About

Jacob Theo

Purpose

Jacob Theo is online for two reasons. First, it serves as an online portfolio for my work in design and Family & Consumer Sciences. Second, while it is not exactly a personal site, it does allow me to blog about related interests, including family life, technology, art and design, and the web.

About Me

I put up my first web site in late 1999. Since then I have been involved in numerous design projects, ranging from political organizations and educational projects to fan sites. Currently, I work at Educational Communications, developing web sites and online courses for the University of Idaho. I have been working there since 2004. Jacob Peterson

I’m interested in many aspects of photography and design and I often incorporate my own photography into designs. I try to look outside of the box by using web standard code including XHTML and CSS, using a unique combination of color and black and white, and using simple and elegant pieces of work that bring balance between content and design.

Family & Consumer Sciences

In late 2008 I will receive a B.S. in Child, Family & Consumer Studies - Family Life Option from the University of Idaho. Current activities include American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences, GLBTA, Inland Oasis, and FACE (see projects.)

I am interested in several areas of research, including LGBT and minority parenting, film creation in the context of early child development, work and family issues, intimate relationships, consumer and economic issues, and at-risk youth and violence in families.

Résumé

Download the Résumé
Download the Curriculum vitae

Philosophy

I believe in separation of content and design. As such, I use web standards when designing, including the use of CSS, XHTML, and using animation and other new technologies sparingly. No two web browsers are the same and that’s why I design for Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Opera — the four most common web browsing technologies. Note: Firefox and Safari are my browsers of choice.

I always check and recheck pages for spelling and grammar. My compulsive, perfectionist personality traits make me pay great attention to detail and do things like set dimensions in even numbers, clean up code, order things coherently, and move things around until they’re “just right.” Most designers are perfectionists but not all designers are good spellers. Take the best of both worlds.