Writing for the web

Save Radio New Zealand

Website: Save Radio New Zealand

Client: Save Radio New Zealand
My professional status: independent web designer/developer

The Save Radio New Zealand website is a companion to the original Facebook group, which reached 20,000 members in a little over a month. It's built using an existing (subtly restyled) WordPress theme. I was responsible for the intial client liaison and project proposal when I first came up with the idea, then project management, scoping, information architecture, selection and restyling of the WordPress theme, content-writing, research, content-loading and ongoing support as the website's webmaster.

Read more about the Save Radio New Zealand project

The Gathering Archives

Website: The Gathering Archives

Client: me
My professional status: independent web designer/developer

In October 2006 I began creating, designing, building and writing The Gathering Archives website and accompanying WordPress blog, with the aim of becoming the authoritative source of information on the history and background of iconic New Zealand dance party, The Gathering.

The site is divided into different sections for each of the six Gatherings, and includes facts & figures, media coverage, Gathering artwork, photos, video and film footage, Gatherer stories and maps of the venue for each party. The design for each section is based on the official Gathering artwork from that year.

The writing style for this site is a development of the voice I created for the original Gathering website (see below). A little older and wiser, somewhat more factual in tone - because this site is an accurate historical record and archive rather than an inspirational guidebook for getting to and enjoying the party itself.

The development of the site is an ongoing process, as I'm relying on Gatherers and crew to provide me with missing pieces of information. I don't like sites where sections are "under contruction" - I think that's rather unprofessional - so I've chosen to emphasise the gaps instead - indicating them clearly and asking visitors to help by sending me their stories, photos, artwork and video links to fill in those gaps.

The accompanying WordPress blog provides me with a place to include peripheral info that doesn't quite fit into the site itself, allows me to point regular visitors in the direction of new stuff on the site, and also acts as an ongoing conversation with former Gatherers and crew. Over the past year I've let it lapse somewhat because I've been busy with other projects, but when I have a bit more spare time I'll resurrect it. The writing style in the blog is chattier and more informal than on the site, which is how you'd expect a blog to be.

Read more about The Gathering Archives project

WebWeaver's World

Website: WebWeaver's World

Client: me
My professional status: independent web designer/developer

In May 2006 I started a blog, WebWeaver's World. I'd just come back from the first Webstock conference, and was inspired by the awesomeness of that event to give myself a web presence other than my portfolio website. I also felt it would be useful from a professional viewpoint to know how to set up a blog and how to extend its capabilities. I wrote in my first blog post:

...this blog is about my passions, which are many and varied. I think I might use it a bit like an online diary, and as a space for my musings, as somewhere I can post stuff I think other people might be interested in, and as a place where I can go on about stuff that interests me. Whether or not it will actually interest anyone else remains to be seen... :)

It turned out that people are quite interested in what I have to say - when I'm writing regularly my readership is somewhere between 100 and 150 visitors a day, which isn't bad for an obscure little blog from a tiny little country like NZ. At its lowest point (like recently because I've spent the last couple of months working like a crazy person and not writing in my blog) that number goes down to around 50 per day - which is still pretty good.

The range of things I write about is incredibly varied, and includes geeky instructional pieces on how to do clever stuff with your Blogger blog and my experiences at FullCodePress, musings about my particular fandom, rants about US politics (there have been a heck of a lot of those over the last couple of years!), and general stuff about me and my life.

From time to time my posts have been picked up by much larger blogs and newspapers - this piece about Sarah Palin was included on the front page of the world's largest political blog, Daily Kos; this one was linked to from The Guardian in the UK; I watched the visitors come in from across the globe for this one; and this one unexpectedly received a one-word link from a tech blog which resulted in over 10,000 visitors in 24 hours.

My WebWeaver voice is my voice. All the other sites listed on this page have a specific targetted audience, and a very specific job to do. I don't write them as "me", I write them in a style that will suit the intended audience, and mostly (apart from The Gathering sites) that means as a writer I have to become invisible. On WebWeaver's World I write as myself because I'm writing mainly for myself, and if other people like what I write, that's cool but it's not my main objective.

