Category: Portfolio

A portfolio is a collection of documents, projects, and accomplishments, typically presented in a visual format to showcase one’s skills and experience. It can be used to demonstrate a range of talents and demonstrate a person’s qualifications for a job, career, or educational opportunity.

  • The Magic of Local Connections: How a QR Code Saved the Wizard Pants Party Band’s Website  

    Local Bloomington musician Andy Cobine had been working with GoDaddy’s marketing experts to build a new website for Wizard Pants Party Band since November 2022. After numerous parleys with GoDaddy and bestowing several hundred gold coins for marketing aid, he began to question if his endeavor would ever take flight.

    Linking the Physical and Digital Realms – David Martin Design featured in the Ryder Magazine with a QR Code

    Andy found David Martin Design’s QR Code in the June 2023 edition of the Ryder Magazine. This was his maiden encounter with a QR Code and, after laying eyes on the advertisement numerous times, he found himself muttering, “I must summon him, I must summon him indeed.”

    The Ryder Magazine - June 2023 - David Martin Design ad with QR Code
    The Ryder Magazine – June 2023 – David Martin Design ad with QR Code

    David was able to aid Andy in his quest to navigate the bewildering sea of technological enigma, understand his initial efforts, and identify the paths towards crafting a professional portal where folks could listen to and acquire his band’s harmonies.

    At one point during their collaboration, a perplexing email issue arose which left Andy flustered. This is when David stepped in, not just as a designer, but also as a “tech therapist.” He was able to quickly diagnose the problem, navigate through the complex systems, and propose an effective solution – successfully restoring deleted emails. David’s calm and collected approach amidst the chaos served as a reassuring presence, reminding Andy of the importance of patience and perseverance when facing such enchanting complications.

    Connect the dots, la la la ♪

    Bloomington, Indiana, a town known and celebrated for its close-knit folk, was fittingly illustrated in David’s fellowship with Andy. It’s a community where connections run deep and serendipity is more common than not. In a twist of fate, David recollected having played some of Andy’s sire’s melodies (the legendary minstrel Al Cobine) during his school years. This heartwarming memory further solidified their partnership, exemplifying the interconnected ties within their community.

    Student & Teacher – David often expresses a profound appreciation for his diverse clientele, who not only provide an opportunity for him to experiment and innovate but also to learn and grow. His approach to clients is both educational and collaborative. On one hand, he imparts his insights and best practices, honing their understanding of the intricacies involved in web design and digital marketing. On the other hand, each unique project and its challenges push David to keep expanding his knowledge base and maintain his edge in the rapidly evolving digital world. This symbiotic relationship underscores his philosophy that design is not simply a service, but a journey of shared discovery, fostering stronger relationships and better outcomes.

    The Gateway to Better Selections – In this age of boundless etheric commotion, David’s wizardry served as a lighthouse, a testament to the might of camaraderie, and the living embodiment of the perfect duality of the tangible and intangible realms.

    From their joint adventure, David worked intimately with Andy to traverse the vast array of available choices for the band’s new website. They explored various options for website building, email management, payment gateways, social media, and marketing. David’s comprehensive approach demystified the confusing technical details, helping Andy make informed choices tailored to his creative journey. With skillful navigation of the complex digital world and an empathetic, patient approach, David offers a model for a more human-centered approach to tech-based solutions, highlighting the advantages of a local, personalized service over impersonal global providers.

    This entire experience came full circle back to the Ryder Magazine and the QR code that prompted Andy’s initial call. It was a reminder of the incredible value of keeping business local and collaborating with Bloomington’s local service providers. In an era of digital overwhelm, David’s guidance served as a beacon, a testament to the power of community, and a symbol of the seamless blend of the physical and digital worlds. This story resonates with the unique relationship between David and Andy, highlighting the importance of bridging both the physical and digital realms in today’s interconnected world. It serves as a testament to the success of local businesses supporting each other, underpinning the vibrant culture of Bloomington, Indiana.

    May this tale serve as a testament to the magic that can arise when the tangible and intangible, the real and the digital, the old and the new are woven together with skill, care, and a deep sense of respect for the community. This yarn of collaboration is not merely about the crafting of a mere portal, but about the creation of harmonious connections, the bridging of gaps between the mundane and the mystical, and the reinforcing of community ties.

    We invite you to experience the magic for yourself. Visit https://wizardpantspartyband.com/

    Also, check out their new QR code that we created. Test it out!

  • Introducing Michael Dopp’s Transformed Website: Powered by Jarod Maxwell & WordPress

    Welcome to the new and improved website of artist Michael Dopp! We are excited to show off the new redesign created by Jarod Maxwell, a senior at Indiana University.

    Michael Dopp’s website now features a modern WordPress platform, making it easier and more efficient for Michael to showcase his artwork and share his stories with the world. The WordPress platform makes it easy for Michael to quickly and easily make changes to his website. With the power of WordPress, he can easily update images, add new blog posts, and manage any new information.

