ORACLE
In 1997, I created over 200 Adobe Illustrator drawings for the release of Oracle8. By 1999, when every programmer on the planet was working on the Y2K problem, I was doing HTML for a small marketing group at Oracle.
The project was to build an intranet portal for the sales force called Dashboard. The group had previously been responsible for the inhouse publications and radio podcasts (as we would call them now.) The challenge was to format all of these products for distribution and use over the intranet.
Everyone in the print world was frantically trying to get everything onto the internet, and mostly they were clueless as to how to go about it. They were taking marketing people who maybe knew Photoshop, loading Dreamweaver on their computers, and calling them Web Technologists. I quipped that that was rather like giving someone a violin, and calling them a violinist. Some were really distraught that they had to learn HTML. I was called in to give support and guidance, and to teach the basics. more...
In 1997, I created over 200 Adobe Illustrator drawings for the release of Oracle8. By 1999, when every programmer on the planet was working on the Y2K problem, I was doing HTML for a small marketing group at Oracle.
The project was to build an intranet portal for the sales force called Dashboard. The group had previously been responsible for the inhouse publications and radio podcasts (as we would call them now.) The challenge was to format all of these products for distribution and use over the intranet.
Everyone in the print world was frantically trying to get everything onto the internet, and mostly they were clueless as to how to go about it. They were taking marketing people who maybe knew Photoshop, loading Dreamweaver on their computers, and calling them Web Technologists. I quipped that that was rather like giving someone a violin, and calling them a violinist. Some were really distraught that they had to learn HTML. I was called in to give support and guidance, and to teach the basics. more...
NASA
NASA - specifically the SETI Institute, contracted me to build a website for a scientific conference investigating the origins of life in the universe. They weren't looking for little green men. They were looking for the conditions that would allow life to exist in any form, even microscopic. They were looking for the chemical building blocks of life. more...
NASA - specifically the SETI Institute, contracted me to build a website for a scientific conference investigating the origins of life in the universe. They weren't looking for little green men. They were looking for the conditions that would allow life to exist in any form, even microscopic. They were looking for the chemical building blocks of life. more...
INTUIT
At Intuit in 2005, I reformatted dynamic content from the Intuit homepages for the retail sites that carried Intuit products, including BestBuy, CompUSA, Staples, OfficeMax, etc. I was required to use both table and tableless page structure, extensive CSS, current XHTML standards, and some DHTML. I also did quite a bit of Photoshop image optimization, as well as modified Flash files.. more...
At Intuit in 2005, I reformatted dynamic content from the Intuit homepages for the retail sites that carried Intuit products, including BestBuy, CompUSA, Staples, OfficeMax, etc. I was required to use both table and tableless page structure, extensive CSS, current XHTML standards, and some DHTML. I also did quite a bit of Photoshop image optimization, as well as modified Flash files.. more...
APPLE
At Apple I was contracted to work on the Support section of the Apple website. I converted pages built in table structures to tableless divs. Using XHTML and CSS, I made both major and minor modifications to the existing pages, as well as building new pages. I even contributed to writing some new content. more...
At Apple I was contracted to work on the Support section of the Apple website. I converted pages built in table structures to tableless divs. Using XHTML and CSS, I made both major and minor modifications to the existing pages, as well as building new pages. I even contributed to writing some new content. more...
FILEMAKER
FileMaker, a subsidiary of Apple, had a proprietary source-control system of their own called FilemakerCMS. In this development environment I modified existing pages and created new ones. I was required to do both table and tableless design, as well as image optimization using Photoshop. more...
FileMaker, a subsidiary of Apple, had a proprietary source-control system of their own called FilemakerCMS. In this development environment I modified existing pages and created new ones. I was required to do both table and tableless design, as well as image optimization using Photoshop. more...
MCAFEE
McAfee used a development environment called Accurev. Page structures were primarily tableless, but older pages were still being converted to the new template according to XHTML and CSS standards. I also created several holiday banners in Photoshop. more...
McAfee used a development environment called Accurev. Page structures were primarily tableless, but older pages were still being converted to the new template according to XHTML and CSS standards. I also created several holiday banners in Photoshop. more...
