I did a stop-and-chat today over at IndyHall and I finally got the chance to talk to the amazing @dbanana. I love that the lines of tech and art are crossing, intersecting, and energizing left-and-right these days. I’m adding her to my official list of superprofundo potential energy in the form of tech/art chicks including the amazing @Stellargirl and @KaraLaFleur combo.
Anyway, it was my first attempt at talking about the Philly | Art | Web project, and I felt like it went reasonably well. BUT I realized I needed to churn out some content around the idea, as there is not much other than the initial statement at this point. Here is my first shot at some content expanding on the idea, and a first stab at some more info about how the projects might look. Since I only have a one-pager up there, I’m just going to dump the content here for now.
F.A.Q.
The Idea: The medium of the web is underutilized by artists, we’re hoping we can help change that.
Why? Well, Artists make cool shit out of everything they touch. We live and breathe the web, and would like to help make it a more beautiful & intriguing place. We know that artist-creatives can help this transformation come to life.
So, what are you offering? Consulting, Education, Empowerment, and Coding – we are well aware of the hurdles of adopting new technologies, and we are here to help. The barriers for adoption are easily overcome through knowledge sharing, and perhaps even a bit of hand-holding.
Well, I can get an online portfolio for FREE. Why would I pay you $500? We aren’t offering a cookie-cutter portfolio service. In fact, we aren’t interested in producing a standard portfolio site for you at all. Instead, we want to help you explore how the web can become an extension of your work. How can your vision be manifested in this medium? We focus on Standards-based design, and also place a HUGE emphasis on producing great content. The web is a communication tool at its core. We want to help you find your voice online.
I want to create a FLASH Universe, can you help me? No, well…maybe. We aren’t FLASH animators or programmers, but that shouldn’t stop you! We are happy to discuss the ways in which we can help you realize your ideas, although it won’t look much like our basic $500 Project.
I’m broke, what’s the payment schedule look like? We know you might not have a $500 wad of cash lying around, and that’s OK. The initial strategy meeting requires no financial commitment – we love meeting new creative people, and we love talking about the web even more. If you walk away with some great ideas and feel empowered to go at it alone, that’s GREAT! If you decide you’d like to pursue a Project we’ll ask for 1/2 upfront and 1/2 at the time of launch. Other payment arrangements can be made, but please be serious about following-through.
Okay, what does a project look like?
KICK-OFF: We start with a casual meeting anywhere with wi-fi, and preferably a great microbrew selection. You tell us a little bit about your work and motivation, we’ll brainstorm with you about how best to leverage the medium of the web to complement your work. We’ll tackle the laundry-list of the basics for managing your new Online Identity. The goal here is EMPOWERMENT, so be prepared to learn a whole lot and WORK hard. Your active participation at every level of the project is essential.
STAGE 1: Logistics and Content
We’ll follow-up our first meeting with a bunch of links:
DNS/Hosting providers
Our recommendation for Open Source Software to power your website
Communication Tools & Services
New Media Inspiration
You’ll get back to us when you have a shiny new URL, an a hosting account secured. You should also have a good handle on the type of content you’ll be focusing on, and a list of the communication tools you’d like to use.
STAGE 2: Design.
This might take a few different forms:
The Guru: You’re an expert in the Adobe Suite, and you love to design. You are an active user of the interwebs and have a keen eye for usable web design. Maybe you’ve had some experience with HTML and CSS, but don’t know where to begin with CMS template design. That’s great, you’re going to learn a WHOLE lot as you work with us at every stage to realize your designs in the medium of the web.
The Novice Designer: If you’re comfortable working in Photoshop, you’ll go to town on rough design concepts. We’ll be available to feedback your design, help you think through dynamic content and how it might function in your vision. Building a design for a Content Management System is no small feat, but we’ll be with you every step of the way.
The Newbie: You don’t know how to do much with Photoshop, but you love PAINT! You’ll look around the web and find bits and pieces of stuff you like. We’ll work with you to try and piece together design concepts through sketching, collage, and maybe even role-playing! We’ll help guide you as you get graphic resources together, and perhaps even hook you up with someone who has the skills to piexlate your vision.
NOTE: Our costs are highly dependent on you being able to provide a graphic identity and all graphic assets. If you feel you are unable to produce these, that’s OK! We can help you find someone to design for you, or even send you copius links to tutorials so you can teach yourself. Just be aware, that we will not be producing designs for you, after all you’re the artist!
STAGE 3: Implementation
Once we’ve received enough of your design and have helped you arrive at a content strategy, we’ll start to build the framework of your new website. We’ll encourage you to familiarize yourself with the inner-workings of the template, as well as the technologies that power the framework. You’ll start to build your content on the new platform, and we’ll work together to tweak and modify the templates to accommodate your needs.
STAGE 4: Launch & Longevity
This is not your average portfolio website – this is a way of life. You will update your website daily (okay, at the very least a few times a week), produce new content for consumption, expand your vision, throw out the tools that aren’t working and tread forward with new ones. Your website will be an extension of your work, it will grow and change with your creative act. We’ll do our best to lay the groundwork for you to continue to build, explore, consume, produce and innovate online.
