Project Description

Citizen Press is a 100% GPL, open source news theme framework for WordPress. I started it as part of my Master’s Thesis, which examined how WordPress, an open-source web publishing platform, can be used as a content management system for community newspaper websites. Because it is free and open source, WordPress has emerged as a viable alternative to its commercial counterparts.

Currently, The Carrboro Citizen (http://www.carrborocitizen.com/main), a community newspaper that covers the town of Carrboro, NC, is using Citizen Press.

About Pixel Plane Media…

Pixel Plane Media originally housed my portfolio before becoming the home of my freelance web design service. (www.michellelangston.com has become my portfolio site). Pictured is Pixel Plane Media’s very first design, powered by WordPress. My favorite part of the layout was the fact that the header image was different for each page, as you can see in the screenshot. I had a lot of fun coming up with a new mini “scene” for each page.

For now, the Pixel Plane Media website is inactive because I am no longer doing freelance work.

Project description

Toolbelt Productions Inc. was created to provide training and continuing education to the building industry. They needed a website to explain their services and training methods to potential clients, the majority of whom would be in the building industry. Toolbelt also wanted the layout of the website to create a sense of place. To that end, they settled on a stage theme. They provided me with the logo and a sketch of an actual stage, and I built the website around those elements.

Solutions

• The design incorporates the background stage sketch and logo that Toolbelt Productions provided me. The stage background was originally a black and white sketch that I turned into a blueprint upon request. This design appeals to Toolbelt’s target audience, who are mostly corporate clients in the building industry.
• The content appears in the center area of the stage. This effect is achieved using pure CSS instead of an iframe. Using CSS keeps the underlying code clean and readable, even if styles are turned off.
• The site uses WordPress as a content management system. Plugins were utilized to provide front-end editing, a contact form, enhanced SEO optimization and a video gallery.
• I built a simple options panel to allow for easy maintenance of various parts of the theme.

Project description

Knollwood Construction Co. is a full-service home remodeling contractor serving Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. The owner needed a website to 1) educate visitors about his services; 2) educate visitors about choosing a contractor as well as about home remodeling; 3) showcase completed projects.

Solutions

• A clean, inviting design and color scheme.
• WordPress as a content management system. Plugins were utilized to provide front-end editing, a contact form, enhanced SEO optimization and a front-page slideshow of featured projects.
• Usage of the WordPress 3.0 custom post type feature to create a Project Gallery. New projects can be added to the gallery and organized into archivable categories.
• I built a simple options panel and a custom widget to allow for easy maintenance of various parts of the theme.

Project description

Freeman Fashion Photography specializes in fashion, beauty and glamour photography for private and commercial clients. The owner needed a website to: 1) showcase his photography; 2) provide a way for potential clients to learn more about his services and how to prepare for a photo shoot; and 3) allow potential clients to schedule a photo shoot.

Solutions

• We settled on a simple yet sophisticated layout with a black background that really allows his photography to pop out. The green text used in the menu and headlines provides a nice accent against the black. The main content area is large and uncluttered, leaving maximum space to showcase the photography.
• The site uses WordPress as a content management system. Plugins were utilized to provide front-end editing, a contact form for visitors to schedule model shoots, enhanced SEO optimization and an easy-to-update photo sideshow for the portfolio.

As a graduate student, I worked as an Assistant to the Technical Editor at the William Blake Archive. The William Blake Archive is a free digital resource that provides the public with access to the works of English artist and poet William Blake. All images that appear in the archive are annotated by the editors and their assistants using the archive’s own controlled vocabulary. This allows users to search for a work not only using the title of the image, but also by the actual content appearing inside the image. Users can view works at various resolutions and click inside designated regions of the works to read annotations.

Part of my duties included creating mock-ups for a the eventual redesign of the archive website. While the redesign did not occur during the extent of my time as a student, my contributions did provide the archive with a starting point for further future development.

Creating the mock-ups involved listening to the editors describe their goals for the website. They wanted easy access to information, a clear, consistent navigation scheme and minimal design elements interior pages to emphasize the primary content (Blake’s works).

My solution

• In the front page, common pages are grouped together under large, clear headlines. Archive news and updates, and the names of individuals involved in the project are provided at-a-glance. The search box is given prominence near the very top left-hand corner of the screen.
• In the interior page mock-up, the navigation becomes a bar across the top, with the active page’s menu item clearly highlighted. This leaves ample room in the central viewing area for content, be it text, images or a combination of both.
• The colors were extracted from William Blake’s paintings.
• The mock-ups were drawn in Photoshop and then implemented with XHTML, CSS and JavaScript

Following the creation of the mock-up was a series of critiques and suggestions for further expansion and development by the archive’s editors, project managers and university web designers.

Project description

During the 2008-2009 academic year, I studied at the Royal School of Library and Information Science in Copenhagen, Denmark. Throughout my stay, I maintained a blog to keep my family and friends updated on what I was up to. I also created a blog to serve as a visual reminder of the trip.

Solutions

• A design that is clean yet sports a fun, scrapbook-like feel. The colors were extracted from buildings in a photograph of Nyhavn, a picturesque harbor (and one of Copenhagen’s most frequently photographed spots). Since I took plenty of photos on my trip, I emphasized photos in the Flickr widget and in the featured photo spots in the header. I also incorporated my latest tweet in the header.
• WordPress as a blogging platform.

Project Description

Long & Associates is an independent, fee-only financial planner in Chicago that provides financial planning and advice to individuals, businesses and non-profits. The website serves as a central location for clients, present and future, to learn about the services offered as well as to connect with Long & Associates and the latest updates.

Solutions

• A sleek, professional design that incorporates top- and left-hand navigational elements to guide visitors throughout the site and to the information they need. Because the site contains multiple levels of pages, active elements are highlighted to help users know where they are within the site hierarchy.
• Built on the Joomla open source content management system. The use of a dynamic system allows for easy updates and additions.
• A simple blog was set up with WordPress and linked to the site using Joomla’s wrapper system.