New website launched: LCPC
Posted on 13. Jun, 2010 by kchristieh in religion, work
After years of whining that my church needed a new website, I finally put my hours where my mouth is and redesigned the website for La Cañada Presbyterian Church.
I customized a premium WordPress theme, WP-Genius by Solostream. The site has over 133 pages and dozens of posts, which are mostly for events. It also includes six different templates. I migrated years worth of past podcasts, presentations and videos from the old site to the new site. I integrated Google calendars for each ministry area, Formstack forms for event sign-ups and website editing requests, Flickr slideshows for photo albums, and Vimeo for embedding videos.
Besides creating an easy-to-navigate, informative, attractive site that complements the new church logo, my main goal in this project is to delegate the daily maintenance of the site to church staff and other volunteers. I spent countless hours creating a detailed WordPress instruction page, and have held four training sessions thus far for people who will update the site. I don’t expect to completely extricate myself from the process, but I’d like to be called on only when necessary.
It’s a work-in-progress, but I think it’s pretty cool.
Food, Inc., TwoFoods and GoodBelly make me eat better
Posted on 25. Jan, 2010 by kchristieh in food, health, work
Ever since I watched Food, Inc., I’ve been much more picky about the food I buy and eat. I was somewhat careful before, but now my eyes have been opened to food processing practices I had never even imagined.
The movie is not for the faint of heart: it shows how various types of meat get from farm to table, and shows the dangers of inorganic farming. I’m not ready to become a vegetarian, but I’ve been much more vigilant about buying organic products when possible.
Soon after I watched Food, Inc., I discovered a website that’s changed how I choose foods: TwoFoods.com. When you enter two food choices, it shows you the nutritional information for each one, side by side. It also shows similar foods that you can click on to see information for. Here’s a screenshot for the difference between eggs and Multigrain Cheerios. Before I lost weight, I ate Multigrain Cheerios every morning. Once I started eating eggs, the weight started coming off and I found myself more satisfied throughout the morning, probably since I didn’t have so many carbs. I need to start eating eggs for breakfast more again.
I also recently discovered GoodBelly Probiotic Fruit Drinks when they asked me to create a BigCommerce store for them. They were super-nice to work with, and it was a pleasure to wrap my brain around the extensive customization requirements. I documented the customizations in Evernote, and figure they’ll come in handy in the future.
To the right is the BigCommerce template before I customized it, and below that is what it looked like in the end. I had a blast working with their little “bug” characters, creating graphics with them that expressed different pages on the site. The store complements the look and feel of the GoodBelly.com site.
I’ve had a tough time finding GoodBelly in stores; so far I’ve only found it in the Vons across from Huntington Hospital in Pasadena. I’m sure it’s also at Whole Foods. I’ve only tried the Blueberry Acai flavor, since I’m allergic to the Strawberry flavor that Vons also carries. The Blueberry Acai actually tastes like grape juice, but not as sweet. It’s really good. Here’s how the GoodBelly.com website describes their products:
Get juiced with GoodBelly, a probiotic fruit drink that contains lp299v, which is clinically proven to support digestive health and strengthen the immune system. We’re good to the core, so you can be good to yours.
Besides tasting good and making me healthy, GoodBelly makes me smile when I drink through the happy face holes. I love a company with a sense of humor. :)
New site: Ramon Resa, Inspirational Speaker
Posted on 03. Dec, 2009 by kchristieh in inspirational people, work
Ramon Resa managed to rise above a childhood full of poverty, violence, physical and sexual abuse, alcoholism, and total disregard for education to become a pediatrician. He returned to his roots, and besides running a successful medical practice, he speaks to teens and parent groups about the importance of staying in school and working hard to achieve your dreams.
I recently designed a new website for Ramon. I’ve spoken to him on the phone, but I’ve never met him. Hopefully some day I will, and hopefully my husband will be with me when I do. I think they’d have lots to talk about.
