Unity 3D is pretty cool. You can really go after some interesting experiences with this tool. I can’t discuss any of my current projects, but I can say that I have had to immerse in Unity and C# to do some pretty innovative things lately.

Lets just say that I needed to work in C# for this project, but I have no lack of love for Javascript in Unity. Either way Unity allows for some pretty rapid development in an otherwise complex technology space (3D behavior and animation).

If you are a C#, Flash AS2 or 3, or JavaScript developer, you will just need a few days to get your head around some 3D specific stuff. then you will be amazed at how accessible things are in 3D. Frankly, I needed more time to get my C# chops up than learning how to manage Unity.

Combine this with standalone run-times for web, iPhone, iPad, xBox, Wii, Sony PlayStation and Mac and PC, and it starts to get interesting for indie game developers in a hurry.

So visit Unity here: www.unity3d.com They have a FREE version (not a hobbled time-limit version, a full standard FREE version) to use for web or standalone projects. Take a look around (literally) and check out the tutorials. There is a whole community of users providing code samples and even some frameworks (like iTween for Javascript and C# here: http://itween.pixelplacement.com/ ) familiar to most Flash developers.

Hey all, I have been working primarily onsite with Artefact Group in South Lake Union. Since all of what Artefact does (with me) is under strict NDA, I cannot share what is going on there. I can however say that I am getting to know HTML5, C# and Unity 3D and it is a kick in the pants!

Also, I have launched a great new web site and Facebook Fan Page called “The Knot String”. A collaboration with Kelly J. Brownlee, it is a great new way to teach kids about money and spending habits. See it here: http://www.theknotstring.com . Gotta Run! I’ll update this site soon.

You The Man Campaign web site  www.YouTheManNYC.org

The New York City Department or Transportation released an awareness campaign for drinking and driving. Part of that campaign was a website that was required to also display on mobile handsets ranging from iPhones to simple feature phones.

The features of the website includes:

• Google Map based display of available cab and car companies with phone numbers based on an address in New York.
• Trivia Quiz
• Rotating Facts
• Video Playback

Our goal was to take the design as provided by the agency managing the campaign and converting the assets to a desktop, iPhone, and Blackberry experience. This required both technology and design solutions.

The Technology solutions includes a .NET (C#) based back end to manage the retrieval and display of data for the Quiz, the locations and car companies, with a sophisticated content management system to determine the best display mode to deliver to the device. The result is a single URL, with no redirects, that adapts the web site specifically to the device.

Lone Mountain Ranch   www.lonemountainranch.com

For over a decade, Lone Mountain Ranch has been on the forefront of web internet marketing from Big Sky, Montana.

This is the fourth design revision of the LMR site over the span of a dozen years. This time we updated the site with some more modern technology to make the site more flexible for client updating, more discoverable by search engines and viewable on more devices and browsers while still retaining the basic look and feel.

The slide show has always been the most important design element of the web site, so the Flash based slide engine was replaced with a custom jQuery based display using the same XML and photo elements previously used by a Flash based system.

Historically, the site has had a few areas where the client would update simple text information, like ski conditions and fishing reports. Today, the site has a WordPress administration system in the back end, while still using the custom web site front end. We inject the WordPress content into the pages on the master web site using some custom PHP / WordPress API functions. This retains the same web site page URLs to protect the investment in Search engine placement, and allows for much more creativity and ease of use for the client. As WordPress improves, and the client becomes more comfortable with administrating the web site, we can eventually convert the entire website to a WordPress driven presentation.

Finally, we’ve added video playback to the Gallery system, allowing LMR to leverage previously produced videos.

Pay Your Family First Web Site   www.payyourfamilyfirst.com

Pay Your Family First (PYFF) is an organization who’s mission is to educate families in financial matters. The PYFF web site is one of a family of web properties under the PYFF mission.

The design of the main PYFF property needed to be appealing to parents, community leaders and education administrators. Since this information was to be edited often, and used as a research destination for a wide audience, Joomla Content Management was employed. This required a Joomla Template and content organization to allow many contributors and diverse content types.

The site boasts a banner engine, poll system, fully searchable content and a very flexible and sophisticated content management system.

Thrive Time Game We Site  www.thrivetimegame.com

Thrive Time is a game developed by The Pay Your Family First organization, founded by the co author of the wildly popular book Rich Dad Poor Dad.

This is a simple website with XHTML/CSS standards and jQuery for Slide Viewers on several pages.

Following the aesthetic of the board game design, the web site goal were to:

• Support the brand
• Channel people to quick information about the game and how to play
• Facilitate purchasing of the game for individuals and organizations.

Villa Pamela www.villapamela.com

Villa Pamela is an exquisite vacation rental property in Cabo San Lucas. The client had invested in professional photography of the property and the surrounding area, and the beauty of the property was self evident.

The original strategy for Villa Pamela, to coordinate the graphic appeal of the site with the existing brochure materials, was preserved. The big changes for VP were to expand the site width from 720 to 960 pixels and replace the Flash slide show with a custom jQuery XHTML presentation engine. This will allow for even more flexibility with SEO and Non-Flash browsers (like iPhone and Android).

Custom hand painted design concept was extended to all graphic elements of the site, including a series of maps.
Once the web site was live, we focused attention to leveraging the Facebook Social Network by using these elements to create a Facebook Fan Page.

Final touches include Google Analytics installation and integration of Google Ad Words campaigns.

During the VIA campaign, Starbucks had footage of customers using “special graphics printed” cups in the scene. Seeing an opportunity to reuse the footage for more campaigns, they needed the Starbucks logo printed over the special graphics version. Additionally, they needed the final video to have a “vertical” proportion for special viewing screens in out door/indoor screen advertising.

Frames from the original footage

Working in AfterEffects, I re-cropped and modified the footage to work better in the vertical format. Then, I created a new Starbucks logo from client supplied materials at the right angle and distortion to match the cup in the scene.  I then matched the subtle motion shake in the camera so that the logo appears to be attached to the cup. Finally, using matte techniques in AfterEffects, I  roto-scoped the logo to allow the hand to move across the top of the cup. A little subtle color and shade work, and the logo appears to be printed on the cup.

To promote Starbucks VIA instant coffee product, a campaign spanning Television, print and the Web was created and designed to work as a family. My role was interpreting storyboards provided by the Agency of record, BBDO NY, and delivering animations in both Flash and video formats.

At HBOYourimagination.com viewers can upload their own videos.

Exit5, an interactive production company based in New York called me to help develop and deploy a web site to follow exacting design specifications from BBDO NY, the advertising agency of record for HBO. Working with Illustrator/PDF files, I created an XHTML / CSS web site with jQuery and a PHP backend. With the help of a talented back-end developer, we deployed an approved system in a 6 day development cycle.

The site features an AJAX / REST framework with animated transitions and custom scrolling lists. Flash Uploader and JWPlayer widgets were leveraged to reduce the de-bug tail, and deliver reliably on the widest possible browser range.

AJAX, jQuery, JWPlayer and Flash uploader were just some of the technologies we leveraged to ship in a short window.