Day 8

My Senior Project has shifted clearly into focus: learn WordPress, create themes that others can use or perhaps buy for their WordPress site, harness the CMS capabilities of WordPress to create sites that potential clients can easily edit and create their own content from.  At the same time I am learning this I will create a site for Jason(and myself).

Today Pontuti spoke about demo reels for video and animation.  A lot of the same principle of web portfolios applied but the idea to keep them below two minutes.

I received my domain name today evantheurer.com, can't wait to get started.  Actually I think I will redirect this blog right now to blog.evantheurer.com.  See you there.  I made the mistake of first creating a subdomain on my website before I went through the process and startyourwebpages.com helped me to untangle the mess by deleting my existing subdomain and then going in and creating a CNAME record which points to my blog with google.  The only caveat is that I can't have images bigger than 400px now on my blog because I am pointing to my domain name (terms by google) but supposedly if my thumbnail is around 400px it still will link to a much larger image.

Day 7

Monday.... it was difficult to get back into the swing of things but most of today was spent reading about WordPress and photography subjects.

Insane web portfolio I ran into bratn.com and przewozny.com.

Also a great blog role from Sean Gallagher through livebooks concerning how he went about applying for a Pulizter Travel Grant to cover photographically the desertification of China.  He speaks about the story process, long term photojournalism projects in general, and ideation.

Day 6

WordPress was the great learning goal today. I began by installing MAMP into my mac which basically simulates a webserver with tools such as Ajax, MySQL Database, and PHPmyAdmin so that you can run WordPress on your machine and test things out. I read these articles which helped.

Installing WordPress Locally on Your Mac With MAMP 
How to Install WordPress Locally on a Mac 

I guess there is another tool called BitNami which is supposedly easier. Other articles I read included:

1. wpcandy.com/presents/an-introduction-to-wordpress-multisite 
2. wpmu.org/wordpress-for-non-profits-the-complete-guide
3. wordpress.tv/2010/10/02/andrei-boghiu-andrei-diaconu-wordpress-%E2%80%93-more-than-blogging
4. codex.wordpress.org/Getting_Started_with_WordPress 
5. codex.wordpress.org/New_To_WordPress_-_Where_to_Start 
6. codex.wordpress.org/Introduction_to_Blogging 
7. codex.wordpress.org/Using_Permalinks 
8. ottopress.com/2010/category-in-permalinks-considered-harmful
9. codex.wordpress.org/WordPress 
10. codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Features 
11. codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Semantics 
12. codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes

Day 5

Today was a working slash research day for me. I email my friend Jason to see if he was still interested in a site as he recently started a company which does Fluid Dynamics.

Wondering if you still want a website for the business. I was thinking of working on it for part of my senior thesis project (or all of it if the teacher gives the green light). Cheers. 

The reply:

That sounds like a great idea to me man. Give me a call or email me with what you need from me to get going etc. 

He sent me links to websites he liked.

flometrics.com
benhulse.com

The rest of the day I spent researching web designs for my portfolio site. The biggest conclusion from all this time researching was WordPress. I played with the idea of using a Content Management System from various different sites such as

• cargocollective.com // but their lack of Search Engine Optimization and sharing tools for social sites outweighed their awesome design templates 

• carbonmade.com // but I didn't like the designs and also no sharing tools 

• livebooks.com // but I didn't want to pay for it

• photoshelter.com // as my works are primarily photography but decided I couldn't pay for it even though it has such the most amazing tools for images and would also have to figure out something for web based design. 

• WordPress // because it is a CMS that is widely used and can transfer my learning of this system to potential client work. The New York Times Lense Blog sealed the deal and was also heavily influenced by the website of Anton Kusters in his portfolio site and magazine BURN. 

