Mackey

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Launching LA HI-TECH

Last week we helped launch a new program called LA HI-TECH which helps link students with careers in ICT careers in the Los Angeles area.  Pretty cool deal if you ask me.  Anyway, when it came down to it we had two weeks to help brand, develop collateral and launch a new website for their first press conference — an all out blitz.  All came together smoothly thanks to good teamwork between all involved and special shout out to Valerie, Salomon and Rochelle from Pasadena City College.  Below are some of the fruits of our labor.

http___lahitech.org_
Website — https://lahitech.org
Screens — set of 5
Screens — set of 5
lahitechemail
Email Blast via MailChimp – HTML
lahitechprog
Event Listing
20140905_101338_Richtone(HDR)
USB Drive Bracelets

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Our Website Process

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Discovery

This is when we find out about you and the project.  This includes requirements analysis, site map, defining roles, determine necessary copy, and project timeline.

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Design

This is probably the funest part.  We get to start seeing the site taking shape visually.  This includes wireframes, graphics creation, site mock ups, and all other visuals within the site.

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Development

This is when we take the visual design and turn it into a working website.  At this point we go MIA for a bit and have our noses stuck in the computer.  This includes XHTML, CSS, JS, PHP and any other programming necessary.  Basically we’re coding the site.

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Launch

Test, re-test and re-test again.  At this point we have a working site in BETA version that is ready for review and edits.  Once we have thoroughly tested the site, we’ll move it from the test environment to the LIVE environment. And voala your site is presented to the world!

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Grow

Fantastic we have a LIVE site! But that’s not where things end.  The web is ever revolving and your site should too!  Constant attention and maintenance is required to make sure you are getting the most out of your web presence. We offere maintenance packages as well as an on-going relationship to help you be the best you can.

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Below is the normal website client process. Of course this may change dependent on the project, but for the most part this is a good starting place.

  1. Client introduction and brief consultation.
  2. Client fills out Client Questionnaire so we can better understand the project, the target audience, the business or individual and their needs.
  3. Proposal, Quote and Timeline
  4. If the client accepts the Proposal, Quote and Timeline, then Contract/ First Payment
  5. Discovery and Research/ Planning
  6. Wireframe and Sitemap.  This is basically an outline of the pages contained within the site and a graphic outline of the template of the site.
  7. Gather content.  I.e. photos, copy, videos.  Anything that will be included on the site for its initial launch.  (This can coincide with the other parts of the process)
  8. Design mocks of the site.  These are the 2d graphical representations of the site prior to any coding.  This is usually a 2-3 stage process of revisions.
  9. Development.  After the design has been approved by the client, the actual coding and templating process begins. Upon completion of the coding the client will have a working site to test.  This is all done on a test server.
  10. Testing and Review.  Testing of the site on all major browsers, review by the client and final modifications/edits.
  11. After final testing and edits have been approved, we set a date to transfer the test site to the live site.
  12. The site goes LIVE!

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Keeping Tabs on PCC’s Journey to the HACU Conference

Recently, Pasadena City College sent 6 students to the HACU Conference in Washington DC.  So, we wanted to do something that would empower the students, allow them to reflect on their trip, and show the world how PCC, eSTEM and the HACU conference is helping the future of tomorrow (yea, sounds cliche, but true).

Our first step was to make sure all the students were on board, then we decided to set up the students with their own tumblr accounts each with their own unique email address.  The email address was used for posting to their tumblr account from their phones.  We then took the each tumblr blog and pulled the RSS feed to populate posts with PCC eSTEM’s WordPress site, assigning each to the appropriate category and author.  So basically student >> send email >> posts to tumblr >> posts to WordPress.

All in all, it was a grand experiment to see if this is a process we could emulate in the future, so no grand expectations! It worked like a charm though and the students did a fantastic job.

I’d say it’s worth a look! Check it out at https://pccstem.org/category/hacu/