This is the launch of the Toronto Paramedic Services Photos site. This project wasn’t easy as there’s no off-the-shelf product that does what we needed it to do. But many hours later, I’ve assembled the technologies required to provide a (hopefully) seamless experience to both users and administrators.
This photo repository site was designed with two main goals in mind:
First, we wanted to provide a central location for all the photo galleries we present for events such as graduations, awards ceremonies, and others. This would mostly be accessible without logging in, though some galleries might be deemed “employees only” and for that we’d need login credentials.
Second, we wanted to allow certain members of our staff to have access to our entire photo library, at least going forward, (and when we have time to upload them, going back a few years as well).
To accomplish this, we needed to assemble and integrate these technologies
- a method of displaying the photos themselves in an aesthetically pleasing and functional manner
- a system of user groups to provide different levels of access to different groups
- a method of hiding content from users without access in order to mitigate frustration
- a method of logging in and out with the fewest interruptions necessary
- and all this would need the least administrative overhead possible going forward
As is often the case, what looks simple on the outside is often terrifically complex on the inside. If you were to peek under the hood, you’d see a collections of tinker toy pulleys connected to each other with rubber bands stretched to the breaking point spinning crazily, and steam escaping from all the cracks. But, you know, part of the design challenge was to make sure that you don’t need to look under the hood.
Questions or comments? damon@torontoparamedicservices.ca