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A bout Me

Shawn Makinson
Web Technologist since 1999

Something Personal

I was born in Florida and I have always lived there. I have a wife and family and I love them very much. I enjoy the mountains when I get the chance, they make for a great change of scenery!

Something Professional

Having been at this stuff for a long time now, I attended the first Flash Forward in 2000 and I have battled Netscape 4. Through the years many things have changed and some things have stayed the same. What was for the web is now for almost everything. HTML, CSS, JavaScript to build websites, apps, IoT, digital signage, games, the list goes on…

I have used Flash for banners, games, online apps that act like HTML, hardware simulations, experiential museum installs and retail kiosks ( as Air ). HTML, CSS and JavaScript for your website, kiosk or app. Content management done in XML, JSON, ASP, PHP, Ruby, Python, JavaScript, the "Cloud".

Contact Me

T his Website

As you can tell by the casual design, this is my personal website. I was going for an interesting combination of illustrations with some photograph imagery mixed in. The result is a single page website with each section continuing to a neighboring world of some sorts, it’s almost like they are all connected through some means. I am a Zelda fan, so I may have been drawn somewhat towards a Wind Waker style as it came together. The goal was to build something that is responsive but not so common place and grid-like in the way it feels, and still take advantage of a responsive framework.

The website has a fair amount of content, but hopefully not so much that it is overwhelming. I wanted to include a bit of animation, but I resisted taking it too far and have included only some subtle movement. That intro animation doesn’t count! It’s a fun throwback to the last time animation was getting so much attention around the web. Remember Gabocorp? It’s unlikely this would be appropriate outside a personal website.

Scroll down and check out the projects below. I tried to include a bit of a variety, as well as some that were the most rewarding. If you enjoy the site and want to let me know you can contact me using the form above.

If you are looking from something a bit more industry standard, check out this version of my site.

S ome History

I began at GoCo-op, one of the early B2B companies for the hospitality industry, a few years before the "dot com bubble" burst. I was hired when the total number of employees was in the single digits and continued as it climbed to several hundred and back down.

Below is a timeline showing a variety of projects I have worked on and a history of my professional time. I bet you did’t know they grew on vine’s! I decided to put the older work first on the timeline to encourage viewing it as you scroll down.

  • MindComet
    Senior Solutions Architect
    HTML
    JavaScript
    CSS
    ActionScript
    PHP
    ASP
    ColdFusion
    MySQL
    SQL Server
    Photoshop etc.

    Daily duties included corporate website development and maintenance, advergame development, custom CMS development, various internal projects, client website development.

    SPEED Channel Website

    The ultimate race fans stop for news & events. This extremely popular website was paired with a custom CMS written in PHP. We called it VROOM and the client loved it. The data was stored in MySQL. Version 1 was back in the day of IE on the Mac, yikes!

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    SPEEDTV

    SPEEDTV

    SPEEDTV

    DNP Ribbon Runner

    This custom Flash application allowed customers to filter and search for DNP products. Coldfusion components were used to search for and return the dataset on the fly. This was during the time when "Rich Internet Applications" were just coming on to the scene and Macromedia was still around, they even did a case study on the application.

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    Sunshine Network Derby Challenge Game

    A custom advergame that let players virtually pick a horse and play to win! I can still hear the custom recorded voiceovers we used as I type this, "Pick a Horse!"

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    Heineken® & Amsel® Light Mardi Gras Street Party Game

    A custom advergame developed in Flash where the player could walk through a Mardi Gras city scene jumping on ledges, bouncing on vendor stands and collecting items all while watching out for the baddies. This one even had a hidden area way up in the sky where some extra items could be easily collected to add to your high score.

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    The Copenhagen® $100,000 On-line Poker Championship

    A custom built online poker game was developed using Flash. The game action was driven via a messaging system that was in communication with custom built socket server. In other words the game proceeded based on instructions sent from the server as it moved the game along based on the replies from the game. For example betting or placing a card.

