Expertise

Principles, skills and traits

Principles

Despite the huge strides we’ve made in user-focused design over the last thirty years, many websites remain completely unusable and frequently hostile. Too many sites are still showing off their technical prowess at the expense of usable experiences. Many more are so bloated with trackers and malware that you’d need a shot of antibiotics after using them. The open web was never meant to be like this.

This is why I’ve tried to maintain a set of guiding principles on every project:

  • Respect the user’s time, focus and intentions
  • Put user needs before designer or developer needs
  • Design for simplicity, robustness and universal accessibility
  • Solve only your current problems
  • Use the most appropriate technology for the requirements
  • Don’t use technology for its own sake
  • Find a balance between creation and maintenance

Skills

I’ve had a broad career over the last thirty years and have learned and demonstrated a variety of skills and disciplines:

Planning & design

In this collaborative stage, I’ve worked directly with clients to discuss their objectives and goals. Depending on the scope of the project, I’ve generated many types of design artefacts: sitemaps, user journeys, wire-frames and prototypes. While this is not my primary area of expertise, I have a good grounding in the principles and methodologies involved.

User interface design

User Interface Design develops the high-level designs and prototypes into fully functioning pages, templates and systems. At this stage I also create the “look and feel” to match brand requirements. This includes establishing typography, colour palette, icons and imagery. Depending on the size and scope of the project, a pattern library or design system may also be created and maintained on a long-term basis.

Frontend development

I’m highly experienced in frontend development, having been hand-coding websites since 1997. I write all the HTML, Sass CSS and necessary JavaScript using web standards and progressive enhancement. All my work is fully responsive and will look equally good from the smallest smartphone to the largest desktop screen.

CMS integration

I’ve built effective content management systems that make it simple to keep content in order, from small blogs to large e-commerce sites. I no longer build CMS driven sites for clients, but previously I’ve used Craft, WordPress, Perch, Kirby, Statamic, AEM and many others. For my personal projects I’ve switched to Zola, a brilliant static site generator.

Traits

You don’t get good at this stuff without self development, and I believe that my longevity can be attributed to these strong personal traits and behaviours:

Collaborative

I work equally well with colleagues and clients. I listen to the requirements and translate them into results. I work on the big picture and the small details that bring a website to life. And when a client is unsure about what they need, I can guide them step by step by explaining things clearly.

Creative

I can turn my hand to many different visual styles, whether that’s a slick and polished corporate site, or a grungy vintage look. I pride myself in coming up with strong visual treatments. I’m very keen on simple and effective use of colour and bold, contemporary type, while ensuring the work is on brand.

Enthusiastic

I’ve loved digital design since I started doodling on computers in the 1980s. It’s important for me to enjoy my work, and I take pride in creating products that are not only effective, but beautiful too. I always enjoy the creative process, and that translates to better designs that achieve their goals and hopefully delight users too.

Responsive

I work hard to make sure that projects run according to their projected time-line. My previous experience of managing large digital projects means I understand the importance of keeping everyone up-to-date. But I’m pragmatic too, and will always warn of scope-creep and other problems that might affect the deadline.

Detailed

Im all about the details, and have a precise nature. I try to ensure that everything is placed and polished just so. There’s nothing worse than a strong design being let down by silly errors, so I work hard to ensure that such mistakes are caught and fixed before anyone else notices.

Lifelong learner

Everything I’ve created has required a vast amount of applied knowledge, which I’ve gained mostly through self-education. I can’t imagine not learning new things, it’s the fuel for the fire of creativity. While it’s harder these days to keep on top of an ever changing technical landscape, I still take the time when I can.