Italian organic foods web site
I’ve launched my first bilingual web site, for Bottega organic foods. I created a clean looking design, with lots of white space to convey the purity of the organic products.
Language switching is automated: clicking “english” or “italiano” takes the user to the same page in the other language. This is more user-friendly than many sites, which force the user back to the home page to restart in the alternate language.
Writing on food, drink and travel
I write articles about food, drink and travel. I visit a region to experience the local cuisine with its wine and spirits. I write about the food and drink in the context of the region’s history and culture. Recent articles include one I wrote for a design magazine about Cognac (the drink and the place), and one on classic cocktails. You can see samples on my Writing page.
Client web site
I created a web site for the Homeowner Protection Office. The client wanted a conservative design. It’s a large site with several hundred pages, for which I created a sophisticated hierarchical menu system.
Re-design of wine web site
Noble Estates has a new web site. I redesigned the site with a new look. The original site I created served them well and garnered praise from their suppliers and customers, and it was time to freshen it up.
I’m a wine label photographer?
I know some of the folks at Pelee Island Winery, which features endangered native plants and animals on its labels. Their Trio white wine has a trillium (a native Ontario wildflower) on the label, and they needed something for the Trio red.
I knew of a patch of red trilliums (much rarer than the white variety) in the woods near my home that were blooming. The Pelee folks liked my photo, so it now graces their bottles.
Corporate culture and change management
Cadbury, the chocolate producer, merged with candy producer Trebor. They wanted staff input on the best way to combine the quite different cultures and methods of the two businesses to create an effective new organization. I facilitated several employee focus groups to enable staff to help create the new culture. Participants engaged in a variety of group exercises to discuss aspects of corporate culture and decide on the most appropriate new culture to achieve the goals of Cadbury Trebor Allan. I recently presented my findings and recommendations to the CTAI board.
“Alan helped us through a critical phase of culture development at Cadbury Trebor Allan. His report and recommendations were practical and action-oriented, enabling the Executive Board to set our future direction.”
Phil Buckley, Vice President, Organizational Development, Cadbury Trebor Allan.
Disclaimer
Have you noticed how many web sites now include a disclaimer? Typically it includes a lot of legal mumbo jumbo about how you can’t hold them to any of their promises and if you lose money or get killed as a result of the site then it’s obviously your fault. Well, I don’t have a lawyer and I don’t know why I need a disclaimer. But I don’t want you to feel cheated, so here is my disclaimer.