My computer art degree has directed my focus on front-end design and development, leveraging code to solve design challenges, and crafting unique, engaging, and interactive layouts. I often advocate for a minimalist design aesthetic. Interactive elements should serve a clear purpose to integrate seamlessly into the user experience.
Front-End Development
My front-end development journey began with foundational technologies like JavaScript and PHP. Over time, I’ve expanded my skillset to encompass a diverse range of frameworks and libraries, including jQuery, Ruby on Rails, TypeScript, Bootstrap, and Tailwind.
Pokémon TCGO
In 2012, I spearheaded a front-end rebuild for the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online website. Built on Ruby on Rails, I was tasked with a rapid, two-week turnaround to translate Photoshop designs into a fully functional user interface. This intense project served as my introduction to a range of technologies and methodologies, including Ruby, LESS, Git, MVC architecture, and Agile development. While the live site is no longer available, its legacy can be explored through the Wayback Machine.
Animal Jam
My work on Animal Jam was particularly rewarding, as my son was in elementary school, and a fan of the game. Developed under the National Geographic Kids banner, the game prioritized online safety for children. I contributed to key user-facing components, including the homepage, login interface, and parent account management built in flash and Rails. The only way to see a live version of the homepage is through the Wayback Machine.
Avery Products
At Avery Products, I worked to modernize the web development team, spearheading the adoption of Scrum and Git methodologies, and championing accessibility and SEO standards throughout the development process. I also took on a mentorship role, guiding junior developers, and leading code reviews and deployments. I expanded my technical skills with Angular and TypeScript and built the navigation system and UI for the label calculator.
WordPress Development
WordPress has been a constant throughout my career. No matter what language was used for any website there was always a WordPress component due to its flexibility, ease of use, and maintainability.
Avery Products
I built a custom theme for the Avery Products WordPress Blog that resulted in a faster more secure blog from the previous version, while meticulously preserving the previous layout and design.
Sleepy Giant
A significant project involved revitalizing Sleepy Giant’s main website with WordPress. Recognizing the company’s challenges in conveying its core messaging, I collaborated closely with the UI designer to develop a site focused on clear and concise communication. This involved strategic design and development choices aimed at effectively articulating Sleepy Giant’s services and purpose to its audience. Wayback Machine.
fofofum CMS
A year later, Sleepy Giant embarked on developing it s own CMS, designed to streamline game developer operations by integrating payment, sales, and customer service functionalities. My contribution focused on creating a custom theme and custom widgets for the WordPress sales website, ensuring a cohesive and user-friendly experience for potential clients. Here it is on the Wayback Machine.
Orcs Must Die! Unchained
While developing the Orcs Must Die! Unchained WordPress site, I extended the content management with community engagement and e-commerce functionalities through plugins and UX tracking. Here’s the Wayback Machine link.
AUCrawford.com
My passion extends beyond development to encompass writing and flash fiction. I maintain a personal blog dedicated to my flash fiction, showcasing not only my theme creation capabilities but also my distinct design aesthetic. I favor clean fun layouts.
UI Design
As a designer I started with Photoshop and have since embraced contemporary design platforms such as Sketch and Figma, enabling me to create modern design aesthetics for a variety of user interfaces.
Game Concept
For the mobile resource management game, Castle Lord (unreleased), I designed a data heavy interface for the limited space of a mobile screen.
The primary challenge was integrating the castle map while ensuring the most crucial data remained accessible. This required a meticulous approach to information hierarchy, strategically prioritizing key metrics for immediate display and relegating secondary details to accessible menus and screens.
App Launcher
I designed a user interface for an Android app launcher aimed at simplifying navigation and enhancing data management. The design strategically partitioned app categories and notifications across distinct sub screens, placing social media and notifications on the left and productivity tools and phone data on the right. The central home screen provided a concise overview of real-time data including weather, time, and media playback status.
Website Wireframes
At the behest of the California Forward Party, I developed a comprehensive wireframe to address their challenge of a limited homepage unclear messaging. Recognizing the impact on searchability and user comprehension, I implemented distinct sections for each key party talking points, significantly enhancing SEO content. Additionally, I introduced strategic secondary menu links to facilitate intuitive navigation to direct visitors to relevant information.