Heather Hambleton Welcome to my online portfolio. When I graduated from college, I accepted an entry-level position as a receptionist at SGI so I could earn some income and figure out what I really wanted to do for my career. Since the building I served wasn't very busy most of the time, I decided to make the most of my free time by learning many software applications via self-instruction. One such application I taught myself how to use is Showcase, a proprietary software package very similar to Adobe Illustrator. As my skills using Showcase increased, I began receiving requests for the creation of clip art, flyers, and presentations from various groups within SGI. [ View Samples ] While mastering Showcase, I began to take interest in web development. Before this position, I had no prior experience with the Internet. At first I used a web editor, Cosmo Create (another one of SGI's proprietary software applications) to create web pages. With a desire to know what was happening "behind the scenes", I began to teach myself HTML. My first website was a department website for the receptionist group. [ View Site ] As a receptionist, one of the tools we used was a Quick Reference Guide (QRG). This consisted of an alphabetical listing of contact phone numbers, which made it easier to direct calls to the appropriate location. The QRG was a hard copy manual, which one of the receptionists updated on a regular basis. As I became more familiar with SGI's intranet, I discovered that many of the contacts listed on the QRG were departments that had existing websites containing the same information. So I thought, "Wouldn't it be more efficient to have a central website linking to those department websites? That way we wouldn't have to constantly research to make sure the information is correct; each department could maintain their individual information." With that in mind, I created a website containing the QRG in HTML format, called "Information Central". As the receptionists and administrators began to use Information Central, they discovered that it made their jobs much easier because the information was instantly at their fingertips. Information Central allowed each receptionist and administrator to become more self-sufficient in his or her job function, especially since SGI's intranet was very disorganized and lacked a central place to easily access the vast amount of internal information available. As Information Central grew, it eventually became "the" place to find information that employees were looking for at SGI. [ View Site ] While creating Information Central, I discovered that web development was what I truly wanted to do for a career. I enjoyed the blend of the creative aspect with the technical aspect that designing and creating websites provides. The receptionist group was one of 25 departments within the Site Services organization, which provided internal services to all SGI employees. The Site Services website was originally created by a group of contractors hired by the company. The design was departmentally oriented, such that the user had to know which group provided the service for which they were looking. [ View Site ] (this will give you an idea of the magnitude of the site, but it is not a complete version) At some point, the Site Services Organization created an internal web group, WebTAP, to manage and develop the Site Services website, which I eventually joined. When I transferred to WebTAP, there were 2 senior developers and an intern in the group. One developer handled the programming aspect and the other developer handled the design and graphics. Therefore, at first, I concentrated on general maintenance as well as the maintenance and ongoing development of Information Central. My first project in the web group was to redesign the Ergonomics department's website. I met with an employee from the Ergonomics department to see what their vision was. I then re-designed and re-implemented the entire Ergonomics website. [ View Site ] Another project I designed and implemented was a site for the Food Services department. I created a central site linking to each of the food services as well as websites for each separate food service available. [ View Site ] After awhile, the 2 senior developers left SGI to pursue other opportunities, so I became the main developer/designer along with 2 interns who worked part-time minor projects. I handled the majority of maintenance, design, and development (including CGI) for the web group. I was the main designer (and only one for the most part) handling the maintenance and development of 30-40 department websites. Our audience was the entire SGI employee community (thousands of employees). These 2 factors mandated that the website designs had to be professional looking, but also simple and easy to use so people could find information quickly and efficiently. Our web group was working to completely redesign the Site Services website to make it easier for SGI employees to find information and access internal services available to them, while aligning with SGI's new corporate branding look and feel. But because the Site Services Organization's budget did not have enough money to keep a web group on staff, they decided to outsource the redesign of the website, thereby eliminating my designer position. However, before I was affected by the company-wide layoff, I was able to redesign our web group's website to align with SGI's new corporate branding scheme. [ View Site ] I was also able to create a mock website to demonstrate the new design strategy for the Site Services website, which would allow employees to search for services alphabetically as well as categorically instead of departmentally. We also wanted to use colors for each category of service so that employees could visually know where they were at on the website. [ View Site ] (click on the following path: Get Service bell; Health & Safety; More Info next to Badging) After being laid off from SGI, I contracted for the Government Division of Beyond.com (they sold software online) doing primarily web maintenance. [ http://gov.beyond.com/ ] (Although the company, nor their website, no longer exists at this time) About 9 months after contracting at Beyond.com, my husband and I had a child and then moved to Colorado. I have been a stay-at-home mom ever since. I am currently seeking a telecommuting position involving web site design/development and/or maintenance. I am available to begin work immediately. I am a very detail-oriented person who goes above and beyond what is asked of me. I am committed to achieving excellence in everything I do. I am also a quick and capable learner of new technologies. If you have any questions, I can be reached at home at (303) 255-2742 or via email: [email protected]. I look forward to the possibility of working with you. References are available upon request. Thank you for your time, Heather Hambleton