Jon Sachs Web Portfolio


		web projects • web services • photography • print
		when to hire me • kudos for jon • resume • other stuff
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			MY WEB PROJECT CLIENT LIST With sites for The Nieman Foundation, Project Bread, The Boston Public Library, The Boston Foundation, the Conservation Law Foundation and Rosie's Place, I seemed to have shaped a good portion of the nonprofit webscape in Boston. For every site listed here, I handled strategy, architecture and graphical interface. I must be a busy guy.


	HIV CONTROLLERS A small percentage of those infected with HIV never get AIDS, even without drug therapy. These people "control" the virus on their own, which leads to important research opportunities. The site is an invitation to other Controllers to joining the study project. The HIV Controller Study is a project of Partners AIDS Research Center. www.hivcontrollers.org				about the site The site is intended to attract and invite other HIV controllers to join the study. The site uses a number of methods to optimize its search engine results. The design simply puts a human face on HIV, showing that positive people come in all shapes and sizes. The site was implemented by Isovera of Cambridge, using using Drupal open-source content software.


	PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CONSULTING PDC works with clients to improve their development processes, but as the site emphasizes "we leave you with the tools and experience you need to make the changes stick." In other words, they teach clients to fish for themselves. www.pdcinc.com				about the site The design re-enforces PDC as big picture thinkers, using full width home page images. We are extending this new design look to collateral materials in print and in trade show display. The site leverages the Drupal content management system to provide not only an easy to update site, but also document uploads, forums and logins for customers. The site was implemented by Red Fin Solutions using Drupal content management.


	LEODAS SEARCH GROUP Leodas Search Group is a leader among search firms that find critical fund raising professionals for educational, medical, and other non-profit organizations. www.leodasgroup.com				about the site The design uses understated simplicity to present Leodas Search Group as a leader in its field. A series of revolving home page images presents examples of the innovative approach that LSG takes to finding candidates. As part of the project, we also designed the new logo and developed business cards and other collateral materials.


	THINK:KIDS The CPS Institute has developed ways of dealing with challenging kids that really work - for both parents and children. Given that there are 12 million kids (and their families) in North America who live extremely difficult lives there is a critical need to get the word out about solutions. Think:Kids is a "branding" designed to reach out to a broader audience with the work of the CPS Institute. Hence, look and feel and ease of use were critical. www.thinkkids.org				about the site We worked out the various audience groups who would visit the site, and developed a site section for each. Some site sections have videos produced by Sue Rothberg Associates. The little girl photo on the home page was chosen because she evokes the vulnerability of children in a very haunting way. (I photographed many of the faces seen on the site though not the little girl.) The site is powered by Microsoft Content Server, developed by SilverSwitch.


	G2M G2M is a consulting firm that figures out why people REALLY buy what they buy. Their methods, using science and long experience in the field, yield powerful, often unexpected insights. They work with a wide variety of clients to rethink and energize their sales and marketing strategies. www.g2mco.com				about the site The site features an extensive Flash animation that tells a series of stories about products that G2M have researched and re-energized. I designed the entire site, including the Flash animation and creating the little sounds that leak out as the stories play. (I even took the photos of the G2M team that adorn the staff bio page.) Bill Mount of G2M suggested extending the grid concept from the Flash through the entire site. (I don't need much encouragement to use more grids.) G2M has their own expert programming staff, who programmed the Flash animation.


	PRESERVATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING (POAH) POAH is one of the more remarkable non-profits I have had the good fortune to work with. For one thing, their mission is wonderful: they find subsidized housing that is near the end of subsidy, and they find a way to preserve it, so hundreds of people don't end up homeless. In addition, POAH is among the most high-energy, "happening" places I have visited: smart and motivated people working together with outstanding results, in an always positive atmosphere. http://www.poah.org/				about the site The challenge was to find a look that reflects POAH's unique outlook as a mission-driven non-profit but with a completely businesslike way of working. The site could neither be too slick, nor too "touchy feely", as audience groups include everyone from tenants to political powers to hard-driven property owners. The site also does a color-shift when the visitor clicks to the property management side of the business, known as Preservation Housing Management.


