Fresco Designs: Always fresh, sometimes cool…
Martín Fernández
Back in the mid 90s, shortly after I had left the Army, I had the opportunity to start my own consulting business. It was during the peak of the dot-com bubble, and well before it burst in the early 2Ks. Beyond web work, I was also doing a lot of project management, graphic design, photography and video work for various clients. My clients included some large International Organizations, like The World Bank, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and local businesses (Acterna, JS Audio, TutorFind, Sideout Technologies and the National Figure Skating Association) among others.
My consulting endeavor needed a name and coming up with it was a bit of a struggle. Once my home office was set up, my wife and I put our heads together and finally came up with a word that “defined” how we felt about our new enterprise: Fresco.
How did we land at that word? Randomly. We consulted a Spanish/English dictionary and blindly opened a couple of pages until on the second or third try my finger landed on the word…
fresco [frés-ko] adj. (bastante frío) fresh; cool, calm; forward, bold; m. coolnes; unruffled; buxon, ruddy; cheeky, fresh; estar fresco to be in a fine pinch
It was a no brainer - I checked for the domain’s availability, purchased it immediately and Fresco Designs was born.
We operated under the moniker for a little over a decade until 2008 when I decided to pull the plug and get a job with the Federal Government at the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA).
Fresco Designs was promptly retired after I joined DoDEA, that’s when I began using the byname FrescoVA as my online persona. It’s been that way ever since, albeit with a couple of additions, including the parent site you are on, BestRidesDC.
This page serves a space to highlight and preserve some of the work I did while running Fresco Designs, including some of the clients I worked with along the way…
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) - PAHO was the first “big client” that helped me put Fresco Designs on the map. I had initially done some publication design work in collaboration with my brother’s company, Ultra Designs. Ultra Designs did a ton of book design work for PAHO and I was able to get my hands on some of his overflow, but it wasn’t until I started supporting PAHO’s web efforts that things started moving.
I helped PAHO build their first website which included versions in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. In addition to actual web work I also spent a lot of time training PAHO staff on how to update their new pages. I would continue supporting PAHO’s web efforts all the way to 2008, including helping them establish their online bookstore.
Unfortunately, samples of those early pages no longer exist. Future versions of paho.org “swallowed” those early designs. There are, however, some “incomplete” versions in the internet archive…
The World Bank - Much like PAHO, the World Bank was also one of my bigger first clients. And much like PAHO, a lot of the work I did for the World Bank was overflow publication work from my brother’s company, Ultra Designs. Over time, however, my work with the World Bank finished as my web work with PAHO increased. I would continue to do sporadic jobs for the World Bank, including some web work.
Sideout Technologies - My relationship with the owners of Sideout Technologies has spanned many decades, and has resulted in creating connections with multiple other companies. I was actually employed with Sideout when the opportunity to start Fresco Designs presented itself. The departure was amicable and mutually beneficial. While Sideout provided me with a steady stream of work, they also introduced me to additional clients. Sideout has changed names multiple times over the years, including ServiceBench, Xcelerator Group, Driverless Transportation and Dering Estrada. Throughout those changes I have remained a trusted consultant, and have worked with Sideout partners to develop multiple websites, including WomenofWarranty.com, the Xcelrator group website, and the original Driverless Transportation site.
TutorFind - Tutorfind was probably the longest and most consistent client throughout the life of Fresco Designs. As with other clients, they were referred to me by another, Sideout Technologies, Inc. I helped TutorFind with multiple services, including the logo design (the version above is an evolution from the original concept), back end and front web development as well as graphic design services.
The relationship I nurtured with TutorFind was emblematic of other relationships I built with other clients. TutorFind allowed me to build my first homegrown CMS using php (SimplePanel). Along the way I learned a lot about web development, back-end security and other key concepts that would later help me gain experience in deploying and enterprise Web Content Management System (WCMS).
