MeganJacoby.com
MeganJacoby.com

I don't do a whole lot of web work for free, but for a friend and an opportunity to experiment a little it's hard not to make an exception.

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I've known Megan since high school. We weren't always good friends but that changed around sophomore year. We eventually ended up in college together, graduated, and set out into the work force. She's off in New York trying to make it as an actor, and that's what this site is about.

If you ever meet Megan, there are three things you'll know about her within five minutes: she has two moms, she's deaf in her left ear, and she has Crohn's disease. While Megan always had a web site, the first of those three is what prompted an overhaul. When Rosie O'Donnell started her gay family cruises, Megan and her moms went on the first one. The cruise was documented by HBO and later shown on the channel and at the Sundance Film Festival. Before the showings, Megan wanted to make sure she was prepared for the publicity and asked me to help her out.

Because I was doing her a favor, she pretty much let me have at it. I tried to think of what would be fun for people to use and represent who she is. Scattered throughout the site are little pieces of her personality that you see as you move around. While she prefers the stage, it was much easier to represent the dramatic element by giving the site a cinematic feel. When moving between sections, the camera pulls out and sweeps from section to section.

Overall, the site is pretty simplistic but it's the little nuances that make it fun. The animation is one of my favorite parts, but the contact form is probably the most fun to interact with. Because the site acts like a bunch of things on Megan's desk, I turned the contact form into a little sticky note. When you type your message on it, you hear pencil noises. I recorded about 20 myself, picked six good ones, and randomized them. The realism really came from writing a small bit of code to make sure the previous sound clip was never repeated twice in a row.

This was, by far, one of the most fun projects I've worked on. Normally I don't like this much creative freedom, as I feel restrictions greatly aid the process, but knowing the ‘client’ so well made the vision simple and direct. While I've always made an effort to get to know my clients, I realized how vital it was to my process when working on this site.