Hey there,
I’m Ara Abcarians

I've spent the last 15 years building delightful interactive experiences for the web. I'm especially passionate about leading teams, HTML & CSS, JavaScript, web performance optimization, and design systems.

Hi, I’m Ara

I build delightful interactive experiences on the Jamstack. My happy place is at the intersection of Design & Development.

Pssst! Scroll Down! Arrow pointing down signifying there is more conrtent below
2021 — 2022

Kandji

Most recently, I was Web Development Manager at Kandji, a hyper growth SaaS startup. While there, I led a nimble team of developers to continuously optimize and improve Kandji's marketing website to drive growth.

Screenshot of kandji.io homepage

Kandji Website Redesign & Replatforming

Under an aggressive timeline, I led the architectural transition from Webflow to the Jamstack, utilizing Netlify, Eleventy, Alpine.js, and Tailwind CSS. This was part of a larger complete brand refresh to elevate Kandji from a start-up to a trusted technology partner. We increased our mobile lighthouse score by 50% and achieved a perfect desktop score through continuous web performance optimization.

Tools & Tech:

HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Tailwind CSS, Alpine.js, GSAP, Node.js, 11ty, Netlify, HubSpot, Figma

2016 — 2021

Bluebeam, Inc

As the Sr. Manager of Web Development at Bluebeam, I led a talented team of engineers as we maintained and evolved Bluebeam's global core interactive experiences.

Screenshot of bluebeam.com homepage

Bluebeam Global Responsive Website

Bluebeam's website redesign was a massive ground-up rebuild and replatforming. As the lead developer, I established coding best practices for the team, setup a proper workflow and deploy process, and leveraged Grav CMS to simplify the platform and increase speed, security, and scalability. The Bluebeam website is localized for 13 different languages using Smartling's GDN service.

Tools & Tech:

HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, GSAP, PHP, Gulp, Grav CMS

Screenshot of Bluprnt design system homepage

Bluprnt: Design System & Front-end Framework

Bluebeam's website had previously been filled with mixed design patterns and was incredibly hard to manage. I knew we needed to establish consistency and build things the right way, so I worked with a designer to create the company's first design system. From that, I built out a custom front-end framework that's been used on a variety of Bluebeam's online properties. The workshop area is built with Jekyll, and the storefront is built on zeroheight.

Tools & Tech:

HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, NPM, Netlify, Gulp, Jekyll, Figma

Dec 2012 — May 2016

(mt) Media Temple

As a UX Manager/Engineer at Los Angeles based web hosting company, Media Temple, I led the front-end development of the 2013 responsive redesign. I collaborated with designers and developers to create the company’s first design system and living styleguide.

Media Temple was acquired by GoDaddy in 2014.

Screenshot of MediaTemple.net homepage

Media Temple Website

Leading the front-end development of the Media Temple website redesign was one of the most rewarding projects I've ever worked on. Working closely with our internal creative team as well as the talented designers of Character in San Fransisco, I developed a mobile-first front-end framework and started the company's first internal living style guide and design system.

Tools & Tech:

HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, PHP, Statamic CMS

Screenshot of MediaTemple.net account center

Media Temple Account Center

Though it was among the better looking admin dashboards in the web hosting space, a redesign of (mt)'s Account Center was long overdue. Used by over 150,000 customers, it was one of the most daunting projects I've ever been a part of. It required extensive research and planning, modernizing code on 450+ pages, and countless iterations.

Tools & Tech:

HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, React JS, Perl, Template Toolkit

June 2008 — Dec 2012

Huge, Inc

At Huge, I had the honor and privilege of working with some of the best creative leaders and engineers in the game. I worked as a Sr. Web Developer on multiple large-scale projects against impossible deadlines. I’m proud to have worked with some incredible brands during my journey.

Clients:

American University, FX Networks, ABC, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Beats by Dre, MasterCard, Nintendo, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Disney, Dell, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Golf Channel, Vizio, Miramax, Samsung

Screenshot of Beats by Dre Microsite homepage
Screenshot of Nintendo Punch Out website homepage
Screenshot of FX Networks website homepage
Screenshot of Alvin Ailey website homepage
Screenshot of American University homepage
Screenshot of Royal Caribbean homepage