Web Design & Development
I began building websites around 1998 and today I make my ‘bread and butter’ online as the web administrator for a Vancouver-based not-for-profit. Below represents a selection of websites that I have designed and developed over the years.
You can also read posts from this blog in the category of Web Design & Development.
Ongoing Project
Keyframe – the Animation Resource
In 1999, I decided to do a light semester at university before the final push toward the completion of my Bachelors. To keep myself busy, I decided teach myself a bit more about web design by building a website around a topic I was interested in. Little did I know then that the development and subsequent redevelopments of Keyframe would ultimately shape my career.
The site started as simply static pages assembled in Adobe Pagemill, a WYSIWIG HTML editor since I couldn’t read or write HTML at that point. When I got my first version of Dreamweaver, I redesigned the site to take advantage of its expanded tool set. When I learned HTML and CSS, the site was redesigned again. When it became too popular and massive manage as static pages, I taught myself database design, PHP and MySQL. On and on, virtually everything I ever learned when it comes to website development had its start somewhere on Keyframe.
Today the site’s tagline is “find animation worth watching” and it hosts over 1300 profiles of animated films, TV series, short films, web animation and more. Users from all over the world come to the site to read and write reviews, (over 3300 reviews on the site thus far), to help separate the best from the rest in the world of animation.
launched: February 1999 / last redeveloped: May 2009
custom built PHP/MySQL content management system
Past Projects
Cooper Travels
In 2007, my parents purchased the RV that I think they’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid. They set about planning an over two month long trip across Canada and the US for 2008, so I built them their own travel website as a Christmas present. It has since become the travel site for our entire family with both my sister and I posting photos from our trips past and present. While the code itself is nothing spectacular, it is well worth a visit to see the travels of all these talented amateur photographers.
launched: January 2008
custom built PHP/MySQL content management system
The Art Institute of Vancouver was where I completed my computer animation diploma program between 2002 and 2004. During those years I also worked as a research assistant in their Career Services department where I built a career resource website. Years later, I was brought back to evolve that site into this broader and more robust student affairs website.
“Athena, You have really outdone yourself! I am so happy with what I see on the site, as it is exactly what I had in mind…just like you crawled right into my brain and took out my vision.”
— Leanne Kearns
Associate Director of Student Affairs, The Art Institute of Vancouver
launched: March 2007
custom built PHP/MySQL content management system
Haa-Huu-Payak is a Port Alberni private elementary school that focuses on education that’s consistent with nuuchahnulh cultural teachings. Coming up with the look and feel for the site was an interesting challenge since the native american style is not something that comes naturally to me. Although I did dig up some visual reference related to the nuuchahnulh people, in the end I felt that the best way to approach the design was to try and evoke the feeling of it their art rather than attempting a direct representation of it.
launched: January 2007
custom built PHP/MySQL content management system
Built to transfer Mr. Flack’s expensive-to-produce print catalog onto the web. The site has since become a major component of his business and it allows buyers from all over the world to purchase rare stamps and historical postal items from Tibet, Nepal, India and other parents of south east Asia. Instead of a full e-commerce system, the system facilitates the requesting of items that have been added to the user’s shopping. It was very important to Mr. Flack that he interacted with each customer one-on-one for every purchased item.
“I would like to thank Ms. Athena Cooper who designed and created the changes [to Tibetanpost.com]. I am very pleased with the ‘new look’ and I am also happy with administrative changes we have made which should make updating the site easier.”
— Geoffrey Flack
Tibetanpost Notice Board, 10.16.2006
launched: June 2000 / last redeveloped: October 2006
custom built PHP/MySQL content management system
additional code contributed by: Sean Nichols
This is one of a number of websites that I was involved with during my employment as a graphic artist and web developer for GCS Consulting. Of all of them I probably had the greatest hand in this one since I created the layout, logo, graphics, Flash banners and code.
launched: September 2005
site made up of static ASP pages