Currently working at SUNY Upstate on their site. Examples:
National Author Promotion
The local coffeehouse I work for was happy to host a booksigning for acclaimed author Lee Child. There was a ton of information I had to fit into a poster (including debating and deciding to mention the date twice) with only a week until the event to promote it. The booksigning was a huge success.
Library website search function
Our library site needs to work many patrons, searching for many things, many who may have limited knowledge of the web. The library site features many original articles and information, but is also a jumping off point to other websites and resources. I created this search function to assist patrons in finding what they need.
Our original search function featured only the catalog (it is still our most popular search, so it’s the default function). This still searches the catalog, as well as library events (an external site), our library site, as well as Google for those who are searching anywhere else (this is especially useful for our library computers for patron use, which is bookmarked to open to our website).
November Library Promotions
Another Library Website
I was happy to assist the Skaneateles Library in switching over to their new website. I assisted in moving their code successfully from wordpress.com to their own website, as well as making code fixes, and adding new code & design elements (donate button, latest additions section).
Design website producing
Complicated here. I helped curate the website of a national design company. They already had a great design, and used Squarespace to set it up. I learned how to use Squarespace’s method of web curation and editing (which were finicky at times) which leaves the user with a clean and professional website. I was mainly involved in adding in the product pages and galleries, minor site adjustments, and making the footer section editable in a single area (instead of on each page). Here’s an example of a product page:
July Library Promotions
Coffeehouse Menu
In November of 2012 I used my Photoshop and photography skills to create a Menu for a local coffeehouse I work at. Some of the images used were free stock photos used with permission, some (including the cover) were my own creation. Photoshop is great for designing, but the local coffeeshop only had Microsoft Publisher, so in the Summer of 2013 I went about transferring the whole menu to Publisher so it can be edited by employees in the future.
View the full menu (in pdf form) or view page 4:
June 2013 Library Promotions
New Coffeehouse posters
Library website
I’ve worked at the local library for a year now. Here’s what’s been done on the website so far.
Some changes since May 2012 include:
- Embedded Facebook “like” widget
- Improved webpages for LibraryFarm, NOPL Knitters, and more.
- Created a “Sign up for events” widget on the right nav, which uses a schedule plug-in to keep users up-to-date on upcoming events with links to sign up.
- Shrunk the header to take up 50% of the vertical space it had previously used, allowing more content to move “above the fold.”
- Made the “six colorful boxes” into css/html code (they were originally images), improving SEO.
- Created separate event pages and home page promotions for the “slider” (slideshow with image).
- Improved catalog search function to submit on hitting enter.
- Reduced reliance on Flickr by using image gallery plugins available for Word Press CMS webpages.
Presidents Podcast
I have currently produced and edited four podcasts on the American Presidents, a gossipy audio chat between a few non-historians with little accuracy (and sometimes a bit of willful ignorance). The latest is on James Madison.
http://presidentspodcast.blogspot.com/
I’m in charge of the audio (using two decent mics, as well as a camera microphone for guests, recording and editing through Adobe Audition). Sometimes our dog or our heater messes up some of the audio, but overall a clear listen.
May 2013 Library promotions
April 2013 Library promotions
Film Club Logo
Here’s a logo I created for the $5 Film Club, a film screening and discussion moderated by film critic Matt Singer at the Nighthawk Cinema in Williamsburg, NY. The logo incorporates the Nighthawk logo as the “C” in “Club”.
March 2013 Library image promotions
February 2013 Library Promotions
Coffehouse music month
Each month since December I’ve been creating a music calendar for the local coffeehouse. Here’s the one for February:
Logo fixin for a friend
before
after
I know. Amazing difference, right?
Lacey Lee poster
My work: design & text (aka, not the photo)
Mutual Friends Forever
January 2013 Library promos
Cropping and text adding, aka design work!
December 2012 Library Promotions
Here’s some work for December events. My job, as usual is to crop and add text.
November ’12 Library Promotions
Pumpkin Patch
October 2012 Library Promotions
Sept 2012 Library Promotion
August library promotions
Coffeehouse panorama
Always a nice feeling to be retroactively paid for work you did for fun. The full size of the original file is 97MB. Later featured in promotional material for the bookstore and coffeehouse.
