Blog

Posted: April 25th, 2010

With the countless numbers of Open Source CMS's I've worked with and studied over the years. It can sometimes be confusing about which CMS to start with when looking through the source material, plugins, developer forum's and to consider the amount of time to create the site. There are also alot of forum posts and articles to have a great base enwhich to start your search. This article is not about which CMS to choose but more about why I chose Wordpress for my site rather than Drupal or some of the other CMS solutions.

What I looked for in a CMS

Open Source As a designer/developer it is important to me that I choose the right options for the client. With me as the client I choose Wordpress because its FREE.

It is a Blogging Platform

Since I want to be able to post from home, my cellphone, work or anywhere in the world it was important that I choose something that is accessible wherever I need it and it doesn't require software like dreamweaver to update pages. Sometimes I will use notepad but that is a rarity when creating new blogposts.

Time and Resources

With a short timeline to create my website (one day). I decided to setforth using the easiest CMS to create/update templates for. Most of the information is held in a couple of documents. With that in mind it is easy for me to take my design and implement it around Wordpress's original code.

Templates to Start From

With the hundeds of FREE templates at Wordpress's disposal it is easy to pick a template to base my designs off of. Almost all of the time I start with a template that uses the layout I am looking for and then change it to fit my design. This works the best for me because I already have a good foundation to start from with the template so I don't have to build it from the ground up.

In the End

It all worked out. Once you get into using Wordpress and use it on a couple sites it becomes second nature to setup a website using it but like everything it takes awhile to get used to.

Posted: March 16th, 2010

I've read a lot of amazing articles about how web developers can work better with clients. But what about the other way around? How can clients work better with us? What do we need to do better to get clients involved in the process? Clients are generally very smart when it comes to their relative fields, but they may have some trouble understanding ours. It's important developers educate the client, and also provide them with support throughout the project.

Clients have some great ideas. However, many times it is difficult for them to convey those ideas to the developer. Oftentimes clients come to us with a thousand great ideas floating through their heads. Only a few of these many, however, have made it to a sheet of paper. It's hard for clients to understand the full potential of the web; especially when they do not study the field. This leaves it up to the developer to help the client understand what a web project entails.

The Initial Meeting

Clients may not know what is expected from them at the first meeting. In order to help clients understand the project it is important for the developer to ask the client to come prepared. It is so important for the client to attend the first meeting with some of their ideas put down on paper. There are a million different ways for them to gather information online. So even if the client only has a vague idea of what they want, they need to know that it is ok for them to go out into the web and find some concrete examples of their ideas. To be fair though, clients also need to be assured that the developer knows what they are doing. So what kind of information can we give them?

1) Research the Client
Research the clients field as well as what the client already have for a web presence. Get some basic information on the company and what they do. This can be done while on the phone with the client, or sometimes through the internet. Figure out basic ideas like:

• What competitors are doing in the same industry?
• What competitors are ranked in search engines compared to the clients?
• What competitors are doing both right and wrong?
• What can your clients do to give them an edge?
• Is the clients current website easy to navigate?
• Does the content the client already has make sense?

Based on these findings, we can make decisions on which way clients should go, or at least give them the information to process and decide for themselves.

2) Project Brief
Clients may not know what information you need to get started. By sending clients a project brief before the meeting we can help them better prepare as well as giving us the information we need. There are a lot of free web project briefs out there so I wont go over specific questions. Also, there are many of variables in how studios work. I suggest tailoring any project brief to answer specific questions that the studio has.

Project Brief/Tips

Posted: December 30th, 2009

Seeing how its going to be 2010 in a couple of days I wanted to post my 2010 New Year's Resolutions to my blog.

1. Establish myself more as a Project Manager
2. Focus on school and finish my Game Art and Development Bachelors degree at the Art Insist ute of Pittsburgh
3. Travel
4. Play more video games
5. No more freelance web jobs
6. Finish my 3d Demo Reel
7. Finish Pickles of War: Fight for the Fridge (Xbox 360 Arcade Game)
8. Gain 10 more pounds of muscle
9. Help other Web Developers/Game Art Students
10. Post more to my BLOG

Posted: December 31st, 2009

With the end of 2009 it seems like the perfect time to figure out my 2010 projects as well as personal goals. It's also a great time to look back on 2009 and see what went right/wrong so I can effectively make 2010 even better.

