I tried to play music in a band since I was in high-school. I decided to call it quits after I almost lost a toe due to infection on a tour. During that tour, our guitarist’s friend came with us just for the hell of it. He was probably the best part about that trip. It turns out that guy is in a little band now called The Black Keys, and they make some amazing music.
The Black Keys are a Billboard top 100 artist, have received ridiculous reviews on everything they’ve ever put out, are a favorite of legends (Jimmy Page, ZZ Top, Radiohead) and are playing at Lollapalooza this year. The funny thing is that it hasn’t gone to their heads. They are still loyal to the people who knew them a while ago.
In other words, I was in the right place at the right time.
This version of The Black Keys Web site is the third iteration I have done, and definitely the most social. Fans have a number of ways to interact through comments, Flickr feeds, and a message board. The design takes its major cues from the album cover design created by Mike Carney, brother of drummer Pat Carney. Functionality includes a customizable calendar controlled through the Wordpress administration system, a lightbox for photos using a JavaScript component ironically titled “Lightbox,” a Flash MP3 player, video, and more.
It took a while to find the right CMS for a band and their management to use on their own, so let me save you some research - Wordpress is the easiest for non-technical people to work with. The ability for a band to easily change their own Web site without contacting the developer is paramount for an artist’s site’s success, and if it’s not easy to do, the site will quickly stop being a living thing. Thankfully, theblackkeys.com has already lived a very full life.
Role: design and programming. Freelance.
The blog section: reviews of music artist Web sites and forthcoming tutorials for bands in need of cheap DIY Web sites.
[UPDATE: Steven Levy wrote an editorial in this week’s Newsweek about a tangential issue, namely how the pricing of music affects buying habits. He quotes an experiment that showed how to increase sales six-fold. Fascinating, counter-intuitive way to make more money and please the consumers.]
Consumers drive every industry, I think it’s safe to say. Therefore […]
My portfolio of work, clients include Warner Brothers Records, NBA, NHL, NFL, Visa, Nestlé and more.
Warner Brothers Music needed a Web site to promote the motion picture soundtrack to Beowulf, but the catch was that it needed to be launched soon after they contacted me. How soon? Three days. I don’t like backing down from challenges, and the opportunity to create a design for the property was an interesting proposal, […]
E-mail me or download my CV. Interested in custom work? Submit an inquiry here.
My route from musician to graphic designer to interactive and new media designer reflects my desire to constantly learn new things. I hold a Master of Arts degree from the School of Visual Communication Design at Kent State University (studying under AIGA Fellow, J. Charles Walker), where I focused on interactive design and motion graphics.
Not being the type of person to follow traditional paths, I started my own design service after graduating. My first task was to update the identity system, print and online collateral for Nosco Pharmaceutical Packaging, a national company whose clients include Alcon and Abbott Laboratories. I also began adding music artists to my client roster by contacting people in my network from my five-year stint in my touring band.
In my current role at DigiKnow, Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio, I walk the fine line between designer and programmer by switching between art director, designer, animator, Web developer, and JavaScript/XHTML/CSS/ActionScript programmer.
Need front-end Web design or development work? Need to see proof? Click the link below to download a PDF of my CV with links to my recent work, personal info, contact information, and really self-congratulatory biography.