Open Mic promotion
Here’s a little promotion I created for the open-mic I frequent. It’s Christmas in July!
Oreo Balancers
At a summer kids program at the local library, I took this.
Library Promotions July 2012
Trivia Night Poster
Adding a ton of public domain images into one flyer design was fun and stressful. In all, it sums up all of human existence, right?
Library Promotions for June 2012
Here are a few of my favorite promotions I created for NOPL in June.
- Photo used with permission.
NOPL
Began work at a Library Assistant in Public Relations at the Northern Onondaga Public Library. I’ve created flyers, handouts, webpages, video promotions, took photos, wrote articles, and led the web presence (website, facebook, twitter, wordpress).
For just some of my work, visit www.nopl.org
What Child is This
My first child was born in May of 2012, with the assistance of two doulas (one was in training). While they were busy assisting my wife with a contraction, I went ahead and clicked a few photos.
I’m happy to report one of the photos won the “Capturing the Doula Spirit” photo contest by DONA International, the largest Doula association, and featured in their magazine, International Doula.
Creekside Books and Coffee
After a few months working parttime as a barista, I’ve been put in charge of updating the creekside website CreeksideCoffeehouse.com, as well as making occasional flyers for events (including a monthly music calendar). Also, once a month, I host open mic night and host trivia night.
Doulas of CNY Logo Fix
Here I’m not creating a new logo, but taking their current logo and recreating it vector format for higher resolution use.
Here’s their original logo in the fullest resolution they had available from the designer (295×200). It would show up blurry on business cards.
Here’s my recreation in Adobe Illustrator. I found the correct font, made the background transparent, and turned the drawing into separate vectors:
Doula website
I assisted the Doulas of CNY with updating their website. The original site was created using tables, and I moved much of it into div tags. I created a photo gallery using embeded Flickr slideshows, resubmitted photos that were high-quality but shrunk to thumbnail size, to increase the speed of the loading time. I updated their homepage, and made occasional event updates. They remade their website for the better in 2013 (without my assistance).
The Buñuel Riots
This article originally appeared in Brush off the Dust on November 22.
I’m a fan of history and film, and with recent riots hitting news (especially stupid riots) I was reminded of the most famous civil unrest at a movie theater, the Buñuel Riots. Rarely does a movie lead people to attack the screen (unless it’s with popcorn), but Lois Buñuel’s did that, twice. Yet, early film history is like all history, full of half truths and half lies. Since we’re all starting off unclear on what exactly happened, I’ll start with what I know so far. Continue reading “The Buñuel Riots”
Kathy’s Wedding Video
I shot half of and edited all of a wedding video for my sister, Kathy. This is a montage I put together for the end of the video.
Skaneateles, a history of false etymology
I grew up on Skaneateles Lake, one of the cleanest public lakes in the world, Syracuse’s drinking water, and one of two locations where hydrofracking is banned in New York State. Other than the beautiful lake, the beautiful village, and the exemption, Skaneateles-ians have something extra special: a love for the word Skaneateles. It’s a weird love.
It certainly was not love at first pronunciation. It can produce anxiety in those new to the word, and most telemarketers give up without even trying. Those who try are bound to fail. Twice over the last two weeks I’ve heard it pronounced “ska-needles” and “skittles.” I applauded their effort and laughed in their faces. It’s “skan/ee/at/eh/liss” or “skinny-atlas.”
Another reason for our pride and love of “Skaneateles” is its meaning. Everyone agrees Skaneateles is an Iroquois word, and for good reason, it’s the truth. Most people agree that it means “long lake,” and for good reason, it’s the almost the truth (“long water” is more accurate). But my interest does not lie in the truth, but in the lies. The fictional origins of “Skaneateles” are more fun than the truth. Continue reading “Skaneateles, a history of false etymology”
Van Buren, the first worst president
Truman gets a bad rap. He dropped the atomic bombs, he failed to reign in Stalin, and led America into the Korean War. Nevertheless, he led America out of World War II and depression, saved Western Europe from Stalin, and promoted a wise domestic policy. There was little Truman did that FDR would have disapproved of. When Truman left office he had few supporters. Historians and octogenarians agree FDR is one of the greatest presidents. The Truman fan club is much smaller.