What Went Right.

1. I took a semester from school off to evaulate my lifes goals and get back on track. You can only have so many 70+ hour weeks before you start questioning where the sky is let alone where you wanna be. So this time was crucial for me getting remotivated and ready to run even faster.
2. I started going to the gym. This helped me in more ways than I could imagine. Not only did I lose 13 lbs and then gain 15 lbs of muscle I also have a lot more energy so I don't need caffiene halfway through the day to stay awake.
3. Focusing on whats really important. School is one of the most important things in my life right now so getting rid of wasted distractions really helped. I started keeping my msn/gtalk off while working on homework so I could focus more and use my time as effectively as possible.
4. Less Freelance jobs. In the begginning of the year I had multiple freelance jobs going at once as well as having a full time job. This was great monetarily but was taxing on everything else. After I finished up these jobs I started saying no to whole projects rather than "I can have that done by tuesday" which has made life... well alot less stressful.
5. I bought a super awesome car! This might sound stupid but I love cars so when I purchased my 2003 mini with leather heated seats, sunroof, moonroof, and sports package I can't help but put this on my list. I drive 3 hours a day so having a nice sporty car that gets good mpg is a neccessity for me.
6. Gain EXP and confidence. With more experience and a great job it has made me realize I don't suck at life as much as I thought I did (emo).
   

What Went Wrong

1. The Economy. This really had nothing to do with anything I did, but it was still on my mind whenever I made a huge purchase... Like when I bought my Mini Cooper.
2. I took a semester off. I Know this is in both the Right and Wrong categories but I feel it has its place. Yes taking the time off helped me revaulate my goals but I feel like I am always trying to catch up now. Like I shouldn't have had to re-evaluate what was important to me because I already knew what it was... I just wasn't using what I knew in my own actions.
3. My grades dropped. I know the story that the doctor with the lowest college scores is still a doctor, but I feel I let myself get to spread out with my projects/work and started not doing as well. Granted I didn't fail any classes but my GPA went from a 3.8 to a 2.9 which wasn't exactly what I wanted.

Overall just writing this made me realize that this last year I learned to focus and prioritize my time more effectively. There will always be times I don't this perfectly but knowing that its up to me to make my own deadlines and decisions has helped alot.

Posted: December 25th, 2009

There are many 3d artists trying to get into game development. So many in fact it is hard to tell them apart when applying at game companies. Because of this I wanted to put together a small article more about who I am and stand out from the pack a little bit.

Who is Luke Weatherlow?

I am Luke Weatherlow (surprise!) and I am currently a Project Manager at a web studio in Erie, PA called Werkbot. I manage day to day tasks as well as oversee each individual project from the initial meeting to the final launched product. I also spend time coding Websites using HTML,CSS, PHP, and Javascript when needed. Although Web Development is a truly an amazing field and I absolutely love Werkbot it isn't what I want to do forever.

Since I was 13 I knew exactly what I wanted to do, develop games. I started by taking classes at the Game Institute online using C++ at the ripe age of 14 and realized it was interesting but wasn’t for me, so I downloaded the Maya personal learning edition and started playing around….I was in love! From then on every day after school I would 3d model and learn how to keyframe animate until I could not stay awake. While still in high school (17 years old) I landed my first internship at a 3d animation studio in Buffalo, New York. I learned more in the few months that I interned than I ever thought I would. I left my internship with an even bigger goal of not just developing video games but leading a development team as art director or project manager.

Three days after I graduated from high school I was sitting in a college classroom going for my first degree (Associates) in Multimedia Graphic Design. I have a plethora of game development books which I are sticky noted and full of highlighting. While working on my Associates I had the opportunity to intern at Werkbot Studio which is where I know work. I learned how to make websites as well as using many different languages such as xml, php, action script, etc… I finished my Associates degree on January 4th, 2008 and started the Art Institute the following week.

