Changing How the World Works.
 
 
  • Feedback:   (3.45 of 5)
  • Percentile: 18%
    Based on 16 feedbacks
Hourly Rate: $52.22
Total oDesk hours:
92
Location:
Wilmington, United States (GMT-05:00)
English Skills: (self-assessed)
5.0
Member Since:
October 11, 2007
Last Worked:
August 19, 2008
Current Assignments:
1
Total Assignments:
20
oDesk Ready:  
Yes
 
 
 
 

Kevin Ard - Top-Shelf Flash Guy, that's what the Numbers Say. - Freelance Website / Graphic Designer, United States

I've spent the past x-number of years developing myself as a designer. My goal, at the onset, was to be limited only by what modern technology can or cannot do. I followed a very logical, well-engineered path of developing the creative, the technical, and the personal; repeating every step along the way. Now, at only 23 years old, I'm nearing full-circle. I suppose that's the benefit of engineering, as opposed to haphazard construction. 4/C Static (Print) Design was the start of it all....
See All Work History & Feedback (20 items, 16 with Feedback)
Recent Work History & Feedback
Buyer ID From/To Job Title Paid Feedback
29821 08/2008 - 08/2008 Flash Developer Needed $213 (6 hrs @ $35.56)
24347 08/2008 - 08/2008 Senior Actionscript Programmer $1,080 (18 hrs @ $60.00)
47934 06/2008 - 07/2008 Flash Actionscript 3 Consultant $181 (8 hrs @ $22.22)
38269 06/2008 - 07/2008 Flash Movie that can load external files $165 (fixed-price)
42555 05/2008 - 06/2008 Flash Slideshow Widget With Ad Refresh $515 (23 hrs @ $22.22)
See All Tests Taken (7 items)
oDesk Tests Taken
Name of Test Score Percentile Date Taken Duration
Adobe Illustrator CS3 Test 4.60 99% TOP 10% 2nd Place! 12/02/2007 32 min
Dreamweaver CS3 Test 4.50 98% TOP 10% 3rd Place! 01/31/2008 37 min
Adobe Flash CS3 Test 4.50 97% TOP 10% 12/02/2007 32 min
Adobe Photoshop CS3 Test 3.50 91% TOP 10% 12/02/2007 25 min
Adobe InDesign CS3 Test 3.60 86% TOP 20% 01/31/2008 29 min
Recent Candidacies
Job Opening Title Initiated By Date
Work on Pilot Project Buyer November 21, 2008
Job Category Interests

Web Development

Software Development

Graphic Arts & Design

Audio / Video & Multimedia
Skills
Skill Experience Level Last Used Description
3D Design 3 yrs 4.0 2007
3D Studio Max 9 1 yrs 3.0 2007
ActionScript 2.0 / 3.0 3 yrs 4.0 2007
Adobe CS2/CS3 5 yrs 5.0 2007
Desktop Publishing 5 yrs 5.0 2007
Flash 5 yrs 5.0 2008
Macromedia Studio MX 3 yrs 5.0 2007
Printshop Prepress 4 yrs 5.0 2007
Certifications
Date Earned Name Score Percentile Organization Description
No Certifications
Employment History
From To Company Title/Role Description
No Employment History
Education
From To School Degree Area of Study Description
10/2002 10/2005 Memphis College of Art Other Graphic Arts

[+] enlarge
  • Project Title: My SwfRes
  • Attachment: none
  • Completed: 08/05/2008
  • Category: Web Development > Web Design
  • URL: http://resume.5hyphens.com/
  • Description: It seems a little silly for a resume\portfolio to be in a portfilio - but it was worthy ;)
    It uses some pretty cool techniques. 
    The 'visibility' slider does all sorts of things at once.
     The gridsquares are smart; they're randomly placed but they ask the grid if anybody else is there before they get in a square, then they figure out where they are before they grow larger. That's pretty neat.
    On top of all that, it's asbout 90% dynamic; I could easily plug in a database back-end - but XML's working just fine for now.

[+] enlarge
  • Project Title: NexLev Slideshow
  • Attachment: none
  • Completed: 08/03/2008
  • Category: Web Development > Web Applications
  • URL: http://clients.5hyphens.com/nexlev/slideshow.html
  • Description: This is a seemingly generic slideshow app.
     It does the standard stuff: Autoplay, Pause/Play, Transitioning, All that Jazz.

     This one, however, is 100% CMS-integrated, using PHP/MySQL. The client uses it in Smarty, but I've also dropped it in Drupal. It's completely configurable from within the CMS admin panel, which is the main selling point.

     The transitions, instead of being basic shape tweens, are externally loaded SWF files. The advantage of that: New transitions, of any complexity, can be built and configged in a matter of minutes.

     Of course, with all that going on, the images and their data are loaded from the Database. Naturally, how that happens is also CML-integrated.
 
  • Project Title: The Fizz Framework
  • Attachment: none
  • Completed: 07/09/2008
  • Category: Software Development > Scripts & Utilities
  • URL: none
  • Description:
    ::TOP SECRET::
    ...but here's the jist:

    It could be called a Start-It-Yourself(SIY) Framework.

    Imagine a GUI that lets you build a full-featured, completely dynamic Flash Website from scratch - I mean absolutely full-featured...as in database connections and customized rich media installations - all by yourself. 
    Complete with One-Click automated publishing from the Desktop application to your web server.

