2001 Kariya/Porritt Home Page and Nengaletter

More of the same...but different! The millennium edition of the New Year nengaletter plus dozens of new pages of family photos and stories! Now residing in a new and permanent family home! (http://www.kariya-porritt.com)

This is a family web site. Steve designed, developed, and programmed the site, and did all the writing, photography, and PhotoShop work.

Community House & Information Center

Steve helped plan and develop the concept for the site, worked on the committee that determined the content, and did all of the design work and initial page production. He also helped produce some of the content. Most of the pictures and some of the content on the site come from CHIC's Living in Kobe book, for which Steve also did some writing and most of the photography.

BuyJapan

A new internet shopping site for Japanese goods, including tableware, Japanese garden items, bonsai, clothing, interiors and art, and ceramics and pottery.

Steve served as a design and marketing consultant for this project, working with the Japanese designers at Studio I's in Osaka to develop a western-style, English-language shopping site.

Foreign Executive Women, Kansai

FEW Kansai is an organization offering foreign professionally focused women in Japan an opportunity to meet and share experiences with other women in similar situations.

Steve developed and programmed the web site from Kerstin Gordner's designs. Steve also provided advice and suggestions regarding the user interface and web design conventions.

Let's Talk with Puppy Dog!

A new entry in the rapidly growing field of video education, in this case, teaching toddlers their first words.

Steve helped design the video packaging, flyers, and other materials, and also designed and produced the web site.

Hakko

Makers of soldering equipment, This Osaka company has branches around the world and needed a web site that tied them all together as well as provided its customers with information about products and the company.

Steve helped plan the structure of the site, advised on content and design, and wrote all of the English copy for the corporate pages.

The FBC -- How did they do it?
Some of the biggest names in American business have come to Japan, strapped on their best running shoes and blasted out of the starting blocks, only to find themselves stumbling over hurdles and potholes that leave them far behind when the local favorites hit the fiscal year tape. Just ask Ford. Ask IBM. But along comes the tiny Foreign Buyers' Club and they proceed to tear up the track, posting numbers that are phenomenal by any measure.

Steve puts on his running shoes to learn the FBC's winning strategy for this story for the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan Journal.

Welcome to Gobo City!

Gobo is a lovely city of some 30,000 people located in central Wakayama Prefecture. With a long and colorful history, Gobo today is a popular destination among travelers hoping to see the "real" face of Japan. We hope you will come to know the charms of our city through this chronicle.

Steve developed the concept and designed and produced this example web site.

Coffee Anyone?

Japan's venerable but unimaginative coffee culture is about to get a caffeine kick in the pants. Starbucks has arrived. So has Gloria Jeans. So have home espresso makers. Prices are falling. The variety is increasing. And the coffee has never tasted so good!

Living Takayama

In most parts of Japan, they'll tell you how old everything is and once a year, they'll bring it out, dress it up, and put on display. In Takayama, the old ways have never been put away. Steve and family take a quick trip into the past in this story for the American Chamber of Commerce Japan Journal.

Rich Blumm

A personal/work web site for someone who no longer lives in Japan, so the site is no longer relevant or available. Ah, well, it WAS a nice web site design.

Steve developed the concept, created the design, and did all of the programming and page construction.

A Unique Espresso Experience! Take advantage of the growing espresso boom and turn heads as well as profits with our Double Decker Espresso Bars. These beautiful pieces of British history are totally mobile, have take-out and drive-thru windows and can seat 36.

Steve did a quick remake of the original 1-page site, enhancing the simple logo, adding animation, and touching up the photographs. Alas, they, too, have left Japan.

Comtec

Remember those horror stories about foreign companies trying to make a profit in the Japanese marketplace? They're all true.

But they didn't have to be.

We can help. We're Comtec. We help companies like yours make the most of this challenging but highly profitable market.

Steve developed the design and produced all of the pages for this small company in Kobe.

Associa Hotels & Resorts

Part of the JR Tokai group, Associa Hotels & Resorts offers confortable accommodations at 5 convenient locations in Central Japan.

Steve designed and produced the English-language portion of their web site.

Planners International

Rich Blumm (see his home page above) and I served as consultants on this project for the Kansai's largest realtor for western housing.

Resume

It's a brave new world of work out there. Thanks to the internet, one no longer needs to go to an office -- or even be on the same side of the world -- to be a productive employee. If you are looking for someone with experience in advertising, design, desktop publishing and multimedia, click here.