Scarecrow Row: Technical Discussion
The Idea
Scarecrow Row is a fun fall installation of unique and creative scarecrows set along the 2-mile bike and walking trail of Otto Armleder Park, located on Cincinnati’s eastside next to Lunken Airport and Playfield.
Individuals, organizations and businesses submit one of a kind, themed scarecrows, that will amuse and entertain visitors throughout the month of October.
Scarecrow row serves as a fundraiser for Madi’s House, a relapse prevention and mental health community center, serving young adults battling addiction and mental health illness in the greater Cincinnati area.
The Features (or planned features)
- Reasonably designed website
- Pages on the media, press, and instruction pages
- Stripe and node.js integration to accept donations
- Live form handling and reporting
The tech stack
Frontend:
- HTML
- JavaScript
- CSS
- GitHub Pages
Backend:
- Node.js (express)
- Stripe
- DigitalOcean App Platform
What happened
This website was my first time working with a “client”, and was made to match the client’s design. Although I am not thrilled with the design, it was a valuable learning experience on making sure the client is happy with the final product, and on how sometimes an MVP is adequate. The site served as an information platform for the general public, a signup service for exhibitors, and a donation platform, helping to raise over $6000. I am most proud of the community impact of this project. It was not a technical masterpiece, but we were able to raise a huge amount of publicity and money for Madi’s House.
Additionally, I was able to learn quite a lot, it was my first production deployment of a node.js backend app as well as the first time any of my projects collected any money through Stripe, so learning how to safely and securely handle payment information was a valuable experience.
Live site
GitHub
Backend jackcrane/scarecrow-row-dynamic
Frontend jackcrane/scarecrowrow2.github.io
