I have been super busy so far this year!
At work, a little while back we launched a landing page for the Indira kitchen faucet which is a neat faucet that has the handle integrated into the overall design.
I also helped bring the Baldwin Hardware project to a close. A few other developers did the majority of the work on this one, but I helped clean up the display in other browsers, wrapped up a couple of sections (project showcases and portfolios) and helped to adjust the existing Lock Designer landing page that I originally created a year or so ago to work within the new layout in addition to having it match the new aesthetic (we swapped some fonts and images).
The next big project I worked on was the Pfister Hospitality project. It’s still ongoing (we’ll be adding new sections to the site) but phase 1 is complete! I made a big effort on this one to think ahead as I was building the site and was also grateful for my first chance to work on a Pfister project that started from a blank slate (no existing infrastructure – the old hospitality pages were just a subsection of the main site, and this one is completely separate). We wanted to give this one a lot of extra polish, so we spent a lot of time doing a number of transitions and animations that all help add up to make the site look and feel really nice.
I also was able to really focus this time on making a responsive site that was “mobile first”. In the past I have mostly started with a “desktop-first” strategy and I was determined to try to get it right this time. I did catch myself a couple of times doing the desktop styles first but I was able to get myself back on track and I’m very happy with how the site turned out!
I’ve had a few projects going on at home as well. I mentioned my 52 Things project last time. I’m still quite behind, but I’ve always been aware that many of the bullet points there are a lot more than one week of work for someone who wants to do something other than web development every once in a while. I have to get some use out of my new Playstation 4, after all! But I was happy to finally get that mini page online to remind me to keep working on my personal projects.
I also launched Uncovered Classics. I had the opportunity to connect with an old coworker who was looking to launch a blog for a project she’d come up with to highlight female authors of the 20th century. The idea was inspired by Feminista’s 100 Great 20th Century Works of Fiction by Women list. I thought it was a great project, and I think Amy is a great writer, so I had a really good time working with her! The site is made in WordPress and uses a child theme I created based on the Zuki theme by Elma Studio.
Not much else to report in web development land. I’ve had a number of other projects going on that are either too insignificant to mention or simply haven’t launched yet, and I’ve been attempting to balance my personal time (reading and video games) with family bonding time (playing with my 20 month old daughter and spending time with my husband), work, pets, normal house stuff, and personal web projects/freelance. I definitely do not always succeed but I hope I am getting better at it all!
I think the last exciting update is that my company moved to a new office, and now my desk is right next to a window! HAVING A WINDOW IS AMAZING. I had no idea how much I missed it after working in the middle of the office for so long.