Nathan Koch

Selected Work

1. Purina

   http://purina.com
   

   I worked at a high level on Purina.com, leading between one and four other front-end developers throughout the site build process. Part of this process was working on high-level site architecture with the back-end developer, as well as coordinating the addition of huge quantities of content to the site. I was most hands on with the JavaScript code for the Breed Selector, which was a small Ajax-driven application built to be as modular as possible to accommodate future re-use in other product selectors.

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2. Beyond Grammar

   http://beyondgrammar.com/
   

   Helped a client with every aspect of his web presence. Worked with the client extensively on content strategy and search engine optimization, before assembling a simple-yet-elegant design that seemed brand-appropriate. Developed simple managed-content back-end in Django to support the site, leveraging mostly Flatpages as well as a contact form. Wanted to work within a small budget, but to leverage a framework that would allow for additional features like user login and payment.

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3. CatChow

   http://catchow.com/
   

   I led the front-end development, estimation, prototyping, and architecture of CatChow. I was heavily involved early in the prototyping phase, as we explored solutions for the interactive ajax-driven search box on the homepage.

   I remained on the project as a lead front-end developer, coordinating the HTML and CSS build as well as both coding and delegating a lot of the JavaScript/jQuery work. I worked extensively with the back-end developers to ensure maximum code-reuse and maintainability.

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4. WagWorld

   http://wagworld.com/
   

   WagWorld was the first large scale Ajax-driven application I've worked on. The amount of front-end functionality, from using the Google Maps API to Ajax form-validation and submission handling, was staggering.

   Because I had my hands full coding the JavaScript (using jQuery / jQuery UI), I led a team of three HTML/CSS coders who covered the majority of the buildout for the site. My time was split between managing my team and writing the behavioral code for the app.

   I also enjoyed more creative freedom on this project than most others at Arc, which included being involved in the creative stage to contribute to interaction design.

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5. Amana Color

   http://amanacolor.com/
   

   Amana Color was a fun project- a heavily interactive two page microsite that I finished in one week. It had a mix of drag and drop functionality leveraging jQuery UI, some complex DOM manipulation, and a Web 2.0-ish feel.

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6. SMF Studio

   http://smfstudio.com/
   

   I coded the SMF studio for a freelance client front-to-back, working off of some design sketches. The site is powered by CodeIgniter / PHP5 / MySQL 5. This was my first foray into coding a dynamic, database driven website, and working with CodeIgniter helped keep my code in order and to abstract some of the complex form handling in the admin tool.

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7. Fancy Feast

   http://fancyfeast.com/
   

   Fancy feast was an interesting challenge because of the amount of dynamic text in Helvetica Neue. We elected for a sIFR solution that worked quite smoothly on all the product detail pages. The "Add to List" functionality was also a chance to do some Ajax interactivity, and there is other JS functionality peppered throughout the site - tooltips, etc.

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8. Friskies Blog

   http://friskies.com/blog/
   

   The Friskies Blog was an easy build thanks to a straightforward design style and no Ajax functionality.

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9. Healthful Life

   http://healthfullife.com/
   

   Healthful Life was my first large project at Arc. Initially a brochure site, it did have some interactivity courtesy of the Prototype JavaScript framework. Also my first introduction to working with the .NET platform.

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