites with a social media platforms integrated with a custom built CRM for online retail sites.
The Simon Business School recently went through a re-branding. working with an outside agency to gather data from alumni, prospective students, current students, faculty, and staff, the goal and the pillars for success were developed. The school goal is to be in the top 25 rankings of domestic business schools by 2020. The three pillars for success are recruit top faculty, increase domestic enrollment, and increase placement salaries.
I wrote the web strategy document to support the goal so that we could show the community at Simon, the activity, and the next steps for more information, applying, or contacting Simon based on what the user has has or has not already seen. Content such as faculty/staff/student bios and videos would not be displayed in silos, but rather integrated throughout the site. The content would be displayed either through automated strategy or manually by trained, non-technical resources.
The strategy also included the tactical. This included the centralization of student, faculty, and staff info and photos that could be displayed consistently throughout the site depending on the users interests. This same content will be utilized further for internal sites such as the student/faculty/staff directory. The tactical also includes the utilization of vendor API's for contact and event registration forms into the CRM. Custom build examples include a check-in app for student affairs and admissions events that would also feed into the CRM to easily see what events an individual student attended as part of the requirements.
The strategy also changed the look and the feel of the web site. The current web site is built in an older CMS, so for the interim, we decided to change the look and feel of the existing site. For the next steps, I brought together and lead the team of key stakeholders at Simon as well as University of Rochester marketing and technology staff to help us choose a new CMS. After interviewing several companies and testing seven different systems (open source and proprietary), we decided that open source was best to move forward with, we unanimously chose Drupal. the interim site can be seen at http://www.simon.rochester.edu.
The Harry Bruno Salon was in need of an update. As a high-end salon, I wanted to update the logo as well as the web site and all support material. The Web site is currently under construction. It is being built in Drupal with custom overrides.
The Roc Archive brand has been completed. The short-term website is being programmed currently. I am strategically planning the full website so that it can be built into the same platform/site as an expansion. More to come.
Hands-on experience:
Languages
- CSS3
- CSS Frameworks
- Bootstrap
- Foundation
- Composer
- Drush
- Git
- HTML5
- Javascript
- JQuery
- Babylon.js
- MySQL
- PHP
- Sass/Less
- Twig
Open Source & Applications
- Adobe Creative Cloud
- Drupal
- Digital Asset Mangers
- Extensis Portfolio
- Cumulus
- Razuna
- WordPress
- Xibo
Analytics & Management
- Google Analytics with Tag Manager
- Google Search Console
- Google G Suite
- Tableau
- Jira
- Workzone
Server Admin
- Linux
- Windows
- Mac
About This Site
This website was built in Drupal 8. The site runs on Linux CentOS. I used Drush and Composer to install and am using Sass and Git/Git Hub.
Views were required with taxonomy terms for the rotating banners in the Illustration and Brand & Design pages. I have worked with views before to generate catalog pages, views, in-page product filters using AJAX, etc.
The theme for the site is Bootstrap 3 with a Bootstrap sub theme set up using the starter kits in Bootstrap. This allowed me to easily customize the site functions and the look and feel.
I built in five responsive breakpoints. The site itself is mobile first. I wanted the user to have the same experience on any device. The site also uses the Drupal Media Library for reusable media.
Many modules were installed on the staging site for testing but the primary modules I am using are as follows:
- Bootstrap Paragraphs
- FlexSlider
- Drupal Core Media Library
- Meta
- @FontYourFace
- Font Awesome
- Lazy Loader
- Cheeseburger Menu
- Path Auto
- Video Embed
- Better Exposed Filters
FlexSlider is using Views with Blocks using taxonomy terms.
All customization exist in the sub-theme. I customized the CSS as much as CSS 3 would allow for all browsers and devices. Custom javascript/CSS code was written for the main menu resize on scroll, text fades, and text animation. I also overwrote the Cheeseburger menu so it would have custom styles applied to each menu item.
