If you’ve been to our website in the past, you may have noticed HarmonixMusic.com has gotten a bit of a makeover. Welcome to your shiny new destination for all things Harmonix!
There were several Harmonixers involved in the relaunch of our website, two of which we’re highlighting in our first Harmonix employee spotlight post (many more to come!). Without further ado, we’d like to introduce Abigail Borden and Matt Carlone, also known as the unstoppable forces on our web team.
ABIGAIL BORDEN, WEB DESIGNER
Hometown: Cambridge, MA (she’s also lived in Hawaii, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York)
Nicknames: “Clompy” (it was given to her by our office manager because of the sound of her cowboy boots)
Time at Harmonix: 5 years
Known for her work on the following: Websites for The Beatles Rock Band (it won a Webby Award!), Rock Band, Dance Central, and Rock Band World. VidRhythm app.
Background: Abby studied Creative Writing and English as part of her undergraduate program and dabbled in graphic design. She eventually began production work on documentary films, including a seven-part series on New York City. Abby eventually returned to school for fashion design, as well as web and graphic design.
Favorite Harmonix games: Dance Central games
Proudest Harmonix accomplishment: “VidRhythm was awesome. It was a deviation from what I usually do here. It’s so wacky and fun. I’m also excited about the new Harmonix website. It was fun to see it all come together.”
Go-to karaoke jams: Songs by Patsy Cline, “Cold, Cold Heart” by Hank Williams
Favorite albums: Purple Rain by Prince, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde by The Pharcyde
Talents “Singing is a boring answer…I trained my cat [Chewbacca] to do tricks. She can flop and say ‘hi’/meow.”
Hobbies: Playing music, making furniture, gardening, riding bikes, running, pinup hairdos, and designing light-up clothing. Also, making sewn felt animal portraits.
Tips for up-and-coming web designers: “With web design there’s a graphic design piece and a coding piece. It makes me happy to be able to go back and forth between logical and creative sides. I don’t think everyone is comfortable with that. The first thing is you’ll have to know is if you want to do one or the other, or both."
"There are so many blogs and other resources that can help you stay up to date with best practices. It’s important to keep your skills up and stay ahead of trends. Other than that just start practicing. Learn through trial and error. Put in the work.”
MATT CARLONE, WEB DEVELOPER
Hometown: Cambridge, MA
Nicknames: “Smooth Cat” (someone in high school may have called him that once)
Time at Harmonix: 1.5 years
Known for his work on: Rock Band World and maintenance of older sites
Background: Game industry programmer for seven years, web development
Favorite Harmonix games: Frequency, Amplitude
Proudest Harmonix accomplishment: The new HarmonixMusic.com
Favorite albums: Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd, Powerslave by Iron Maiden
Talents: “I was a member of a band in high school – singer in a punk band called The Stolen Bikes. We didn’t have a drum kit for most of our first year so we just banged on stuff. One of our songs was called ‘Four-Slice Toaster’”.
Hobbies: Skateboarding, cooking, programming, and being cozy.
Tips for up-and-coming web developers: “You need to cut your teeth as a programmer and not just a web developer, otherwise you’ll date yourself very quickly. You also need to hold yourself accountable with good communication skills. My job is so different from 10 years ago, and I can’t imagine what it’ll be like 10 years from now!”