The antidote to “Black Friday”
Posted on 27. Nov, 2009 by kchristieh in non-profits, religion, shopping
I’m burning out on rampant consumerism, and am trying to be more careful about how I spend my money in a tight economy. I found no reason to drag myself out of bed early this morning to join the throngs of people hitting the stores early to take advantage of the latest bargains.
Instead, here’s what I’m excited about: the LCPC Christmas Market. I’ve been helping my church, La Canada Presbyterian Church, with its alternative Christmas market for several years. You’re probably familiar with the concept: instead of buying a physical gift for a relative, teacher, client, etc., you buy something such as a goat, school supplies, tuition, etc. for someone who really needs it in your friend’s honor.
For the past few years, I’ve created a long online list of all the items available, with a PayPal button for each. It wasn’t very elegant, since you’d have to hit “back” every time you added something to your cart if you wanted to purchase something else. But none of the ecommerce packages I’d ever used – Yahoo Stores, GoEMerchant, Volusion, Miva Merchant – were cost and time-effective enough to bother with. This year I finally found the solution I’ve been looking for: BigCommerce. I had a blast creating this year’s online Christmas Market with BigCommerce, and am enjoying using it for other clients. After living through the creation and launch of eToys so many years ago, it’s mind-boggling how quickly and effectively I can now launch an online store.
Please visit the LCPC Christmas Market and put this year’s holiday dollars to good use!
New website: Hernandez Schaedel & Associates
Posted on 19. Nov, 2009 by kchristieh in work
Over 10 years ago, in a fit of eToys IPO-fueled optimism, my husband quit his big law firm job and formed his own law practice, The Hernandez Law Group. He’s worked very hard over the years to grow the practice, and recently decided to take on two partners: Jack Schaedel & Rob Olson. Don and Rob practice primarily intellectual property, healthcare and business litigation, and Jack primarily practices employment litigation. They have five associates who also help them.
The original Hernandez Law Group site was the second site I ever designed. It was fine at the time, but trends change, and I’ve changed the site a few times since then. The new partnership of Hernandez Schaedel & Olson, LLP required a new website, so I used the occasion to completely update the look. It’s convenient when your wife is a website designer.
New website: SocialBling
Posted on 29. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in social networking, work
Stephanie Michele wants to help you to get connected to other people who share your interests. She’s started a new company called SocialBling that helps you find other people based on your wants, needs and goals.
It was great working with Stephanie on this site, and using the logo and graphics that Debra Doty designed made the job that much easier. SocialBling’s gotten some great press: check it out!
New website launched: La Canada High School 9-12 PTSA
Posted on 13. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in education, non-profits, work
When I sent my kids off to camp and Costa Rica last month, I finally found time to fulfill my 2008 New Year’s resolution and learn to incorporate a database into a website. You can see the results on the La Canada High School 9-12 PTSA website, lchs912.org. Events and news items are easy to enter and automatically show up on their correct pages and drop off the site when they expire. I’ve even set up sub-categories such as athletics and college recruiting events so that those events also show up on the appropriate pages. Although I took a PHP class last year, I chose to create this website using ExpressionEngine so that it would have a robust content management system that non-professionals would be able to use.
Another great feature of this website is the online One Check Order Form. This form used to be about 15 printed pages that were mailed to every school family. It would take a long time to fill out, as you’d need to re-enter your name and address on each page since they’d be sent to various committee chairs. I used Icebrrg to create this online form, and it takes about 3 minutes to fill out. It then takes you to PayPal to complete your payment. Icebrrg keeps track of all entries in an online or downloadable spreadsheet, so it’ll be easy for our Financial Secretary to pass the information input on to the committee chairs. Over 100 people have already clicked on the link in my Constant Contact email and completed the form.
I’m confident that this will make my job as PTSA President easier, and will make it easier to pass the website on to my successor in a few years when both my kids have graduated.
The Design Studio website is now live
Posted on 01. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in art, work
I love Jack Johnson’s music. But as great as it is, he’s not in the same class as the Beatles, who composed and performed a wide variety of music.
