Resume

It's a brave new world of work out there. Thanks to the internet, one no longer needs to go to an office -- or even be on the same side of the world -- to be a productive employee. If you are looking for someone with experience in advertising, design, desktop publishing and multimedia, click here.

2003 Kariya/Porritt Family Site

This is a family style web site. Steve designed, developed, and programmed the site, and did all the writing, photography, and PhotoShop work.

A Canadian client with a need to update their pool construction web site. Still a work in progress, but it already looks pretty darned impressive!

An English school run out of a home, GHS wanted to freshen up their site to attract students to their new location. Using an iWeb template as a foundation, Steve quickly rebuilt the entire site and even added a few new marketing ideas.

James Ross-Nutt/Rich Associates

An announcer-narrator in the Kansai area, James was looking for a way to both advertise his services and provide a means for clients to see and hear samples of his work. This web site is the answer. Steve developed the design, reworked the logo, put together the vioce samples/photos, and created this highly effective site -- one of the first of its type in Japan. How long did it take Steve to put this together? One day. (Really!)

Amagi

An industrial machinery designer/manufacturer, they make the machines that make the chocolates, candies, and cakes you buy at your local confectionary shop. Amagi needed a quick make-over to replace a decidedly old-fashioned site that had severe compatibility problems. Steve whipped up this site in a few days with the movie-making help of Friend Ian. The organic shapes and bright colors contrast nicely with the hard steel of the machinery.

Japan Import Mileage Check

Another "quickie" for a client in the used car export industry, this simple site needed to stop people in their tracks, get them to read the copy, and try the service. Steve designed and constructed the site and wrote the copy. Friend Ian did the database and PayPal programming.

4-Wheelers Japan, Ltd.

This company exports used Japanese cars to the U.K., New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. They needed a site that provided information about available cars as well as allowed overseas customers to place orders. Steve designed and constructed the stie and did the Flash animations, while Friend Ian did the behind-the-scenes 4D database work.

Let's Talk with Puppy Dog!

A new entry in the rapidly growing field of video education, in this case, teaching toddlers their first words.

This is the new, completely revised version of the site, and introduces several new products. Steve designed and produced both versions of the site, and helped write the copy for the sites and the various package inserts and brochures.

Tokyo Tourism Webstation

This site in Tokyo needed an emergency rewrite of several pages on the site -- in two days. Steve rewrote the copy, inserted the copy into the site's web pages, and delivered the pages to the client with time to spare.

Asterix, Inc.

Community House & Information Centre (CHIC)

Steve helped plan and develop the concept for the site, worked on the committee that determined the content, and did all of the design work and initial page production. He also helped produce some of the content. Most of the pictures and some of the content on the site come from CHIC's Living in Kobe book, for which Steve also did some writing and most of the photography.

BuyJapan

A new internet shopping site for Japanese goods, including tableware, Japanese garden items, bonsai, clothing, interiors and art, and ceramics and pottery.

Steve served as a design and marketing consultant for this project, working with the Japanese designers at Studio I's in Osaka to develop a western-style, English-language shopping site. Alas, the business closed before the site really got started.

Foreign Executive Women, Kansai

FEW Kansai is an organization offering foreign professionally focused women in Japan an opportunity to meet and share experiences with other women in similar situations. The group needed a way to quickly disseminate information to their members as well as gather feedback from members and sign up new members.

Steve developed and programmed the web site from Kerstin Gordner's designs. Steve also provided advice and suggestions regarding the user interface and web design conventions.

Hakko

Makers of soldering equipment, This Osaka company has branches around the world and needed a web site that tied them all together as well as provided its customers with information about the company and its products.

Steve helped plan the structure of their first site, offered advise about the content and design, and wrote all of the English copy for the corporate pages.

The FBC -- How did they do it?
Some of the biggest names in American business have come to Japan, strapped on their best running shoes and blasted out of the starting blocks, only to find themselves stumbling over hurdles and potholes that leave them far behind when the local favorites hit the fiscal year tape. Just ask Ford. Ask IBM. But along comes the tiny Foreign Buyers' Club and they proceed to tear up the track, posting numbers that are phenomenal by any measure.

Steve puts on his running shoes to learn the FBC's winning strategy for this story that was published in the Journal of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.

Welcome to Gobo City!

Gobo is a lovely city of some 30,000 people located in central Wakayama Prefecture. With a long and colorful history, Gobo today is a popular destination among travelers hoping to see the "real" face of Japan. We hope you will come to know the charms of our city through this chronicle.

Steve developed the concept and designed and produced this example web site.

Coffee Anyone?

Japan's venerable but unimaginative coffee culture is about to get a caffeine kick in the pants. Starbucks has arrived. So has Gloria Jeans. So have home espresso makers. Prices are falling. The variety is increasing. And the coffee has never tasted so good!

Living Takayama

In most parts of Japan, they'll tell you how old everything is and once a year, they'll bring it out, dress it up, and put on display. In Takayama, the old ways have never been put away. Steve and family take a quick trip into the past in this story for the American Chamber of Commerce Japan Journal.

Rich Blumm

A personal/work web site for someone who no longer lives in Japan, so the site is no longer relevant or available. Ah, well, it WAS a nice web site design.

Steve developed the concept, created the design, and did all of the programming and page construction.

A Unique Espresso Experience! Take advantage of the growing espresso boom and turn heads as well as profits with our Double Decker Espresso Bars. These beautiful pieces of British history are totally mobile, have take-out and drive-thru windows and can seat 36.

Steve did a quick remake of the original 1-page site, enhancing the simple logo, adding animation, and touching up the photographs. Alas, they, too, have left Japan.

Comtec

Remember those horror stories about foreign companies trying to make a profit in the Japanese marketplace? They're all true. But they didn't have to be. We can help. We're Comtec. We help companies like yours make the most of this challenging but highly profitable market.

Steve developed the design and produced all of the pages for this small Kobe company, which recently underwent a major overhaul and is now operating under the Edute name.

Associa Hotels & Resorts

Part of the JR Tokai group, Associa Hotels & Resorts offers confortable accommodations at 5 convenient locations in Central Japan.

Steve designed and produced the English-language portion of their web site.

Planners International

Rich Blumm (see his home page above) and I served as consultants on this project for the Kansai's largest realtor for western housing.