An early version of TutorFind.com. The site was built and ran on a CMS i built from the ground up (since retired).
Acterna & Spirent - Acterna and Spirent were two of the last clients I engaged with before closing Fresco Designs. I supported several graphic design projects for Acterna, and produced two videos for Sprient — a promotional corporate video, and a promotional product animation — both featured below.
One of the biggest projects I worked for Acterna was the production of a comprehensive slide deck for their annual sales meeting. The deck was part of a multimedia presentation for an audience of hundreds at a convention center in Maryland. Beyond producing the slide deck, I also worked the production of the event, and helped execute it.
The corporate video for Spirent included all aspects of production, including developing and writing a script, managing and directing the shoot, and editing the final piece for delivery (below).
Corporate video shot, produced and edited by Fresco for Spirent
Spirent Animation
The animation included creating a script, project board, and working with an illustrator to create the basic images for the animation. I produced and built the animation using a variety of adobe products, including Illustrator, Flash, Photoshop, Premier, and Composer.
The “Spanish” version of the Spirent animation. The original was recorded in English.
Other Clients & Work
Pinnacle Communications, Baltimore, MD. Fresco Designs helped Pinnacle Communications manage the online presence for Popeyes.com, including weekly “timed” home page refreshes.
American Federation of Government Employees. Fresco Designs produced a video to help the organization improve membership recruitment.
JS Audio. When I first got out of the Army I moved to Burtonsville, MD. One day out of the blue I saw a sign that said “stereos” and I drove to the back of the small “warehouse” area and walked into JS Audio. I envisioned a place that sold car stereos and other electronics, but once I stepped in I was blown away by the Audiophile equipment on display. Joe Stromick, (aka JS Audio) was my first client. I spent years working with Joe. I did a simple logo for him, helped him set up his invoicing database, designed ads for Sterophile, as well as Washingtonian magazine, I also built his first website.
Anvil Bikeworks. My love for bikes — and all bike related things — led me to a chance online encounter with Don Ferris of Anvil Bikeworks in the late 90s. Anvil was a manufacturer of high end tooling for custom bicycle builders. Don needed a website, but there was a catch; instead of paying in $$, he would build the selected freelancer the bike of his dreams. I reached out to him and we struck a deal. The relationship went far beyond that first site and I would continue to provide web services for Anvil Bikeworks until Don retired and closed up the shop - he now dedicates his life to raising Yak. Working with Don led me to work with other bicycle related companies, including Hampsten Cycles, Cinghiale Cycling Tours and 333 Fabrications. I have built, and continue to help maintain, Cinghiale Cycling Tours and Hampsten Cycles.
Other Projects: Beyond the regular clients above, I had a myriad of other smaller clients in various industries.
During the early years of Fresco Designs, I was doing a lot of learning and I often used personal projects to try new things, especially on the web. My multimedia background came in handy for lots of personal projects, including for some of the organizations I volunteered with.
Most notably, I have been the “webmaster” for the Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts (MORE). I built the organization’s first website in 1994, and I continue to stay involved. I set up MORE’s Current website so they could collect donations for individual trail systems, as well as take advantage of “drop-shipping” opportunities to sell MORE branded products.
I also had a couple of personal projects, including this website, and another covering the Washington D.C. franchise of Major League Soccer (MLS), D.C. United. The website, UnitedMania.com, showcased my photography, and hosted a weekly one hour long podcast. UnitedMania.com ceased operations in 2017 shortly after the beginning of the MLS season.
With the closure of Fresco’s doors in 2008 I shifted and remain focused on supporting the children of our armed forces as DoDEA’s Web Team Manager. I’ve been fortunate to lead a team of talented professionals who have reshaped the agency’s web presence and are committed to ensuring military connected children are engaged and empowered to succeed in a dynamic world. As team manager I oversaw the transition of DoDEA’s fragmented legacy web presence to a unified system of websites managed under a single enterprise web content management system (WCMS).