The Rivers Voice – 2004

As a result of its work with Susan Werner, Breaking Orbit was approached by The River’s Voice to develop their initial website and establish an online presence. The musical duo, already with several CDs to their name, sought to create a new digital identity to promote their music and upcoming events. Breaking Orbit delivered a forward-thinking design featuring semi-transparent navigation and static background elements—an innovative approach at a time when such features were not yet widely supported by web technology.

Worldmaking – 2004

Breaking Orbit was hired by Rich Colligan of The River’s Voice to create a website for his website to support his Theology thesis work. The primary challenge for this website was to design an audio player that could be used to play tracks like a jukebox. The player was custom designed using Flash, and allowed for any MP3 to be loaded into the directory for automatic playback on the site. The player also pulled MP3 data to present the song title as part of the layout. As with The River’s Voice site, this technology was created before it became a popular trend.

Nicolas Bearde – 2004

Nicolas Bearde is a solo musician who has also performed as a part of Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra. Breaking Orbit was hired by Mr. Bearde to produce artwork for his second CD release, “All About Love.” In addition to producing the artwork for the CD packaging, we also produced a new website, coordinating the launch with the CD release date. The biggest challenge in creating the website was in customizing an embedded MP3 player that would work on all pages and would be a part of the page design throughout the site.

Nicolas Bearde – CD Packaging

We created all of the CD packaging artwork for Nic’s second album release.

Dr. Brenda Wade – 2005

Breaking Orbit was hired by Dr. Brenda Wade to create an internet presence to support her book sales and new PBS special. There were two websites required for Dr. Wade. The first site was intended to serve as the front end for her Heartline Productions side of the business. This site needed to reflect the current design already in use for other marketing materials, and would serve as an informational site for Dr. Wade’s appearances and seminars. The second site was to coincide with the release of Dr. Wade’s PBS special and book, Power Choices.

Dr. Brenda Wade – Professional Website

Clinic Salutaris – 2005

Dr. Nayfeld approached Breaking Orbit to create a website for her up-and-coming chiropractic office. The website needed to be simple, providing information about location, services, and the doctors in the office. Additionally, Breaking Orbit was asked to customize the office forms used at the clinic so that the doctors had something that worked better for their record keeping. The customized forms had to follow standard chiropractic records, but needed to have several items changed to meet the requests of the doctors using the forms.

Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense and Education Fund – 2005

Breaking Orbit was hired by the Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense and Education Fund (MBELDEF), a non-profit, to create a website that would allow members to access newsletters and casework, find references, join the organization, and receive alerts or participate in intiatives based on their membership. The casework and newletters were all transcribed and cataloged for use on the site, and the website was built so that only those members who were logged in were able to access those features. This site also had to be updated by non-technical personal as the organization continued its work, so it was built on a content management platform that would support all of the site’s features while enabling new content creation and deployment by administrative staff.

J’LaChic – 2005

Breaking Orbit was initially hired to create branding and a website for J’LaChic, an event promotions company. I coordinated with the client to determine style preferences and requirements for design and corporate look and feel for the company’s branding and website. After approval of a logo and a basic design plan, the wesbite was created and launched using the best technology available at the time. The primary requirement was that the site needed to convey style and sophistication while making the information easy to access for site visitors. Following the intial site launch, Breaking Orbit was contracted to design promotional materials for specific events hosted by J’LaChic. These materials included advertisements for web and for print, brochures, flyers, menus and table tents to be used at the events, as well as posters that could be blown up and posted at event sites and around town for promotion.

J’LaChic – Winter Wonderland

J’LaChic – Print Ads

Life! The Musical – 2005

As a follow-on to work already done for J’LaChic, Breaking Orbit was asked to create a website for LIFE! The Musical, and independent production to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims. The site had to feature expandable bios for the cast and crew, as well as a video player that would automatically load and play from a list of clips or as a visitor selected a specific clip. As with all event sites, ticket sales were a prominent feature on each page to allow visitors to make their purchases easily.

Johnny Trotman – 2005

In addition to his work with J’LaChic, Johnny Trotman also had a thriving solo career. Breaking Orbit was hired to produce an internet presence that would support Mr. Trotman’s solo career while also providing for links to his joint endeavors with other musicians and promoters. The website featured a custom audio player as well as a stylized photo gallery and updatable calendar to allow visitors to find upcoming shows. The primary challenge was to create a unique design that reflected sophistication and style but also the fun that Johnny T was always known for.