Other visited sites

melina-haase.de // cool home page
rickcollinsphotography.com
blakejorgenson.com
sterlinglorence.com
thepassionatephotographer.blogspot.com
art-dept.com
christianwitkin.com
artandcommerce.com
stretchphotography.com
davewalshphoto.com
olsonfarlow.com
aaronjoelsantos.com
quinnmattingly.com

The biggest thing about most of these sites that threw me off was the spacing between words and images, how small the fonts where, how terrible some of the slideshows where. So a long rant on slideshows:

1. Small thumbnails of pictures on the bottom or side of a slideshow which let you choose an image are useless as the picture is too small to be seen and decide if you actually want to see it. It is just taking up space. 
2. Put how many pictures you are going to show in a particular slideshow so the user knows what they are dealing with as well as what number picture I am looking at within that slideshow. 
3. Allow some kind of full screen integration to see the images!!!!!!!!! 
4. Put forward and back bottons on or beside of the image instead of below 
5. Hate, hate, hate it when a whole new HTML page is created for each image especially when you must scroll down for the next button and the page jumps up every time you click for the next image, create a dynamic site with php or java. 
6. Really enjoy the pop out flash images, if only they went over the browser window and filled the whole screen 

Other observations, rants, and ideas:

1. Must have large fonts 
2. Design based on 3rds 
3. Most of all it is overwhelming when photographers or designers have so many choices on a drop down menu for all their work 
4. Though for some reason I didn't feel overwhelmed with a static list
5. Sometimes there was too much content on the site 
6. Ask permission to go full screen 
7. Could just do a video format reel of my pictures that people could easily download and distribute 
8. Really like the design of Adobe Bridge 
9. In that vein art + commerce option of view all images and can see the thumbnails at a reasonable size was ok. 

Over and out.

Day 4

Not much happened in the Senior Project department today. I received an email from West CAP detailing a possible projects I could work on with them.

1. West CAP is in the process of finalizing a new web-site format that will go live in the next month. It will eventually allow for some additional interactive features. I am interested in exploring the potential to develop an additional ancillary function on this site that would focus on our emerging Family Table Cooking Club program. This program is building a locally based strategy to engage low-income families in shared cooking sessions that focus on healthy foods, connections to local foods and gardening opportunities, and a general sharing of information about how low-income folks (primarily, but not exclusively) can become active in a Cooking Club or even support the establishment of one in their community. We envision it as a somewhat interactive site for sharing information on club activities, participant dialogue and sharing (e.g. tips on shopping, recipes, family meal times, links to other sites, etc.). This could fit well with your senior project timeline, and would be an opportunity to use some innovative strategies.

2. This same idea, on a broader scale, could be used to develop a capacity to highlight a set of new programs that West CAP is developing that have to do with increasing community sustainability - housing energy retro-fits and energy source options, general local food system development, etc.

3. I am engaged with urging the Glenwood City Chamber of Commerce and City to join in developing a local community site for Glenwood City. This effort could use a local consultant, or you could consider offering your services as a senior project option. 

Be happy to talk.

This definitely sounds intriguing and intimidating at the same time. I like the focus of the project dealing with community based initiatives which really could benefit those who use the site with helpful information pertaining to food, accessing resources available, and hopefully in the end learning! The thinking continues...

Day 3

In class an old acquaintance of mine Alex Clark gave me a lead to a possible non profit website project with La Esperanza Granada.

Located in Granada, Nicaragua, La Esperanza Granada is a volunteer group focusing on children’s education. ‘Born’ in 2002, we started in one small village on the outskirts of Granada, and now help in seven poverty stricken areas. Our volunteers go out into the rural schools and assist the teachers, tutor young children, run sports programs, introduce children to computers, and help stimulate an interest in learning.

This type of educational nonprofit would be especially gratifying to work with.  My girlfriend had a  suggested work project for some organizations in India through Design and People. 

Design & People identify how design can intervene to make a contribution to the ongoing efforts to improve the lives of people disadvantaged by war, disability, and political and environmental conditions. We unite and encourage graphic, industrial and architectural designers to use their experience and skills towards social and humanitarian projects. Mission: Design For People In Need.

So thankfully there are plenty of options to run with!

As far as domain names I went ahead and purchased the domain for my name, evantheurer.com even though it seemed to long and cumbersome.  The idea of being an independent freelancer with this type of domain instead of a company name (like Filament Studios) which could be construed as a competing organization to those you apply to jobs for was brought to light by Pontuti.  This aspect of a web domain I would have never thought of before and its implications to potential employers.

