Updated 06/15/12
SITE IS NOW LIVE
http://www.chefgarvin.com
It was a long hard road, but the day is finally here! Spoke with Gerry last night, and he gave the green light to make the site live. He's suppose to be appearing on the Today Show today (not sure if live or if its being taped), and they will be announcing the site, so hopefully that ends up being a good look for us.
The site is far from finished, but that first major milestone has been completed and the fun part begins. So everyone please visit, sign up, leave feedback, (CLICK THE LIKE & FOLLOW BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM) and spread the word!!
This will probably be the last update to this thread, but I'll still stick around for comments and questions. I have more projects in the pipeline so expect similar threads, but for now I just want to thank everyone for their kind words and support.
Now with all that being said... I got a bottle of Stella Rosa thats calling my name, so I'll holla
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Updated 06/11/12
Another update, and again, sorry for the delay. I intended for this thread to be regularly updated, but shit just got waaay too busy for me. Anyway, we initially planned for an April/May launch, but ran into a huge delay in the development process which set us back.
The main cause you ask: DEVELOPERS NOT DELIVERING ON THEIR ASSIGNED TASKS
We began building this project using the CakePHP framework, given it was a pretty mature framework and robust enough to handle everything we planned to do. Problem was, only 1 of our developers was familiar with CakePHP, and as a result the majority of the development work landed on his shoulders. Why is this a problem you ask? Well given the size of this project, AND him also having a full time job, he got overwhelmed pretty quick and it took it's toll on the overall progress of the site.
I could go on and on about this and all the fuckups that happened as a consequence, but overall I'll chalk this up as a fault in my leadership skills. Given they are far better than I on the programming end, I put waaay too much trust/power in the hands of my developers when I should of been directing them from the jump.
Anyway, as a result, April arrived and we didnt have a site ready (not even close). Thankfully I saw this coming early on and in March, I began working on a custom framework that all of the developers would be comfortable working with. When we didn't have a site ready in April, I pulled the team in for a meeting... the following occurred:
- went over what has been accomplished thus far
- refused to give a single fuck to any bullshit excuses they came up with
- explained the ramifications of this fuckup which led to the site not being advertised on G's new show, and also makes us look bad in the eyes of the client
- pointed out that, if we can't even deliver on making a fucking WEBSITE (which is what we do), theres no point in them being part of this company
- showed them the framework
- gave them an ultimatum, if they want do be a part of this, you gotta deliver. We have just as much talent, and skills as any startup getting millions right now. The difference with them is THEY DELIVER. They make that initial investment of time and hard work because they believe in what they are doing. If you guys aren't willing to do the same, you don't need to stick around. But if you do want to stick around, I'm not holding your hand anymore. DO WORK!
Thats it in a nutshell. From there I got them on the new framework immediately. Gerry was already busy as all hell so he wasn't really concerned (as far as timeframe goes). We spent the next month (May) rebuilding the site on the new framework, and improving the framework altogether (so it can be re-used in future projects) and we now are ready with a launch-able product.
So at this point, I'm just adding content, doing some photography work, and cleaning the site up so we can launch. It's not perfect, and theres probably some things we overlooked, but I think it's good enough for the initial launch. I'll be going over the site this week with Gerry to get a green light on the launch date.
Below I provided some shots of the site in it's current form and some of the photo sessions. Feel free to provide any feedback and I'll have a link up for you guys sometime this week.
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Updated 02/29/12
Sorry for the delay fam. Here's another quick update. Site is nearing completion, and we plan to launch sometime in March. From a development standpoint, this site is complicated as hell. We had to make it vastly scalable, and easy to manage without a dedicated staff. So we had to develop a pretty complex foundation to build everything off of. Its coming along nicely, and I'm pretty proud of what we've been able to accomplish in hindsight (*patting self on the back).
Anyway, we've locked down the design for the most part and are currently implementing the database. There is probably 1 more round of design work that needs to done, just to wrap up all the loose ends and complete sections of the site that need some visual elements (the nav, icons, buttons, banners, etc.). After that I'll be doing some photography for store items, recipes, etc.
In respect to the amount of time we have to get the site up, we may limit the features on launch to just news articles and recipes. As time progresses, we'll be adding cooking lessons, recipe responses from users, videos, etc..
G's show on the Cooking Channel should be airing again in April so having something up before then is a must, and there are some marketing strategies we have planned that need time for execution as well. But all in all, things are looking good. The site is up on our test server right now, but I'll wait until we get the site completely functional before I start sending out links. I'll keep you guys posted.
BTW I provided some visuals of the site's progression below.
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Updated 11/16/11
Quick update. Site has been progressing, but some client projects fell in our lap over the last few weeks, so we've been having to juggle our time between the G. Garvin projects, and the new client work. It's been manageable, but development suffered somewhat and has fallen behind schedule. Fortunately, these client projects will use the same framework as the Chef Garvin site so we will be able to transfer a lot of the code over, which will save us a ton of time and allow us to get back on schedule.