Gold Gate Group Tickets – 2006

To support it’s group ticket sales and promotions, GGGT contact Breaking Orbit to provide a unique internet presence. The site needed to allow for easy updates by admin staff with limited technical knowledge and needed to allow for payment of tickets through Paypal or via phone.

Theatre 39 at Pier 39 – 2006

In the midst of it’s successful run of Menopause The Musical, Theatre 39 contacted Breaking Orbit to revamp its existing website. The design needed to reflect the modern space and needed to highlight the current productions as well as the availability of the space as a rental venue.

Rebecca Cooper – 2006

Breaking Orbit was asked to provide a website to promote the spoken word performance art of Becca Cooper. While the site was a design was not complex, the challenge was to represent the passion of the artist in a simple way.

Streets2Studios – 2006

Breaking Orbit was again contracted to create an internet presence for the folks at J’LaChic. Streets2Studios was a community outreach program to help take kids off the street and introduce them to the production side of the music industry. Breaking Orbit designed the first website with an eye toward bringing more members of the community into the effort.

Down Broadway – 2006

J’LaChic contracted with Breaking Orbit to provide a website for a special production with a multi-show run at the Zebra Lounge. In addition to providing the look and feel for the site, Breaking Orbit was tasked with providing all printed materials to be used for performance evenings, including menus, posters, and other coordinated items. Design work included creating the look-and-feel for all print work based on the show’s content and message.

Visioning Realities, Inc. – 2007

Based in Oakland, California, Visioning Realities, Inc. was a full service multicultural marketing and entertainment company, providing upscale event productions, custom entertainment and gifting services. Raye Mitchell, President and CEO, a Harvard Law School graduate, also owns The Mitchell Law Group, PC which is one of a few African-American woman owned full service entertainment and business law and intellectual property firms in the country. Breaking Orbit was tasked with creating the branding identity for VRI as well as several other projects that were launched by VRI. The biggest challenge was to create consistency in branding so that off-shoot projects could be recognized as parts of their original, parent company.

VRI – Branding Consistencies

The Fine Art of Living Well Magazine – 2007

As a part of its work for Visioning Realities, Inc., Breaking Orbit was asked to create magazine layouts for the first two printed issues of The Fine Art of Living Well magazine. Article content and images were provided by the client, but Breaking Orbit created the base layout and spread variations to maintain the overall feel of the magazine. Advertisements were included, and final artwork was provided to the printer, ready for production. As with other projects for VRI, Breaking Orbit was asked to create a design and layout that would maintain the parent company’s identity in branding.

The Fine Art of Living Well Magazine – Article Layouts

The Fine Art of Living Well Magazine – Article Layouts

The Fine Art of Living Well Magazine – Article Layouts

We used InDesign to get the magazines print ready. We had to create several layout templates to allow for all of the variety in content.

Miss Kitty and the Big Dogs – 2007

Breaking Orbit was asked to provide a website for an up-and-coming swing band in the Bay Area. The idea was to create a fun site that would allow the band to promote itself and shows while allowing for a fluid transition of different artists and guest artists. Included in the site were a photo album, video player, event calendar with the ability to update by non-technical administrators, and links to branded merchandise.

Northern CA Fencing Division – 2007

Breaking Orbit provided a complete website re-design for the Northern CA division of the US Fencing Association. The primary goal was to create a modern look for the site and to make the information easy to find for members. The site was create using Joomla as a content management solution to make it easier for non-technical staff to keep content updated and fresh. The template was customized so that it provided a clean interface and an engaging site for members.

The Shannon Rider Band – 2007

Breaking Orbit provided a complete website re-design for the Shannon Rider Band to continue the band’s promotion and internet presence. New features for the website included a customized audio and video player to allow the administrators to upload files to a directory and have those files automatically added to the playlist. MP3s and video file data is read by the player to present titles and playback information without requiring extra programming or manipulation of the code by an administrator.

American Fencers Supply – 2007

Breaking Orbit was asked to create modern looking print ads for American Fencing Supply.