I have also helped create some amazing “mods” for games such as Half-Life 2, Battlefield 2, and Unreal Tournament 2k4. I loved it! Being on a team of other people just as excited about something is a great thing and one of the best feelings I’ve ever had. I am passionate about my future and I know that working in game development is the career I want to do for the rest of my life.

What am I about?

Why choose me? There isn't necessarily one answer anyone can quite say that will get them instantly hired but what I can say is:

1. Communication I know how to effectively communicate between teams of designers/developers and managers.
   • Between working in a corporate setting and a Web Studio it is amazing to see the differences in how they both work OR don't work.
2. I'm not the best artist out there
   • Knowing this fact allows me to always push myself to get better results as well as asking others to critique my work.
3. I'm passionate about games and more important game development.
4. I love to learn
   • This might not seem like an important thing to some but I think having a passion to learn will help me stay focused and motivate me to excel at anything I put my mind to.
5. I have some experience
   • I have worked on many modifications for video game such as Half-Life 2, Battlefield 2, and Unreal Tournament 2k4.
   • I also use programs such as 3ds Max, Maya and Zbrush to create my 3d models/textures.
   • I know that each game engine has its quirks but the overall foundation is similar throughout. The same goes with 3d programs, they all have different ways of going about the same tasks but we still end up with the same results.
6. Through working as a Project Manager I have also learned the ins and outs of the business side of things and the importance of meeting deadlines accurately and under budget.

Why Design Crosses Markets/Fields

Everything around has design involved in it, whether it is our overly priced Starbucks coffees or our jeans, t-shirts and shoes. Brand is truly everywhere! And design can be seen in everything. I talked before about why the web is important and how it affects our ability to communicate more effectively with our customers about our products/services. While the Web allows us another spoon en-which to feed, it is not the only spoon (bad metaphor I know). Print, Web, and TV are the staples of advertising campaigns and I do not think any of them should be left out. Each type of media has its own industry and social aspect but without all three an ad campaign can be lost to a target audience or key demographic. Plus since we are hit with thousands of brands/ads everyday it can become hard to make our message stick. That is why using multiple mediums helps consumers remember because they can hear it, see it and maybe even taste or touch it.
So that's enough of a back log of generic thoughts on the issue of ad campaigns, now into the juicy stuff.

While in college I always heard fellow students say "I don't need to learn how to design for print/web, I only want to do 3d animation" or vice versa. This is a huge mistake and wrongly so. Design is design, it does not matter what the medium or tools at hand. A great designer takes creative risks and steps outside their comfort zones. They experience the world and interact with other fields to get a better feel for what they are designing for, this is called design diversity. Don't get me wrong the final product and budgetary constraints may change depending on the media type as well as the willingness to do multiple mediums at once. Resources and time are always key factors when we think about the projects scope, but when designing its good to always go big and then scale back. With the whole "design is design" approach we will take a step back and look at the generic overview processes for each field.

TV:
Preproduction ->Production -> Post Production ->Evaluation
Web:
Preproduction ->Production -> Post Production ->Evaluation -> Maintenance
Print:
Preproduction ->Production -> Post Production ->Evaluation

While the generic processes are the same I am in no way comparing the production cycles to one another, just comparing the Preproduction aspect.

So we get the job from the client and or the project is handed to us by our superiors. We figure out the projects goals/objectives, do our research and dive headfirst into our ideas. Right? Depends on the type of project and how big it is. Some projects require more evaluation and communication between clients and the studio/designer. Preproduction is similar between mediums because we are given a product/service and we have to find a way to sell it in a unique way that will get our target audiences attention all while keeping its brand. Many say preproduction is the most important step in the project lifecycle because it is where the foundation or ground work is laid out for the rest of the project. I would have to agree that it is the most important but followed closely by production because things always go wrong or differently than anticipated. It is the designer's job to try to accommodate for these things if necessary.

Design is oriented around culture and the world around us. We constantly see things around us that inspire and move us. Our world can make us laugh, cry, feel motivated

As designers it is our job to emulate this within our projects and create truly amazing work that makes people have emotions. After all attractive products increase sales and even better if we add emotion on top of that we have something to help them remember our product/service.