Richard Max

Seven is a Digital Customer Engagement Agency who make iPhone/iPad Apps and provide Web Solutions for clients like Sainsburys and Virgin.

I was recruited by them to create a WordPress-based site for DEFRA, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to replace their existing print-based magazine, Landscape.

Built using WordPress 3.1 the image heavy site was designed from the ground up to mimic the incumbent magazine.

The theme was built as a child-theme of twentyten designed to run in a multi site environment.  Due to this multisite setup and it being hosted on government servers, a prerequisite of site was that the theme would have its core functionality embeded, minimizing its reliance on external plugins.

The vast array of bespoke functionality included:

• Enabling multiple issue creation
• Colour coded sections
• Bespoke CMS configurations
• Mass of photography-based functionality

View Site: www.landscape.ricmax.com

*Please note the above url is not the live site as that is only available to DEFRA’s employees.

Line Communications is a market leader in bespoke e-learning content development with clients including Barclays, KPMG, Ford and Toyota.

I was contracted by them to update and improve their existing WordPress-based website. Working closely with their marketing departmant to work out their new requirements and ways they currently used their site, I reinstalled WordPress, imported their data, updated the existing plugins whilst checking comptibility, and then updated their bespoke theme in a variety of ways including:

• Making the theme compatible with the improved functionality of WordPress 3.0.
• Updating the design to incorporate the new site designs from the supplied PhotoShop files.
• Adding an elegantly degrading post slideshow that works in Internet Explorer 6.
• Adding the ability to seemlessly pull in their Twitter content and YouTube channel.

View site:
www.line.co.uk

I was primarily employed to work on the Shell account as their Creative Developer advising both the client and colleagues and developing applications and sites. Over time however, being the only ‘permanent developer’ in JWT I became more involved with JWT-specific work, driven by JWT’s Global Creative Director, Craig Davis. Other work included WordPress sites, evaluating various open source cms packages, assisting with ‘flash’ problems for other clients and giving lessons to JWT’s employees on all things Digital.

JWT :: Desktop Apps for PC, Adobe Air & Mac

I was responsible for conceptualizing, specking out and developing numerous JWT-based applications during my time there. The most significant was the ‘JWT Thing’ which was a windows (desktop application compiled via Zinc) and also a Mac dash board widget that enabled users to view, add and query a variety of relevant blogs (internal and external) that were deemed of interest to the agencies’ employees, Every employee within JWT London had this application on their computer. The backend consisted of modifying the open source software, WordPress to facilitate the advanced functionality that was required. Other projects I assisted with were the CultUrl application (viewing and submitting the companies’ favorite urls) and JWT Showcase, an interactive database-driven work portfolio.

JWT :: 3D Page Turning Photo Book

Created a 3D Page Turning Photo Book in Flash to show all the photos taken from the JWT Christmas Party. The book was entitled, “You show me yours and I’ll show you mine” and enabled visitors to leave comments too.

JWT :: Digital Seminars for JWT’s employees

I advocated and was encouraged to hold a series of seminars for JWT employees about the internet, interactive marketing, emerging-technologies, open source and web 2:0. Each was designed to give a simple, un-technical approach to educating ‘advertising people’ on all things digital.