Creatabyte

New portfolio

Justin — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:38:00 +0000

Just dropping in to announce that I’ve launched a new portfolio over at JustinDelabar.com. It’s chock full of one-page goodness, check it out. What does this mean for Creatabyte? Well, I’m considering making this domain a personal playground of sorts in the near future. A place where I can test out design ideas and interaction techniques that might not fly on an otherwise professional, client-facing site. So, stay tuned for that, I guess?

Quick Updates

Justin — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 02:45:57 +0000

I’m busy prepping for my first week at Rise, so just a couple updates:

First, my final work for UCF, a landing page for Research Week 2008, is live. Second, my Summer Research Academy layout is featured over at CSS Mania, as well as CSS Drive. My SURE layout is also featured at CSS Mania, as is my Climate Summit site.

And that is all (go Obama!)

Rising to the Challenge

Justin — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:22:18 +0000

Yeah, I know. Haven’t been posting a lot. I also know that posting a funny YouTube clip most likely done by Dane Cook (or so goes the urban legend) doesn’t really get me off the hook. I could blame it on being busy, but we both know that’s a cop out. Your life so depends on my humble updates, and yet I give you nothing. A sad tale and sorry state that will now be corrected with a monumental announcement that will undoubtedly uproot you from the banality of every day living and elevate your mood to the highest reaches of the emotional stratosphere:

I am the new Interactive Art Director at Rise. (more…)

You Suck at Photoshop

Justin — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:28:28 +0000

Feeling Bloggy

Justin — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 03:57:59 +0000

What? Almost a month without an update? Insanity! But I do have a good reason: I’ve been incredibly busy. The proof, you ask? Two Wordpress projects, PoliGazette and The Digital Diplomat version 2.

(more…)

A Design of a Redesign of a…

Justin — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:11:28 +0000

Must be nice to have the staff on hand to put together a design project showcasing a redesign project. I’m assuming the DVD packed with extras is next. In seriousness, I’m glad MSNBC is finally redesigning but what they have showcased looks far from promising. I think this is the first faux grid layout that actually makes me feel angry, and I really can’t explain why. Almost feels like missed opportunities abound, but nothing can be claimed until the final design is out in the wild.

The OUR Project

Justin — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 13:55:24 +0000

The portfolio has been updated with a design comp for a side project and my latest full website endeavour for the University of Central Florida — the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR, because everything at UCF has to be an acronym to receive funding from the state government. Or so I’ve been led to believe after being on campus for six years now in multiple capacities.)

I think that the OUR site, by far, is the most complete project I’ve done to date. There’s very little that went wrong as the majority of the goals were met. That can be directly contributed to extensive contact with stakeholders throughout every stage of the development process, from initial wireframing up through usability testing. Usability testing was particularly smooth this time along as we were able to uncover and hammer out small problems through element realignment early on, retest, and confirm that most (won’t dare say all) glaring usability issues were uncovered and corrected. It is sometimes difficult to sell professors on the benefits of usability testing due to the small N problem, but I’m happy to report that yet another PhD holder has been successfully converted.

The OUR site is not perfect by any means, but I can honestly say I’m happy with it. Of course there are things in hindsight that I wish I could change or do differently next time — mostly small process-based issues — but I do not feel this intense need to plan for a massive redesign/realignment six months down the line. I’ll consider this one
a success.

BadUsabilityWeek

Justin — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 19:33:34 +0000

BusinessWeek recently reworked their brand by abandoning squished serifs throughout their print and online publications, altogether not a terrible thing. However, the newly polished site has a major problem: the world’s most frustrating navigation scheme. (more…)

What’s to Come

Justin — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 03:21:09 +0000

I’ve been fairly busy recently, working on three separate projects simultaneously. Each of the three are rather far along in the process, but are awaiting copy edits and final approval before they can go live. So, while we all wait for me to have something of substance to post about (I promise something meaningful this weekend, really), here are some sneak previews of what’s to come: (more…)

The Coveted Orange Box, My Downfall

Justin — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 03:22:25 +0000

At 3am EST tonight, the Orange Box (meaning Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Team Fortress 2, Portal, and the first two Half-Life 2 offerings) will become available to me via Valve’s Steam — yay digital pre-order with 10% discount! The sad thing is that I actually considered staying awake long enough to at least try both Portal and Episode 2. What will this mean for the completion of this website? Potentially bad things, but I can’t let myself become too distracted. Projects abound, and I’m speaking at a conference in less than a month on weblogs and academia, and I still need to get my research and talking points together. Valve is out to ruin me, of this there is no question.

On a related note, doesn’t Gordon Freeman look a bit like House gone emo? (more…)