“The web is constantly evolving and requires sheer determination to keep up with the latest technology and trends. You never stop learning.” ~ Anonymous
Some call me risky in my approach to new technology but when I take it down a notch then others consider me to be too cautious. Its a matter of finding that fine line of being up to date with the latest while still satisfying the needs of those that want safety. My intent for Interactive Media Design is to push the boundaries further while keeping safe defined techniques so that the information is still available to everyone. With the design aspect I intend to show others that the grid can be broken and that we are not tied to contemporary, white spaced, cookie cutter type designs. On the development side it will be the need to enhance the user’s experience with what we have available in the latest technology. It my opinion that with the depreciation of the flash player, except on FaceBook, the web community has fallen back into the box and the sites or applications have become box like in appearance. Therefore, my intentions are to teach others that we can do so much more with what is widely available and to break out of the monotonous box.
On occasion, I have a chance to mentor others during the WebRaising event held by The Art Institute of Atlanta. This event happens every year in February for budding designers and coders to build sites for non-profit organizations. I give my advice to these teams on design, coding practices and time-lines for these projects in order to help them meet their deadline.
Projects require teamwork to get them done in a timely fashion and with excellent quality. During my six years of working at Moxie, going from intern all the way to a senior position, I have had the privilege to collaborate with the design and development teams while we continued our goal to meet the project’s deadline. One project that I would like to highlight is the Verizon Wireless Mobile e-commerce experience. This site was the first that we started using HTML5 and CSS3 since most mobile devices could handle it however I still had to keep it simple for older devices. We worked hard in getting the site up and going; fixing bugs and pitfalls as we worked late nights. When we finally pushed the site live it was a gleaming accomplishment in my book. Later, in October of 2011 at the Think Tech with Google conference, it was showcased by Google as exactly how to optimize a mobile e-commerce experience. That project was not just about completing the request or job at hand but more so an exploration in asking questions, experimenting and uncovering the answers along the way.
The choices that I had in graduate schools were vast but the ultimate decision was Savannah College of Arts eLearning Program. True, I could have chosen any other school; however, I feel that the experience from SCAD would be far more in depth than if it came from any other college or university. It is my hope that I will be able to continue my journey for more knowledge and to teach others what I learn while I advance into my graduate studies for Interactive Media Design.