Songhay System Web Sites
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
In the heyday of HTML slinging, I was deeply involved in the corporate world of Information Technology. I had no real interest in being a freelance web designer because I knew, from building my first web site, kintespace.com, that maintaining the data surrounding all those pretty graphics is quite a chore. I am not a love-them-and-leave-them kind of guy: I want to be able to provide my clients with something they can maintain themselves. Failing that, I want the client to have at least entry-level HTML and/or XML experience to maintain the web-based solution—because a real web site is never finished, it is only abandoned.
Things have changed for the better since 1998, when kintespace.com was first designed and launched. PHP and mySQL make it possible to have live databases supporting the web site for “free” (due to the open source nature of these tools). This new development is typified by the Songhay System 2002 web projects (including this web site). Macromedia Flash MX finally provides serious data-centric solutions as well as visual design tools and these developments are starting to enhance Songhay System web sites—starting with megafunk.com and more webs to come.
CAAM.ca.gov
Project Start Date: 2003
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This site is the official web site of the California African American museum. It is based on “classic” ASP from the 1990s (due to the state-run service hosting the web site) and runs on a budget-conscious Access MDB file (again, due to technological limitations imposed by state officials). The data is edited offline with our custom SQL-Server-based web data editor, which writes an Access MDB file to disk via DTS. After the MDB file is compacted, it is uploaded to the live site. This cleanly separates the data management from the visual design as much as possible, allowing any museum data-entry people to maintain the site. Certain visual elements (such as the “splash” image on the home page) can be updated on the fly by uploading images to selected directories. The ASP code can load the images from these directories randomly, making the site as lively as the museum staff wants. The CAAM logo was designed under the auspices of the CAAM board of directors. The Songhay System visual design of the web site intends to be a “seamless” extension of this logo design. This is another way to reduce cost by not requiring the web designer to develop the look and feel of the company web site from scratch—a logo that might have been created for some envelopes can be repurposed for the Internet and other digital media. |
| Graphic Design, ASP Coding and Database Design | Bryan Wilhite, Songhay System |
|---|---|
| Graphic Design and Information Design | CAAM Staff |
| Status | As of this writing, the Songhay System design has been removed due to state budget cuts. The site has been marked “under construction” with our anonymous tax dollars. |
FreeStyleMega.com
Project Start Date: 1999
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This site serves as a “portal” for all things R/Kain Blaze that can be digitized. Currently what is featured here is his professional work in DVD production, print publishing and filmmaking. |
| Graphic Design and HTML Coding | Bryan Wilhite, Songhay System |
|---|---|
| Information Design | R/Kain Blaze, F/M2 Publications |
| Status | As of this writing, the original Songhay System design has been slightly altered by the client and the site is live. |
kintespace.com
Project Start Date: 1998
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This site is my “first love” in the world of the Web. To keep costs down, it is maintained by an offline database. It follows that this site is based on the publish-dynamic-serve-static model. I am certain that many professionals look down on this model as they fail to understand that this site is 95% database driven—offline. The data behind the site is maintained via a private (offline) web server connected to a database. What is seen live is merely a snapshot of the database. By having static pages, the site is not too intimately tied to the ISP hosting the site. Static pages (files) are easier to move around than databases and scripts. This is a “poor man’s way” of setting up a site in a professional manner. The visual design of this site changes frequently. Look for the “design diaries” on the space time page chronicling the inspiration and exasperation behind these designs. |
| Graphic Design, HTML Coding and Database Design | Bryan Wilhite, Songhay System |
|---|---|
| Information Design | Bryan Wilhite, Songhay System |
| Status | As of this writing, the Songhay System design is in place and the site is live. |
mEgaFunK.com
Project Start Date: 2002
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This web site marks the second collaboration between Songhay System and F/M2 Publications but is the first to be built on PHP. There is a Richard Avedon whiteness about the visual design meant to let the original photography playfully jump out at the viewer. Our Flash MX Toolkit was put to good use in the new MegaFunk Gallery featuring the photography of R/Kain Blaze. This Flash solution is data-centric such that the gallery section can be maintained by the photographer—not the web programmer. All he has to do is edit an XML file, create JPEG images and upload to the web server. This is quite an accomplishment in view of the “traditional” use of Flash which far more static and sealed off from all but the expensive web programmer—or the even more expensive web designer. This old-school way of building Flash sites often leaves them abandoned. In addition to the sumptuous photography, this site features musicians Muata25 and rasx. |
| Graphic Design and PHP Coding | Bryan Wilhite, Songhay System |
|---|---|
| Information Design and Original Photography | R/Kain Blaze, F/M2 Publications |
| Status | As of this writing, the Songhay System design is in place and the site is live. |
songhaysystem.com
Project Start Date: 2002
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This is the official company web site featuring in-depth articles about the enterprise data solutions and digital media production constantly being perfected in stone tribal moves. The entire web site is driven by a live mySQL database and PHP. |
| Graphic Design, PHP Coding and Database Design | Bryan Wilhite, Songhay System |
|---|---|
| Information Design | Bryan Wilhite, Songhay System |
| Status | As of this writing, the Songhay System design is in place and the site is live. |
This document was last reviewed on Tuesday, June 29, 2004 at 09:03 PM PDT.
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The information provided by Bryan D. Wilhite at kintespace.com is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. In no event shall Bryan D. Wilhite or any of his affiliates be liable for any damages whatsoever including, but not limited to, direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages due to material published by Bryan D. Wilhite or any of his affiliates.