Frank Brusca
112 Executive Court
Westerville OH 43081
(614) 523-2284 - (614) 901-2379 FAX
frank@kingsfield.com
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Background |  |
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Resume | |
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Skills Summary | |
Web Site Design & DevelopmentFrank is an award winning web site designer, whose work is frequently the subject of articles in the national press. He blends his technical skills with creativity, producing web sites that have been featured in USA Today, Sky (Delta Airlines' in-flight magazine, the Denver Post, and numerous syndicated wire stories. Frank's web sites have also received numerous industry awards and recognition.
More importantly, Frank brings an end user focus to his designs. His philosophy is that computer systems only possess value when they are used. To that end, he strives to make sure his web sites facilitate the flow of information and minimize or eliminate end user pain. Most web sites are designed and built by software engineers. Since most web surfers do not possess the same mental models or contexts of those software engineers, surfing most web sites is an awkward, clumsy or painful process.
It doesn't need to be that way!
Here is a sampling of Frank's work.
AuntStella.com
Frank designed and developed this e-commerce site using the Miva Merchant engine as the shopping cart system. The interface had to be simple enough to facilitate the shopping experience and the language and colors had to match the expectations of shoppers.
One of the sites key features was a gift advisor that used case-based logic to help shopper select an appropriate gift for their exact needs.
In September of 2000, AuntStella.com was selected as a showcase web site by the Miva Corporation.
DeereTrax (John Deere Company)
Frank was brought on board by the development team at John Deere to support their online subscription-based vehicle tracking system. Each piece of Deere heavy equipment is outfitted with a GPS receiver and a cell phone which is connected to a vehicle information bus.
When Deere sought way to improve the user interface and end user experience, Frank's team provided numerous suggestions including a graphical representation of textual data, improved iconography and an algorithm that converts UTM coordinates (longitude and latitude) into meaningful zip code centroids. Would you rather be told that your backhoe is at N39° 49.704' W84° 53.290' or that it is in Richmond, Indiana?
Route40.Net
As a clearinghouse of information about U.S. Route 40, this site required a logical structure of information, yet it needed to contain a hearty supply of surprises to keep surfers entertained and pleased.
Frank's Route 40 web site has been the recipient of numerous design awards and the subject of countless newspaper and magazine articles. Perhaps you read about this web site in Delta's in-flight magazine Sky or in USA Today.
Ariel Performance Centered Systems
Frank headed up the web site redesign and development effort for his previous employer, Ariel Performance Centered Systems, Inc. The objective was to make the site attractive, yet easy to use.
The site features hierarchical menus, a scrolling news box (with the latest information about Ariel) as well as rapid access to the most frequently used site features.
Gloria Gery.com
Gloria is a great colleague. When she decided it was time to set up web site, I was happy to take on this project. The challenge was that the site needed to be set up in such a way so that Gloria can administer the content without any knowledge of HTML, scripting or FTP.
The solution was an administrative section that collects information from Gloria and stores it in a database. Scripts retrieve that information and display it in a variety of pre-formatted page designs. This approach lets Gloria manage her content without the reliance on a tech support team or web site support staff.
In the screen grabs on the right, the top shows the administrative page for the home page. Content is entered here. When the home page is requested, the content is displayed in a formatted home page template.