I have been known to SWEAR on my blog, I am very political (because it's the most appropriate place for me to indulge my political passions), and I can be quite controversial at times. I can also be geeky, fangirly, introspective, enthusiastic, intellectual and a whole host of other things. It all depends on how I'm feeling, and what I'm writing about.

I've used it as a place where I can explore the art of writing, and where I can develop my skills in whatever direction I choose. It's something I love to do - exploring an idea and figuring out the best way to get that idea or thought or opinion across to other people - and (especially with opinion pieces) backing it up with heaps of online research from a variety of sources.

Read more about the WebWeaver's World project

Meadow Fresh Rainy Day Boredom Buster

Website: no longer online

Client: Mainland Milk
My professional status: employee at Origin Design

Rainy Day was a subsite of Meadow Fresh's main site, and gave kids many ideas for fun activities to do on a rainy day - both on-line and offline. I built and maintained the website, and created the Flash animations.

Meadow Fresh gave us considerable freedom to develop the site in whatever direction we saw fit, so using my experience as a primary teacher I collaborated with the designer to come up with ideas for new activities. I developed our ideas into practical projects which could be carried through to completion by children aged 6 to 13. I did all the writing for this part of the website, including descriptions, step-by-step instructions and summaries for each activity.

Read more about the Meadow Fresh Rainy Day project

WebWeaver Productions

Website: WebWeaver Productions

Client: me
My professional status: independent web designer/developer

Commissioned, designed, architecture-d, developed, built, written, edited and project-managed by me. It's the way I communicate with potential clients and employers, so it is important to me that the site is easy to navigate, and easy to read. I provide a considerable amount of quite detailed information on my site - probably more than most people do - because I need to cater for the wide range of clients I work for, and the differing requirements they have in terms of what they need to know about me and my work.

I've made the decision to keep all of my website case-studies online, rather than removing or archiving old ones. This is partly because the sheer number of sites I've worked on is impressive in its own right, and worth emphasising to potential clients - and also because my website has become something of a journey through web trends and design/development fashions since 1996. I find it fascinating now to look back at sites I worked on 10 years ago, seeing how my skills have developed over time, as well as how the thinking behind website creation has changed over the years.

My writing style on this site is business-like while still being friendly and accessible. I write my web case studies in quite a bit of detail, while at the same time keeping them short enough to be read quickly. The "Showcase sites" section lists a small number of my more recent sites of which I'm particularly proud, and which give a good overview of my range of skills and abilities. This section is aimed particularly at busy clients who don't have the time to read more than a couple of my case studies - if they're only going to read one or two I want to be able to point them in the direction of a specific few!

Read more about the WebWeaver Productions project

Kiwi Recovery Programme

Website: kiwirecovery.org.nz

Clients: Department of Conservation, Bank of New Zealand (sponsors), and Forest & Bird
My professional status: contractor at CWA New Media and then independent web designer/developer

This was a joint initiative between DoC, the Bank of New Zealand (who sponsor the programme) and Forest & Bird. I built and maintained this multi-award-winning framed website, with considerable design freedom in deeper levels of the site.

The original site was good, but I felt it could be so much better. I have a degree in Biological Sciences, which meant that I had a good level of research skills at my disposal. My suggestions for new areas of the site were based on my science background, my lifelong interest in ecology and conservation, and on my three years' experience as a primary school teacher.

There was no more money to spend on research and writing, so I volunteered to do it myself. I eventually researched and wrote 5 new sections of the site, including "Kiwi at Night", "Weird and Wonderful Kiwi Facts" and "Kiwi Evolution". My work was critiqued and signed off by DoC's kiwi researchers, and after I left CWA I was asked to continue researching and writing further sections of the site, as well as designing and building them.

The website was aimed at schoolchildren of all ages, but its secondary audience was the wider community, both in New Zealand and overseas. I therefore had to strike a fine balance in my writing between keeping it interesting, lively, and easy to understand for the younger kids, while not boring or talking down to older children and adults. I achieved this by developing quite a chatty style incorporating a certain level of wide-eyed wonder at these awesome birds.

Read more about the Kiwi Recovery Programme project

The Gathering

Website: no longer online

Client: The Gathering
My professional status: independent web designer/developer

The Gathering was New Zealand's largest and most well-respected annual dance party. I created, designed, wrote, built and maintained the 900-page multi-award-winning website, giving Gatherers as much information as possible about every aspect of The Gathering, as well as archiving previous parties.