As of right now, the data model has been completed and I knocked out the first design comp for the site. I'll be sending the visuals off to G later this week for his input, once I knock out a few existing issues with the design. I thought I would give you guys a sneak peek, and maybe get some feedback.
Overall goal on the design end, is to avoid having the site look "cute" which is usually the case for most cooking sites.
Instead I wanted it to look a little more edgy, and masculine. So I'm using sharp lines (no bevels, shadows, or curved corners), strong serif type (helvetica, sf arborcrest, etc.), bold colors (avoid pastel shades), and large imagery. Example below:
I'm not totally satisfied with the design, as the nav/header needs work and I may need to implement some bolder elements to separate sections, etc. etc.. But all in all, things are still looking good and I should have several visuals to present before the week is out. Gerry isn't scheduled to be shooting more episodes for his new show until March/April of 2012, so we have plenty of time to get the site up and get some momentum going before he starts mentioning the site on TV. As far as the current state, design is moving forward, development is probably about 2 weeks behind, but should catch up within the next 2 weeks once the tasks on the client projects clear up. For now focus will be on visuals, ux, and content.
Feel free to ask any questions (if anyone has any). Next update will be coming soon.
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Updated 10/26/11
Completed another meeting earlier this evening, and things are moving along smoothly. I sent G. a bunch of hi-res photography of some of his recipes he provided me when I worked on his original site a few years back. Main purpose was for him to send me recipes for each photo, but he recommended he just send me the books that these recipes are located in, and I can reference the recipes directly from his publications (works for me). They should be showing up in the mail within the next week.
As far as development is concerned. I met with my team today for another weekly meeting. We ironed out all the requirements and features we plan to launch with. For the next week, I'll be implementing the requirements into our project management system (I hate Trac btw), and from there we will verify the milestones I've set, begin data modeling, and start handing out development tasks. As of now we plan to build the site using CakePHP, HTML5, and Javascript. Development-wise it all seems pretty straight forward, and once we start programming, I'll be directing my focus on design and usability. But thats probably a couple weeks away from the looks of things.
So far so good I would say. Here's a little tidbit on a few features we plan to implement, FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE YOUR FEEDBACK:
- Shopping List
If you saved multiple recipes to your account, there will be a feature that will automatically generate a shopping list for you, based on the ingredients of the recipes you have saved to your account (there may be a couple sites out there that do this, but our implementation should be much better).
- Interactive Cooking Steps
Certain cooking steps within a recipe will allow you to click on them for further detail. For example, lets say if a step requires you to preheat a skillet, clicking that particular step will display a small video in a modal popup window that explains the best ways to preheat a skillet, what kind of oils to use (when/why), and how to identify when its fully heated.
..We got a bunch more features we plan to add, some of which we may actually apply for patents on (we'll look into it first of course). But overall, things are looking good. Stay tuned for future updates.
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Updated 10/4/11
Wrapped up the first of many meetings to come. Mainly just brainstormed ideas, went over numbers (site visitors, monetization opportunities, ad revenue), potential features, etc.
You guys would be surprised in the amount of stuff G has his hands in. Everything from HBO, TV Shows, DVD's, Books, Restaurants, Catering, you name it. And don't get me started on some of the ideas we got planned. I SWEAR THIS SHIT IS GONNA DEAD ANY FOOD SITE OUT THERE, LOL.
Anyway, the main issue right now is developing content, so at the moment I'll be compiling a list of content we need, and also go over all the photography we currently have of his dishes, and send them to him for recipes. Later this week, I'll be getting my team together to start hashing out code for the site, and I'll be working on conceptual designs. Once we got the groundwork laid out, I may end up flying out to Atlanta to shoot some video with G.
Overall goal of the first project (new website) is to give people more access to G. and allow them to get a better sense of all he does. So you'll be seeing a lot of article pieces from him, blog posts, restaurant reviews, you name it. We also are gonna focus a lot of attention on his recipes, and make them a lot more informative and easy to follow (I want to do more than your typical pic/ingredients/steps). Also plan to implement a lot of features that will allow people to interact with the recipes, improve their cooking skills, know what to buy when going to the store, etc.
It's gonna be a lot of work, but I definitely believe this will pay off once we get if off the ground. Also, if you guys have any recommendations you would like to see, feel free to share. We really are trying to build his brand and expand his online presence, so getting the fans on board is a good thing.
Anyway, thats it for this update. I'll keep updating this thread as things progress.
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50/50 split on all products my company creates for his brand!
For all those who want more details, I can't disclose too much. But basically we (I) designed his current site and have been managing it for a while. Basically he partnered with my design company and we'll be creating a number of web (social network, online storefront, etc.) and mobile app (phone, tablet, etc.) related products.
He recently signed onto the Cooking Channel for a new show (premiered a few weeks ago), so we are hoping to take advantage of that audience, along with his currently established fan base.
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Let us know what stores or site your products will be in.
