Distinct Varation(s): Graphic Design & Web Development
Thanks for Visiting!
Distinct Variation(s) is a Vancouver, BC based graphic design & web development company run by me, Matthew Gruman. I've been very busy lately working on other projects, so the site is a bit sparse right now. If you would like to be notified when it is updated, or have any interesting projects to discuss, please send me a note and I'll get in touch.
Recent Work
Fathom Five Photography
Fathom Five Photography is a local photographer serving Vancouver, Victoria and the Gulf Islands. The site is built on a custom Ruby on Rails/MySQL CMS.
Print work: business cards.
Margery Fee
Margery Fee is a professor at The University of British Columbia and the editor of Canadian Literature. She needed a website that allowed for easy updates and displayed a number of open access articles as PDFs. The site is built on the Wordpress CMS.
Canadian Studies UBC
Canadian Studies UBC is a program offered at The University of British Columbia. It allows you to select from approximately 100 courses in the area of Canadian Studies—from Political Science to Anthropology to Film to Women's Studies—taught by more than 50 professors from departments throughout the Faculty of Arts.
The International 3-Day Novel Contest
The International 3-Day Novel Contest is a grueling literary marathon. Every Labour Day weekend for more than 30 years, writers around the world have written, edited, and completed novels in 72 hours. The site is built on the Wordpress CMS, and features Twitter and Flickr integration.
Print work: brochures, posters, and postcards.
Rachelle Delaney
Rachelle Delaney is a local children's author who just published her first book, The Ship of Lost Souls. Visit the site for information about classroom/library visits and a teachers' guide. The site is built on the Wordpress CMS.
Brick Books
Brick Books is a small literary press based in London, ON. The press was started in 1975 by Stan Dragland and Don McKay, and publishes some of Canada's best poetry. The site is built on the Wordpress CMS, and features a custom book catalogue and administration system.
Canadian Literature
Canadian Literature is the oldest journal to focus on the field of Canadian literature. Since 1959, with founding editor George Woodcock, Canadian Literature has published articles, poetry, and book reviews from most of Canada's best writers and academics. The site is built on a custom PHP/MySQL CMS which features a searchable and browsable online index, an advertising statistics suite, a sitewide login system, and a backend administration system to govern all the site's content.
Print work: business cards, ads for journals/magazines/newspapers, poetry book prototype, annual index, and brochures.
BC Studies
BC Studies is a history journal from The University of British Columbia. Established in 1969, BC Studies is dedicated to the exploration of British Columbia's cultural, economic, and political life; past and present. The site is built on a custom PHP/MySQL CMS, and features a searchable/browsable online index, mp3 streaming, and a full-featured administration system.
Excuse Rolodex
Inspired by Seinfeld, the Excuse Rolodex is a user-generated content site full of excuses. Visitors can submit their own excuses and participate in the Most Liked list. The site is built with PHP/MySQL and Ajax, and features an administrative backend.
Matthew Gruman
My personal site. Formerly a blog, I use matthewgruman.com to collect various personal projects. The site is built on the Wordpress CMS, and features custom sidebar widgets.
Arts One
Arts One is an innovative approach to your first year in the Faculty of Arts at The University of British Columbia. This program offers you two groups from which to choose, each led by a dynamic team of instructors from a variety of academic disciplines. The site is built on a custom Ruby on Rails/MySQL CMS, and features sitewide login for both students and administrators.
Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles
The DCHP is a collection of "Canadianisms" (i.e. "Canuck" and "double-double"). I designed the online collection component for the second edition, which features an entry system, historical data collection, and a full statistics suite. The site was built on a custom PHP/MySQL/DOM CMS, and featured secure login for both students and administrators through UBC's CWL.
Site is not available for public viewing.
Other work
- PSAV at the Sheraton-Wall Centre (poster, tent cards, and survey development)
- UBC Opera (poster)
- UBC Theatre (business card)
- Dr. Peter Seudfeld, UBC (website)
- The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of UBC
- Executive Solutions Info (HTML converstion for website and Flash splash screen)
Contact
Matthew Gruman
Distinct Variation(s)
604.225.2291
[my first name]@distinctvariations.com