The Design Studio is The Beatles of interior designers. As you can see on the new website I designed for them, Judy Van Wyk and John Fernandez-Salvador don’t confine themselves to one interior design style. Even within a category, such as libraries or residences, they design in a variety of styles, but all reflect their clients’ needs. They’re also very creative, and I’m impressed by the spectrum of themes, colors and styles they work with.
I enjoyed working with Judy and John. The design process went smoothly, and they had high-quality photographs to highlight their excellent work. I wish I could hire them for a project!
New YMCA website launches
Posted on 29. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in work
Every few years a website needs refreshing. Design trends change, technology advances, and businesses and organizations evolve. The YMCA of the Foothills (formerly known as the Crescenta-Canada YMCA) website was long overdue for an overhaul when they hired me and some of my fellow freelancers for help. The colors were old, the design was very plain, and the site was difficult to navigate. Most of all, it didn’t make you want to get involved in the great activities and opportunities the YMCA provides. You can see a screenshot of the old site to the right.
Before we got started, graphic designer extraordinaire Debra Doty redesigned the YMCA of the Foothills logo to correspond to their name change. I then designed the site, Tom Reynolds managed the project and client interaction, and Eric Lim did the coding, which was particularly hairy since it has a complicated database behind it.
You can see the result below. I think it looks great, and am sure that this will raise the YMCA’s profile so that they can move forward and have an even greater impact in our community.
Discover the World website re-design launched
Posted on 08. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in international, non-profits, work
I recently had the privilege of re-designing the website for Discover the World, a Christian organization that does lots of great work in Africa, particularly with children whose parents have died of AIDS. They also provide mosquito nets, leadership training, schools, water filters, emergency relief, and more. They make a huge difference in the lives they touch, but there’s nearly an infinite need for more help. I like that their mission is to
“lift up the world’s neediest people so that they can sustain themselves.”
That’s help that will have a long-lasting effect. I encourage you to check out their website and learn about their great work.
Besides enjoying working on a website that will help make the world a better place, I enjoyed working with a nice client that had a full retinue of fantastic photos. While I was working on this site, I heard Greg Mortenson speak and saw the slides he took of the work he’s done in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I was struck by how much more colorful the African clothing and scenery is in the Discover the World pictures, and how much more the people in Africa smile in their pictures despite an equally destitute situation. It’s amazing how different cultures can be.
Playground Surfaces: How far we’ve come. Or not.
Posted on 12. May, 2009 by kchristieh in education, my life, parenting, work
When my kids were in their early elementary school years, there was a rash of serious injuries caused by kids falling from their school’s play equipment onto the sand surface beneath. Committees convened, research was conducted, and parents implored the school and district administration to make the playground safer.
At one point, the school superintendent said she didn’t care what parents said. Ooooh – you.don’t.say.that.to.us!!
That’s when I joined the fight. I had more free time than ever, since eToys had just imploded, and my website design business was still in its infancy. I linked arms with other mothers and fathers as news crews filmed us on the playground, and eventually and installed a safer, poured rubber surface. Soon after that, the superintendent left, and a year later, I became the PTA president.
So I REALLY enjoyed making this website for Spectraturf. They have incredibly creative designs, and I enjoyed using their bright colors and rounded surfaces on the site. They’re still filling in content, but here’s what it looks like:
This is a BIG step up from the asphalt playground at my elementary school playground! Don’t believe me? It’s hard to believe, but it’s STILL asphalt! Here’s a recent image of Jefferson School in North Arlington, NJ from Google Maps:
At least they let the girls wear pants now. It was kind of tough to play with gusto in a dress. :(
Two new websites launched: Majestic Rubber Mulch & Moisture Register
Posted on 22. Aug, 2008 by kchristieh in health, my life, work
I love my kids, and have had a great time spending lots of time with them this summer, but it’ll be much easier to get work done when they go back to school. I’m busier than ever this year, and my work doesn’t slow down in the summer. I’m a little behind, but I somehow managed to launch another site today. Majestic Rubber Mulch recycles old rubber tires into playground and landscape mulch, tiles, pavers, mats and more.
I really like this site. I can’t wait until I’m given more content to fill in on the “Coming soon!” pages.