As The Gathering's publicist for three years I became its recognisable "face", and via The Gathering website and associated message board (which I also moderated) I was able to give the event its "voice". The website included practical and logistical information about the event, but just as importantly I was able to emphasise the vibe of the event: "Be nice humans".

My primary audience was based in New Zealand, with a secondary (much smaller) audience consisiting of those coming from overseas to take part. The age range was surprisingly broad - from dance-mad teenagers (and their anxious parents!), and more sophisticated dance afficionadoes in their twenties and thirties, right through to older hippies in their fourties and fifties (and older). It was important to reach them all and communicate effectively with them all.

Many of the younger people had never been camping before, let alone camping at a dance party high up on a mountain where the temperature can drop below freezing at night, so along with all the "woo woo it's going to be an awesome party!" stuff, I also had to make sure they brought the right camping gear, warm clothes and sensible shoes along with the party dresses.

When you're running a 3-day dance party on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere, everyone's wellbeing and enjoyment ultimately hinges on the attitude they bring to the event. By focusing much of my attention on the way that Gatherers took care of themselves and one another - on the website, in my interviews and press releases, and in the comprehensive booklet which I wrote each year and which was given away with every ticket sold - I was able to play an important role in keeping everyone safe on top of Takaka Hill.

Read more about The Gathering project

Healthy Lifestyles

Website: no longer online

Clients: Wellington College of Education and the Cancer Society
My professional status: contractor at CWA New Media

This Cancer Society-sponsored award-winning website promoted healthy lifestyles for kids. I worked closely with the content creator Joy Hooper to design, develop and build a series of online school projects within the site.

As time went on Joy invited me to take a more active role in writing content for the site, which I did, particularly in the Smokefree section where I wrote a series of pages about my attempts to quit smoking.

Read more about the Healthy Lifestyles project

InterLink

Website: InterLink

Client: The British Council
My professional status: contractor at CWA New Media

I developed, designed, built and constantly updated this multi-award-winning website for a ground-breaking project linking 12 pairs of schools in New Zealand and the UK, who worked for 6 months in 1996-97 on a range of 70 projects using the internet for trans-global communication - and I also managed the InterLink project itself.

In addition to doing all the writing for the peripheral informational areas of the site, I wrote the content and instructions for each project and collated and displayed the results once they came in. The website content was primarily aimed at the 13-year-olds who were taking part, but we were also aware that many people around the world were visiting the site and following our progress, so the site needed to speak to them as well.

Although the site design looks incredibly old-fashioned now (what was I thinking with all that centered text?), I think it still stands up as a valuable record of the work we did together, and it demonstrates the style I used when writing instructional and feedback text for that age group. I think I overdid it on the exclamation marks, though!

Read more about the InterLink project

WM Bamford & Co Ltd

Website: WM Bamford & Co Ltd

Clients: WM Bamford & Co Ltd
My professional status: independent web designer/developer

I designed and built this site for one of New Zealand's leading independent medical supply companies. I also worked on project management, information architecture and site schematics, as well as creating dynamic functionality via jQuery and facilitating CMS integration.

The aim of the site is to reflect and complement the company's new print brochure - and to allow potential customers access to Bamford's substantial product listings as well as providing information about their supply agencies and partners.

The client asked for help in tailoring the copy for the web, while at the same time wanting to replicate much of the print brochure online. It's a tricky balancing act. I did substantial research into Bamford's competitors' websites - looking at how they presented their products and communicated with their customers online. Having drawn a number of conclusions about which websites were most effective and why, I was able to advise the client on how to improve their new content.

Read more about the WM Bamford & Co Ltd project

Kiwi Physics

Website: CD-ROM

Client: IPENZ
My professional status: contractor at CWA New Media

The Kiwi Physics CD-ROM is aimed at encouraging students to explore a career in physics by showing real-life examples of physics in an entertaining, interactive, educational and fun way.

I designed, illustrated and built the Transmissions module which covers the creation, transmission and use of electricity. The writer provided me with a series of storyboards (which went through a number of iterations), from which I developed the 10 main screens and 7 "Tell Me More" screens which made up the module.