	CATHOLIC TV Father Reed of Catholic TV had a vision for a completely new web site that would combine a religious look with state-of-the-art video internet abilities. Catholic TV has been broadcasting for over 50 years - among the very first religious TV broadcasters. They are now a high-tech 24/7 digital station, available world-wide by satellite, and they needed a website to enhance their high-tech outreach. www.catholictv.org/				about the site The sites that Father Reed supplied me for reference were for Hollywood movies, so it was clear he wanted something very special, but still appropriate to the church. The site has great complexity, combining Flash video, a data base with information and previews of every program, plus e-commerce, so clear navigation was a challenge. The actual site development - an outstanding display of web technology - was done by Boston's Verndale.


	THE NIEMAN NARRATIVE DIGEST The Narrative Digest is a major initiative of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. Narrative journalism is a style of writing that is increasingly bringing a new vitality to newspapers and other media. The Narrative Digest is a resource for writers and editors worldwide www.nieman.harvard.edu/narrative/digest				about the site The site is information-rich, but we took great pains to name each choice with a clear, descriptive name and to group them into sensible segments. The handwritten logo was developed to resonate with the very concept of narrative journalism. After viewing and rejecting over 1,000 handwriting fonts we finally ended up with custom hand written phrases that have just the right feel (they were supplied by the editor's aunt.)


	THE CONSERVATION LAW FOUNDATION CLF is among New England's leading environmental organizations, making use of the law to advocate for clean water, clean air, and healthy forests. www.clf.org				about the site The new design for CLF had to present a great deal of information on the home page, but still offer an attractive easy-to-understand interface. We determined that the topics of interest to CLF were to be the main organizing force, but that each state would also have a set of pages where relevant cases could be listed. We looked at a number of color choices and decided that shades of blue gave us the clean-air, clean-water look we were after.


	CENTER FOR DIGITAL IMAGING ARTS Where can you go to jumpstart into a new career as digital photographer, filmmaker, animator, designer or audio expert? This unique school in Waltham uses industry professionals to teach those starting out. Students from teens to retirement flock to CDIA to learn new skills. www.digitalimagingarts.com				about the site We analyzed the potential CDIA student and quickly realized that almost all were interested in a single type of digital media - be it photography, design, and so on. So we organized the site and home page largely around the main types of media, each with a large attractive photo to draw in the viewer. Inside the site, there is a growing roster of Flash videos that tell the story of each department, as well as student life. The site was implemented by the Boston firm Fresh Tilled Soil.


	MISSION OAK GRILL A graceful converted church is home to Mission Oak Grill, a top-notch restaurant located in Newburyport, Massachusetts. They combine classic steakhouse dining with more adventurous recipes. They also have a gracious function room with tall windows, which is perfect for everything from corporate events to wedding. www.missionoakgrill.com				about the site The site was designed to reflect the casual Southwest inspired elegance of Mission Oak. The perfectly stylized logo, designed by Fresh Oil, was used as the centerpiece for the design, with a handwriting font for the navigation.


	PROJECT BREAD Project Bread not only runs The Walk for Hunger, funds food pantries throughout Massachusetts, but also conducts critical research on the causes, effects and cures for hunger. www.projectbread.org				about the site Our goal in reworking the Project Bread site was to re-introduce the organization to all audiences - donors, partners, even to the internal staff. People, and in particular children, are at the heart of the work. With terrific photography available we decided to make a large photograph the central focus of the design. The general info was put in a quiet navigation area to allow the bright red mission-critical navigation buttons to stand out. The red buttons allow have drop-down images that invite exploration. The site is powered by a content management system provided by Convio.


	VICKI LEE'S Vicki Lee Boyajian is legendary for her wedding cakes and for her total devotion to good food in all forms. Her new café in Belmont showcases not only her famous baking but also a wide variety of breakfast and lunch specialties. www.vickilees.com				about the site The site was designed to be simple and direct – letting the food take center stage. The design uses the color scheme and logo developed for the new café and mixes a grid of clickable thumbnails in with just a bit of a free-form whimsy. I handled the food photography and the truth is that photographing food by Vicki Lee and her executive chef Nora Martin Buchanan is a heckuva tasty photo assignment.


	NANCY SCHÔN Nancy Schön is the sculptor behind the beloved ducklings in the Boston Public Garden - along with a host of other public sculptures. This is Nancy: Her response to kids skateboarding on her Hare and Tortoise sculpture in Copley Square was to pioneer the development of a skateboard park for kids in Boston. www.schon.com				a b o u t t h e s i t e I worked closely with Nancy to develop a web-gallery that could house her work, which comes in many flavors. We decided that her signature piece, the Ducklings, should be the home page. (The ones in Boston, not the ones in Moscow.) I went on a rainy day to the Public Garden and photographed the sculpture and converted the image to a bronze-like color.


	THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY The BPL was the first large-scale free library in America. Like all libraries, BPL constantly redefines itself as technology changes — but particularly in view of the internet. www.bpl.org				about the site The redesign project began with an extensive series of meetings with the various departments and specialized libraries, including the Central Copley Branch, to neighborhood branches, and the Kirstein Business Branch. We were able to place most of the vast array of content into nine areas, plus an expandable list of other special areas such as Kids and Teen pages. The redesign resulted in vastly improved search engine rankings, far more web traffic, and was judged among the most improved sites by the Improper Bostonian.


	ROSIE'S PLACE Rosie's Place, founded by Kip Tiernan in 1974, is one of Boston's best loved and most respected nonprofits. For the homeless and poor women they help — and for the people who help them — Rosie's Place is a life-changing, life-affirming experience. www.rosies.org				about the site Strategy talks revealed that it was important to let the public know the wide array of services that Rosie's Place provides, so the home page was based around a visual tour of the programs and facilities. The site includes a complete online store for The Women's Craft Cooperative (WCC), another innovative program. I photographed the people and places for the tour and the product images for the WCC.


	DAVID BURGESS & ASSOCIATES This law firm handles a wide range of legal issues from criminal defense to family law. These are the kind of folks you want when you need a lawyer: smart, experienced, and good listeners. www.burgesslaw.com				about the site We designed the site for ease of use: we assume that nearly anyone who is looking for an attorney is under some stress and does not want to fight with a complex website. There are two menu groups: areas of practice and information about the firm. And the phone number is on every page.


	THE DOLLHOUSE MUSEUM The Dollhouse Museum is the brainchild of Lori Kagan-Moore. She had the idea to create not just a nice basic gallery of dollhouses, but rather an entire city of them, with different neighborhoods and "real" people with intriguing stories. www.thedollhousemuseum.com				about the site The site was designed to reflect the visual richness of the world of dollhouses, which is deeper and more complex than most of us realize. Each page of the site uses an actual dollhouse wallpaper for the page background. As the Dollhouse Museum is still in development, we created a sample town to give viewers an idea of the scope of this "museum" which is closer to a model railroad display in some ways than a museum.


	THE FOOD PROJECT The Food Project is a vital, youth-oriented organization that teaches young people about food production and promotes growth and leadership. They have become a national model, spawning similar organizations around the country—and the world. www.thefoodproject.org				about the site During the strategy phase we determined that the main goal for the site redesign was to present a much more vibrant image of the organization - one that reflected the youth orientation, their success and growing influence, and the politically aware viewpoint inherent in what they do. The design needed to use their existing green and purple colors and the "raised pepper" logo. Bright red, orange and yellow were added for their energy and friendly vegetable colors. The Food Project has a great collection of images, so the home page was based around a large main photography that can change over time.


	ELEMENTS Elements Communications for Positive Change is a remarkable consortium of communicators headed by writers Emily Hiestand and Barbara Hindley. www.elementsboston.net				about the site The site is designed to reflect the simple elegance and thoughtfulness that permeate the work of the Elements contributors (along with an appropriate smattering of Eastern influence). Graphics were based on calligraphic drawings by Emily Hiestand. If you click on the Gallery section of the site, you will come upon some of my photography, accompanied by some seriously unserious commentary. Also worth viewing are two related sites I designed for Emily and Barbara: Ebb Tide Editions and Words and Images, for Emily's personal work.


	EGH EGH creates the software behind many telephone company subscriber database systems. www.egh.com				about the site Since the software that EGH sells is not a packaged consumer item, you can't really show a picture of it. So we decided to use everyday staff-in-action photos to reflect the high energy, outspoken atmosphere at EGH. I took photos at a number of staff meetings, and "sneaked" around the firm for a day, attempting to catch staffers at work with posing them.