The same situation goes for Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. Van Buren kept many of Jackson’s cabinet and continued most of his policies. Yet, Andrew Jackson is on the ten dollar bill, and the best you can say for Van Buren is he was mentioned on Seinfeld. Has Van Buren’s legacy been as unjustly maligned as Truman?
Script Doctor: USA vs. Brazil
On July 10, 2011, USA played Brazil in the Women’s World Cup quarterfinals. After an exciting first 90 minutes (including a few controversial calls), the score was tied 1-1. After scoring within two minutes of overtime by Marta (don’t forget to yell her name loud, reach to the sky and roll the “R”), Brazil holds on until the man-down USA team scores the tying goal with seconds remaining. USA wins in penalty kicks, and celebrations continue today. I must admit, their win still makes me smile. Continue reading “Script Doctor: USA vs. Brazil”
Spielberg’s Dueling Movies
Steven Spielberg will be releasing two directorial efforts this December. One, “War Horse,” looks like a standard Spielberg drama. The trailer is filled with filled some jaw-dropping images, including a shot of a woman opening a door reflected on a horse’s eye (reminds me of a similar scene from “Citizen Kane” involving a snow globe). The trailer doesn’t say much, in fact, it plays more like a silent film, with only one character giving any dialogue over John Williams’ always-cinematic score.
Five days earlier, Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn” will come to theaters. Spielberg’s first animated film, it looks to be a twenty-year labor of love, though we’ll see how he and Janusz Kamiński deal in a new medium.
Two movies in one year (actually one week) might seem like a rare accomplishment, but it is not without precedent for Spielberg. Let’s look at the director’s previous bi-annual-release track-record, and maybe get an idea of how 2011 will fair. Continue reading “Spielberg’s Dueling Movies”
Cohan vs. Cohan
In 1904, George M. Cohan wrote the patriotic ” Yankee Doodle Boy.” In 1906 he followed up with ” You’re a Grand Old Flag.” For July 4th, I decided to review the eight-line choruses of each, comparing and contrasting. Continue reading “Cohan vs. Cohan”
A to Zeppelin: Encouraging you to buy albums I’ve never heard
I do not own a single Led Zeppelin album, nor have I ever listened to one. All my “get the lead out” knowledge comes from radio. So I decided today to review all nine Led Zeppelin albums. How? Because I taped every song off the radio.
Led Zeppelin defined my 40 minute bus rides during my junior year in high school. This was thanks to a local station’s decision to play their entire catalog, A to Z, one Labor Day. Instead of spending the day at a barbecue or taking a last swim in the lake, I sat in my room with a stereo and five 90-minute cassette tapes. From “Achilles Last Stand” at noon to “Your Time is Gonna Come” at 7pm, I hit record, pause, and sometimes, a quick rewind. By the end of the day I owned hours of hard-rock Tolkien-inspired music. Continue reading “A to Zeppelin: Encouraging you to buy albums I’ve never heard”
LBJ: First and Last, Anything but Average
Every six years Siena College releases a poll of the Best Presidents of all-time. Usually the race is between Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, but in 2010 Franklin Delano Roosevelt came in first. This might irritate some (like some historian friends of mine), but I want to look beyond the top and focus on the fascinating. Continue reading “LBJ: First and Last, Anything but Average”
Yay Barca, Nay Yanks
I broke my most important sports commandment. The five commandments are as follows:
- Always root for Syracuse.
- If Syracuse is not involved, root for an Upstate New York Team.
- If not Upstate team, root for Team America.
- If not any of these, and the teams are evenly matched, root for a good game.
- In all other games (99% of them), Always Root for the Underdog.
Then along came Barca. Continue reading “Yay Barca, Nay Yanks”
The Beatles and the quandary of the greatest hits.
When anyone asked me what my favorite album was, I always said it was something by The Beatles, usually “Help!”, “Revolver”, or “Abbey Road”. So one lonely day I sat down and tried to settle this question by rating each Fab Four album. Continue reading “The Beatles and the quandary of the greatest hits.”