International Union of Operating Engineers Local 39 – 2008

Breaking Orbit was asked to provide Flash-based animations to support the Local 39 Training Department’s online course offerings. The Training Department expanded its offerings to online courses in an effort to save money by offering non-instructor led courses for basic continuing education to its membership. In doing so, Breaking Orbit was asked to replicate cases that might have required lab hours for students in a way that would allow them to have a “hands-on” approach without having to actually go into a lab. The first of this work involved replicating chemical testing procedures for a Steam Boiler Water Treatment course. There were 9 lab tests that students were expected to understand, and those tests required that the student be able to simulate their experience in the lab environment. Additional animations were created to support the student’s learning experience and to demonstrate more complex concepts for the course.

Eclectic Cookery

We were hired by Eclectic Cooker to provide an internet presence to allow this commercial kitchen co-op to expand their business. The website needed to allow for membership/guest signup, space rental, and more information about the facility to be easily accessed by visitors.

Sensory Revolution – 2008

The owner of Sensory Revolution had already created a product line with custom designed packaging. Breaking Orbit was asked to provide a website that incorporated that packaging into its design, allowing the business to continue to expand sales. Online sales and integration social media were integral parts of this website deployment.

Kitchen Courtesan

Kitchen Courtesan contacted Breaking Orbit to design a website and logo. The site was the initial internet presence for the company and was intended to help launch the business.

Trina Hamlin

In support of a new CD release, Trina Hamlin requested a full website redesign. The site needed to mimick the look and feel of the new CD artwork. In addition to the design implementation, Breaking Orbit also created a custom Jukebox feature and video player along with a custom event calendar that would allow administrative staff to keep the calendar updated without having to have a technical background. Special features for the calendar element also included links to purchase tickets as well as brochures and a longer description for events.

Julia Biber – 2009

Julia Biber is a teacher and performing musician. She requested a website design from Breaking Orbit to help her with self-promotion and to allow her to continue to build on her teaching and performing schedule. The design was intended to promote her classical music training and background with an element of modern sophistication that is echoed in her performances and session work.

Rob Handelman and Connie Louie – 2009

Rob Handelman and Dr. Connie Louie are both fencing masters with extensive training and coaching experience. In 2009, they set out to write a book to help others learn how to fence and how to teach fencing to young athletes. Following their continued success with the sales of their first book, Rob and Connie wrote a second book for foil fencing in 2015. Breaking Orbit provided the design for the cover art, and all of the book layout masters for both books. Final artwork was provided in a PDF and a print-ready format that could immediately be put into production.

Rob Handelman and Connie Louie – Book 2

Second book, completely different cover.

SF Youth Fencing – 2009

Following the launch of their first book, Rob Handelman contacted Breaking Orbit to build a website for SF Youth Fencing. In addition to providing a site where parents could get information about the youth sabre program, the site would also be a sales mechanism for Rob and Connie’s books. The website included sales integration with PayPal, a customized contact form allowing parents to get specific information for their kids, and general information and photos for the youth fencing program.

Natalia Zukerman – 2009

To support a new CD release, Natalia’s manager contacted Breaking Orbit to set up a website template for a musician’s website service. Breaking Orbit was tasked with customizing the template and CSS to create a layout that was in-line with the branding and design of the new CD.

The Buzz About – 2009

Through it’s connection with Susan Werner, Breaking Orbit was contacted by The Buzz About’s founder, Lisa, to design and build a new website. The primary focus of The Buzz About is artist interviews and music reviews. Breaking Orbit was asked to provide guidance on hosting requirements for site that would be video-heavy as well as to create a video playback mechanism that could be highly customized and easily added to by non-technical staff. To support this, the site was created in Joomla. Extensive template work was done to achieve the design requirements. The video player was an out-of-the-box plugin solution that also required extensive customization.

Halberstadt Fencers’ Club – 2010

Breaking Orbit was hired by Halberstadt Fencers’ Club to create a new, modern website that would allow the fencing club to continue its promotion and provide members with current information. The unique challenge for this site was to create a membership portal to allow members to pay for their membership and lockers online.

Halberstadt Fencing Foundation – 2010

No site is too small for Breaking Orbit. Small designs can pose their own unique challenges. In keeping with a simple design concept, the website built for the Halberstadt Fencing Foundation only needed to provide some basic information about the organization, but in a way that was still engaging for prospective donors.

Burchell Carpentry

Breaking Orbit was hired to create a logo and website for Burchell Carpentry. The logo needed to be simple and needed to include the license number. Additionally, we needed to include information about the Simpson Strong Tie certification and same photos and videos.

