Why We Built This Website
Each year, the web design students in the Visual Communication program at Cuyahoga Community College (a.k.a. Tri-C) research, design and build a website for a chosen client. Typically, this is a non-profit, community service or charity, such as The Aids Task Force, Julie Adams House or Middleburg Heights Food Pantry. This year we chose our client – Garie Waltzer, Fine Art Photographer – to pay homage to her contributions and dedication to the college program that she was key in creating.
Over the course of her thirty-year tenure, Garie played a key role as founder and developer of a strong Visual Communication department. Beginning with her vision of a high-quality photography program that was accessible to all, she created a community of professionals and students with a focus on aesthetic and technical excellence. From writing the programs and curriculum to scheduling and finding faculty to classroom instruction, she did it all. Thanks to Garie and her forward-thinking team, Tri-C was the first in the region to recognize the need for design to “go digital” in the early 1980’s; years before the internet, and at a time when most did not see the direction our field was taking. Design professionals and new students alike flocked to Tri-C to update and build these new skills. As the photography and design programs flourished and “new media” emerged, Garie again had the foresight to add interactive media and web courses. These have evolved into our current comprehensive Web, Game, and Interactive Media program. You can learn more about Tri-C’s Visual Communication program here.
The community, the college, the faculty, and the students in the Visual Communication Department hope that this website reflects our gratitude in some small way.
About the Project
Building a website for a client from research to concept to completion in one semester (16 weeks or so) is a rather high-risk undertaking! Unlike other courses with a firm and clear path to completion, each client based project has unique challenges that cannot be predicted. As the project unfolds, each team member contributes to the research, design, construction and seemingly endless administrative tasks required, all while learning new skills. That said, after sixteen weeks, it may not “look” like a completed website, but a strong foundation has been laid for the site to proceed.
Thankfully, there is typically an individual or a small group that is dedicated to bringing the efforts of the class to fruition. This project was no exception. With that, allow me to introduce the team.
About the Team
Lindsay Vincent
Lindsay is that key person on the team that has taken the bones of the work done during the semester and fleshed it out to the site you see! She has the positive attitude, problem-solving and “people” skills that will no doubt lead to success in Web/Interaction Experience, or whatever field she chooses.
Lindsay is pursuing an Associate of Business Degree in Web and Interactive Media from Tri-C. Her previous education includes a BS in biology from Cornell University and an MS in genetic counseling from Northwestern University.
Her previous interpersonal experience and medical education, along with her growing web design and development skills will make her very a valuable member of any web team lucky enough to have her.
When not building sites, she enjoys metalsmithing, hiking, and cooking.
Lindsay can be found on LinkedIn and you can see her portfolio here.
Timothy Kane is pursuing a certificate in Web design and development at Tri-C with a graduation date of December 2018. His previous education includes a BA (Honors) in art history, and a Masters in Library Science, both at Kent State University.
Kevin Herold recently graduated from Tri-C with an Associate of Business Degree in Graphic Design. He is currently pursuing a web design certificate to compliment his graphic design degree. Other interests include photography, woodworking, and skateboarding.
Jason Jarrell is pursuing an Associate of Business Degree in Interactive Web and Media at Tri-C with a focus on Video Game Design. His hobbies include playing video games, hiking, 3D designing and studying history.
Joseph Tabar is currently pursuing an Associate of Business Degree in Web Design and Development at Tri-C, projecting to graduate in May of 2019. He is an arcade gamemaestro…especially “Dance Dance Revolution”.
Angela Berlingeri, the instructor, is an Associate Professor