STANFORD
In 2006, Stanford University contracted me to build 100 new HTML pages for the Stanford Challenge part of the website. In a Teamsite development environment, I formatted Word doc pages into XHTML and CSS. more...
In 2006, Stanford University contracted me to build 100 new HTML pages for the Stanford Challenge part of the website. In a Teamsite development environment, I formatted Word doc pages into XHTML and CSS. more...
CISCO
Three times I was in the interview pipeline at Cisco. Each time they took so long to hire me that I accepted another contract. To complete the application process, I created several pages of both gif and flash animations. more...
Three times I was in the interview pipeline at Cisco. Each time they took so long to hire me that I accepted another contract. To complete the application process, I created several pages of both gif and flash animations. more...
LOCKHEED
I am often asked in interviews why I have always been a contractor. Actually, I worked for Lockheed fulltime for 13 years as a technical illustrator before I was layed off or "downsized" as they called it then. I left there with 25 years total experience, the last seven years on a computer, a VAX workstation, as well as a mac. more...
I am often asked in interviews why I have always been a contractor. Actually, I worked for Lockheed fulltime for 13 years as a technical illustrator before I was layed off or "downsized" as they called it then. I left there with 25 years total experience, the last seven years on a computer, a VAX workstation, as well as a mac. more...
SEGA of AMERICA
After Lockheed layed off 20,000 workers, jobs in Silicon Valley were scarce. I decided to apply in the videogame industry, because I knew that they hired artists. I was hired at SEGA by a man who had been an art director at Disney Studios. more...
After Lockheed layed off 20,000 workers, jobs in Silicon Valley were scarce. I decided to apply in the videogame industry, because I knew that they hired artists. I was hired at SEGA by a man who had been an art director at Disney Studios. more...
CPA2Biz
One of my webdesign contracts in 2007 was for a small software company that was building an online store for the AICPA, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. They were a very competent team of engineers, but they needed help with XHTML and CSS. more...
One of my webdesign contracts in 2007 was for a small software company that was building an online store for the AICPA, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. They were a very competent team of engineers, but they needed help with XHTML and CSS. more...
PRINTROOM
One of my freelance contract projects in 2007 was for Printroom, a small but well-funded startup that provided web services to photographers. more...
One of my freelance contract projects in 2007 was for Printroom, a small but well-funded startup that provided web services to photographers. more...
S & P Communications
One of my freelance projects in 2005 was for a small media company in San Francisco. Their client, Sun Microsystems, needed a Flash presentation with voiceover. We started with screenshots of the website they wanted to explain. more...
One of my freelance projects in 2005 was for a small media company in San Francisco. Their client, Sun Microsystems, needed a Flash presentation with voiceover. We started with screenshots of the website they wanted to explain. more...
VIMO
VIMO is a startup company in Palo Alto involved in the health insurance brokerage business. They contracted me on a freelance basis to create several online ads for them. more...
VIMO is a startup company in Palo Alto involved in the health insurance brokerage business. They contracted me on a freelance basis to create several online ads for them. more...
TABS & WIDGETS
Tabs & Widgets is the section of my website where I display and explain some of the common features that appear on websites, like tabs and widgets. more...
Tabs & Widgets is the section of my website where I display and explain some of the common features that appear on websites, like tabs and widgets. more...
BROWSERS
Browser issues drive developers nuts. It's hard enough to design perfectly for one browser, but to design for another or all of them can be very challenging indeed. This section is devoted to de-mystifying some of the differences. more...
Browser issues drive developers nuts. It's hard enough to design perfectly for one browser, but to design for another or all of them can be very challenging indeed. This section is devoted to de-mystifying some of the differences. more...
LOCALIZATION
Localization issues are another can of worms that drive web developers nuts. Like browser issues, sometimes they don't come to light until after a great deal of work and testing is already done. more...
Localization issues are another can of worms that drive web developers nuts. Like browser issues, sometimes they don't come to light until after a great deal of work and testing is already done. more...