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    Coors® Get Some Summer Game

    A custom advergame developed in Flash where the player could walk around a party scene and attempt to keep everybody happy as they ordered specific Coors® drinks. You had to be fast since you can only carry so many at a time. Sometimes the customer would even compliment you!

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    Some Other Clients Include
    • Upper Deck
    • Nascar
    • Siemens Westinghouse
    • Fiserv
  • lock
    Government
    Contractor ( Developer )
    HTML
    JavaScript
    CSS
    ActionScript

    Daily duties included what ever I was told to do.

    Top Secret

    If I told you… Moving on. 😊

  • Disney Photo Imaging
    Contractor ( Developer )
    HTML
    JavaScript
    CSS
    ActionScript
    JSON/XML
    Photoshop etc.

    This was an off site project that was reported weekly. I attended on site meetings as needed.

    Disney Photo Store

    The goal of this project was to develop an online builder for the Disney Photopass holders to order customized Disney branded products. The architecture allowed various product builders to be utilized and loaded on demand. For example a photo book builder or a photo card builder. Photopass holders could enter the unique ID from their pass into the builder to access the photos that were taken during their visit to the parks as well as upload their own photos.

    I was responsible for the architecture and development as well as integration with the Disney API for displaying photos, specifying customizations and ordering products, etc.

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  • Squarefactor
    Owner and Developer
    HTML
    JavaScript
    CSS
    ActionScript
    Adobe AIR
    Flex
    C#
    Lua
    Python
    Django
    JSON/XML
    Photoshop etc.
    SQUAREFACTOR Demo Reel
    Tupperware Brands Confidence Center
    14901 South Orange Blossom Trail Orlando, FL 32837

    Tupperware created this center in order to celebrate and honor the company’s heritage as well as to convey and shine a spotlight on both its present and future endeavors of this American icon. I was responsible for the development and installation of the interactives. Most of them are included in the walkthrough below. In order to see the Photolier, look across the room at the 55 second mark. The interactives are content managed via a browser based admin website.

    • label_outlineProject Details

      The Tupperware Brands Confidence Center creatively combines historical narrative and visual storytelling through films and interactive media as well as changeable product displays.

      Multi-media screens and interactive touchscreen kiosks allow visitors to explore information on the company history, new products, worldwide associates, locations, and it’s future direction. To create a look and feel of Tupperware, all the exhibit walls are curved and the media blended into the environment. Curved media walls, spherical projections, and large interactive displays provide cutting edge engagement for visitors.

      Tupperware had two criteria for the project content: feature everything in four languages and have the ability to update it remotely.

      By displaying all the content digitally, we are able to have the visitor select their language and display graphically or apply the selected language as narrative. The remote content management system allows changes for special events and future growth which ensures the space is always up to date.

      Included are a variety of interactive components around the center. Guests can travel the globe on the large four-display interactive map wall, explore prominent bios across Tupperware Brands, test their Tupperware knowledge on one of several quiz stations, view many of the awards the Tupperware Brands have received and even take a photograph of themselves in front of various digital backgrounds which can be changed from a control panel on the wall next to them. They can even send the digital photograph to themselves to show off to their friends later!

      All of the interactive components around the center are content managed and can be updated via a password protected admin website.

      In addition to the interactives, a custom seven screen experience timed to props that light up at specified sections of the video is prominently displayed and surrounded by real world Tupperware examples. Using modern editing techniques, motion graphics, 4k Video production and collaboration with the programmers, a very dynamic experience was established.

