kevingillan.info — — — > Website Design

During my last job as a research assistant on the project Internet Activism: Anti-War Movements in the Information Age I have worked with a colleague to revamp the project website. One of the key aims of this project is to produce work that is accessible beyond the academic realm of social science. The website gives us one way of trying to achieve that aim. As the project continues over the next year we will be using the site as a place to explain our findings. We hope that the site also gives a certain amount of accountability, since those who we come into contact with during the research have a place to find out more, and an easy route to get in touch.

With these aims the site design is aims at ease of navigation and simple presentation. Unlike much of my other web design work, this site doesn’t depend on any content management, which, in the main, keeps the technological ingredients down to HTML and CSS. The only complex feature is the photo galleries, written in PHP to enable easy resizing of images.

My involvement has included:

• Giving the site a new design;
• Creating a simple navigation system;
• Editing and authoring content;
• Re-working and installing my own photo gallery software.

Visit the Anti War Research website at: www.antiwarresearch.info

K2A is an organisation that seeks to create new forms of business model in order to promote entrepreneurial work that is both economically successful and socially benificial. Working with a range of organisations, and providing services particularly to the not-for-profit sector, K2A’s work is based on a strong understanding of the local impact of large-scale economic activity.

My involvement in this web site included:

• Instituting another person’s graphic design using HTML and CSS.
• Writing customised javascript for interactive menus.
• Writing a PHP contact form.

Visit the K2A website at: www.k2a.cc

Connected to ALACSY, the RaCATEL website was set up specifically to enable communication between students from four EU countries all working on similar projects relating to the use of municipal websites. The site therefore aims to encourage easy publishing of stories and comments by students and interaction through an intuitive commenting system. The site is based on the open source CMS, Drupal.

My involvement in the website has included:

• Installing Drupal and the required mySWL database on the server.
• Customising Drupal installation to manage appropriate features for the website.
• Continuing maintenance of the site.
• Editorial work on content.
• Authoring help files tailored to the particular user group for the site.

Visit the RaCATEL website at www.racatel.net

This Home Office funded project uses its website for communication with a wide range of stakeholders including staff, potential students, policy makers, and other organisations in the adult education sector. It is more than simply a shop window, however. The richly featured content-management system on which it is based allows integrated content authorship and editing. Staff are encouraged to frequently write reflections on their own teaching work. Customisations to the CMS allow workflow management through an interactive workplan display and editing system. This site is based on the open-source CMS, Mambo (now known as joomla).

My involvement in the website has included:

• Installing Mambo and the required mySQL database on the server.
• Customising Mambo installation to manage appropriate features for the website.
• PHP scripting for unique workplan editing system.
• Major template modifications using HTML and CSS.
• Continuing maintenance of the site.
• Editorial work on content.
• Staff training to enable colleagues to update the site.

Visit the ALACSY website at www.alacsy.org.uk

The Creative Action Network are responsible for the hugely popular community arts event, the Sharrow Lantern Carnival. The website’s aim is primarily to encourage involvement in the carnival. This participatory event is highly photogenic, so I created an easily updatable photo gallery script that would show off pictures from a range of photographers in a visually appealing manner.

My involvement in the website has included:

• PHP scripting for original photo gallery software.
• Modifications to site design using HTML and CSS.
• Regularly updating content.

Visit the Creative Action Network website at www.creativeaction.net

Sheffield Social Forum sought to be an open space to encourage political discussions and networking among activists in order to promote positive social change. Its ’shop window’ website aimed to give those curious about the forum a simple introduction and multiple opportunities for contacting the group. The site is complemented by a wiki-based website where much of the work of the group has been carried out.

My involvement in the website has included:

• Complete site design using HTML, CSS and Javascript.
• Updating content.

Visit the Sheffield Social Forum website at www.sheffieldsocialforum.org.uk

The wiki is available at wiki.sheffieldsocialforum.org.uk