Skip Shurtz – 2011

Mr. Shurtz relocated and was seeking a way to improve his outreach and self-promotion. He hired Breaking Orbit to build a website that would allow him to showcase his prior achievements and current teaching offerings for prospective students. In addition to creating the website, Breaking Orbit also scanned in a large number of photos and retouched many of them for inclusion on the site.

Ellen Bukstel – 2011

Breaking Orbit was hired to update a website for Ellen Bukstel and to incorporate content from two additional sites. The client had very specific guidelines about layout and function for the website. We had to overcome several major obstacles in order to achieve the look-and-feel that the client wanted in a template that would work consistently across browsers and platforms. At the client’s insistence that they not have to hire someone to maintain the site, WordPress was used to keep updates as easy as possible.

Ellen Bukstel – 2011

Kagi – 2011

Kagi approached Breaking Orbit to provide consulting work on design and implementation of a website redesign. The design needed to be colorful, yet simple and everything needed to work within a templating framework. The front page featured a rotating header and random member company logos present on each page load.

Kagi – 2011

Park Street Antiques – 2011

Breaking Orbit was asked to create two print advertisements for a local shop. The work needed to be print-ready, but most importantly, it needed to utilize only two images and be completed with a fairly small budget. Just as no project is too small, no budget is too small to accomplish one’s goals.

IUOE Local 39 Training Department – 2012

Beginning in 2012, Breaking Orbit was contracted for extensive IT work and projects relating to online course creation and delivery. Following several projects where Breaking Orbit provided elements for individual courses, the Local 39 Training Department asked Breaking Orbit to provide direction regarding their website and hosting for online courses as well as for the Training Department in general. The first project was a complete website redesign for the Training Department. This redesign would include the ability to allow for online course registration and payment as well as provide a central location for apprentices and journeymen to access other services provided by the department.

IUOR Local 39 Training Department – 2012

Interactive Math Refresher course built as a part of the department website

IUOE Local 39 Training Department – 2012

IUOE Local 39 Training Department – 2012

Mid-2012, Breaking Orbit began work on installing a Moodle Learning Management system (LMS) that would eventually be home to all of the online courses for the Training Department. To save the department approximately $10k per month, the LMS was migrated from a hosted solution to one that the Training Department hosted and managed. All of the existing courses were migrated to the new platform and all of the existing student transcripts were migrated. The new Online Learning Center was linked to the Training Department website with a single-sign in system, allowing students to login in a central location and have that login persist to the Learning Center. With the launch of this system, the department was now able to offer registration and payment for online courses and enrollment within a 24-hour period to those course following membership verification. During the next 3 years, Breaking Orbit would also create the initial 30 online courses.

IUOE Local 39 Training Department – 2012

IUOE Local 39 Training Department – 2013

In 2013, the Local 39 Training Department was issued a grant by the Department of Energy to create a Building Retuning course for medium- to small-sized commercial spaces. This course was intended to expand on the content that the Department of Energy was already using for its own online course for larger commercial spaces. Breaking Orbit was asked to set up a standalone iteration of the same Moodle LMS (open-source) with a customized front-end. The Retuning course would be the only one offered on this platform, but the course would also link later to an online tool that would allow students to gauge their energy improvements while taking the course.

IUOE Local 39 Training Department – 2013

IUOE Local 39 Training Department – 2013

Breaking Orbit was tasked with managing a project to create and implement an online Blue Book utility for the Local 39 Training Department as a part of its Apprenticeship program. The tool requirements were extensive. Initially, the tool was intended to allow apprentices to enter their work hours relating to their Apprenticeship. Because there were multiple programs comprising the Apprenticeships, additional categories for hours worked had to be accommodated on a per-student basis. Chief Engineers or Supervisors had to be able to login and approve reported hours, locking those hours to further changes by a student. Reports had to be created to allow students, chiefs, and admins the ability to analyze the data being provided. In 2013, Breaking Orbit launched the first iteration of the Blue Book. Changes to the project were made regularly over the next two years.

Words to Play With

Breaking Orbit was asked to provide a simple but elegant site for a copy editor seeking new clients.

West Berkeley Fencing Club

Breaking Orbit was tasked with the creation of the first website for West Berkeley Fencing Club. Because our founding member was also a coach at West Berkeley, she also provided much of the print work and pre-press materials in the early days of this club.