What do I do?  Allow me to break it down with some neat icons and less words...

  • Research

    Quantitative and Qualitative. From requirements gathering with stakeholders, to competitor and interview analysis, all the way through usability testing. Buzzwords included.

  • Wireframes

    It all starts with a pencil and paper (and a ruler because I like straight lines). Sketches to wireframes using Axure or UXPin, to create the necessary floor plan for a website.

  • Prototypes

    A dry run, if you will, of the final product. Paper sketches to wireframes to interactive (click-through) using Adobe software. An essential step in the process.

  • Front-end Development

    HTML5, CSS3, LESS, JavaScript, jQuery, and so much more. I haven’t found a front-end framework or JS library I can’t learn to use before you can say “AngularJS?”

  • Responsive Design/Development

    Mobile-first approach, using frameworks such as Foundation and Bootstrap. No framework? No Problem. CSS Media Queries are my jam. I make sites look good at every window size, for every modern device and browser. Guaranteed.

  • Content Management Systems

    You need a “big site with lots of stuff”, and you need to manage the content? Using a CMS is your best bet. I’ve worked with many myself; WordPress, Kentico, Umbraco, and Joomla to name a few.

What have I done lately?   Check out these projects, click to read more:

  • More coming soon!
  • ShoreTrips - Site Rebuild Research, Architecture, UX, Wireframes, UI Design, Front-end Development
  • Stella & Chewy's - UX Improvements UX, Research, Wireframes
  • BuySeasons Inc. - Page Templates Front-end Development
  • BuySeasons Inc. - Re-platform Project Research, Architecture, UX, Wireframes, UI Design
  • BuySeasons Inc. - Cart & Checkout Rebuild UX, Research, Wireframes, Prototypes, Front-end Development
  • BuySeasons Inc. - CostumeExpress Responsive Front-end Development
  • Lightburn Designs - MRMC Resource Guide Front-end Development
  • Lightburn Designs - PADRM Front-end Development, CMS

As promised, more about me...

  • My name is David M. Krause, better known as Dave
  • I've been designing and building websites professionally for about 12 years
  • I grew up in Appleton, WI
  • I like building all kinds of things
  • I recently settled down in Aurora, CO
  • Hobbies include: hiking, exercising, woodworking, baseball, writing, reading, anything outside
  • This is Leonidas, better known as Leo
  • He's been slobbering and chewing on things for 7 years
  • He's from Sparta, WI
  • He can easily fit 2 tennis balls in his mouth and is always striving for 3
  • He has an insatiable love for playtime, and food, and balls
  • Hobbies include: balls, frisbees, swimming, playing in the mud, garbage, bones, barking at neighbors, sleeping

Ready to talk?

✖

ShoreTrips

ShoreTrips.com is a local Milwaukee company that sells shore excursions for cruise passengers and other travelers. The site was originally built over 10 years ago and required a complete rebuild. Working with the IT Director and stakeholders, we determined the project requirements. After doing research and competitor analysis, I planned the architecture and created wireframes for each page. While working on the UI design, I mentored a junior designer working on her first website. Once everything was approved, I built prototypes of all of the pages from scratch. Throughout the build I worked directly with the back-end developer and led weekly presentation meetings with stakeholders.

shoretrips.com

Technology: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript/jQuery, MVC ASP.NET

Skills: Research, Architecture, UX, Wireframes, UI Design, Front-end Development

Software: Axure, Adobe Photoshop and Dreamweaver, MS Visual Studio, Confluence

Industry: Travel

Stella & Chewy's

Stella and Chewy's is a local Milwaukee area company that makes raw pet food. They needed UX recommendations to improve various areas on their website and help direct customers to brick and mortar stores where their products could be purchased. I audited their site, researched their products, then did affinity/competitor site analysis. Using that information I created a list of recommendations with supporting wireframes.

stellaandchewys.com

Skills: Research, UX, Wireframes

Software: Axure, MS Word

Industry: Pet Food

BuySeasons Inc. - Page Templates

BuySeasons is a Milwaukee area internet retail company that specializes in costumes and party supplies. They needed clean, responsive header and homepage templates that could be used on their 3 main retail websites. Based on provided wireframes and designs, I built the header, which included a new main menu for desktop and mobile. Then I built the homepage templates, customized them for each site, and lastly, trained a coworker on how to edit them.

buyseasons.combuycostumes.combirthdayexpress.comcostumeexpress.com

Technology: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript/jQuery

Skills: Front-end Development

Software: Adobe Photoshop and Dreamweaver, MS Visual Studio

Industry: E-commerce

BuySeasons Inc. - Re-platform Project

BuySeasons started a re-platform project in 2015 to completely rebuild all of their websites. Unfortunately, this project was scrapped right before we were about to begin development, but I gained valuable experience throughout the 6-7 month duration. I worked on a 3-person UX team with a Senior Architect and UI/UX Designer. We split the project duties to gather project requirements, research, wireframe, and design the UI for 3 new B2C websites and 1 B2B website. Our UX team operated with other teams in an Agile environment.

buyseasons.combuycostumes.combirthdayexpress.comcostumeexpress.com

Skills: Research, Architecture, UX, Wireframes, UI Design

Software: Axure, JIRA, Confluence

Industry: E-commerce

BuySeasons Inc. - Cart & Checkout Rebuild

BuySeasons' B2C websites were experiencing higher than average cart abandonment rates. User tests showed us that promotional codes were difficult to enter; the checkout pages were too long of a scroll, and the UI was inefficient. After researching, I created wireframes, followed by prototypes. The new checkout experience included a modal window that appears after the user adds an item to their cart, a mini-cart for quick viewing, and new cart and checkout pages.

buycostumes.combirthdayexpress.comcostumeexpress.com

Technology: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript/jQuery

Skills: UX, Front-end Development

Software: Axure, Adobe Photoshop and Dreamweaver, MS Visual Studio

Industry: E-commerce

BuySeasons Inc. - CostumeExpress.com Responsive Update

CostumeExpress.com was not mobile friendly and needed a quick fix for an outdated site. Using CSS media queries and jQuery, I made this site fully responsive in a short time, with no designs provided.

costumeexpress.com

Technology: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript/jQuery

Skills: Front-end Development

Software: MS Visual Studio

Industry: E-commerce

Lightburn Designs - MRMC Resource Guide

While working at Lightburn Designs in downtown Milwaukee, I helped build a Resource Guide page for the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center based on provided wireframes to replace an outdated version.

Lightburn Designs MRMC Resource Guide

Technology: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript/jQuery

Skills: Front-end Development

Software: MS Visual Studio

Industry: Medical

Lightburn Designs - PADRM

While working at Lightburn Designs, I worked on 4-person Agile team to create a website for a local law firm (the name has since changed).

Lightburn Designs pamhlaw.com

Technology: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript/jQuery, Kentico CMS

Skills: Front-end Development

Software: Adobe Photoshop, MS Visual Studio, Confluence

Industry: Legal