Part of my role was to refine and edit these storyboards so that the finished product would flow easily and logically - and which would result in a series of activities which we could actually build and which students would enjoy playing. I was able to utilise both my science background and my experience as a teacher during this process.

Read more about the Kiwi Physics project

Scots College Virtual Tour

Website: Scots College Virtual Tour

Client: Scots College
My professional status: contractor at Oryx Technologies

Scots College wanted a set of Virtual Tours to show to prospective pupils and parents. This would be part of the existing website and follow the established look and feel of the site. I designed and built three Virtual Tours and the section homepage.

My role included advising the client on the number of tours and the content of each, which I approached from a practical and user-focused viewpoint. It was important that the content of each was a logical grouping from a visitor's perspective, and also that each Virtual Tour covered a small enough area so that the map details could easily be seen on the average browser.

Read more about the Scots College Virtual Tour project

WOMAD

Website: womad.co.nz

Client: The Edge^™ (for WOMAD)
My professional status: independent web designer/developer

1998 was the first year that a full-scale WOMAD festival was held in New Zealand. They needed an attractive and accessible site that would tell the world about WOMAD Aotearoa. I designed and built this award-winning website, which could be easily added to and updated in the runup to the 1998 event.

Part of my role at the beginning of the project was to make suggestions on what the site should contain. I used my experience managing events for Many Hands and The Gathering to come up with initial ideas, which I supplemented through research into other WOMAD sites from around the world.

I had been creating and writing The Gathering website for about 6 months by the time I did the WOMAD site, so I was able to show the client my style of writing that worked for a (somewhat) similar online audience.

Read more about the WOMAD project

Health Action

Website: healthaction.org.nz

Client: Health Action
My professional status: independent web designer/developer

Nelson-based health advocacy group Health Action, who had absolutely no experience of the web, wanted a website which they could utilise as one of their outreach tools for youth. I designed and built this youth-oriented site, which included a database listing a wide range of health resources in the local region.

Part of my job, in consultation with the client, was to advise on the range of content that should be included, and how this should be arranged within the information architecture. I helped the client to produce content suitable for the web by editing copy before incorporating it into the site build.

This site was aimed at young people and discussed potentially controversial subjects such as drug use and mental health issues. It was important that the writing style was funky and fresh, walking the fine line between writing in a style that would appeal to young people while avoiding any suggestion that the writer was trying too hard to be cool.

Read more about the Health Action project

EEO Trust

Website: eeotrust.org.nz

Client: EEO Trust
My professional status: contractor at CWA New Media

The EEO Trust were new to the web and wanted an easily-navigated information-rich website, which I designed and built.

I provided advice on the content that should be included in the site, which then enabled me to structure the the information architecture and sitemap. We continued our discussions throughout the design and build process, and during the content-loading phase I edited and proof-read the content as I added it to the site.

The site assists employers in introducing and managing EEO best practice, and the writing style needed to be factual and comprehensive. I focused on reducing the content's wordiness, improving its online accessibility to users.

Read more about the EEO Trust project

Māori Media Network

Website: Māori Media Network

Client: Māori Media Network
My professional status: independent web designer/developer

The Māori Media Network wanted a new website which would promote their skills and services online. I designed and built the site and also worked on project management, information architecture and site schematics, as well as planning for JavaScript and CMS integration.

The client provided me with the copy for the website, which I coded up and included in the site in readiness for the site launch. As part of this process I proof-read all the content and edited it where necessary, paying particular attention to the te reo parts of the site.

Read more about the Māori Media Network project

Land Information New Zealand

Website: linz.govt.nz

Client: Land Information New Zealand
My professional status: independent web designer/developer

After redeveloping and adding new content to the Mariner's section of the LINZ website, I was retained as an e-government expert to advise on the most effective way of converting PDFs to web pages. I subsequently designed and developed 11 subsites which house LINZ's most-requested key documents - including the LINZ Statement of Intent and the Annual Report.