    • label_outlineExperience Overview

      Most of the interactives at The Tupperware Brands Confidence Center use a touchscreen interface. Some examples of the features and hardware are:

      • Large format displays with touchscreen overlays
      • Large format heritage displays
      • An extra large multiuser wall interactive formed by four large format displays with touch screen overlays
      • Individual user touchscreen quiz stations
      • A ceiling mounted spherical projection
      • A video experience across seven large format displays
      • Rear projection digital scenery wall
      • Small format touchscreen control panel
      • Programmatically triggered digital camera and flash
      • Email take home option of digital photos on demand
      • Remote content management via a browser based admin website

      Tupperware Brands has been extremely happy with the results and continues to offer the public access to their heritage through this engaging experience.

    cloudDownload Case Study

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    South Texas Heritage Center
    The Witte Museum
    3801 Broadway St, San Antonio, TX 78209

    The Witte Museum, San Antonio’s premiere museum of South Texas history, culture, and natural science desired a large scale, interactive table as the centerpiece for the museum’s new South Texas Heritage Center.

    • label_outlineProject Details

      An interactive installation at the Witte Museum, San Antonio's premiere museum of South Texas history, culture, and natural science. The centerpiece features a map of all the oil wells in Texas plus historic photos and videos about the search for oil.

      The 60 inch multi-touch screen table utilizes a custom air application to launch a 27,188 x 20,951 pixel interactive map. Users have the ability to navigate through an aerial survey of 5 counties, showing property lines and corresponding natural gas and oil wells. Users begin their journey with a bird’s eye view of the San Antonio area, and have the ability to drill down to individual properties.

      Additional interactives include a photo gallery utilizing historical images to journey back to the heyday of South Texas oil drilling, cattle driving and life in circa 1800 San Antonio. Multiple users are able to interact with the images in concert, and photos can be enlarged, rotated and thrown across the table.

      The photo gallery is managed by a simple content management system which allows the museum to add or delete photos from a password protected admin website.

      Upon exiting the exhibit, visitors can contribute their own "South Texas Story". The kiosk encourages visitors to share tales of their family’s livelihood, or information about their life, family, culture or traditions.

    • label_outlineExperience Overview

      All of the interactives at The South Texas Heritage Center utilize a touchscreen interface. Some examples of the features and hardware are:

      • Several large format multitouch displays
      • Digital photo viewing and "tossing"
      • Data collection via a touchscreen exit kiosk
      • Remote content management via a browser based admin website
    3M Innovation Center
    St. Paul, Minnesota

    In order to help customers gain an understanding of the amazing 3M technologies, a new 3M Innovation Center was constructed in St. Paul Minnesota.

    Guests are greeted by a dark room and an overhead dome presentation. As the presentation is concluding, color coded light towers illuminate and flash then dim and the main lighting comes on. As the guests leave the domes area they walk towards several marble covered large format touch screen interactives where they can learn more about what technology is on display in the room. As they make color coded choices, the corresponding light towers illuminate next to the technology display location. Around the perimeter of the vast room are additional touch screen interactives highlighting various 3M technologies. I was responsible for the development and installation of the interactives.

    Building construction was ongoing during the interactives installation, so I have included a walk through video below from GOCO, the company we worked with on this project. I’ve even included a picture of me with my hardhat on.

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    Motorola Spressions

    Motorola wanted to provide tattoos and etching for several of their popular phones at the store in their Chicago office. Customers could choose from a variety of designs and print their custom tattoo or laser etch their phone while in the store. Additionally customers could download screensavers, wallpapers, etc. to their phones.

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    Bose Media System

    Bose was developing a sound system for the Ferrari Scaglietti and they needed a way to prototype the user interface. Using Flash and a custom USB input device from Bose I created a simulation of the various sections that would be available on the final unit. The head unit was to have a proximity sensor that allowed the screen to adapt as the driver reached for the controls. I really enjoyed this project.

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    Other Clients Include
    • Georgia Aquarium
    • Wendy's
    • Harmonic
    • RiteAid
    • Sonny’s BBQ
    • YAHOO!
    • Pepsi
    • Toyota
    • EA Sports
    • Burger King
    • KOHL’s
    • Buffalo Wild Wings
    • Cooper Tires
    • Stetson University
    • PalmerHouse Hotel
    • Mtn Dew
    • Hard Rock
    • FLVS
    • Zentila

    …and many more.

T here’s an App For This Website

Check back for progress on the app, which is under development.