SYMANTEC
Since October of 2007, I have been working for Symantec, the giant security software company headquartered in Cupertino, CA. I have been doing frontend engineering on a portion of MySymantec, the web portal that provides for the customization of select client/user services. Using HTML and CSS, I have been building GUIs, or Graphical User Interfaces, for online applications. more...
Since October of 2007, I have been working for Symantec, the giant security software company headquartered in Cupertino, CA. I have been doing frontend engineering on a portion of MySymantec, the web portal that provides for the customization of select client/user services. Using HTML and CSS, I have been building GUIs, or Graphical User Interfaces, for online applications. more...
Design48 is the online portfolio of work I have done for a number of corporations over my 40-year career in Silicon Valley. I have also used the titles Designstudio8 and Thetawaves to differentiate my webdesign from my graphic work, and my corporate work from my creative work.
But I find it harder than ever to keep these in separate categories. A beautiful webpage is just as pleasing to me as an oil painting, and I can get just as excited when I get some javascript to work as when I am able to render the feathers on a bird well. It's a great time to be an artist of any kind. To see my previous site click the globe icon.
The field of graphic design was forever changed by the invention of the computer. What used to be called commercial art, including graphic design, is now almost exclusively produced on a computer with software such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and InDesign. A certain amount of planning and preliminary thought processes are still done with pencil and paper, but most of the production process is done with software. It wasn't always so. For at least a century, graphic design was done on a drafting table.
Microsoft went public in 1986. Until then, most of the commercial art and graphic design world was still working on drafting tables. Things changed rapidly after that year. By the early 90's it was assumed that computer graphics was a major part of the job of a graphic artist. He was expected to learn software programs with ease, and to be as proficient with a mouse as he had been with a pen, or the ever present xacto blade. Prior to the computer, "cut" and "paste" had been literal terms. Elements of a design were cut and pasted onto a paper format, and then photographed for print production.
The end of the Cold War brought tremendous changes in the field of graphic design. In the early 90's, DARPANet (Defense Advanced Research Project Net) was released to the public domain. With the invention of the internet for commercial purposes, graphic design again went through a revolution in production processes. By the late 90's, not only was graphic design done on a computer, it was published to the internet using development tools like HTML and javascript. Photoshop, the industry-standard for the print world, found new uses in the creation of low-resolution web graphics and animations.
Every art school on the planet now teaches webdesign. Art students know that they are expected to be engineers if they want to make a living as graphic designers. Even if they are fine artists, they are aware of the web as a new marketplace for their work. Every major and minor art gallery has a website. In addition, fine art of all kinds is sold on ebay and other online malls.
The field of graphic design was forever changed by the invention of the computer. What used to be called commercial art, including graphic design, is now almost exclusively produced on a computer with software such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and InDesign. A certain amount of planning and preliminary thought processes are still done with pencil and paper, but most of the production process is done with software. It wasn't always so. For at least a century, graphic design was done on a drafting table.
Microsoft went public in 1986. Until then, most of the commercial art and graphic design world was still working on drafting tables. Things changed rapidly after that year. By the early 90's it was assumed that computer graphics was a major part of the job of a graphic artist. He was expected to learn software programs with ease, and to be as proficient with a mouse as he had been with a pen, or the ever present xacto blade. Prior to the computer, "cut" and "paste" had been literal terms. Elements of a design were cut and pasted onto a paper format, and then photographed for print production.
The end of the Cold War brought tremendous changes in the field of graphic design. In the early 90's, DARPANet (Defense Advanced Research Project Net) was released to the public domain. With the invention of the internet for commercial purposes, graphic design again went through a revolution in production processes. By the late 90's, not only was graphic design done on a computer, it was published to the internet using development tools like HTML and javascript. Photoshop, the industry-standard for the print world, found new uses in the creation of low-resolution web graphics and animations.
Every art school on the planet now teaches webdesign. Art students know that they are expected to be engineers if they want to make a living as graphic designers. Even if they are fine artists, they are aware of the web as a new marketplace for their work. Every major and minor art gallery has a website. In addition, fine art of all kinds is sold on ebay and other online malls.
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