	CHAPMAN CONSTRUCTION/DESIGN Chapman is a leader in high quality construction specializing in corporate, institutional, housing, historical, retail, and community work. Chapman is an extremely community minded firm: they worked closely with Rosie's Place to build a new facility, while Rosie's continued to offer services during construction. www.chap-con.com				about the site Strategy discussions with Chapman President John Hall revealed an equal focus on two central facets of the construction business: the projects themselves, and the people who build them. The site organization was therefore built around projects and people. Each project is directly linked to a page for the team that built it. I took photos of most of the teams — in one brief afternoon when they were all gathered in one place. The clean site design was intended to appeal to the primary clients: architects.


	HINGHAM CENTRE REALTORS Hingham Centre is an independent real estate firm with a group of seasoned professionals that know the South Shore forwards and backwards. www.hinghamcentre.com				about the site The site needed to have all the features of sites created by the large chains, and still reflect the special culture of Hingham Centre Realtors: a "local color" fact appears on the top right corner of every page. The design features a town "home page" for each community they serve, along with other special features. The site was programmed by (and is hosted by) Hampton Computing, who expertly customized the display of MLS data.

JOAN AMON, ATTORNEY

Joan Amon is the attorney that you want when somebody did something really dumb and injurious to you or yours. Fact is, people are careless and she will get you what you deserve, regularly defeating giant insurance companies.

www.amon-law.com

a b o u t t h e s i t e

Joan wanted a simple, clean design with lots of photos. Though a self-described "bulldog" in court, Joan is wonderful to work with, and her clients adore her, so we took pictures to show her working with people in a variety of settings.

Blue is a good, solid legal-safe color for the home page, and inner pages feature a subtle courthouse column along the left border to add a little judge-like decorum to the site.


	STEVEN BATHORY-PEELER Steven is a composer living in western Massachusetts, who also teaches at Northfield Mt Hermon School. His works have been performed in a wide variety of regional classical music forums. www.bathory-peeler.com				a b o u t t h e s i t e We gave the site a deep red textured color which seems to resonate with the feel of Steven's music. We took selected compositions and edited them down to shorter segments, gave smooth fades to the beginnings and endings, then converted them to MP3 format. You can listen to excerpts of eight of Steven's compositions on the "Works" page. (My favorite is "Film Score to an Unmade Film" - you can see the movie unfolding as you listen.)


	STEVE KAGAN PHOTOGRAPHY If you read Time, People, The New York Times or the Wall Street Journal you'll find Steve's byline next to photos of people and places. www.stevekagan.com				a b o u t t h e s i t e Unlike most projects, the strategy was well developed before we started. Steve wanted an edgy site that would expand his clients' view of his creative scope. He already knew which photos he wanted to use, but he needed a context within which to present them. We developed the idea that each photo would evolve from an art director's sketch. The entire site is a Flash applet, with original music. I conceived and storyboarded the site, which was done in Flash by CenterMedia staff member Jeff Major.


	THE ACUPUNCTURE OFFICE Dan Sachs runs a very successful acupuncture practice in Greenfield, Massachusetts and in Brattleboro, Vermont. He also teaches from time to time in different venues. (Yes, Dan is my brother – and he ain't heavy. He is only marginally heavier than me) www.theacupunctureoffice.com				a b o u t t h e s i t e I include this site in my portfolio for a number of reasons, but this is the main one: it shows that even for a small site for a one-person practice, site strategy is critical. Before we did anything else we discussed who was Dan's typical patient - someone oriented towards Eastern medicine? The answer is no, most clients are average folks who have a problem that Western medicine can't fix. They are in pain and they need help. So the site is designed to bring out the fact that Dan Sachs is not a "wild and crazy" counter-culture dude. He is an experienced professional with a caring approach. If this site looks a bit more like it represents an attorney than an acupuncturist - that is what was intended.


	Kessler McGuinness & Associates KMA is one of America's leading consulting firms on the subject of access for people with disabilities. www.kmaccess.com				a b o u t t h e s i t e The KMA design uses some of the concepts from this site - small squares that represent different site topics. The navigation is handled as text links in order to maximize its ease of use for blind visitors using screen reader technology. The site includes a custom interactive quiz that you can take to see how much you know about the rules of designing for disability. There is a page for each sector of the economy that KMA serves, with a short case history.


	Jonathan Sachs Graphics 12 Oxbow Lane Brookline, MA 02446 617-734-9671 jon@jonsachs.com	web projects • web services • photography • print
		when to hire me • kudos for jon • resume • other stuff
		on web design • infrequently asked questions