    I'm building a framework around a user-friendly code language (also, that I built) that promises to give you full-enough access to Flash's internal APIs without any special software at all. 
    I'll build a GUI app to make it a pretty package; but, like HTML, you can really produce with a text editor - it's being done today, and not only by me; a select few untrained clients are testing user-friendliness...and they're producing.
    There are actually a number of Fizz sites out there today.You've probably seen one...but, regardless of you're background, you'd never know - they look and act exactly like traditional Flash sites. After all, they are traditional Flash sites; they're just built very untraditionally.
    Now, That's a DIY framework.

    But What's An SIY Framework?

    Fizz is a modular system.
    And it's open enough that, if you so choose, third-party developers are free to build custom, at spec modules for your site.

    Right now, it's version...roughly, 0.15.
    Until later, it's top-secret - don't tell anyone I said anything.

[+] enlarge
  • Project Title: Abbott For Senate
  • Attachment: none
  • Completed: 07/08/2008
  • Category: Web Development > Web Design
  • URL: http://abbott4senate.com/
  • Description: Client Background
     Rich Abbott is a leading Delaware Senatorial Candidate in the 2008 election. As evidenced most prominently in this year's Presidential Campaign; a web presence is becoming increasingly influential in politics, as in everything else.

     Project Info
     This site is a good example of a mid-budget project. 
    Though it's built on a generic Flash/ActionScript/PHP/MySQL platform, it's relatively full-featured.
    Continuous revisability was far more important to Mr. Abbott than streaming video, so rich media was traded for 100% dynamic text/images/all data.
     It also uses live database connections for each and all of the forms; as opposed to the traditional eMail system. 
     To aid the not-so-tech-savvy of his staff, I've built a custom PHP back-end to the site; to allow authorized volunteers to access the database without feeling like they're accessing a database.
 
  • Project Title: Digital Positions' News Header
  • Attachment: none
  • Completed: 06/26/2008
  • Category: Web Development > Web Design
  • URL: http://clients.5hyphens.com/dpatlanta/
  • Description: Digital Positions, an Atlanta web development studio, needed a Flash guy in a crunch (A Flash conference was in town, so the whole company called in sick). I pulled through, and gave them this....

[+] enlarge
  • Project Title: Ohana Cos. Green Calculator
  • Attachment: none
  • Completed: 05/15/2008
  • Category: Web Development > Web Design
  • URL: http://everybodywins.com/apps/greenCalc.html
  • Description: This is a data visualization app I built for Ohana Companies.

    The purpose of the project was to illustrate the environmental impact of national retailers' use of paper rebate platforms; or, more specifically, the benifits of using Ohana's "Everybody Wins" system.

     The app makes good use of a number of technologies and techniques, many of which are highly proprietary.

    To learn more about Ohana Cos and their "Everybody Wins" consumer rebates platform, have a look at http://everybodywins.com

[+] enlarge
  • Project Title: 5hy dotcom
  • Attachment: none
  • Completed: 04/25/2008
  • Category: Web Development > Web Design
  • URL: http://5hyphens.com/woodland.html
  • Description: This is my personal site, yet another work-in-progress ( I swear, I do finish projects; I'm just not afraid to show a good direction )

    As-is, it makes nice use of random animation (see the leaves, and the content background). Also, it instantiates a rather abstract draggable interface, of my own development.

    With further development of the draggable UI, and some 3D integration advents; a full re-design is in the works. 

    In the meantime, it's okay; in the future, it will be stunning.

[+] enlarge
  • Project Title: Orange Entertainment
  • Attachment: none
  • Completed: 03/19/2008
  • Category: Web Development > Other - Web Development
  • URL: http://clients.5hyphens.com/orange/54500/site.html
  • Description: This link is to an aborted work-in-progress.
    Even in its partially-finished state, it shows many signs of promise.

    Utilizing streaming media, an intuitive user interface, tasteful visual effects, and dynamic data; this one was sure to be a show-stopper.

    My contribution, on the flash designdevelopment end, was 100%.
    Outside of my working scope, however, I made a 0% contribution (ie: the videography, audio production)

[+] enlarge
  • Project Title: DentalCare London
  • Attachment: none
  • Completed: 02/12/2008
  • Category: Graphic Arts & Design > Illustration
  • URL: http://dentalcarelondon.com/pages.php?id=80
  • Description: The DCL site represents one of my few forays outside of the Flash world; and into static design, and on to pure information design.

    I don't claim responsibility for any of the PHPHTML design, but much of the graphics work here is all my fault. I should point out the map on the 'Travel' page ( which the project link directs you to ); it's the highlight of my contribution.
Hourly Assignment History
Buyer ID From/To Job Title Paid Feedback
29821 08/2008 - 08/2008 Flash Developer Needed $213 (6 hrs @ $35.56)
24347 08/2008 - 08/2008 Senior Actionscript Programmer $1,080 (18 hrs @ $60.00)
47934 06/2008 - 07/2008 Flash Actionscript 3 Consultant $181 (8 hrs @ $22.22)
42555 05/2008 - 06/2008 Flash Slideshow Widget With Ad Refresh $515 (23 hrs @ $22.22)
18097 02/2008 - 02/2008 Document Typesetting $300 (9 hrs @ $20.00)