About Tony Mommsen

Simplifying the web.

E-commerce
Long ago while designing catalogs for Fingerhut Company I begged my way onto the the brand new web development team. We sold excess merchandise through andysgarage.com. A website run by fictitious characters: Andy and Gert in the fictitious town of South Branch Minnesota. We had deal of the day, auctions, weekly deals and even celebrations. We even created a special wall hanging site where shoppers could see how there hanging would look on walls made of brick, wood or other materials.

University
I was then hired the redesign the top level pages at the University of Minnesota. At that time most colleges organized their sites by audience with an area for students, staff, faculty, alumni and guests. This created a lot of confusions because many services are used by more than one group and many people are members of multiple groups. An alumni or staff member can also be a student and members of every group use the library. So, I redesigned the site based on services and university units. With the new design a visitor did not have to self identify before finding what they needed. While at the U of M I worked to created a unifying graphical banner and styles for the many colleges and departments. I also designed many sites for special events like: The U of M at the State Fair, Construction and Safety sites, Football Bowl sites -- back in the day when the Gophers played in bowl games.

Independent Web Designer
For the last nine years I have been on my own. Designing sites and providing marketing and communication for colleges, non profits and businesses in all areas including retail, medical, legal and creative fields.

Standard Approach
For most site I have used the development approach most designers use: Interview client, learn about their business, work to get at their needs for a web site, put a proposal together, establish project requirements, mock site up in Photoshop, get client's feedback, revise, convert Photoshop layout to WordPress. This process is critical for large project like a university or hospital site.

Responsive Web Kit
The Standard Approach is great for big projects but may be overkill for a smaller site. Not long ago it occurred to  me there are basic functions most small organizations need in a web site.
1. Look great on smart phones and ipads
2. Easy to edit
3. Blog
4. Photo galleries
5. Forms
6. Slide Show (adds dynamics to the home page)
7. Analytics
more on Responsive Web Kit