  • A Fresh New Design, Email, & Web Hosting Platform for IUStudentApts.com

    We are proud to announce the launch of their newly redesigned website. In a few short weeks of work with David Martin, IUStudentApts.com has developed a website that offers a modern, intuitive, and streamlined user experience.

    Newly Redesigned Website Powered by WordPress

    The newly redesigned website is now powered by WordPress, a feature-rich and secure content management system, allowing for a seamless transition to the optimal online rental experience. The website’s intuitive user interface and optimized search functions make it easy to find the perfect rental for students at Indiana University. In addition, the website has been optimized for SEO, ensuring high rankings in search results and easy access to IUStudentApts.com’s rental offerings.

    Enhanced Productivity with Email, Forms, & a Google Workspace For Their Domain Name

    In addition to the website redesign, IUStudentApts.com is now using Google Workspace for its email accounts. This lets users securely access their emails from any device without needing to install any software.

    Using Google Forms for their website contact forms allows users to provide their information quickly and securely. This ensures that all inquiries are answered in a timely manner and customers see a swift response from the IUStudentApts.com team.

    IUStudentApts.com can enjoy a stress-free technology experience with advanced security, collaboration, and productivity features with Google Workspace.

    Google Analytics to Track Website Performance

    Google Analytics allows IUStudentApts.com to track and analyze website performance. This allows the team to better understand how customers are interacting with the site and make adjustments as needed for improved website usability. They can now see the metrics that matter most, such as page views, average time spent on site, and conversions.

  • A New WordPress Website for Artist & Musician Henry Leck

    A New WordPress Website for Artist & Musician Henry Leck

    David Martin Design has launched a new WordPress website for Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington member, Henry Leck at https://henryleck.com.

    Henry Leck Website Screenshot
    Henry Leck – Artistic Director & Internationally Recognized Choral Director
    Visit https://henryleck.com

    It was a challenge at first to figure out how to best work together due to the Covid-19 pandemic and technology restrictions. We began with a Google Meet and it was great to meet online. It was really easy to use and helpful to see Henry face to face and to be able to share screens with each other.

    Henry’s New WordPress Website

    Henry and David discussed where it was best to store information for the new website. Using a shared Google Drive folder, Henry could upload photos of his artwork, an Excel spreadsheet of inventory, and a Pages file of painting information. After securing the digital workspace folder it was time to work on developing the website content. Henry & David created a very organized Google Sheets spreadsheet, assigned SKU numbers, and developed product descriptions, captions, and filenames based on the shared online inventory catalog.

    Optimized Filenames with Keyword-Rich Information

    David renamed all of the images with the sku number and hyphens between keywords that would describe each one. Instead of uploading an image from the camera with a default name like “IMG6480.jpg”, it’s important to rename the image henry-leck-art-195-Harbor-Scene-after-C-Curry-Bohm.jpg so if someone were searching for this type of image it would be more relevant and come up in a search.

    Organized WordPress Pages, Posts, Tags, & Categories

    After learning about search engine optimization (SEO), Henry understood the importance of optimizing images with keyword-rich file names, optimizing title tags, using headings, meta tags, the taxonomy of WordPress pages, posts, tags, and how to name categories. After organizing all of this information, it was clear that David could begin building the website.

    Preferred Domain Name: HenryLeck.com

    Henry let David know that he had worked with a web designer previously and they decided to try and recover the old domain rather than starting out with a new one. This was an important decision because not only is it better for branding, but how long a domain name has been registered for is definitely a search engine ranking factor.

    Fast Web Hosting with David Martin Design

    After transferring the domain registration and updating the contact information, David set up a new cPanel business web hosting account and pointed Henry’s domain to his new web hosting server. The web hosting service that David Martin Design provides includes a FREE SSL certificate, email service, spam filtering, and lots of other great features.

    After installing WordPress and configuring the optimal settings David built all of the pages, posts, categories, and tags. David installed the WordPress Twenty Twenty theme and worked with Henry to choose the preferred layout and colors. David set up plugins for website security (WordFence), spam (Akismet), SEO (Yoast SEO), and others to add more options to his WordPress website.

    Tracking to Understand How Customers Use The Website

    In addition to building the website it’s important to track how it performs. David setup Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Microsoft Clarity for Henry in order to see reports about how people interact with his website.

    David & Henry have built a great website at https://henryleck.com and we hope that you’ll go check it out and see what you think.

    About Henry Leck

    An internationally recognized choral director, Henry Leck is a professor emeritus in choral music at Butler University, where he served on the faculty for 27 years. He is the Founder and Conductor Laureate of the Indianapolis Children’s Choir where he served for 30 years. He has conducted on podiums throughout the world, and still finds some time to teach, conduct, and edit.

    Since Henry’s “semi-retirement” in 2016 he has taken up painting …. oil painting to be specific. While continuing to conduct, teach, and edit music, painting has quickly become one of his passions in life. He is an active member of the Upland Plein Air Painters and the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association.

    We invite you to learn more about what Henry likes to paint.

    Art (97)