I also recently completed the website for Moisture Register. They manufacture devices that register the amount of moisture in products such as paper, food and wood.I just bought a humidity meter yesterday to measure the moisture in our house. I ordered the one our allergist recommended, just to be sure we got the right one. I can’t wait to use it.
New site launched: Stuart M. Davis
Posted on 18. Jun, 2008 by kchristieh in work
Another busy day…and not just because the kids had a half day on the last day of school! I launched another website:
Stuart M. Davis rescues sick machines that are unsafe, need repairs, or have stopped working. He also trains people in how to correctly use machines.
See http://www.stuartmdavisinc.com
Four websites I recently designed
Posted on 11. Jun, 2008 by kchristieh in work
Here are a few websites I recently designed that are now live. Some have actually been live for several months. There are a few more neat ones I’m working on now, and I can’t wait until I can add them to my portfolio.
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the company that makes traffic safety products from recycled materials Three D Traffic Works |
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the metal fabricator Z Manufacturing |
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the jump roping team Palpitating Panthers Jump Rope Team Note: Since this website launched, the team changed reorganized and changed names. New site coming soon! |
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the fitness boot camp Urban Army Fitness Bootcamp |
Patricia O’Neil made me a beautiful house tile
Posted on 23. Mar, 2008 by kchristieh in art, my life, work
One of the best things about being a website designer is that I get to meet lots of great new people and learn about their businesses. One of my clients, Patricia O’Neil, is an artist in Laguna Beach. She makes exquisite porcelain Santas and gorgeous handmade house tiles. She recently needed some updates on her website, so we struck a deal that instead of paying me, she’d make me a house tile.
Here’s what she delivered to me today:
The photo doesn’t nearly do it justice. The colors are more vivid in real life, and it’s three-dimensional. The trees, the fence, and the porch are all further forward than the house itself. It’s 14″ x 9.5″, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It usually takes me awhile to hang new artwork, but I put this up immediately. I chose to put it in our kitchen, so that if there’s an earthquake and it falls down, it’ll only go as far as the counter and hopefully won’t break.
This would be a perfect housewarming gift or going-away gift for someone. Our old house had a very nice watercolor painting that someone had made of it, but it was big and had been left there by several previous owners, so we left it behind too. I plan on keeping this tile with me wherever I move, however.
Physician, heal thyself: I finally treat myself to a new website
Posted on 06. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in my life, work
For over seven years I had roughly the same business website. I’ve been so busy designing websites for other people that I never got around to updating my own. Besides, I was staying busy enough without spiffing it up.
I finally got sick of it, and spent all day today redesigning it. I’m embarrassed to show a screenshot of the old site, but here’s one of the new site. You can see it at kchristieh.com. I’m sure I’ll refine it in the next few days, but it probably won’t change too much.
I figured I’d post it now since I’m too tired to write a pithy blog post today. You’ll have to wait ’til tomorrow for that. :)
Two new sites launched: A&A Boltless & Model Mugging
Posted on 25. Aug, 2007 by kchristieh in work
I’ve launched two new websites for clients in the past few weeks. The first, A&A Boltless Rack & Shelving, was an especially fun site to design.
David Gwennap took some great pictures, and Debra Doty designed a great logo. Most of the sites in their industry are pretty boring, but I think we found a way to make industrial racks, shelving and ladders look good.
The second site was for Model Mugging, a nationwide women’s self-defense school.
They gave me a logo to work from, but I only had the old, small, black & white pictures from their old site. That made it challenging, but I think I found the right balance of power and femininity.
I’m looking forward to actually meeting some of my clients for the first time at The Reynolds Group picnic tomorrow.
Yes, there are Democrats in La Canada
Posted on 19. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, politics
I know it for sure, because I designed the La Canada Flintridge Democratic Club website. We just launched a re-design today, and you can see it at www.lacanadadems.org.
It’s kind of a don’t ask, don’t tell policy: there are more Democrats in this town than most people suspect. They come out of hiding for the Memorial Day Parade, and are beginning to venture even further…look out!!
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