Today Pontuti spoke about creating a portfolio site.  From an hour and a half lecture the quick and dirty was too focus focus focus on what you really do well and allow the site to clarify, illuminate, and really get out of the way of the work you are able to do for clients.  Don't let the portfolio site interfere with your work!  Ideally clients would not notice the site but just see the amazing work you do because the design is so conductive it points the electricity and attention to where it should be, your amazing work!  Other more administrative ideas came up like the order of your images, not publishing things on your site the day of but waiting and seeing if in the clarity of the next day you still want to post said item, speed/ease of updating your site, possibly creating multiple focused sites for clients that you want to only see select targeted work, not posting the resume so you can personalize and work it specifically for your company of choice to present it to, and for me having large images for companies to clearly see my photography.  In the end a lot of good information that needs to be put to work.

After Senior Studio I was able to relax and finally see the movie Inception.  For a long time I heard many people wax about its great story and inventiveness; which after watching I full-heartedly agree on.  This is a movie which requires patience (Momento) to understand but if you are able to wait thirty minutes for more bread crumbs to follow, your mind may spontaneously combust.  Granted it does borrow a lot of ideas (Matrix) but clearly stands alone in the use and interpretation of reality vs. dream world.

The girlfriend pointed out how annoying the blue blogger banner (say that three times) was on top of my site and suggested changing it to transparent.  I assumed it was a necessary evil till I found makeuseof.com that showed you the css to completely hide it.

#navbar-iframe { height:0px; visibility:hidden; display:none; }

This site also gives you some other useful tips on using blogger, such as referring the blog to your own domain name at no cost!

Day 2

Senior project ideas that came up tonight:

• Develop website for a friend's new business
• Nonprofit website or/and photography work
• Develop some web based applications/utilities/tools with a friend

I searched for nonprofits in my area and West CAP seemed like a company that I would like to work with so I sent them an email:

West CAP,

I am a Multimedia Senior at UW Stout juggling around ideas for my final project to graduate by.  My vision would be to partner with a local nonprofit that was interested in Website Design/Redesign, Company Branding, or Photography services pro bono.  The only catch is that it would have to work in the context and constraints a senior thesis project demands.  If I could assist West CAP in any of these areas please contact me, we can talk about possible projects.

Best,
Evan

Then for some reason I decided to search on Craigslist for possibilities on their nonprofit employment section.  Nothing but Working America/AFL-CIO came up and they already have a legitimate website that is well designed.

I talked with my girlfriend about possible branding identities and she suggested that I just use my name.  My name though is not easy to spell or pronounce so automatically I put the idea aside but she gave me some good examples of people who have successfully done this, granted they are all photography sites.  The website I will build mostly will feature photography as its my biggest portfolio piece though I should be able to add at least one website, possibly two this semester.  These are some sites she gave me.

simone maiwald
michele danze
jewgeni roppel

Leanda Ryan at leandaryan.com was a big influence for me in terms of design and photography when I was younger.  Right now it looks like she is redesigning her website.  Recently I have noticed a shift toward large fonts on the web which are easier to read from the days past of large blocky paragraphs of text in small fonts like at simonnorfolk.com.  I do really enjoy the simplicity though of Simon Norfolk's design and the depth he pulls you into every piece of work with his written context.

So I have been looking at different combinations of my name to see what would work for a domain name portfolio/company site:

www.evantheurer.com // too long!!
www.evantheu.com
www.evthe.com
www.evant.com // ok
et.com // haha no way
eth.com
ethe.com
etheu.com
etheur.com
etheure.com
etheurer.com
evth studios // hmm
evnthr studios // gross
evt.com
evtn.com // newsy
evt.com
evth.com
e as in evan dot com
EvTh
eVTh
evTh
evT Design {www.evtdesign.com}
eVt Studios [www.evtstudios.com] [www.evtstudio.com] 

evt photography // no don't want to limit the use by photography or design or webdesign in domain which is why I like the versatility of studios

evT Studios //www.evtstudios.com// 

I just realized how many people there are in every senior show I have been, soooo many.  Which I need to use as free advertising and exploit this opportunity as much as I can to get my abilities out and known (motivation) but of course this isn't a one time thing to do.  I should be rubbing elbows right now.

 EVAN THEURER | BASIL MEMORIES | 2011
ISO 3200 
ƒ/3.5 
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