Proof-reading was an extremely important aspect of my work - especially with the Annual Report and Statement of Intent. Both these legal documents absolutely must be word-perfect in their online versions - which must match up exactly with the print version. There's no room for error, and checking the financial statements sections of these documents once I had turned them into web pages was a particularly painstaking part of the process.

Read more about the Land Information New Zealand project

Social Studies Exemplars

Website: Social Studies Exemplars

Client: Ministry of Education
My professional status: contractor at CWA New Media

The Social Studies Exemplars website required PDF versions of each exemplar. I made these by transferring the content of each exemplar into a Freehand file and laying out the content in the most efficient way possible, and then exporting the files as PDFs. An important part of the process was extensive proof-reading to ensure that each XHTML page was exactly replicated in the Freehand file.

Read more about the Social Studies Exemplars project

Health & PE Exemplars

Website: Health & PE Exemplars

Client: Ministry of Education
My professional status: contractor at CWA New Media

The Health & PE Exemplars website required PDF versions of each exemplar. I made these by transferring the content of each exemplar into a Freehand file and laying out the content in the most efficient way possible, and then exporting the files as PDFs. An important part of the process was extensive proof-reading to ensure that each XHTML page was exactly replicated in the Freehand file.

Read more about the Health & PE Exemplars project

Ngā Toi Online

Website: Ngā Toi Online

Client: Ministry of Education
My professional status: contractor at CWA New Media

This large, constantly updated, bilingual site had reached a stage where the two language versions were no longer consistent. This project sought to restore both parts of the site to a bilingual mirror of each other. Guided by an extensive (enormous!) paper edit I made alterations in XHTML to the content of virtually every page, most of which were in te reo.

This was a very slow and detailed project. This kind of content-only editing is usually very quick and straightforward. However, the inclusion of macron code in the te reo version meant that it could no longer easily be speed-read during the proof-reading process. I had to take my time and check every word (and its correct spelling) individually.

Read more about the Ngā Toi Online project

Te Reo Māori in Mainstream

Website: Flash website for offline presentations

Client: Alice Patrick
My professional status: contractor at CWA New Media

I designed and built this fully interactive Flash website using ActionScripting and incorporating sound and video clips. The site was designed to be projected onto a big screen as an integral part of the client's talks and presentations.

The site is partly in te reo, partly in English, and required very careful proofing to ensure that te reo sections and macrons had been entered correctly.

Read more about the Te Reo Māori in Mainstream project

Kakapo Recovery Programme

Website: kakaporecovery.org.nz

Client: the Department of Conservation
My professional status: independent web designer/developer

This website needed regular updating over a number of years. I added new images and sections and made text changes as requested by the Department of Conservation.

I was left pretty much to my own devices with this site, and my first job was to make a large number of changes to the content, as much of the site had been re-written and new sections added. As I was making these alterations I noticed that there were a number of errors in the content, so I decided to proof-read the whole site and make corrections as necessary. I continued to act as proof-reader throughout the time I was maintaining the website.

Kakapo have fans of all ages all over the world, so the writing style needed to be straightforward and easy to follow, while also being enthusiastic and informative. As many visitors to the site have English as a second language it was doubly important that the spelling, grammar and punctuation be correct.

Read more about the Kakapo Recovery Programme project

Fonterra Annual Report 2001-2002

Website: fonterra.com

Client: Fonterra
My professional status: employee at Origin Design

The 2001-2002 Annual Report website had to be built within an extremely tight deadline as a subsite of Fonterra's main site. I managed the project and built the site in under a week.

Part of my job was overseeing and contributing to the site proofing and testing - which was even more rigorous than usual as this was an important legal document. As with the LINZ project, it was absolutely vital that every word from the print version was replicated exactly in the online version.

Read more about the Fonterra Annual Report project

Ao Kawe Kupu

Website: Ao Kawe Kupu

Client: New Zealand Qualifications Authority
My professional status: contractor at Communication Arts

I was responsible for the translation of this bi-monthly printed newsletter into an existing website format within the NZQA website. The newsletter is partly in English, partly in te reo. I developed the newsletter into a new website format, which I designed to complement the QA News design.

Proof-reading the whole newsletter was an important part of my role - and the te reo sections especially required very careful proofing to ensure that the text had been entered correctly.

Read more about the Ao Kawe Kupu project