Write In Stone

Hello

About

Stone is a product specifically designed to assist journalists in verifying their research. I began collaborating with Austin G. Mackell prior to developing the software by creating a marketing animation. Employing both 2D and 3D animation, I worked off a rudimentary storyboard to create a custom animation from scratch.

As we progressed towards our initial version, I constructed a WordPress website and produced preliminary designs based on the very first version, which was not my own work. Additionally, we adhered to a design language focused on 'real-world media' such as video tapes and screens, in tandem with the 'fossil metaphor' of 'sedimentary layers'. This lead us both to design some redundant abd complicated interfaces, and some more useful ones.

Our team relocated to Bermagui, where we were joined by developer Kee Fai, marketing specialist Daniel, and the talented Milan from Serbia.

Although the intricate designs I crafted were not implemented due to their complexity, the current version of the software you see today represents the fifth iteration of its design and the fourth iteration of my own design.

Eventually, I was tasked with creating the app using React. While I was not responsible for the initial outsourcing of the app's development, I assumed responsibility for its subsequent editing. Furthermore, I contributed to the creation of a Windows app programmed in C++ using a design language called XAML, which I would never want to use again (LOL).

I mention this to highlight that I had to learn React and the NoGS framework on the fly, without any prior training. This approach was remarkably inefficient but also exciting, as it ultimately led to my significant growth as a developer. In fact, my current development abilities are now a hundred times better than they were on that day.

Having grown up around computers and having a solid foundation in CSS and HTML, transitioning to front-end design was a challenging endeavor. I encountered various JavaScript pitfalls, including struggling to understand how functions operated. Nonetheless, my existing skill set allowed me to adapt and overcome these obstacles, as I methodically immersed myself in computer programming.

The web presence of Stone may be below standard, and I acknowledge that. However, since our focus was primarily on the technical aspects such as the video player, screen recording, and database, design considerations took a backseat. This was a reflection of our corporate culture, which prioritized technical proficiency, overseen by the lead programmer. Therefore, design aspects were not a major concern, and I felt that ideas for future enhancements were entirely within my domain.

Examples

Here are some reasons to use nested routes

• More logical content organisation (blogs will still be displayed based on the created date)
• Multi-part posts
• Different sub-routes for each author
• Internationalization (though it would be recommended to use Next.js built-in i8n routing)

Further Info

• The previous/next post links at bottom of the template are currently sorted by date. One could explore modifying the template to refer the reader to the previous/next post in the series, rather than by date.