Development

Never in my wildest dreams did I realize how complicated welding can be. But designing and coding an interface for a team at Wayne State University definitely opened my eyes. Created by the CInDI (Computational Intelligence and Design Informatics) Laboratory, this software allows engineers to input, store, and test data about welding, all while sipping coffee in the comfort of their air-conditioned offices.

All the sweating was left to the developers, and me, of course—because I had to literally look up every engineering and statistics term the team used. And once I had a vague idea of what was happening in the app, I needed to find a way to display reams of data on mobile devices. My solution was to create small scrollable windows for each table. I hid everything in collapsible sections, and included a side navigation menu, complete with icons, to help users quickly move through the system.

Simple as it all sounds in retrospect, my task was complicated by the fact that the developers had already created an interface based on the framework of their Java coding, as opposed to the needs of an actual user, particularly one on a phone. Having studied Java in college, I could see their error right away, and I had to gradually convince the developers to refrain from asserting their Java structures in the interface. I was about 75% successful in this endeavor—something I'm very proud of.

In the end, I managed to categorize and present components I barely understood well enough to create a usable experience for the coffee sippers. Most importantly, I'm told the investors really liked it.

View the VRWP Application Interface.
NOTE: This version has been edited to protect the intellectual property of its creators.

Creating an application interface for the elite tinkerers at CInDI was mind-expanding, to say the least. I was pretty relieved when instead of parsing sophisticated statistical metrics, the team asked me to make a simple website for their laboratory. "Easy peasy," said I.

The original site was plagued with very long pages that required scrolling down for content, and then back up for navigation. For faster navigation, I created a horizontal submenu off the global menu to let users quickly see their options and choose where they want to go. I then coded the content and image sections to be collapsible, allowing the user to shorten the page and open only those sections they want to look at.

View the CInDI Computational Intelligence and Design Informatics Laboratory Website.

This website was originally created by another developer in Wordpress. The code was untended, bloated, and disorganized. I purged the code, streamlined the layout, edited out a good 80% of the text, and added coding for accessibility. Removing the unnecessary javascript and php files, my clean little HTML site loads up in the blink of an eye.

I further ramped up this client's SEO by painstakingly microdata-tagging anything that moved. At one point, you could google, "Lawyer Silver Spring Maryland," and this site was at the top. Here's the proof.

In fact, I may have taken the microdata tagging a little too far. Here's a trifecta of David—Maryland's favorite lawyer.

View the Attorney's Website.

My attorney client wanted to augment his thriving bankruptcy business by becoming a realtor who specializes in auctions, foreclosures, and short sales. I recommended we create a separate real estate site and link it with his law site. This would keep navigation easy for the user, and also strengthen his overall branding and SEO.

I take credit for the flowing prose in this site, edited by my client, of course. And I taught myself enough PHP to add a simple contact form.

View the Real Estate Website