Aaron Karp - Print/Web Design & Development
Portfolio
Atlanta Metropolitan Publishing/Plan Your Meetings
Plan Your Meetings, an annual guide to all things meeting and event planning, is Atlanta Metropolitan Publishing's flagship product. A redesign of the PYM web site had been in the planning stages for some time before my arrival at the company. The site's redesign came from the art director in the form of a collection of InDesign documents, which I recreated in Photoshop in order to fit proper web dimensions and resolution. Then I built a new Wordpress theme from scratch, adding several third-party plug-ins and coding extensive customizations to create a more feature-rich and engaging experience.
Qoppa
Qoppa creates Java-based software for viewing and editing PDF files. Initially, they sold libraries programmers could integrate into their own code to offer PDF functionality, but they eventually realized they'd built everything necessary to create a full-featured editing package suitable for end users. This product is PDF Studio, and it needed a new web site. I was brought on to design and implement that site, and in the process I overhauled every page on qoppa.com. By redoing all of the table-based layout in CSS, I was able to cut file sizes dramatically, in most cases to less than half their original size.
Meet the 111th Congress
With major changes taking place in Washington as a result of the 2008 elections, Illumen wanted to offer their customers a resource for learning about new and returning members of Congress. The site needed to be attractive and professional, and they needed it developed extremely quickly. I created a design, got their approval, and converted it into 100% standards compliant XHTML/CSS in three days. They were then able to incorporate my fully annotated, easy-to-follow templates into their own back-end to create dynamically generated pages for each Senator and Representative.
Illumen
Following the quick turnaround of the Meet the 111th Congress site, Illumen needed a new design for their own site. Once again, they came to me. I delivered several design options and converted the final choice to standards-compliant, cross-browser friendly HTML/CSS. Note: The site has not been updated to the new version, so the link below leads to the coded version of the homepage residing on my site. The links on this version are all placeholders.
Creative Loafing's Fresh Loaf
In 2007, Creative Loafing started several blogs as the central thrust of a company-wide effort to enhance their online offerings. When it was first created, the blog had its own design. I was charged with matching its design to that of the overall site and converting it to table-free CSS Wordpress templates (full disclosure: there is one table on the page, needed for the Flickr badge in the right column). Using this template, I converted all of the other CL blogs to the new design and could have new blogs created in minutes.
Creative Loafing's PZZA Tournament
For the 2007 NCAA basketball tournament, Creative Loafing's papers in Tampa and Sarasota ran a series of features comparing pizza restaurants in their respective cities, using a bracketed tournament format. To increase interest in the features, the papers also ran a contest for readers to predict the winner of the tournament. I created a Javascript-based interactive bracket that allows readers to choose winners for every match-up. The script then rendered their predictions as a .PNG image and mailed it to the editorial staff. The feature and contest was repeated in 2008, judging hamburgers in place of pizza.
Clicking the image above will show you a short slideshow of the entry page and the resulting graphic. The link below will take you to the actual entry page. Since the contest is over, the form can't be submitted, but it will let you try out the functionality of the bracket itself.
Spa Sydell
Spa Sydell is Atlanta's best-known day spa company. A big portion of their business is gift certificate sales, and a big portion of those sales occur online. I was hired to create an alternative to their existing site, which was difficult to use, unattractive, and locked down by their Application Service Provider. I built the site around the open source osCommerce package, creating several custom features and enhancements along the way. In the end, the client chose to go with a different site, but I believe mine is excellent. Note: Since the client picked a different site, the link below will take you to a copy of my design running on my own server.
eachurch.com
This site is a showcase of the professional work of Elizabeth Church, artist and art educator. In addition to providing access to Ms. Church's work and curriculum vitae, it provides resources for students. including facilities for uploading completed assignments and accessing important class information. The student upload functionality automates and centralizes the collection of student work, greatly simplifying the process for students and Ms. Church.
Sage Integrated Bodywork
Elizabeth Heasley is a massage therapist. It is important that her web site convey the feelings she hopes to provide for her clients - calmness, relaxation, serenity, and balance. She and I worked closely together to ensure that the site met that goal.
Application Development D Presentation
From time to time, the Operations department at EarthLink would hold offsite meetings, during which managers would make presentations about the work being done by their groups. When the time came for our group to take the spotlight, we decided to make sure we left a lasting impression. I was asked to come up with a design for a presentation booklet that would blow the audience away. Using the WD40-and-duct-tape logo of Application Development D (the extra "d" stands for nothing), I created a dynamic, dramatic motif that uses images of applications and their logos to convey ADD's skill, commitment to quality, and whimsical, fun attitude toward our work.
Decoder Presentation
Decoder was the pure expression of the Application Development D method. Built entirely with free tools (PERL, MySQL), it provided everything its users needed, it saved the company a ton of money, and, most importantly, it worked. It was the perfect candidate for a brag session at a managerial offsite meeting. After the strong reaction to the original Application Development D presentation, it was decided that Decoder deserved a similarly striking and memorable look. To showcase the unconventional, creative, and crafty nature of both the tool itself and the department that birthed it, I came up with a Saul Bass-inspired spy movie motif. Unfortunately, the presentation was shelved, so I had to put the design aside, but it remains one of my favorites.